Give a name
It was already dark when the three of them arrived home. Xu Ruoyan opened the door and found that the three people she had brought back that afternoon were already skillfully cooking dinner.
Zhu Ying helped Pei Jue out of the inner room, and when she saw Xu Ruoyan, she lowered her head and said, "Madam."
“Hmm,” Xu Ruoyan stepped forward to take over from Zhu Ying and said, “You’ve already met with them?”
Pei Jue replied, "Yes, I hadn't left the house when they were brought back, so I gave them names and briefly explained what they needed to do."
Seeing that Pei Jue was settled, Xu Ruoyan sat down beside him, propping her head up and tilting her head to look at him with great interest: "Let me hear what names you gave them?"
Pei Jue smiled faintly: "I was thinking that since you're going to run a pharmacy, I thought I'd name them after Chinese medicinal herbs. How about calling the girl Qingdai and the other two boys Sanqi and Maidong?"
A smile slowly appeared on Xu Ruoyan's face, and she tilted her head: "We actually have quite a good understanding."
She turned and waved to the two people still standing at the door: "Come here."
“I’ve also found two people to help me look after the shop,” she said, taking their hands and addressing Pei Jue. “The young lady will be called Banxia, and the young gentleman will be called Rendong, both names of medicinal herbs.”
After saying that, she patted their heads and said, "From now on, we're all family."
Although the dining hall wasn't large, at least they didn't have to eat outside like before. Now that there were more people in the family, they couldn't invite the servants to the table to eat, so Xu Ruoyan pulled Pei Jue and Zhu Ying to eat first, planning to make room for the five of them after they finished eating.
"You just said you went out this afternoon?" Xu Ruoyan placed a piece of cabbage on Pei Jue's plate. "Where did you go?"
Pei Jue put down his chopsticks and picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth.
"Since Madam is so busy, I naturally can't slack off. There's a family in the southwest corner of the capital whose son is going to take the imperial examination this year, so I took Zhuying to pay them a visit."
Xu Ruoyan raised an eyebrow: "Then let me guess, did this person lose his mother at a young age, or does his father suffer from a serious illness?"
Pei Jue shook his head and said, "That's not the case. This man is the eldest son in his family. He has four sisters and a younger brother. His father was originally a yamen runner, but his superiors committed some offenses and he was made a scapegoat, so he was sent home. Now the family has lost its source of income..."
"Oh, so you used their poverty as leverage to negotiate with them?"
Pei Jue nodded and praised, "Madam is very clever."
Xu Ruoyan pursed her lips. What kind of intelligence is this?
"So, did you manage to close the deal?"
"We just went to find out the situation and express our wishes; we haven't taken the final step yet. After all, if we're going to take money from home, we still need to come back and get my wife's consent first."
"You're quite the rule-abiding," Xu Ruoyan said with a smile. "It's alright, just take it if you need it. I'll give you the key once I change the lock. I trust you won't waste money."
“However,” she thought of something else, her arched eyebrows furrowing, “are you so sure your investment is right? I mean, what if he takes your money but doesn’t pass the exam?”
"Don't worry, I've had Zhuying do the investigation. Anyone Zhuying gives me has a high chance of passing the exam. And I'll only give them the remaining money if they ultimately meet my requirements."
Xu Ruoyan looked at him with great admiration and clapped her hands, saying, "I forgot you're a seasoned veteran."
Pei Jue thought about it for a moment and felt that this shouldn't be considered a compliment.
"If you're not going to eat, then go. I need to talk to you about something. You should also let them eat quickly; they've been busy all afternoon." As she spoke, Xu Ruoyan habitually reached out to clear the dishes in front of Pei Jue, until Pei Jue gently pressed her hand down.
Xu Ruoyan looked up in confusion, then suddenly remembered that she no longer needed to do these chores. She picked up a handkerchief to wipe her hands and pulled Pei Jue into the house.
When the two masters finished eating, the servants bowed and quietly filed in.
"I went to the pharmacy this afternoon. It has everything it needs, so we don't need to buy anything extra for now. I also went to buy some medicinal herbs. I had the two kids clean the pharmacy first, and it will be open soon."
Pei Jue had already prepared the tea. He poured a cup, blew on it gently, and handed it to Xu Ruoyan when it was almost cool. Xu Ruoyan took it and drank it all in one gulp, and then thanked him.
She had been busy all afternoon but hadn't had a sip of water. The porridge she had just drunk was a bit thick, and only after gulping down a glass of water did she realize that her throat was almost parched.
Seeing that Xu Ruoyan was extremely thirsty, Pei Jue kept offering her tea until she could no longer drink, at which point he silently put down the teacup.
"Has Madam decided on a name for the pharmacy?"
Xu Ruoyan slapped her thigh: "Oh right, I was so busy getting supplies that I forgot about something so important."
As she spoke, she glanced at Pei Jue sideways, instinctively sensing that this man was no ordinary person.
"Have you made up your mind? Tell me about it."
Pei Jue immediately said, "I thought about it when I had nothing to do and selected these names. I'd like to ask Madam to take a look."
He pushed a piece of paper towards him.
Guangdetang, Huichuntang, Baohetang...
Xu Ruoyan glanced at Pei Jue again.
I didn't realize he had such a good memory.
She laughed heartily and patted Pei Jue's shoulder heavily: "Since my husband has already thought of it for me, then let's go with Huichuntang!"
