Chapter 81 You're so happy, you don't care whether I live or die.
Sheng An was feeling depressed and didn't want to talk; the small carriage was quiet.
Suddenly, a warm, large hand grasped hers, and a man's low, pleasant voice whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid."
Sheng An snapped out of her daze and subconsciously moved closer to him: "I'm not scared."
Xu Jinnian put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her half into his embrace: "Until you recover, let's continue as before."
An'an is afraid of giving birth, and so is he.
"Didn't you understand what the doctor said?"
Sheng An pinched the man's firm waist and abdomen, feeling his vigorous strength even through his clothes: "You refused to have separate rooms, aren't you afraid of suffocating yourself?"
Xu Jinnian grabbed her hand, held it in his palm and rubbed it gently: "With An'an helping me, nothing will happen."
Sheng An muttered, "You're having a good time, you don't care whether I live or die."
Xu Jinnian didn't hear clearly, so he lowered his head and asked softly, "What did An'an say?"
Sheng An changed his tune in a serious tone: "I said that continuing like this is not a long-term solution."
Xu Jinnian intuitively felt that this wasn't what he meant, but he didn't press for details: "An'an is still young, there's no rush."
As An An said before, she herself is not yet fully grown, so how can she conceive a child?
"I'm not in a hurry, not at all!"
Sheng An spoke with conviction, but inwardly he gritted his teeth: "Who decided that a woman must marry when she reaches marriageable age? Would it kill her to wait a few more years?"
At fifteen or sixteen years old, in my previous life I would have been a high school student, and I would still be a child.
Those lonely, unmarked graves by the roadside are the remains of pitiful women who couldn't give birth and died along with their unborn children.
Women who die in this way are considered to harbor great resentment, and burying them in their husband's family's ancestral grave would disrupt the feng shui. Therefore, their husband's family simply digs a hole and buries them.
There was no seven-day mourning period, no memorial service, and no offerings during festivals; it was as if they had never existed in the world.
Under the feudal system, population was the cornerstone of economic, military and social development, and the core objective for rulers to achieve long-term stability and security for the country.
The larger the population, the stronger the nation. As for the women who died from premature childbirth, the rulers didn't care at all.
Women of this era typically started menstruating around fourteen or fifteen years old; otherwise, they might have been forced to marry off as young as eleven or twelve.
The only thing that made Sheng An feel fortunate was that she had transmigrated to a relatively peaceful period in the Great Wei Dynasty, without war or famine, so she could sit peacefully on the oxcart and grumble.
Looking at his indignant wife, Xu Jinnian experienced for the first time what it meant to be speechless. At this moment, any words of comfort seemed so pale and powerless.
Sheng An's anger flared up quickly and subsided just as fast. Noticing that the man beside her hadn't spoken, she looked up and stared at his handsome face, so striking that it was hard to look away.
"I didn't say anything to you, why aren't you saying anything?"
Xu Jinnian smiled bitterly and tightened his grip on Sheng An's hand slightly: "An An is right. I don't know what to say except to remain silent."
Sheng An poked his cheek: "Then tell me something happy to cheer me up."
Xu Jinnian thought for a moment and then brought up the matter at the Fang family banquet at noon: "An'an's roast chicken was highly praised by the guests. Perhaps in a while, Shengyuan Roast Chicken will become famous throughout Qingzhou City."
Sheng An raised his eyebrows, his gloomy mood improving: "It's the same for the women's section. In three days at most, someone will come to Shengyuan to buy roast chicken. I guess the people from Zuixianlou will be the first to come looking for us."
Xu Jinnian relaxed, lowered his head and kissed her cheek: "An'an, what do you plan to do?"
Sheng An: "Of course I refuse. I won't let the middleman make a profit."
Shengyuan is positioned as a high-end brand. If it supplies roast chicken to Zuixianlou, wouldn't that lower Shengyuan's image?
Moreover, since a roast chicken is priced at two taels of silver, Zuixianlou will definitely try to lower the price, and there is a high probability that it will be reduced to three hundred coins per chicken.
However, Zuixianlou can sell them for at least one or two taels of silver each, so Shengyuan will be working for Zuixianlou.
Sheng'an wouldn't do such a losing business even if they were crazy.
"Once Shengyuan Roasted Chicken becomes famous in Qingzhou City, Shengyuan Private Kitchen will also become well-known. There will be many people coming to eat there, and we may have to implement a reservation system."
Imagining the prosperous scene of Shengyuan, Sheng An's mind was filled with images of money. Overwhelmed with excitement, he hugged Xu Jinnian and kissed him.
"You study hard, and I'll work hard to earn money. One day, you'll pass the imperial examination with flying colors, and we'll be a powerful force, one with power and the other with money. A perfect alliance, a powerful combination!"
At this point, Sheng Anxian couldn't help but chuckle.
Xu Jinnian smiled and sat her on his lap, saying, "Give me three years, An'an, and I will definitely not let you down."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An counted on her fingers and said to him, "The provincial examination is in three years, and the second year after that will coincide with the spring examination. All in all, it's only a little over three years. Are you sure that's enough time?"
She didn't want to put too much pressure on this man; what if he went bald from overworking his brain?
Sheng An covered Xu Jinnian's hairline with both hands, imagining what he would look like after going bald, and couldn't help but burst into laughter, collapsing weakly into his arms.
Xu Jinnian didn't understand his wife's sense of humor, but his strong arms steadily supported her swaying body: "Three years is enough."
