Chapter 108: The Lu is too big
The question Song Jin wanted to ask that night, he didn't ask it until they parted.
She was actually very afraid, very afraid that she would end up with a similar fate as Hong Xing in the future. For her, even if it wasn't for good luck, an arranged marriage was still a huge tragedy, and she was very afraid of that day.
A feudal and old-fashioned father and a new-age daughter, it's tragic just to think about it, but she can't resist in this world.
Deep down, she really wanted to know if Ji Shubai would help her if he really came to the point where she asked him for help.
But she didn't know why, maybe it was because the atmosphere that night was too good, or maybe she understood that it was difficult to interfere with Ji Shubai's identity, and she was afraid that he would feel embarrassed, or that he would think she was approaching him and trying to please him for profit, so she didn't ask in the end.
Song Jin had to put this thought aside for the time being, pretending that everything was normal, and started making Li Meng Cake the next day.
She had no way to make a large amount of Li Meng cakes at the moment. Just beating the cream was enough to make several people exhausted. Fortunately, A Rong and Du Juan had already come to work.
Ever since Hong Xing's wedding frightened Song Jin so much, she didn't stay long at A Rong's wedding. She just gave a gift, sat for a while and then left.
However, the mosquito coil business was still going on and there was a lot of work in the shop, so there were still not enough manpower. They could only make two or three pieces and feed them all to Ji Shubai.
Who would have thought that the next day, the officer came over and said that the magistrate's wife liked it and wanted to buy two more pieces.
Ji Shubai distributed the pieces of Li Meng cakes she sent to several ladies in the government office. It turned out to be very popular and some ladies started sending people to buy them.
This time Song Jin didn't dare to make trouble. He reduced the price of the Li Meng cake by half and gave the few pieces made for Ji Shubai to the ladies.
On the third day, there was another change. Qingshan came and handed over a gold-painted gift box.
Song Jin had seen something similar before. When he was in Wu County, someone handed Ji Shubai a note that was placed in a box.
She opened the box and saw a letter inside. She picked it up and saw that it was written "Mr. Lu Jin, please read this."
Song Jin couldn't help but burst out laughing on the spot.
He still remembered the joke and actually wrote this name to make fun of her.
Song Jin smiled and opened the letter. The words were as sharp as silver hooks. Even though she had seen it many times, she was still amazed.
I saw on the book: We made an appointment a month ago, but I was busy with official business and didn't want to delay until now. I happened to be free in the middle of the month, so I invited you to my home for a chat. Please don't break your promise. Shu Bai bowed his head.
Song Jin read the letter over and over again no less than ten times to confirm that it was Ji Shubai who invited her.
Although he was joking with her, he still wrote the invitation letter seriously. Song Jin looked at it blankly, and finally Qingshan reminded her:
"Boss, please give me a message. My master is waiting."
Song Jin then remembered to write a reply. She didn't want to pass it on orally, so she kept their conversation as a secret and wrote it down on paper.
She wanted to go to the front to ask Arong for paper and pen, but Qingshan thought the paper was not good. She took out a flowery note and an envelope from her bosom and said with disdain, "I knew you didn't have anything here, so I got it for you."
Song Jin took it with a smile, thanked him and then started writing a reply.
She imitated Ji Shubai and wrote seriously: I have been waiting for you for a long time since we last met. I will definitely attend the meeting after seeing your letter today.
At the end she hesitated again. How should she sign it?
Ji Shubai only wrote one word, and she had no words, so how could she fill it in?
Song Jin felt like he was taking a Chinese language test. He only regretted that he had not memorized the example essays in advance. Now, his performance on the spot was terrible.
"What should I write?"
"What are you writing about? Isn't this well written?"
Qingshan urged her, saying that he still had to go back to report.
"What should I call myself?" She couldn't write Mr., could she? That would be too presumptuous.
Qingshan didn't quite understand: "I haven't seen my master exchange letters with a girl. You have to figure it out yourself."
