Chapter 320 The Bonus Deserves You
"Here, these soft boots are for you." Gu Yuexuan tossed the green cloth bag over. "Second Aunt said that riding a cart is the most damaging to the soles of your shoes." Tu Subo caught the boots and stroked the fine stitching with his fingertips. "Did Second Uncle cause any trouble today?"
"Brother Minfei's men are watching." Gu Yuexuan looked at the candlelight coming from the west wing, and suddenly turned around as if remembering something. "Is Grandfather's cough getting better? When you return from delivering grain tomorrow, remember to stop by the East City Pharmacy to get two doses of Sichuan Fritillaria."
As the moonlight crept up to the granary's roof, Tu Su Minfei was tying hemp ropes to the shafts of the carts. Twenty grain carts, lined end to end, coiled like a long, silent dragon across the threshing ground. Gu Yuexuan stacked the last two bags of millet, listening to the distant sound of the night watchman's clapper. Suddenly, she felt that these days of cockcrows and barking dogs were quite peaceful.
Yu folded the newly cut clothes neatly. The indigo coarse cloth still lingered with the delicate fragrance of soapberries. Her fingertips paused at the worn part of Gu Yuexuan's sleeve and suddenly said, "Grandfather's cough a few days ago, could it be because of that bastard Ye'er?"
Gu Yuexuan was fiddling with the newly placed thousand-layer sole in her cloth bag. Her fingers trembled at the sound of the needle, nearly piercing her fingertips. When she looked up, she saw that Yu had changed the subject: "Has the old lady been coughing up blood these days?"
"He doesn't cough anymore," Gu Yuexuan put the sole of her shoe back into the basket. "But he's been drowsy all day, barely opening his eyes even when I'm feeding him medicine." A few dead leaves drifted in through the window, and she remembered passing by the village entrance yesterday and hearing Mrs. Zhang gossiping with someone: "It's better to close your eyes sooner rather than drag on like this, so you don't have to suffer like this."
Yu suddenly tapped the edge of the table with her thimble: "What nonsense!" Seeing the little girl shrinking her neck in fear, she softened her tone, "As the younger generation, we should just do our best." She pulled out a bulging bundle from the box, "This is the jacket I patched for Bo'er. He tore it the other day when he went up the mountain. I can see that the cotton is even showing."
Gu Yuexuan was rummaging through the grayish-blue cotton cloth in her bundle when she suddenly felt something hard—it was actually a mahogany comb wrapped in her clothes. "Second Aunt even prepared this?" she laughed, holding up the comb. "Are you looking for a wife for Minfei?"
"You monkey!" Yu pretended to twist her ear, the silver bracelet on her wrist jingling. "This is for combing your hair. It always gets tangled when you pick tea in the spring." She fished out a purse embroidered with lotus flowers from the depths of the kang cabinet. "The accountant said the profit increased by 30% this month, so I'll give you some wine."
The weight of the purse made Gu Yuexuan's eyes widen. "Second Aunt is really the Goddess of Wealth now!" She deliberately shook the copper coins to make a clattering sound. "Tomorrow I will go to the village to weigh the brown sugar cakes and make Tu Su Minyang and his gang of idiots envious to death!"
As the sun set, an oxcart carrying five large bales of laundry creaked homeward. Xi Lanfang was drying pickled vegetables at the gate when she heard Gu Yuexuan humming a tune from afar: "I bought sugar instead of salt with the pocket money my second aunt gave me."
"Hey, our little rich man is back?" Tu Suting came out from the backyard carrying wood, his body covered in shavings. "I heard he's treating everyone to malt sugar?"
Several little ones rushed out from the side room upon hearing the noise. Tu Suminyang clung to the shaft of the cart and gulped down his saliva: "Sister-in-law, can I buy three of Wang Quezi's sugar paintings? I want the big tiger!"
"What a great prospect!" The old man came out leaning on his cane. Seeing Gu Yuexuan showing off her new mahogany comb, his gray beard trembled. "When your second aunt got married, the red envelope I gave her was even more generous than this!"
Li brushed the dust off her clothes and said in a playful tone, "Dad, please don't try to fool her. It was a time of war, and the red envelopes were filled with sorghum candy!"
