Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Jiang Family Hut. Jiang Wan...
Jiang family thatched cottage.
The sun had already set when Jiang Wan arrived home, carrying the medicine bag. The workers from Wang's renovation team were packing up, getting ready to go home. It had only been three days since the renovation team started work on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. At Jiang Wan's request, they had first replaced Jiang's mother's bedroom with sturdy wooden planks.
Jiang's mother had finished cooking and was sitting at the door. Seeing Jiang Wan come back, she smiled happily: "Wanwan, you're back! Are you hungry? I made your favorite minced meat and beans, come and try it."
Jiang Wan carefully examined his mother and saw that she looked much better than she had on New Year's Eve. She looked completely healthy and normal, like an ordinary woman. He felt relieved and took her arm, scolding her, "Mom, you've only just gotten better. Why are you sitting outside in the wind? Go back inside. These are the medicines Mr. Zhang prescribed. Take them for five days to consolidate your health, and you'll be fine."
"Mr. Zhang is a well-known doctor in our city. Since he said so, Madam Jiang must be well again," Uncle Wang instructed the workers to pack up their tools and continued Jiang Wan's words, "The medicine is not cheap, is it? Miss Jiang is so filial that she saved money to pay for her mother's treatment."
"I have plenty of money, but I only have one mother," Jiang Wan said. "By the way, Uncle Wang, I forgot to ask you last time. How many days will it take you to finish the renovations?"
Uncle Wang smiled innocently on his dark face. "It should be done by the 15th, right? Little girl, I heard you've been setting up a stall to make money these days. Not only do you have to support your family, but you also have to pay for your mother's medical treatment. It must be very hard. You gave me a deposit of ten taels of silver last time, which was more than enough. I won't take the balance from you."
After thinking about it, and fearing that Jiang Wan would think he despised her for being poor, she added uneasily, "Well... Uncle believes you will be able to make money in the future. When you have money, you can pay me back."
Jiang Wan understood what Uncle Wang meant, but she didn't accept the offer. The more Uncle Wang considered her, the more she felt compelled to resist taking advantage of him. "Thank you, Uncle Wang. I can earn a couple of taels of silver a day now, and I'll earn more in the future. I can still afford the wages, so don't worry about me."
When Uncle Wang heard her income, he was surprised at first, then he rolled his eyes, grinned at Jiang Wan and nodded.
The sound of Jiang's mother placing dishes and chopsticks came from the inner room. Jiang Wan said a few polite words and said goodbye to Uncle Wang.
She stood at the gate and watched the decoration team leave, always feeling that something was wrong.
The next day, the shop sent seven craftsmen, all long-term workers, to the shop. While their skills weren't particularly impressive, they seemed diligent and dedicated. Jiang Wan kept them, with Wang Da and Wang Er leading the team, to work on the celadon. He set up his stall as usual in the morning, and in the afternoon, he and Zi Yan went door to door delivering custom goods.
She studied the operating principle of the glaze blowing turntable and imitated a special glaze blowing tool, which included a turntable and a bamboo tube to control the airflow.
Over the past few days, her order volume continued to grow, reaching over 300 by the 13th day of the first lunar month, earning her nearly 15 taels of silver. Her celadon also expanded from bowls to include wine jugs, cups, plates, and basins. Word spread, and gradually, the people of Xiaofangpan City heard about this craftsman who had made improved celadon accessible to ordinary people.
Jiang Wan, having accumulated enough fame and money, decided to rent a shop from the Huang family on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. She currently had 170 taels of silver, while the price for redeeming a criminal slave from the government was 400 taels. Her income from setting up a stall was nearing its limit, and if she wanted to redeem her mother and brother as soon as possible, she had to secure a shop.
Jiang Wan thought this as he knocked on the door of his last customer of the day. It was dusk, and the entire row of bluestone houses lay silent, with flickering warm yellow lights filtering through the windows.
Zi Yan followed her, clutching a celadon wine jug, staring silently at the horizon where the sun was setting. He wore a moon-white robe, his dark hair cascading down his back. In the dim alley, his expression was unclear. Jiang Wan wasn't sure if he was lost in thought, reminiscing, or simply feeling down. All she could see was his silent, upright figure.
Although they had been together for seven days, Jiang Wan always felt that he was the same as when they first met. He was standing in front of her, but she always felt that he was far away. She could not see through his thoughts or understand his emotions.
He was like the wolf king of the Tekes grassland on a moonlit night, looking up at the lonely moon hanging high in the sky, and the moonlight reflected his clear and cold shadow.
The sound of a door being pushed open interrupted Jiang Wan's thoughts. A woman opened the door and saw Jiang Wan. She smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry. The child was making a fuss and delayed me for a while. I kept you waiting for a long time."
"It's okay, it didn't take long," Jiang Wan said enthusiastically, putting his chaotic thoughts aside. "Here's the celadon wine jug you ordered. It's here for you."
Zi Yan handed the wine jug to the woman. The light from the doorway illuminated the face blessed by the gods, and the woman was stunned for a long time.
Jiang Wan clenched his left fist and placed it to his lips, then coughed lightly.
"...Thank you." The woman came back to her senses, took the celadon wine jug and examined it, revealing a look of satisfaction. "Miss Jiang is truly a master craftsman."
After saying that, he placed the balance in Jiang Wan's hand. Jiang Wan smiled in thanks and led Zi Yan out of the alley.