Song Jin scratched his head with the pen and thought for a long time. When the ink was almost dry, he finally came up with a salutation and filled in the form: I am your younger brother Lu Jin, writing to you with my greetings.
Stop playing tricks and just use the appropriate and applicable names.
The letter was still put into the gift box and taken back by Qingshan. Song Jin held the letter from Ji Shubai and was overjoyed.
Does this mean that she and Ji Shubai have a little secret that is unknown to outsiders?
Because of this happy event, Song Jin worked so hard the whole afternoon that he whipped a lot of cream, intending to make two more Li Meng cakes today.
Until late at night, Song Jin and Chunyun were lying on the bed. In the dim candlelight, she held up Ji Shubai's letter and looked at it carefully. Suddenly, she remembered something and jumped up from the bed in shock.
“Oh no!”
Chunyun was exhausted after a long day and was really sleepy. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard Song Jin shout "Oh no!" Thinking that something had happened, she quickly stood up and asked, "What's wrong? How did it happen?"
"The letter I wrote back to him was terrible." Song Jin grabbed Chunyun's shoulders and said in horror, "How could I write 'long awaited'? Wouldn't it make it seem like I miss him a lot? Would he misunderstand me?"
"What's the misunderstanding?"
"error......"
Song Jin got stuck in the middle of his sentence. What misunderstanding? Misunderstanding that I like him? No way? He wouldn't be so self-indulgent, right?
I shouldn't have written that letter like that. If he misunderstood, how could I face him again? It would be so embarrassing.
That night, Song Jin couldn't sleep because he was worried about the word "long wait". This anxiety tortured Song Jin for several days until the day of the appointment arrived.
That morning, Song Jin changed into the distant mountain purple straight dress. Every time she put on this dress, it meant that she would not be working that day and she was going to meet people to do business.
She told her father in advance that he didn't need to go to Ji's house to help with work that day and could just stay at home.
She didn't want her father to be watching her while she was chatting with Ji Shubai.
When Song Jin arrived at Ji Shubai's house, Mother Chen seemed to be waiting for her and greeted her as soon as she entered the door.
"Oh, I haven't seen you for a while. Miss Lu has changed."
Song Jin smiled and asked, "Has it gotten better?"
"You look better now, and your complexion is better. Come in quickly, my little master is waiting for you inside."
After thanking him, Song Jin ran inside.
Today, Ji Shubai was not staying in the study, but sitting on the small pavilion beside the pond, with a table and chairs beside him. He stared blankly at the lake, as if he was waiting for someone.
Song Jin ran over excitedly: "Master Ji - Master Ji -"
When Ji Shubai heard the voice, a smile appeared on his face: "Come on, sit down, I asked Mother Chen to make tea for you."
Song Jin ran over and sat next to him: "Why don't you ask me to make tea for you? Is my Kung Fu tea not good-looking or not tasty?"
"It's hot, I'm letting you save trouble and you're still complaining."
Song Jin said: "It's not hot. Once you get used to it, you won't feel it's hot anymore. I'm really good at it."
"Who wouldn't be afraid of heat?"
"I'm not afraid."
"show me."
Ji Shubai stretched out his hand to look at Song Jin's hand. Song Jin handed it over obediently, letting him hold her wrist through her sleeve and look at her fingers.
After just one glance, she suddenly pulled her eyes back, which surprised Ji Shubai.
"What's wrong?"
“It doesn’t look good.”
Let's not talk about how beautiful Ji Shubai's hands are. How beautiful can her hands for cutting vegetables and cooking be? She still thinks her hands are from her previous life.
"What's not beautiful about it?"
“It just doesn’t look good.”
Ji Shubai chuckled softly: "It's actually very beautiful."
"fraud."
"When did I lie to you?" Then he seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "I did, twice."
Seeing that he was serious, Song Jin couldn't help but ask, "Which two times?"
Ji Shubai still smiled: "It's okay if you can't remember it. It's all in the past. It's better not to mention it."
While the two were talking, Mother Chen brought something over and Song Jin smelled a sweet fragrance.
