Winter goes and spring comes; time passes silently and imperceptibly.
After the Spring Festival, Chen Xiaocai started clamoring to go back to Liuzhen to prepare for reopening his business.
Lin Zhen's shop remained open, and sales were exceptionally brisk in the period leading up to the New Year, making Chen Xiaocai extremely envious.
During the Chinese New Year, Chen Xiaomi called Chen Xiaocai into the house and told her that the shops in Linzhen and Liuzhen belonged to them and that there was no big boss behind them.
Lu Lin initially thought Chen Xiaocai was too young and didn't dare to tell her about it. However, Chen Xiaomi felt that her younger brother was now engaged and had been the shopkeeper for so long, which was different from before, so she had to tell Chen Xiaocai the truth.
Chen Xiaocai had vaguely guessed some of it, but the confirmation of her guess still left her feeling somewhat dizzy.
Chen Xiaomi told Chen Xiaocai that after two years, when he and Shen Chi officially got married, he would transfer the house and shop in Liuzhen to them.
Chen Xiaocai was surprised that her older brother would suddenly bring this up, and blushed, repeatedly declining.
Chen Xiaocai also came from a poor background and had a strong urgency to make money. Shen Chi felt the same way. Shen Chi spent the winter in town with his mother-in-law. The conditions in town were much better. However, Shen Chi always felt that living off others in town would easily lead to running out of money. Chen Xiaocai said that they should open a business as soon as possible, which coincided with Shen Chi's thoughts.
Chen Xiaomi knew Chen Xiaocai was leaving and was somewhat reluctant, but she still let her go.
Once Chen Xiaolai arrived at the shops in Liuzhen, she immediately got to work, bustling about with great enthusiasm.
Chen Chi looked at Chen Xiaocai and asked with some doubt, "Xiaocai, are you happy?"
Looking at Chen Xiaocai's expression, Chen Chi felt that Chen Xiaocai seemed inexplicably excited.
Chen Xiaocai smiled and said, "It's nothing. I'm just happy that we're about to reopen and make money."
Chen Xiaocai originally thought the shop belonged to someone else, and that they were just working for them, and they did their jobs very diligently. Now that they know the shop is their own, their feelings are definitely different.
As the shopkeeper, Chen Xiaocai naturally knew how much income the shop had. Chen Xiaocai made a rough estimate and felt that his elder brother had several hundred taels of silver. It all seemed unreal.
Chen Chi nodded and said, "Yes, the sooner we open, the sooner we can make money."
During the New Year, Lu Lin prepared a lot of delicious food. Shen Chi felt that since he didn't work, he shouldn't eat too much good food. However, the food that Brother Lu made was too delicious, especially the hot pot. At first, his mouth felt like it was on fire, but the more he ate, the more he wanted to eat. Before he knew it, he always ate until his belly was round.
Chen Chi always thinks about eating less at the next meal, but he can never control himself.
Eating hot pot around the stove in winter and sweating it out is so comfortable. Chen Chi vaguely feels like he's gained weight.
Thinking of his grandmother's worried expression, Chen Chi felt a little embarrassed.
Chen Chi scratched his head, thinking to himself: I should eat less lately, it's not good to get too fat.
Chen Xiaocai glanced at Chen Chi, who was lost in thought, and asked, "A-Chi, what are you thinking about?"
Chen Chi blushed, shook her head, and said, "It's nothing."
As soon as Chen Xiaolai's shop opened, it was met with a surge of popularity. Linzhen's shop had been open all along, so the business there had always been relatively stable. Liuzhen was different; Chen Xiaocai had closed her shop, so the people there had nowhere to buy things. Now that the shop had reopened, customers flocked in.
Chen Xiaocai was overjoyed to have such a good thing happen right after opening her business. The two of them worked hard all day until evening, when the number of people coming to buy dolls decreased.
The Lu family.
Looking at the girl Li Fangyue was holding in her arms, Madam Tang said unhappily, "Why is this girl always crying?"
"They're crying because they're not getting enough to eat."
