All language subtitles for [English] 一口气看完《闻声明理》全集：悠然度日！ [DownSub.com]

I won't marry him! I'd rather die than marry him! I

absolutely refuse to marry those poor, pedantic scholars in Gu Chengli's

family! I've died once before!

In my past life, I was blind to marry into that

family and suffered endless torment from my mother-in-law

. In this life, Song Qian has to jump into this fire pit!

Having died once

, he's actually a reincarnated person!

That means he knows what will happen in the future

! No wonder he gave up his perfectly good future as a virgin

to snatch that farmer's wife

! Too bad, your reincarnation script is up against me,

a transmigrator from Earth

! You're unlucky ! The

Gu family is on the verge of ruin.

Gu Chengli couldn't even pass the imperial examinations in this life;

he's a complete and utter idiot!

And that... The main wife is going to the county town to do business

and is going to make a fortune.

The head of the household , Sui Sui , even swore a

solemn oath; it must be a divine intervention

in her dream. How can you bear to push her into this fire pit?

Alas

, the betrothal gifts have already been accepted, and

now the engagement is being called off

at the last minute.

Where will our Song family's reputation be ? Father, are you confused?

The outside world only knows that the Gu family came to propose to the Song family's daughter

, but they didn't specifically name me, Song Sui. Why

not have Qian Jie'er take my name

and marry in my place? Isn't that enough?

In this area, a runaway is forced to take someone else's place;

wouldn't that be considered a fraudulent marriage?

Gu Deshan is a notoriously stubborn man in the surrounding area.

If he finds out and makes a scene,

will our Song family still have a way out? Head

of the household, how can this be? How can you call

her a money-grubber? She's always eating and drinking

for free at home, and she's so slow at doing chores.

Gu Chengli is at least a scholar now, so

letting her marry into that family

is a bargain for her.

Don't you think so? Sister Qian

, this so-called hellhole

of the Gu family is the best springboard

for me to escape from you bunch of

vampires . Sister Chen,

why don't you marry in place of your eldest sister

? Your parents raised you with great difficulty,

and now that the family is in trouble,

you should do your filial duty

and share the burden.

Since your parents want me to go,

I will. But I

can marry in place of my eldest sister

, but I don't even have a decent set of clothes.

If I'm taken away by the Gu family like this,

wouldn't that be... It's a disgrace to my parents

. The two bolts of fine cotton cloth that the Gu family sent as betrothal gifts

are mine to take with me as part of my dowry.

I won't give them to you. But

you better keep this marriage arrangement a secret. When you get to the Gu family, keep your stupid mouth

shut

and

obediently serve your

in- laws. If you dare to utter a single word,

I'll break your legs.

Do you understand? Do

you understand?

I'll be obedient.

Your brain is already slow.

When you get to your husband's family, don't talk

too much , lest your poor and shabby appearance cause bad luck.

Got it? Hurry up and cook

, otherwise Chen Guihua will find another reason to mock me.

Song Qian,

is the meal ready? Is

it ready?

Why is there no side dish

? There weren't many wild vegetables left over from yesterday.

I've put the rest in the porridge.

Humph, I know we eat a lot of vegetables at home,

so why don't you dig up more?

There are plenty of wild vegetables growing outside lately

, but there are even more people digging for them in the village.

Besides, I spent all yesterday in the backyard boiling dye.

I only managed to dig these wild vegetables in the afternoon.

But if Mother wants to eat,

I'll go out to dig for wild vegetables right after I finish breakfast.

How can that be

? I

have to put the cloth in the dye vat this morning. We

can't let the house be without vegetables!

Oh well, no vegetables?

We won't starve.

Hurry up and serve the rice

. Dad's going out to help someone with chores.

I'll serve the rice. Dad's not eating eggs this morning.

Humph,

I've been in this Great Wu Dynasty for three years now,

and life is so tight.

The rice is almost ready.

Go inside and wait.

We don't need to eat three meals a day

; two is enough.

When I was young, I dug up grass roots and ate tree bark.

In my past life, at least I had no worries about food and

drink. Here, even getting enough to eat and wear is a problem.

Mother always favors her younger brother.

Go call him. Your eldest sister is coming over for dinner.

I'm not going

. Sister

Qin will go call her. Dinner's ready

, eldest sister, time to eat!

Oh, eldest

sister, Mom's calling you to eat!

Ugh, so annoying!

Go tell Mom I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat

osmanthus. Osmanthus

has roots, osmanthus has roots.

Are you all home?

Something's happened

! Something's happened

! Oh no! Oh no! I heard your future son-in-law

got a fever during his exams in the prefectural city,

and after leaving the exam hall, he's become mentally impaired!

You said your

sister

will be fine after a

nap?

If you don't believe me, I

'll go and ask someone else.

They reek of alcohol early this morning.

These fraudulent, half-baked exam takers

, they really dare to ask for

help! Grandma, should we go to the county or town to get

a doctor to come and check on your sister?

What are you doing?

You'll pay for the doctor's visit.

Everyone says your sister will be fine after a nap.

Go out and let Sui Sui sleep.

What will happen ? Is the situation true?

Oh,

it's news from the yamen.

Now Gu Deshan's wife and

several members of the Gu family have gone to the prefectural city to pick someone up.

It's all over , it's all over.

What are you vomiting for? Eat quickly!

" I don't want to eat,

I don't want to eat. What do you want

to eat?

Do you want meat? No, hurry up and

eat . I'm eating right now.

Don't scold him

. I want to hit him right now

! Ahhh!

You guys think Gu Deshan's son has become mentally disabled

after being burned? Can he be cured?

Sui Sui, are you hungry?

Come and eat.

So it's true

. Do I really have to live with a mentally disabled person for the rest of my life?

This is terrible!

I've lost my soul.

I raised you with so much care and love. All

my efforts have been in vain.

Mother, what happened to your older sister?

Your older sister is probably not going to make it!

Ahhh!

You just said she's not going to

make it? Don't you even go to call a doctor to try to save her?

Shut your mouth

! Sui Sui is fine

. Usually..." They're all so powerful, but

they become spineless when something happens.

As long as a person is warm

and breathing, they're still alive.

You've never seen what a dead person looks like.

Let's go find a sorceress to take a look.

The Song family is really outrageous,

they actually want to invite a sorceress.

I've met that scholar Gu , I

heard he's very learned.

Who would have thought that a perfectly healthy person could be burned into a fool?

Mother, Sui Sui is clearly not right now.

Why don't I go to the county town to find a doctor

to take a look at Sui Sui?

What do you know?

Of course, this kind of thing needs a sorceress to see,

but sorceresses are all liars.

I didn't expect that the seemingly feudal and conservative Song

Yougen is actually an atheist.

Humph,

who told you that sorceresses are all liars? Humph,

isn't this obvious?

If sorceresses can cure

diseases, why don't the emperors in plays invite sorceresses to see the sick,

but instead keep a group of imperial physicians?

You go and invite a sorceress.

I'll burn incense at home and

ask the household spirits to bless Sui Sui with peace.

One two is two,

two two two is four.

This is clearly the ancient multiplication table,

similar to the modern multiplication table

, not some kind of exorcism incantation.

This is absurd and laughable!

I'm hungry and want to eat.

Oh, the fortune teller is really effective! What

are you standing there for?

Go cook!

The older you get, the lazier you become!

I can't even kill a chicken!

Song Qing is such a glutton!

He just told the fortune teller he was killing a chicken as a polite gesture,

but who told him to actually do it?

Oh, sister,

you're being too polite!

I'll go kill the chicken!

What are you standing there for?

Go to the kitchen and boil some water;

we'll need to remove the chicken feathers later.

The older you get, the lazier you become!

Hahaha

! Oh my, sister,

is this stewed by your second daughter?

It tastes so good! It

smells even better than what other chefs cook!

What's so special about this? My eldest daughter's stew

is even better! Mom, when is my older sister coming?

Hurry up and eat, don't talk

, hahaha!

I never imagined your eldest daughter was not only beautiful

but also such a good cook!

My eldest daughter is not only a good cook

but also knows how to weave and dye cloth.

Everyone in the neighborhood knows how

capable my eldest daughter is! Mom,

don't say anymore, what's there to hide?

It's a good thing

that girls are shy.

Your eldest daughter is so beautiful,

is she engaged yet?

Eat, eat! Eldest

sister, do you want potatoes?

No,

oh.

When Yuan Shen was 12 years old

, pale and thin, he and his older sister both fell ill one after the other.

To save money, Song Yougen and his wife

boiled the leftover medicine from his older sister's medicine again and served it to Yuan Shen.

Yuan Shen swallowed his last breath

and opened his eyes again.

His heart had been replaced by the modern one. In my

Great Wu Dynasty, the household registration system

was strict. Without a roadmark, it was impossible to move an inch.

I could only stay in this house for the time being and live a miserable life.

Sister-in-law Liuzhi

, I heard that Uncle Deshan's son had an accident a few days ago.

I also heard about it.

Is it true or false?

Is it news from the government

? How could it be fake

? This is such a pity!

Who can argue with that?

This boy from the city has always been exceptionally good at his studies.

The teachers in the county all said he would definitely pass the exam this time

. Before Deshan left, he even said that if the boy

from the city passed this time,

he would become a scholar.

But who knew that such a thing would happen?

This morning,

the eldest daughter of the Song family

fainted after hearing about this

. I also knew about it

and invited Zheng the herbalist to see her.

Later, we even invited a shaman.

I saw her this morning when I was working in the fields. She was

a perfectly healthy young lady

, just waiting to get married.

Now that this has happened,

it's pitiful.

Who can argue with that?

Now that Deshan's son is like that, does

the marriage still count?

I married into the family late

and don't know many things.

Isn't the Song family an outsider?

How did they get married to Uncle Deshan's family ?

The marriage between the eldest daughter of the Song family and the young man of the Deshan family

was arranged by Old Man Song

, the eldest daughter's

grandfather, when he was alive.

Back then, the county government conscripted laborers

to dig a river.

Deshan accidentally fell into the ditch.

If Old Man Song hadn't jumped in to save him,

Deshan might have been swept away.

Then the two families would have become related by

marriage. Old Man Song

died the day after

the engagement was arranged

. To be honest,

Deshan owes the Song family a life.

How many wild vegetables did you dig up?

These are the eggs you got from your sister-in-law Chunfu.

When you go to town tomorrow,

sell these eggs too.

If you can't even sell them for 18 coins a pound,

then don't sell them.

Okay,

are you laughing at me

?

Hahaha,

then why were you staring at me like that?

You must have been laughing at me.

You're so smug now, aren't you?

You can only marry a sane person, while

I can only marry a fool.

My whole life is ruined.

What hope can I have after

marrying a fool ?

You're so old and you

still don't know... "Be sensible!

Your sister is like this,

and you're still laughing at her

for being crazy?

We don't even know Gu Chengli's current situation, yet

he's already jumping to conclusions.

He 's only thinking about himself.

It seems she doesn't

like Gu Chengli as much as she usually does.

Do you believe me if I say I didn't laugh at him?

If your eyes are bad, you can donate them to someone else

. Mom, you see

how ignorant Song Pi

is, you've known this for a long time

. I'm going to scold him later.

1,300 coins! This is my

little savings from selling things in the county town over the past three years!

Tomorrow I'm going to the county town

, and I'll collect some eggs in the town to sell there.

It'll come in handy.

Dad

hasn't even rested yet

, and he's already going to rest too?

Hey, don't overwork yourself.

I heard that during the last exam,

a student fell seriously ill with a fever

and became mentally impaired.

Your health is the most important thing.

Don't push yourself. If

you don't pass this time,

we can try again next year

." I understand,

Dad. I'm going out to get some hot water.

I'm going,

Dad.

I want to get some fresh air

too . Brother Gu, where are you going?

Going to get some hot water

? Perfect timing, I'll go too.

Okay,

the next exam is tomorrow

. These past two days have flown by. Oh,

by the way, Brother Gu, I heard someone got sick and went crazy during the exam?

I heard that person was also named Gu Chengli.

Brother Gu, the other person has the same name as you.

Is that so? That's quite a coincidence.

How come a farmer's son is so arrogant?

The person who had the accident wasn't him?

Eldest sister, it's chilly this morning,

why are you dressed so lightly? I can't

sleep, get up and sweep the floor. Eldest

sister, you sweep first,

I'm going to town to sell eggs.

Wait, I'll go to the county town with you.

You've just recovered, why

go to the county town ?

Be careful not to get hit by anything on the road

. Yes, eldest sister,

you're still not well

, you should rest at home.

Oh,

why are you stopping here?

I don't trust them

. The arranged marriage and the exchanged dowry money

were not as good as the one I picked myself. I found a

law enforcement officer who looked good,

but after getting to know him, I found his shortcomings were also obvious.

I knew you would definitely go to the county town today,

so I waited for you here.

It would be too embarrassing

for me to take you there

. There is still no news

about your second brother. Yes,

my second brother used to work as a bouncer at a gambling den in the city.

Last year during the Spring Festival, he somehow got a cow

and said he had to go out and lay low

for a while before coming back.

It has been almost four months and he has not returned.

My father is worried and is still scolding my second brother.

My mother is also worried.

Your second brother is really capable.

You are the first person to praise him.

Everyone in the village says that my second brother is not studying hard

and is messing around outside, getting

into fights and getting

into trouble sooner or later.

Even my mother was worried that the victim would come to the door

when she first saw the cow . This cow

would sell for at least 13 yuan

in Rome . Even if

your second brother is a scoundrel

, he still remembers to bring a cow home.

People your second brother's age

, even if they stay in the village honestly

, do they bring a cow home?

You're right. When

we get back, I'll tell my mother this.

Later, when my father scolds my second brother,

I'll have my mother say this to him.

Song Qian really likes riding in the oxcart

. From now on, I'll keep an eye on when he goes to the county town

and drive him there.

You also need to sell eggs.

No, this cow hasn't been officially registered at the county government office yet.

My mother said I should go to the county town to find my uncle.

My uncle will take me to the county government office.

These eggs are for my uncle.

The official registration is a deed with the government seal.

Livestock without a registration will be confiscated as private property.

Sister Chen, when are you coming back to the village today?

My mother said my uncle recognizes... "I know the ways of the yamen,

so I'll draw up the contract quickly.

Wait until I'm done,

then

I'll come find you.

I'll give you

a ride back to the village. We'll see. I don't know

when I'll sell all my eggs

, and you're busy today too, going to the county yamen

to give Niu Li the contract.

That's more important

. Okay, by the way, my mom said there's a wonton stall in the county town that's pretty good.

How about we go eat wontons when we get to town?

No need, I already ate some this morning.

I don't have enough money on me

, and I'm embarrassed to spend it.

It's alright, my mom gave me 10 coins

for two bowls of wontons

when I left today. That's definitely enough. He's a

real mama's boy,

always talking

about his mother. His mother is someone Wang Niangzi doesn't want to mess with,

and his family relationships are very complicated. He

has two half-brothers." My brother

has a younger brother who

was born a few years ago.

Now the whole family lives in one courtyard.

I need to keep my distance from him.

No,

this is money your mother gave you.

I don't know how to use it properly.

In the Great Wu Dynasty, it is customary not to separate households while parents are alive.

My family is small,

and every year my father goes to perform corvée labor for the court.

The whole family is terrified.

Zheng Feng is a good man

, but his family situation is too complicated. He

is definitely not a suitable marriage partner.

Thank you for today.

I'll go now. Where

are you going to sell eggs?

I'll take you there

. I've already troubled you enough today

. I can go by myself

. Oh,

Uncle Lou

is here.

With your word,

I would have come even

if it were raining knives.

I brought more than ten catties of eggs today,

Uncle. Look,

there's Chunfu's wife in there too. Chunfu 's

sister-in-law is very diligent;

she cleaned all the eggs very well.

Then I tried cleaning mine too.

This year, the

late spring cold snap meant the wild vegetables grew later than usual

, but they're still quite tender.

It's the lean season,

and we don't have much at home, so

I brought some shepherd's purse and water spinach for my uncle.

I hope you won't mind;

it

's kind of you. It's my duty. If it were

n't for you taking my eggs,

I'd still be squatting on the street,

not knowing how long I'd have to sell them. If

I don't put in the effort,

Chunfu's sister-in-law will definitely beat me when I get back.

Chunfu is quite far along in her pregnancy now.

She's doing well in Xiapi Village.

Chunfu's sister-in-law is

over seven months pregnant now;

although her belly is big

, she's not clumsy at all.

Yesterday I... I met her in the village.

Chunfu's mother-in-law made several pairs of tiger-head shoes.

Now the whole family is looking forward to the baby coming out of her belly.

It weighs thirteen catties and twelve taels, worth two

hundred and sixty-one coins.

The restaurant always accepts eggs. From now

on, if you sell eggs,

just sell them here,

but they must be fresh.

Uncle, you letting me send eggs this way

proves that you trust me.

I guarantee that all the eggs you bring from now on

will be fresh.

I will compensate double the price

for any bad ones.

I just don't know

how many I should send here.

Although I haven't met you much

, I know you are a meticulous

person. Jufu Restaurant has many customers

who eat fine food. Even

if you send thirty or forty catties to the restaurant each time,

the restaurant can finish it all.

This time, I will make a net profit of 16 coins

. The treasury is bulging again.

With the addition of Jufulou

, I can start accumulating wealth steadily.

These past few years, I've only managed

to gain some weight thanks to secretly taking kickbacks.

The Song family doesn't care about me;

I have to take care of myself.

Do customers bring their own tea, or just pour the shop's

water into their bowls?

A pot of "High Intoxication"

—serve this customer a pot of "High Intoxication.

" A while ago,

after spring

arrived in Pingxing County, Zhunyang Prefecture,

several villagers fled to the deep mountains to hide,

refusing to farm.

The local

official reported this to the government, which dispatched soldiers to capture them.

After they were found,

each person received 20

coins, and the village headman who guarded them received 20.

Hey, that's perfect!

I'm hoping every day that my fields will

yield more grain so I can harvest more crops.

Those people over there are strange;

they leave their perfectly good fields uncultivated and

run off to hide in the deep mountains.

You wouldn't understand. You

think all the fields in the world

are as good as ours?

Here, as long as we don't encounter disasters,

a yield of two sheaves per mu is no problem.

But in the Northwest,

even if you work hard all year round

, day and night tending to the crops,

a yield of one and a half sheaves per mu is considered good.

If God doesn't cooperate,

a complete crop failure is common.

Let alone in the mountains,

even the land in Julu County, not far from here,

isn't as fertile as ours.

The fields in Julu County are mostly sandy soil; they grow

a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes there.

Every autumn,

peddlers bring a cartload of sweet potatoes and potatoes

from Julu County to our county to exchange for grain.

I've heard that in the mountains, there are very few large tracts of land like

ours;

they're all in small plots.

Even watering the fields is a problem

. According to them,

Anyuan County in Guangping Prefecture, where I live

, is located on the North China Plain,

a flat

area with many fields.

In ancient times, without industry,

grain production was high,

and the lives of ordinary people were naturally better .

Corrupt officials should be killed.

Oh, poor Qing Zhixing, who died tragically!

Please bring me another cup of hot water

, using the teacups in your shop

. Oh,

I've heard you read the official gazette several times,

and today your voice sounds a little hoarse.

The teacup here contains dried dandelion.

Dandelion tea is milder than tea, and it's good

for the throat.

Please try it

. Dandelion also has this effect:

dried dandelion tea

clears heat, reduces inflammation,

protects the liver, and protects the eyes.

Of course, this tea is cold in nature

, so you shouldn't drink too much

. Just drink in moderation.

I've only been educated

and know a few characters.

Please sit down, sir. This

junior will take his leave.

Hmm

, not bad.

The situation in the Great Wu Dynasty is not stable right now.

The common people are all farming on the land, and

commerce has not yet taken off .

Apart from doing manual labor,

there is really no other work to earn

money. Sister Qian, I didn't expect to run into you here.

Why are you only returning to the village now?

My uncle was busy this

afternoon and only took me to the county government to sign the contract.

It's getting late.

Let me give you a ride back to the village.

That way it will be faster

. I

already troubled you a lot when I came to the county town this morning

. If we meet in town again another day

, I will definitely treat you to steamed buns

. I'm not in a hurry on the way back today.

I can walk back slowly by myself.

Sister Qian is probably afraid of running into acquaintances on the way and having something to say.

I'm 16 this year, might

as well go home and let my mother go to Old Song's house to propose marriage.

I'm leaving first.

You drive the oxcart back,

be careful on the road.

Crazy, why are you here

alone? Hey, isn't this Qian Yatou?

Duanmu Bo, Liangshanbo,

my mother asked me to come to the county today to draw up a marriage contract for the ox.

I was just about to go back to the village. Uncle,

you've come back from the prefectural city, you

must be tired.

I was just about to go back to the village,

hurry up and get on the cart,

I'll take you all back

.

Liangshan, things have come to this,

take it easy

. Didn't the county government say that

at least your lives are saved

? Yes, at least your lives are saved. Uncle

, hurry up and get on the cart.

Qian Yatou, you get on too,

let's get home quickly.

By the time you get home, it'll be dark.

Xiao Chen, come on up.

We're from the same village,

and there are two old men like us here, so

there's no need to be shy.

Ah

,

what you said earlier was right

. At least he's alive in the city.

Being alive is better than anything else.

I've been through even bigger things,

so this is nothing.

I'm just worried that my brother and sister-in-law won't be able to accept it.

After all, he's their only son.

Uncle Gu, don't be too anxious.

If you ask me, we haven't even seen

Gu Chengzhi yet, so we don't know if he's really sick.

Maybe the news is false

or just a mistake.

Hmph, you're quite interesting to talk to. Hmph,

where did you get the news that Gu Chengzhi is sick

from? Is this news from the county government ? It

came back from the county government.

We just went to the county government to confirm,

how could it be false

? Is the news from the county government always accurate?

What if there's a mistake somewhere?

The news hasn't been published in the newspaper,

and we haven't even seen the person

. It 's too arbitrary

to say this now.

Hey

,

I hope things are alright in the city.

Uncle Gu, I came to the county to sell eggs today.

Here's some money for you. I

also helped my second sister-in-law sell two jin of

eggs. This is the money I got from selling eggs.

I just happened to run into you here , so

I'm giving you the money.

I won't go to your house to bother you anymore.

Look at all this trouble,

you have to come all the way to the county to sell eggs.

Sister Chunfu is pregnant and

not feeling well, so

I'm coming to the county town. I'm going to town to sell eggs

anyway, so it's convenient for me.

Oh dear, all those people in the village are just trying to comfort me,

they're all here to laugh at me.

Am I really going to spend my whole life with a fool?

If I don't marry a fool,

are there any suitable men in the Jiang family

? When did Song Ping and the Zheng family become so close?

I'll only be able to marry a fool

and be laughed at by the whole village

, while she can marry into the Zheng family with four brothers.

No, I absolutely can't let Gu Lizheng see this.

No, I have to find a way.

I absolutely can't marry a fool.

I'll

get off here, it's just a few steps from home.

Take care on your way back.

Okay, I know,

be careful on the road.

The Zheng family and the Gu family are really only superficially harmonious.

When the Gu family got

into trouble, Team Leader Zheng couldn't hide his schadenfreude.

I can't take the money I earned today home;

I have to find a place to hide it.

I'll go get it tomorrow morning or tonight.

Song Tian,

why did you come back in Zheng Fa's oxcart today?

Sister, you scared me!

Weren't you supposed to be selling eggs in the county town?

Why are you coming back in Zheng Feng's oxcart ?

What were you all talking about on the way?

Uncle Zheng and Gu Bu,

whom I met on the road, offered to give me a ride

back, so I went back to the village with them.

Uncle Zheng asked Zheng Feng to give her a ride back.

Is he trying to arrange a marriage between Song Ping and Zheng Feng?

Why are you walking so slowly

? You're walking too fast!

You

go to the city to sell eggs,

and it takes you a whole day.

Eggs aren't selling well now,

and you won't let me sell them at a low price.

In the end, I went to

where Sister Chunfu's uncle works

and sold them for 19 yuan a pound!

You brat,

you think you're right after I said a few words

to you? Where's the money?

On the way back,

I met Gu Lizheng and Team Leader Zheng, so

I gave Gu Lizheng the money I got for helping Sister Chunfu sell

eggs.

Gu Lizheng didn't go to the prefectural city.

Hmm,

Gu Lizheng is really sick. "Is he crazy?

He's in the prefectural city,

how could I possibly know?

Just tell me what

Gu Lizheng and Team Leader Zheng said

when they came back

. Team Leader Zheng told Gu Lizheng to take it

easy, saying he still had a life.

This is

terrible, really terrible.

It seems he's really become a fool.

How could my delicate daughter

marry a fool?

Could it be that Gu Deshan and the others came back from the prefectural city?

It would take at least three days to get here from the prefectural city,

how could it be so fast?

Wu Luanluan doesn't even care if

her second sister has anything to eat.

What's happening outside

? The Zheng family is fighting

!

The Zheng family is fighting!

Zheng Youfu's wife and his eldest daughter-in-law are fighting.

Why are they fighting?

It seems to be because of the cow.

I heard that

before the New Year, Zheng Youfu's second son got a cow.

A while ago, Youfu's wife secretly asked his

brother in the county town to help her draw up a contract for the cow,

wanting to legally transfer it.

Today, Zheng Fang is keeping it a secret from her brother and sister-in-law." He went to

the county town and registered the cow under his own name. When

his sister-in-law found out the truth

, they started arguing.

The stepmother-in-law and daughter-in-law

were fighting, and the father and

son were fighting in complete chaos.

Half the village gathered to watch the spectacle.

His father and grandmother were also there.

When I came back, I saw Gu Lizheng going over to mediate.

Judging from the time,

Zhengfang had just returned home not long ago, and now there

was a commotion at home.

This Zhengfang family is really too chaotic

and not suitable for marriage.

When I came back,

I still saw my mother and eldest sister in the crowd.

Did my mother and eldest sister say anything?

My mother and eldest sister originally thought

that Uncle Deshan and the others had returned from the prefectural city when they

heard the commotion . They didn't hear what my eldest sister and mother were saying.

I think my eldest sister won't marry Gu Shusheng.

How

is that normal?

My mother loves my eldest sister so much.

How could she let my eldest sister marry a fool ?

My third brother is still young and can't see through

the marriage between the two families. It's never for the good of their daughters. It's just

that the Song family wants to climb the social ladder by marrying into the Li Zheng family.

The Song family has no money or anything to compensate

the Gu family, so how could they possibly agree to a replacement

? Here,

this is

tooth powder. Didn't you say your gums were swollen a few days ago?

This is to clear heat and strengthen teeth.

Use some when you brush your teeth

and your mouth won't hurt.

Okay, second sister, I knew you were thinking about me.

This is tooth powder!

I've only ever seen Li Zhen's grandson, Wen Si, use it before.

