Madam Jia was a little angry and wanted to complain a bit more, but Jiayin ran down the steps, hugged the young master, and exclaimed happily, "Big brother! What brings you here?"
Madam Wen and Tao Hongying quickly stepped forward and asked, "Jiaren, why did you rush back?"
Jiaren picked up his younger sister and the first thing he did was check the back of her head. He even parted her hair and examined her carefully for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh of relief and replying, "I heard that my sister injured the back of her head, so I rushed back to check on her in a panic."
Tao Hongying and Madam Wen were both stunned. Then Tao Hongying said with a wry smile, "Don't worry, it was just that when I took Fu Niu to celebrate the birthday, something happened. Fu Niu almost fell, but luckily someone helped her up and she wasn't hurt."
"Where did you hear that? It was a false alarm!"
Jiaren thought for a moment, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "It was two classmates who mentioned it. Perhaps I was in a hurry and didn't listen to them finish before rushing back."
Tao Hongying shielded her nephew and daughter behind her and personally apologized to Madam Jia and Miss Wan'er.
"I'm so sorry, Second Madam. This is my second brother's eldest son, from Luo'an. Although he has obtained the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examination at the county level), he is still young and his actions are not prudent. He frightened Miss Wan'er just now. I apologize to Miss Wan'er on his behalf!"
This is like a flood washing away the Dragon King Temple; we're all one family!
Madam Jia Er naturally couldn't blame her any further, and quickly said, "Madam Li, you're too kind. It was just a misunderstanding, and Wan'er wasn't hurt. I'll take Wan'er home first today, and we can get together again another day."
"Okay, let's keep in touch." Tao Hongying personally saw Madam Jia and her niece and daughter into the car.
Jiayin quickly had a few pieces of cream cake and two boxes of snacks packed into the shop and placed on the Jia family's carriage as an apology.
The other women, along with their young girls, took their leave.
Before everyone could return to the backyard, Madam Liu also arrived by carriage to join in the fun.
In an instant, the backyard was filled with family members. When talking about what had just happened, Tao Hongying asked Madam Liu and Madam Wen about the background of that Miss Wan'er.
Seeing that Jiaren seemed a little uncomfortable, Madam Wen found it amusing and said, "Madam Jia's maiden name is Xing. All the elders of the previous generation have passed away. Madam Jia only has one brother who is a fourth-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy."
"Lord Xing's salary is naturally not much, but thanks to the blessings of his ancestors and the upright family tradition, he lives a very good life."
"Lord Xing has no concubines, only one wife, who has given birth to a daughter and a son. Today's Miss Wan'er is the eldest daughter."
Madam Liu nodded and said, "Our family and the Xing family occasionally visit each other. Their family is small, and Madam Xing's health is not very good. I heard that the eldest daughter is now in charge of the family affairs. She is very sensible and thoughtful."
The members of the Li family couldn't help but nod in agreement. Although they weren't familiar with the Xing family, they knew that Lord Xing hadn't taken a concubine, treated his sick wife well, and raised his daughter so well that they couldn't believe this family was any good.
At this moment, not only Tao Hongying, but even Old Lady Li was tempted, pressing Jiayin for details, "Fu Niu'er, did you see this Wan'er girl just now? What does she look like? Do you like her?"
Jiayin secretly glanced at her older brother and saw that he had a tense face and was pretending not to know that everyone was choosing a wife for him.
She couldn't resist being mischievous and joked, "Oh no, Grandma, this girl Wan'er is really ugly. I feel uncomfortable as soon as I see her..."
Sure enough, Jiaren looked up at his sister, his expression filled with disbelief.
He had only met the girl briefly; it was unlikely that he would fall in love with her at first sight.
But what is it about such a dignified, polite, and understanding girl that my sister doesn't like?
Jiayin smiled and winked at her brother.
Jiaren immediately realized he had been tricked, his face flushed red, and he quickly got up and said to his grandmother, "Grandma, I came back quickly during my lunch break, and I'm going back now. I'll come back to see you again in a few days when I have some free time."
Grandma Li couldn't bear to see her eldest grandson embarrassed, so she relented and said, "Alright, go back to your studies, but remember not to overwork yourself."
Jiayin jumped up and quickly called Shuiling and Shuiyun for help. They packed a lot of good stuff from the shop so that her older brother could take it back for his aunt and brothers to try.
Jiaren ruffled his sister's hair and carried a large pile of delicious food back to the academy.
In the backyard, Old Mrs. Li became more and more tempted, and regretfully slapped her thigh, "I was so lazy just now. It would have been so much better to go out and entertain the guests, and I could have also seen this Miss Xing!"
Madam Wen quickly advised, "Auntie, the Jia family will be visiting our house the day after tomorrow. We can ask them a few more questions then."
"What if the girl is already engaged? If we start making plans now, wouldn't we be wasting our time?"
"That's true, we'll see when the time comes." Old Mrs. Li was willing to listen to advice.
After sitting for a while, Madam Liu invited Madam Wen and Old Lady Li to go for a stroll elsewhere.
Tao Hongying was worried, so she stayed behind to help her daughter keep an eye on things.
Grandma Li felt sorry for Wenjuan, who was pregnant and stayed at home all day, so she took her out for a stroll.
Jiayin had anticipated that business would be booming, so the shop was well-prepared.
But cream cakes and the like don't keep well, so they're baked early in the morning because the quantity is limited.
So, the shop sold out of goods as soon as the sun passed its zenith.
Jiayin simply had the door closed and then tallied today's sales figures.
Thanks to the high price, although the goods sent out accounted for one-third of the total, the money box still contained more than one hundred taels.
After deducting almost negligible costs, the profit is... astonishingly high!
Everyone was delighted and praised him.
"Our Fu Niu'er is really amazing; her profit for today is more than that of Cyclamen."
"Yes, they're just snacks, yet the profit margin is so high."
"Sure enough, it's easiest to make money off the elderly, children, and women."
Jiayin was modest on the surface, but she was secretly very pleased with herself.
If she had a tail on her butt right now, she'd probably be shaken like a fan.
"Hehe, just lucky, just lucky! There were a lot of people today, but business will slow down in a few days. I'll be lucky to make thirty or forty taels of silver a day." Jiayin hugged the money box, her eyes shining.
Li Zhensheng couldn't stop laughing. He patted his little niece on the back and said, "In a few days, even more people will order birthday cakes. We'll definitely make more money than this."
"Shh!" Jiayin quickly put her finger to her lips, slyly instructing her uncle, "Keep your wealth quiet and don't flaunt it!"
Everyone burst into laughter, and Tao Hongying couldn't help but pat her daughter on the shoulder.
"This kid always spouts nonsense! What is showing off wealth? Flaunting your riches? You're overthinking it. There are plenty of rich people in Xindu, who would even bother with your paltry sums!"
Jiayin didn't argue with her mother, but instead hugged the money box tightly.
The group packed their belongings and prepared to go home.
Tao Hongying never expected that her joke would come true...
Served at midnight~~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com