Mrs. Tang gave Li Fangyue an unpleasant look and said, "She ate so much good food, but she still didn't produce any milk. It's like all that food went to waste."
Li Fangyue was sullen from Tang's scolding. She didn't know what was wrong; she just couldn't produce milk, leaving her baby to go hungry. Lin Xiuer could have helped by producing some milk, but every time she asked, she was told that she still had to feed her son, and her son wasn't getting enough to eat.
Li Fangyue could only be carried out and begged to be fed by others. Occasionally, she would secretly cook some millet porridge to make do. Even so, every time the old lady saw it, she would always say that she was wasting her time and scold her for giving birth to a girl who was spoiled and pampered.
Shuang'er (a type of female infant) does not produce breast milk. Some Shuang'er, after giving birth, can only be taken out and fed by other wet nurses. Tang Shi was also quite curious about how Chen Xiaomi took care of the child.
From people who frequently visited the town, Tang learned that Chen Xiaomi had hired a wet nurse, but that wasn't enough, so she bought three ewes.
This ewe alone would cost several hundred coins, so these three would cost at least one tael of silver.
Tang thought Chen Xiaomi was too arrogant. Even if Chen Xiaomi had saved the life of the owner of that house in town, she was raising sheep and taking in a group of strange people. When the owner returned, she would definitely throw a tantrum.
After the start of spring, the Lu family got busy. Madam Tang urged Li Fangyue to make some connections, but Li Fangyue couldn't help but feel a little awkward because her second brother, Li Hong, was also a scholar who hadn't yet passed the imperial examination.
His father had also approached his eldest sister, asking her for help. However, she said that the imperial court kept a close eye on the imperial examinations, and anyone caught engaging in favoritism or cheating would be beheaded. Moreover, the imperial examinations were overseen by officials from above, so even if one had connections with the county magistrate, it wouldn't be of any use, let alone the fact that her brother-in-law was just a registrar.
With so many wealthy young men in town, if it were really possible to pull strings, Lu Chengyu wouldn't have gotten his turn. The Lu family is considered well-off in the countryside, but compared to the families in town, they are far inferior.
However, Li Fangyue thought this in her heart but dared not say it out loud. The Lu family spent a lot of money to marry her for Lu Chengyu's academic success. In the current situation, if people knew that she was useless, she would not know how she would live in the future. Li Fangyue could only hope that Lu Chengyu would be capable enough to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar.
Li Fangyue was filled with regret. She had married Lu Chengyu because he was willing to pay a dowry and was handsome, but she never expected that her life after marriage would be like this.
The old lady was domineering, her mother-in-law was no pushover either, and her uncle and aunt were always trying to make things difficult for her.
After spring arrived, more shops selling dolls appeared in the town, but Lu Lin's shop had the most variety, the most novel designs, and sold the best.
Although Lu Lin always felt that the store should take a high-end approach, he would occasionally offer discounts and promotions, which made the store's business even better.
After a winter, Yuanbao is now able to move his arms and legs.
Lu Lin always felt that her baby was stronger than other children of the same age, and that her baby's legs were particularly strong when she swung them.
Yuanbao can't crawl yet, but occasionally when he's on his stomach, he can lift his head up for a little while. Lu Lin thinks that when his son lifts his head, his eyes are particularly sharp, almost like lightning. However, because he's wearing a diaper, no matter how sharp his eyes are, they don't have any intimidating power.
Once Lu Lin's shop got on track, business remained very stable.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi's wealth gradually rose to 1,300 taels of silver without them realizing it, and Lu Lin finally experienced the benefits of being an "intellectual".
Chen Xiaomi carefully put the silver away, saying, "There's still not enough silver."
Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand and said, "Yes! It's still a bit too much to buy an official position." Although it is possible to buy an official position in this era, it is mostly possible in some barbarian lands or chaotic places, and it requires a lot of money, otherwise things would be in chaos. If officials could be bought so easily, where would the students' face be?
Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and realized that Lu Lin was still very persistent about buying an official position.
"The matter of buying an official position still needs to be considered carefully."
