Chapter 115 Jiang Ji and Ye Li celebrate their birthdays and adjust to each other.
Jiang Tong got married three days later.
Previously, after the first month of the lunar calendar, Jiang Dachuan, like Wu Fulang, hurriedly arranged a marriage for Jiang Tong.
They then chose the closest auspicious day to get married.
Since Yu Cai and Peng Ximing had nothing important to do, Ye Li casually asked if Yu Cai would like to go and watch the excitement.
Upon hearing this, Yu Cai immediately nodded: "Okay, let's go and see what's going on."
Since Brother Li has spoken, let's go take a look around.
Furthermore, he was quite happy to experience all sorts of interesting things with Peng Ximing.
However, he added, "He refused to take his wages, so we decided to give them to you, the matchmaker, for safekeeping."
"Fifty coins a day, one tael and five mace a month. You can take it later."
"..."
Ye Li never expected that the couple, unable to reach an agreement, would come to him.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "In my opinion, you should keep an account book, record one entry per day, write down all the big and small things he does to serve you, and finally write down the amount of wages he deserves."
"The written record is powerful evidence; this is how every single case is clearly documented."
"In time, if he ever needs money, we can just draw money from this ledger."
These words made Yu Cai's eyes sparkle.
That means he gave it to me.
The promise was kept.
But Peng Ximing did not take it, and he kept his promise.
How heartwarming it is to sit at your desk at night, intimately recording the day's events together.
Thinking of this, he sighed sincerely, "Brother Li, you really know how to handle things. No wonder you and Jiang Ji have such a good relationship. With your quick wit, even if you have a disagreement, you can resolve it in no time."
“Unlike me, I almost got into an argument with him.”
As he finished speaking, a look of worry appeared on his face.
Seeing this, Ye Li immediately comforted him, "Brother Cai, you both value each other too much and want to prove your sincerity too much, which is why you are arguing."
"Let time do its work. Time may be silent, but it answers all questions."
Upon hearing this, Yu Cai frowned slightly: "That's the only way."
"Actually, I hoped he would continue his studies."
“These past few days I’ve been staying in the countryside, chatting with Xiliang and Ximin, and I’ve learned a lot about him.”
"Like Jiang Ji, he passed three tests in a row and became a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). At that time, he was full of vigor and pride. Unfortunately, his father-in-law's leg injury shattered all his pride and self-esteem."
"I think he must be resentful."
However, since Peng Ximing wouldn't even accept wages, how could he possibly be willing to study at the county school?
Ye Li nodded: "He's definitely not willing to accept it. But it's too early to bring it up now. It's not too late to let him go back to school in two or three years, after you two have gotten over your current clinginess."
"Are you really willing to let him go out during the day and only come back at night?"
Yu Cai: "...I can't bear to part with it."
"Then forget about it now, just enjoy your honeymoon."
Ye Lile.
Yu Cai laughed and said, "You're right."
It's too early to talk about reading now.
His mind was not at peace.
Peng Ximing's mind was certainly not at peace either.
When they returned this time, five younger members of the Peng family also came with them.
His father had already rented a courtyard for these five younger relatives. The courtyard was spacious, a large tenement, enough for five people to live in.
He and Peng Ximing first took the five people to tour the county town for the next two days, after which the five people would go to work.
Actually, when the five of them returned from the Peng family yesterday, they wanted to start work today because their father, Magistrate Yu, offered a high wage of four taels of silver per person per month.
This was a huge sum of money for the five of them.
On average, there are 133 articles per day.
If you lose so much money just by taking a day off, who would want to go shopping?
But since Peng Ximing is the eldest brother/cousin, as his brother-in-law, he should take the five of them around.
Moreover, he and Peng Ximing also wanted to move to the new house.
But his father would definitely not agree.
Hmm... let's wait a bit longer.
Afterwards, he chatted with Ye Li about things at the Peng family's house. Ye Li didn't stay long; he had other things to do and needed to go shopping.
After seeing Ye Li off, Yu Cai and Peng Ximing continued to look at the account books.
Yu Cai hasn't checked the accounts for quite some time.
At noon, the two did not go home, but stayed at Banxianju for lunch.
Not wanting to eat hot pot, Yu Cai asked Granny Wang to order from the kitchen, and specifically requested that the portion of each dish be halved.
Also, make another bowl of shredded pork noodles.
After hearing his words, Peng Ximing, without waiting for Granny Wang to leave, immediately asked, "Why halve it?"
Yu Cai explained, "I was afraid you'd be too stressed."
