46 Magnolia Abacus
◎It would be great if the boss could arrange a marriage soon◎
The sun has not yet risen, but the red and purple morning light has gradually been reflected on the distant mountains and forests.
As the two of them walked to the county school, Zhuang Xue was in a good mood and said happily, "County Magistrate Ye, there might be quite a few people waiting at the gate!"
Ye Yunzhao was not as optimistic as her, and comforted her in advance: "It's hard to say..."
Zhuang Xue was incredulous, saying, "How can it be so uncertain? Could it be that there are still people who are unwilling to send their daughters to the county school?"
It's no wonder that she was surprised. In ordinary private schools, one needs to prepare a lot of gifts to become a disciple. Not to mention other things, at least one needs a piece of pork. But if one only brings these, others will laugh at him.
In addition, they had to be quick-witted, naturally intelligent, and have the favor of the master to have a chance. Therefore, children from poor families rarely studied and learned to read. Instead, they were sold to the government as maids or servants.
County schools are very different from private schools. Although you still have to prepare gifts to become a teacher, there are not so many particular requirements. You can just pick a basket of wild fruits, catch two rabbits, or even chop firewood for the teacher of the county school for half a month.
Zhuang Xue smiled shyly and said, "County Magistrate Ye, I won't hide it from you. If Chunhua wasn't so young, I really want to send her to the county school."
Seeing her joy, Ye Yunzhao hesitated for a moment and then said what he was thinking: "When she grows up, maybe there will be a teacher in the county school. Then Chunhua can learn to read and write with the teacher, and then take the imperial examination..."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Xue was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in ecstasy, "County Magistrate Ye! Is there really a teacher in the county school?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately realized that the woman in front of her was no ordinary person: There must be one, what County Magistrate Ye said was always accurate.
"No... there will definitely be... there will definitely be..."
Seeing Zhuang Xue muttering, Ye Yunzhao was unsure and waved his hand quickly: "Not necessarily, not necessarily. I will try my best to hire a teacher..."
The two of them walked towards the county school with their own thoughts. From a distance, the streets that were crowded with people a few days ago were unexpectedly deserted.
Ye Yunzhao felt a chill in his heart and his steps became much heavier.
Zhuang Xue quickly realized this, her smile froze on her face as she tried to console him, "Well, it's still early. I'm sure all the girls of school age are at home getting ready. It's the first day of school, after all!"
Ye Yunzhao forced a smile: "Yes..."
But she knew in her heart that the county school for girls that she wanted to establish would probably fail on the first day, but she didn't know why.
Could it be that the girls' county school was so "unique" that everyone had to wait and see? Ye Yunzhao, always optimistic, quickly calmed herself down, and her previous resentment melted into a gentle breeze.
Ye Yunzhao walked briskly with Zhuang Xue beside him to the county school. The county school, which used to be closed and overgrown with weeds, was now clean and bright, which aroused the curiosity of the two or three people who passed by occasionally.
No one is paying attention to them, but there is a lot of fun and excitement over there.
*
Originally, in Liu Dazhuang's eyes, his wife Cuihua was just an ordinary peasant woman. If you looked closely, you would find that she was mostly more beautiful than others. But ever since she became County Magistrate Ye's apprentice and learned about crystal cakes together, Liu Dazhuang was more and more surprised.
Madam Cuihua is simply a natural shopkeeper!
She had never been to school and had only learned simple magic from County Magistrate Ye for a few days, thinking that it would be enough for her to start a small business. However, after starting a business with Chen Jingshan, simple magic was no longer enough, so Cuihua asked Liu Dazhuang to make an abacus for her.
Everyone in Xixiang knows Liu Dazhuang, a strong but simple-minded man. If you ask him to build walls and houses, he is one of the best. But if you ask him to do detailed calculations, he will be clueless.
Liu Dazhuang still had a conscience, and the couple were in love, so he found the carpenter Sun Ning and spent two days making an exquisite and small wooden abacus for Cuihua.
Sun Ning was a man of meticulous mind and good at observation. He knew that the abacus was used by Madam Cuihua, so he specially carved a few magnolia flowers on the wooden handles on both sides, making it look very elegant.
Madam Cuihua, who had obtained the Magnolia Abacus today, was in a good mood and hurried to the Xiao Ruyi Tower in Lingnan County.
It is actually not quite appropriate to call it Xiao Ruyilou, because this was the first restaurant opened by the Chen brothers. Chen Jingshan was quite good at business. From Lingnan County to Yuezhou City, the small restaurant became a big restaurant. In order to distinguish them, people in Lingnan County called the restaurant here Xiao Ruyilou and the restaurant in Yuezhou City Da Ruyilou.
Madam Cuihua's purpose for coming here was also very simple. She carried her precious abacus in her arms and went straight to the counter of the restaurant after entering. She said to the shopkeeper who was busy with something with his head down:
"Boss, is Brother Jingshan here?"
Madam Cuihua was afraid that he didn't understand, so she quickly spoke again: "It's your boss, is he here?"
The owner of Xiao Ruyi Tower, Meng Tong, was invited by Chen Jingshan from Yuezhou City. He didn't recognize many people, let alone those from Xixiang, even those from Lingnan City.
Shopkeeper Meng took a quick look and thought that although the woman in front of him had a pretty face, she did not seem qualified to be a match for his boss. Besides, how could a girl come to look for a husband on her own?