If you secretly use it

and someone finds out,

you won't be able to buy me anything anymore. Don't

worry, don't worry

, I definitely won't tell anyone.

Second sister, I want to eat meat buns.

Can you bring me some meat buns another day? You

make it sound so easy.

Do you know how expensive this tooth powder is?

I've already spent all the money I made selling vegetables without telling the family.

We'll do it later.

Okay, okay, second sister, we'll do

it later. The heavy work of carrying water is still being done by my

mother. You're

going to herd the sheep. Once you're outside,

you'll just give me the sheep like before,

and I'll herd them and gather pig feed.

You can rest on the side,

okay

? Of course! Second sister

, I want to eat meat buns.

I'll buy them for you next time.

Are you going to sleep or not?

My daughter is going to marry a fool.

Do you think I can sleep?

What do you suggest we do?

Can Sui Sui not get married?

The Gu family has taken good care of our family all these years.

How can I say

she won't marry him now?

Yes, the Gu family

has taken good care of our family

all these years , but your father saved Gu Deshan's life back then.

It's their duty to take care of our family.

Before, the Gu family boy was good,

and we were willing to let Sui Sui marry him.

But now he's like that.

How can Sui Sui still... Marrying

you is getting more and more unreliable.

When the Gu family was doing well, we flocked to him,

but now that something's happened, we're running away.

If the whole village sees this,

how can our family maintain our standing in the village?

Mother, I don't want to marry a fool!

Don't marry me to a fool!

I know the family is afraid that Gu Lizheng won't agree

and we won't be able to maintain our standing in the village anymore. But Mother,

the village isn't ruled by Gu Lizheng alone.

You mean the Zheng family?

Mother, where are you?

I just saw you and my eldest sister go out.

Don't worry about that,

Sister Chen. Tomorrow I plan to make dumplings.

Go outside and dig up some broom grass.

Also, this is your Aunt Wen's cloth.

Take it over quickly.

Is Uncle

Gaoshan here?

I've come to deliver the cloth

money. Sister,

why didn't you go to school today

? A few days ago, I felt shy.

This is the cloth that Aunt Wen dyed at my house.

Is it finished now

? Is Aunt Wen home?

My parents went to the fields.

This cloth is yours.

Don't worry about paying.

My parents will

come over

later. You said you wanted some ink pens to learn to read.

I have some here now.

Do you still want them?

The Song family only has one old copy of the Thousand Character Classic.

I need to find some paper that has been used

before. So that I can suddenly learn to read and do math

, I'll have an excuse.

Wait a minute.

These are all things I've used before.

If you don't mind, you can take them.

The spring breeze blows and the

branches are red. The delicate flowers reflect the fragrance of the bushes.

Every year in March, they bloom as before

. Every year, the scenery is warmed by the wind.

This is about peach blossoms, right ?

It's really well written.

You really think I wrote well

? Yes, the parallelism is natural and

the sentence structure is excellent.

Your words are simple yet profound, reminiscent

of Mr. Wuwei's style.

You even know Mr. Wuliu?

You're looking down on me !

"Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence,

I leisurely gaze at the southern mountains

" —who doesn't know

the name of Mr. Wuliu

? No, no, no, that's not what I meant

. I was just surprised

that you not only know how to read but also understand poetry.

My grandfather taught me when I was young;

I don't remember much now.

Your

poetry is

good, and your calligraphy is good too.

My teacher criticized my poems as

clichéd

and lacking in spirit. Now, having failed the imperial examinations,

I was already disheartened and didn't want to study anymore.

I never expected him to understand me so well,

Sister Chen! I... I'll give you some more of my calligraphy in a few days—even

better than this time!

I will pass the imperial examinations! It will definitely get

better, keep

going! Gu Sheng is alright

, and I haven't heard of any bad habits.

He has

three older sisters who are all married.

Eldest sister, you said you gave me something a few days ago,

what was it?

We're not related

, just call me by my name.

Sui

Sui,

why don't

you

look at me

? Am

I ugly?

Hahaha,

no.

Today

I

wanted to see you

,

it's

not

about Song Chen.

Fangzi,

I want to marry you,

can

you marry me? I ...I

... That time?

Ever since then, I've realized I can't forget you.

But I was already engaged to Gu Chengli at the time.

My family is small and can't

afford to offend the Gu

family. I didn't dare to break off the engagement easily

, afraid that my family wouldn't be able to stay in Xiawu Village.

Now that Gu Chengli is mentally disabled,

I don't have to be afraid of his family anymore.

Ah, are you alright?

Go home and change your

clothes.

You 're such a blockhead

! My clothes are wet. Go

home and change quickly! If your

clothes are wet, they'll be see-through.

There are so many people in the village.

I'm afraid someone will see

me on the way back. Can I wear your clothes?

Are you alright? I'm fine

. Thank

you. You

just have a slightly cold

throat. What are you doing?

I... I didn't do anything.

Song Sui, but... with Gu Chengyao... "They're engaged,

and your nephew's getting entangled with him?

Isn't that just asking for trouble?

What's with the clothes you're wearing?

You two stand up!

In broad daylight,

two people standing so close together

, what kind of

behavior is this?

Sui Sui, Sui Sui

, what's wrong with you? Sui Sui, Sui

Sui, come quick, come quick!

What kind of commotion is this? What

are you doing? Hugging each other in broad daylight, what are you doing? Sui Sui,

whose clothes are you wearing

?

First wife, if you take advantage of my Sui Sui like this,

how will Sui Sui get married in the future?

That Guihua girl,

Fu Zi, he's always been a good boy.

There must be some misunderstanding today.

Hmph, misunderstanding?

What misunderstanding?

I think he's taking advantage of my daughter.

My Sui Sui is beautiful

and capable.

Everyone in the surrounding villages knows I

have such a good daughter,

and today this brat has taken advantage of her."

I'm telling you,

this isn't over yet,

you have to give me an explanation!

What are you doing?

Why are you bullying someone

for no reason? Let her go

right now! Is

n't

this chaotic enough already?!

What are you doing?

Get away from me!

My clothes are wet and

I sprained my ankle!

How could your clothes get wet

like that, and

how did you sprain your ankle?

It's all my fault!

Of course it's your fault!

You, a man, actually grabbed my Sui Sui!

So many people saw this today

! Does my Sui Sui still have a chance to get married?!

You have to give me an explanation

! Oh dear, what's going on?

Grandma, Grandpa,

Grandma, Grandpa,

you all need to go to the west end of the village!

My mom and eldest sister got into an argument over there. And now,

your mom's arguing with someone else

... Uh... um... My eldest sister and Zhengfang

somehow ended up hugging. My eldest

sister even wore Zhengfang's clothes on,

and then Zhengfang's aunt saw them.

Later, my mom went over too,

saying Zhengfang was taking advantage of my sister.

Now a bunch of people are shouting at the west end of the village.

What ?!

Such a thing happened

! Hurry up, hurry up

! Ahhhhh

,

why are they fighting again

?!

Ahhhhhh !

I'll tear that lousy mouth of Wang Meixiang apart

! How dare she say my daughter is immoral! Bah!

Your son is taking advantage of my daughter,

shameless!

I haven't even caused any trouble for your family yet, and

you're already talking nonsense! It's not clean anymore!

Humph,

what happened?

That day I suggested remarrying into the Zheng family

to escape this hellhole.

My mother told me to find an excuse to keep her occupied today so

she could call someone to come and check.

But who knew Wang Meixiang would start hitting people as soon as she arrived?

Zheng Fu was like a block of wood, not saying a word.

Things have come to this point,

I have no choice but to go all the way

. I will never marry a fool!

I didn't do anything,

I just tripped and fell

, got my clothes dirty

, and sprained my ankle

. Bizi wants to take me back.

If you don't believe me

, you can ask Bizi. She

can't make things difficult for a young lady.

Yes

, that's how it is

. Stop wailing, it's all a misunderstanding.

Let everyone disperse.

What misunderstanding

? It's clearly his son taking advantage of my daughter.

Shut up! How dare you, as a mother, say that?

I didn't say anything wrong

. Your eldest daughter's clothes are still wet,

and she's sprained her ankle. Humph , are you

just going to stand there like this, making it impossible for others to see?

Go back and tell them what happened.

They

've already left,

so why are you still watching

the market? What's going on?

How could he be walking with the eldest daughter of the Song family?

Has he already taken a liking to Song Sui?

Why didn't he do this earlier

or later,

but of all times, after the Gu family boy got sick?

What will Gu Li think of our family? People who

don't know better will think our

Zheng family deliberately stole this marriage!

What are we going to do?

If you ask me, I'd just let Sui Sui marry into the main household

! What are you saying

? Sui Sui is already engaged

! Aren't

you just making a scene? What do you suggest we do?

With such a big event today,

I guarantee tomorrow gossip about Sui Sui and Zheng Fang

will spread.

Hmph, what gossip?

Sui Sui only got her clothes wet

and sprained her ankle.

Zheng Fang was just trying to help.

What gossip is there to spread?

Hmph, you can go out and tell others,

see if they believe it.

Sui Sui is already engaged to the Gu family,

how can she marry into the Zheng family

? Why can't she? Look at

what's become of Gu Chengli! Mother-in-law

, you don't think about Sui Sui at all!

That's what everyone in the village is saying

, but is Gu Chengli really stupid?

We haven't even met him

yet, by the time we do, it'll be too late. If it

were fake, would

Gu Huhu's people be in such a hurry to go to the prefectural city?

Mother-in-law, you always say you love Sui Sui

, but just now in front of so many people,

you didn't help me

or Sui Sui, and instead told

me not to cause trouble.

I see now,

you're just afraid Gu Li is taking her anger out on me at home. You're

as soft as dough to outsiders.

Guihua , I'm your mother-in-law,

is that how you talk to your mother-in-law?

Humph,

Mother, why are you angry now?

When Wang Meixiang said our Sui Sui was indecent,

why didn't you tear Wang Meixiang's stinking mouth apart

? Second Sister, did Mother and Grandma quarrel because of Eldest Sister?

It wasn't really a quarrel,

just Mother and Grandma... She was just speaking a little loudly,

it'll be fine

in a bit. No, Mom and Grandma are arguing.

I'm not bragging,

but our Sui

Sui is so beautiful, you can't find many

like her for miles around. She married into

the Gu family so we'd have someone to rely on in the village

. But now Gu Chengli is mentally challenged

, and Gu the village head is getting old

; who knows how many more days he can hold the position?

Marrying Sui Sui to Gu

Chengli is

like throwing good

money after bad .

Everyone in the village knows Zheng Chumu wants to be Li Zheng.

He's Zheng Fang's uncle!

With Zheng Chumu backing

us up, we're not afraid of Li Zheng tripping us up.

Seriously?

How could that be false

? What are we going to do?

Song Sui and Gu Deshan's son are still engaged!

It's just an engagement,

not a marriage

. Men should marry when they

're of age, and

women should marry when they're of age.

Do you think the Gu

family would dare to stop them? Hmph,

your parents are home, right? They're both here.

Brother Liangshan, you're here

! Please sit down, please sit down.

I heard something today.

At first, I didn't believe it.

I thought someone was just spreading rumors.

Hmm

, hmph, I'll get straight to the point.

I heard someone say that Song Sui and a man

were embracing in broad daylight in the wild,

without even wearing proper clothes.

Sister

Guihua, Brother Song, is that true?

It's not as bad as they say.

My Sui Sui is with Zheng You... The three sons of

the Fu family have taken a liking to each other.

Two of them were talking

when someone saw them.

"Your Sui Sui and Zheng Youfu

's three sons have taken a liking to each other?

Sister, how many girls in your family are named Sui Sui?

And who is that Song Sui who

's engaged to our family? Sure enough, the Gu family won't let me off the

hook. They just want me to marry a fool.

I didn't expect Uncle Gu to curse

without using a single swear word!

Your family is really something!

The news only came back a few days ago,

and you've already found a husband for your daughter.

Besides, we don't even know if the news is true or not.

How can you be so sure that

Cheng Li is really a fool?" You

went to great lengths to arrange a marriage between our families,

brother! Listen to me,

I truly knew nothing about this!

Chen Guihua,

didn't you say your Sui Sui and

Zheng Youfu's third son were a perfect match?

What about the girl your family was engaged to?

Find her for me!

My family has another daughter!

Song Pin was supposed to marry into your family

!

I was just eating melon seeds

and now I've been hit on the head by one!

Chen Guihua, you're really delusional!

It all depends on the Gu family's wishes, right?

How could

we let my second sister go? Shut up

! Hahaha! Do you think my family needs a daughter-in-law like you?

If my child's grandfather hadn't

jumped into the water to save Gu Deshan

back then , Gu Deshan might be dead by now.

Gu Deshan himself said he wanted his son to marry my daughter.

Now my eldest daughter is with someone else...

"Isn't it perfect to marry his second daughter to his son?

That 's

robber logic!

Your

grandfather and third uncle are back, all right? Are they crazy?

How is that possible

? Hahaha,

where are they now? They

're at Second Grandfather's house!

Grandma asked me to tell you!

Let's go quickly!

Gu Chengli actually came back without any illness or injury!

What on earth have I been doing all day?

Song Sui wanted to break off the engagement and caused this whole

mess, but it turns out he wasn't sick at all.

But I only had a second of sympathy for

him. The fire pit he didn't want earlier,

Chen Guihua, was pushing me into it without hesitation

! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!

It seems the rumors were indeed false.

He's back,

really back without any illness or injury!

Oh dear, Sui Sui, Sui Sui

, are you alright? He

's bleeding! Help!

Cheng Li is 18 this year ,

we can't delay any longer,

we need to get the marriage arranged quickly!

But I have to..." Saying

the eldest daughter of the Song family is no good

and

we need to find someone else... Is it possible that this whole thing

was done by Song Yougen

and his wife and has nothing to do with the eldest daughter?

Hmph, it must have been them!

Song Yougen keeps telling me he knows nothing,

does he really think I'm easy to fool?

Especially Chen Guihua, who

actually plans to push her second daughter, Song Qian, out

to marry someone from the city in place of her eldest daughter.

That eldest daughter of the Song family was raised by them!

They say like father, like son, like daughter; a

rat's son knows how to dig a hole

. Hmph, that girl could do such a thing,

I don't think she's a peaceful person.

If it weren't for saving me,

Old Master Song wouldn't have died so young.

The Song family is already small,

and I thought the eldest daughter of the Song family was pretty,

well-behaved, and clever,

so I arranged the engagement

. If I had known, I shouldn't have said those

things about Cheng Li. Don't overthink it

, maybe it's just a misunderstanding.

Tomorrow, Dad and I will find out. Mom and Dad,

I

didn't think too much about it

. Uncle said that the eldest daughter of the Song family got her clothes wet

and sprained her ankle, and

unexpectedly ran into the law enforcement officers.

We've lived in the same village for years, been

neighbors

, and known each other since childhood

. It's understandable that the law enforcement officers helped.

It's just that it's troublesome for Mom and Dad to worry about me again.

What's the trouble?

It's only natural for

a father to help his son.

There's a saying, "Even

if you live to be a hundred,

I'll still worry about you until you're 99.

" That's called "raising a child, worrying for 99 years."

Anyway, that's the idea.

I was destined to worry about you for the rest of my life

since I gave birth to you. It

's good that you can think that way now.

Many things in this world have always

been quite harsh on unmarried women.

Cheng Li, it's not that I don't believe your uncle,

it's just that seeing is believing.

Before we fully understand the situation,

we can't condemn the eldest daughter of the Song family.

I know that

although she's been spoiled

, she's not that old. Besides,

I can teach her many things gradually

after she marries into the family. I'll be happy

to support her as a filial son and

won't go against her wishes.

There's nothing wrong with

my parents wanting me to get married.

Marriage is always decided by parents,

and sons always listen to their fathers and mothers.

Okay, tomorrow we'll go and inquire.

If things really aren't

right, we'll just bear the stigma of ruining a family

. Ahhh

,

Ara, Sui Sui

, are you alright?

Gui Hua

You Gen, come quick! Come quick

!

Sui Sui, wake up!

Sui Sui, don't worry.

What happened between you and Zheng Tang today

is nothing. Just

go to Gu Deshan

and his wife tomorrow and explain everything.

Grandma,

what year is it this year?

It's the 29th year of Jianye.

Sui Sui, don't overthink it, go to sleep.

Oh, my eldest granddaughter has been really screwed over by her daughter-in-law. It hurts!

I wasn't dreaming,

I was awake

in my past life. I did indeed cause a lot of trouble

and finally married Gu Chengli.

I thought he was so learned that he could pass the imperial examination

and I could become an official's wife.

But that wasn't the case at all.

He barely passed the county-level examination more than ten years later and

became a minor official in the county government.

And those gossipy relatives of the Gu family

made me suffer for more than ten years

. I was reborn

as Gu Chengli .

I passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, thinking I could be an official's wife.

But my father-in-law passed away

, and he had to observe three years of mourning, so he couldn't take the

imperial examination . The whole family depended on me,

and I became a haggard old woman from exhaustion.

He passed the county-level examination at the age of 31

but went to work as a clerk in the county government,

cutting off his path to the imperial examination

. In my previous life, Song Qian married Zheng Xu

and did business in the county town.

I always looked down on him.

He was a merchant

, but in the end, I was not even as good as him.

In this life, I don't want to struggle anymore.

So what if I'm a young lady ? I

still have to toil in the fields.

I want to change my way of life.

Sister, why are you always looking at me like that

? Is there something wrong?

No,

this is the cloth that Gu Deshan asked me to dye.

It's finished.

Go and deliver it to him. In my

previous life, I was the master of the house. The cloth I sent was gone,

but I'll never do it again.

What? You won't marry Gu Chengli?

How can that be ? I can't

even bring myself to talk about my second life. My

memories are veiled

. Was I reborn

, or just having a nightmare?

Just thinking about it makes

my heart feel like a stone is pressing down on

me, making it hard to breathe.

Why

isn't

my mother speaking? Yesterday's events have escalated to that point

; the Gu family must know everything.

Even if I really married Gu Chengli,

Gu Deshan and his wife wouldn't like me.

I'd rather marry Zheng Feng

.

Can Zheng Feng compare to Gu Chengli?

One is illiterate,

the other has been educated since childhood

, and the financial situations of both families are obvious.

You forgot that Zheng Feng's

sister-in-law and mother had a fight

a few days ago ? How can such a family compare to the Gu Deshan family

? I thought so too in my dreams

, but after actually marrying into the family, I found that

the Gu family was full of infighting

, while the Zheng family was united.

The sister-in-law was especially good to Song Qian

. But yesterday's events have already spread.

Mother, you've done enough for me.

I really don't want you

to beg Shen Xiuping for my sake. We

're both from farming families,

but Shen Xiuping always acts like an official's

wife. It's really disgusting.

My eldest daughter is marrying into the Zheng

family, and my second daughter is marrying into the Gu family.

Then, my family

will be related to both major surnames

in the downstream village . Who will dare to treat us as outsiders?

Do you think Gu Deshan and his wife would want Song Qian?

Of course they will! Mother ,

Gu Chengli wants... For the imperial examinations,

one's character cannot be flawed.

Grandpa died saving Gu Deshan;

we owe his family a life. Gu

Yide is to marry our daughter.

With what happened

to my mother, if I still marry into the Gu family,

I'll definitely be tormented to death by that woman, Shen Xiuchu.

Fine, I won't marry

her. I won't let that woman,

Shen Xiuchu, have a chance to bully you, Sui Sui.

You just had that happen,

and we've offended Li Zheng.

Who knows if Gu Deshan and his wife harbor any resentment?

Rather than that

, you might as well just marry Zheng Fang.

Yes, whatever you

say, Mother.

Song Chen, I'm sorry for taking your marriage away. But people should strive for better things.

Meng Li, you're so capable;

maybe if you

went to the Gu family, you could bring honor to them and save

them from being lowly officials.

Is Uncle Deshan here? I've

come to deliver cloth.

Rumors are circulating

in the village about the annulment of the engagement.

My uncle went to demand an explanation

but was pushed out. My substitute bride's

parents aren't home.

Song Er-guniang put the cloth on a stool nearby.

"Song Er-guniang

" is quite a rare way to address someone.

"Okay, I'll leave it here.

" Oh, it's Xiao Pin!

Aunt Xiuping,

I've come to deliver cloth.

Yesterday's incident...

Song Jia was wrong.

I thought he'd be angry

, but he was as gentle as ever.

It's really troublesome

for you to come all this way.

Our two families live close by;

it wasn't much of a

walk for me. Aunt, I'll be going

now. Take care.

What do you think?

What do you think

? Cheng Li, you know what I mean.

I've already inquired.

Song Er-guniang is not only clever,

she can also read.

It's extremely rare for farm girls to

be literate, yet she is! It's all

thanks to her mother's arrangements.

"What? You

want me to marry Gu Chengli? Do you really not want to marry Gu Chengli?

Qian'er, you're not young anymore,

it's time to get married.

The family has decided to let your eldest sister marry the main wife,

and you marry Gu Chengli.

This is a marriage so good it's hard to find even with a lantern!

If it weren't for your eldest sister wanting to marry the main wife,

this marriage would never have been yours.

You should be secretly happy!

Song Sui offended the Gu family.

To protect Gu Li's marriage, they

pushed me out to fill the hole

, pretending it was a blessing.

I really feel sorry for the original owner who died in the cold night.

How can you disagree with

such a good marriage

? Either I agree directly

, or I disagree, get scolded, and then be forced to agree." "I have

no say in this family,"

Chen Guihua said. She seemed to be discussing things,

but I had no choice at all. "Does

the Gu family agree to

the replacement

? This brat!

I thought she'd happily agree.

Do n't worry about that,

I'll handle it

. Let's wait until we've discussed it with the Gu family before we talk about it."

Song Qian asked, "Why didn't you agree?

Now that I have my memories,

I absolutely refuse to marry Gu Chengli and live a life of poverty.

Look at her!

We gave her a good marriage, and look at

her, she's even abandoning me!

Stop talking! You're

forcing this unwanted marriage on Xiao Qian,

how can you expect her to be happy?

I thought I had at least two more years before getting married.

Why is Chen Guihua in such a hurry?

And Gu Chengli is perfectly fine,

why does Song Sui have to..." Marrying into

the Zheng family, whose conditions are far worse,

could it be that Gu Chengli did something out of line in private?

Is that why Chen Guihua is reluctant to

give up her marriage and uses me to fill the gap

? Calm down

, Gu Deshan and his wife are kind,

Aunt Xiuting is well-educated , the

clan in Xiapi Village is united,

the Song family are outsiders,

they are desperate to find a

powerful backer through marriage. If I marry

into this wretched place ,

can I really find someone with better conditions than Gu Chengli?

At worst, we can get a divorce if things don't work out,

but I can't just be used like this. I need to put

some insurance on myself. In my past life

, I risked my life to cause trouble for

the Gu family before they reluctantly agreed.

In this life, Song Chen

married into them so easily.

Her luck is just too good.

Sister Qian,

Sister Ping, come out quickly, come out and take measurements.

Look at her face.

Gu family As expected, they agreed to change her.

What are you doing staying indoors in broad daylight?

Go to the main room,

hahaha! I'll take your measurements

and make you a new dress with the fabric the Gu family sent.

This fabric is so bright!

Second Sister is thinner than Eldest Sister.

After making her a dress,

the leftover fabric can be used to make me a sleeveless vest.

This is the original owner's emotion: sadness

for her mother abandoning her again.

They are both daughters,

one like a pearl,

the other like a stone. Why

? No! I am not her.

I am Song Qian from the modern world.

I will never be manipulated.

I can marry into the Gu family

, but I have one condition:

I want my dyeing skills as part of my dowry.

What did you say?

I said,

what are you dreaming about?

I think you're having a daytime fit of delirium.

You, a dark and thin girl,

have such a good... "

You can be happy about the marriage

, but you want my dyeing skills as part of your dowry

? No way! Bah!

Give me your dyeing skills as part of your dowry

and I'll marry you!

Hit me, hit me in the face!

Tomorrow, I'll let everyone in the Gu family see the bruises on my face

! Hmph!

This

stupid girl who's usually so quiet, she dares to threaten me!

I'll let the whole village know

that I didn't want to marry Gu Chengli, and I

didn't want to marry in Song Sui's place,

so you hit me!

Give me your dyeing skills as part

of your dowry and I'll marry you!

Otherwise, I'll either kill myself

or hang myself!

If I die, my eldest sister will be the only girl left in the family.

I don't know if the Gu family will want

her as their future daughter-in-law again!

You little good-for-nothing,

you dare to scare me?

You 've really gone too far!

You don't need to kill yourself!"

I could beat you to death right now,

Mom

! Don't do it! What if

Song Qin is beaten so badly she refuses to marry

and then gets together with Zheng Feng?

Don't stop me! I'll beat her to death, you little good-for-nothing!

Ha!

If I'm a little good-for-nothing,

then what kind of mother is my older

sister? And who are you

?!

Gu Deshan's husband is the head of the family,

and his uncle is Li Zheng. With

his qualifications,

girls from all around would

probably line up to marry him

. If Gu Deshan and his wife find out I

was beaten up because I didn't want to marry,

it would give them a perfect reason to break off the engagement.

Gu Deshan's family has no daughters,

and Li Zheng's family has no daughters either.

If this marriage doesn't go through,

the Song family can

forget about being related to Gu Deshan and Li Zheng

for at least 20 years. This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous

! If Heaven doesn't teach you a lesson,

I'll change my surname to yours

and give you the dyeing craft as part of my dowry before I marry

you! Dream on!

Even if I die,

you won't

marry me , you little slut !

Giving her the dyeing craft as part of your dowry

? Are you crazy? This is our family's money-making craft!

No way

!

I said give it to him

!

Song Yougen, do you have any conscience?

I've been married to you for so many years,

moving with you from our hometown to this

unfamiliar, godforsaken place.

I've given you several children

and haven't had a single good day.

Now I'm suffering from this ungrateful wretch,

and you still want to give away the family's craft!

Oh, why is my life so miserable?

Keep wailing! Keep wailing

louder

so the neighbors can hear and it

reaches the Gu family's ears

, giving Gu Deshan an excuse! I broke off the engagement between his

family and ours.

I suffered so much

to give birth to him,

and to make matters worse, he looks exactly like that old

hag. It's like

he was sent by God to torment me.

So what if Chen Guihua hates me to the bone?

The Song family wants to marry into the Gu family,

but they'll still have to pretend to be nice to me.

The decision-making power is in my hands now.

A woman's

life in her husband's family won't be easy

without her own family's support. Grandma , do you think

my parents would support me even if I didn't make a fuss?

Grandma, I want my dyeing skills, not

to compete with my own family's business.

I can assure you that

even if I open a dyeing shop

after I get married

, I will never earn money dyeing old clothes for the villagers

, nor will I sell the dyed cloth to Siping Township.

You should have known better. That's all.

Your mother is still cursing you.

I deliberately provoked her.

She favors Song Xu.