Sheng An knew he wasn't one to boast, so she cupped his face in her hands and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "I heard it's popular in the capital to find a husband after the imperial examination results are announced. You'll only be twenty-one in three years, so don't let someone snatch you up."
Willow Blossom Branch is reborn. Before, she had repeatedly cursed her, saying she would become an abandoned woman and die a terrible death along with her unborn child.
The man's behavior over the past few months has shown no signs of him being the kind of person who would abandon her and cause her and their child's death.
Huh, a child?
Sheng An's thoughts suddenly went astray.
She only got pregnant three years later? She hadn't been pregnant or given birth before that?
Sheng An carefully recalled Liu Huazhi's original words, but for a moment he couldn't be sure if it was what he thought.
Seeing his wife's ever-changing expressions, Xu Jinnian thought she was serious about the "marriage candidate" theory, and he was both amused and exasperated, so he cupped her face and kissed her repeatedly.
"The one who tries to catch a newly appointed scholar who is not yet married is the one who is trying to catch me. I have already married you, so who would be so foolish as to try to catch me?"
Sheng An snorted: "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. If you don't tell people you're getting married, how will they know?"
What she didn't say was, what good is marrying under the rule of tyranny?
If Liu Huazhi's curses are true, they are both very likely victims of power.
Thinking of this, Sheng An couldn't help but shudder, and his face turned somewhat ugly.
No, she had to find a chance to go back to Huai Shu Village and tease Liu Huazhi to provoke her into revealing more about her past life.
She couldn't eat or sleep until she understood the situation and took preventative measures.
"Since An'an is so worried, how about I take you with me when I set off for the capital to participate in the imperial examination?"
Xu Jinnian's eyes were full of smiles, and her gentle gaze reflected Sheng An's image: "The thought of being separated from An'an for several months makes me extremely anxious, and I wish I could keep An'an by my side at all times."
Looking at the serious-looking man, Sheng An couldn't help but lean against his chest and quietly feel his heartbeat: "Okay, I'll go with you then."
Xu Jinnian held her hand tightly, his deep voice filled with joy: "Thank you, An'an."
Sheng An never procrastinates. The next day, he got up early to make several roast chickens and asked Xu Jinnian to take them to Master Jiang's house to share. He also took one with him and hurriedly headed to Huai Shu Village.
She didn't go to Liu Huazhi immediately, but went to the Zhang family to find Zhang Zhaodi first.
There was nothing to do in the fields at the moment, so the Zhang family and Zhang Zhaodi were all at home.
Sheng An received a warm welcome from the Zhang family. When they saw that she had brought a roast chicken that looked very expensive, Zhao Di kept declining, saying, "You're here now, why did you bring anything?"
Sheng An laughed and said, "I drank my aunt's milk when I was little, and I didn't stand on ceremony with her."
Zhao Di's mother had nothing to say, so she had no choice but to accept the roast chicken and lock it in the cupboard to prevent her children from stealing it.
Zhang Zhaodi led Sheng An to her room and asked with concern, "Did you come here today for something?"
Sheng An didn't hide anything and directly stated his purpose: "The bamboo Guanyin statue you gave me last time, did you make it yourself or did you have someone else make it?"
Zhang Zhaodi's eyes lit up, and she subconsciously looked at her stomach: "Has the Goddess of Fertility appeared? Are you pregnant?"
Sheng An was speechless.
Sure enough, once a woman gets married, she faces pressure to have children from all sides.
"Hurry up, this is very important. It's related to whether you and I can get rich and become rich women overnight!"
Sheng An grabbed Zhang Zhaodi's head and shook it back and forth, his expression so serious that it didn't seem like they were discussing the bamboo-woven Guanyin statue for giving children, but rather that they were sending the Guanyin statue for giving children to the battlefield.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhaodi immediately straightened her attitude: "I wrote it. There were some parts I didn't understand, so I asked my grandfather for help."
She learned her bamboo weaving skills from her maternal grandfather.
Her grandfather also praised her for her talent, saying that she could figure out different weaving techniques on her own.
During that time, the rumors in the village were so annoying that she stayed at home and was bored. So she spent her days at home thinking about knitting and actually came up with a few new patterns.
If she hadn't been so pressed for time, she could have made the Guanyin statue for giving children even more exquisite.
Seeing that her best friend was interested in her knitting, Zhang Zhaodi immediately stood up: "I'll bring over the others, see if there's anything you like."
As he spoke, he got up and went outside, returning shortly with a pile of bamboo woven trinkets.
There are pretty little flower baskets, a majestic big yellow dog, a sneaky little mouse, a cute and nimble little cat, and a few small fish that seem to be swimming.
Looking at these lifelike little animals, Sheng An felt as if she were seeing gold ingots, her eyes shining as she lovingly stroked them back and forth: "They're really nice, so beautifully woven..."
Zhang Zhaodi waved her hand generously: "Since you like them, you can take them all. After you have a baby, I'll weave a whole basket for your baby."
Sheng An's lips twitched. Pretending not to hear her, he picked up the majestic big yellow dog and said, "Have you ever thought about coloring the bamboo weaving to make them look more realistic?"
Zhang Zhaodi was taken aback for a moment, then waved her hand: "Paints are so expensive, it's too extravagant to color such a small thing!"
These little trinkets are nothing special; they're sold in the city markets. A small dog can sell for ten coins, but if you want to paint it, it won't even cover the cost of the paint.
Sheng An coaxed patiently: "If you can sell them for a high price after they're colored, one of them will be worth a hundred of others, would you do it?"
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