"Let's go, let's go to the Huang family first to discuss renting a shop." Jiang Wan felt a bit mixed up when she mentioned the Huang family. Finally having her own shop was a happy occasion, but the Huang family's style was sure to make things difficult for her with all sorts of unfair terms. She hadn't yet built up enough strength, so she couldn't confront them head-on right now; she could only act according to circumstances.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wan felt a headache and couldn't help but sigh.
The Huang family's housekeeper also sighed. Ever since the young master was beaten up by some thug on the third day of the Lunar New Year, he's been lying in bed crying out in pain, unable to get out of bed. The young master loves going out to play, but he's been confined to his home for almost two weeks. He's in a bad mood, and the slightest dissatisfaction is enough to make him want to take it out on someone. He broke the servant's leg the other day, and today he complained about the food and insisted he get a new cook.
When he heard the knock on the door, the housekeeper sighed and shouted impatiently: "What are you doing! Making so much noise!"
Jiang Wanqing's voice came from outside the door: "Hello, I'm here to rent a shop on the main street."
The housekeeper opened the door and saw a teenage girl with a tattoo on her forehead. He sneered, "Our Huang family's shop is not something that can be rented by just anyone. Reputation and money are both essential."
Hearing this, Jiang Wan couldn't help but frown. If she felt that ordinary vendors couldn't bring traffic to the commercial street, she could politely decline, but why act so condescendingly? The world is difficult, and people often have to make things difficult for each other. Even though she had experienced many such things in her two lives and was mentally prepared, she still felt chilled.
But now is not a good time to turn against each other. She has been setting up a stall to accumulate money for several days just to be able to get the shop through the Huang family's conditions. It will not be too late to reorganize it when she has enough strength in the future.
"It's our first meeting, so let me introduce myself. My name is Jiang Wan, and I'm currently in the celadon business." Jiang Wan suppressed his discomfort and said expressionlessly, "Don't worry, the money your family requested will not be reduced by a cent. As for reputation, the Huang family has spies all over the city, so they should have considered it. I don't need to explain more."
As she expected, the butler dropped his mocking expression when he heard the name Jiang Wan, and became more serious. He looked Jiang Wan up and down for a moment, then politely asked her to sit in the front hall for a while before going inside to consult with Mr. Huang.
Jiang Wan took a sip of tea and tasted that it was the newly brewed Rain-Predawn Longjing tea.
Since when did her name, Jiang Wan, become so useful in Xiaofangpan City?
Sensing the difference in the butler's attitude, she curled her lips, but her eyes remained dark and devoid of a smile. To the maid beside her, this expression was a source of intense pressure, both joy and anger. Especially today, she was wearing a long blue dress, a sandalwood hairpin neatly pinned behind her head, and her skin, as cold and pale as jade, contrasted sharply with her long black hair.
Although she is only in her teens, the simpler she looks, the more calm she looks.
"Miss Jiang, your presence truly brings honor to my humble abode!" Jiang Wan heard the voice of a middle-aged man as she finished her tea. Looking up, she saw it was the Huang family's master, dressed in a robe inlaid with gold and silver. He forced a smile that couldn't be more fake. Although he spoke modestly, he held his hands behind his back and held his head high. The moment she looked up, she noticed his thick nostrils.
"I didn't expect that the master of Qingci who has become famous throughout the city in recent days would be such a young, beautiful... ahem, a young and promising girl."
"I'm sorry to have come here so hastily and bothered you, sir." Jiang Wan felt sick, but he still had to say something polite. "I understand the terms of renting your shop. Twelve taels of silver a year, absolutely no default. Do you have any vacancies?"
"Miss Jiang is truly a forthright person. There are vacant shops, but the rent—" Mr. Huang drawled, stroking his beard as he spoke, "In recent days, quite a few tenants have come to rent shops, and the lowest they've offered is thirty taels. Miss and I get along well, so I'll rent it to you for twenty-five taels of silver. How about that?"
Mr. Huang stared at Jiang Wan with eyes that seemed to be shining. He clearly wanted to charge twice the price, but he acted as if he was giving alms.
Jiang Wan didn't buy his trick and said with the same fake smile, "Really? I remember the maximum rent stipulated by the government was twelve taels. Am I mistaken?"
"Well, young lady, you're right," Mr. Huang said awkwardly after being exposed, "but the extra ones are voluntary annual gifts from the tenants to thank me for my care."
What a voluntary act! So this is how the Huang family has been extorting tenants all these years. Even in his previous life, Jiang Wan had never seen such blatant behavior. It really broadened his horizons.
"Since this is my first meeting with the master, there is no question of caring for him, so naturally there is no New Year gift." Jiang Wan put away his smile and said lightly.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Huang's face darkened and he said fiercely, "Don't refuse a toast! I'm telling you, there are plenty of people willing to pay a large sum to rent a shop. If you're not willing to pay, then don't rent it!"
Jiang Wan looked at Mr. Huang's ferocious face and suddenly laughed out loud.
She hadn't dominated the business world for so long that she had forgotten that many things could not be gained by retreating and tolerating.
Jiang Wan put down his teacup at Mr. Huang's puzzled look, and stood up to leave.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Mr. Huang shouted.
She stopped at the threshold, hands behind her back. The cool evening breeze blew her skirt up, and a clear voice drifted to Mr. Huang's ears. The volume was not loud, but he felt a sense of breathlessness:
"If your Excellency thinks it inappropriate, forget it. There are four porcelain shops on your street. In a month you will hear that they can no longer pay the rent."
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