During this visit to the Peng family, Peng Xiaomei and Peng's mother would prepare a variety of dishes for each meal, but he had a small appetite. No matter if it was steamed buns, pancakes, noodles, or rice, he could usually only eat half of it.
When he puts down his chopsticks, Peng Ximing will take the half-eaten steamed bun, pancake, noodles, or rice and eat the rest.
Because in the Peng family, leftover food is not used to feed livestock; it is all consumed by family members.
It wouldn't be right to let the other members of the Peng family eat his leftovers, so Peng Ximing took over and ate until he was stuffed every meal.
Peng Ximing was taken aback when he heard this, and then felt embarrassed when he realized what he had said.
Actually, he was very sensible when he was with the Wu family.
Always keep to your proper place and do not overstep the bounds.
Once back home, without Wu Fulang around, he acted more casually.
Who would have thought that Yu Cai, who hadn't mentioned it before, would now want to halve the amount of food served.
Alas, he was born with a lowly fate. Even though he married a rich man, he couldn't enjoy the luxury with a clear conscience, and even made his good manager suffer.
He grabbed Yu Cai's hand and said earnestly, "This is a semi-residence. You can give the leftover food to the beggars. I won't eat any more."
"Don't wrong yourself."
The leftover soup and broth from Banxianju every day were given to beggars.
But Yu Cai shook her head after hearing his words and said, "I'm not wronged. I still have several dishes in one meal."
"Moreover, I love watching you take my leftovers and eat them with gusto."
"Would this count as indirectly eating?"
As she spoke, Yu Cai scratched his palm a few times with her other hand.
Peng Ximing: "..."
He had no time to flirt with Yu Cai right now.
He was blaming himself.
That's his problem.
He can overcome it on his own.
How can we expect a good shopkeeper to accommodate him?
He slowly intertwined his fingers with Yu Cai's and said again, "You don't need to worry about me. I'm marrying you not so that you can suffer."
Yu Cai said helplessly, "I told you there's nothing wrong with it, it's just that the portion size is halved. Anyway, I couldn't finish it in the first place."
“Our family circumstances are different, so it’s normal to have disagreements, but this is a small matter. Don’t take it so seriously.”
Seeing that Peng Ximing was about to speak again, he immediately added, "Speaking of which, Li Ge'er just came up with a good idea. He said... what do you think of this method?"
In the end, he was already dreaming.
He rested his chin on his other hand, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
Actually, there should be two ledgers.
One of them is one that can be shown to others.
The other one~
hey-hey.
His appearance made Peng Ximing change his mind and imagine the scene of the two of them sitting together and keeping accounts.
Review the evidence of affection from the day each day.
You can relive it even years later.
So Peng Ximing laughed and said, "Let's do it this way, as my brother-in-law would."
"Then let's go choose the Four Treasures of the Study and pick out some nice paper."
Yu Cai said with a smile.
“Yes!” Peng Ximing nodded.
While Yu Cai and Peng Ximing were lovingly sharing a bowl of noodles, Ye Li was also buying stationery.
Because the day after tomorrow is Jiang Ji's birthday.
He had intended to buy a supplementary textbook, but he was afraid that he would waste money if he bought one that didn't suit Jiang Ji's taste.
So he decided to choose a set of the Four Treasures of the Study.
Jiang Ji would never find this objectionable.
After buying the birthday gifts, he drove the oxcart into town the following afternoon to pick up Jiang Ji and Jiang Mai and take them home.
The two brothers each took two days off.
After Jiang Ji's birthday, it will be Jiang Tong's big day.
In fact, ever since March, Ye Li has frequently gone to pick up Jiang Ji to take him home.
Now that the weather is warmer, Jiang Ji has been studying diligently for half a year. Every time he visits Master Han, Master Han praises him highly.
Therefore, it is perfectly normal to occasionally go home for the night.
After picking up the two brothers, it was just getting dark when they arrived home.
Uncle Ye had already prepared dinner: stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, wild vegetable and egg pancakes, and stewed two young roosters.
Now, not only are there two students in the family, but Liu Yi is also pregnant—she conceived around the Lantern Festival, which was right after Ye Liang moved in, and they only found out at the end of last month.
Therefore, this nutrition must be adequate.
Now that Ye Li is wealthy and powerful, he can finally stop worrying about Engel's coefficient, and the family's meals have improved even more compared to last year.
Of course, we couldn't just give the Four Treasures of the Study as gifts. So, after dinner, Ye Liang, Liu Yi, Ye Adie, Jiang Ya, and Jiang Mai all went back to their rooms to sleep.
Ye Li, however, started getting busy.
He planned to bake some chicken cakes for Jiang Ji.
