Jiang Zhishan stared at Jiang Ling in astonishment.
Jiang Ling smiled at Jiang Zhishan and said, "When I went to Pingxi County before, I ran into Magistrate Duan. I told Magistrate Duan about your matter, and he promised me that he would investigate the matter thoroughly."
“This morning, I took Suihe to Pingxi County and we ran into Magistrate Duan, who was inspecting the people’s conditions. Magistrate Duan told me that he was supposed to come today to announce this news, but he had official business to attend to and would come tomorrow. He said that your case has been thoroughly investigated and that you can return to the academy to study again!”
Jiang Ling's words drew everyone's attention to Jiang Zhishan.
Grandma Jiang was overjoyed. She quickly grabbed Jiang Zhishan's arm and said, "Son, come back with your mother, pack your things and we'll go back to the academy!"
The others in Lujia Village, however, were not in the mood. They looked at Jiang Zhishan with reluctance, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start.
Jiang Zhishan was not from Lujia Village after all. Even if they were reluctant to let him go, the people of Lujia Village couldn't say anything if he wanted to leave.
"Mother, I don't plan to leave!" Jiang Zhishan shook her head and looked at the villagers of Lujia Village.
"What?" Everyone looked at Jiang Zhishan in surprise upon hearing the catalog.
Grandma Jiang's expression froze on her face. Her face changed drastically, her eyebrows stood on end, and she pointed at Jiang Ling beside her, yelling, "You little slut! What kind of bewitching potion did you give your brother?! This is your own brother! How could you be so heartless?"
Jiang Ling rolled her eyes at Old Madam Jiang and ignored her tantrum.
Jiang Zhishan reached out and grabbed Old Madam Jiang's arm, her expression somewhat displeased, and said, "Mother! What are you doing? This has nothing to do with my eldest sister! Stop scolding her!"
"My older sister has helped me so much, I really have to thank her. Even though I've been living and eating at her house these past few days, she hasn't treated me badly at all. Instead, she's encouraged me to teach here and make a living on my own!"
After hearing Jiang Zhishan's words, Old Madam Jiang was a little embarrassed, but she still forced herself to widen her eyes and roll her eyes at Jiang Ling, saying, "That's what she should do. You're her brother, so it's only natural for her to help you!"
“Mother! Nothing is a given. I owe my eldest sister so much!” Jiang Zhishan’s tone was urgent and her voice was raised.
"You..." For a moment, Grandma Jiang didn't know how to refute her son, so she could only glare at Jiang Ling with eyes full of malice.
Jiang Ling, however, didn't care. She glanced at Jiang Zhishan and said, "Zhishan, it's up to you whether you stay or leave. You're an adult now!"
The villagers of Lujia Village were somewhat displeased when they heard Jiang Ling's words. Jiang Ling was clearly trying to drive Jiang Zhishan away, but they could only keep quiet because Jiang Zhishan was a member of Jiangjia Village.
Jiang Zhishan bowed to Jiang Ling, then turned to the people of Lujia Village and bowed again before slowly saying, "Jiang Zhishan would like to thank all the uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and cousins of Lujia Village. I was expelled from the academy for some reason, but you did not look down on me. On the contrary, you have shown me such respect. I bow to you all here. Please rest assured, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and cousins, I, Jiang Zhishan, will not leave Lujia Village for at least four months!"
"What? Son! Four...four months?" Old Mrs. Jiang did not expect that Jiang Zhishan would stay in Lujia Village for so long.
She grabbed Jiang Zhishan's arm again and said to him, "Son! Are you crazy? Four months! What if it interferes with your studies?"
Jiang Zhishan shook his head and gently pushed Old Madam Jiang's hand away, saying, "Mother, you don't need to worry about this matter. I have my own plans!"
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Zhishan bowed deeply to the elders of Jiangjia Village and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you all, I'm truly incompetent!"
"Young man from the Jiang family, are you really not planning to come back with us?" The village chief of Jiang Family Village stroked his beard and asked.
Jiang Zhishan shook his head and said firmly, "Yes, please go back early, everyone! You've had a hard day's trip!"
Grandma Jiang wanted to say something more, but the village chief of Jiangjia Village shook his head and said to her, "Sister-in-law, let's go back. You can't persuade your son!"
Hearing this, Old Madam Jiang could only turn away dejectedly. However, before leaving, she glared fiercely at Jiang Ling, as if warning her to serve Jiang Zhishan well.
"Please rest assured, everyone, I will do my best to teach every child well in these four months!" Jiang Zhishan, dressed in dark gray linen clothes, said from the crowd.
Watching Grandma Jiang and the others leave, everyone in Lujia Village breathed a sigh of relief. They all shook their heads and showed kind expressions to thank Jiang Zhishan.
"Mother, two restaurants in Changning Town have ordered two hundred bowls of mint water. This is their deposit!"
Jiang Yaojie slammed the copper coins onto the table and said to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling looked at the table full of copper coins, smiled mysteriously, and turned to ask, "Yaojie, why didn't you give me the copper coins on the oxcart earlier?"
"Mom, you told me not to flaunt my wealth, and there were other people in the car, so I didn't give it to you!" Jiang Yaojie replied with a smile.
Jiang Ling nodded in satisfaction. Her eldest son seemed to be very passionate about business and also very talented and intelligent.
"After deducting the deposit for those four hundred bowls of mint water, how much more money do the owners of these two restaurants need to pay us?" Jiang Ling decided to test Jiang Yaojie.
Jiang Yaojie took out an abacus and began to manipulate the beads. After a while, he looked up and said smugly, "The two shopkeepers need to pay us a total of six hundred copper coins, that's three hundred for each of them!"
As he spoke, Jiang Yaojie deliberately shook the abacus in his hand.
Jiang Ling and Jiang Zhishan exchanged a glance, and it wasn't hard to tell that Jiang Zhishan was also very satisfied with Jiang Yaojie.
"Yaojie, can you take care of delivering these two buckets of spicy grass syrup tomorrow?" Jiang Ling asked.
Jiang Yaojie patted his chest and nodded confidently, and Jiang Ling couldn't help but smile with satisfaction at the sight.
Ever since he went to find a water source with Magistrate Duan, Jiang Yaojie has undergone a dramatic change. At least in Jiang Ling's eyes, Jiang Yaojie is no longer the taciturn and sensitive boy he used to be.
Jiang Ling took twelve copper coins from the table and placed them in Jiang Yaojie's hand, saying, "These two copper coins are for Lu Bo's round-trip transportation fee for the oxcart. You can use the remaining ten copper coins as you see fit!"
When Jiang Yaojie heard the words "freedom of control," his facial expression was somewhat complicated, a mixture of surprise and excitement.
“You’re a big kid now, and you have the right to spend money. How about these ten copper coins as a reward for successfully negotiating with two restaurants?” Jiang Ling said.
"Then...then...if I close the deal, will you still give me a reward?" Jiang Yaojie asked excitedly.
"This..." Jiang Ling was speechless for a moment, but seeing Jiang Yaojie's expectant gaze, she nodded.
However, she seemed to realize that not everything should be rewarded with money for children.
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