So, he deliberately said, "Madam, the boss is not here."
Little did Cuihua know that she had become a shameless woman in his eyes. Perhaps because she had been with the simple-minded Liu Dazhuang for a long time, she did not even notice the contempt in his expression and said to herself:
"When will he be back?"
Shopkeeper Meng choked and said, "How dare I interfere in the boss's affairs?"
Madam Cuihua was stunned. She had never been to such a "proper" restaurant before. She looked around and pointed to an empty wooden table next to her: "Then I'll sit here and wait for him."
Without waiting for Manager Meng to speak, she sat down calmly.
Shopkeeper Meng thought about Chen Jingshan who was resting in the private room on the second floor, then looked at the rather unrespectful woman not far away, and sighed inwardly:
It would be great if the boss could arrange a marriage for me sooner.
Thinking of this, Shopkeeper Meng couldn't help but sigh again. He followed Chen Jingshan from waiter to shopkeeper. He was so grateful that he couldn't express it in words. Naturally, he also knew a lot about the Chen brothers.
As the saying goes, marriage is decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. However, Chen Jingshan's father died young, and his mother, though still alive, was plagued by illness and now depended on a hundred-year-old ginseng soup for support. Naturally, she had no energy to worry about her two sons' marriages. As a result, his eldest son, Chen Yuechuan, and his second son, Chen Jingshan, were already 25 years old, and their marriages were still undecided.
The two men were tall and strong, as strong as bulls. Although they were not as pretty as jade, they were also very dignified. In addition, with the reputation of the owner of Ruyi Tower, there were matchmakers who came to propose marriage over the years, but as an outsider, Manager Meng was not satisfied with the women, let alone the parties involved.
Some of them were from wealthy families, but their looks were hard to describe; some were as beautiful as flowers, but their manners revealed the style of brothels; there were also a few that Manager Meng thought were good, but none of the Chen brothers were willing to marry them, so the matter ended there.
But Meng Tong had never seen anyone running to see her husband. He glanced at Madam Cuihua not far away and secretly decided in his heart: This is absolutely not possible!
But before he could even ask to be driven away, Madam Cuihua couldn't sit still anymore. After a moment's thought, she walked over to the counter and asked, "Boss, your boss isn't coming back today? Could it be that... he's already returned to Yuezhou City?!"
Shopkeeper Meng took advantage of the situation and said, "My lady is right. The boss has already returned to Yuezhou City. Why don't you..."
Before he could finish, a muffled voice came from the side of the two men: "Who went back to Yuezhou City?"
Meng Tong turned around and saw the heroic Chen Jingshan. Madam Cuihua beside him exclaimed, "Ah! Brother Jingshan, you're here!"
Then he turned to Shopkeeper Meng and asked, "Brother Jingshan was clearly here, so why did you lie to me and say he had returned to Yuezhou City?"
Chen Jingshan said succinctly: "Meng Tong, this is Madam Cuihua. You should call her sister-in-law. Why did you lie to her? What's wrong with it being a crystal cake?"
Hearing this, Meng Tong was stunned. Seeing that the two of them knew each other, and then thinking of his own little thoughts, his face burned hotly. He quickly explained, "So it's Sister Cuihua. I neglected her."
He naturally couldn't say that he thought she was the woman who came to see her husband: "What a misunderstanding, what a misunderstanding. I just heard you say she was the boss, and I thought she was the eldest boss. I hope Madam Cuihua can forgive me."
After saying this, Shopkeeper Meng quickly waved to the waiter, "Hurry up and prepare a table of delicious food..."
Madam Cuihua hurriedly stopped him and said, "No, no, I came here today for nothing, Brother Jingshan. I just wanted to ask if you could teach me how to use an abacus."
She thought it through carefully. No one in Lingnan County could be better at calculating than Chen Jingshan. If she got his true teachings, wouldn't she be able to do the same in the future?
Seeing that she wasn't here for the crystal cake, Chen Jingshan said in a deep voice, "That's easy to say. I'm just busy these days. If you have time, just follow Meng Tong and learn."
Meng Tong stood there, bewildered. Madam Cuihua, not expecting him to agree so easily, nodded happily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone who looked remarkably like County Magistrate Han come up to the second floor. Even stranger was the simple attire they wore, a stark contrast to County Magistrate Han's usual attire.
Madam Cuihua was naturally curious. She turned to Chen Jingshan and said, "Brother Jingshan, I've never been to a restaurant before. I want to go up and take a look. Is that okay?"
Chen Jingshan thought she might want to open a shop now that she had made some money: "Of course you can. If you have any questions, just tell Meng Tong directly."
He briefly instructed Meng Tong and left quickly. Madam Cuihua hurried up the stairs, her footsteps quiet. After searching twice, she finally spotted the man who bore a striking resemblance to County Magistrate Han.
The man looked around, and Madam Cuihua reacted quickly, hiding behind a wooden pillar. She followed the man after he entered the room.
Why is County Magistrate Han here?
Still wearing this weird outfit...
Madam Cuihua tiptoed down and put her ear to the door. She could only vaguely hear two voices from inside. She was listening intently when a voice suddenly rang out from behind her:
"What are you doing here?"
Madam Cuihua was startled and lost her balance. She leaned towards the door and fell in!
【Author’s words】
There have been too many things going on in the three-dimensional world recently. I will try my best to update every other day. I wish all the county magistrates a smooth life~
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