After washing up, Meng Zhao ate two hot buns that Gu Shi had left for her, then put on an apron and a mask, sat down next to Gu Shi, and started helping to skewer the food.
While walking through the village, Meng Zhao looked up at Madam Gu and asked tentatively, "Mother, Qinghe has passed the imperial examination and will be participating in the spring imperial examination next March. It will probably take half a month to get from here to the capital. If we travel in the winter, it will be too tiring. So I think we should let him set off as soon as possible. What do you think?"
"Of course I have no objection, but I don't know what Qinghe is thinking."
"My second brother is a steady person and will naturally prioritize the imperial examination. If you talk to him about it, I think he will agree."
After hearing this, Madam Gu nodded, "That's true, but if I leave before the New Year, I probably won't see you for half a year."
"Yes, Scholar Zhou said he wants to prepare some more and will not participate in next year's imperial examination. So this trip to the capital is just Qing and himself. The journey is long, and it's really worrying."
At this point, Madam Gu unconsciously stopped skewering the food. A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles, but she couldn't leave such an important matter unattended.
Meng Zhao continued, "Mother, haven't you ever thought about going to the capital with Qinghe?"
"Go to the capital?" Gu was surprised by this.
Meng Zhao nodded, "That's right, let's go to the capital together. That way, Mother and Second Brother can look after each other. Besides, didn't we talk about yesterday that Qingze and Qingyu are getting older? Qingyu needs to broaden her horizons, and if Qingze plans to take the imperial examinations like Second Brother, she'll need to find a better teacher. There are many opportunities in the capital. Wouldn't it be good to take them there?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of excitement flashed in Gu's eyes, clearly tempted by the suggestion. However, she hesitated for a moment, then asked, "But what will happen to the braised pork shop if we go to the capital?"
“Aunt Feng’e can run a shop all by herself and arrange everything in an orderly manner. Aunt Su Yun and Aunt Shu Hua have been with us for so long, what can’t they do? Besides, now that our second brother has achieved academic success, anyone who tries to deceive or cheat us will have to consider the consequences. They will naturally be more diligent in their work.”
Upon hearing this, the worry on Madam Gu's face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of anticipation and excitement. Who wouldn't want to go to the capital to see it, let alone go with their son?
At this moment, Shen Qinghe had also woken up. He stood in front of the door, first shaking his head, trying to forget all the romantic thoughts he shouldn't have had last night, and trying to calm himself down. Then he pushed open the door and went out.
In the courtyard, Madam Gu and Meng Zhao were chatting while skewering skewers. Shen Qinghe walked up and asked curiously, "Mother, sister-in-law, what are you talking about?"
Gu said excitedly, "Qinghe, you're awake! We were just talking about your participation in the imperial examination. Zhaozhao said that we can go to the capital together and rent a shop to continue running the braised pork offal shop. There are many wealthy people in the capital, so our braised pork offal business will definitely be very good. You will also have a place to stay and be able to focus on your studies."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghe's eyes lit up. He had been feeling somewhat disappointed because the imperial examinations would take place in the capital for a long time, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and they were able to move to the capital as a family.
So she looked at Meng Zhao happily, her tone filled with anticipation: "Sister-in-law, is it true? Can our family go to the capital?"
Seeing Shen Qinghe's surprised and delighted eyes, Meng Zhao slowly said, "It's you guys. I'm not planning to go to the capital for the time being."
She still has many things to do. The pig farm in Hongnong County currently supplies her second aunt and a franchisee in Huian County. The scale of the pig farm has been expanding rapidly recently, and it will soon be overcapacity. She needs to find new sales channels.
Moreover, although Shen Yun would visit each franchise store, the visits were scheduled in advance, so how could others expose the problems? Meng Zhao also needed to visit each franchise store to collect feedback from surrounding customers about the stores, and he also needed to find unfamiliar faces to enter the stores and investigate the situation.
She had always wanted to visit Huazhou County to see the cassava there and see if she could build a cassava starch workshop. She hadn't been able to go before because it was far away and she was worried about safety. Now that she had the money to buy a carriage and so many people with her, it would be convenient for her to go.
In addition, Meng Zhao had previously bought Niutou Mountain, but because she was unfamiliar with the area and didn't have much support, she hadn't dared to mine the limestone on the mountain. Now that Wang Xian was about to be promoted to prefect, she naturally needed to find an opportunity to monetize it, which was better than leaving it there.
In short, she had many things to do and no time to go to the capital to accompany Shen Qing and prepare for the exam.
When Meng Zhao said she wasn't going to go to the capital with them, Shen Qinghe's joy gradually faded, replaced by disappointment and unease.
Why doesn't his sister-in-law want to go to the capital with him? He clearly remembers that whenever customers in the shop talked about their experiences in the capital, his sister-in-law would listen very attentively. She clearly wanted to go to the capital too, so why is she refusing now?
Was it because of him? Was she angry because he didn't reciprocate her feelings last night? Shen Qinghe's mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't grasp the main point at all.
Madam Gu, however, didn't have so many thoughts on the matter. She simply asked in surprise, "Why, Zhao Zhao? The capital is so big, with so many rich people. You could definitely earn more doing business there than you do now."
"I am going to the capital, but not now. I should make sure things are settled at home before I leave." So she explained to the two of them what she needed to do next, one by one, hoping they would understand her.
After hearing this, Madam Gu said, "Then I will wait for you. Let Qinghe go to the capital by herself. When Qinghe passes the exam, we will go together."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
