Chapter 116 Ye Li's Birthday and Yu Cai's Moving
No wonder Ye Li made this guess.
First, the box is not heavy.
Secondly, he roughly knew how much silver Jiang Ji had.
The silver in Jiang Ji's hands was all given to him by him.
Jiang Ji never spent money recklessly. He would only add extra meals to the kitchen and occasionally buy books or writing implements. He would always tell the owner of the items he bought.
After all, he often delivered meals to them, and the two talked about everything.
At the end of each month, Jiang Ji could save one or two strings of cash.
Even after saving for several months, this amount of money wouldn't amount to more than ten taels.
It would be perfect to buy a lightweight yet valuable piece of gold jewelry.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji simply urged, "You'll know once you open it."
Seeing this, Ye Li smiled gently and placed the square box on the round table.
Jewelry it is.
Although he didn't love him, it was still a kind gesture from a good husband.
Thinking this, he picked up the lid of the square box with both hands.
But before they could see what was inside clearly, a delicate fragrance wafted out.
He was somewhat surprised; it wasn't jewelry.
If it smells fragrant, it must be bath beans.
It's alright, more practical than jewelry.
The bath beans that Jiang Ji bought in the prefectural city last time were just what he wanted.
He removed the lid, revealing the contents of the box.
There are two items.
On the left is a copper openwork incense ball.
On the right is a delicate white porcelain jar.
This was completely unexpected: "You bought incense?"
It wasn't bath powder!
Jiang Ji nodded: "Yes. A few days ago, when I was looking for a congratulatory gift, I looked at a lot of paintings and calligraphy. The people in them liked to use incense to flirt and arouse love, so I had an idea."
"Besides, last time when I bought bath beans, you mistakenly thought I was buying something to enhance the experience."
"...You were the one who flirted with me, that's why I misunderstood."
Ye Li emphasized.
Jiang Ji smiled upon hearing this and continued, "So after some consideration, I finally bought these passion fruit pills."
"Ten incense pills, imitating the incense in Li Yu's tent, each with a different main ingredient. Burning one at night can soothe the mind, please the heart, and help one sleep."
"Let's try it later."
They're expensive; each one costs almost a string of cash.
It emptied his savings in one go.
After hearing this explanation, Ye Li casually picked up one, brought it to her nose, and smelled it.
A fruity aroma of dried tangerine peel wafted into his nose, mixed with a faint sandalwood scent and other unidentifiable mixed notes.
It smells nice.
However, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does this have an aphrodisiac effect?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji immediately laughed: "After all I've explained, all you heard was the word 'aphrodisiac'?"
"So what if it is?"
Is he not allowed to be curious?
He was frank and open, so Jiang Ji shook his head and said, "It's only for flirting, not for aphrodisiacs."
There's no need for aphrodisiacs between us.
Ye Li acknowledged this.
The two of them really didn't need any external help.
He brought the incense ball to his nose and smelled it again, saying, "Then let's light it now."
Although it only serves to enhance the atmosphere, it's a token of my husband's affection.
He also enjoyed the incense used by the ancients.
Soon, quite by chance, the incense ball was hung on the wooden door between the bedroom and the small living room.
When the two returned after washing up, the bedroom and small living room were filled with a long, sweet fragrance.
The wisps of white smoke rising from the incense ball looked like a misty dream under the dim light.
Ye Li took a deep breath.
Yes, the atmosphere is definitely there.
He turned to look at Jiang Ji beside him.
Jiang Ji was also looking at him.
They both laughed at the same time.
The night has only just begun.
Late March, with its mild temperatures, is the perfect time of year.
No more having to be wrapped in a quilt all the time, like in winter.
The two of them can finally have more variety.
In addition, Jiang Ji's theoretical knowledge has recently increased significantly, so the two tried a few new moves first. After they had their fill, Jiang Ji pulled the blanket over and lay face to face with Ye Li.
This is their usual position; they can look at each other's faces and kiss.
Aside from her slightly slender legs, she is truly flawless.
