Chapter 10: A person who does not take responsibility for his studies
After the maids had finished eating the fat pork knuckle while sitting at the table, they all left one after another. Before leaving, they thanked Song Jin with a smile and skipped out the door happily. However, once they walked out of the door, their steps became steady again, except for Dujuan who sat there motionless.
Song Jin guessed that she had something to say to him, so when he saw that everyone had left, he spoke first: "Sister, do you have something to tell me?"
Du Juan smiled and said, "You really have become a spirit. Before, you said you were a spirit, and I thought you were lying to us, but now it seems to be true."
Song Jin said: "It's not good to say this to others, otherwise people will say that I am spreading rumors to confuse the public."
Dujuan smiled awkwardly. The fortune tellers outside always claim to be gods, but the one at home who can communicate with gods is the first one.
It's strange, but after Song Jin said he had become a psychic, he never mentioned the matter again, as if he was hiding it on purpose.
She thought, it must be something that could bring benefits, otherwise why would she hide it? She relied on this to move into Zizhuyuan and get the opportunity to disguise herself as a man and do business.
Thinking of this, she asked tentatively: "You recited a poem to grandma that day, do you really know how to read?"
Song Jin didn't hide this from her: "I do know a little bit. Why? Do you want to learn to read?"
Du Juan smiled a little embarrassedly: "Isn't this a little funny?"
Song Jin smiled broadly, "That's not funny at all. If you want to learn, I can teach you."
Du Juan was somewhat flattered: "Really?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Song Jin readily agreed, and Du Juan felt embarrassed. She lowered her head and twisted her fingers together: "I have nothing to thank you for..."
"It's hard to say," Song Jin smiled, "You are Grandmother's personal maid, maybe you can help me a lot in the future."
Du Juan listened and smiled shyly: "As long as you can use it, I will definitely help you."
Song Jin agreed to teach literacy, but it turned out to be not as easy as he had imagined.
One reason was that there were no books, so Song Jin could only recite two poems to her by hand, which was just enough.
The other problem was that neither of them had time. One had to go out, and the other had to take care of the grandmother. How could they have enough time to study and learn to read?
So Song Jin came up with a strange idea, asking the servants in the courtyard if there was anything they wanted to learn. She recited a short poem, and each person learned one or two words and soon finished learning. Then everyone would recite together, and if they met someone they didn't know, they would ask others who had learned it. In this way, even if she was not at home, they could teach each other without wasting time, and they could see each other every day, which was convenient.
When Dujuan heard this, she thought it was a great idea. As for writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, that was not a problem at all. She just dipped a branch in water and wrote on the ground.
The only thing you need to prepare is the one for Song Jin, and the poem you have to recite cannot be written on the ground.
Du Juan patted her chest and said she was going to steal. Song Jin smiled. In her opinion, only those who were willing to break the master-slave rules were considered human beings, and only those who obeyed their masters were real slaves. Such people were hopeless.
Song Jin has always supported breaking the rules.
When resources are distributed unfairly, you cannot wait, you have to fight and grab, then you can get it.
Just like Wen Ya, if she wasn't so strong, Bai Xiaonan would probably have married her several younger sisters, and the Bai family would have inherited the family business long ago. Now she asked Song Jin to help move the family property, isn't it just breaking the rules? No one should blame anyone.
In Dujuan's opinion, getting a few pieces of paper was a simple matter.
She usually cleaned up those things, so she knew how many there were in the room. She would just take out a few when the grandmother was not in the room. The same method applies to the brush. The inkstone does not need to be cleaned, and it can be made into ink by just adding some water.
Wenya is not actually a person who is proficient in literature and writing. He is just used to putting these things in the house to make people look a little noble, so he would not be able to notice if anything is missing.
Du Juan was given the task of preparing the pens, ink, paper and inkstone, and it was naturally her responsibility to gather everyone together to learn calligraphy. Song Jin just waited for everything to be gathered before starting to teach.
After everyone left, Song Jin lay on the table and thought carefully about the way out for these maids. It seemed that there was only one way.
Because the nobles and the common people cannot intermarry, if a slave wants to marry a noble man, the most practical option is to become the concubine of her master. But which master doesn't love beautiful women?
If you are beautiful, there is no problem, but if you are average-looking, it is hard to say, and becoming a domestic slave becomes the only option.
Now the Bai family has no master or son. Even if one takes a fancy to a good man to hire as a servant, it will be in vain if one cannot renounce his status as a member of the family.
If Bai Yuanhuai becomes the head of the family in the future, Du Juan, who works in Zizhuyuan, would like to marry into the family, but she doesn't know how Wen Ya would make things difficult for her.
Oh, it’s difficult.
However, for Song Jin, the most difficult thing at the moment is the fire. How can he start it without arousing suspicion?
The location has to be remote and inside the Bai family's house, and the fire has to be burned thoroughly so that it won't be discovered.
The word Xiyuan suddenly popped into Song Jin's mind.
Xiyuan is in the northwest corner. It was originally where the fourth wife Ye Wenfu lived. The place is not big, which can reduce the loss. Now there is no one inside, so it is safe. The house is also old and easy to catch fire. It is simply a perfect place chosen by God.
Song Jin had made up his mind and all he had left was to convince Wen Ya.
