Bai Chunniang also understood all this. If she did well in this business, those successful candidates might become her son's helpers after entering officialdom and gain the favor of the palace.
"Of course it's good, but how much money will it cost to buy an inn? I'll have to sell all the land in my hometown, right?"
"No, we can rent it first, and then buy it after we make some money."
Bai Chunniang and An Yuping both felt that they owed An Jingzhi for so many years. No matter what request An Jingzhi made, as long as it was not too outrageous, they would agree. What's more, what he proposed was a serious deal that would benefit their family.
Five days later, An Yuping went to the palace and officially began his official career.
Although An Jingzhi had a plan in mind, he didn't want to do it himself because it was too tiring.
"Gong Rong, do you understand the importance of what the young master told you?"
"This is all related to the Second Young Master's future, you have to do it well."
Gong Rong nodded, but his face showed hesitation: "Master, it's not that I don't want to, but I have to go out to do this business. Who will serve you then?"
"There are so many servants at home. If I want to go out, I can just find someone to follow me."
"But..." In this case, wouldn't the young master just not remember him?
"Okay," An Jingzhi interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "Why is a grown man dawdling like that?"
"Gong Rong, you are the person I trust the most. When I was doing this business, you were the only one who stayed by my side to watch over me. I wouldn't trust anyone else to go."
"Master is very tired, don't you want to take a rest?"
"No, I don't have a young master!" Gong Rong explained quickly.
"Then go quickly, the master is waiting for your good news."
After sending the man away, An Jingzhi returned to his life of eating and waiting to die.
Gong Rong had been away from home for only five days when he discovered that An Jingzhi already had a new follower.
With a resentful look in his eyes, he reported to An Jingzhi about the recent situation.
Now that most of the successful candidates have left, the prices of houses in the surrounding areas have suddenly become cheaper. In addition, they do not want to rent in the prosperous areas of the capital, so they look for houses in the more remote areas around.
Gong Rong reported the several places he had found to An Jingzhi one by one and waited for him to make a decision.
In the end, An Jingzhi chose two pretty good places. Although they were remote, as long as he got up early, he could still catch the exam on the same day.
The crowds were so crowded on the day of the exam that if he had to rely on a carriage to walk on the street, he would probably not be able to move forward at all. He calculated the walking time.
After reporting the business, Gong Rong said resentfully, "Master, can I come back and serve you after I'm done with this?"
An Jing subconsciously touched the goose bumps on his hands and said, "Don't be like that, Master, it hurts my eyes."
"I asked you to go out and be the manager, but you didn't want to. You just want to run errands for me?"
"Yes! Gong Rong is willing to run errands for the young master!"
Anyway, he is the one who feeds the whole family, and he has been with the young master since he was a child. Gong Rong is extremely unwilling to suddenly let him go out and be a manager.
Being a steward is hard and tiring, how can it compare to being by the young master's side? No worries about food and drink, no monthly salary, and the young master's temper is so much better than before. Only a fool would want to be a steward.
Seeing his serious expression, An Jingzhi thought for a moment and said, "Okay, okay, okay. After you finish your work, I'll send someone to take care of it. You can also go and look for a suitable manager in the next few days. If there is someone who can replace you, you can come back early."
"Really, young master?" Gong Rong immediately showed a look of surprise.
"Get out of here." An Jingzhi cursed with a smile.
Gong Rong chuckled and walked out.
The servant who was serving An Jingzhi was also one of the people brought by Bai Chunniang and was temporarily running errands for An Jingzhi.
Not to mention that he was not used to Gong Rong being away from him, he was also not used to being around someone other than Gong Rong. Gong Rong looked big and rough, but in fact he was delicate.
Sometimes Gong Rong knew what to do just from An Jingzhi's glance.
Originally, it was for Gong Rong's future that I wanted him to go out and be a manager. Since he didn't accept it, he could just come back and continue running errands.
"Is the lady at home?" he casually asked the attendant beside him.
The attendant replied respectfully, "Master, no, he suddenly seemed to have gone to the Zhao Mansion."
In the past few days since Mrs. Bai came here, people have invited her to their homes for a gathering every now and then.
She thought that her family had just arrived and could not afford to offend anyone, so she accepted all the invitations and was so busy with the affairs of the mansion every day that she had almost no time to ask about them.
Bai Chunniang had things to do, An Yuping also had his own tasks, and even An Jingzhi's own tasks were left to Gong Rong.
He thought about it and found that he was the most idle person in the family.
Then I thought about it again, he was the one with the most free time in the family.
Now I have my younger brother to support the family, and I have Mrs. Bai to deal with outside.
"Let's go," he stood up and picked up the folding fan beside him, "let's go for a walk outside."
During the time he came to the capital, he had never really gone out for a stroll, and every time he went out he had a purpose.
Half a year later.
After An Yuping returned home from his business trip, Bai Chunniang, who had just returned from a social event, asked the servants to change his clothes.
"Where's my eldest brother?"
"Your eldest brother has been busy with business for some time now. He finally has some free time, but you don't allow him to go out for a walk and have some fun?" Bai Chunniang said.
"Mom, that's not what I meant," An Yuping said with a wry smile, "How could I stop my eldest brother from leaving?"
"It's good that you know it. You must never be proud and complacent just because you are an official." Bai Chunniang said with satisfaction.
"My son knows."
"By the way, mother, did you go to social events again today?"
Bai Chunniang nodded, her face full of worry. Those ladies said they invited her to build relationships, but in fact they were bullying her because she was from the countryside. Although they didn't say it explicitly, she could clearly see the contempt between the lines.
"Mom, if you don't want to go, don't go. I don't want you to be wronged. Besides, even if you don't go, it won't affect me."
Bai Chunniang said hesitantly, "Those are all wives of high-ranking officials. If I don't go, won't I offend them?"
"Mom, even if I offend someone, so what? My son is an official based on his ability. As long as I don't do anything wrong, what does it matter if others dislike him?"
His work in the Hanlin Academy was not so smooth. It was only after he arrived at the Hanlin Academy that he realized that he could become the top scholar. It was really a stroke of luck. On weekdays, when he had nothing to do, he would constantly enrich himself.
Bai Chunniang thought about it and still felt that this was not the right thing to do. It didn't matter if she suffered a little injustice, as it wouldn't hurt her anyway. If her son's job went wrong because of her, then she would really be sorry for the ancestors of the An family and sorry for her son's efforts over the years.
When An Yuping saw Bai Chunniang's expression, he knew that Bai Chunniang was unwilling, so he could only go to An Jingzhi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com