After a thoroughly enjoyable experience, the two drifted off to sleep, accompanied by a faint sweet fragrance.
When they woke up the next day, a faint fragrance still lingered in the room, and both of them felt refreshed and full of energy.
My sleep quality seems to be a little better than before.
If that's the case, then this incense can be kept on hand.
However, given Ye Li's current financial situation, he dares not order it every day.
Because one costs more than 700 coins.
If you work every day without rest, you'll need twenty taels of silver a month.
He can't afford to enjoy that.
After his birthday, Jiang Ji returned to the county school.
Ye Li then got busy.
He and Yu Cai only went to the county government to complete the transfer procedures for the fifty mu of land that Yu Cai had transferred to him before; he had not conducted an on-site inspection.
Now, all fifty acres of land are planted with wheat.
The wheat was harvested by Yu Cai.
But now there is only one month left until the wheat harvest. After the harvest, these fifty acres of land will truly belong to him.
He needed to scout out the area, meet his tenants, and also have them come to Yezaopo to familiarize themselves with the place.
He only wants grain, not money, as rent.
There was no other way; with a large family, and since we owned our own land, it was definitely more cost-effective to eat our own grain.
These fifty acres of land are all located between the county seat and Baxian Town, which is not far.
Since Yu Cai and Peng Ximing had nothing urgent to do, they called over the steward in charge of collecting rent at the Yu residence and went for a stroll with Ye Li.
This took three days.
After settling this matter, Yu Cai and Peng Ximing decided to scout out their own fields as well.
In fact, the two of them didn't need to make this trip, because although the 450 acres of land had been transferred to Yu Cai's name, it was still managed by the Yu family on a daily basis.
Yu Cai only needed to wait for County Magistrate Yu to send him the money.
But Yu Cai didn't want to spend her days in semi-idle living.
Newlywed, he wanted to go out and have some time with Peng Ximing.
Furthermore, the Yu family can't be the ones managing things forever, can they?
The weather is still cool in spring, which is perfect for doing this kind of work.
Yu Cai and Peng Ximing went to the countryside, and just then, they ran out of taro and couldn't make taro paste. Ye Li stopped delivering goods to the city in the morning.
However, Banxianju's business did not decline too much because Ye Li launched three new egg tart flavors: lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and nuts.
With egg tarts to sustain its business and the influx of out-of-town business travelers, Banxianju's business has been largely unaffected.
Those affected include Ye Li, the Jiang family, Ye's father, and Liu Yi.
Without the income from taro paste, Ye Li's monthly income has dropped by more than half.
The others were also reduced by half.
But there's nothing you can do about it; once the taro is gone, it's gone.
To taste it again, we'll have to wait until autumn.
Without taro paste as a dessert, the Jiang family, including Ye Li, had much more free time.
The work in the workshop is fixed; the only way to earn more money is by turning eggs into eggs.
This year, farmers around the county town are raising more chickens than last year, resulting in a significant increase in eggs. Families in Yezaopo are buying eggs in large quantities.
As long as the egg-making process is successful, it won't be a disaster.
During the Lunar New Year, merchants from the prefectural city came to buy preserved eggs, but left empty-handed.
Besides the small vendors who made a wasted trip, the villagers of Yezaopo were also heartbroken.
It's all money!
Moreover, it will get hot soon.
When the weather gets hot, it's the perfect season for eating cold preserved eggs.
Therefore, every household put in a lot of effort to make preserved eggs.
Originally, when Jiang Dachuan's family built their house last year, many villagers planned to build houses this year as well.
If you want to build a house with blue bricks, it will cost at least twenty taels of silver.
With this money, you might as well save it to make preserved eggs.
Lianjiang Dahe and Ye Daji thought the same way.
As a result, a magnificent scene appeared on Wild Jujube Slope:
Apart from Ye Li's family, every room in the other houses was filled with jars of preserved eggs.
Since their own space wasn't enough, the villagers also set their sights on the old workshops.
