Chen Li quickly looked through the store's account book for this period and found nothing wrong. After trying a few new dim sum and meeting a few store clerks, two hours had passed.
I packed some snacks from the store and took a carriage back to my house near Lushan Academy.
"Miss."
Yang Fan knew that Chen Li had also come. When he heard the knock on the door, he guessed that it was her who came back. As soon as he opened the door, it was true.
"Well, these two bags of snacks are for you. You've worked hard taking care of Fourth Brother on weekdays."
Yang Fan was flattered and quickly accepted it, "Miss, taking care of the Fourth Young Master is our job, it's not hard."
"Well, is Fourth Brother still reading?"
"Yes, the Fourth Young Master has been studying more seriously recently, sometimes not even going to bed until the early hours of the morning."
Chen Li frowned. Could it be that Fourth Brother had gone crazy? You know, health is the capital of revolution.
There was no problem with Ah Hui before this, and now with this incident, does that mean that Fourth Brother won’t be able to sleep?
"Miss, please persuade the young master."
Yang Fan assured that he was definitely not complaining, he just wanted the Fourth Young Master to take care of his health.
"Yeah, I understand."
Shen Qi'an was still reading, and Shen Li did not go in to disturb him. She looked around the yard and felt that something was missing. After thinking for a while, she found that some flowers and trees were missing.
It's spring now, and the yard is bare except for some weeds, without any beauty. Isn't Fourth Brother a scholar?
All intellectuals love these things, so why wouldn’t Fourth Brother love them?
Could it be that you want to save money?
Now the two shops can earn at least 5,000 taels of silver every month. In addition, my father makes some charcoal to sell every winter, so the family is never short of money.
It must be that the fourth brother is used to being frugal. Thinking of this, Chen Li drove out by herself in a carriage, strolled around the flower and tree market, and brought back more than 20 potted plants of various sizes and varieties.
"Miss, where do you put these flowers you bought?"
Chen Li looked at the potted plants in the yard and nodded with satisfaction, "Put these in the yard, the orchids in Fourth Brother's study, and you can find a place to put the others."
"yes."
Shen Qi'an was resting at the moment, and when he heard the movement in the yard, he came out to check.
"Ali, what are you doing?"
"Fourth brother, I think your yard is too empty, so I went to buy some flowers and trees."
"No need for that."
Chen Li stretched out her finger and shook it, "No, Fourth Brother, these are very important. They can cultivate your sentiments. If you want to take the imperial examination, then you can't just study blindly. You can't neglect the six virtues of a gentleman. You don't have to master them all, but you need to understand them at least a little bit."
If you don’t understand any of this, what if you need to use it in the future when you go to Beijing to take the exam or after you pass the exam?
It’s best if you don’t need it, but when you do need it, it can give you some confidence.
"I know."
"That's good to know." Chen Li walked up to him and stuffed a purse into his hand. "I put a thousand taels of silver in here. Fourth brother, go buy some things yourself. Otherwise, you won't be able to bear sitting in the study all day reading."
"By the way, you can't give me a perfunctory answer. I'll check next time you come."
Shen Qi'an smiled helplessly, "Okay, I understand."
As he spoke, he bent down and picked up a pot of orchids. He examined it carefully for a moment and looked at Chen Li, "A Li, where did you get this orchid?"
"Oh, these are in my shop. I thought you were short of a few pots, so I went there and brought them over."
In fact, these pots of orchids were taken out from the space, and their varieties and appearance are first-class.
"These orchids of yours are not cheap, but I can't tell what kind they are yet. I guess I'll have to wait until they bloom."
"It's not cheap, but Fourth Brother has to take good care of it."
"good."
Shen Qi'an agreed immediately. Even though these pots of flowers were not worth much money, it was different since they were given to him by Ali. He would take good care of them.
Shen Qi'an placed the pots of orchids in the study and bedroom, and Shen Li looked at the lively yard with satisfaction.
"Perfect! This way, when Fourth Brother has classmates over, we can talk about other issues besides academic problems."
"It's Fourth Brother's fault. I'm sorry to have troubled Ah Li. Fourth Brother has asked someone to prepare your favorite meal. Let's go and eat."
"good."
"Ali, are you staying here or in the store tonight?"
"I just live here. I'm too lazy to run around."
"Well, that's fine, Ali, how's big brother doing?"
"It's okay, my brother has already sent a letter back, and his injury has healed."
Shen Qi'an nodded and asked her a few more questions before asking, "You're not going to the capital this time, are you?"
Chen Li didn't stop eating and said without thinking: "Where else can we go if not to the capital? Fourth brother, you think too much. Besides, didn't I bring back special products from the capital?"
Shen Qi'an nodded, "It seems that Fourth Brother was right. It's true that you went to the capital, but you probably didn't stay there for too long, otherwise you wouldn't have stayed there for two months."
"No, are you so confident that your guess is correct?"
Shen Qi'an put down his chopsticks and said, "Ali, you've been exposed from the beginning."
Chen Li thought about it and remembered that when they were having dinner just now, my fourth brother asked how my eldest brother was doing, and I said he was fine.
"Fourth brother, you..."
Fourth brother actually knows how to trick people. I said the wrong thing just now. Now that I think about it carefully, I should have said that eldest brother is doing well. Doesn't saying that he is fine mean that there is a problem?
"A-Li, I know you're worried that Mom and Dad and Sister-in-law won't be able to accept it. It's just that you're always like this, taking all the bad things on yourself. We're a family, so you can try talking to Fourth Brother."
"You always bear all of this alone, and keep it all bottled up deep in your heart. Ali, we're not as fragile as you think. You can try to share your troubles with us."
Chen Li was a little stunned. She didn't expect that Fourth Brother would say this, but then she was moved by his words.
Fourth brother was right. She had become accustomed to bearing all of this alone and keeping it deep in her heart. This was a habit she had developed since experiencing the apocalypse.
But now it’s different. This is not a chaotic world, and she has a family. Maybe she can try to tell them about the troubles she has encountered.
"Okay, I understand, Fourth Brother."
Although she agreed, Shen Li hadn't thought clearly in her mind whether she really wanted to tell them.
Shen Qi'an did not continue the topic. It was obvious that he realized that what A Li said just now was not sincere. But it didn't matter. A Li was very clear-minded and would think it through herself.
"I calculated the time you were out. Did you go north this time?"
"Well, I went to Dingzhou City."
Since Fourth Brother has already guessed it, there is no need to hide it from him.
"Dingzhou, so you really went there because something happened to your eldest brother?"
"Well, A Yu wrote to say that my eldest brother was captured by the Tatars and has been missing for several days. I was worried, so I went to check on him."
Shen Qi'an's heart was also hanging in the air, but thinking that since A Li had returned, he must have thought that his elder brother was fine.
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