Song Xu didn't want the marriage, so she used me to fill the hole.

When I was 12,

Song Qian and my eldest sister were sick at the same time.

The family used the leftover

dregs from the medicine they made for my eldest sister to boil again for Song Qian to drink.

Song Qian died back then.

Nonsense, what do you mean

by dead or alive

? You're so young, saying such unlucky things.

Besides, if you had died back then,

who would be sitting here now

? A woman still needs to rely on

her maternal family. She relies on

those with many

brothers.

Her husband's family won't dare to bully her.

My dyeing skills are

the biggest advantage I've gained.

The original owner did the most work

and endured the most scolding

since childhood. This time, I won't...

Seeking divine intervention

for yourself and for him

is not as good as making your own decisions and having control over your own

life . How can

you think like this at such a young age

? Humph ,

Er Ya is supposed to be sensible.

What does she know?

If she were sensible, she

wouldn't be asking for a dowry.

What family's daughter is like her?

From now on,

I'll pretend I never gave birth to her.

What did Zheng Youfu and Wang Meixiang say

? Did they say when our Sui Sui would be allowed to marry into the family?

Uh, we haven't gone to the Zheng family

yet. What are you waiting for?

Hurry up

and go!

Humph , what's the rush

? Do you

think Zheng Youfu and his wife don't want Sui Sui to marry into the

family? Zheng Youfu is
an honest man,

but his wife Wang Meixiang is a stubborn woman.

Don't forget that

Zheng Shuang has two half-brothers

... The eldest son is married,

but the second son isn't.

You need to ask Zheng Youfu and his wife

whether they want the first wife to skip the second son's wedding

or wait until the second son gets married before the first wife gets married.

I've been to Zheng Youfu's house a few times.

Their house isn't very

big. If it's the second son's wife

, we'll have to see if they prepare an empty room

or build another room.

If

they build another room, then they'll have to choose a date
and a wedding date.

The wedding might have to wait
until the second half of

the year. The head of the household,

let 's go .

We're going to Zheng Youfu's house now.

Do you really agree to the change of bride?

This morning

I went to see my sister-in-law

and heard about the second daughter of the Song family.

We're also afraid that things might change again. So

I was thinking of settling things down as soon as possible

, haha. Actually, I've wanted to say this for a long time.

That eldest daughter of the Song family is so delicate,

she doesn't look like a farmer's daughter at all

. Humph, I also heard your sister-in-law say

that the eldest daughter of the Song family

doesn't even have two small scissors

in her hand . And this Chen Guihua is always praising

how capable her eldest daughter is.

Anyone with eyes can see that something's wrong. They

say that when choosing a wife, you should choose a

virtuous one. Good-looking ones are all show and no substance.

Before, you two didn't say

anything, so your sister-in-law and I didn't say much either.

Now that you've changed your partners,

I'm relieved.

Fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

Although this incident didn't go well,

it actually gave Cheng Li a new marriage.

From the current outcome,

it's not bad.

Does Cheng Li agree

to the change of partners

? Agreed

. Cheng Li is a reliable and good boy.

The second daughter of the Song family is literate.

I asked Cheng Li privately,

and he thought it would be good to marry a literate girl.

How come the second daughter of the Song family is literate

? Yes, my sister-in-law told me this. Brother,

have you forgotten

that the Song family patriarch was a master stone carver?

Song Yougen was literate

and could even read contracts.

It's normal for his second daughter to be literate.

So, when are you thinking about arranging their marriage?

Should we do it this year

or wait until next

year? This year,

the city isn't small

anymore. It's not good to keep dragging it out.

We just finished the preliminary examination for the imperial examination.

The news will come back in a few days.

If we can pass the examination in the city this time,

we'll have to take the provincial examination next August or September.

There's no rush for us to go to a private school in the city right now.

Take advantage of this time

to pick an auspicious day and get things done.

As for how I did on the city exam,

let's leave it to fate. Okay,

I'll go find Old Qian first

and have him calculate an auspicious day.

How are you planning to give the betrothal gifts,

Mother? What's wrong,

Mother?

I thought Wang Meixiang was a good person, but

I didn't expect her to be so stingy. She

actually wants to give our family just over 1,000

yuan as a betrothal gift to marry you

off— that

's her pipe dream! 1,000 yuan—ordinary families usually give at least 2,500 yuan for a wedding.

A few days ago, the Gu family sent 3,000 yuan in betrothal gifts

and so many other things.

Maybe their family isn't well-off,

and you're actually helping them! " My

family has a cow

, and it's registered under Zheng Fang's name

! Oh, how could I forget about the cow? I was

initially worried that the Zheng family's dowry was too small and embarrassing,

but having a cow would be acceptable

. Mother, let 's postpone this marriage

. We can talk about it another day

. It feels like we're

desperate for their son .

Humph, marriage proposals

have to be carefully considered

, but I just have to be with Zheng Fang!

I don't want to live a poor life !

Today, my second sister had a huge fight with Mom and Dad,

which made Dad smash the kettle.

Mom didn't dare hit my second sister,

and it even made my eldest sister cry.

My second sister is really something!

From now on, I'll definitely be obedient to my second sister.

Mother

, I'll use the Gu family's influence..." The fabric they gave me is for making a set of everyday clothes.

In our area, when a girl goes out,

besides wearing a festive red dress, she

definitely needs two sets of everyday clothes.

If others wear them, Sister Qian naturally has to wear them

too, otherwise people will laugh at us.

These past two days, I've felt like the villagers are talking behind my back,

and I haven't seen Zheng Xu again.

I have to see Song Qian marry Gu Chengli with my own eyes

before I can feel

at ease. Do you know how to sew?

Can I ask Grandma to teach me?

No way!

The Gu family gave me such fine cotton fabric.

I even wanted to save some to make myself a vest.

If that old woman interferes,

how will I have any extra fabric left?

Your grandmother is already 60,

how can you still ask her to help make clothes?

I've spoiled you for nothing! Don't worry about me,

I'll help you, hahaha.

We

're already like this

, do you not want to marry me?

Our

relationship has spread throughout the whole village.

If it can't be ours,

how am I supposed to live?

I don't know what you're thinking

. My parents went to your house yesterday to talk about our marriage.

What are you thinking?

With such a big thing happening,

my original marriage is off

. My mother wants Song Qian to marry into the Gu family in my place.

They've even changed our birth dates.

Aunt Guihua wants to marry Sister Chen to Gu Chengli.

Gu Chengli agreed

without saying a word to me. He

's so affectionate with Song Chen though

. Jiang Zi, I love you

!

For you, I'm even giving up the Gu family's marriage.

I'll be with you for the rest of my life. "I'm

engaged to you, will you marry me?

My marriage to the Gu family is off,

and my reputation in the village is ruined.

If you don't marry me,

I'll just have to die,

hahaha!

Okay,

I'll marry you

! I believe in you,

Fang

-ge'er! Do you want to kiss me?

Oh

, what a coincidence!

I've been waiting here specifically for you, Second Miss

.

I'd like to ask you to speak with me privately.

Do you have time? Yes,

this

dessert shop makes delicious food

with clean ingredients.

You should try

some. There aren't many customers at this time,

so don't worry

. Hmm,

it's been impolite

of me to invite you here today.

Our two families have a long-standing relationship,

and now that we're engaged,

Scholar Gu, there's no need to be so polite."

With a face like jade

, refined and handsome,

his appearance is truly unique in Xiabao Village.

He's also a shy, bookish young man

.

Before, some unfounded rumors

caused quite a stir in the village.

This time, I 've come

to explain to the Second Miss that

our marriage

was arranged long ago;

it's only natural for

us to marry.

My parents have never blamed her,

and I certainly didn't

cause as much trouble as Song Sui did with the broken engagement.

He's actually here to put my mind at ease today.

I should thank the Second Miss.

I heard from my uncle when he returned home that

she told Uncle Zheng that I was alright.

Hearing her words, my uncle felt much more at ease.

It was just some... I told the truth

about the rumors I'd heard.

My uncle was really worried,

and as a junior, I couldn't do anything about

it. Luckily, you're

alright and back safely

, everyone's happy.

Hmm, how did you know

to look for me in the alley behind Jufulou

? My uncle's second sister-in-law said

you often sell eggs at Jufulou.

Today happens to be market day in the county,

so I guessed you'd come,

and I waited there.

What if I didn't come?

Or what if you didn't wait for me there?

It doesn't matter.

We live in the same village, and

I've seen you a lot lately. It's

so funny. The village is known for its tough people

, but he's so well-mannered and knowledgeable,

completely different from everyone else

. Gu Why doesn't the scholar order himself a bowl of

crispy mountain pastry? Sweet and juicy

, it's more to a woman's taste.

Scholar Gu has brought other women here before,

but none of them have. It's just that my mother likes it.

Sometimes my father brings my mother here.

So that's how it is. Your father and mother are such

an enviable couple.

There's another reason why

I agreed to the marriage exchange so quickly,

one that even my parents don't know.

I like women with white, even teeth.

Oh,

you're back! Are

all the eggs sold out?

Hahaha, yes, they're sold out.

I'm your older sister.

Let me say something for your own good.

Don't blame

your parents. They married you off to the Gu family for your own

good. The Gu family is well-off

, and Gu Chengli is a scholar

; he might even pass the imperial examinations in the future.

A marriage with the Gu family is a

dream come true for so many people

; it would be a real shame if you missed it.

It seems his marriage to the main wife is settled.

I really don't understand why he's so happy.

The Zheng family is such a mess, and the main wife

is illiterate

and a mama's boy.

But his smugness is really funny

, hahaha.

What are you laughing at?

I'm laughing because you're so good to me,

sister. Since you think the Gu family is so good,

I, as your younger sister, naturally can't compete with you.

How about this, let's go to Uncle Deshan's

house now and explain things clearly.

Let's say that what happened between you and the Zheng family a few days ago was an accident,

and the arranged marriage was something our parents decided on their own.

It has nothing to do with you.

You admire Gu Xiusheng

and want to marry him. You think you can't live without him.

You were born a member of the Gu family and will die a member of the Gu family.

What are you doing

?

Are you crazy?

No, sister, do you think the Gu family is good?

Anyway, I don't want to

marry him . Wouldn't it be better if we talked it out?

Sister, what you said just now was

right. I also regret arguing with parents before.

But at that time, I was really afraid

that I was not as good as you, sister, in terms of looks or anything else.

The Gu family originally liked you, sister.

I was afraid that I would be looked down upon after I married

into the family , so I asked for a dowry of my skills.

If I didn't have to marry into the Gu family

, I wouldn't have to bring

a dowry, and parents wouldn't be angry.

Sister, what's wrong? Aren't you leaving?

What are you doing?

Nothing, we were just joking around

. I don't know when we get back. You're already this lazy

, helping out in the backyard before you

're even married.

If you get married, the family

will be even less able to rely on you.

What about the money from selling cloth ? I wanted Sui Sui

to bring her dyeing skills as part of her dowry

when she gets married. But no,

Sister Qian has a dowry,

why doesn't Sui Sui?

The Zheng family has more people

, and their eldest daughter-in-law is quite strong-willed.

If our Sui Sui brings more dowry,

she'll be more respected.

Besides, we'll tell the Zheng family

that even with her skills, they're not allowed to dye cloth for nearby villages,

it won't affect our business.

Sui Sui has never suffered any hardship at home since she was little

, and now that she's about to get married,

she's already inferior to her sister.

You don't feel sorry for her,

but I do!

Ping'er is marrying into the Gu family,

Sui Sui is marrying into the Zheng family,

how can they be the same?

How can they be different?

I'm telling you

, Zheng Fang's maternal uncle

has connections in the yamen,

really.

Why would I lie to you? Have

you forgotten how the Zheng family's ox ended up in Zheng Fang's name?

If it weren't for Wang Meixiang's brother's connections in the county yamen,

how could the contract have been drawn up so easily?

Then

, bring Sui Sui along with her dowry

to the backyard and tell her parents

to sit down, sit down.

I was flustered that day and

didn't think things through

. Guihua, do n't take it to heart

. What are you saying?

I was also in a hurry that day

and hit her a little too hard.

I was hoping you wouldn't mind. It

's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding

.

I love talking to straightforward people like you who

don't hold grudges.

Song Qian isn't as pretty as Song Sui. Gu Chengli

has such high standards;

he definitely won't be happy about being exchanged for a wife.

Song Qian's marriage will definitely lead to a difficult life. It's not easy,

but I've already promised Song Sui

. I can only wrong Song Qian.

What kind of look did he give me? He's

so confident!

Our two families are from the same village,

and we know each other well.

Fang has two older brothers .

I'm a stepmother ;

I can't just care about my own children and

ignore my two older sons.

My eldest son gave 1,800 cash as a dowry when he got married,

and secretly got the second son's cow under the third son's wing.

Now, when it comes to dowry, he's being treated unfairly.

Does he think I'm stupid?

I'm not praising my own daughter.

Go ask around

in the surrounding villages

and see who is as beautiful as my Suisui,

and who is as capable.

A few days ago, Gu Deshan sent 2,500 cash as a dowry

to marry my Qian'er.

Both children are getting married in the same year.

You... "Wouldn't it be laughable to give

so much less money

? You can't say that.

The amount is just a token of goodwill.

The key is whether the children will have a good life in the future.

Besides,

everyone in the village knows that Gu Deshan has more land

and fewer mouths to feed

, so his life is better than others.

Moreover, he only has one son,

so naturally he can give whatever he wants. My

family has many children,

so the situation is different.

Every year when my daughter-in-law gets married, she has to bring her dyeing skills as part of her dowry.

Your eldest daughter- in-law doesn't have such a good dowry. Since

my family is giving a

larger dowry, we naturally ask for more money.

Mother, really,

what difference does a thousand more or less make?

What if Wang Meixiang gets angry and leaves?

This 2,500 coins is still too much.

The Song family's dyeing skills are a money tree.

2,500

coins..." 2,500

rooms aren't enough for our house.

Since it's a wedding,

we naturally need to build a new house.

Where will we build it?

We plan to build two rooms behind our house.

After that, we'll put

a wall around it

so we'll have an extra backyard. It's

just that building takes time, so the

wedding date will have to wait a while.

Haha,

the wedding date is set for 17 days from now.

Although it's a bit rushed

, next month is definitely an auspicious month.

If we postpone it,

we'll have to wait until the twelfth lunar month to have an auspicious day.

This child is smart and steady.

Yesterday, the fortune teller said he

and Cheng Li are a match made in heaven,

definitely better than his older sister. Child,

although the wedding date is a bit rushed

, I won't let you suffer.

This is a gift for my new bride.

No, this is too expensive.

What do you want? "So amazing!

I'll have a new house to live in soon! Hmph!

I heard that when my third brother got married,

the family gave 2,500 yuan as a dowry.

Dad said

that's because the Song family girl brought her dyeing skills as part of her

dowry, so the dowry was a bit higher.

What about building a

new house? You're getting married, so you don't have a new house yet,

Second Brother. Although you're not married

yet, the family never mentioned building a new house before.

But as soon as Third Brother mentioned getting married

, he's in a hurry to build a new house.

This time, don't be silly and throw money away again.

Didn't you understand

what happened before ?

You and Second Brother do all the housework, and

the valuable things go to Third Brother and Fourth Brother

. That pampered eldest daughter of the Song family got a more

dowry than me.

She got a new house as soon as she entered the family

, and she even brought her skills.

With her mother-in-law and her family backing her up,

what will happen next?" Do you think my family still has a way to survive?

You want me to pay for building a house? Dream on!

Mom, when are we going to eat meat?

Tiger Head's family had meat yesterday!

I want meat!

What kind of meat?

A pound of pork costs 19 coins

, enough to buy two pounds of noodles! We don't have meat! Let's eat

! Why are you calculating this for her?

She can't understand anyway.

Child, if you want meat, why

don't you go to the butcher in the county town and buy

some? We don't have any spare money to buy meat.

We just paid the autumn harvest last month

, and the rice jar is almost empty. The quilts and mattresses

for my eldest sister's wedding

are still not ready.

In a few days, we'll be holding a birthday banquet for Mom.

It seems like expenses will keep flowing away like water. We

don't have any money.

I said, "

Look at you, all this fuss and worrying.

We've notified the Gu and Zheng families this year.

At least two tables in the courtyard need to be full for the men."

Okay,

I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat now!

Take your time! It's really good that

Qiao Deshan and Chengli went to the county town to find Master Li,

but neither of them are home.

Ha, what's

the big deal? It doesn't matter.

No need to see me off .

I still need to go to Zheng Youfu's house

and ask him to come to my house for the feast.

No need to see me off. Go back now.

Look at Shen Xiuping's arrogant attitude just now. One

minute she said she didn't have any good tea to serve us,

and the next minute she brought us two bowls

of tea that cost at least 20 coins per ounce.

It was so pretentious. I spit on her. I've

long heard that Shen Xiuping was forced by Gu Deshan to pay

1000 dong of grain to be a slave trader. The woman I got in return

might have been a servant before,

but now she acts like a lady.

That old woman has so many rules, they're enough to kill you. She

controls everything—eating, sleeping, even giving gifts.

Mother, don't stoop to her level.

I'm married into the Zheng family now,

and life isn't bad.

Let's go to Zheng Youfu's house.

Auntie, you're also buying pork from the Song family?

Yeah, right.

Pork is hard to find

these days, especially outside of holidays.

Sometimes you

can't even find fresh pork

in town. The Song family slaughtered a pig today,

and we'll get a pound to take home

for my grandson.

Why is the Song family suddenly selling pork today?

Don't you know

that Song Youfu and... His mother is turning 60.

They didn't even slaughter

the pig they raised last year for the Lunar New Year

, saving it for today.

Quite a few people are buying meat now.

If you want to buy some

, hurry up and

go early; you might even get a cheap bowl of pig's blood.

Aunt Zhang, you're so lucky!

Your children are so filial

, they even slaughtered a pig just for your birthday celebration.

Heh heh heh, I'm getting old

, I'll enjoy the festivities as long as I can, hahaha.

Such a big pig,

if they kept it for the Lunar New Year, how much money

could they sell

it for? My memory is like a veil;

I can't remember how the main wife got rich at all.

But it doesn't matter,

as long as I marry into the family

, I'm not afraid of not having a good life.

Sister... The bean sprouts in my hand are almost gone from the scalding.

Ugh

, I didn't sleep well last night.

Sister Qian, are you close to the main wife?

No,

why

? Nothing. I suddenly remembered that

a few days ago when you went to town to sell eggs,

I saw you coming back in the oxcart.

Just now in the front yard,

I saw Fangzi was there too.

I suddenly remembered this

and wanted to ask you.

Oh, it was a coincidence that day. There

were also Gu Lizheng and Team Leader Zheng on the cart.

Sister, you've forgotten?

Of course not!

Wasn't she dark and thin like a withered blade of grass before?

Now she's slender, with delicate

features

, a truly beautiful young woman.

No wonder the main wife took a liking to her.

Sister

,

you should wash... Bean Sprout,

I'm going to wash the vegetables at the well in the front yard.

Osmanthus , your Sui Sui is so diligent and sensible,

unlike mine...

I don't even want to talk about

her. My Sui Sui is so good at cooking

; she made all the dishes for today's meal.

Osmanthus, I really didn't expect

your eldest daughter to be so capable at such a young age. She'll

be a blessing for her future in

-laws , hahaha

! Oh, Sui Sui,

what brings you out to wash?

I remember you have a water tank in your backyard.

You're such a diligent girl,

how come you didn't know to fill the tank beforehand

? Here, take this bucket of water to the backyard to wash.

There are too many people in the front yard

. You're a young lady

, carrying a bucket of water to the backyard.

You clearly know that today is a busy day in the city...

The teacher and classmates are all coming over,

why do you have to go at that time? Can't you

wait a bit? "No talking while

eating or sleeping" is

your rule!

Why can't I go

? Pengpeng, aren't you here too?

Anyway, whatever I do is wrong,

Pengpeng, whatever you do is right.

Oh, I just remembered there's water in the kitchen,

I'll go first.

There are too many people in the yard

, let's go inside and talk to the birthday girl.

Good

sister, what's wrong

? Nothing. There were too many people in the front yard, I couldn't wash up.

I stopped expecting her help a long time ago

, after all, she's never lifted a finger. Just

cook well!

8 big plates: 4 hot

dishes, steamed pork strips, braised pork, stuffed tofu, stir-fried pork liver,

4

cold dishes... Tofu salad with celery, peanuts, and scallions;

cold pig's ear salad.

My sister just told you which piece of

meat

to cut and how much. There's no meat,

just that piece next to the cutting board

! Mother really said to cut this piece

! What are you saying?

Today is Grandma's birthday feast!

Mother said to make a full eight big dishes.

Don't be stingy and be reluctant to use meat

and other vegetables;

it'll be embarrassing for outsiders to see.

Cui can manage all the work in the kitchen by herself;

you don't need to help.

We can rest in front,

haha.

She did well on the imperial examination this time;

the results will be out soon.

I wonder if she'll pass the preliminary examination.

Thank you, big brother,

for being so sensible.

Who taught you that?

My second sister taught me.

She said boys should call me "big brother"

and girls should call me "big sister." If

someone gives me something,

I should say thank you .

That's how a good child behaves,

and people will like me more.

Hmm, your second sister is right.

Big brother, someone's coming to play with me

, I have to go.

Hey

, you...

uh,

I want to go to the outhouse.

Hmm, you go ahead.

Uh,

I...

he probably knows the Song family's outhouse

is in the backyard. The backyard is where the women

live , and he can't go alone,

so he wanted to ask me to come along.

Uncle Song, Zhengfa and I are going to the outhouse in the backyard.

Let Ji Tian take us there.

Hahaha, the outhouse is right in the back,

there's nothing to take

you there , you can just go directly.

Let's go,

Sister Qian. How much longer does this meat need to stew?

It'll be ready soon.

It tastes good.

When you make the stuffed tofu later, don't fry it in oil; it'll

waste too much oil.

Mom, look, Sister Qian

didn't tell me before frying the tofu, and now

I smell of oil all over me.

Why did you fry the tofu?

Dad said that stuffed tofu is always fried first and then boiled.

When you were frying the tofu,

my older sister even asked if there wasn't enough oil in the pan.

Sister,

if you think the kitchen smells bad,

go inside and rest.

I can manage here by myself, so as

not to ruin your nice clothes.

With so many people here today

, if I go to the front yard to rest, it'll just be

telling everyone I haven't done any work.

When did he become so sharp-tongued?

With so many people outside today

, you can't go to the front.

To avoid outsiders gossiping behind your back,

you should prepare the food from outside first,

and the noodles and sauce

you 'll eat afterward.

Alright,

that's fine.

The tofu is fried,

so be it.

Sui Sui, hurry up and put the prepared dishes into bowls; the

food will be served soon.

Mother is always biased,

even in my dreams.

Song Tian is married and doing well,

so Mother always protects her. Luckily,

no one came over;

maybe

the aroma of the stir-fried meat dishes

attracted the village cats.

Why did you drag me out?

Aunt Guihua was just

bragging in the front yard that Song Sui made the dishes, but

now she's pushing all the blame onto the second daughter.

If I bring Zhengfa and rush in, it will

not only cause embarrassment

but also let outsiders know... Song Sui stole the credit,

and Aunt Chen will definitely be angry with the second young lady afterwards.

Since you can't help,

don't make things worse.

What just happened?

There was no one else in

the backyard besides Aunt Chen and the other two

. I was just thinking about it.

The backyard is all women

, no men.

It's not appropriate

for the two of us to go into the backyard alone.

As my cousin, my house isn't far from here.

How about I take you to his outhouse

? Oh, this braised pork is really fragrant.

This cooking is better than the ones I've had in restaurants in the county town.

The pig ears are good

, and the seasoning is just right.

This tofu is stuffed with meat.

I've never seen this before.

Not bad, not bad

, hahaha.

This stuffed tofu is a specialty of my hometown. This vegetable

dish is so soft and tender,

perfect for my grandma's teeth. My daughter,

Sui Sui, specially made it for her. She's very sentimental and

always thinks about her relatives from her hometown,

haha.

I made this especially

for her, so she'll be happy.

Oh, I was just looking for you!

Please sit down, please sit down.

Thank you so much, Auntie,

for keeping you waiting.

It's

nothing, it's just that you're so polite.

You educated people are so formal!

Please sit down and eat,

don't be shy. Make

yourself at home.

Try the stuffed tofu;

it's Sui Sui's specialty.

Try it! It

was just something I made, don't be put off.

The outer layer is soft and tender,

and the inside is fresh and fragrant.

My future wife's cooking skills are truly amazing! Wow,

this braised pork even has soybeans in it! They're

so soft and absorbent,

what a clever idea!

I'm Li Zheng from the next village.

May I ask who you are, officers?

We've come to deliver good news! We

heard that Gu Tongsheng from Gucheng is

having a birthday banquet at a villager's house today, so

we came here. I am

Gu Chengli

. Hahaha,

congratulations to Gu Tongsheng on passing this year's prefectural examination

and winning first place!

You are the top scholar in the entire Guangping Prefecture! The magistrate

specially sent us to deliver this good news.

Xiuping, Xiuping, did you hear that?

Our Chengli

is the top scholar in the entire Guangping Prefecture!

It's truly a blessing from our ancestors!

This child from the city

has always been different from the other children in the village.

I always thought he'd amount to something. Now

that Deshan's son has passed the exam,

he's practically got a name on the county magistrate's radar!

Liangshan, your family has produced a talent!

Hahaha, we're from the same village,

congratulations

!

This brat!

I told her daughter-in-law to do less,

but she wouldn't listen.

Little

monk,

your uncle has a sheep spirit!

Those people outside are all drunk.

Today is a joyous occasion

; they 're having a good time,

so why should we spoil their fun?

I've always liked your second daughter.

I didn't bring anything special today, but

I'll give her something in person another day.

This braised pork is delicious

; it would be even better with a bowl of rice. Okay,

it's alright.

When I marry Zheng Chuan,

I'll be surrounded by people flattering me. I

don't need to help

make some noodles.

There aren't many people coming today.

Sui Sui and Sister Chen can help me.

You all can rest here

and keep my birthday grandma

company. Aunts

and great-aunts can rest inside and keep grandma company.

Song Qin, when you cooked during the day, you cut

a long strip of pork belly.

Why are you so greedy? You

always pick the best meat to cook.

How did I end up with such a greedy and lazy daughter?

You'll definitely be laughed at to death when you get married.

What happened?

This brat

cut the pork belly I specially reserved

! I'm taking it to town to sell tomorrow.

I asked my older

sister, and she said, "Mom, you told me

to make eight big dishes today,

don't be stingy and

skimp on the meat, so it won't be embarrassing when the dishes are served."

She added , "I didn't! I didn't!

Sister, how could you say that? It

was you!

I only told you not to be stingy,

I didn't tell you to take that piece of meat

! You're the one who's carrying the dishes out.

