Chapter 38 [VIP]
Wang Ying lay comfortably on the bed and sighed, "My back and waist have been aching from sitting in the car these past few days. It's so much better at home. What are you standing there for? Go to bed and sleep."
"Oh, this, it's coming right now." Chen Qingyan took off his shoes and lay stiffly on the bed, motionless like an oak log.
Wang Ying noticed something was wrong with him and reached out to touch his hand. "Why are your hands so cold? Did you get chilled while taking a shower?"
"No……"
Wang Ying propped herself up on her arms and sat up. Seeing that his complexion was also off, she asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Should we call a doctor to come and take a look?"
"No, I'm probably just a little tired."
"Then you should rest now. I'm going to check on the vegetables in the experimental field. There are only a few days left until the New Year. If we don't supply vegetables soon, we won't make any money this year."
"I'll do it with you."
"You can rest. I can manage on my own."
Wang Ying opened the experimental field and found that her experience had increased by a large number as soon as she entered. Just a few days ago, it hadn't moved at all. Could it be that the experience automatically increased when she returned home?
Time was of the essence, and there was no time to think. I picked up a sickle and started cutting chives.
Last night at the inn, the two of them had already picked a lot of vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and green beans that could be stored for a while.
Today, I only needed to harvest vegetables like chives and celery. I worked for a whole hour, harvesting dozens of kilograms of each type. At the last minute before leaving the experimental field, Wang Ying took all the vegetables with her.
The bedroom was instantly filled with over ten baskets of vegetables, leaving no room to even step. Without bothering to tidy up, I collapsed into bed, not noticing the person next to me still had their eyes open.
At this moment, Chen Qingyan was wide awake, his mind constantly preoccupied with that matter.
I thought I had stopped caring a long time ago, but when I heard about that person from my younger brother, I couldn't control my anger.
He still remembers the feeling on the day of the county examination when the examiner discovered that he had cheated. He felt weak all over, his mind went blank, and his heart seemed to stop beating.
No matter how much he begged and kowtowed, the official remained unmoved, simply crossing his name off the roster and coldly telling him, "Cheating on the exam, disqualified..."
Why? Why should someone who is full of lies, lacks morality and integrity, and betrays his friends be allowed to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar?
I treated him with sincerity, but this is the result?
Chen Qingyan remembered that when the two first met, Zhang Shiqiu didn't even have a decent calligraphy brush. The only brush he had had was worn down from writing so much.
Without saying a word, he picked out two fine sheep hair brushes from his own brush case and gave them to him.
At that moment, Zhang Shiqiu said with tears in his eyes, "I have no way to repay your kindness in giving me this pen. I would like to compose a poem for you, Brother Yan, and wish that our friendship will last forever."
I regret that I was blinded by his sweet words and treated him as a close friend.
Chen Qingyan tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Afraid of disturbing the rest of those around him, he quietly put on his clothes and got out of bed.
*
The next morning, Wang Ying woke up early and saw Chen Qingyan sitting at his desk reading a book.
"Why are you up so early?"
"If you can't sleep, just get up. I've already tied up the vegetables for you. You can just take them to the shop later."
Wang Ying put on her clothes, leaned over and kissed his cheek, saying, "My husband is so virtuous."
Chen Qingyan curled the corners of his mouth, "The side room has heated up some porridge for you. Eat it before you go to the shop."
"Okay, I'll move the vegetables out first."
The three men had been waiting outside for a long time. They spent half a day moving all the vegetables onto the mule cart, using the same old method as before, pretending that they had been transported back from outside the town.
After breakfast, Wang Ying and Er Shun went to open the shop together.
Chen Qingyan then went to the room where he taught.
As the year drew to a close, all the students at the private school were on holiday, leaving only Chen Qingsong in the classroom. He got up early to study and seemed to be putting in a lot of effort.
"Big brother, you're here!"
"Okay, keep reading."