"What's this?"
"My young master asked me to make you some pear soup this morning, saying it's very good for moistening the lungs."
Song Jin glanced at Ji Shubai, and a look of joy appeared on his face: "Thank you, Master Ji."
"Drink it. I'm just afraid that your throat will turn into a flower monk's first."
Song Jin pouted but didn't argue and drank the pear soup obediently.
"I thought you asked me to come here today to drink."
"If you drink any more alcohol, I'm afraid you won't be able to tell stories anymore. Why don't you take a break?"
"How can I rest? There are so many people waiting for food. It's hot and everyone wants to go out. I'd better earn as much as I can."
"Why, are you short of money?"
Song Jin raised his head and calculated for him one by one: "Look, it will be autumn soon, and winter will come after autumn. We only brought so many things with us. The clothes and quilts are old and no longer warm. I have to make quilts and cotton clothes for my parents and the shop assistants, right? This alone will cost several taels of silver. I also have to prepare firewood and charcoal. I am afraid that business in winter will not be as good as it is now. I have to be frugal."
"Didn't Chai Heng give you a reward when you went to the Chai family last time?"
When this matter was mentioned, Song Jin thought of the big bag of silver.
Compared to the shock at that time, Song Jin is now much calmer: "I gave it to you. I gave you a lot. It's too much."
Ji Shubai came over and asked her, "You don't like it?"
"As the saying goes, no merit, no reward. This reward is too great, it makes people panic."
Ji Shubai leaned over the table and comforted her carefully: "Don't panic, you deserve it. With that money, won't this winter be much better?"
Song Jin thought for a moment and said, "I didn't dare touch the silver."
"Why?"
So Song Jin told him about his plan.
It was a lot of money, but it depended on where to spend it. Song Jin thought that since the mosquito coil and peanut business was good, if she could buy dozens of acres of land to grow mugwort and peanuts in the future, her costs could be reduced.
Apart from summer, she also plans to make preserved eggs in the other three seasons. It would be more cost-effective if she could raise ducks herself, as all these cost money.
Buying land, building a house, hiring people, all of these cost silver, and fifty taels of silver were enough to fill the gaps in one's teeth.
Ji Shubai finally understood after hearing this that Song Jin did not expect to run a food store forever. She needed land, and she would need people in the future.
He gently patted the fan in his hand, frowned and said: "If you need it, I have a way to try to help you."
"What method?" Song Jin suddenly became alert. He stopped drinking the pear soup and sat up straight.
"Chai Heng."
"Master Chai?"
Ji Shubai explained to her that if she wanted to grow peanuts, she would need enough sandy land. Sandy land was cheaper than paddy fields, but it required people to take care of it at all times. She was short of manpower at the moment, so it was difficult for her to buy land.
But if you plant mugwort, it's different. You can try to plant it on the edge of the ridges. When Emperor Hongwu first ascended the throne, there was a lot of work to be done. There were precedents for planting vegetables in the fields and fruit trees on the ridges. As long as he went to the Chai family and told them that they could plant some mugwort in the gaps of the mulberry field, there would be no need for a special person to take care of it, just cut it regularly, and I'm sure the Chai family would not refuse.
Song Jin bit the small silver spoon in his mouth, knowing that this was a good idea, but...
"What about the rent?"
Ji Shubai smiled and said, "I guarantee fairness."
Song Jin didn't want to take advantage of her for nothing, and Ji Shubai also understood her thoughts. The fifty taels of reward was already very uncomfortable for her to accept. This time, renting a place to grow mugwort would not be completely free, but it would definitely not be expensive.
Ji Shubai promised to help her negotiate and inform her when the matter was settled. This time Song Jin happily agreed.
"Master Ji treats me so well, I'm afraid I can't repay you."
Song Jin said he had no way to repay her, but his face was full of smiles. Ji Shubai did not miss this opportunity, and he only heard him say: "There is still a way to repay you. I want to eat fish."
Song Jin laughed and said, "I'll help you."
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