You wanted me to choose the meat so the dishes would look good and

you'd look good when you brought them out, so

you made me choose the meat.

Now you're pushing everything onto me

! Don't talk nonsense!

Back then, it was just the two of us in the kitchen,

and now you insist on..." Saying I

tricked you into using good meat to save face

, no one will defend me.

Yes, it's just the two of us

now, no matter what I say,

it's all up to you, eldest sister.

I just thought today is Grandma's birthday banquet, and I

wanted the food to look good

so as not to embarrass her.

Besides, Dad said

that relatives from both the Gu and Zheng families would be coming today,

so I chose slightly better meat.

But you can't use that piece of meat!

Alright,

second sister, I only used that piece of meat

to make the banquet look good.

It's not a big deal.

Didn't you enjoy lunch today?

I was

different.

You can keep pestering me.

Alright , don't you want to beat Er Yatou now

so the neighbors will know

she cooked today's feast?

Er Yatou's pretty face is

exactly like mine when I was young.

Da Yatou has the same slanted eyebrows as Chen Guihua.

Chen Guihua is biased because of this;

she gives all the good jobs to Da Yatou

and makes Er Yatou

do all the work

. If Er Yatou doesn't do it well, she gets scolded by you. You're such a biased mother!

What's wrong?

Your wife thinks there's too much meat in today's feast and

is making a fuss.

She just scolded Er Yatou badly.

Come here, Sister Chen,

let's go inside.

Don't pay attention to them.

You just sit inside.

Your father can't argue with your mother,

he'll stop in a while.

Your mother spoils your sister too much.

Mother is blaming me for using too much meat in the stir-fry today.

But my older sister was right next to me,

and she didn't remind me

to ignore her. Your mother

is completely obsessed with money.

Humph, your older sister always

pushes everything onto you.

Don't worry about dinner,

let them do

it. This ball of thread is

dyed unevenly; the embroidery looks terrible.

You dyed this thread,

I don't know

how you knew.

I dye so much thread and so much fabric

every day,

it's impossible to remember every single one

. Ugh , you're

so stupid! You

can't even do such a simple job right.

Sister, instead of complaining about the thread color, why don't

you

go to the backyard and

dye it again?

Humph, indigo dyeing mud is the easiest way to get your hands dirty.

I don't want to make my pretty

nails bluish-black.

Mom won't let me touch the dye vat

now ...

Chen Guihua treated me like a thief,

not even letting me touch the dye vat.

I was happy to have some peace and quiet.

I never expected that Gu Deshan and his wife

would go to such lengths to get their son married.

I told them I shouldn't let my in-laws send so many things,

saying

they only had one son and

naturally wanted to make the occasion more lively.

But I could

n't

persuade them otherwise

. There were several ducks in the backyard that my in-laws had sent,

and chickens too.

Luckily, we slaughtered a pig a while ago

, otherwise we wouldn't have had anywhere to raise the ducks.

The box in the middle contained various colored cloths. The box

on the left contained wine and tobacco, and

the box on the right contained red paper and wedding cakes.

They also sent six chickens, six ducks, and a pig's leg

. Oh,

and besides that,

my in-laws also sent several... The jewelry—

silver hairpins, silver bracelets, silver earrings, and silver rings—

was heavy

and made of genuine silver. Since

my in-laws offered such a generous gift,

I felt reassured about marrying my daughter off.

Gu Deshan and his wife were willing to send such a generous gift because

they knew I doted on my daughter

and were afraid I wouldn't let her marry into the family.

Hmph,

I hadn't originally planned for Chen Jie to get married so early,

but since my in-laws were willing to marry her,

and I was worried about her young age

, I gave Chen Jie

my family's dyeing skills as part of her

dowry. Oh,

why does she get so many good things

? It doesn't matter; the Gu family's life will soon be difficult.

Marrying into the Zheng family is a better choice.

Everyone says,

"Chen Jie, you've received a complete set of fine jewelry

; it's rare to see such a thing at a wedding in the surrounding area.

" Congratulations on your

marriage to a good family tomorrow!

I hope you live a life of wealth and honor every day

. Thank you. I also feel that I will live a good life in the future.

What are you so proud of?

There will be times when you cry later.

Sister, are you talking about this set of jewelry?

Sister, do you think these earrings are pretty?

But I always feel that this style of earrings

makes me look a bit old.

However, Aunt Xiuping told me

that if I don't like them, I can tell her

and she can go to the jewelry

shop in the county town

to change the style for me. Sister , you always have good taste

. Quickly give me some advice.

Did I have silver jewelry when I got married in my dream?

I don't remember.

What are you showing off? Do you

think you can live a good life just because you married into the family?

Do you think you've turned from a sparrow into a phoenix?

I didn't!

Sister, how could you... So that's what

you're thinking. Oh , I see.

Eldest sister, are you worried about

whether you'll have any of

the Zheng brothers when you get married

? Madam Wang will definitely treat everyone equally.

If the eldest sister-in-law of the Zheng family doesn't have any,

then eldest sister, you certainly won't either.

Shut up! Who told you to talk like that in front of me?

Eldest

sister ,

so many people have come to the house today.

You don't really want to fight with me, do

you? I'm going to teach you a lesson today!

How did the kettle break

? Mother, I can't live like this anymore!

This is a brand new kettle

! You're so clumsy

! When will you be more

clever? Eldest sister, the child

obviously didn't break it on purpose. Yes, it must have been an accident.

You all don't know

how lazy and clumsy

she is, even at her age.

I'm really afraid she'll be sent back home after she marries. What

are you saying?

Our second daughter is beautiful and capable,

how could she be divorced by her in-laws?

Besides, it was just breaking a kettle,

Chen Jie'er didn't do

it on purpose.

I broke it on purpose.

I broke the kettle because I was angry

because someone bullied my eldest sister

, even using my name to bully her.

They want to ruin my

relationship with my eldest sister

, even to the point where we'll

never speak to each other again . Some people say that

I have jewelry

when my eldest sister and I get married at the same time, but they don't know if she'll have any when she gets married. Some

people even laugh at my

eldest sister, saying that the gifts her in-laws give her when she gets married

will definitely not be as good as my

mother's. This is someone deliberately trying to sow discord

between my eldest sister and me. Our dowries are... Both

are dyeing cloth.

My parents supported the four of us siblings

with their dyeing skills.

Such a generous dowry

means the groom's family should also provide a generous gift when the bride gets married.

If the groom's family can't afford a full set of jewelry

, a pair of earrings or a ring

would be fine

. Yes, although it's impossible to provide a complete set

, one or two pieces would be acceptable.

This is the first time

I 've ever heard of

a girl marrying with her own dyeing skills.

Meixiang, if your family isn't willing,

my family is.

My eldest son isn't even married yet,

hahaha!

Who says I'm unwilling?

I'm just thinking about what kind of

jewelry would look best on

Sui Sui , hahaha!

Greedy and short-sighted!

The Zheng family needs to get married, build a house,

and now they're being forced to buy jewelry

. Wang Niangzi is stingy! She'd held

this grudge her whole life against Song Sui. She

'd offended her mother-in-law and sister-in-law before even entering

the family; her future was going to be interesting.

The one who starts it is the one who gets hurt; she brought it on herself

. When the groom sees

such a beautiful bride,

he'll be completely captivated. The main house will

bring wealth; I'm definitely

choosing the main house!

My lady, get out of the sedan chair.

Be careful, there are sedan poles ahead.

Don't be afraid, be careful of the threshold, walk slowly.

Turns out he was nervous too. Um,

are you

hungry? I've brought you some food.

Come and eat.

They're eating outside;

you can't go hungry inside.

Thank you, Auntie.

Thank you, Mother-in-law.

What book are you reading?

She knows I can read; she

's reading Mencius

, but there are many parts she doesn't understand.

It's okay,

you're still young; you can learn slowly

.

Xue

, you eat first. After you're done, put your bowl and chopsticks here.

Just wait for someone to come and collect it.

You can go ahead and do your work.

Hmm,

Third Sister-in-law, you look really good in this outfit.

Can I touch it?

Of course!

Wow,

Second Aunt's handiwork is amazing

! This dress was made by Aunt Xiuping.

She went to a shop in the county town to have it made

, but my mother said that the embroidery skills of the people in the shop

are not as good as Second Aunt's.

The embroidery on this dress was all done by Second Aunt.

Second Aunt is very skillful

and can also make many beautiful knots.

Third Sister-in-law, you look so good in this dress. You

seem like a completely different person than usual. You have such a

sweet tongue . By the way

, why do you call me Third Sister- in-law?

It's because Uncle Li Zhengda's

family has two older brothers.

Brother Chengli is the third oldest,

so he has to call you Third Sister- in-law.

Third Sister-in-law

, guess what today... Who sent me to talk to you?

It was Brother Cheng who sent me.

He said you were bored being alone here

and asked me to come and keep you company.

My mother said that Brother Cheng is usually quiet,

but she didn't expect him to be as doting on his wife as my second uncle

. You're only 11 years old,

and you already

know what it means to be doting on your wife.

I'm not drunk

. I added water to my drink,

right? That's a clever idea. Do

you want to change your clothes?

Okay,

there's hot water in the kitchen.

If you want to wash your face,

I'll go get a bucket of hot water.

Okay, I 'll go

with you . I can

go alone .

There are a lot of people here today

, and quite a few are drunk.

You just study all day?

A scholar not only needs to be good at studying

but also healthy.

Besides studying,

what else do I do all day? I have an elder in my family who served

in the military.

I once asked him for advice on archery.

Besides, archery is one of the six arts of a gentleman,

so learning more can't hurt

. How many rings can you hit ? You

usually hit 10 rings,

that's amazing!

I've heard that archers have very strong arms.

Can I see them? They're

really strong. No wonder they stand so upright in their clothes;

it must be from years of back training.

My mother-in-law brought me food today.

She's very kind

. Hmm,

you sent Gu Ya over to talk to me today, right?

Thank you,

it's what I should do.

Wife

, let's rest. Oh no,

I overslept! I got

up so early!

Why didn't I sleep a little longer?

Mother, I got up late.

No, no,

it's still early.

I'll do it. Breakfast,

breakfast,

no need for you to make it.

But

it'll be ready in a bit.

Go to the backyard and call Cheng Li.

Hmm,

you're awake? Why didn't you sleep longer? You've had

enough sleep. Mother told me to call you to the front yard for breakfast.

I'll go put away the sword and then go.

My wife is so cute.

Last night she complimented my back, so

I specially changed my posture, holding the bow in my right hand and

facing the moon gate

so she can see my back as soon as she comes in.

Shall I help you

, or should I?

The target is compacted;

the arrow will be stuck when shot.

The

harder you shoot, the deeper it goes

and the harder it is to pull out.

But as long as you hold the area near the arrowhead

and rotate it a few times,

you can easily pull it out.

Want to try?

What?

Want to try archery?

But I don't know

how. Hmm, I'll teach you

how to hold the bow with your left hand.

The arrow 's fletching caught on the bowstring.

I pushed the bow with my thumb and forearm,

keeping my wrist and forearm in a straight line.

Looking ahead

... oh no!

I shot it way too far on my first try!

Looks like I have some talent

!

Cute, hehehe

. Oh,

Mom said she'd call you over for dinner

. Let's go eat,

don't keep Mom and Dad waiting.

Song

Qian is already married.

Is your

mom's dinner ready?

I'm starving!

All you ever do

is nag !

All you do

is open your mouth and eat

! You're all

so

lazy!

What time is it? Get up!

Go wait for me to feed you! You're

so annoying!

Come on, hurry up! Come and eat,

everyone eat.

One egg for everyone in the family,

this is yours.

Thank you, Mom.

You're too thin

, you need to eat more

. Yes, eat more at home from now on,

a full body will be

strong . Okay, I will eat well.

My parents are good people.

I'll stay here for a long time.

For a better life in the future,

I can try to do some small business to earn money

, but what should I do?

A simple fabric dyeing business is not good,

it's all physical labor.

Sigh, I finally have some free time, but I feel uncomfortable

. Could it be that I've been manipulated

for too long at the Song family, and I feel restless if I don't work?

There's still a lot of meat left in the house.

These past few days, your uncle's family...

They've helped a lot,

inside and out .

We're sending some meat over to your uncle's house.

These past few days, your uncle's family has been working so hard for my wedding. My

second sister-in-law is pregnant and even helped cut the "double happiness" characters.

I should personally go and thank them. Husbands and

wives are one,

so I should also go and thank my uncle, aunt,

brother, and sister-in-law.

I just happened to need to talk to your aunt, so let's

go to your uncle's house together.

Why are you here? And why did you

bring all this meat ?

Hmm, we had a wedding celebration yesterday,

and there's still a lot of meat left over.

My family is small, and we can't finish it all.

Now that the weather is getting hotter,

we brought some

meat over. If we can't finish it, we'll just clear it out. Fry it briefly,

then put it in an oil jar

to keep for a while.

It 'll keep for quite a while

, haha. Sister-in-law

, I've put the meat in the kitchen. I

'll stir-fry some for Wensi and Wenmin for lunch

. Sister-in- law, you, my brother, and the

kids have helped us a lot

lately, so please accept this meat. We're

all family

, helping each other is only right.

Surely you

won't come to help

me when I need something

? Sister-in-law,

consider this a treat for the kids.

We still have some left.

Wensi and Wenmin are growing

, and Chunfu is pregnant again;

more meat

will help them grow stronger

. Okay, you'll all eat here for lunch,

so don't go back and cook separately.

Good,

you're too thin; you need to eat more.

Auntie's words are just like Mother's.

My mom just said the same thing to me at home,

haha. Then you should definitely take better care of yourself

, haha.

I also think Xiaoqin does seem a bit thinner than last year.

Sister-in-law, my mom and aunt didn't notice,

even though we're so close,

how come you didn't notice I've grown taller?

Sister-in-law, you said you wanted to weave a diamond pattern,

and I drew the diagram.

How did you

even come up with the diamond pattern?

Hand-woven belts and weaving are actually the same thing,

except hand-woven belts are narrower

and can be woven by hand.

Wide belts require a loom. Try it using the belt-weaving method

, and once you figure out the pattern,

use

the same method to put it on the loom, and

it will naturally become

a pattern . Auntie also said...

I'm completely bewildered by

what you've said

. I could easily set up

a small weaving factory in the village.

Small money, small

money!

What are you

so engrossed in

? Seeing this thread

reminds me of how many families

in the village know how to weave.

Indeed , quite a few.

Since your family moved to the village,

it's been much more convenient for weavers. They can just take their

woven fabric to your family's place for dyeing.

Xiaoqin,

Second Sister-in-law, slow down!

Hahaha,

I'm just pregnant

, not sick! Hahaha,

she can walk better than me.

It's because you're walking too slowly.

Hmm,

let Second Uncle have some.

Stop bothering him.

If you make Wenmin cry,

believe me, I'll slap you twice

! I'm just kidding

, hahaha.

Second Uncle will give you

some. My little rascal, your second uncle hasn't spoiled you for nothing,

hahaha!

Compared to the Song family's constant chaos, the Gu

family is incredibly harmonious.

This peaceful and warm life is so wonderful.

Qian-jie

, I'll be going back to the private school in a few days,

leaving you alone at home.

I've been studying since I was little, focused on

the imperial examinations,

hoping to one day pass them and enter officialdom

to realize my ambitions. A true man should be loyal to

the emperor and serve his country,

living a life worthy of heaven and earth. But since ancient times

, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to reconcile

. If I go away to study,

my parents will have to be taken care of by you.

No problem!

His tone made it sound like my in-laws were in their seventies or eighties.

They're clearly only in their early forties, still

running and jumping

. I just saw my father-in-law quietly

taking my mother-in-law's hand and leaving.

I'll take care of them myself.

I guess they'll just be an eyesore.

Thank you, Qianjie.

My cousins are close, but

there's still a barrier.

Only you are my family

, my other half,

and I'll always be there for you.

You 're welcome.

Qianjie, do you know my mother's background?

My mother comes from a family of officials from the previous dynasty. Her

maternal family was both an official and a scholarly family.

Boys and girls all started school together, learning

to read, write, understand principles,

and cultivate virtue.

Therefore, my mother taught me

from a young age why we should study and

what studying is. It's not surprising that a daughter of

an official married into the countryside. When my mother-in-law was in her

teens, it was during a period of dynastic change

and the transition between old and new

forces. It's not surprising that she ended up here

. As her son,

I shouldn't gossip about my mother's past.

If you are really curious about my mother's past

... Later you can ask your mother yourself.

Actually, I wanted to tell you that

your mother might teach you something in the future.

What will she teach me?

Xiaoqian

, I know you

can read. Do you know how to use an abacus?

Yes, but you're not very good at it.

Today I'll teach you how to use an abacus.

Wow, this is amazing! It's practically an ancient computer!

I've always wanted a daughter

, but I hurt my body when I gave birth to my son.

Chengli has always been steady and

methodical

since she was little. She would occasionally act spoiled

when she was young, but she completely lost that skill as she grew up.

This well-behaved little girl's eyes are full of admiration

. Only now do I feel like a mother.

Mom, how did you calculate that just now?

I'll teach you slowly.

Before learning to use an abacus, you need to memorize the formulas.

Can you memorize them in two days?

I will try my best, Mom.

Can you play the piano?

I haven't played in so long,

my hands are rusty.

Can I see it with my own eyes?

Ah,

is this some kind of heavenly script?

Hmph,

although I don't understand it

and think it's not as beautiful as the guzheng or pipa

, the posture of playing the piano is really beautiful.

Mother is really amazing! She

can read, do math, use an abacus, do needlework, and even play the piano

! She's

practically

a genius! Yes, Mother has always been amazing

. My arithmetic was taught by Mother;

even the tutors at the private school couldn't compare to her.

Mother is proficient in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art

.

I just feel

that someone as amazing as Mother

shouldn't remain unknown.

If she were in modern times

, she would definitely be an outstanding career woman,

capable of achieving

great things . But here, she can only be an ordinary peasant woman.

You're right,

this world treats women... My son has always been more demanding

of his mother. If he were a boy,

he would surely have taken the imperial examinations

and achieved great things

. Is that really what you think? Of

course.

I feel like I like you a little more today.

So, can you play the piano?

I can't.

You haven't learned it

because you're not interested.

I think playing that stuff is boring

. It's okay, you're already very excellent.

Cough cough.

He was really straightforward.

My days in the Song family weren't easy.

You should have guessed it

by now. I not only coveted her looks, but

also had a bit of a heart to help the weak and poor.

My father said she was well-behaved

, and my mother said she was smart.

She suppressed her

favoritism with just a few words. The way my mother and my troublemaking sister

looked really fascinated me.

I was the second oldest child

and a girl. I

had an older sister

and a younger brother.

I never... I'm liked by my parents

but not valued by my family.

Don't worry,

I

'll have the dyeing skills I had when I got married. I asked

for them myself, and we even had a fight about it.

Tomorrow is our homecoming,

and my mother might say some unpleasant things.

I hope you won't mind

. Okay, I understand. Don't worry , I will never let you suffer again.

My mother-in-law is definitely the

one who deserves the credit

for the close relationship between Gu Jia and Li Zheng's family.

Look at the time!

Go feed the chickens and

ducks. They're starving.

Also, take the eggs out of the coop and

let my eldest daughter do some work. Why is it so difficult?

And this kitchen

was never this mess when Song Qian was here.

Your Highness, the chickens are pecking at me!

My husband and I are going home!

Aunt Ju, go to the fields!

Aunt Ju,

come on in!

Second sister, parents, grandma

, my second sister is back!

Here, I brought you some delicious food.

Come in and eat! Okay, come in and eat!

You should thank your second brother-in

-law. Thank you, second brother-in-law.

No need to thank me

. I was just saying you'd be arriving later.

Why are you here so early? Come on

in, come in and let's chat.

Cheng Li is still so polite.

We're all family now,

no need for such formalities.

Please sit down, please sit down.

You child, why are you so greedy?

It was my second brother-in-law who gave me this.

You're eating it just because I gave it to you?

You brat

, do you know how expensive honey-glazed pastries

are? Can't you save them for later?

These honey-glazed pastries were specially

bought from Su Ji Fang in the county town

so I could bring them back for my homecoming today.

Grandma, try them. They

're soft-core,

you can chew them.

The city is so thoughtful

, still remembering me.

You are Xiao Xuan's elder

, so you are my elder too.

This is what a junior should do.

This is the bar of Lu's Wine Shop.

This is my father-in-law. Good eye

, hahaha!

It's not that I have good eyesight

, look at the red seal on this wine.

Only the red seal of Lu's Wine Shop

would be folded like this.

Why did this good-for-

nothing buy such nice things?

Couldn't she just bring the money back?

Mother, why aren't you eating?

Eldest sister, you should try

this honey-glazed pastry too. It tastes much better

than what the street vendors sell.

Laugh, but one day you won't be laughing anymore.

Shen Xiuping is simply a living devil.

From family relationships

to walking and eating, she

controls everything

and tortures me in various ways. I

've had a toothache these past two days

and can't eat anything too sweet. Eldest

sister, why did your tooth suddenly hurt?

Is it a cavity?

I heard from my mother-in-law that there

's a special dental clinic called Wangmen Zhao's

in the county town. Should we go see

a dentist? It's just a bit of a sore throat,

nothing serious

. Just drink more water.

A toothache isn't a disease,

but it can be excruciating.

Eldest sister, if you can't stand it , you

definitely have to go see a dentist. See

, don't always have to suppress

your noise. It's just a secret three-way connection.

Tomorrow I'll go to the county town to buy a whole bag.

Aunt Ma,

the cloth is already dyed

and it's in the backyard. I'll go get it.

Please sit down first. Oh, you two young couple are going back to your parents' home today!

Grandma, I also want some.

Let's go home for dinner later.

This child is so naughty

. He ate candy at home just now, and as

soon as we went out, he saw something nice and started making a fuss about wanting it.

Kids are all like that.

Auntie, please have a

taste too. I can't accept this.

It was specially bought from the city.

Actually, I also think it's too expensive,

but he said it's his first time going back

to his parents' home, so he should bring something practical.

Osmanthus, you've got a good son-in-law!

Yes, yes,

you're busy.

I'll be going now

. Why are you leaving so soon?

Sit down and rest for a while.

No, no, it's your son-in-

law's first time going back to his parents' home today.

Your family will definitely cook a good meal to entertain you.

I won't bother you anymore.

A few days ago,

your family had a big feast,

and your eldest daughter... The food was so good that

my husband

kept talking about it for days

after eating it. How could it be so good?

Auntie was right,

the food was indeed excellent that day.

My parents and uncle all

praised the feast, saying it was beautifully prepared,

with perfect color, aroma, and taste.

It wasn't just good, it was

better than anything from those fancy restaurants.

Especially the stuffed tofu,

which I heard is a traditional dish from my mother-in-law's hometown

; we don't see it here.

I just wonder if

my son-in-law will be lucky enough to eat it again today. Oh dear,

that dish was made by Song Qian.

I can just ask him to make

some for me later; it

's nothing serious.

Since that's the case

, I 'll trouble you, elder sister.

Song Qian has been lazy since childhood;

he's slow-witted

, impulsive

, and doesn't know how to talk.

If he does anything wrong,

have your parents say a few words to him. If

that doesn't work, come and tell me

; I'll scold him.

Mother-in-law is too biased.

Xiao Qian is clearly very smart,

yet she's being belittled like this,

Mother! What are you saying?

Xiao Qian is very good;

my parents are very satisfied with her.

These past two days,

my parents have been praising Xiao Qian for being smart and capable.

She worked at her parents' home selling cloth and doing business

; she can read and do arithmetic.

My parents were overjoyed when they found out

, saying it was a marriage so good they couldn't find a better match than they could find with a lantern.

They even said they would personally come to thank you

for raising Xiao Qian so well

, so that our family could have such a good daughter-in-law.

How could she deserve to live so

well? Is that so? Is that
so?

Xiao Ping is good in every way,
Xiao Qian is good in every way,

except she's too thin.

But it's not a big deal;

she just needs to take good care of herself,

eat a more refined diet

, avoid cold water

, avoid overwork, and get plenty of rest.

Before resting

, Xiao Qian didn't want to rest either,

saying that before she married into the family, her mother-in-law

repeatedly told her to be filial to her parents-in-law

, saying that if she didn't do well, she

might be blamed by her mother-in-law.

But my parents think that Xiao Qian's health is the most important thing

, so they let her rest more.
Let her recuperate more,

Mother-in-law... Will you blame Xiao Qianqian?

No, no
, don't touch cold water,

don't do chores, rest more.

Song Qian isn't the Queen Mother of

the West. Shen Xiuping, what are you up to? Are you

deliberately letting Song Qian come back to show off and make me angry?

Xiao Qian, you're just too filial

and obedient. Look,

your mother-in-law won't blame you at all.

Your most important thing now is to take care of your health.

Why is Song Qian so lucky?

Shen Xiuping doesn't even need to teach him manners.

In my past life, I schemed and married into the family

, but I suffered all kinds of contempt

. It's okay, I'm going to marry Zheng Shuang now.

The Zheng family will definitely not treat me like that.

Last night, I did ask him to

be a little more affectionate and

protective of me

today , but he's gone too far.

Listen to your mother-in-law,

taking care of your health is the most important thing now.

Okay,

you forgot you can't drink cold water

? How come I didn't know I can't drink cold water?

Oh right,

I had my period this morning,

and he actually noticed.

Is there hot water?

If you want some,

I'll go to the kitchen and boil some

. You're the elder,

why do you need to boil water yourself?

This kind of thing should be left to the younger generation.

He's pointing at me...

Besides me, who else in this house is a junior

? Since it's

my elder

sister's homecoming,

please stay inside and have a chat with her.

Our eldest sister's care for her sisters

is a blessing for both of us.

We are truly fortunate

to have such a good elder sister.

Hot water's here

!

Do you have any sugar at home

? Brown sugar would be best.

What do you need brown sugar for?

Mother-in-law, don't you know? Brown sugar water replenishes qi and blood.

If you boil poached eggs in brown sugar water

with ginger, red dates, and fermented rice,

it's perfect for nourishing the body. No wonder my mother-in-law and I

have been having brown sugar water with fermented rice and poached eggs

for breakfast these past two days.

It turns out my mother-in-law is using it specifically to nourish me. (The last sentence is a separate, unrelated thought: "

Song coins aren't that delicate.

I'll go get some. Please wait a moment

." ) I've seen Shen Xiuping drink it,

but I've never drunk it myself.

Why can Song Qian drink

it? It's getting late, let's cook.

Okay, I'll go prepare

it now. I'll just say "Ah!" and

pretend I'm not feeling well and can't cook.

Gu Cheng chimed in a few more times

. Even if Chen Guihua is unhappy,

I won't do it.

Xiao Qian , we're in for a treat today!

My older sister just said she'd personally

cook her signature dish again

, hahaha!

Yes, you brought tofu and meat today,

and all the ingredients for the homecoming are ready.