"Sincerity leads to enlightenment, which is called human nature; enlightenment leads to sincerity, which is called education. Sincerity leads to enlightenment, and enlightenment leads to sincerity."①
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingyan couldn't help but think of Zhang Shiqiu again. "Yesterday you said you met a scholar, is his surname Zhang?"
"Yes, does your older brother know him?"
"I don't recognize you. What poems did you write at your poetry gathering?"
"I don't know how to write poetry. They wrote it all. I was just joining in the fun. But that scholar Zhang's poem is really good. I've memorized his poem 'Watching Snow'."
Chen Qingsong cleared his throat and said, "Sitting and watching, the depths deepen by about a foot, and the cold light shines especially bright at dusk. The dancers in mid-air are tired and lazy, but a gust of wind makes them busier."
Chen Qingyan directly continued with the second half of the poem: "The heavens do not begrudge the fallen jade flowers, sealing the plum blossoms with no fragrance. Who will carefully knead them into soup dumplings, to replace the human heart's hunger?"②
"Brother, do you know this poem?"
Of course he knew. Not only did he know, but the poem was also written by the two of them when they were in the county town. Zhang Shiqiu actually recited it in front of his younger brother. His skin was thicker than a city wall!
"Brother, would you like to come with me to see him next time?"
"Alright." Chen Qingyan had been wanting to ask him why he had framed him in the first place!
Chen Qingsong, the silly boy, was unaware of the inside story and clapped his hands happily, saying, "That's great! With Big Brother's talent, he'll definitely open their eyes!"
*
On the other side, Lin Qiu and Lin Sui had breakfast with Qing Yun in the morning and were then taken to the vegetable shop to play.
The shop was quite crowded, and Wang Ying was weighing vegetables for people, so she didn't have time to attend to the children.
He took a string of coins out of the money box and handed it to Chen Qingyun, saying, "My two cousins just arrived yesterday. Take them out for some fun."
Lin Qiu said, "Cousin, take Sui'er with you. I'll stay here and help my sister-in-law."
Lin Sui shook her head upon hearing this, "If my brother isn't going, I won't go either."
Over the past few days, Chen Rong had repeatedly told his two brothers that once they arrived, they should be observant, quick-witted, and avoid being disliked by others.
Both children were obedient and didn't want to make things difficult for their mother, so they were naturally very careful in everything they did.
Chen Qingyun pouted, "If none of you are going, then I won't go either."
Wang Ying seemed to have seen through their thoughts and knew what it was like to live under someone else's roof.
In his previous life, when he was a child, he stayed at a relative's house for a few days. He was always mindful of how others perceived him, afraid of being disliked if he did something wrong. Putting himself in their shoes, he wanted to make the two children feel more comfortable, so he beckoned them over and said, "Come over here and help me pick out some vegetables."
Some of the vegetables in the basket were wilted or rotten. We didn't have time to sort them out last night, so we had the three children help us pick them out.
"Okay!" The three of them started working.
Today is the market day in Qingshui Town. It's probably close to the Lunar New Year. Even before 7 AM, the streets are already packed with people. Vendors are shouting their wares like they're fighting, and shoppers are jostling shoulder to shoulder, making it hard to move.
The vegetable stall was also doing brisk business. In no time, a large group of people poured in. Some of them grabbed a handful of vegetables, stuffed them into their pockets, and left. Three or four of them had been caught this morning.
Fortunately, these three children came to help; otherwise, he and Ershun alone would have been too busy.
Last night, Wang Ying was worried that she would pick too many vegetables and not be able to sell them, but in just half a day, the vegetables in the shop were almost sold out.
Nearly half of the dishes were purchased by the two restaurants.
During this period, Wang Ying was not at home, and the restaurant cut off the supply of fresh vegetables and reverted to its original menu. The diners, whose palates had long been spoiled, could not get used to the food. After several days without fresh vegetables, they stopped going, and business suddenly plummeted.
