Chapter 67: My cousin invites you to watch a play
"The eldest lady went to see Bai Qinglan today." Wutong stood behind Shen Wangshu. As soon as he finished speaking, the person he mentioned came over in a hurry: "Cousin's wife!"
Chen Zhi, who was wearing a bright red silk dress, was followed by two little maids. Xichun was holding a pile of books in her arms with great effort. She could not see the road ahead and followed them with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
"This is Mr. Yi Guang's new work. I saw my cousin's wife was bored in the courtyard all day, so I went to the street and bought you a set." Chen Zhi ordered Xichun to put the book down, and then took out a beautifully packaged box as if presenting a treasure: "And this, Linglong Pavilion's new 'milky white soap', can be used for face washing, bathing, or washing clothes. It is said to have the effect of whitening and nourishing the skin, and it has a sweet milk fragrance, and the fragrance lasts longer than ordinary incense."
"This small piece costs three taels of silver, and each person can only buy three pieces at most. The line is really long." Chen Zhi's face was full of "I'm good to you", and she emphasized: "You only get this treatment because you are my cousin's wife, no one else gets this treatment."
Shen Wangshu smacked his lips, not losing face for the young lady: “Thank you for remembering me when you go out.”
Three taels of silver for a bar of soap!
Even if the cost of this thing is not cheap, but selling it for three taels of silver is still a huge profit, which is equivalent to two months' expenses for an ordinary family. Ji Mingyi, Ji Mingyi, you are really a dishonest businessman.
Chen Zhi smiled and looked around Xuanji Courtyard. Seeing that she was the only one there, she asked, "Brother, have you not recovered yet?"
"Not yet, probably tomorrow." Shen Wangshu asked, "Do you have anything to do with him?"
"No, just asking."
After all, the two of them were not that familiar with each other, and it was difficult to tell too many people about the idea. After delivering the gifts, Chen Zhi was ready to leave: "Then, cousin, I'll go first. Thank you for reminding me about the flowers."
Shen Wangshu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you have anything to do tomorrow?"
"I'm fine."
"Then come with me on a summer boat trip tomorrow." Shen Wangshu invited with a smile: "My cousin's wife invites you to watch a good show."
Chen Zhi thought that there was no drama in Moyun City that she hadn't seen, so she still agreed obediently: "Okay."
Xichun, who had been listening with her ears perked up, thought to herself that God was helping her. She had a day off tomorrow, and Chen Zhi happened to be taken away by Shen Wangshu, so she would have time to do her own things.
Although I don't know how Bai Qinglan managed to keep Mr. Jia on the side, as long as Chen Zhi doesn't get suspicious, she can easily earn the betrothal gift from A-di...The Duke's Mansion is so rich, the amount they took away is just the amount that slipped through the eldest lady's fingers.
[My dear, please don't blame me for lying to you. Just think of it as my feeling sorry for me for staying with you for so long. Once I have collected enough money for my brother's betrothal gift and my own dowry, I will leave home and get married, and will never harm you again. 】
The voice appeared clearly in Shen Wangshu's ears, and she couldn't help but marvel at it.
These days, Xichun is probably the only one who can make fraud seem so justified.
The human heart is really unpredictable. I don't know how Xichun gets along with Chen Zhi. She has such a big appetite. The betrothal gift is not enough, but she is still thinking about saving up for a dowry. She doesn't do her duty properly all day and just thinks about cashing in through crooked means.
Chen Zhi left with the others. Shen Wangshu turned back and continued the previous topic with Wutong: "How is the matter I asked you to do this morning?"
Wutong lowered his eyebrows and said, "Madam, I have done everything you said. Butcher Gao has also gone to Miss Luo to propose marriage. The mother and son of the Ge family are now in disarray. They will ask Xichun for money tonight at the latest."
Yesterday, Shen Wangshu had someone check Xichun's family relations and soon found out that her original surname was Ge. She was sold to the Duke's Mansion by her mother Ge when she was eight years old. Now she has a sixteen-year-old brother who is discussing marriage with the young lady of the Luo family.
The Luo family runs a perfume and powder business in Moyun City. Although they are not as wealthy as Ji Mingyi, they are also a wealthy family. They have a group of foreigners as regular customers and have never had to worry about food and clothing.
The Luo family had a 128-year-old daughter who was unmarried, so the conditions for marrying off their daughter were naturally higher than those of other families. The bride price alone required a thousand taels of silver.
Apart from Xichun, who works for the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion, the Ge family has no other way to make money.
Mother Ge was attracted by the Luo family's wealth, while little brother Ge had long admired Miss Luo's beauty. Both of them were unwilling to give up easily. It just so happened that Miss Luo was also interested in little brother Ge, a smooth-talking and pretty boy. The only thing they were worried about was the dowry.
Where can an ordinary family earn a thousand taels of silver? The one who earned the most in their family was Xichun, who received a fixed monthly salary of ten taels of silver.
But compared to one thousand taels, this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket.
Every time Ge's mother asked Xichun to go back, she asked for money, forcing her to find ways to make money. After all, wealthy families had more opportunities. After pressing for a long time, Xichun came up with this idea.
Previously, only the Ge family discussed the engagement with the Luo family. Shen Wangshu added Gao the butcher to the discussion. With this opponent who could take out a thousand taels of silver at a time to stir up trouble, he didn't believe that the mother and son of the Ge family were not anxious.
And whenever they get anxious, Xichun will also get anxious.
......
That night, Xichun went back to Liujiao Lane after finishing her shift, because her mother had asked someone to deliver a letter to the Duke's Mansion, asking her to return urgently.
As expected, the first thing he said when he got back was to ask for money: "The matchmaker came to ask for money again today! We are still short of 800 taels of silver. When can you get it together?"
Xichun had been running around with Chen Zhi all day and was exhausted. She was being interrogated like this when she came home. She was a little impatient: "How long has it been since we discussed the marriage? Didn't the Luo family say they would give me a month?"
"That was the case originally, but Gao the butcher on the street got the news from somewhere that the Luo family would marry their daughter off for only 1,000 taels of silver, so he immediately took out double the amount of silver and went to his family to propose marriage, saying that they were a good match! Seeing that the marriage was about to be cancelled, how could a mother not be anxious?"
"If we miss the Luo family, where can we find another blind rich lady?"
My younger brother also kept begging: "Sister, please help me think of a solution. Miaomiao and I really love each other. I can't watch her marry an old, fierce and fat man!"
Xichun: “…”
Xichun was annoyed by their shouting: "Don't rush me, I will probably collect some money in the next few days, and then I will send it back home. A thousand taels will make up about 80% of the money. Can you stop rushing me?"
The anxiety on Mother Ge's face finally disappeared, and she turned into a kind and gentle mother again. She added a chopstick of specially fried chicken to her and said, "Big girl, I know it's not easy for you, but Brother Tao is your only brother. You helped him pay the betrothal money. When I die in the future, he will be the only one who can help you."
Xichun also knew this truth, otherwise she would not risk being beaten to death to do this. Although her mother sold her when she was young, blood is thicker than water. Even if they broke bones, they were still connected to the flesh...
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