Amidst the laughter, the bundle Yu had brought was unpacked. The blue-gray jacket was densely stitched, its cuffs quilted with new cotton. Tu Subo put it on silently, the hem still smelling of sunburn. Gu Yuexuan stood on tiptoe to smooth his collar, and suddenly felt a peace charm sewn into the inner pocket. The cinnabar on the yellow paper was still wet, a sign that Yu had hurriedly drawn it the previous night.
As dusk drifted over the eaves, the sweet aroma of boiling sugar wafted from the kitchen. Gu Yuexuan counted the copper coins in her purse, thinking about going to town tomorrow to buy a piece of red cloth - she needed to make a burial shroud for the old lady to wash away her illness. Under the window, Tu Su Minyang was making a bet with his brothers and sisters: "My sister-in-law must have hidden sesame cakes. I can smell it!"
Moonlight crept up the grain stacks, gilding the newly harvested wheat grains with a silver edge. Standing on the second floor of the dyehouse, Yu smiled toward the old house. The indigo bubbling in the dye vat reflected the newly gray hair at her temples—some secrets should be buried with the old lady in the earth.
Xi Lanfang held her handkerchief to her mouth and laughed, her fingertips lightly tapping Gu Yuexuan's eyebrows: "Your second aunt is financially comfortable and gave you some copper coins to buy sweets and cakes, but this girl is so good, she shows off her purse as soon as she enters the house!"
Li couldn't help laughing when she saw Gu Yuexuan's blushing cheeks. She pulled her to sit on the elm bench and said, "Since your second aunt has given her some, it would be inappropriate for me and the third wife to be stingy." She turned to the kitchen and said loudly, "Where are the things her third uncle asked you to prepare?"
Tu Suting raised his head and drank the cold tea in the coarse porcelain bowl. He quickly took out a yellowed mulberry paper envelope from his pocket and said, "Xuan girl, open it quickly and take a look to see if Third Uncle is stingy or not!"
Gu Yuexuan peeled back the wax seal with suspicion. From the thin paper slipped a dividend deed for the winery's 30% profit. The still-wet ink on the account details still stained the mellow aroma of koji. She stared blankly at the bright red fingerprint at the end of the deed—it had been placed there by her uncle when they'd brewed the new wine a few days ago.
"This..." Gu Yuexuan's hand trembled slightly as she held the deed. She had originally entrusted the winery to the third wife, thinking they would be too busy with farm work to attend to it. Who knew Tu Suting would have prepared such a thorough and detailed deed for the 30% interest?
Li pushed the warm teacup toward her. "Your grandfather has decreed that the government will only take 30% of the profits from newly opened businesses like the embroidery shop and the winery." Her fingertips traced the red mark on the deed that read "Secret recipe exclusive to you." "You figured out the koji recipe, so you deserve a share of the profits."
Tu Suting slammed his palm, as big as a palm fan, making the table bang loudly. A smile gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Since the beginning of spring, we have made a net profit of 180 taels of silver! We have just started to dig out the wine. When the osmanthus flowers stored in the cellar are brewed in winter, the silver will be piled up on this eight-immortal table!" He stretched out his palm and shook it. "From now on, the pocket money I give you every quarter will be this much more than what the second wife gives you!"
Gu Yuexuan laughed so hard that she fell backward, the elm stool legs scraping against the blue brick floor. Suddenly, an arm, scented with wheat, came from behind to support her waist, and Tu Subo's playful voice echoed in her ears: "Did you pick up a gold ingot? You were so happy that you almost fell on your butt."
The old grandfather stroked his gray beard and joked, "You won't get any of the dividends. If you want to get a few coins, you'll have to please your wife."
Tu Subo lifted up the corner of his robe and sat down next to Gu Yuexuan, his eyebrows slightly raised: "Two copper coins can't buy the sesame crispy cakes from Wangji in the west of the city."
"Then three!" Gu Yuexuan held up three slender white fingers, her eyes reflecting the setting sun outside the window, "Any more will empty our family's savings."
Amidst the roar of laughter in the room, Tu Sumin flew across the threshold, holding a red lacquered wooden box. The moment he opened the lid, six silver notes in denominations of 1,000 taels shone faintly in the twilight, and the clinking of scattered silver coins was crisp and melodious.
"The grain shop's revenue this quarter was 6,800 taels." Tu Su Minfei presented the wooden box to his grandfather. "The remaining 300 taels will remain in the shop for circulation. This is the newly engraved fish scale book from the accounting office."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