This lazy girl, why

is she so still? She's even lazier than when she was at her parents' house. Well,

my

older sister is going to the kitchen to cook her signature dish.

You don't know how to cook, so don't go.

Besides , today is our homecoming

, and we're both guests.

There's no reason for guests to do the work.

Let's just stay here. Keep Grandma company

while you're away.

Grandma must miss you terribly these past few days. Your

son-in-law is right,

Xiao Qian, just keep me company.

Yes, Xiao Qian, just rest here

, I'll go. Sister Qian,

you stay here and keep Grandma and Dad company.

It's just cooking a meal,

no need for anyone else's help.

Xiao Qian, your older sister is so kind and loving,

it's a blessing for both of us.

I originally only wanted her to play support,

but I didn't expect her to go on a rampage.

Her words are too sharp

. Yes, we should all learn from her.

Hmph,

thank you today .

We're husband and wife

, why say thank you ? Being

husband and wife is one thing,

thanking you is another.

If it were n't for you

, I might have been given a hard time today.

Actually, I always thought you were a person who wasn't good at talking,

but now... My

husband is

eloquent,

quick-witted, and incredibly

intelligent.

Thank you for the praise, my wife

. Do you see me in a new light now?

Hmm,

have you seen me in a new light these past few days?

I've also

had my eyes opened these past few days.

The history here took a turn at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty,

establishing the Yan Dynasty.

Now it's the Great Wu Dynasty.

Most importantly, there's no foot binding

! Thank goodness,

my mother-in-law is actually a traveling accountant,

comparable to a modern auditor!

These teaching materials are all real merchant ledgers.

The energy of ancient women is truly amazing. Mother,

how about we have garlic sprouts stir-fried with cured meat and egg drop soup

for lunch?

Hey,

child,

don't wipe it like

that. The more you wipe, the dirtier it gets.

Seeing you reminds me of my time

at the end of the previous dynasty,

when a tyrannical emperor and

wicked people were in power.

My grandfather, a high-ranking official, was imprisoned.

After my father rescued him,

the whole family resigned from their posts

and returned to our hometown, only to be murdered by Guo Tong on the way.

After my mother's illness and surgery,

I went to seek refuge with my uncle

, but he sold me to a slave trader

. Just then, the court cracked down on brothels,

and I was dragged to the street to be sold.

Deshan exchanged me for a cartload of grain.

Perhaps there are other relatives of the Shen family still alive

. Have you ever thought about going to find them?

My family members were all killed by treacherous officials.

My mother died of illness

. Even if there are still members of the Shen family

, the relationship is distant.

I'm doing fine here.

Okay, it 's all clean

now. Mother, can I not write big characters today?

No

, then write one, okay?

Tomorrow I'll go to town to buy fish

to make Mother's favorite boiled fish.

Write two today.

Okay, I'll make lunch.

Daughter is indeed better than son. My son needs to be cute.

I can't hide my business plans from my in-laws,

so I have to come up with a perfect business plan

so they can see for themselves how much

money the weaving workshop can make.

Gu Chengli's private school in the county town

costs at least 14 dan of money a year,

plus two festival gifts a year, and then there's the

cost of writing materials, which

adds up to at least 13 or 14 diao of money a year. If I

want to advance in my studies,

I need to find an even better teacher.

The better the teacher, the more I'll benefit.

This business is a sure thing.

I'm going to invest. Gu Chengzhi

, you're going to water the bridge too?

Oh, you still recognize me as your mother? Everyone

who knows says you're married off,

but people who don't know think I only had one daughter

and never had you.

What do you mean, one daughter or two daughters?

I don't understand, Mother. What does this mean?

It

's been almost a month since I got married,

and you only came home once for your family visit.

When have you ever come back

? You know the family is busy

, but you never come back to help.

I've raised you for nothing!

So you just want me to go back and be your free farmhand?

I'd be crazy to go there on my own initiative.

I've been so busy these days.

What have you been so busy with?

The other day,

my husband said

you were just relaxing at your in-laws' house.

I'll go back and ask my mother- in-law

. If she wants me to go back to my parents' house and do half a day's work, then

I'll go back

. Am I your mother

or her? Shen Xiuping is your mother,

so why do you have to ask her about everything

? Aren't you my mother? Didn't you say

daughters are a financial burden?

A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup

. I'm married,

but... "Once you're married into your husband's family, you

naturally have to listen to your mother-in

-law in everything. You ungrateful wretch!

Do you really think I can't control you now

that you're married? What are you two talking about?

Why don't you go talk under the shade of a tree?

Standing here in this blazing sun

must be so hot. I just happened to run into you, so I said

a few words. Xiaoqian, hurry up and get

to work . I need to go water my vegetable garden too.

Remember to come home this afternoon.

Your grandma misses you terribly

. Haha,

Auntie, I'll go water the garden first.

Go on, go on.

Sister-in-law, what brings you

here? Come in and sit down.

Oh,

I just ran into

Chen Guihua and Xiaoping talking outside.

Chen Guihua's words were all about

telling Xiaoping to go back to her parents' home

to help with chores . Xiaoping said she'd go home and ask her opinion.

Chen Guihua was still unhappy

, saying that her daughter should go back to her parents' home to help with chores."

It wasn't a big deal to begin with,

but why force your daughter to come home and do chores?

Yesterday, I overheard Sanhe's wife, who lives next door to Old Song's family, saying

that Chen Guihua

has been yelling at her family every day lately—first scolding them for not doing chores,

then scolding them for being lazy

, her voice so loud it could lift the roof off.

Xiaoqian is a good child,

smart and quick-witted

, speaks well,

and is considerate in her actions. Xiuping

, you have to keep an eye on her

and not let Chen Guihua bully your wife.

Sister-in-law is right.

Xiaoqian, I heard your mother asked you to come home and do chores today.

If you feel uncomfortable and don't want to go,

just

tell me.

Your father and I will handle it for you.

This is the first time

in my life someone has said "I'll help you

." I don't want to go.

Okay,

your father and I will go to the Song family's house later.

I'll explain this clearly.

Why did Mom and Dad go out?

They went to back me up! They went

to back me up!

You were bullied?

Who bullied you?

In-laws are here! Please sit down. Why are you here

so late

? Is there something wrong?

Old Song,

you're not a good person

! Oh , what happened

? As soon as I got back today, I heard from the villagers that

your family is busy and insisted

that Xiaoqing come back to help with the work for a few days.

Xiaoqing

didn't agree immediately, and your family was unhappy,

almost making Xiaoqing cry.

It's not that this didn't happen

, you know.

My family only occasionally gets dyeing work in town;

usually, we dye cloth and old clothes for people in nearby villages.

How busy can that kind of work be?

Song Qian, that gossipy girl, her words

have reached their ears.

Everyone wants my daughter to come home to work.

What business is it of outsiders

? Hmph,

since that's the case,

then it's a misunderstanding.

But Old Song,

we need to clarify this

to avoid future problems... Our two families

had a falling out over this matter.

Xiaoqian is now my wife,

and Xiuzhu and I have noticed she's too thin lately,

so we've made sure she rests for a while

and doesn't do any strenuous work

. If you need

any help with anything in the future

, just let me know

and I'll help you.

Brother, what are you saying?

How can I ask you to do my own work?

Haha, we're in-laws now, we're

all family,

why be so polite?

As you know,

we only have one son in the city,

and now that Xiaoqian is my wife,

we naturally hope she'll do well.

It would be even better

if she could give us a grandson or granddaughter

. That's why we don't let her do much work.

Sister, I understand,

getting married is about adding more members to the family, right?

Xiaoqian is a bit thin,

she needs to be taken care of.

Brother , I'm not here to complain today.

On the contrary, I'm here to thank you for

raising Xiaoqian so well.

We don't let Xiaoqian do heavy work

because he's lazy

or spoiled;

it's just that we don't want him to do it.

If any more gossip about Xiaoqian comes back,

please don't scold him. It's all

because we spoil him.

Hey, sister,

I'm satisfied with

just one sentence from you . My Xiaoqin didn't marry the wrong person.

Since we've already talked it out,

we won't bother our in-laws anymore.

It's getting late,

so we'll head back

now. How much work do we have at home?

There aren't enough people for us.

You still want to drag Xiaoqian from her in-laws' house to do chores?

I

thought that

since Song Qian was just sitting idle at her in-laws' house anyway, it would be

better for her to come back and do some work.

You know Xiaoqian is married into her

husband's family now; she's part of the Gu family now.

Don't bother her anymore.

A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup;

once she's married , she belongs to another family.

From now on , we'll do the chores ourselves.

Why did Gu Deshan and his wife... They were so harsh on me,

but now that Song Qian has married into the family,

they've rushed over to support her.

What gives them the right

? Sui Sui, are you hiding something from me

? Mom,

why are you asking me this so suddenly?

No, you must be hiding something from me.

Tell me quickly

! Ever since you fell and hit your head, something's been wrong.

I'm going crazy.

I can't tell if this is rebirth or a dream.

Song Qian's life is getting better and better.

I can't hold it in anymore

, Mom. I dreamt that Gu Chengli will never become an official.

He's not destined for that.

I dreamt that I married Gu Chengli and suffered my whole

life. Gu Chengli never achieved anything in the imperial examinations

and instead dragged the family down.

Gu Chengli did pass the preliminary examination this year

, but he'll only

be able to take the county-level examination next year.

But next year, Gu Deshan suddenly fell seriously ill.

The following winter, Gu Deshan died. Gu

Chengli observed three years of mourning and couldn't take the exam

. By the time he could take the county-level examination, seven years would have passed.

The Gu family's wealth had long been depleted by his studies, and they had

no money to support him to continue taking the imperial examinations

in the prefectural city . He couldn't pass

, but I know that our village has...

One person will become rich in the future,

and that person is Zheng Feng.

Zheng Feng made a lot of money in business,

bought shops and houses in the county

, and also acquired a lot of land. He

can ride in a carriage whenever he goes out.

His second brother, Zheng Liang, entered the county government

and is very powerful,

serving as a messenger for the county magistrate.

Mother, Gu Chengli is useless. Only Zheng

Fa will become rich

. Sui Sui , you must marry Zheng Fa.

Yes, I will listen to you, Mother.

Soon,

Zheng Fufa will go to the county town to do business.

At that time, I will definitely get Ji Tian

and Cheng Miao to the county town. That's what

makes you my good daughter. By the way,

what was the cotton price this year in your dream?

If the cotton price is high this year,

we will plant more cotton.

Mother, I didn't dream about these things .

Why didn't I dream about them

? These are important things,

Mother. Haven't you always said that I am lucky

to dream about me? My own affairs

are already a blessing from the gods;

how can I know and care about everything

? Anyway, Sui Sui will live in the county town after her marriage.

As for Song Qian and the Gu

family, they're all doomed.

What good can come of him?

I absolutely cannot tell my wife this

, lest she become biased and give him money.

Don't tell your grandmother about this

yet, and keep it from your father's side too.

Hmm,

the Zheng family's new house is already built.

When is my eldest sister getting married? She's getting

married on the 25th of this month.

What does this mean?

Fu Yue died, and his spirit was entrusted to the constellations Ji and Wei.

It is said that the Jade Moon and

Ji and Wei are both names of celestial constellations.

To put it bluntly, this means that

after Fu Yue's death,

his spirit and soul were entrusted to

the constellations Ji and Wei in the sky,

becoming a star.

The story behind this is extremely cold.

Fu Yue was a wise minister who came from a slave background in the Shang Dynasty.

Assisting Wu Ding in restoring the dynasty, Zhuangzi,

the great master, said that

Fu Xue obtained it to assist Wu Ding in

conquering the world. The east of

the city was the master's tail

and compared to the stars.

Do you understand?

Come a little closer.

What's wrong?

Nothing. Be careful on the way to the private school.

In broad daylight,

how could he be so bold?

Who gives such little stuff when getting married?

The candy , melon seeds, and peanuts are less than the Gu family's. The

wedding cakes are half as little

as the Gu family's , and they insist that it's hot and they're afraid they'll spoil.

Wang Meixiang and her husband are treating us like beggars.

They've never seen such stingy people.

They say they built a new house

and can't afford to give too many things. Humph,

if you didn't know better, you'd think they built a palace.

No mirror

, no wooden box

, no hair oil

, and she's getting married with Song Qian.

Compared to the fine cotton cloth

sent by the Gu family , this is far

less than half. Your Majesty, please don't say anymore.

The matter has already been settled.

What's the use of saying these things now?

I just can't swallow this.

Not to mention wealthy families

, even ordinary families send more generous gifts for their weddings.

Not to mention, you even brought your dyeing skills as part of your dowry.

The textile family is indeed not as wealthy as the Gu family.

These things are enough

. Haha, you actually spoke up for them.

Wang Meixiang is clearly trying to put you in a better position

. She doesn't mean that at all.

You're still young and don't understand this.

You haven't even entered the family yet.

If Wang Meixiang does this,

what will she do after you enter the

family? She'll be in heaven!

No , Mother,

you haven't experienced the things between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The relationship

between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law

is not yours to deal with. If you outdo me,

I'll outdo you tomorrow.

If you admit defeat the first time you

go to your husband's family,

your mother-in-law will have you completely under her thumb

and bully you relentlessly from now on

. I've experienced this in my dreams,

so of course I know about mother-in-law/ daughter

-in-law relationships.

Anyway, after I marry Fangzi,

I won't be living in the village for very long.

I'll be moving to the city

by the end of December this year at the latest.

If I didn't know this,

based on what Wang Meixiang did today,

I would have gone to her house and fought her.

Okay, Mom, Song Qian's

wedding dress was so beautiful

when she got married a while ago

. I want one like that too.

But I can't embroider.

Grandma can embroider.

Mom, don't be angry.

You've seen

Shengzi. What are you looking at, you little rascal?

Come on, let's go...们进院里

隔着窗户说不定还能

远远看新娘子一眼

也不知道郑福那小子

到底走了什么狗屎运

竟然能娶着宋穗

这两天可把那小子得意坏了

天天昂着头走

恨不得上去揍他两拳

你也来了

郑家给我盖了新屋

婆婆还给了银耳环

我今天比梦里宋钱嫁正房时风光多了

我今天要嫁人了

穿上这套嫁衣

果然突然就觉得自己长大了不少

我知道我以前不是个好姐姐

所以还请你之前不要怪我

你可以原谅我吗

这又是在发什么疯

听了什么奇怪的戏文了吗

大姐你说这话多见外啊

Every sister has her share of arguments and bickering.

If everyone held grudges,

there would be no relatives left in the world.

I know

, oh dear, bride, you can't

cry now! You have to hold back your tears until you leave the house.

Look at your makeup, it's almost ruined!

The bride is getting into the bridal sedan

chair and leaving home!

I promise I won't be as miserable as in my dream.

I'll definitely be fine.

Too much vinegar

, no chili aroma,

just a sour,

dry, and fishy taste.

This banquet

was far worse than the one at Grandma Zhang's birthday party.

That day, there was a dish of braised pork with soybeans

that was really delicious.

I still think about that taste.

A few days ago,

my husband came back from a banquet at Old Song's house

and kept talking about stuffed tofu for days.

I just tried a piece

and thought it was just so-so. It's

been so hot these past few days.

I think this tofu is a bit spoiled.

And where's the chicken neck?

It's probably on another plate. It

's not a whole chicken at all.

It was too hot at noon, so

I didn't have much of an appetite.

The food was bad, and

the tofu was spoiled too.

He's just trying to save face for my family.

Let's eat early tonight.

Do you want some cold

noodles ? Cold noodles, I

'll make some for you. Hmm

, Mom and Dad, I'll

make some cold noodles.

Do you want

some? Hmm, these noodles taste really good.

If Dad likes them,

I'll

make more

for lunch tomorrow. Okay, Mom, how's it?

Refreshing and appetizing, very delicious.

Hmm,

you've finished

? There's

still some in the pot.

Do you want another bowl

? It's delicious. Want another bowl?

I'll serve myself.

Mom, what are you laughing at?

I just... I saw two

swallows. The male swallow was showing affection to the female swallow,

but the female swallow couldn't see him

anywhere

. Maybe he flew away.

Oh,

this tastes really good.

As expected of me.

Hmph,

how have you been doing at home lately ?

Your parents have been very good to me.

If there 's anything you're not used to

or want,

and it's inconvenient to tell your parents

, just tell me.

Really? Can I tell you?

Of course, we're husband and

wife. Husband and wife should discuss things together.

Hmm, are you sleepy now?

Hmm, I'm not sleepy yet.

That's great!

Actually, there's something I've wanted to discuss with you for

a while, but

I've been too embarrassed to tell you because you've been so busy lately

. Can you take a look at this for me

? Don't look at me, look at the plan.

This is what you wrote. Do

you think this is feasible?

When I went to the county town to sell fabric before, I found that

there weren't many types

of fabric to choose from in Anyuan County

, and the patterns were also limited. Moreover, there was always a shortage of fabric around the New Year

, and the best-colored fabrics were always in high demand.

I also heard

that most of the good-colored fabrics

were bought from other places by the fabric stores.

So I've always thought,

why can't we

open a weaving workshop in our village?

As long as we get a few looms,

some cotton thread

, and hire a few female workers

, we can easily start a weaving workshop.

As for the sales of the fabric,

that's not a problem at all,

because the fabric stores in the county town are short of fabric these days.

As long as the fabric from our workshop is of good quality and

color...

I'm not worried about the cloth shops not buying from us

, but there are always exceptions.

Even if the cloth shops really don't want to buy our cloth,

we'll have to use some business tactics.

For example, we can put the cloth in the cloth shops to sell.

For every bolt of cloth the cloth shops sell

, we'll give them an extra coin.

We'll use this method of giving them a discount to get them to help us sell.

Of course, this way we'll definitely earn less

, but I've calculated it.

Even so,

we'll still break even and

definitely won't lose money.

What? Is there something on my face?

No.

When she was speaking,

she seemed to be glowing.

In the dim candlelight,

she was incredibly beautiful.

A very good plan,

very feasible.

Really,

if Mom and Dad read what you wrote,

they would definitely say the same thing.

I don't object to family members doing business.

Which big family doesn't have shops and fields behind the scenes? Tian Du

Niang knows how to do accounting

because her family ran a shop when she was young.

Hey,

tomorrow I'll take it to Mom and Dad.

If we can set up a weaving workshop,

the family can earn more money.

Then we can send you to a better private school

.

You're doing all this for me.

Of course, teachers

impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts.

Teachers are especially important to students.

There was Ouyang Xiu who failed the imperial examination three times. Finally

, through a recommendation, he went to study at the Imperial Academy

and eventually passed the

provincial examination. Later , Fang Jingyan went to study at Yingtian Academy

and became a student of the great scholar Qi Tongwen.

It was only at a young age that he passed the imperial examination and

entered officialdom.

This shows that while a talent for studying is important

, having a good teacher is equally crucial.

Now you are studying at a private school in the county town, and

your teacher is only a former scholar from the previous dynasty.

I'm not saying that scholars are bad

, but the dynasties have changed

, and the imperial examinations of the previous dynasty

are vastly different from those of today

. You passed the preliminary examination at a young age

and were among the top scorers in the prefectural

examinations, which shows your talent in studying. You 're very talented

, but talent alone isn't enough.

You need to go to a prestigious academy, find a good teacher, and meet

excellent classmates. That's how

you 'll succeed.

I'm so happy! I was right! The Master's knowledge leans towards

ornate poetry

, but nowadays the imperial examinations are more practical.

If it weren't for my mother teaching me arithmetic,

and my accidental learning that the provincial education commissioner was interested in water management,

I wouldn't have passed the prefectural exam at all.

The stories of Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan

are things I heard from storytellers in the county town's teahouse. The stories of

the thoroughbred horse and the discerning eye are things my mother

told me. I just want to say

thank you,

thank

you for always thinking of me.

I once thought that my future wife was...

I admit I was initially attracted to her looks,

but now I fully understand

that this woman, who is so devoted to me,

is my one and only wife. Thank you

.

We're husband and wife, after all. Saying thank you between husband and

wife

is too formal.

When are you going to start a business?

What business?

Go to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow.

In my dream, he started his business after the autumn harvest this year,

which is still two or three months away.

Maybe he hasn't thought of it yet.

The first day the new bride meets her in-

laws, I must be proper and elegant

so that no one can find any fault with me.

Hmm,

you're awake. Quick, help me check if my

eyebrows are drawn the same.

Hmm, they're the same.

You didn't even look closely,

how do you know they're the same?

Today is my first day marrying into your family, I

absolutely can't make a mistake.

Do you think I should wear this light green and floral dress

when I go to see my parents later?

This red dress with yellow flowers is still

the best, right? It's so festive!

But I wore a red dress yesterday,

and wearing it again today

might clash with my outfit.

Yesterday was yesterday,

and today is today—

how can we clash?

Oh,

then I'll wear green

! But

isn't this green dress too youthful

? It was fine when I was a young woman,

but after getting married, wouldn't it seem a bit too mature?

Either one is fine,

just pick one.

Why are you like this? You

don't give me any advice at all

! Just wear whichever one you want.

I'm so superfluous.

Last night you said you'd be good to me for life,

and now you're starting to neglect me?

How is this neglect?

Well, you look just as good in both dresses.

You 're quite tactful.

I'll go check if the food is ready.

Wait for me!

Let's go together. On our

first wedding day, meeting my in-laws,

are you really going to leave me in

the kitchen ? Why do we have to

go together? It's just a short

walk . I'll go check if dinner

is ready. If it is, I'll come and call you.

I'm a new bride,

meeting my in-laws for the first time, and I'm a little scared.

I wanted you to come with

me. Okay,

let's go. Come on, let's go.

Oh dear, the food's all gone!

Mom, why didn't you call us for dinner?

Third Brother, the sun's already high in the sky! You overslept!

If you overslept, there won't be

any food. What kind of new bride

has to be called for dinner on her first day?

We were waiting for you to cook, but

you didn't even come for a meal.

And what's that painted on your face?

What kind of proper married woman

paints her face like a monkey's butt?

Come and eat,

the food will get cold soon.

Today is the first day,

we absolutely can't have a conflict with our mother-in-law.

The lesson from the dream is enough,

Mom. Today is the first day,

I don't know what time breakfast is served at home,

it's only a little late

. It won't be like this tomorrow. They

're both dressed like Zheng family wives,

yet they're worlds apart.

Sister-in-law, eat up!

There's soup in your bowl; if it's not enough,

there's more in the pot.

Thank you, sister

-in-law . That earring cost me 600 coins;

I've never even worn it

, it's stuck to her ear.

Sit down and eat!

Remember to wash the pot after you eat.

Third brother's wife

, change your clothes

and take off your earrings.

Be careful not to lose them

when you go to work in the fields.

What? I still have to work in the fields.

Xiao Qian

, he slept late yesterday

, so I didn't wake him;

let him sleep a little longer.

Do n't do anything rash.

Xiao Qian is still

young; having a baby at that age is bad for your health.

Wait until he's two or three years older

before you have children.

Son knows

this was written by Xiao Qian. He said

he originally wanted to show it to you,

but he was afraid his parents wouldn't agree,

so he asked me to check it first.

I think it's very well written.

This morning, I got up and copied something

else.

Hehe,

now my handwriting isn't the worst in the family anymore

, hahaha.

What's the point of comparing with the kids?

Xiaoqian has only been learning to write for less than two months

and has already made

rapid progress. I'm the only bad guy in the whole family.

The scheming between the lines...

Xiaoqian is definitely a born businessman.

My mother's former

head steward, my wife, had the same mindset.

Dyeing skills have their uses,

but setting up a weaving workshop and selling to the county town

wouldn't be competing with the Song family for business.

This is truly Xiaoqian's

doing. Mom and Dad, I think this is very feasible.

And I remember Dad was very familiar with the owner of

the Li Family Cloth Shop. Mom

has been helping the Li Family Cloth Shop in the county town with their accounts for years.

In this way,

the sales of cloth will be even less of a problem.

That's right, that's right,

but dyeing skills are, after all... Xiaoqin's dowry... So

, I hope Xiaoqian will be in charge

of the dyeing workshop.

That's only right.

This business was originally Xiaoqian's idea,

so it's only right that Xiaoqian be in charge.

This girl is capable.

I'll keep an eye on things from the side.

If Xiaoqian can't handle anything,

I'll step in to help.

This doesn't seem to be the morning sun.

I didn't sleep until noon, did I?

Hahaha,

Mom, I woke up late today.

Most young people

sleep longer, so are you hungry?

Have some walnuts to tide you over.

I'm not hungry right now.

I read what

you wrote; it's very good

.

Cheng Li showed it to me and his father early this morning,

and I think it's very feasible.

Of

course,

all fabrics with complex patterns should be woven using a four-harness, four-sided loom.

Go straight for high-end... However

, there aren't many people

in the whole village who know how to use

a four-harness, four-sided loom.

If we set up a workshop

, wouldn't we have to hire people from other villages to weave

? Have you forgotten

the diagram you drew when you taught my aunt

how to weave new patterns on a four-harness, four-sided loom

? What's the

method?

When Dad weaves simple

patterns, there are mnemonic devices.

When the time comes, we just need to

hang the pattern mnemonic on the front gate of the loom,

and the female workers can weave the patterns by looking at the mnemonic.

Oh, I heard that Gu Deshan's family is hiring people to weave.

I didn't hear about it

today. I saw quite a few people going over to inquire about the situation.

Did they say how much the wages are?

If the wages are too low,

I'm not willing.

Even if you want to go,

they might not accept

you. Hmph,

Xiuping already said that

she... If you don't make plain white cloth,

you at least need to know how to use a four-hedged, four-treadle loom

. That means you need to weave patterned cloth.

How many people can

do that? You're being too picky!

Dad, you're really amazing!

Where did you get so many four-hedged, four-treadle looms?

Your dad has

been a carpenter in these surrounding villages for so many years,

getting a few looms is

a piece of

cake! Hahaha!

It's getting late,

Xiaotian, you and Chengli should go to your parents' house.

Although today isn't your homecoming

, it's not good to go too late.

Okay, we'll go first

. I'll go to the county town to buy cotton thread this afternoon.

Uncle-in-law, would you like some water?

Would you like some tea?

Second sister, second brother-in-law

, you're here!

Mom, second sister and second brother-in-law are here!

Little glutton, I brought you candy today

! Hehehe!

Good! Second sister, you're so kind

! Thank you! Thank you, Second Brother

-in-law. Second Brother-in-law is good too,

just like Second Sister. Remember to rinse your mouth afterward

to avoid tooth decay.

I know Second Sister told me

to brush my teeth twice a day, morning and night.

She even taught her younger brother to brush his teeth morning

and night! If we have children in the future

, Xiao Qian should raise them very well, right?

Look what I'm doing.

Nothing's wrong

. Come on in,

let's go inside.

Hmm,

Mother-in-law is inside. She's incredibly warm to my brother-in-law

, but cold as ice to us.