On second thought, she realized that men need more praise to be motivated, so she added, "As expected of my husband, you're amazing! This name is like it was chosen by a master at a high price!"
Pei Jue smiled slightly: "I'm glad you like it, Madam."
Xu Ruoyan, on the other hand, felt no remorse for saying things against her conscience; she only felt endless admiration for how easily she had manipulated Pei Jue.
Her eyes darted around, and another idea popped into her head.
She tiptoed behind Pei Jue, gently placing her hands on his shoulders and kneading them: "Now that the name is decided, we still need a plaque for the door. My husband's calligraphy is elegant and flowing, I wonder..."
Hearing Xu Ruoyan's voice coming from very close by, Pei Jue froze instantly. He tried his best to hold his breath, but Xu Ruoyan's unique fragrance still managed to enter his nostrils.
"Okay, I'll write one for you."
He heard his own voice trembling.
Xu Ruoyan was completely oblivious to Pei Jue's unease. As soon as she heard Pei Jue agree, she happily ran off to set out paper and grind ink for him.
Pei Jue breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that Xu Ruoyan had left. He touched his ear and felt the lingering warmth of Xu Ruoyan's body.
However, what she just said wasn't entirely flattery towards Pei Jue. Ever since she saw Pei Jue's calligraphy, Xu Ruoyan often wondered why such a terrifying person existed in the world. Even though he was blind, his calligraphy was far superior to that of ordinary people, and he could even rival the great calligraphers she had met in modern times.
Pei Jue started rinsing his brush, and Xu Ruoyan moved a chair and sat down next to him, leaning on the table to watch him.
Although he couldn't see her, Pei Jue could still feel her unblinking gaze.
He coughed awkwardly, which immediately drew Xu Ruoyan's question, "Do you have a cold?" So he stopped coughing and turned red in the face, which again drew Xu Ruoyan's flustered question.
"Look how red your face is, you don't have a fever, do you?" Xu Ruoyan placed her hand on Pei Jue's forehead, wanting to check his temperature.
As a result, Pei Jue's face turned even redder, instantly transforming into a pink peach.
“I’m really fine, Madam, please start writing.” Pei Jue gently pulled Xu Ruoyan’s wrist down.
Pei Jue wrote several sheets, but still couldn't produce a work that satisfied him. He frowned and wanted to take out a new sheet of paper, but Xu Ruoyan stopped him.
"Alright, sir, that's enough. Let's save paper, let's save paper," Xu Ruoyan said, randomly picking out a sheet from the messy pile of discarded works in front of her and shaking it in front of Pei Jue. "I think this one is pretty good, really."
After much persuasion from Xu Ruoyan, Pei Jue finally put down his pen.
He thought for a moment, then tugged at Xu Ruoyan's arm:
"Madam, have you decided how you're going to sleep tonight?"
Xu Ruoyan slapped her forehead again: "How could I have forgotten about this too!"
Upon receiving her negative answer, Pei Jue proceeded with the arrangements as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "How about this, I think you can move in and sleep with me from now on. Your room is bigger and can fit three people. The other two can sleep in Zhu Ying's room for now, and we'll arrange separate rooms for them when we move to a bigger courtyard in the future."
Xu Ruoyan thought about it and felt that this was the best solution.
"However, there is another room behind my pharmacy, which already has two beds set up for treatment. So, Banxia and Rendong can sleep in the back of the pharmacy from now on."
Pei Jue immediately raised a question: "But they are all still young, it's not safe for them to live outside, and you're worried about them, aren't you?"
Xu Ruoyan felt that what he said made sense.
"Hey, didn't Zhuying bring more than ten guards? You can send a few to guard them. We don't need that many anyway, and there are officials and soldiers patrolling the streets at night, so there won't be any major problems."
At that moment, Xu Ruoyan felt like the smartest person in the world.
Pei Jue wondered why Xu Ruoyan was so clever.
In the end, Pei Jue gave in; after all, getting some benefits for the night was good enough. After calming himself down, he no longer needed Xu Ruoyan's help and hurriedly went to the bedside to tidy up.
“Madam, my quilt is big enough for both of us, so there’s no need to move yours.”
"That's true, we have to save some for them, so they don't catch a cold."
"Madam, I don't have any extra pillows here, so we'll have to share one."
"It's fine, I can just roll up a piece of clothing to use as a pillow." After all, she wasn't used to sleeping on a pillow that was as hard as a frozen bun.
"lady……"
"I'm fine with anything!" Xu Ruoyan felt a headache coming on from his nagging. "You do whatever you want, I'll go settle the kids in first."
Once everyone was settled, washed up, and the door was closed, she could finally lie down in bed and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"I feel like all the bones in my body are going to break." She rubbed against the bed.
Pei Jue pushed aside the pile of clothes that had been stuffed into his side to serve as a dividing line, and closed his eyes in despair.
"Hmm... Pei Jue?"
Upon hearing his name called, Pei Jue quickly opened his eyes and turned to Xu Ruoyan: "I'm here, what's wrong?"
After waiting for a while without receiving a response, Pei Jue realized that Xu Ruoyan had fallen into a deep sleep.
In the darkness, he quietly crossed the boundary and tucked the blanket around Xu Ruoyan.
When will I finally wait for you to come to me?
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