If there's no cake, we'll just have to make do with an old-fashioned sponge cake.
The traditional way of making sponge cake is very simple: add sugar to whole eggs, beat with a few chopsticks, add all-purpose flour, stir, and then pour into a baking pan to bake.
This step was quite important, so he handed it over to Jiang Ji.
Jiang Ji was naturally happy to do such heavy work.
Standing in the dimly lit kitchen, he held the basin with one hand and stirred rapidly with a few chopsticks in the other.
But he had some doubts. He looked at Ye Li standing to the side and asked, "Why are you avoiding Father, Ya Ge'er, and the others?"
"Because this kind of dessert is quite outstanding, once it is launched, we may not be able to control it."
Ye Li explained honestly.
His current wealth is enough for him and Jiang Ji to live a comfortable life.
So he didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
"...How outstanding are they?"
Jiang Ji was taken aback by what he said.
"You'll see when they're baked."
It smells so sweet, it's so different from traditional pastries.
"How does it compare to egg tarts?" Jiang Ji asked.
"They're pretty much the same, but this dessert is made in a unique way that's hard to explain."
Ye Li added.
Jiang Ji remembered the popularity of egg tarts and stopped asking.
Since out-of-town business travelers started coming to the city, the business of semi-leisure living has been getting better and better.
The queue at the entrance is long, stretching from morning till night.
To allow more people to buy egg tarts, purchase limits have been in place for some time now.
If this dessert is similar to an egg tart, then one should indeed be cautious.
However, he had almost forgotten about Ye Li's unusual behavior.
Now Ye Li has suddenly come up with a new dessert...
...
This is a small matter.
The reason Ye Li secretly made him new desserts without telling others was because she wanted him to have an unforgettable birthday.
If someone is willing to go to such lengths for him, nothing else matters.
Adjusting his mindset, Jiang Ji began to look forward to the new snacks.
When he smelled the overwhelming sweetness of the new pastries, his heart also felt sweet.
Ye Li treated him so well!
There are six old-fashioned sponge cakes in total.
He and Ye Li each have three.
The moment Jiang Ji took a bite of the sponge cake, its unique fluffiness and softness truly amazed him.
He was even more touched; Ye Li had gone to great lengths.
Fortunately, he had already prepared a birthday gift for Ye Li.
He saved up his savings for four months and spent it all in one go.
He'll give Ye Li a surprise in a few days!
As for tonight, I will definitely use all my skills to make Ye Li feel good.
Lili.
His goodness!
Jiang Tong's marriage was a major event in the Jiang family.
As the pillar of the Jiang family, Jiang Ji naturally had to run around helping out.
Ye Li also led the two little ones over to help pick vegetables and peel garlic.
Jiang Tong had helped him a lot over the past year. He could be lazy about Ye Wen's marriage, but now that Jiang Tong was getting married, he couldn't just stay at home eating melon seeds.
But on the wedding day, since Yu Cai and Peng Ximing came, he naturally had to stay with Yu Cai the whole time.
Jiang Tong's courtyard was quite spacious, with more than twenty tables set up for the banquet.
Every household in the village came.
Each table represents one household.
The wedding banquet wasn't as grand as the Peng family's, but it still consisted of meat dishes in about a third of the dishes.
Yu Cai didn't think the wedding banquet was bad, and she ate until she was full.
The new husband's name was Zhang Xian. He was very handsome and had a cheerful personality.
The Zhang family ran a small business, selling pickles at the market. He often accompanied his parents to their stall, and unlike most newlyweds, he wasn't shy or reserved.
On the afternoon of the second day after their marriage, he followed Jiang Tong to help wash taro.
He didn't want any wages; he just wanted to come and get to know the Jiang family.
Ye Li felt embarrassed to ask her new husband to do chores, but he shook his head, saying that he was used to being busy at home and couldn't stand being idle.
Ye Li had no choice but to comply.
Never mind, let's observe for a while.
The work in the workshop is heavy now, so if he is really good, Ye Li can arrange for him to work in the workshop.
A few days later, Ye Li's birthday arrived.
His and Jiang Ji's birthdays are both in March, about a week apart.
Jiang Ji also returned a day early, and after dinner, she even baked him a sponge cake.
After finishing the sponge cake, Jiang Ji pulled him back to the small living room, and then, as if presenting a treasure, took out a square wooden box from his basket.
He handed the wooden box to Ye Li: "Open it and take a look. I thought about it for a long time before deciding to send this."
Ye Li took the square box.
I weighed it in my hand; it wasn't heavy.
He raised an eyebrow: "What is this?"
Could it be jewelry?
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