Chapter 39 [VIP]
Back home, Chen Qingyan was testing her younger brother's homework. Wang Ying didn't disturb him and went to the backyard to deposit the money first.
The family has now saved over a hundred strings of cash, sixty of which came from the autumn harvest and the remainder from the profits of the shop over the past few months.
This doesn't even include the daily household expenses and the cost of New Year's gifts. In short, under his management, the Chen family finally turned a profit.
Wang Ying put today's earnings into the box. The warehouse was full of two large boxes of copper coins. She would take them to the money shop to exchange them for silver when she had time, which would be more convenient for storage and carrying.
However, exchanging copper coins for silver would result in a slight loss. Normally, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, but it would take more than one thousand one hundred copper coins to exchange copper coins for one tael of silver. The ten percent handling fee was simply too expensive.
When he locked up the storeroom and came out, he happened to run into Chen Qingyan returning from the front yard.
"Ah Ying, you're back?"
"Business was good today, the vegetables sold out quickly, so I came back early."
"Did they sell out of all the vegetables this morning?"
"yes."
Chen Qingyan wore an incredulous expression, which made Wang Ying laugh.
Once inside, Wang Ying took off her cloak and cotton coat and handed them to him to hang on the wall. She said that the house was warm from the heating, so he didn't need to wear too many clothes.
"Come here, I want to say a few words to you."
Chen Qingyan sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
"What happened last night? You look so disturbed. Did you not sleep at all?"
"No, no, I'm just tired from the journey, and I can't recover for a while after getting home."
Wang Ying was skeptical. "Really?"
"Um."
"You must tell me if anything happens."
"Don't worry, it's really nothing. Don't overthink it."
"It's good that you're alright. I'll go check on how the west courtyard is being cleaned up."
Chen Qingyan pulled Wang Ying back.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to hug you." Chen Qingyan wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his stomach, and took a deep breath.
Wang Ying knew he had something on his mind, but since he wouldn't say, she didn't want to keep pressing him. Everyone has their privacy. She ruffled his hair and said, "If you haven't rested well, lie down for a while. I'll be back in a bit."
"good."
After everyone left, Chen Qingyan let out a long sigh. It wasn't that he intentionally hid it from Wang Ying; he simply didn't know how to bring it up.
The imperial examination had become a mental obsession for him; the mere mention of it filled him with anxiety and helplessness, eroding his remaining self-esteem.
Never mind, I'll talk to Aying after I've resolved this matter myself.
*
Uncle Chen in the west courtyard was watching several hired bricklayers tidy up the yard.
This is where Third Aunt lived before she got married. No one has lived here for many years since she got married.
"Young master is here."
"How's the house cleaning going?"
"It will take a few more days to repair. The house hasn't been repaired much in the past few years, and the windows are all warped. They all need to be reinforced again."
When the master was alive, he would have someone repair the house every year. Since his death, so many things have happened in the family, and Li Shi is not good at managing the household, so the house has fallen into disrepair.
Wang Ying watched as the worker climbed the ladder to the top of the roof to replace the tiles. "Be careful, there's snow on the roof, don't fall."
The young man chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, boss."
Once inside, someone was tidying up as well. Because the house hadn't been lived in for a long time, the plaster on the walls had peeled off and needed to be scraped off and re-plastered. The bed was also old, and the house was empty, so some furniture needed to be added.
Wang Ying said, "Tell them to repair the house carefully. If they don't have enough money, they can borrow it from me. We must not neglect our third aunt and two cousins."
Uncle Chen smiled and nodded, "Young master, don't worry, I'll make sure it's as nice as a new house."
"Once the weather gets warmer, the houses in the other courtyards will also need to be renovated, so that there will be a place for guests to stay in the future."
"Good." Looking at Wang Ying's back, Uncle Chen couldn't help but sigh in his heart: It's all thanks to the young master marrying the young master. He's so young yet so organized. This family now has a pillar of support.
*
Time flew by and it was already the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. These past few days, the vegetable shop has been doing brisk business every day. Wang Ying goes to the experimental field to pick vegetables at night and goes to the shop to buy vegetables during the day. She is extremely busy.
Fortunately, Lin Qiu was there to help. Qingyun and Lin Sui were younger and didn't want to come after working for a few days. Only Lin Qiu got up early every day to accompany him to open the shop.
Early in the morning, Wang Ying came out of the house and saw that Lin Qiu was already waiting in the outer room.
Are you cold?
Lin Qiu shook her head shyly.
Did you eat anything this morning?
"I ate and drank millet porridge and thin flour pancakes." Since coming to the Chen family, he and his younger brother have been eating the same food as their cousin, and they can eat millet and thin flour every day. Their faces have become rounder.
"You don't need to get up so early next time. There aren't many customers in the shop in the morning, so it's okay to go later."
"Um……"
She had agreed to the same thing yesterday. Wang Ying knew he would have to come so early tomorrow. This kid was either soft-hearted or fierce, yet he dared to stab himself in the neck with scissors.
Fortunately, the injury on my neck has almost healed, leaving only a red scar, which is not noticeable in winter when I'm wearing a thick coat and a scarf.
A few days ago, Cao Bin sent word that he was coming to pick up vegetables today, and Wang Ying prepared over 300 jin (approximately 150 kg) of vegetables in advance. It's the end of the year, and travel is busy; this is probably the last trip before the new year.
Around 9 a.m., Cao Kun arrived with three young apprentices. As soon as he entered the room, he said, "Happy New Year, Manager Wang."
"It's only been a short time and you're already offering New Year's greetings."
"I wish you a Happy New Year in advance. Our company will be closed for the holidays in a few days, so I probably won't be able to come before the New Year."
"Alright, then I'll wish you a Happy New Year in advance. May you have great luck and make a fortune in the new year."