Since the old workshop is now empty, it's better for the villagers to use it to store the preserved egg jars than to leave it empty.
Such a fervent atmosphere also captivated Ye Li.
It just so happens that Ye Daji comes over every day to deliver tofu puffs, so he asks Ye Daji to help him buy eggs, and he will make more preserved eggs in return.
In addition, the Ye family's house is old and dilapidated and should have been renovated long ago.
The Ye family is poor, but he is rich.
He could lend money to the Ye family to build houses and rent shops.
Ye Daji and Ye Adie were initially reluctant, but after he brought up their unborn grandchild, they quickly changed their minds.
build!
Build a grand and spacious new house.
When the Ye family's grandchildren are born in the big house, Liu Yi can comfortably have her postpartum confinement.
After the wheat harvest, Liu Yi's belly began to show.
But production is still a long way off.
She conceived in the first month of the lunar calendar.
But he wanted to go back to the Ye family.
He felt embarrassed to stay at the Jiang family home to rest during his pregnancy.
Moreover, he wanted to sell drinks in town with his older brother Liu Fan from his maternal family.
Last year, Liu Fan was envious of the profits from preserved eggs and wanted to learn how to make them, but Ye Li did not agree.
Last month, it was his mother's birthday, and he went back to her parents' home.
Liu Fan brought up the old matter again.
Selling pancakes, you can only earn five taels of silver a month even if you work yourself to the bone.
But if there are eggs that can be transformed, one can earn ten taels a month just by doing that!
But he didn't agree.
Because he understood that as a married man, he had no power to control his brothers in his wife's family.
But now he wants to go back to the Ye family to take care of his pregnancy, and since Ye Wen and Tang Yu are in the business of tofu puffs and preserved eggs, he wants to sell drinks instead.
Although there are not as many wealthy people in Baxian Town as in the county town, if he takes the high-end and affordable route together with Liu Fan, earning several taels of silver a month will be no problem.
Both Ye Adie and Ye Liang supported Liu Yi's decision, and Ye Li nodded in agreement.
Liu Yi wanted to share the profits with him like Bao Beiyuan had done, but he waved his hand and refused.
They're all family.
Besides, it wasn't much money.
After Liu Yi returned to the Ye family, Ye Liang also moved back.
He took over the job of transporting tofu puffs and continued working in the workshop.
Ye's father didn't go back either; he would wait until Liu Yi was a little older before returning to the Ye family.
The workshop was short one person, but since Liu Yi was in charge of making tofu, Ye Li didn't ask Zhang Xian for help; he filled the position himself.
Anyway, he's just idling around.
At the end of June, Yu Cai and Peng Ximing moved from the Wu family home into their new residence.
The two set up a housewarming banquet, and Ye Li and Jiang Ji led the two little ones to the banquet and present them with housewarming gifts.
There weren't many people today, only Mr. and Mrs. Wu Fulang and Mr. and Mrs. Yu Shiting were there.
Therefore, Ye Lijiang was quite at ease.
This courtyard has three sections and is very spacious.
After all, Yu Cai had maids, servants, coachmen, cooks, and Wang Mama, so there were seven people serving him.
After the tour, everyone returned to the main courtyard for a short chat. As noon approached, Yu Cai asked someone to set out lunch.
It's hot, so lunch will be light.
Moreover, the dishes are mainly refreshing and appetizing cold dishes.
I'm lucky today; besides chicken, duck, fish, lamb, and pork, there's even beef on the table.
This was the first time Jiang Ya had ever eaten beef in her life, and she was extremely excited.
But Jiangmai only ate one piece and refused to take another.
At eight years old, he is in the process of losing his baby teeth, and now both of his teeth are loose. Beef is hard to chew, and he is too lazy to put in the effort, so he only chooses to eat soft vegetables.
This time, Yu Linian and his wife were still sitting opposite Jiang Ya.
Yu Linian looked thinner than during the Chinese New Year.
He didn't eat well to begin with, and with the summer heat making him lose his appetite, Jiang Ya actually appeared to be wider when he stood next to her.