Even today, on our homecoming, she's like this.

What kind of life did Xiao Pi have at his parents' house?

The Song family, Song Qian, the engineer family...

Second Sister and Second Brother-in-law brought a bag of candy,

hahaha!

You only know how to eat

! Be careful, too much candy will give you bad teeth!

I won't get bad teeth.

I've always listened to Second Sister

and brushed my teeth morning and night.

How have you been lately?

Grandma,

look how fair-skinned I am lately,

you can tell I'm doing well.

Thank you for your concern, Grandma

.

Xiaoping is smart, polite, and filial to her parents;

they both love her very much.

Where's Xiaoqian?

The town is rushing to deliver goods;

she's gone to deliver cloth

and will be back soon.

Grandma and Dad, why are you so good to her?

She really has become fairer.

Grandma, I heard something funny these past few days.

Someone in our village is saying that

Sister Qian is going to open a weaving workshop at her husband's house.

My sister-in-law even asked me about it.

Everyone in our family knows Sister Qian can't weave,

yet rumors are circulating that she wants to open a weaving workshop.

Isn't that ridiculous?

Sister, your information network is really impressive.

Xiaoqian is indeed going to open a weaving workshop at home;

the loom is already... I've prepared everything.

I remember my eldest sister's sister-in-law can weave four bolts of silk.

My mother and aunt have also praised

Sister-in-law Zhou's skills.

If Sister-in-law Zhou is willing to give me

a small amount of money, we'll be very happy.

Did the Gu family run a weaving workshop in my dream?

I can't remember. What

I remember most clearly in my dream is

the grievances I suffered in the Gu family and the torment from my mother-in-

law . The treatment of giving money was completely different.

You want to run a weaving workshop

? Isn't that reckless?

How would you know how to weave?

Grandma, you know

my mother-in-law is a master at weaving. Plus, my father-in-law

is acquainted with the owner of a cloth shop

in the county town.

Now I've also brought my dyeing skills.

The cloth weave will be perfect for selling in the county town.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law also think this method is feasible,

so yesterday... I asked

a few skilled weavers in our

village if they could come and work in a few days.

I didn't expect my older sister to have such sharp ears

and know about this.

Song Qian took away the dyeing skills.

If the Gu family were to take over the business,

I wouldn't be able to compete.

It is indeed a good business.

However, your father-in-law doesn't do carpentry anymore,

but he still does.

He just cleared out two rooms in the backyard to put looms.

Is it to dye the woven cloth and then sell it in the county town?

No, all the looms prepared at home

are four-harness, four-sided looms.

They are prepared to thread different colored threads on the looms

to weave patterned cloth

and then sell it.

Ah, it's a pretty good business.

There aren't many people in our village who know how to use

four-harness, four-sided looms,

which is why my mother-in-law went to find people in advance.

I'm afraid that when the time comes, all the looms and threads at home

will be ready,

but we won't be able to find anyone to do the work.

Today is supposed to be my homecoming day,

but she's stolen the spotlight!

Mother , look!

This is the fabric I brought back for you and Grandma today.

The pattern on this fabric is the most fashionable right now.

Look how pretty it is!

Oh, this pattern

is so beautiful! This pattern is woven

, isn't it? Dyeing doesn't produce such delicate patterns

. Isn't it?

Grandma, do you like it?

Is he still studying at the previous private school?

Yes,

Ji Tian isn't young anymore.

In two more years, he should be getting married and having children.

But Cheng Miao is still young.

I was thinking of letting Cheng Pu also go to the private school for two years,

so he can at least learn a few words

and won't end up illiterate.

The entrance fee for the county private school is much higher than... If my father- in

-law doesn't intend for my younger brother to take the imperial examination route,

then there's no need to send him to the county school; he

can just study at the town school.

Is there any reason for this?

Hmm...

This son-in-law is really dull-

witted. What did Sui Sui see in him that he

had to reject? The Gu family has such a good marriage

; children and grandchildren have their own blessings.

Anyway, Er Ya is doing well in the Gu family.

As long as we haven't lost our relatives,

that's fine. I should have stayed

longer, but I have to go to the school this afternoon,

so I can't stay any longer.

What's the big deal?

We're all from the same village

and live so close.

If anything happens, just call out, and

both our families will hear.

Studying is important,

so you should go now.

Xiao Pi, let's go back.

Father, Mother, Grandmother...

We're leaving now,

my older sister and brother-in-law.

I really don't want to go back to my in-laws' house and see that old face.

But Song Qian is gone,

and if I linger any longer,

my mother-in-law will definitely scold me again.

Sui Sui, let's go too.

Binzi and I will go back too

. What are we going back so early for?

Let's rest a bit more here.

No,

there's still work to do at home. With

so many people in your in-laws' house,

what work could they possibly have that would wait for you to go back?

I'm fine. The one

who's busy is the original owner of this body.

It's a pity she passed away three years ago.

I'll go to the county town with you.

You go to the private school,

and I'll go

buy thread. I'll also buy some Xunfan green and Xunbai Xunfan

thread. What are we buying alum for?

Naturally, it's for dyeing and fixing.

Dyeing fabrics requires alum.

Different alums have different effects. The uses of

alum include fixing color, while

blue vitriol and green vitriol are often used as color mordants.

Wood ash water and lime water can also be used as mordants.

Now I finally understand

why Dad always liked to take Mom out.

This feeling of announcing it to the world is so good,

so good! Next year I must pass the imperial examination

and become a scholar, so that Xiao Xun can become a scholar

. Let's see if my mother-in-law still dares to give her a hard time.

I'll make a lot of money

and eat white steamed

buns every day

. In winter, I'll build a heated kang

and replace this old dry toilet with a flush toilet.

What are the costs , raw materials, labor,

and gross profit margin?

Where is the break-even point? What is

the daily break-even price?

And what about taxes and surcharges?

Why are you walking so slowly?

We need to hurry back.

Mom said this afternoon we... I have to go down to the fields

to weed again.

I've never been to the fields this many times even when I was at my parents' house.

These past few days at my in-laws' house, I've done all the hard work.

The sun has tanned me so badly.

It's not that I walk slowly

, it's that you walk too fast

! Hehe

, if you can't walk anymore,

I'll carry you.

With

so many people coming and going in the village

on a sunny day

, I'd be embarrassed to let you carry me.

He has a good temper, he

doesn't fight back when hit or

scolded,

but he has no initiative

at all. He has no interest in doing business

. Crazy! Don't you really want to do business?

Business is very profitable.

If we could open a shop in the county town,

we wouldn't have to work in the fields anymore.

All the money

in this

family is with my mother. How

am I supposed to do business?

Why aren't you saying anything?

You asked

me what kind of business I should do, Xing

? Yes, didn't you tell me to do a small business?

In my dream, what did he do to get rich?

Oh, right, resell grain ! Let's resell

grain ! There's a grain depot in our town

that buys grain every summer and autumn.

We have an oxcart, right?

We can go to a village further away to buy grain

and then sell it to the depot.

That way we can make money, right?

That's a good idea!

When I get back, I'll tell my mother.

But don't tell her

! Why not? We absolutely can't tell her

. We need money to buy grain,

right?

And we need to tell the family about using the oxcart. How can

we not tell my mother?

There's still some time before the summer harvest.

Let's talk about it then. Besides

… And you haven't even started a business yet

, why are you making such a fuss about everyone

listening to you,

me, and me?

How can a grown man like you have no opinions at all?

Mother, Xiaoqin ,

I'm going to the private school first.

You can go back directly after you buy the thread,

no need to wait for me.

Be careful on the road.

Clean women, it

's hot lately, bring a handkerchief to wipe your sweat.

The duck on this handkerchief is embroidered very well

. And

the one above is embroidered with orchids

, with horns and eyes.

At least it's an animal,

how can it be a plant?

Hahaha,

Mother,

okay, Chengli

, hurry up and go.

Oh no,

I think I've caused trouble.

Mother, everyone has things they're not good at.

My worst skill is... is... is embroidery.

Am I bad at it

or completely clueless about it?

Mother

, hahaha,

okay. Alright,

let's go buy some thread

. Shall we go to Li's Fabric Shop first to look at the thread?

Or shall I take you to a cheaper place

to buy cotton thread?

Yes,

the alley is narrow,

let's park the mule cart here.

Our thread shop has been open for over ten years.

We can't say we have every kind of thread

, but we definitely have more complete selections than most knitting shops. We have

all kinds of cotton thread,

all kinds of linen thread

, single strand, double strand

, coarse linen, fine linen—

whatever you want, we have it.

Madam, please look

at our shop's color swatches.

I only want single strand raw white cotton.

If the price is right,

I'll take 800 jin (400 kg)

. Oh

, so your family runs a fabric shop,

it's a small business.

My husband and

the owner of Li's Fabric Shop are old acquaintances;

I've heard Mr. Li mention before

that your thread is quite good.

So I came here today to see

what's going on.

Since I have a connection with Boss Li,

I'll be honest with my wife.

The prices of cotton spinning are transparent,

especially for undyed raw cotton.

The prices in every shop in the county are pretty much the same.

This morning, the cotton vendor in the south of the city was

selling cotton for 60 wen per

jin. My wife wants a lot of cotton yarn. How

about this: I'll offer you 75 wen per jin of raw cotton yarn.

What do you think of this price?

600,000 wen per jin of cotton is the normal market price.

Three jin of cotton can be spun into two jin and four liang of cotton thread.

75 wen is very reasonable.

This girl is making such little gestures

in front of outsiders. It's really unseemly

. But I can't help laughing. She 's quite obedient

and understands what I mean.

My family has nine looms,

and this time I'm buying 800 jin of cotton yarn.

We'll be using it frequently in the future

. Boss, give me a really honest price

! This really can't be any lower.

72 wen per jin.

If you agree,

I can pay right now

. I even brought the mule cart over today

; I didn't want to go back empty-handed

. Okay , 72 wen per jin it is. If you find my yarn useful

after you get

home, my wife, you

'll definitely

buy from me again next time.

800 jin of cotton yarn

is 57 tons and 6 qian.

I need to go to the money shop to exchange the silver for copper coins.

May I

ask your surname, my wife?

My husband's surname is Gu.

This is my daughter-in-law.

I thought they were mother and

daughter because

they were so close , but

they're actually mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Are you here to exchange money or weigh it?

Please exchange this silver ingot for copper coins.

Alright,

today one tael of silver can be exchanged for 1,230 copper coins.

If we exchange it at our money shop,

we'll charge you a one-coin conversion fee.

Are you sure you want to exchange it, madam?

Heh, I think I'll take the copper coins.

It's a small business,

copper coins are more convenient

. Let's exchange them all.

Okay, this is a 50-tael silver ingot.

After

deducting the 50-coin exchange fee,

the total is 61 taels plus 4.0 coins. "

Please give this boss 57 coins and 6,000 coins.

Give me the remaining 3 coins and 850 coins,

please wait a moment

. 50 taels of silver—

that's

the entire savings of an ordinary farmer for three years without eating or drinking."

Xiao Gang calculated that the workshop's fixed costs

were at least 2,640 coins per day,

79 strings of cash and 230 coins per month. At that moment,

I was completely stunned.

But my father-in-law, without a word, brought in nine looms,

and my mother-in-law, without even blinking, bought 800 gold threads.

Seeing my mother-in-law's extravagant spending—

was this what it felt like to have an angel investor?

My heart was pounding. "Alright,

Mother, let's go back now!

What's wrong?

School in the city will be over

in a little over an hour

. Why don't we find a place to rest for

a while and then pick up the children from the city so we can go back together

? Okay

, but where should we rest?

I know a teahouse.

We can park the mule cart in the backyard

and have the waiter watch over

it. Nothing will be stolen.

You go in first,

I'll park the mule cart and then go find the teahouse.

Hello,

waiter, two cups of water,

please. Alright, two cups of water.

It's been a long time since I've seen you, young friend.

I've been busy at home and haven't been able to

come. I remember

you can read. If you want to read this gazette, you

can take it

. Thank you, sir

. I am very grateful.

This is tea I brought from home.

If you don't mind, sir,

you can try it

. Oh,

good tea!

Why are you standing up

? This was specially bought for me.

What are you standing there for? Please sit down.

Hmm,

thank you, Your Majesty. You are so good to me .

When the weaving workshop makes money in the future,

I will definitely hire a cook

to cook for you every day. I will make you your favorite dishes.

Mother, I've made you some tea.

You can have a sip to quench your thirst.

This gazette was lent to me by the old gentleman next door.

Hahaha, alright, alright,

I'm almost done." I'm overwhelmed by all your compliments

, haha! I genuinely think you're a good person, Mother.

It turns out you're a regular customer from around here

, not a bad person.

Little Pi is young,

so I made sure you knew beforehand to

avoid him being scammed.

Thank you, Mother! Thank you, Mother!

The mule cart is too big

to park in the alley. Go wait

over there;

he'll see

you as soon as he comes out of town. Hello

, why are you waiting here?

Didn't I tell you to go back first?

Look at you, you

've come all the way to the county town.

What's wrong with waiting a little while?

It saves you the trouble of walking home yourself.

I just didn't want to trouble you.

How can you say it's a trouble

when we're husband and wife ? Dear

Brother Cheng and Brother Li, we'll be leaving

now. See you tomorrow.

This is my wife, Song Qian.

This is Zhou Tongbing, and

this is Li Renqing.

They are both my classmates.

We heard that Brother Gu married a farmer's daughter from Xiapi Village,

and we lamented that he was wasting his talent.

But what ordinary farmer's daughter has such grace and manners?

Brother Zhou and Brother Li's

families are coming to pick me

up, so I'll take my leave

now. Goodbye

, Brother Gu

, Brother Gu, and Mrs. Song, take care

. Were you tired at the private school today? Of

course you were tired!

How could you not be tired from studying?

I just bought some good pork ribs.

I'll stew them for you when we get back.

Stewed ribs will... It won't be too much trouble.

You've been busy all day.

I didn't do much;

it was mainly Mother who did the work this afternoon.

You have no idea how

amazing Mother is! With a wife like this, what

more could a husband ask for?

Seeing how Cheng Li is after his marriage,

I also want to get married.

Mother, I heard that these cotton spun yarns are 72 wen per jin, which

is three wen less than originally budgeted.

You're really amazing!

How come you're praising people like Xiao Qian these days?

I genuinely think Mother is amazing.

These two children are trying to make me happy in all sorts of ways; it must be

Xiao Qian

's mischievous idea.

Alright, alright,

everyone sit down. We're going back.

The private school is really... The exquisite poetry and prose taught by

the old master have become a hindrance to the imperial examinations

. Where can one find a renowned teacher in just one year?

If one rushes to switch schools, one

will be branded as harsh and unkind

. Forget it, thinking about it too much is pointless.

Just focus on your studies.

Am I just bored? The seasoning isn't

quite right , but the taste feels familiar.

I also think this pork rib stew tastes just like

, or even better than, the ones

in the restaurants in the county town.

Haha, Dad

, eat more! There's more in the pot if

you're

not full.

Okay, okay,

I really like this feeling of eating whatever I want.

Back in the Song family,

one lean chicken was enough for seven people, and

my younger brother Cheng Miao never got enough.

I'm so hungry I could cry.

I'll have to tease him properly tonight.

Young people are so

lucky, they're so strong.

Is my husband going to bed?

Why aren't you saying anything? Hmm,

going to bed.

My husband, have you ever read any storybooks? What

kind of storybooks

are these?

Oh,

what time is it? I mean, what time is it now? It's

still early. If you're sleepy, you can sleep a little longer

. No,

I have things to do today.

Try this

minty flavor. It's refreshing and not spicy.

If you use this tooth powder

, won't your mouth taste like a small bowl of spicy snack?

Cough cough cough.

Why am I still choking when I

brush my teeth?

Don't talk, just rinse your mouth.

I can do it myself.

Wait, something's strange.

I can accept blushing, but

why are my ears and neck all red?

Hmm, what's wrong

with you?

What will you do

in the future? Can you kiss me again

? Please don't do it in public,

Gu Lang. We're a proper husband and wife

, not some shady relationship . It

's only natural for us to be intimate.

No,

Xiao Qian must have been influenced by that forbidden book. I have

to go find President Zhao.

The book even sells fire-avoidance diagrams!

I might as well buy it.

Look at his pretentious act, it's so funny

. Hmm,

the Book of Rites says

that men and women should

not share wells

, baths

, or sleeping mats.

Men and women should not share clothes.

Men and women

should not share utensils.

It's impolite

to be intimate in public

or in private

. Even though we're husband and wife

, it's not right to go too

far or cross boundaries.

I don't understand.

Please teach me, Gu Lang

. Fine, Gu Lang it is. Alright,

I won't change

my mind . If you want to study,

I'll teach you.

I want to learn law,

but I've never seen what a law book looks like.

Find me a law book to read.

Is

n't

our family in business? Although it's a small business

, who knows, it might grow big in

the future.

What if we do something the court forbids?

Find a law book to read,

at least you can draw a line in your mind. Besides,

I have to think about you too.

You're studying for the imperial examinations now.

What if the

family is implicated because of the business?

So she did it all for me.

I can't let her down. Dinner's

ready, Xiao Qian Chengli,

come and eat.

I'm

here tomorrow. They've come

and gone to eat.

I'll get him a law book another day

; I haven't taken any law exams anyway

, so it won't hurt to look.

Red, blue, yellow, brown, black —using

acacia buds to dye yellow,

adding blue vitriol and green vitriol will give you green.

That's fine

. This is dye made from madder

root. However, madder root itself is yellowish,

so you need to remove the yellow first

. You need to soak the thread in alum water before

putting it in the dye vat for dyeing.

After that, soak the herbs again to remove the yellow,

and you can dye it red.

Dyeing is indeed a technical skill.

Actually, there are many ways to dye red,

but madder root is the most convenient here.

I heard from my grandmother that

in her hometown, there's a kind of wood called sappanwood that

can also... Mother,

how's it going with the job you were looking for?

You only found five people, and

we've prepared a nine-point injection site,

but we haven't found

any more. Don't worry ,

no one's willing to come now

because they don't know

if we can make money here

. Once someone makes money here,

people will naturally come to work.

You're right,

Mother. I think we should hire a few helpers to dye the threads.

What do you think

? Won't the dyeing technique be stolen?

No, it's just having people help dye the threads.

The dye vat needs proportions;

laymen generally can't understand

unless someone is watching closely how I mix the dye vat.

Besides, we'll also fix the color of the threads ourselves.

And with so many threads,

if only... It's too much work

for the two of us

to tidy this up

. This is the money I

earned working at the Gu Family Weaving Workshop.

Although I weave slowly and

earn 10 coins less than others

, with this money,

the family's livelihood is secured.

I sold 3 mu of land,

at least I saved my husband's life.

As long as there's a man in the family,

the villagers won't dare to

bully the four of us.

Wait a minute,

do you have any candy?

Second sister, I'm hungry.

Come in.

Second sister, second sister

, yesterday Mom and Dad fought again

. Mom also fought with Grandma. Eldest

sister and her brother-in-law also bickered.

Stop talking and eat.

You're just a little kid, yet you talk so much.

I know a lot. Eldest

sister and Mom said that Gu Tongsheng won't pass the imperial examination.

" You 'll have a hard life after marrying into

the family , but the main wife will

make you rich later

, that's why

my eldest sister wants to marry the main wife.

What did you say? Say what you just said again.

So that's why Song Xiucai decided not to marry Gu Chengli.

But why is Gu Chengli so unlucky

? Why didn't he take the exam

? Was it bad luck

or something else? Never

mind, I'm already married into the family

, there's no use

thinking about it . Did you hear Mother and my eldest sister

talking about my situation in the room?

I don't know,

this matter must be kept secret,

no one can tell

you, do you know that

this is our secret

, just like how my second sister secretly buys me candy figurines

without telling Mother?

Yes, you're so clever,

I'll buy you candy figurines another day,

hehe." Hehe, okay, I'll keep it a secret.

Desheng's family,

Deshan's family,

you hurry over to your sister-in-law's house.

Chunfu is about to give birth

! Chunfu's sister- in-law is about to give birth

, isn't she?

Someone has already gone to fetch a midwife.

You should hurry over too.

Why hasn't the midwife arrived yet

? Second brother, don't be so anxious.

Giving birth doesn't happen that quickly

. How are

you? Where's your mother-in-law?

She's in the house with Chunfu. Your

father-in-law isn't home.

Third Uncle went out to look for your father-in-law and came back.

Third Aunt went to fetch a midwife.

I'll go in and see too.

You're still young

and haven't given birth before,

so don't go in.

Stay here with your sister-in-law.

Okay, I understand.

Don't worry.

Is Chunfu's sister-in-law really okay?

What could be wrong? It

's just childbirth.

Don't worry, I had the doctor check on her recently, and

he said Chunfu's pregnancy is very stable.

Oh dear, we ran out of sugar a couple of days ago.

I

was going to buy some more at the market,

but

Chunfu gave birth before I could

. I have some sugar at home, I'll go get it

. You brat, you

only care about helping your in-laws and

have completely forgotten about your own family who gave you birth and raised you.

Mother, do you have something to

do? If not, I'll go inside and get busy.

You don't want to listen to me anymore, do you?

If you, Ms. Song, only want me to hear you scold me,

then I really don't want to listen.

When will you speak to me properly?

What kind of person are you?

I really wasted my life giving birth to you.

Gu Deshan's family runs a weaving workshop and makes so much money, yet

you don't even try to help your own family.

Your eldest sister is being mistreated at the Zheng family's house,

and you don't even go to see her. You used to

always talk about what's been done,

and now you want to... "No way you're asking me to help?

It's all your fault for causing trouble at your in-laws' house. What kind of workshop are you

running around in ? Your older sister is suffering there.

I didn't expect you to be able to help your own family after

you married into your husband's family

. So what kind of mess are you making now? Oh

, I see. The better I do,

the happier

he is, and the more miserable

Song Sui is.

I'm so busy, I don't have time to deal

with the Song family's mess

. I wish the whole village knew you were so capable,

making your older sister

look incompetent. I

let your older sister be scolded at her in-laws' house.

Are you even listening to me?

Mother, why did you call me out today

? Can't I talk to you if there's nothing

wrong? Look at you, so precious now.

You're just making trouble for yourself.

Mother, if you really have nothing to do

, go home and dye a few more bolts of cloth,

save some money for your retirement.

Besides, I've been very busy lately

and haven't had time to pay attention to my older sister's situation." What do

you mean, don't mention my older sister's family affairs to me again?

She's

your own older sister,

how can you be so cold-blooded?

If I'm cold-blooded, then what do you want me to do, Mother? Do you

want me to rush to the Zheng family right now

and beat up my older sister's mother-

in-law to stand up for her

, or what?

Mother

, if you complain to me again about

my older sister not doing well in her husband's family,

I'll really rush to the Zheng family and fight with her mother-in-law

to stand up for her.

Anyway, I'm not living in the Zheng family anymore.

After the fight, I'll just walk away.

But my older sister still has to live in the Zheng family.

If things really come to that , who knows

how the Zheng family will view my older sister?

Bah, you've really grown up

.

You're so capable, so capable, that you can make

Gu Deshan and his wife value you for

the rest of your life and never need your family's support.

This brat really does it.

If I really go and beat up Wang Mei... How can

Xiang Cuicui live like this?

And Li Zheng's family is having a full-month celebration in a few days,

and I'll have to spend money to buy eggs as a gift.

It's really bad luck

that

I'm doing well, which only annoys

them. Do they expect me to cry every day to be happy?

I haven't even settled the score for

the arranged marriage yet.

Song Sui couldn't sit still

any longer.

Look how well you're doing now. You've

given birth to two boys, and they're both so obedient.

Obedient? What? They're so

naughty

! Really

? What? Really?

Nothing. How's your

mother Chunfu?

The midwife said it'll be a while

before the baby is born, probably around evening.

Your uncle's family will definitely be busy today

. I'll help out here

for a bit, and you can go back

. Okay, I'll stay here with my sister-in-law for a while.

Tell her when I leave that

you can go back.

It's dark outside tonight,

so don't come over after dinner.

How can

I not come over after dinner?

Many hands

make light work. If there's anything

I can help with, I can lend a hand.

This wife from the city is a really good match.

She's capable, kind-

hearted, generous

, literate, and good at accounting—

just like my second aunt in her youth!

But how come she was such a capable
girl back home? I never heard

of her being so capable
when she was a girl.

Ten fingers are of different lengths, and

every family has its own troubles. It

seems the city girl is quite lucky.

I'm no good

now; the city girl is our family's best hope for passing the imperial examinations.

Whether she continues to study

or becomes a clerk in the county government,

it's all good for our

family. If he does well, our whole family will do well too.

Third sister-in-law is kind-hearted

, and with Second Aunt's guidance,

you should get closer to her.

I know about this

, but how can you do this? A father

doesn't expect his own son to be successful,

but instead expects his cousins

! Hahaha, you're right.

Let our Wensi study hard

and try to be like his third uncle.

You passed the imperial

examination at such a young age. Next year, we'll send Wenmin to school too.

You said your second sister-in-law's baby is a boy or

a girl? It doesn't matter,

as long as it's a child of our Gu family,

your parents will be happy. Come

with Dad to the yard to see your second uncle

and aunt. They're going to give you a little brother or sister.

Your second uncle is pacing around the yard

anxiously. He 'll comfort you in a bit.

Will your second uncle and aunt give me lots of little brothers and sisters?

Who knows? Hahaha,

don't talk nonsense.

Second brother is currently troubled.

Could it be that in Song Sui's dream

I married Zheng Fang?

He saw that I was living a good life

and woke up as

if he was possessed and insisted on marrying Zheng Fang.

Relying on mountains is

unreliable,

relying on people is unreliable

. Even if a farmer becomes rich in the future

, in ancient times, one could have multiple wives and

concubines. Without ability, how can one stand on one's own

feet? True strength

is a firm heart

and lifelong learning.

But this life is indeed good for me.

The more they can't stand me doing well,

the more I want to live

well. Let's just bring the third brother, Song Jitian, to the weaving workshop to dye thread

and let him spread my good life back to the Song family.

"It

's a baby girl

! I have a daughter!

I have a daughter! Hahaha!

Congratulations, Second Brother!

Don't go in yet

, be careful. Wash your hands first

, then put on your father's clean clothes before coming in

. Oh, Dad

, quickly find me some clean clothes,

I want to go in and see Chunfu and my daughter.

If Xiaochen has a daughter, she

'll definitely look a lot like him, right?

When I have a daughter,

will you be as happy as Second Brother?

Hmm, what do you mean?

You 'll like a daughter

? Really? I don't believe it

! Hahaha!

You two come and see the baby too

!

Second Sister-in-law, how are you feeling now

? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

I'm fine.

Actually, I only felt pain for a short while this afternoon.

After the midwife came, she told me to push,

and then I fell asleep while in pain.

When I woke up, the baby was already born.