"Hahahaha, you're too kind, shopkeeper."
"Sister-in-law, where do we put these vegetables?" Lin Qiu came in carrying a basket of chives she had picked out, and bumped into Cao Kun. The two of them stared at each other in surprise.
Cao Kun's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "What are you doing here?"
Lin Qiu was baffled by the question, and since he didn't know the person, he quickly hid behind Wang Ying.
Wang Ying introduced with a smile, "This is Boss Cao from the porter's shop. He's the one who gave you the medicine for your injury last time."
Lin Qiu quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Boss Cao."
"You're welcome, it's nothing." Cao Kun scratched his head and chuckled twice, then quickly called the waiter to come inside and move the vegetables. His eyes never left Lin Qiu the whole time.
Wang Ying watched from the side and couldn't help but think to herself: Cao Kun still doesn't hide anything, staring straight at his cousin, making him feel embarrassed.
However, we don't know Cao Kun's family situation, whether he is married or not, or what his character is like. If he is a good match, it would be nice to bring the two of them together.
After settling the bill, Cao Kun walked up to Wang Ying and whispered, "Manager Wang, how old is your cousin this year? Is he married?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, nothing. I've run into you twice in the county town before. I didn't expect to see you in this town. It feels like fate. I was just asking."
"This is my third aunt's cousin. He'll be seventeen this year and hasn't gotten engaged yet."
Upon hearing this, Cao Kun couldn't hide his smile. "That's wonderful!"
Wang Ying didn't expose him. After all, she couldn't make her own decision about marriage. She decided to go back and talk to her aunt and let the elders make the decision.
With most of the vegetables sold out by noon, Wang Ying and Lin Qiu could close up shop early again. They cleaned the stall and carried a basket of vegetables home.
As a result, his third brother rushed over in a hurry on the way.
"Qingsong, what's wrong?"
"No, sister-in-law, something terrible has happened! My brother is fighting with someone!"
"Who did you fight with? Are you hurt? Where are you now?!"
Chen Qingsong, panting, said, "I got into a fight with a scholar and got hurt, I hurt my head. I'm at home now."
Wang Ying dropped the vegetable basket in her hand and ran home like a madwoman.
When I got home, the person had already been bandaged up and was resting in bed.
"Mother, what's going on?"
Wiping away her tears, Li said, "I don't know either. He won't say anything when I ask him."
"What did the doctor say?"
“They said the injury wasn’t serious, but I need to rest. How could I have hurt my head after just going out for a short while?” Li took out her handkerchief and started wiping away her tears again.
Chen Rong's eyes also reddened. "How can you bully people like this? Hitting someone on the head! What if they get seriously injured!"
Looking at the pale face of the person on the bed, with dried bloodstains on his clothes, Wang Ying was filled with rage. She had finally managed to heal him, and in the blink of an eye, he had been injured like this again!
He turned around and went out to find Chen Qingsong, demanding, "Tell me from the beginning exactly how your older brother got injured."
Chen Qingsong sniffled and said, "Today, my classmate invited me to a debate meeting, so I asked my older brother to go with me. I also wanted to introduce him to Zhang Xiucai, who has returned from the county school."
The story begins a few days ago when Chen Qingsong's classmate sent him an invitation to his home to participate in a debate on classical texts.
The so-called "classical debate" was a daily social activity in which several children would get together to discuss the contents of the Five Classics and exchange their reading experiences.
His classmates were all quite young, the oldest being sixteen or seventeen, and the youngest being a year younger than Chen Qingsong.
However, this time was different; they also invited Zhang Xiucai, who had returned from the county school, to participate.
On the way there, Chen Qingsong kept praising how amazing Zhang Xiucai was and how knowledgeable he was, while Chen Qingyan followed beside him without saying a word.
When they arrived at their friend's house, everyone else was already there, and they all stood up to greet the two brothers.
Sitting at the head of the table was none other than Zhang Shiqiu. When he saw Chen Qingyan, he was taken aback for a moment, then greeted him with a smile, "Long time no see, Qingyan."
"Brother, do you know Scholar Zhang?"
Chen Qingyan sneered, "It's more than just knowing each other."
Zhang Shiqiu said without changing his expression, "Brother Qingyan may have misunderstood me. Let's discuss this private matter in private. Let's sit down and discuss the scriptures first."
Chen Qingsong, unaware of what had happened between the two, tugged at his brother's sleeve to make him sit down.
Today we will be discussing the Book of Documents, also known as the Book of Documents, one of the Five Classics.
Someone asked, "Which chapter of the Book of Documents are you trying to identify?"
Chen Qingyan suddenly spoke up, "Why don't we discuss 'Quiet words are often contrary to reason, and excessive flattery is boundless'?"
This phrase comes from the Book of Documents, Yao Dian, and means to describe a person who is eloquent in speech but acts contrary to his words, and who is hypocritical. It is often used to describe a person who is extremely wicked and evil.
The implication was too obvious, and Zhang Shiqiu's expression changed instantly. "I think we should still adhere to the principle of 'Do not listen to unfounded rumors, and do not engage in unsolicited schemes.'"
"How dare you utter such words, you brat!"
Chen Qingyan stood up abruptly, pointed at Zhang Shiqiu and angrily cursed, "Back then, I pitied your poverty and let you live in my rented house to study for the exam, using my writing materials and treating you as a close friend. But how did you treat me?"
"Big, big brother..." Chen Qingsong was stunned. Didn't his brother say he didn't know Zhang Xiucai? How come the two of them seem to have known each other for a long time?
A note from the author:
Let me say this in advance.
Chen Qingyan is seventeen years old this year, and will be eighteen after the New Year, so his thoughts and actions are not mature.
In this relationship, Wang Ying was the dominant and powerful one, even though he was the bottom...
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