She first did the math in her mind. House renovations and fake medicinal materials were all costs. According to money laundering standards, some losses were normal. She just didn't know if Daming's grandmother could accept it.
Headache.
While Song Jin was racking his brains over how to convince Wen Ya, Wen Xin had already helped to settle the house rental matter. That morning, he came to Zizhuyuan with the rental contract and handed it to Wen Ya.
Wen Ya took the document, turned around and handed it to Du Juan, asking her to keep it. Then she turned around and asked:
"Should we get things done next?"
Wen Xin smiled innocently and said, "Yes, we'll start preparing now." After saying that, she looked at Song Jin, making it clear that it was her turn to take the lead and make the decision.
He really doesn't take any responsibility at all.
Song Jin noticed Wen Xin's gaze and smiled, "Grandma mentioned the need for speed a few days ago, so I thought of a very quick way."
Wen Ya's interest grew sharply after hearing this: "Tell me, what is the fastest method?"
"Use fire."
Song Jin said it calmly, but the people in the room were dumbfounded. Finally, they asked politely, "Tell me how to cook it."
"Purchasing herbs outside is a legitimate transaction, and storing them at home is also a normal practice. We just need to burn down the storehouse where the herbs are stored, and the money will naturally be gone."
Wen Ya frowned after hearing this: "What if I run out of medicinal herbs?"
Song Jin patiently explained, "Let's buy two batches of herbs. One batch is real and stored in the rented yard, and the other batch is stored in the storeroom at home. Wouldn't the money go out legitimately? Then burn the fake herbs. Who would notice? When the store is short of herbs, spend another sum of money to buy the real herbs. The herbs will immediately become cash. Then, grandma can use them however she wants and wherever she wants, and no one will notice."
Wen Ya's expression softened a little after hearing this, but then it darkened again: "Not good. The warehouse is connected to other places. If it burns, a large area will be burned. The loss will be too much."
Song Jin quickly offered a suggestion: "So we need to move the warehouse to another place, such as Xiyuan."
Then Song Jin began to explain why the West Garden was turned into a warehouse. The reason was nothing more than a good location and little loss. Wen Ya listened and pondered for a while, and finally gritted her teeth and agreed.
Anyway, as long as the bulk of the money goes into her private vault, she doesn't care what the Bai family inherits in the end.
After everyone finished discussing, the two of them did not waste any time and immediately went out to find the people in the shop to buy herbs. As for what to buy, they did not look at what they needed, but what herbs were expensive.
What about hundred-year-old ginseng, thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, cordyceps sinensis, expensive bird's nest, natural bezoar and rare musk? In short, I am not afraid of them being too expensive, but I am afraid of not having them.
It’s difficult to find sellers for some medicinal herbs right away, but we’ll buy whatever we can find and as much as we can find. In short, we have to spend the money.
Purchasing is not something that can be done overnight. You have to find a familiar seller and place an order first. For example, bezoar musk is extremely rare, and even if you place an order, the seller may not be able to deliver it. So you can settle for the next best thing, like donkey-hide gelatin and seahorse, and add them all to the purchase list.
Real medicinal materials need to be ordered from the store, but as for fake ones, Song Jin and Wen Xin looked at each other and thought it would be best not to let them pass through the hands of the Bai family. It would be bad if they were discovered.
It is inconvenient for the Bai family, but it is much more convenient for the Wen family.
Wen Xinyi bowed and said to leave it to him. In the end, it would be burned by fire anyway, so it was enough to burn it.
Song Jin was naturally happy.
Wen Xin wanted to make a profit from the price difference, so he wanted to leave Song Jin alone. Song Jin thought that he would embezzle money in the future, and since they were doing things together, there was no reason to make things difficult for him. He turned around and went back to the Bai family on the spot, letting Wen Xin handle it.
Song Jin, sitting in the sedan chair, lifted the side curtain to look at the street. Suzhou in April is so beautiful.
Above the iconic pink walls and black tiles is the blue sky. The sounds of street vendors are constant, and juicy cherries can already be seen in the street shops.
Song Jin swallowed her saliva. That was something she often ate when she was a child. When she grew up, she mostly saw cherries, which were far inferior to the sour, sweet and tender yellow cherries.
There are many shops on the street, as well as restaurants and hotels. Song Jin smelled the fragrance in the air and couldn't help thinking that if she opened a restaurant, she would definitely make a lot of money.
But it's not that easy to open a restaurant. Shops are so expensive, and you can't afford to rent or buy them...
Song Jin had a flash of inspiration. She couldn't afford the rent, but Wen Ya could.
If the herbs were exchanged for cash, they would be useless if they were stored there. It would be great if they could be used for business. Besides, she was using the name Wen Zijin just to make money.
She tricked Wen Ya into opening a restaurant and showing off her cooking skills.
When he thought of this, a smile appeared on Song Jin's face, and he rolled up his sleeves unconsciously, looking like he was going to do a big job.
Who would have thought that the cooking skills I acquired in my previous life would come in handy in this life.
Song Jin was very proud and immediately ordered the sedan bearers to return to the Bai family.
This time she did not go to Zizhu Garden to reply, nor did she go to see how the West Garden was being cleaned up. Instead, she went straight to the kitchen. She wanted to show off her skills to the grandmother.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