Upon learning that Wang Ying had returned, both shopkeepers sent their employees to keep watch over the shop, and they would immediately come to buy vegetables as soon as the shop opened.
Although the remaining vegetables were expensive, everyone was willing to spend a few dozen coins to buy a little bit to try during the New Year. Even a small amount, half a pound or eight ounces, was sold out.
More than 400 kilograms of vegetables were sold out by noon, and some people who came late didn't get any.
Wang Ying counted money until her hands were sore, truly sore, because ancient copper coins were heavy; a string of coins weighed about eight jin (approximately 4 catties), and just stringing the coins made her wrists ache.
The woman next door, who runs a sesame oil shop, was extremely envious. She crossed her arms and came over to watch the commotion: "Your business is so good, why haven't you opened for so long? I thought you'd closed down."
"How could I not do it? I went to the county to visit relatives and deliver New Year's gifts, which took several days to get there and back."
"No wonder so many people have come to ask about your shop these past few days, inquiring when it will open. You're the only one in town with this fresh vegetable; you're going to make a fortune!"
Wang Ying sensed the sour tone in her voice, "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? You only see how booming business is now, but you don't see that we can only do business for half a year. Once spring comes and the vegetables in the fields are ripe, who will still come to buy things from me?"
The woman thought it made sense; every household grows vegetables in the summer, so who would spend money to buy his?
"So what do you do with your shop in the summer?"
“It’s not good to leave the fields empty all the time. We can sell some fruits and vegetables.” Actually, Wang Ying had another idea. He planned to sell shaved ice when the weather got warmer. The experimental field was a natural ice maker. He would put containers on it, collect rainwater, and freeze it into ice. It was a business with no upfront costs.
After chatting for a few minutes, business came in. Wang Ying didn't have time to pay attention to her and hurried to serve the customers. She finished the last dish at a low price and took out the ledger to start recording the accounts.
Today's earnings totaled 7,470 cash, almost half a month's worth of earnings.
There's a big market day before the New Year, and I figured business would be good during that time, so Wang Ying decided to hire her three children to help out.
"If you come to the shop to help out again tomorrow, your sister-in-law will give you wages for the New Year, how about it?"
Lin Qiu shook his head, "No need to pay, Sui'er and I came to help."
Chen Qingyun said, "Then I won't take the money."
Wang Ying tapped her forehead. "Whether you need money or not, you have to come and help, otherwise I really can't manage on my own."
Hehehe.
Just then, Li and Chen Rong came to deliver the food, only to find the shop empty except for some vegetable leaves.
"Have all the vegetables been sold out?"
Wang Ying took the food box and said, "Hmm, there are a lot of people at the market today, so things sell quickly. Why didn't Qingyan come?"
“Your third aunt and I came out for a stroll and brought you food on the way, so we didn’t let him go out.”
After lunch, when things were less busy, Li wanted to take Lin Qiu and Lin Sui to a fabric shop to buy some fabric to make clothes. Wang Ying took out three strings of cash from the money box, saying, "Let my two cousins pick out some nice clothes, and also make some new clothes for my younger siblings."
Li refused, saying, "I don't need you to give me money. I brought my own silver with me when I went out."
"Take it, you can keep what you have if you don't spend it all." Now that he has more money, he is especially generous to his family, especially Qingyun and Qingsong, whom he treats like his own younger brother and sister-in-law.
Li could not persuade her otherwise, so she had the maid pack up the money and the group went out to stroll in the street.
Wang Ying tidied up the shop, locked the door, and headed home. He had a feeling that Chen Qingyan had been acting strangely since last night.
When I woke up this morning, I noticed dark circles under his eyes, so I guessed he hadn't slept much all night.
I was in such a hurry that I didn't have time to ask, but I kept thinking about it and wanted to find out what had happened.
A note from the author:
Note ① Selected from *The Doctrine of the Mean* ② *Two Poems on Viewing Snow* by Yang Wanli
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