Jiang Yuwei calmly handed the last ream of paper to the scholar before looking up at the man whose eyes were darting around like a rat's. Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"May I ask who you are?"
A thinner-looking guy behind him shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Open your dog eyes and look! This is Manager Sun, the second-in-command of our Ge's Paper Mill!"
After hearing what the shopkeeper said, Manager Sun gave him a sharp rebuke and muttered under his breath:
"No need to emphasize that I'm the second-in-command!"
The waiter nodded repeatedly upon seeing this.
Seeing their unfriendly tone, Jiang Yuwei decided not to pay them any attention. She then helped Ning Wan onto the oxcart and said to Ning Huaizhi:
"I wonder why Zhao'er hasn't come out yet. Huaizhi, let's drive the oxcart towards the academy gate and wait for Zhao'er."
Ning Huaizhi nodded, patted the cow's rump, and headed towards the academy gate.
Manager Sun, still standing behind him, angrily puffed out his beard and glared, saying:
"Hey! They're ignoring me? Yeah! Ignoring me? That's great! Let's go smash his oxcart!"
The two men, having received their orders, grabbed whatever they could find by the roadside and prepared to smash the oxcart parked there. Ning Huaizhi, sensing that the newcomers were up to no good, had already quietly taken out his slingshot and was ready.
The instant they raised their hands, Ning Huaizhi smacked their wrists twice with mud balls. Because Ning Huaizhi was extremely strong, and the two men were standing very close, the force hit their wrists squarely, causing them to cry out in pain as they clutched their wrists.
"It hurts so much, ahhh!"
"Ouch! My wrist is broken!"
Seeing this, Manager Sun, who was standing to the side, hurried over to check on the two men and spat at them:
"You worthless wretches! I've wasted so much money on you. Hiring two of you is worse than hiring a dog!"
Just then, Jiang Yuwei saw Ning Zhao come out and hurriedly went to take his schoolbag from him. Then she saw a familiar boy squeeze through from behind Ning Zhao:
"Make way, make way! How dare a poor kid walk in front of our young master Ge? I think you don't want to stay in the academy anymore!"
A chubby boy standing next to the young man said.
Jiang Yuwei frowned. Wasn't this young master Ge the boy who almost bumped into Ning Wan while riding his horse in the street that day? She didn't expect that he was Ning Zhao's classmate. It seemed that he was also an arrogant person in the academy.
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to step forward and say something, she saw a figure rush past her from behind. It was Manager Sun from earlier.
"Oh, young master, young master, how can we let you carry the schoolbag yourself? Come, come, let me carry it for you, please walk slowly."
Young Master Ge tossed his schoolbag to the obsequious Manager Sun with a displeased expression.
Jiang Yuwei frowned. So this young master Ge is the young master of Ge's Paper Mill? This Ge's Paper Mill is really rich and powerful, cultivating its young master and servants into sycophants who rely on their master's power.
As Jiang Yuwei was thinking, Ning Zhao walked up to her and called out happily:
"Mother, you've arrived so early. I thought you'd be arriving later, so I stayed at the academy and read for a while longer."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and took Ning Zhao's schoolbag, saying:
"We came to sell paper today, and we just sold out when you came out. Does that young master Ge always bully you like this at the academy?"
Ning Zhao frowned and said:
"Which Young Master Ge?"
Jiang Yuwei pointed to Young Master Ge, who was surrounded by a large group of people.
Ning Zhao glanced at it and smiled:
“I don’t know him, Mother. There are so many people in the academy, how could I possibly know them all?”
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, saying:
"Why isn't Ning Chen with you? I told the village head's family that he can ride back with you in our oxcart from now on."
Ning Zhao thought for a moment and said:
"Just now, when I came out, I saw him talking to the teacher. He should be out soon. Let's wait for him a little longer."
Jiang Yuwei smiled as she placed Ning Zhao's schoolbag on the oxcart and helped Ning Zhao onto the cart before speaking:
"If there's anything you want to eat later, we'll go to the market and buy some. Mom will cook it for you when we get home to help you recover."
Ning Zhao smiled as she held Ning Wan's hand:
"Mom, I love everything you make. What was that about selling paper earlier?"
Ning Huaizhi interjected with great pride:
“Your mother invented Yuwei paper, and she came to try it out today. It's all sold out.”
Ning Zhao stared at Jiang Yuwei in astonishment:
"Mom, you're amazing! You can even make paper. Does that mean I can use our own paper from now on and never have to buy paper from Ge's Paper Shop again?"
Manager Sun over there seemed to have overheard the conversation. Remembering he had important business to attend to, he swaggered over to Jiang Yuwei's oxcart, pointed at her nose, and began to berate her:
“Let me tell you, if I ever see you selling paper on this street again, I’ll overturn your oxcart. Remember this, only the Ge family’s paper shop can sell paper on this street. You small-time peasants can’t possibly compete with the Ge family!”
Without saying a word, Jiang Yuwei reached out and snapped Sun's index finger; she was familiar with this kind of thing.
Manager Sun winced in pain, bending over and crying out:
"Aaaaaah, let me go, you bitch! My arm's broken, broken! Stop sticking it out!"
Young Master Ge, who was standing to the side, recognized Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi and stepped forward, frowning as he spoke:
"What's going on? Let go of Manager Sun!"
Jiang Yuwei slowly released her grip, and Manager Sun, wincing in pain, kept shaking his hand while cursing under his breath:
"You bitch, you've got a death wish! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget. You two, beat her up!"
Manager Sun pointed angrily at the two people still clutching their wrists beside him.
Jiang Yuwei looked at the two of them with a half-smile and said:
Do you still want your hands?
The two were already afraid that Ning Huaizhi would hit them again, so they hurriedly looked at Jiang Yuwei and shook their heads repeatedly, then timidly said to Manager Sun:
"Shopkeeper, I think we should let this go for now. We need to discuss this matter further!"
Looking at his two good-for-nothing employees, Manager Sun suddenly spat on the ground:
"Pah! Think about it carefully. I'll kick you both out later. I really don't know what use hiring two useless people like you is!"
After saying this, Manager Sun left without looking back. The two shop assistants followed him in a dejected manner. Young Master Ge, who was sitting on the oxcart, gave Ning Zhao a meaningful look before leaving as well.
Although Jiang Yuwei noticed Young Master Ge's gaze, she didn't dwell on it. She simply turned and smiled slightly at Ning Huaizhi.
"Come on, Huaizhi, let's go to the market and buy some things!"
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei stepped onto the oxcart. Ning Huaizhi waited until Jiang Yuwei was settled before cracking his whip and driving the oxcart toward the market.
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