That's my second sister-in-law. You're usually healthy,

but you're really exhausted after giving birth.

Look at how pale you are! Just now,

my

aunt was telling my mother

that she was going to make you chicken soup every day to help you recover.

It turns out my mother-in-law was going to make me chicken soup every day.

Now I'm finally relieved.

Don't worry, because I've been neglected since I gave birth to a daughter. I

don't need to eat like this every day.

I've never seen anyone else have such a good postpartum period.

Look at the baby

! Wow, her hair is so black.

She must have eaten a lot in the womb

. That's right,

the midwife said it's rare to see a baby with such black hair after giving

birth . Chunfu, the little doll with black hair,

has had a baby.

We should send some things over.

I was thinking of going to the county town today to buy some meat and candy

, and also taking

the baby clothes

I made a few days ago.

Okay , you made a cradle for Xingli's child a few years ago.

Although the cradle can be

used by Xingli's child

, Xingli and Xingli are now married

and have two families.

These next few days, when you have time, could you

make a new one for Xinli 's child?

It can be given as a full-month gift

when the baby turns one month old.

Luckily, Xiuping, you reminded me.

Originally, I was thinking that

Xinli's second son

doesn't need a cradle anymore

, so why not just give it to Xinli's child?

But I still think that won't work.

I'll find some good wood

and think of a new one to make.

If we make one

for the eldest son's family and not the second son's

, people might think we're

favoring the eldest son's family.

How about the wooden stroller for the kids?

You don't need to paint it;

just make oval wheels

, sand them smooth and clean.

When the new Li family's child can walk,

they can push and play with

the wooden stroller.

The child will definitely love it

. Mother-in-law, you're so fair and impartial.

I still have much to learn about your wisdom in dealing with

people. You have to be down-to-earth in

your work; moving too fast can easily lead

to trouble. Hmph, shifty-eyed, confirmed. Beauty

, ptooey! I'm a civilized person; I need to be elegant.

Mother-in-law, go wash your eyes.

What's wrong with the small amount of money?

Nothing, just came to see you.

Mom, you continue with the accounts.

Why does this child

want me to wash clothes again today?

I have so many clothes to wash, and I

still have to make [something] at noon.

How could I possibly manage cooking

? Mother told me to give you all these clothes to wash,

and I tried my best not to argue.

Why is Mother-in-law getting more and more

unreasonable ? Zhou Xiuzhi is even more soft-hearted but

secretly stuffs her eldest son's dirty

clothes into the laundry for me to wash.

Sister-in-law, even though I married into the family later than you

, you can't treat me like this!

How could you think that way?

The weeds in the fields are growing so fast

, and it's finally our turn to use the iron hoe these days.

Father-in-law and the eldest and third sons are out working, so

Mother and I have to hurry to the fields to weed.

Only you, sister-in-law,

are resting at home,

so Mother told me to give you all these clothes.

When have I ever rested at home?

You're all in the fields,

and I'm doing all the housework by myself. Lunch

and dinner are all... I did all

the laundry, swept the yard, fed the chickens, ducks, and cows.

Now I'm saying I'm resting at home.

These clothes were given to me by my mother-in-law.

If you don't want to do them, go

talk to your mother-in-law.

I 'm going to talk to her right now.

Humph, such a temper! Do you

still think you're a young lady from your parents' home?

I'm not buying it.

Chen Guihua is a formidable woman.

I can't force Song Sui to hand over her dyeing skills.

These past few days, I've deliberately been bothering her,

praising Song Qian's competence in her ear,

but she just won't respond.

Today, I finally managed to provoke her to go back to her parents' home through an argument.

In this weather, we need to be careful when

hoeing the fields. Xiuzhi, Song Sui really

argued with your mother-in-law over such a small thing.

Sigh,

Sui Sui was spoiled a bit when she was at her parents' home.

Her mother-in-law made her do laundry, cook

, feed the chickens and ducks.

He probably... I couldn't stand

it , so I threw a tantrum.

That's too much of a fuss! Speaking of which,

I've never actually seen Song Sui work in the fields

. Xiuzhi, you

're really unlucky

to have a sister-in-law like that ! Xiaoqian, did you know

your sister went back to her parents' house yesterday?

Now I know

, but I didn't hear my mother mention

it. I guess it was just a normal argument.

Your sister made her mother-in-law sick

!

Sick?

I heard Xiuzhi say this morning when I came over that

her mother-in-law had a headache from being so angry

she can't even get out of bed.

Is that so serious

? Should I take some things to see Aunt Wang?

No need, no need.

It's just a headache, it

'll be fine in a couple of days.

Everyone

gets headaches and fevers sometimes

, it's nothing serious. No need to go.

Oh, then it's nothing.

I'll... "I'm not going,

Auntie. Drink some water.

It's hot lately,

don't get a sore throat."

These farm women, though uneducated

, are very worldly-

wise and proactively offered me a way out.

After all that fuss,

I'm angry. I

'm only doing this for my dyeing skills,

Mother-in-law. Why didn't you just say

so earlier? Why did you have to go through all this trouble

? I never said I wouldn't use my dowry skills

.

You agreed,

of course. My mother gave me my dyeing skills as part of my dowry

, not so I could just look at them.

Tomorrow, tomorrow we'll have dye vats at home.

You're so greedy and short-sighted.

What's dyeing compared to that?

The real money will come from the main house's business later.

Tell me quickly, what do we need to buy to open a dye shop at home?

We need to get everything ready. We

need to prepare a few large vats for dyeing

, build two or three stoves,

and buy... Two or three iron pots for dyeing,

and all sorts of dyes,

alum, green vitriol, white vitriol, etc., need to be prepared. Dyeing

cloth can't be done in the open air; we

need to fill in the soil next to the house in the backyard, build

a dyeing shed

, and erect several tall racks.

After the cloth is dyed, it will be hung on the racks.

And what else...

wait ,

wait, wait!

Why do we need so much stuff?

A large vat costs 700 coins

, an iron pot 200 coins

, and then there are all those alums I've never heard of,

plus the shed and racks—

how much will that cost?

We just built a new house

and got married; we

simply don't have enough money.

You're not lying to me, are you?

I'm telling the truth,

Mother-in-law. Believe it

or not, whatever.

Let's talk about the dyeing shed

after we sell this year's grain.

Tell me how to dye the cloth first;

I have a headache and need to rest.

You guys go out first.

My sister-in-law knows so much more about dyeing cloth.

I can only weave at most. Dyeing

cloth is a family tradition.

If everyone knew it,

how would my family make any money?

I don't care about people

like Zhou Xiuzhi who are willing to be money-grubbing lackeys for their own

family . Tonight, when Chef Zheng comes back,

I must force him to start a business.

I can't stand this broken house for another second.

Has Song Sui lost her mind? The

Gu family's dyeing business is all controlled by Song

Qian. Even her

mother-in-law doesn't interfere.

Zheng's mother-in-law is greedy,

yet she directly reveals all her skills.

Mother, I'm hungry. Mother

, I'm hungry.

Wait a little longer and we'll eat.

My husband isn't my mother-in-law's biological

son. I and my two children are ostracized at home.

Even when the children are hungry and want to eat more, they can't get a bite.

Hmm, Mother

, I want to eat sweet potatoes.

Wait until tomorrow.

Wait until tomorrow, Mother will take you to Grandma's house to eat sweet potatoes, okay?

Good

job, Jiutai Zhijiang! We've been working non-stop

for ten days and produced 80 bolts of cloth.

It's time to go find markets!

Your Majesty

, didn't the people from Jufangzhai say they were coming to collect payment today?

No rush with the dyeing,

let me deliver it.

I

can drive an oxcart, I

'll be fine on my own.

If there are many people in

the town

, I'll lead the ox.

Alright

, there are many people in the town . If

you're not familiar with driving an oxcart

, just park it at the entrance

where there are people watching the carts. Wait a minute,

I'll get you the money

. I have money.

If you see anything you want to buy in the town,

just buy it.

Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm off

now. Drive carefully and

come back soon

!

What kind of cloth do you want to see, Your Majesty

? Our shop has all kinds of cloth.

This is our new ramie cloth,

Your Majesty, you can take a look.

This ramie cloth is Japanese linen,

soft and not prickly to the touch.

The craftsmanship is truly exquisite.

What's the price of fine cotton fabric these days?

Ordinary dyed fine cotton fabric is 1.9 coins per foot

. If you want something with nicer patterns,

10, 11, or 13 coins are

available. I don't know if you buy fabric here.

This pattern is woven,

the edges are neat,

definitely a high-quality product from a four-harness four-

thought loom . Madam,

please wait a moment

, I'll go ask our shopkeeper.

I've heard you sell fabric,

red plum blossom patterned

fabric made on a four-harness four-evil

loom. Shopkeeper, please look at

this young lady. She's young,

speaks steadily and clearly,

without any timidity,

her family upbringing is excellent

, the weaving is neat

, the red and white colors are clean and beautiful,

the cotton thread is of superior quality

. 1.9 coins per foot,

madam, what do you think of this price?

It's very fair.

I see the Li family fabric shop often buys fabric; the shopkeeper

is a straightforward person.

My family runs a weaving workshop.

I wanted to ask if you buy fabric here.

If you have more fabric like this, madam

, I'll naturally buy it too.

I just don't know if all your fabrics are like this

, or if you have other

types. The patterns

and four different designs

are all woven on a four-book, four-reading loom.

It's definitely not something the dyeing

shop is currently short of.

If there were a stable local supply

, there would be no need to go to the prefectural city.

But when did such a powerful new workshop open in our county?

I wonder where your family's dyeing workshop is?

If you could provide a stable supply to our shop,

I'd like to personally visit your family's dyeing workshop.

I'm from Xiapi Village, Siping Township. My surname is Song

, and my husband's surname is Gu

.

What is the relationship between Gu Lizheng of Xiapi Village and you, my wife?

He's my husband's uncle.

You're Gu Deshan's daughter-in-

law, the manager!

Hahaha, I even went to

your family's wedding a few days ago!

Come, come, niece

, let's go over there, have some tea and chat.

I'll personally go to Xiapi Village the day after tomorrow to check out the fabric.

If it's suitable,

we'll place an order directly.

With Uncle Li's words, I'm relieved.

When I go back, I'll tell my parents, and

they'll definitely be very happy.

Your parents are too distant;

they came directly to me

and said that my family has opened a dyeing workshop

and wants to sell fabric to me... In the shop,

how could I refuse?

Business is business.

My parents haven't mentioned their relationship with you, Uncle Li,

probably because they

know you'd say that

and don't want to take advantage of you.

It's not about taking advantage;

it's clearly a mutually beneficial arrangement

. When I see your father

another day, I'll have to give him a good talking-to. He's

hiding such good stuff from me; who else

would he sell it to

besides me ? Uncle Li

, I'll head back

now. As I left, I told my parents

to take care on the road.

Hey, Gu Deshan has a good wife,

and his son passed the imperial examination.

I never expected him to marry such a clever daughter-in-law. It

's really strange.

Why are all the people in the city flocking to his house?

Gu Deshan

's wife, isn't she

the Shen Niangzi who helps with the accounts at our shop?

It's his family.

Actually, I was just testing the waters today.

I didn't expect Manager Li to have such a good

eye and immediately take a liking to our cloth.

Later, I heard that his family runs a weaving and dyeing workshop

, so he said he'd personally come to see the goods the day after tomorrow.

You, how dare you be so bold!

Originally, I wanted to ask your father... Go talk to

Manager Li about selling cloth.

But that's not the same.

Father and Manager Li already know each other

, and you've helped the Li family's cloth shop with accounts for so many years.

If Father goes first,

even though our cloth is good

, Manager Li might only agree because of past favors.

But if I go, it's different.

Manager Li doesn't know me. If

I ask him if he wants to buy cloth,

he'll focus all his energy on the cloth

, not on me. In the end

, you're the one who's right. It

's just that our family has become a supplier, and

Mother probably won't be able to help the Li family's cloth shop with accounts anymore.

That's alright

, I'm not just helping one family with accounts.

Mother, now that the family weaving workshop is fully operational,

the amount of colored thread needed is increasing and

increasing.

I'm the only one dyeing thread,

which is really not enough.

But if we buy pre-dyed thread,

the weaving workshop's costs will be much higher.

So last night I was thinking about

whether Song Jitian could come and help with dyeing.

Third brother usually helps out at your parents' house.

If he suddenly comes here,

your parents' house will be short of labor.

Wouldn't that be too much of a disturbance to your parents?

Mother, you have no idea

how much worse my family's dyeing business has been over the years.

We've gone from ten dyeing vats to only four or five.

Whether Chen Guihua is happy

or not is none of my concern

; I'd rather she be furious.

Tonight, your father and I are going to your family's house.

Tell your parents about this.

The wage is

15 coins a day.

What do you think?

Dad has been busy all day,

how can we trouble him again? He's busy with housework at night too.

Mom, leave this to me

. I'll go to my parents' house and tell them.

I guarantee the third son will be here to work tomorrow.

Who's here? Oh,

wrong house

, Grandma? It's me

. I've come to see you.

Everything's fine at home. I

don't need you to bring me anything.

Take it back quickly.

No way!

This is something I brought especially for you.

You must hide it well.

Don't be soft-hearted and give all the candy to the third and fourth sons.

Okay, okay, I'll hide it all

. Are your parents dyeing cloth in the backyard?

Your parents took the third son to the fields to weed.

Without pesticides or fertilizers

, weeding and catching insects are all done by hand.

Farmers It's like you've been growing up in the fields all day.

How have you been doing at your in-laws' house lately?

Your mother-in-law and father-in-law are both very kind.

I'm dyeing thread at home,

and your mother-in-law never asks or looks

at me , which is good. Your mother-in-law is shrewd and knows how to handle things.

The Gu family is a prominent family in the village.

The Gu family has a lot of

aunts, cousins, uncles

, aunts, grandfathers,

and grandmothers. Your mother-

in-law has gotten along so well with those

relatives over the years. You must learn from your mother-in-law and not argue with her over trivial things like your older sister.

I know my mother-in-law is very capable,

and I will definitely learn from her.

I've also heard about the argument between your older sister and Aunt Wang

.

It shouldn't be a big deal, right?

You're so young, what do you know?

Your older sister's side will be... There's some arguing

, not to mention she has an older sister-in-law

. Surely Aunt Wang is a bit fierce

, but I heard from the villagers that

Sister Zhou has a rather gentle temper.

A

gentle temper doesn't mean she's heartless.

Your eldest sister's temper is exactly like your mother's— she

explodes at the slightest

provocation,

acts impulsively, and has a strong personality.

The marriage was fine, but

your eldest sister

insisted on marrying the main wife.

I don't know what possessed her.

It seems Song Sui didn't tell Grandma about her dream of jade.

I actually wanted to tell her a long time

ago, eldest sister. She was spoiled too much by my mother

at home. Who can argue

with that?

I tried to persuade your mother

, but she wouldn't listen.

Being a wife is different from being a girl.

As a wife, she does

laundry, cooks,

sews, weaves

, feeds chickens and ducks.

Taking care of the elderly

, looking after children

, dealing with guests,

and handling all sorts of

social obligations— it's all

so demanding . Besides, your eldest sister's current in -laws

are a mess; her mother-in-law has a

strong personality, and her father-in-law

is completely uninvolved . She married the middle son,

who has two older brothers from different mothers

and a younger brother from the same mother

—it's

a chaotic mess

.

I told your parents before that you

shouldn't marry into this kind of family,

but neither of them listened to me.

With your sister's spoiled temper, she

's bound to make a mess of things

. Grandma, you see things so clearly

; you're truly wise.

Maybe my sister will have a better life.

Forget it, I just hope she does

n't come home crying every few days.

Grandma, I came here today to discuss something with you

... I noticed

that our dyeing business hasn't been very busy lately,

so I wanted Ji Tian to come

and help me with the dyeing for a while.

Your parents-in-law agreed, and

my mother-in-law agreed

too. She even said she'd pay Ji Tian

13 coins a day if he helped out.

I underreported by two coins,

thinking I'd make up the difference to the youngest son later.

This is a good thing!

Our dyeing business is getting worse every day, and

Gu Jia's business

is doing so well. If it weren't for our family's skills,

I'd be so envious.

Now the youngest son can earn money

and practice his skills.

13 coins a day,

several hundred coins a month!

I just don't know if my parents will agree.

Don't worry, your parents will definitely agree.

I

absolutely won't agree

to Ji Tian going to Shen Xiuping's place to help out.

Don't even think

about it. I'm thinking

that the harvest will be coming soon,

and then we'll be busy for a while.

Our family's dyeing skills

are a family tradition, and

we absolutely can't let them go.

Let the third son go to his second sister's place to help dye threads.

He can earn money

and learn the craft at the same time, which is a good thing.

The dye vat at home hasn't been used for almost half a month.

The third son can go earn money,

and Guihua and I can finish

the field work even if we're a little tired. Okay, I'll take the third son there first thing tomorrow morning.

Are you guys even listening to me?

I won't let the third son go. We

have our own business

, why go to someone else's house to help out?

What future is there in working for Shen Xiuping's family

? It's better to curry favor with Zheng Chang

and wait for him to make a fortune so he can help the third son.

You guys went to the county town to discuss business.

Manager Li wants to buy our family's cloth.

When did

you place the order? Don't look at... All of these

were made by Xiaoqin

.

Later, when Manager Li heard that I was

the daughter-in-law of the Gu family from Xiapi Village,

he was first startled,

then he kept calling me his niece.

So I didn't dare to raise the price.

I sold

the Xiaomeihua cotton cloth

for 1900 wen . Well done!

So well done! Hahaha,

Dad, don't mind that I'm too bold.

You have to be bold to do business.

When

does Manager Li come tomorrow? He'll come over tomorrow morning

. I'll go to the county town to

work early tomorrow morning.

Tell them and come back as soon as possible. Oh

, I've been reading the law lately and I

found something

. Is it true

that officials can't do business?

It's true that officials can't compete with the people for profit. But

don't worry,

I'm not an official now

. Besides, our workshop is so small

that no one will notice

unless

...

unless someone goes to the government to report us.

Luckily,

I just remembered this.

After all, you're going to take the imperial examinations in the future.

If it were because of my selling cloth that you would be implicated,

that would be terrible.

Your uncle is Li Zheng.

Unless someone is insane and reports you to the authorities

, he won't be able to stay in the village. Once

the business grows bigger,

we can register it under a relative's name.

But in ancient times, scholars were wary of merchants.

Would he feel uncomfortable about it?

I'm a man,

and earning money to support the family should be a man's job.

Now you have to bear it.

I've already wronged you enough.

How can it be your fault?

You're going to take the imperial examinations in the future,

so please don't tell anyone that our family is in business.

Although I don't know much about scholars...

What kind of circle do we have?

But it's not good to talk about it.

Whether it's farming or selling cloth at home,

it's all for the sake of my education.

If I feel ashamed because of your cloth-selling,

then I am unworthy of being a scholar,

let alone a son or

a husband. A real man should stand tall and

not be afraid of gossip.

How can he know the hardships of his family

but pursue empty

fame and treat his loved ones

poorly? Alright, alright,

I know you are a gentleman .

I know you are afraid that I will feel wronged,

but I am not wronged at all.

Let's do business quietly.

I will make money and you can study.

Isn't that better?

We still have to maintain

appearances. Aren't scholars supposed to be refined and elegant?

We should be good

to the poor

. Hahaha. Hey,

Brother Song is here.

I have to hurry out.

I'll be back in a bit

. Xiuping and Xiaoqian are both home.

Just take Jitian inside.

I've never asked anyone for anything in my life

. Now, thanks to my second daughter,

I'm even more

humbled than Gu Deshan because I sent my son here.

Brother Song, you don't need to say anything.

Just leave Jitian here.

Xiaoqin is watching over her, so

no one will bully her. She

'll be fine. Aren't you going to thank Uncle Deshan?

Quickly, kowtow to Uncle Deshan.

Oh,

no, no, no,

good child, why kowtow?

It was your second sister who asked you to come and help.

Your second sister is always thinking of you.

You should thank your second sister first. My second

sister is so good to me.

Grandma said that coming here can earn money

and I can also practice my skills.

I will definitely work hard.

Song Qian

doesn't have that ability. It's all thanks to Gu Deshan. The couple nodded in agreement. "

You can go in

through the front gate . I

'll take Cheng Li to the county town

and be back soon. Okay

, drive carefully. The gate

has green tiles, the door is carved, and the screen wall is intricate.

Go around this courtyard. It's so big! Green

bricks, large tiles

, and even cross-shaped floor tiles—it's really grand!

Dad, you brought your third daughter here! Come in

and sit down.

Is this really my second daughter

? She has to go to the fields

soon. I brought her here.

Dad, don't worry, she

won't suffer any losses

here.

What are you thinking about?

Why aren't you saying anything?

Come on, I'll take you to the backyard. I have

to tell you something

. I've been incredibly busy lately.

You helping out here is

just like doing chores at home.

I just suddenly felt a little

unfamiliar with you, Second Sister. It's

only been a few days."

You've become distant with me.

Did you

eat breakfast? If

you did

, follow me

and see how I do it,

then do the same.

But remember one thing:

when mixing the dye, do it

secretly. Don't tell anyone about the use of Mingxin Lansen either.

I know my family's secret craftsmanship, and I don't pass it on to outsiders.

Okay, okay,

I'll take all these fabrics.

I've also ordered the rest.

By the way, how much fabric can your workshop produce per day

? If you reply to the shopkeeper,

the workshop currently has 6 looms

and 8 spinning workers.

It can produce 4 bolts of fabric per day.

Hahaha,

if the shopkeeper needs more

, we can add more people.

Take a break. Come with me to the front and get some dye

. Have some

food. Didn't you eat breakfast?

How come you're so hungry?

Did you eat enough

? Sister, you know

how awful Mom's cooking is,

and she barely makes any.

I've been starving every day lately

. Ever since my eldest sister got married,

Mom's temper has gotten worse every day . She's always

yelling at people at home.

Chen Guihua's cooking is terrible

, and she's extremely slovenly.

Yesterday, I passed by that kitchen;

the stove was full of firewood, the cutting

board and pot lids were covered in black mud , the firewood was piled up haphazardly, and the

floor

was covered

in ash . When I first came here,

I was so afraid I'd eat roundworms and die,

so I gritted my teeth and took over the kitchen.

Okay, okay

, drink some water.

Okay,

second sister, didn't you say you came to get dye?

I came to bring you something to eat.

Are you expecting me

to only give you rice cakes in front of all those people in the backyard?

Sister, if you let someone eat rice cakes,

Aunt Xiuping won't yell at you. Don't

worry, that's something I prepared especially for you.

My mother-in-law won't say anything. Don't tell

your parents when you get home either.

I know, I promise I

won't tell anyone,

just like before. You silly boy,

we have guests today , and usually

the people who help with the chores

don't stay for lunch, so

I can't just keep you

here. Go home

and eat, then rest for half an hour before coming over.

I have food here.

If you don't get enough to eat at home, you

can have some more when you get here.

But there's a condition:

don't tell your mother

you're going home.

Where's Jitian?

I sent him home.

How could you let Jitian go home?

Go

and call him back for lunch.

Mom, we have guests today.

Jitian is young

and hasn't experienced much.

I was afraid he'd feel uncomfortable

in this situation , so I sent him back.

Besides, the people from the weaving workshop don't usually eat at our house,

so how could I

leave Ji Tian alone?

That's too much discrimination!

Humph,

Ji Tian isn't your own brother,

just the fact that he's Ran Gong,

even though he's young,

shows he has a skill.

How can anyone else compare to him?

The craftsmen hired

by the workshops outside are all well taken care of,

and they even get extra red envelopes during holidays.

How can anyone treat someone like you?

Oh, Mother, I was wrong.

I was just worried about gossip.

After all, my family lives nearby;

it's only a short walk to my third brother's house.

Although I don't feed him

, I'll prepare some food for him separately at home from now on. He

's growing and gets hungry quickly.

If he's hungry, let him eat

, okay?

Mom, you're the best! It

smells so good! Mom, what did you make?

How does it taste

?

Chen Guihua is such a pushover.

If I let the third son eat here,

she'll think, "Why

don't I eat here three meals a day?"

I won't back down an

inch. What?

Shen Xiuping and Song Qian didn't even let you eat here? They

're so stingy!

Song Qian is such a brat, I can understand that, but

I didn't expect Shen Xiuping to be so inconsiderate too.

Everyone else isn't eating here

, and I'm the only one eating.

What kind of

behavior is that? You brainless brat,

just like your father, so obsessed with saving face!

That's a meal!

One meal a day! How much food can that save the family?

Xia Shang, you're not allowed to go.

My second sister and I agreed.

I said you're not allowed to go, and that's final. Why don't you go

? They

pay thirteen coins a day for work there.

Thirteen coins can buy two jin of coarse noodles, which

our whole family can't even finish in a

day. Good girl, go back to your second sister's place to work this afternoon.

Don't listen to your mother.

I haven't been able to eat for days.

My mother-in -law still forces me

to work in the fields every day. Zheng Fang, you good-for-nothing

, all you know is to listen to your mother.

I can't live like this anymore.

Song Sui, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and cut!

Look at you, so slow! Hurry up

!

What

?

Song Sui is pregnant and she

fainted in the field while cutting straw?

That's right!

When your mother heard about it,

she rushed to Zheng Youfu's house

and is now sitting in Zheng Youfu's yard cursing

.

Your mother said that Song Sui was being bullied at her in-laws'

house. Or is it that Song Sui's mother-in-law

is just looking for trouble because she has no one else around?

This time, she forced Song Sui to work in the fields

. Making Song Sui faint in the field

was a ploy to kill her and

remarry .

Good heavens, good heavens!

Now nobody can stop your mother; she

's making a scene.

Xiao Chen, hurry to Zheng Youcao's

house and try to persuade your mother. Everyone's busy with the autumn harvest and summer crops,

and everyone's known for being lazy.

Chen Xunhua is causing trouble , and

Song Qian is trying to persuade her; nobody will be happy.

Helping her mother's family will make her seem like a philanthropist, and

persuading her will only get you scolded for siding with outsiders.

The best way is to drag

your sister-

in-law and brother-in-law over there

. Have they gone ?

They have. Don't worry too much

; your brother-in-law is there, so

your mother will be fine.

Go to the field now and call your father

and grandmother... I'll go check on them.

Thank you, sister-in-law.

I understand.

I'll go to the fields to find my dad and grandma.

Please help me deliver

the food in these baskets

to the people working in the fields

. Okay, give it to me.

I don't know about Song Qian. I'll go see Zheng You and Cao's family first. The

mother and daughter aren't close at all.

Xiao Qian, don't worry, my father-in-law

knows. With my father-in-law there,

Aunt Guihua will be fine.

But it 's okay that you said those things

to me this time

, but don't say them to outsiders in the future

. The daughters-in-law of the Gu family are all filial and sensible.

