Undercurrents were brewing at the Jiang family's old residence.
Gu An'an was helping the children prepare the things they needed for school.
She made a small schoolbag, and specially sewed small pockets inside so that she could keep her pens, paper, and inkstones in different categories.
One for each of the children.
Bao'er was overjoyed to see her new bag. "Your Majesty doesn't have one."
Gu An'an couldn't help but laugh, "Silly child, your mother doesn't need to go to school. When you get to school, you must listen to your brother, okay?"
Bao'er nodded obediently, "I will listen to Your Majesty and my brother."
"Good girl."
Jiang Mingxu, standing to the side, looked on with envy at his younger sister who had stolen all of his mother's affections, and stared longingly at Gu An'an, hoping to receive some instructions as well.
Jiang Mingzhu laughed at his cute appearance.
A cheerful laugh rang out. Jiang Mingxu felt a little embarrassed. He was only half a year older than Bao'er. She was also a child who needed comforting. What was wrong with that?
Seeing the two siblings bickering, Gu An'an smiled and pulled Jiang Mingxu into her arms, "How many articles has our Mingxu been able to recite recently, having been studying and learning to read with his older brother?"
"I'll feel much better now, I'll recite it to my mother."
Then he began to recite it with great expression.
Gu An'an was delighted to hear this, saying, "In the future, our Xu'er will pass the imperial examinations and become a high-ranking official."
The little boy didn't yet know what it meant to be a high-ranking official, but he happily agreed, "Okay, being a high-ranking official will earn lots and lots of money for Mom."
Jiang Mingzhu couldn't help but correct him, "Silly boy, making money makes you a corrupt official."
What is a corrupt official?
Jiang Mingxu didn't understand. "I don't care. I just want to earn lots and lots of money for Mom so she won't have to go out to do business and can just cook for me."
Goodness, I thought this kid was so filial, turns out he just sees himself as a cook.
Being a foodie, how could I dare to ask for too much?
"Alright, alright, get some rest. Mom will take you to school tomorrow."
Master Zheng's school was not in Jiangjia Village, but on the road between Jiangjia Village and Zhengjiawan.
I heard that this Mr. Zheng was expelled from the Zheng family ancestral hall in his early years. Later, he passed the imperial examination and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). After that, the Zheng family members passed away. I hope that the only hope in this village can put aside past grievances.
But Master Zheng refused to reconcile.
He had a bright future ahead of him, so why would he care about a group of country folk?
Later, for reasons unknown, Master Zheng returned to the countryside, but not to Zhengjiawan.
Instead, they chose a hillside to build the school.
The school had several tiled houses, where Master Zheng taught and nurtured students on weekdays.
Last year, several of Master Zheng's students passed the imperial examination and became scholars, which made Master Zheng's school famous overnight.
When Gu An'an drove the carriage to take the children there, there were already people waiting outside the school.
Not knowing when the school would open, Jiang Mingyi, afraid of delaying Gu An'an's business, said, "Mother, you go ahead and do your work. I'll take good care of them."
Gu An'an didn't think that business was going to be delayed, but she also knew that people with some official titles often had some strange tempers.
Nowadays, keeping students out of the house is often a test of their patience.
Studying hard for ten years is the only way to achieve success.
Although Gu An'an didn't really expect these children to pass the imperial examinations and turn her life around, they still needed to study, learn to read and write, and be polite.
After giving Jiang Mingyi some instructions, Gu An'an drove the carriage away.
The others noticed that Jiang Mingyi had brought two girls with him, and they all looked over.
The four Jiang siblings remained unmoved, ignoring the incident.
...
Grandma Jiang had been keeping a close eye on Gu An'an's movements these past two days. When she heard that Gu An'an had gone to the county town today, she quickly took Uncle Niu's car to the town.
The other people on the oxcart couldn't help but chat when they saw Old Lady Jiang, "Auntie, you're really lucky. I heard your youngest daughter-in-law's business is making a lot of money."
"That's right, why don't we have such skillful hands?"
Hearing this, Grandma Jiang became even angrier. No matter how good Gu An'an's skills were, she hadn't given any of the money she earned to her.
And it's dirty money, she doesn't care about it!
After getting off the oxcart, Old Lady Jiang inquired about the situation and headed in that direction with a resentful expression.
From afar, Gu An'an's laughter could be heard: "Okay, please wait a moment, this one will be yours once it's finished."
That laughter was so obsequious. She always had a cold face when she saw me, so why did she change her tune when talking to men?
She followed the sound, but before she got close, she saw someone she knew.
"what are you doing here?"
Jiang's sister-in-law didn't expect to run into her mother-in-law, and she looked a little uneasy. "I was taking Qiaoqiao's father to the city when I heard that the third son's family was doing business here, so I came to take a look."
It smelled delicious, which made Sister Jiang, who had been busy since early morning and hadn't even had time for breakfast, feel her stomach rumbling.
What is she making? It looks so delicious!
Seeing her mother-in-law's angry face, Sister-in-law Jiang suddenly had an idea. "Mother, why don't we go over and take a look, and help bring some customers to the third son's stall?"
Grandma Jiang chuckled when she heard this. Didn't she know what her daughter-in-law was thinking?
They just wanted to get a little something extra.
"I might as well go and take a look." She wanted to see how Gu An'an was flirting with other men right under her nose.
Don't forget she's still the Jiang family's daughter-in-law. How dare she be so unchaste! I'll drown her in a pig cage myself!
Jiang's sister-in-law helped her mother-in-law over, and before they even arrived, her voice rose, "Third brother's wife, you really are something! How can you manage such a big business all by yourself? Luckily, my mother and I ran into you, otherwise, were you planning to keep this from us forever?"
Although getting a free bowl of food was her main purpose, Sister-in-law Jiang had other motives as well.
She wanted to learn Gu An'an's recipe so she could set up her own stall and make money.
Qiaoqiao's father said that he would bring her and her mother to live in the city later. At that time, they would have to find some work to earn money to support the family.
She's skilled and smart, she'll definitely learn quickly, and she'll attract even more customers than Gu An'an.
Once the business takes off, I'll take over another shop. Maybe my business can become famous throughout Anzhou Prefecture.
When that time comes, the sons of wealthy families might all be vying to marry Qiaoqiao. She'll have to find a good family for her then.
Jiang's sister-in-law became more and more pleased with herself, as if everything was already within her grasp and already hers.
Looking at Sister-in-law Jiang's beaming face, Gu An'an was a little confused about what she was thinking and why she was so happy.
She really didn't expect that Grandma Jiang and Sister-in-law Jiang would come, but she knew without even thinking that the two of them had no good intentions.
He had worked so hard to get things started, but the Jiang family wanted to take all the credit.
They're dreaming of peaches!
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