Lu Lin nodded, thinking to himself: Let's take it slow. He and Chen Xiaomi aren't that old, we have plenty of time. In his previous life, at this age, he was still wasting his time in school. But now, at this age, he already has a wife, children, a house, and a shop. He can be considered half a winner in life. Lu Lin is quite satisfied with his current life.
After the weather warmed up, the town became lively again, and the school reopened.
The spring examinations have once again become a hot topic of discussion on the streets.
Lu Lin has also introduced rooster dolls in his store. Lu Lin has many dolls in his store, but the rooster doll is something he came up with recently.
As the saying goes, "When the rooster crows, the world turns white; the rooster crows as dawn breaks and light arrives." The rooster also symbolizes passing the imperial examinations.
Although Lu Lin found it strange that the people here regarded the rooster as a mascot symbolizing high school, he still made quite a few dolls. The dolls sold out as soon as they were put out.
Many students and their families like to buy a rooster doll to keep at home, and Lu Lin once again experienced the madness of the ancients for the imperial examinations.
Yang Hengzhi walked over to Lu Lin and said, "Young Master Lin, business is good!"
Lu Lin quickly cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your blessings."
"Young Master Lin, your mind is truly exceptional!"
However, some people felt that it was a bit frivolous to pin their hopes for high school on a toy. However, according to Yang Hengzhi, some people outwardly disdained the rooster toy, but secretly had their families come to buy it.
The popularity of the rooster doll in the store was beyond Lu Lin's expectations. The doll sold so well that Lu Lin is now considering replacing the store's prized possession with a large rooster. Lu Lin has already asked two of his female workers to start making it.
"The imperial examination is a major event, and it must be adapted to the times."
Yang Hengzhi smiled and said, "Young Master Lu, you're very kind."
The shop's prized possession, a giant rooster, immediately caught the eye of several wealthy old men as soon as it appeared.
On the very day the rooster doll was displayed, a wealthy man offered to buy it for thirty taels of silver.
The shop's prized possession was sold for thirty taels of silver not long after it opened.
Later, the shop's prized possessions also attracted attention. However, those who were interested usually only offered a few dozen taels of silver. Previously, a large tiger doll was bought by a wealthy man who was obsessed with tigers for thirty taels of silver. However, that doll was displayed for more than half a month before it was sold.
The rooster plush toy is different; as soon as it was put up, people immediately expressed their desire to buy it.
Several wealthy men rushed over upon hearing the news, and a bidding war ensued.
Lu Lin could only sigh, "The hearts of parents are all the same." The son and grandson in this family were preparing for the exam, and the elderly could not help much, so they could only resort to some unconventional methods.
After the large rooster appeared in the shop, its value kept rising, and it was eventually bought by a wealthy old man for fifty taels of silver.
Lu Lin was quite excited to receive fifty taels of silver at once.
"Rich people are really strange!" Chen Xiaomi held fifty taels of silver, still unable to understand the thinking of the people in the town.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Who cares what they think? As long as they're willing to spend the money, that's enough."
Chen Xiaomi: "..." That seems to make sense.
"Lu Chengyu, another imperial examination is coming up!" Chen Xiaomi said.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes!"
Chen Xiaomi pouted and said, "Chen Jing might not pass the exam, but Lu Chengyu might."
Lu Lin rolled his eyes and said, "That's hard to say."
Yang Hengzhi, the eldest son of the Yang family, only passed the imperial examination to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations) a couple of years ago. Yang Hengzhi was only a few years old when his family hired a private tutor to teach him. Even so, it was only a few years ago that he finally became a Xiucai.
Chen Xiaomi rested her chin on her hand and said, "Last year, the Tang family guaranteed that Lu Chengyu would pass the exam this year. If she doesn't, Li's daughter will have a hard time."
Lu Lin rolled his eyes. He had recently asked Yang Hengzhi about it, and Yang Hengzhi told him that the relationship between the registrar and the magistrate was so-so that it was unlikely the registrar could influence the imperial examinations. Even if the registrar and the magistrate had a good relationship, it was still unlikely that the registrar could influence the imperial examinations; it seemed that the imperial examinations were being arranged by people from the prefectural governor's side.
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