This really worried Mrs. Yu.
Therefore, when she sat down, she deliberately pulled Yu Linian to sit opposite Jiang Ya.
Jiang Ya ate a few slices of beef. At this moment, Ye Li picked up a small pancake and put a few slices of duck meat dipped in sauce on it for him. He took the roast duck pancake, put it to his mouth, and immediately bit off half of it.
The excess food made his cheeks bulge.
His round eyes widened as he looked at the remaining roast duck rolls in his hand with some surprise.
This is the first time he's ever eaten duck like this, and it's delicious!
Seeing this, Yu Linian found it amusing and reached out to roll up a roast duck pancake for himself.
He always disliked duck because he thought it was too oily.
But since little Ya Ya is eating so happily, let him try it too.
Before he knew it, he had eaten quite a lot with Jiang Ya, and by the time the meal was finished, his stomach was bulging.
Madam Yu was so delighted that she wished she could take Jiang Ya back to the Wu family.
Jiang Ya didn't notice this little detail because after he finished eating, his brother Cai pulled him and his brother Li back to their room to pick out fabric.
Since Mr. Wu had said beforehand that he would not accept any valuable gifts, most of the guests gave fabric as gifts for Yu Cai's wedding.
Yu Cai could never wear all this fabric.
Wu Fulang packed a lot for him during the move, so he asked Ye Li to pick out a few horses to take with him.
Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya are at the age where they are growing taller, and their clothes need to be changed every year. Since they are just going to gather dust anyway, it would be better to let the two little ones wear them.
Seeing that there was indeed a lot of fabric, Ye Li didn't stand on ceremony with Yu Cai.
So Jiang Ya happily wrapped the fabric around herself to see if it looked good.
The bronze mirror in his older brother's house was so big that it could reflect his entire small body.
He was overjoyed, not minding the heat, and happily tried on each horse one by one.
In fact, in his opinion, none of these soft, brightly colored fabrics were bad.
He likes them all!
In the end, he selected all four pieces of fabric.
Each one is brightly colored.
When he got home, he excitedly went to find Father Ye, wanting him to teach him needlework.
Oh dear, he personally picked out the fabric.
He also wanted to make those clothes himself.
He is six years old now, which is just right for him to learn needlework.
Jiang Ya volunteered to learn, and Father Ye readily agreed.
She also muttered a few words, saying that even if she could only embroider a handkerchief, it would be better than not being able to embroider at all.
Born into a farming family, she refuses to even touch a needle and thread. Alas!
Ye Li assumed that he hadn't understood his father's implication and pulled Jiang Ji into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
It's hot outside, so mung bean soup is a good choice.
Besides, the two little ones ate too much meat at noon, so I won't make any meat dishes tonight. I'll just fry some celery and egg pancakes and make a cucumber salad.
Having made his plans, he rinsed some mung beans and poured them into an iron pot. Just as he was about to call Jiang Ji to start a fire, Jiang Dahe's voice came from outside: "Little Ji, Brother Li?"
Jiang Ji responded and got up from the stove, walking to the kitchen doorway: "Second Uncle, what's wrong?"
Jiang Dahe saw him and walked towards the kitchen, saying, "Yesterday, your Aunt Lü arranged a marriage for Xiao Da. He went to meet her today, and she seemed quite suitable. He plans to propose in a few days."
"...So fast?"
Jiang Ji was taken aback.
Ye Li was also quite surprised. Forgetting about washing the cucumbers, she hurried to the kitchen door and asked, "Second Uncle, did Eldest Uncle agree? It's settled already?"
"That's right! Xiao Da is very satisfied. He's such a big boy, yet he walks with a bouncy gait."
Jiang Dahe laughed as he spoke.
This is a joyous occasion.
But his main purpose in coming here now is for Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu is seventeen this year. He wasn't in a hurry at first, but in the blink of an eye, half the year has passed.
In another six months, Jiang Liu will be eighteen!
He couldn't stay calm any longer.
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