Chapter 329 Commission
Xiao Qi was so angry at Lin Yuesha that he had the urge to remove his mask, but he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and held back.
Every night thereafter, he would bring a wine jug to supervise his younger sister's learning of manners and also to watch the fun. This little girl, he didn't care about her at all; she brought this trouble upon herself, so he had no one else to blame but herself.
"Brother Yun, please don't take it too seriously. My brother meant well."
Lin Yuesha naturally used her kind-hearted stepbrother as a shield, and shamelessly smeared Xiao Qi, saying, "Friends should care for and look after each other."
"Yeah?"
Xiao Qi's eyes darkened, and he drew out his voice, his breath rising again as he tried to appear calm. "Then why doesn't your elder brother get married sooner?"
"Well..."
Lin Yuesha had acknowledged and considered it. Her mother, Chen, had also mentioned it behind her back. As a stepmother, not arranging a marriage for her stepson would lead to gossip and criticism. Even the Chen family had mentioned it more than once.
However, Xiao Qi always declined, citing his heavy workload. He said he would consider getting married and having children after passing the imperial examinations. Chen was afraid that this would distract him, so she did not insist.
“Brother Yun, my elder brother has not yet established his own business. A man should have a family business before he can have one.”
Lin Yuesha spoke in a very formal and methodical manner, but Xiao Qi waved his hand, not wanting to continue the topic. He felt it was unnecessary for him to ask this question; it was simply a matter of whether it was him getting married or his alternate account getting married.
"Brother Yun, is something on your mind?"
Lin Yuesha glanced at the sky; it was late, and she wanted to go back to her room to rest early. As for the pockmarked face, she couldn't care less. Since she was just a substitute, why should she take it seriously?
"No."
Xiao Qi noticed that his younger sister's tone was a little impatient, and immediately felt something was wrong. It seemed that the aftereffects of what he said last time were serious and had reached a point where he could no longer control the situation. Now he was being led by the nose by Lin Yuesha.
"I'm going to the black market soon, is there anything you need?"
Xiao Qi was preoccupied, so he just started a conversation casually. He simply wanted to chat with his younger sister a little longer, that was all.
"It's necessary..."
She hadn't had enough squid from last time, but it wasn't convenient to make strange things at the girls' school, so Lin Yuesha couldn't bring it up. She touched the silver notes in her pocket and remembered something else.
"Brother Yun, I do have some personal matters to trouble you with."
Lin Yuesha was very polite to her savior.
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is her stepbrother's birthday. This year, Xiao Qi will officially come of age. After much deliberation, she still felt that a few pairs of socks were not presentable, especially since she now had money.
Her stepbrother was kind-hearted but easily fooled. For example, this time, he passed on a message to the pockmarked man because she had taken advantage of Xiao Qi; it was her fault.
Lin Yuesha always wanted to make amends. Whenever she thought of her stepbrother being looked down upon by beady-eyed people at Changqing Academy because he couldn't afford a scholar's robe, she felt very sad. This sadness was even greater than when she herself was looked down upon by others.
What does face matter? Lin Yuesha only cares about making money.
"Brother Yun, I've never been to the black market, but I've heard you say that it has all sorts of things. I'd like to buy a book."
Lin Yuesha opened her purse, left a few taels of silver, and stuffed the remaining nearly four hundred taels into the pockmarked man's hand.
Books read by renowned scholars, with annotations and unique insights, are priceless treasures; I wonder if this amount of money is enough to buy even one.
"If I can't buy anything too good, something ordinary will do. I just want to do everything I can to buy books for my older brother."
In this way, Xiao Qi wouldn't have to lie to his teacher about going to the book club to save money. As his younger sister, she should give her stepbrother the best as long as she has the ability.
Xiao Qi: ...
So his real identity has already changed and become the most important person in the little sister's heart?
Whether it's the real person or an alternate account, as long as it's you, that's fine.
"This silver..."
Before Xiao Qi could finish speaking, Lin Yuesha interrupted him with a gesture. Her eyes sparkled with tiny lights as she earnestly said, "If it's a little short, could Brother Yun lend me the money first? I will definitely pay him back."
With a family business and a steady harvest from the farm, even if things don't go well, she can still manage by working hard and slaughtering more fat sheep.
"Sister Yue Sha, you are so good to your stepbrother."
Xiao Qi sighed, feeling a mix of emotions that were hard to describe, and even his alternate identity seemed a little jealous of his real self.
“What stepbrother? He’s my own older brother.”
Lin Yuesha instinctively felt aversion to the term "stepbrother." She didn't care if the pockmarked man treated her like a younger sister—she wasn't without an older brother anyway—but she wouldn't replace Xiao Qi with anyone else as her biological brother. Xiao Qi was her biological brother, and he was the only one.
Having given the money and entrusted the pockmarked man to buy the books, Lin Yuesha turned and went back to her room, waving her sleeves without the slightest reluctance, leaving Xiao Qi standing there in a daze.
Lin Yuesha had an exceptionally difficult few days at the girls' school. Every day she learned the rules and regulations, and every night she was disciplined by Granny Kang. However, her efforts were not in vain.
Ten days later, Lin Yuesha's standing appearance was basically acceptable. She stood like a scarecrow, and could stand motionless for an hour.
"You don't need to come tonight. Take a day off."
Granny Kang nodded in satisfaction. Lin Yuesha almost cheered, but in the end she calmly nodded and thanked her.
In the fourth month of the lunar calendar, it often rains in the north. On rainy nights, these ladies who usually enjoy appreciating flowers and the moon will close their doors and windows and stay in their rooms.
After several days of investigation, Lin Yuesha discovered another way to make money.
"Sister Bai, tomorrow is the day we can visit, right?"
Lin Yuesha calculated the days and figured she should be able to see Qingxing and Qi'er tomorrow. She asked the two of them to buy some storybooks and meet with the old woman in the kitchen to bring them in.
These young ladies enjoy romance and poetry, and can sell storybooks. After reading them, they can simply throw them into the kitchen to start a fire. Then Lin Yuesha can tell the old woman to collect the storybooks, sell them again after they leave the girls' school, and make two profits.
"Moonlight Maiden, what's wrong with your head?"
Bai Youran was amazed. Lin Yuesha was truly a born businesswoman. She could learn etiquette at the girls' school and still build a thriving business.
"Sister Bai, please stop making fun of me."
Lin Yuesha sighed. She had experienced poverty before, though not for long, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to become rich.
Because she bought books for her stepbrother, she had almost no savings left. After receiving a reply from the pockmarked man, she bought a handwritten book by a famous contemporary writer. She still owes the pockmarked man three hundred taels of silver.
Having spent so much money, Lin Yuesha felt a little regretful, realizing she had been putting on a show of wealth beyond her means.
Fortunately, the money wasn't spent on outsiders. It was just one book, yet it cost nearly seven hundred taels of silver! It hurts!
Once my stepson passes the imperial examination, I will definitely sell this book and ask for a thousand taels of silver to recoup my losses.
"You're right, nobody dislikes having too much money."
Bai Youran watched Lin Yuesha's antics and saw that money was actually coming in, which made her quite interested in business.
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