An Shuyi took out the silver after watching the children leave. "Teacher Cheng, this is the tuition fee for those children. We'll leave that child with you and come back to pick them up next time they have their tuition fee."
Master Cheng accepted the silver and nodded, "Don't worry, ladies, we will take good care of the child. We will also inform you if there are any problems."
"Then we'll take our leave. You're busy." An Shuyi said, and then left with Xia Hua.
After sending their child to the academy, the couple had nothing else to do, so they drove their carriage back to the village and went straight to sleep, without fail.
When they woke up again, it was already afternoon. The two of them started packing their things, but they only packed a few things and put the rest in the warehouse.
After putting everything away, An Shuyi and Xia Hua went into the cave and put all the buckets inside. They also filled the cave with fruit, which would be used to make wine. They would tell the boss later.
Now her warehouse has been cleared out. Twenty-six compartments are filled with things, sixteen of which are for food. Hua Hua will replenish the food for her whenever she runs out. One compartment is for her dowry, which still contains the original owner's silver and jewelry, as well as the old land deeds. She hasn't touched any of the original owner's things.
One box contained toiletries, another a bath tub, one a set of clothes, and another a set of underwear, because this made it easier for her to find things. One box held toilet paper, and another held silver, which now amounted to 11,750 taels. The third box contained land deeds, house deeds, and other such items, all stored in a small box.
One box contained cleaned venison and tiger meat, both packed in transparent boxes; the other contained shaved tiger and fox skins, also packed in boxes.
After discussing with the boss, we'll find there's fruit in the cave. Once the ice workshop isn't too busy, we'll start brewing wine. Selling the wine will take some time, so we'll brew some every few days for now.
That evening, while everyone was having dinner together, An Shuyi told the tribespeople that they would be leaving for a while.
The eldest son put down his bowl. “Mother, why did you go out at this time? Why don’t you wait a few days until my second brother comes back and he’s watching the workshop? I’ll go with you then, and that way we can protect you.”
An Shuyi glanced at him and said, "You stay and watch the workshop. Your aunt and I will go. Besides, it's not certain who will protect whom if you come with us. Don't worry, we won't be gone for long, at most a little over a month."
"There are quite a few people in Jinnan City who know about us, so business is not a problem. But other prefectures don't know about us, so we need to find some sources of goods."
Village Chief Lin said, "Sister-in-law, the workshop is doing very well now, do we still need to find a source of goods?"
"Of course, we can't rely on the people of Jinnan City to buy from us. No matter how much they buy, they can't come to buy every day. They're only coming now because they don't have any yet. Once they have all of these, they might only come again after a while."
Village Chief Lin nodded, but was still worried. "Sister-in-law, are you going alone? Should we take a few more people with you?"
An Shuyi shook her head, "No need, Huahua and I are enough. During this time, you should make the most of your time to produce more and take care of the house. If you don't have enough money, just ask the other people who manage the workshops. Just remember to keep track of it."
"You also need to manage your time well, don't overwork yourselves all day. Remember to send two people to pick up the children in the academy. We'll take one carriage with us, and if that's not enough, we'll buy another one."
"We understand, sister-in-law. Please be careful."
After finishing their meal, An Shuyi and Xia Hua went to move their things, including skincare products and clothes. They also asked the meat makers to make braised meat overnight. While they were working on it, Xia Hua also brought out a vacuum sealer, though it was a small machine.
They also took out a lot of packaging bags and started teaching them how to make them. Seeing that they quickly and easily got the hang of it, Xia Hua said, "When you're not using these things, put them away carefully and don't let anyone see them."
“When we go out this time, we’ll introduce this braised meat to other people. Maybe before long, someone will come to buy it. When that happens, you can do it this way.”
After seeing them nod and assure them that there wouldn't be any problems, he went to find Village Chief Lin and instructed him to put away all the things that couldn't be seen by others, and to keep an eye on the outsiders and prevent them from wandering around.
Village Chief Lin repeatedly assured that he would not let anyone see anything they shouldn't see, and that he would keep an eye on those who came to buy things.
An Shuyi was also trying to comfort her sons, who were really quite annoyed. Knowing that she was going to another prefecture, her third, fourth, and fifth sons all came to say that they would go with her, and even her seventh son clung to her.
"Xiao Wu, you should sometimes learn medicine from Doctor Liu. When you have time, you can go and dig up medicinal herbs yourself, but don't go too far. In a little over a month, the house will be finished, and there will be a room for you to store the herbs. You'll have to find those herbs yourself."
"Third brother, you're nineteen now, old enough to get married. Your second brother already has a child, but you're not willing to. In a while, I'll think of a way to send you and fourth brother to join the army, what do you say?"
These two lads have risen from nobody to general and are still alive, so they must be smart. That's why she won't let them do anything else; joining the army is a good option.
"Really? Mother!" the third and fourth sons said in unison. They wanted to join the army and practiced boxing and horseback riding every day, but they were afraid that their mother would not agree, so they had not told her yet.
An Shuyi nodded, "Of course, I always keep my word. So for the next month or so, you should practice your boxing properly. Also, starting tomorrow, fill cloth bags with sand and tie them to your legs. Don't take them off even when you're sleeping. Start with ten pounds. And every morning, run twenty laps around the village."
The third and fourth sons looked at their mother and asked, "Mom, why do you tie sand to your legs? How are you supposed to walk like this, and you still have to run twenty laps?"
Seeing their foolish expressions, An Shuyi was too lazy to explain. "Wait a month, and you'll know once you put down the sandbags. If you can run fast with ten pounds of sand, then add more sand, but don't add too much at once, just a little at a time."
The third and fourth sons nodded. "Mom, we understand. Don't worry, we will do our best this month."
After his mother and the others finished speaking, Xiao Qi asked, "Mother, you've made arrangements for my brothers, but what about me?"
An Shuyi looked at the pink and tender little face, which was full of nervousness and anxiety, "Xiao Qi, can you stay with Mommy?"
Xiaoqi's face instantly lit up with surprise, "Yes, Huahua is very happy to be with Mom, so that Mom and I won't be separated."
The eldest son looked at Xiaoqi in his mother's arms and said, "Mother, let's leave our little sister in the village. We've been traveling by horse-drawn carriage all the way, and it's a long journey. Xiaoqi is still young and will be a burden to you and Auntie."
Hearing her older brother disagree, Xiaoqi said unhappily, "Big brother, I won't be a burden to Mother and Aunt. I will be very good and obedient."
After saying that, she turned her head and said, "Mom, don't listen to your brother. Huahua will be very good and won't cause you any trouble."
“Mother knows that Huahua is so well-behaved and won’t cause you any trouble.” After saying that, An Shuyi said to the eldest son, “Huahua is with me, so you don’t need to worry about her. Besides, if she stays behind, none of you will be able to take care of her.”
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