Li Xiangping was the eldest son in the family. After Yan Qingqing finished speaking, he spoke first: "Mother, although I am not as good at doing business as my second brother, I agree with your idea."
Our family has quite a few businesses now, but they are only located in our Canghe Town.
Last year, we donated all our belongings to a disaster relief effort.
Ultimately, it's because our family's foundation is too shallow.
"But I'm currently an agricultural official, and I don't have much talent for business, so I'm afraid this matter will have to be handled by my second brother."
Li Xiangping felt somewhat guilty after speaking, as he really couldn't help his family much with their business.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiang'an quickly said, "Brother, what are you saying? We are brothers, family. Although I manage the family business, you work very hard as an agricultural official, don't you?"
Mother said that we are brothers and should help each other. We can't stand on our own two feet just by doing business.
"Only when you, my eldest brother, third brother, and fourth brother, are all well will our money have any value."
Indeed, Li Xiangping's official position is very demanding. He spends all his time in the fields researching grafting and hybridization techniques, hoping to achieve some success in this field.
Li Xiang'an is right. To put it bluntly, it's all about collusion between officials and businessmen. Only when their family is stable can he do business with peace of mind.
Hearing the two brothers politely deferring to each other, Yuan Huiniang smiled and said, "Second brother, husband, neither of you needs to be so modest."
Whether it's the two of you, or the third and fourth brothers, no matter what position you hold in our family, you're all working for the better future development of our family.
I don't have any great abilities, but you can rest assured that you can leave the family affairs to me.
Whatever decision you make, I will support you.
Yan Qingqing was very happy to hear them say that. She had seen too many people and things, and they could only share hardship but not happiness.
She doesn't want her children to end up like that, so she gives them a nudge from time to time.
Yan Qingqing saw that everyone had no objections to the next steps in the workshop's development.
Then he spoke again, saying, "Since everyone agrees on our next steps, let me tell you my plans."
You can't get fat overnight. It took us three years of hard work in Chengyang County to build the foundation we have today.
My next plan is to open workshops and shops in Xuancheng Prefecture and the capital.
Firstly, it's to consolidate our foundation. After all, Chengyang County belongs to Xuancheng Prefecture, and we have some connections in the prefectural city, making it easier to carry out our work.
As for the capital, I have a feeling we'll be there sooner or later, so it's good to start preparing early so we won't be caught off guard.
Yan Qingqing had carefully considered her decision to temporarily choose these two locations.
Li Xiang'an and the others had no objections.
Once the location was determined, the next question was who to send.
The most suitable and capable person right now is naturally Li Xiang'an.
So before Yan Qingqing could speak, Li Xiang'an said, "Mother, leave the matter of expanding the market to your son."
"I've been staying in our Canghe Town for the past few years, learning skills from my mother. I also want to go out and try."
After two or three years of experience, Li Xiang'an has gained both the passion of youth and the composure of adulthood.
Yan Qingqing looked at her son, whom she had raised herself, with great pride.
Just as Yan Qingqing was about to nod, Yuan Huiniang spoke up, "Mother, I don't object to my second brother going."
But my second brother is almost seventeen. Shouldn't we focus on getting him married first?
Yan Qingqing and Li Xiang'an exchanged bewildered glances after hearing Yuan Huiniang's words.
In Yan Qingqing's subconscious, Li Xiang'an was still a half-grown child, and they should have waited until he was over eighteen before getting married.
As for Li Xiang'an himself, he has been so busy these past two years that he has no intention of starting a family.
Upon seeing the expressions on Yan Qingqing's and Li Xiang'an's faces, Yuan Huiniang immediately became agitated and said, "Mother, second brother, you two haven't never thought about this before, have you?"
This is a matter of life and death for my second brother; people his age are already fathers.
He's still single, and if things continue like this, all the good girls will be taken by other men.
Mother, I know you don't advocate early marriage, but my second brother is already quite old.
He's not a girl; even if he doesn't get married, it's good for him to settle down sooner rather than later.
This was the first time Yan Qingqing had been reprimanded by Yuan Huiniang. She wanted to retort, but she found herself speechless.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Li Xiangping tugged at Yuan Huiniang's sleeve.
Yan Huiniang said irritably, "Husband, you too, you are the elder brother and I am the elder sister-in-law. Even if Mother doesn't care about this, the two of us should at least pay attention to it."
When you were this age, we already had beautiful children.
Li Xiangping didn't dare to say another word after hearing that.
It's all because his mother elevated his wife's status too high. Although she's not the head of the family now, she's practically the young mistress in charge.
Didn't you see even his mother was being cowardly? He wasn't that clueless, so he shrank back and kept quiet.
At the same time, he gave Yan Qingqing and Li Xiang'an a helpless look.
Yan Qingqing knew that Yuan Huiniang meant well, so she pretended to cough and said, "Oh dear, Huiniang, how could I not care about your second brother's marriage?"
I'm worried too. Why hasn't a matchmaker come to propose marriage to Xiang An? This boy isn't bad-looking at all.
"It's also your second brother's fault for being so incompetent; why didn't he know to bring a wife home himself?"
Li Xiang'an: ...
How come everything's his fault now? But he really has no intention of getting married right now. If he had to get married, a figure flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
He must have been provoked by his mother and sister-in-law to have such wild thoughts.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing was on her side in this matter, Yuan Huiniang smiled and said, "Mother, actually, this matter cannot be blamed on Second Brother."
We are a respectable family, and we must adhere to the principles of arranged marriages.
My second brother can't possibly do something like secretly exchanging gifts...
At this point, Yuan Huiniang stopped talking, afraid that Yan Qingqing would feel upset thinking about Li Xinniang, so she changed the subject.
Then he said, "Perhaps our family is too prestigious; how could an ordinary family dare to come and propose marriage?"
A few days ago, my third aunt told me that several matchmakers had come to our door to propose marriage to Xiang Bao.
She's looked at a few places and they're all pretty good. These past few days she's been asking around to find out about the girls' character. She even told me that if it's a good match, she'll settle down with them.
After hearing Yuan Huiniang's words, Yan Qingqing finally understood where Yuan Huiniang's anger came from.
Needless to say, Xu was showing off in front of her. Only then did she realize that Li Xiang'an was actually two years older than Li Xiangbao, and their marriage was still not settled.
Li Xiang'an disagreed with Yuan Huiniang's words, saying, "Third Aunt, aren't you being too impatient? Xiangbao is not even fifteen years old yet. Isn't it a bit too early?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Huiniang glared at him and said, "What do you mean by 'too early'? Fourteen years old is already an adult. Second brother, don't set a bad example for the younger brothers and sisters."
I'll ask around these next few days to find someone suitable, and I'll arrange a marriage for my second brother if I find one.
Li Xiang'an: ...
He didn't understand. Weren't they having a meeting to discuss the next steps for their family business? How did it suddenly turn into his marriage? And judging from his sister-in-law's attitude, she was trying to force him into marriage.
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