On the carriage back to the manor, Zhou Quan held Li Mai's hand and asked, "Wife, how did I do today?"
“Great. From now on, I’ll leave these diplomatic matters to you. I need to focus more on designing clothes.” Li Mai leaned on his shoulder, closed her eyes to rest, and said softly.
"Okay, I think I understand how to deal with these people from now on." He put his arm around her, making her more comfortable, and nodded.
"Well, just remember one thing: what the other party values, that's what you should use to negotiate. If you don't know what the other party cares about, then do your homework. Only by understanding the other party's needs can you take the lead and negotiate a winnable deal."
“I understand,” Zhou Quan replied.
He is a very smart person. As for business, he was just unfamiliar with this area. With Li Mai's guidance a few times, he learned it pretty well.
Despite living such a long life and developing his own unique personality, he had never run a business and lacked the knowledge and experience in that area.
"By the way, speaking of the Xu family today, my sister-in-law told me when she came back that she wants to partner with me to open an incense shop in Qingshi Town. Do you think it's feasible?" Li Mai asked him.
"Do you like it? If you do, then go for it. It's just a matter of supporting more people. You just need to give the orders," Zhou Quan said after thinking for a moment.
“Alright, I’ll agree to your request tomorrow and start making preparations slowly. Let’s open the incense shop near the inn. I’ll ask you how to build it to make it more suitable,” Li Mai said.
“Alright, the inn and the embroidery workshop are under construction at the same time. I’ll go take a look this afternoon,” Zhou Quan said softly.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work during the startup phase." Li Mai shook his hand.
Zhou Quan, however, seized the opportunity to offer his head, waiting for her.
Li Mai chuckled and leaned over to kiss him.
Not satisfied with just one kiss, Zhou Quan took the initiative and kissed her for a long time before letting go.
Looking at his wife's rosy lips, Zhou Quan chuckled to himself.
Seeing his innocent appearance, Li Mai sometimes really felt that this guy was hard to understand. He had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, but sometimes he seemed like a pure person who had never experienced anything.
They went straight back to the Zhou residence. The two children were staying here today, being looked after by the two elders.
When they returned, the two children were already taking a nap, with Zhuzhu keeping them company, while Zhao had just gone out to check on Yingbao.
Li Mai and Zhou Quan washed up and then accompanied the three children for their afternoon nap.
In the afternoon, Li Mai didn't go anywhere; she just stayed at the Zhou residence with the children, playing and watching Zhou Lin's little darling.
The eldest sister happened to arrive with Nannan and Dongdong, making the Zhou residence even more lively.
That evening, Zhou Lei returned home and mentioned that in a few days, he would have to go to Yongzhou City to participate in the prefectural examination.
The Prefectural Examination was the second examination for candidates who had passed the preliminary examinations. The preliminary examinations were divided into three parts: the County Examination, the Prefectural Examination, and the Provincial Examination.
The county examination is held every February, with five sessions. Zhou Lei took the exam in Yongzhou City last February.
The prefectural examination is held every April, with three sessions, all in Yongzhou City. Last year, Zhou Lei was not confident of passing, so he did not take the exam and is waiting to take it again this year.
Both times they participated in the preliminary examinations, it was recommended by the headmaster of their academy.
At this time, children needed to be recommended and vouched for by someone with a degree in the imperial examinations in order to participate. This voucher was, of course, to ensure that the candidate's identity was not in question. Usually, it would be the candidate's teacher or the head of the academy who would recommend him.
The provincial examination is held twice every three years, in August. To take the provincial examination, they need to go to Xiangzhou.
Zhou Lei's plan is to take the prefectural examination this year, so that he can participate in the provincial examination next year.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Quan said he would send Zhou Lei there and arrange his food and lodging.
Zhou Quan asked him if he had any classmates who wanted to go with him. Zhou Lei thought for a moment and said, "I have a classmate named Yue Ze. He has no parents. Can I invite him to live with me?"
Li Mai and Zhou Quan exchanged a glance. Yue Ze? Isn't that the Yue family's illegitimate son?
Zhou Quan asked Zhou Lei, "What's your relationship like usually?"
"He's usually alright. He's quite knowledgeable and has received praise from the teacher several times," Zhou Lei said cautiously.
"And what about him towards you?" Li Mai asked.
“He usually spends most of his time alone, or he’s aloof and distant with people. We’ve spoken a few times, but today he suddenly asked me where I was going to stay in Yongzhou City. I said I didn’t know, and he asked if we could stay together,” Zhou Lei said.
"So, in your heart, is he someone you can trust?" Zhou Quan asked.
Zhou Lei nodded, "He's alright. I haven't seen him do anything wrong. I trust him for now."
"Well, since you trust him based on your own judgment, then you can live together and study together. However, once you've made a decision, you have to be responsible for it. For example, what if you discover he's a scheming person after you've lived together, or what if you lose something and he can prove he didn't steal it? Wouldn't you start to doubt him? If these things happen between you, you need to be prepared to bear the consequences."
Zhou Quan guided her younger brother to try to interact with others.
He had trusted many people in the past, but in the end, he was betrayed.
Everyone needs to go through experiences to grow, so he explained the principles to his younger brother, leaving the choice of how to experience those experiences to his brother.
Zhou Lei thought for a while and nodded, "I understand, brother. So far, Yue Ze has left a good impression on me. I've chosen to trust him this time. As for whether he's worth being friends with for life, I'll only know after I try it myself."
After listening, Zhou Quan smiled and said, "That's right. Big brother hasn't spent any time with him and doesn't know what kind of person he is, so you'll have to make your own judgment on what to do."
The rest of the family breathed a sigh of relief and didn't say anything else, so they all ate their meal quietly together.
Now, the affairs of their two remaining children are being handled by Zhou Quan, the eldest brother, and Li Mai, the eldest sister-in-law, which has greatly relieved the Zhou family elders of their worries, as they don't have to concern themselves with their upbringing at all.
The next day, Zhou Quan made some arrangements at home and asked Zhou Lei to inform his classmates that they would be leaving the next day.
When Zhou Lei finished school, he told Yue Ze about it. Upon hearing this, a hint of warmth appeared on Yue Ze's usually indifferent face, and he gratefully thanked Zhou Lei.
The two parted ways at the college gate and went home separately. But after Yue Ze took a few steps, he saw Yue Xiu leaning against a tree, arms crossed, looking calmly in the direction Zhou Lei had left.
Yue Ze frowned slightly, not intending to greet him, and walked towards his own home.
Yue Xiu followed at a distance, all the way to his house, a small two-courtyard house.
Yue Ze didn't intend to invite him in. After returning home, the old woman who cooked for him said that the food was ready and asked him to wash up, change his clothes, and then come to eat.
Yue Ze nodded, went back to his room to change his clothes and wash up before going to the dining room.
Unexpectedly, I saw Yue Xiu sitting there.
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