If outsiders heard what you just said,

they might think Xiao Qian

is some kind of unfilial person. Well,

I won't say any more to my aunt.

I have to take the food to the fields for Xiaoqian.

Uncle, where are my dad and grandma?

Oh, Xiaoqian ,

your mother is making a scene at Zheng Youfu's house. Why

didn't you go?

I'll come and call my dad and grandma to come over.

Your dad and grandma just went to

my house . Sui Sui is so unlucky

to have married into your family

. I've never heard of any family mistreating their

daughter-in-law like this. Sui Sui is pregnant.

What if something happens to

her in the fields

? What will I do if something

happens to her? I'm a woman

here with no one to rely on.

My brothers and sisters are all

back in our hometown. When I get old, I'll rely on my son for care and

my daughter

for help. Right now... You

can't even think about this?

You cowardly coward

! You call yourself a

man ? You

usually just stare at your mother bullying your wife,

and you don't even dare to utter a sound.

What kind of man

are you? That's enough. Uncle Liangshan has called you several times. My eldest sister still has

to live

with Zheng Shan in the future. That's enough . This brat is

a traitor. But she's right.

All this commotion is just to put pressure on the Zheng family so she

can control them in the future

. If you ever

help your mother bully Sui Sui

again like today,

I'll definitely come and make a scene again.

I definitely won't dare to do it this way.

How did things get like this?

I work in the fields every day during the autumn harvest.

Song Sui fainted.

I only found out I was pregnant after calling the doctor.

Before I could even be happy,

my mother-in-law rushed in and yelled at me.

My mother hid,

and Song Sui was just crying.

What did I do wrong? We

were definitely in the wrong today,

but if Song Sui hadn't said anything,

who would have known she was pregnant?

The whole village was watching and

laughing at us. I wanted to crawl into a hole. Fine,

we're all relatives.

If things get too ugly, it'll make

everyone look bad.

Let's just leave it at that.

The work in the fields is still piling up.

Everyone go to the

fields and work.

I'm so wronged.

How could I dare to target her these days? I was counting on her

to run the dye shop.

Who knew she was so weak? She

faints from even the slightest bit of work.

I really don't understand Chen Gui. Hua doesn't value Song Sui.

He says he doesn't, but

when trouble comes, he's the one who runs away faster than anyone else.

He says he does value it,

but he vents his anger by throwing a tantrum in the street. It's so contradictory.

He puts on his veil.

The wind is strong outside,

and there are wheat stubble everywhere.

It stings

his face.

"Mom, I'm going

now.

Everyone, take a break.

Come over and have some water.

You just stand there

, don't go any further.

The fields are full of sharpened straw.

Don't worry, I'm fine.

Brother, would you like some more water?

Another bowl, please

." He continues, "I've been wanting to ask

you for a long time, why does your water

sometimes taste a little salty?

This is a method from my hometown. We

add a little

salt to the water. People who do heavy work have more strength after drinking it."

Oh , I see

. Do you still need water?

Eating candy gives me

more energy.

It tastes sweet in my mouth and even sweeter in my heart!

Ahhh, Sister-in-law

Zhou,

are you alright? You

're dirty. Don't

let me get your clean handkerchief dirty too. Thank you so much

for what you did earlier.

It's just a handkerchief

, I'll wash it and use it again later

. Sister-in-law, you don't need to thank me.

We're from the same village.

No one could ignore it if they saw it.

We're from the same mother

. How come Song Qian and Song Sui are so different? Sister -in-law, you're working

so hard. You don't need to

rush. The work is right

there . You can finish

it if you take your time.

Hurry up and finish

the work in the fields.

The sooner it's done, the more at ease I'll feel

. But sister-in-law , what if you overwork yourself ?

Even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think

about your two children.

I remember your Xiaohua is only 6 years old this year.

Children without a mother suffer their whole lives.

Sister-in-law, you just fell over.

If it weren't for the straw cushioning you

, I don't know how badly you would have fallen.

You can't overwork yourself.

What will happen to your two children then?

My husband's life has been difficult because his mother died young

and he ended up with a heartless stepmother.

You're right,

my health can't be ruined

.

What's this? It smells so good. I've made

chrysanthemum tea.

Would you like a cup, sir

? That would be wonderful!

Please, young friend

, bring two teacups

and a pot of hot water.

I

made this chrysanthemum tea myself

; please try it

. Mmm, the chrysanthemum fragrance is so delicate and elegant.

Young man, you have excellent skills; thank you!

Sir, you're too

kind. I've listened to you so many times, but I

haven't been able to keep up appearances. I've always just listened

attentively. This cup of tea is a token of my appreciation

. Judging from your demeanor,

you must be educated.

I only know a few characters.

Oh,

what books do you usually read? What are you

reading recently ?

Why are you reading the law? You

can't be reading the law to make money by exploiting legal loopholes, can you?

My husband is reading the law,

so I've been reading some too.

Who is your husband?

My husband's surname is Gu, and his given name is Chengli

. Because he's not yet twenty,

his elders haven't given him a courtesy name yet. He

just passed the imperial examination this year

—

the one where he got the top score in the prefectural examination, Gu Chengli !

He studied at Li Changzeng's private school, Gu Chengli!

Yes

, no

wonder! No wonder! Hahaha!

Old Li was arguing with me the other day,

saying that strict laws harm the people.

Now he's personally taught

a student studying law! Hahaha

! This old man isn't an enemy of Master Li, is he?

I thought I'd met a reclusive Confucian scholar!

Recently, in the county… "You 're about to set up a county school.

When you get back, tell your husband that

if he wants to study there after the autumn harvest,

he can just go there

and offer his services

.

The current emperor is diligent in governing, valuing

both literature and martial arts,

and cherishing the people.

The court wants to enlighten the people

and cultivate pillars of the nation, so

it has issued an imperial edict ordering

all counties in the country to build

county schools. The construction of the county school in Anyuan County

is being personally supervised by the Tang Emperor.

Furthermore, the prefectural government will

personally send scholars to teach and lecture.

If your husband can study at the county school,

it would indeed be a good thing.

My views are completely opposite to Old Man Li's. I

have read all of Gu Cheng's five daily essays on contemporary matters.

Although they have the flaw of being overly ornate

, the content is substantial.

He is definitely a good prospect.

I must recruit him and offer him my services.

I cannot let Old Man Li ruin

this gentleman." Zizhen is really trying to poach

my husband's talent. How am I supposed to explain this to Master Li?

I can only pretend to be clueless. Is

offering a scholarship really that impressive?

When I get back,

I'll definitely have a good talk with my husband, in-laws, and father-in-law.

But I'm just a simple woman

with limited experience.

However , I know from my husband's past

that he studied under Master Li since childhood. Master

Li treated my husband like his own son and

has taught him diligently for many years.

Now that my

husband has passed the preliminary examination, he suddenly abandons his mentor

and goes to the county school.

Given my husband's character,

I'm afraid he won't agree to

this pedantic

approach. Xunzi once said that

a gentleman is not born different, but

he is good at making use of things.

Following that old man Li has made him stupid.

How about this, I'll write you a letter,

and then I'll have Gu Tongsheng take the letter to offer a scholarship.

Thank you,

sir, for your guidance.

I really don't know how to thank you enough, haha

. I just don't want a gem to be tarnished.

Waiter, bring me some paper and pens from your shop,

hurry up!

The letter of recommendation is signed Cheng Jiyun.

So the old gentleman's name is Cheng Jiyun!

Oh, I've finally found you!

Mr. Liu from the neighborhood has urgent business and needs your help to take me to the county government.

What does that brat want with me again?

It's not like the county school will stop functioning without me. I

haven't even finished my cup of tea yet!

Just a moment ago, that Mr. Liu was arguing with me, saying

the order form was too long and a waste of money

. Nonsense! Of course, the more books the better for a school

!

The county school really can't function without you these days.

I'll hold your tea for you.

You should go to the county government to drink yours, okay?

Let's go, let's

go. I want to go see... Why is Mr. Liu

in such a hurry to find me?

Wife, you should hurry and take the letter home.

Do either of you gentlemen

know Master Cheng

? Master Cheng is a regular here;

we all know

him. He 's

the county's instructor

— the highest-ranking educational official in a county,

equivalent to the head of the modern county education bureau.

No wonder he could directly enter the county school.

I just heard you say your

husband is studying under Master Li.

As far as I know

, Master Cheng and Master Li are distant cousins.

Thank you both, gentlemen.

Please bring a cup of crab to each of the gentlemen at that table.

And please, I'll trouble you to go to Su Ji Fang and buy

two plates of pastries for this gentleman.

If you have any leftover money,

please accept it

; no need for

such extravagance. After I

get home, I will definitely go with

my family to personally thank Master Cheng.

Unfortunately, I don't know where Master Cheng lives.

This kind brother kindly told

me and solved my problem,

so I naturally want to thank him.

Brother, please don't refuse.

If I don't thank him,

my parents

will say I'm impolite

when they find out.

I need to get home as soon as possible,

so I'll take

my leave now. Wife, take care. How about

this? Aren't I amazing?

I had thought about changing teachers,

but Teacher Li is one of the best in the county

and has high hopes for me.

Although the county school accepts many students

, there are places where scholars are taught, and

without connections, it's impossible to get in.

Teacher Li has never mentioned blood donation,

obviously he doesn't want me to go.

But now I have this letter.

Thank you,

thank

you so much. Please don't... So touching!

You need to hurry up and memorize the law these next few days.

Why?

Because I told Master Cheng

you really like the law.

It's okay, I can like it too.

Master Li has taught me diligently for many years.

I'm a little worried about that.

This is nothing.

Scholars all care about their reputation. Master

Li, who runs a private school, cares even more about his reputation than ordinary scholars.

He won't refuse

if you go to the county school.

A sage has no fixed teacher.

What's next

? Yes,

as long as I bring up the sage's righteousness,

Master Li will not only not stop me,

but will also gladly agree.

Confucius's teacher was Xuanzi, Changhong's teacher was Xiang, and Laodan's teacher was Xuanzi

's disciple.

His virtue was beyond measure.

Confucius said, "When three people walk together, there must be one who can teach me.

Therefore, a disciple is not necessarily inferior to his teacher, and a teacher is not necessarily

more virtuous than his disciple.

" Oh

no, I blurted it out too quickly,

hahaha. I saw

this

article on a bookshelf in the city.

I thought it was really good, so

I memorized it

, haha. My daughter-in-law is amazing!

She's already learned to memorize articles

in such a short time .

It seems our Gu family

is truly blessed by the God of Literature!

That's wonderful, haha.

How can you praise your own child like that?

Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?

My son is a child prodigy,

and my daughter-in-law can read and do arithmetic.

Now she can even memorize articles.

Who in the whole village dares to laugh at me?

Do you think I'm wrong?

The children are all here. My

in-laws have such a good relationship that

I often feel like I'm in the way and superfluous.

I suddenly remembered that

I forgot something on the mule cart.

Will you come with me

to get it?

Shanlan

,

it's me

, Maolin.

I'm back.

Maolin, Maolin,

you... You finally came back?

Everyone said you died in battle,

how come you're only coming back now?

Do you know that

some of the people conscripted by the government to fight before came back

? Hey, how come I didn't know?

It's been six or seven years,

I didn't expect them to come back.

Didn't people keep saying they died?

Don't talk nonsense,

some people came back

, some haven't.

Hey, I'm just saying this to you.

But those people who were conscripted back then

were really unlucky.

Others went to do corvée labor and nothing happened,

but they went to do corvée labor

and were suddenly conscripted to fight.

It's all fate

, who told them to be so unlucky?

Granny Xi's son didn't come back

, I heard everyone cried until they fainted.

It's such a tragedy.

Gu Maolin is my cousin,

he's older... My aunt Gu Yuanshan and my father are cousins.

Gu Maolin suddenly died six years ago while serving in a labor camp.

Later, we were told that he was conscripted by the imperial court during a border war.

Our village was conscripted at the time. Brother Shan has

returned this time. Six of us are gone

!

One person

just vanished like that

. Less than half the population survived.

Luckily, when I traveled back in time,

I decisively stayed with the Song family.

Don't worry, the situation is stable now,

and this won't happen again.

Okay

, I know.

I remember there were military households at the border.

Why would the imperial court conscript soldiers

? I only found out when I went there.

Back then, the previous dynasty attacked the Liaodong

border, killing many people.

The imperial court urgently needed to stabilize the border,

so they transferred troops from various places.

We were unlucky. It was

the road to transporting stones to the river. The entire previous

team was conscripted.

So you've been conscripted to Liaodong?

All

of us have been conscripted to the Liaodong garrison.

Luckily, we're all grouped together,

so the others don't dare do anything to us. We usually just train, patrol, stand guard, and keep watch. They're also farming in the grasslands. A while ago, people from the grasslands came to rob us

again

.

I

heard

from

our

leader, a centurion, that

the imperial court sent a general to conquer the barbarians

and assembled 200,000 troops.

I knew that

if we won this battle,

we could go home.

Now I'm back!

It's so good to be home!

Farming? Isn't the border a place of war?

Why are you still farming?

The imperial court is establishing military farms on the border,

just like here. The government distributed land to the villagers;

we were farmers.

The military camp distributed land there;

they were all military households. When

not fighting or training, military households

would work the fields.

Many there had families, including

the elderly and children.

I only learned after I arrived

that the reason we were conscripted

was because the Liaodong garrison

had been breached by remnants of the Qianchao army.

Soldiers were strong and could run, but

the elderly, women, and children couldn't run fast.

Most of the people there were killed.

After I arrived, I

was first assigned to repair watchtowers;

one shovelful

could shovel out mud.

Large tracts of land on the border were uncultivated;

the court relocated you to farm as military households. As

military households, you didn't have to pay summer taxes or autumn grain taxes;

all the grain you grew was... " It's all mine

, hahaha!

So military households are supposed to go to the battlefield.

Come on , have some water!

Oh, I forgot to mention,

this is boiled water.

Shanlan, quickly go to the water vat and get a ladle of cold water.

No need, no need

, it's alright.

It's really lucky that my wife gave birth to our second child

on an odd-numbered day and settled in the next village.

If she had really gone to the border to farm and become a military household,

the whole family would have died long

ago. Our second daughter is blessed with good

fortune, and her in-laws value her

highly . From now on, our family will revolve around

her . Second daughter has changed so much, I hardly recognize her. Sui Sui

, didn't you say the Gu Deshan family was bad?

This brat is living a wonderful life. It's infuriating!

I

heard that although those who died didn't come back

, they were brought back a lot of money. If you ask me,

money is much more useful than people. Humph,

I'm talking to you

!" The people who came back are so

happy! Grandma Xi's son hasn't come back.

He's been crying his eyes out these past two days. Humph

, what an idiot!

He doesn't know the value of money.

In his dream, those who came back committed crimes and went to jail.

He couldn't get money

out of them, but Grandma Xi used the Fortune Tree Gold to buy land, took

in a son-in-law

, and lived a very good

life. Money is the only truth!

Your son is hungry and

wants to eat eggs . Go and boil two poached eggs for me

. Boil them with brown sugar water.

Ha!

Didn't you just eat two eggs?

Your son is hungry and

wants more now

!

Is she pregnant with the Jade Emperor or the Queen Mother?

She eats four or five eggs a day

, and with brown sugar!

Go out and ask around,

who in the surrounding villages

eats like her during pregnancy?

She was tolerant before to maintain appearances,

but now even my own mother comes to make trouble, and she doesn't

care. I absolutely cannot let this old woman dominate me! Oh

,

Grandma, are you insulting me?

I'm carrying your Zheng family's grandson!

I 've only asked for eggs

, not chicken!

Grandma, you're so stingy!

Besides, those eggs were specially brought to me by

my mother because she saw I was pregnant.

I didn't eat any of your stuff

! Bah! Once it enters my house, it's mine!

As long as I'm alive,

you have no right to be in charge.

Besides, who knows what's in your belly yet, and you

already want to eat chicken?

Eat my ass!

In my dream, Song Qian's first child was a boy. If

Song Qian can give birth,

why can't I

? Mom, I also want to eat eggs!

Tomorrow, Mom will take you to Grandma's house.

Let's go to Grandma's house to eat, okay?

In

the city, the entrance fee for studying at the private school

was sent after the Spring Festival.

Besides that,

gifts were

also sent during the Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival, also known as "two large piles."

In fact, more particular families would send four large piles,

one for each of the four festivals: Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival.

Ordinary families didn't need to send so many gifts.

And the way relatives interacted was different.

What were the customs surrounding the gifts Mother sent to Teacher Li

?

Money couldn't be given;

it had to be gifts.

The emphasis was on valuing gifts over money.

For example, seasonal fruits and vegetables

, fresh rice, flour, and oil

, plus some cloth,

four or five catties of fresh meat

, and then you could

add more according to

the recipient's preferences.

For example, Teacher

Li liked to drink tea,

so some tea leaves were added to the gifts.

The money earned wasn't much, but

the gifts received were plentiful.

If he didn't pass the city exams...

Being a teacher is fine too.

Tomorrow

you and I will go together.

Cheng Li going to study at the county school

is a separate matter

. Master Li has been teaching Cheng Li for so many years.

Even if Cheng Li goes to the county school

, the entrance fee will be cheaper

, but the etiquette must not be neglected.

The circle of scholars in Anyuan County is so small, and there are

many things that cannot be done.

Especially since our family is now

the only one in the city who is going to take the

imperial examination , we must do our best

to observe the proper etiquette and not give anyone

cause for gossip. It will be better after Cheng Li passes the exam.

I understand. We should

develop stealthily and

wait until he passes the exam and gets a stipend.

Master Li will then actively promote

his student. It's a government-funded project

. Before, when the weather was hot,

we wove thin cloth.

Now that it's getting colder,

we need to start weaving thicker cloth from today.

So the threads on the loom need to be rearranged.

What pattern do you want

? Should it be the same as before?

This time, the pattern requirements are:

100 bolts of four-skin bean paste,

200 bolts of red and white plum blossom,

200 bolts of red and white flowers, and

what about green and white runes?

Song Sui was beaten at her husband's house.

Who beat her?

It couldn't have been the wife, could it?

He's a coward . She

was beaten by Zheng Dong

!

Zheng Dong is only six or seven years old, right? She

was beaten by her brother-in-law.

Is this a rural family drama?

The eldest sister and... Her mother-in-law was arguing,

and Zheng Dong was about to hit her eldest sister with a shovel. The

eldest sister didn't dodge

and fell,

then was hit on the arm by the shovel.

Is Song Sui filming a rural family drama?

Nothing

. Then what happened

this time? Why did they start arguing

again? Did Song Song run home crying again

? Yes, when I arrived,

my eldest sister was still crying at home.

Grandma told me to come quickly and help with chores.

It seems my eldest sister wanted to eat eggs,

but Aunt Wang wouldn't give her

two, so they started arguing.

Seeing his mother being taken advantage of, Zheng Dong

went to hit her eldest sister.

What did

Mom say? Mom wanted to go talk to Aunt Wang, but

Dad and Grandma wouldn't let her go,

so Mom got angry.

We almost got into a fight!

I really wanted to go to Old Song's house to see what was going on.

What are you talking about?

Song Sui went back to her parents' house again.

I heard she was beaten this time.

I have to go back and see

how serious it is.

I'll go with you.

That guy Zheng Fan actually beat his wife!

Before marriage, he even drove an oxcart and offered her small sums of money.

Luckily, Xiao Pi didn't marry him.

What kind of man hits his wife

? It wasn't Zheng Fan who hit her

. Song Sui and Wang Niangzi were arguing.

Zheng Dong protected his mother and only scratched Song Sui's arm.

It's nothing serious.

I'll go check on

her and be back soon.

Okay,

Second Sister, I'm going to work in the backyard.

Okay , when you're dyeing the thread later,

keep a good time

and don't take the madder root away. The thread in the dye pot

is dyed too red.

The leather thread should be a pinkish color

. Hmm,

Wang Meixiang, that shameless one!

Humph ,

Song Xiang, that shameless one too!

I brought you eggs,

but he wouldn't let you eat

them, saying they were all his.

Look at his abilities!

Bah!

Why are you here

? The weaving workshop isn't busy

; Ji Tian is watching over there.

I heard my sister went back to her parents' home,

so I rushed over.

You're so busy there

, why did you come here?

Thanks to Grandma for letting Lao San go over there to help me

, I finally had a chance to catch my breath.

My in-laws have been praising Lao San for being diligent these days.

Really, your in-laws are really... Of

course

, come

here quickly,

Grandma saved some good food for you.

I've been back for so long,

and Grandma hasn't even given me a smile.

She even blamed me

for being inconsiderate. Grandma is so biased

!

I heard that my older sister was beaten by her mother-in-law at her husband's house

and ran back to her parents' house,

so I rushed over to see.

What? She was beaten?

It was clearly that little bastard Zheng Dong who hurt Sui Sui

because he was inconsiderate.

Who's spreading rumors outside,

saying that Sui Sui was beaten by Wang Meixiang?

Don't you know how to talk nonsense?

Aren't you afraid that the child you give birth to will have no poop

? My older sister wasn't beaten?

Song Qian, did you come here specifically to make fun of my

older sister ? I came here out of kindness to check on you,

how could you think like that?

You're clearly

Song Sui

, how can you talk like that?

Xiaomi came here today specifically to check on you

, look at you! Grandma

, you're actually siding with Sister Song Qian!

Grandma isn't siding with me

, she's siding with reason

. Putting aside who Grandma is biased towards

, just think about

how much your family has worried about you these past few days.

You had a perfectly good marriage, why did you have

to get involved with Zheng Fang before the wedding,

causing all the gossip in the village?

After the wedding, you weren't having a good

time at your in-laws' house, running back

home
every few days. Your family has stood up for you so many times

! And

it's only been a few days,

and you're already... You argued with Aunt Wang

and ran back to your parents' house.

Now you're saying Grandma doesn't favor your

older sister. You're married and pregnant

; you should be grown up and sensible.

Don't make your family worry about you anymore.

Why?

Mom always said she was born to steal my things.

I clearly chose the better wife from Ju Meng.

Why is she married to the mean-spirited

Gu family and still living so well?

Why do you turn around and lecture me like that?

What right do you have to say that about me?

What did Xiao Qian say wrong?

Go ask around in the village and find out your reputation.

Everyone in Xia Yu Village knows you're lazy.

You haven't even been to the fields a few

times since you got married .

Your mother-in-law asks you to wash a few clothes or do some cooking,

and you argue with her all the time.

You run back to your parents' house every few days,

and all you do is complain about others. It's not

your sister-in-law, Zhou Xiuzhi ;

everyone in the village knows

she has a gentle temper,

but you still can't say a good word

about her. Everyone

says Zhou Xiuzhi has a gentle temper,

but nobody knows she's ruthless.

Song Sui's behavior

is all because of Zhang Laotai, Chen Guihua, and Song Yougen's spoiling

.

Wang Meixiang wasn't a good person to begin with

, and Sui Sui's in-laws' situation is complicated.

Sui Sui told me

that Wang Meixiang has been causing trouble lately,

all so that Sui Sui could use her dowry

skills to open a dye shop in the Zheng family.

You only found out today that

Wang Meixiang is a bad person,

and you only found out today that

Zheng Youfu's family is troublesome.

I told you

not to marry him, not to marry him, but

no one listened to me.

Now you're not doing well,

and you're complaining about this and that.

If you ask me, you're just asking for trouble

. Humph,

who says I'm asking for trouble?

I will definitely live a good life in the future,

better than anyone else.

Look at the good daughter you raised!

Who told you to keep saying bad things about Sui Sui?

Although Wang Meixiang and her husband aren't great

, Zheng Ren is still a good person.

Fine, fine,

I'm not going to interfere in your affairs anymore.

Do whatever you want!

Song Sui was so angry

that she went back to her in-laws' house

and fanned the flames.

The eldest daughter

leaves

without a care in the world, and every time she goes back to her parents' home, there's an argument.

I don't think it should be like this here.

Hmm, what's wrong?

Look at this:

it says that anyone who steals money or grain from the warehouse without authorization is punished

regardless of whether they

are the ringleader or an accomplice

. This means that as long as someone embezzles the warehouse's money or grain

, even their family members have to pay compensation.

The grain that Rios brought

was recovered by Li

Cheng after the incident.

It's not calculated like this.

What I mean is that this law is too broad and too lenient.

It should be more specific.

Let me give you an example

: you are the owner of a rice shop.

One day you buy a batch of grain at market price

, but a month later,

the government suddenly comes to your door

saying that the grain you bought a month ago is stolen

and the court wants to confiscate it

. They take away the grain from your shop.

What about your loss?

You clearly did normal business; you

didn't cheat, steal, or rob

, but in the end, the one who actually suffers the loss is you.

According to this law...

The situation I described was

bound to happen. Luckily, I read the law,

otherwise I wouldn't even know how I got ripped off in business.

So how should it be changed?

Wow,

this kid's got guts

! He wants to change the law without batting an eye. I like

things to be natural and detailed. For example,

yes, you're

right, it's

simple

, isn't it? But

why didn't any of the high-ranking officials mention it? There

are so many learned and respected ministers in the court,

why didn't they bring it up?

Maybe they don't do business

and can't understand the hardships of ordinary people.

After all, people who stand too high

can't see what's below.

Those who hold official positions in the court

are naturally able to afford to study,

and how many of those who can afford to study come from

poor families?

Ask someone who has never farmed

to write about the autumn harvest;

at most, he can only write about

the joy of the people working hard during the harvest

, he can't write verses like "every grain is hard-earned."

My little wife always manages to...

The unexpected place shocked me

and I was so happy that I didn't know what

to do. How can this situation be changed

? Of course, it comes from the people and goes back to the people.

Thank you for your guidance, my lady

. It's not really guidance

. When you enter the court as an official

and change this law,

the lives of the people will be better.

I will not let you down.

I haven't asked you before.

After you took your wages back last time

, did Mother take all of them?

Mother said she wanted to save the money for my marriage.

So she took all of them.

Fortunately, you gave me an extra 60 coins, my second sister.

I've been secretly saving those 60 coins

without letting Mother know.

I knew this would happen,

so I gave you some in private.

My parents said

they would send their younger brother after the autumn harvest. Going to school in town will add at least

six or seven thousand coins to the family's expenses each year.

Would I lie to you

about that much money

? But Mom and Dad said the other day that

the entrance fee for my younger brother's private school

is

only three strings of cash and 500 coins.

The entrance fee is the least of the expenses;

pen, ink, paper, and inkstone all cost money,

and we have to give the teacher at least twice a year.

Your second brother-in-law previously studied at a private school in the county town,

which cost at least thirteen or fourteen strings of cash a year.

Although my younger brother won't need that much

to go to school in town

, it will still cost at least six or seven thousand coins a year.

Even if I dyed thread for a year, I

couldn't afford to support my younger brother's schooling for a year.

Now you know why I asked you to secretly save some money, right

? I understand.

You should be more careful.

Think about yourselves.

The family's dyeing business isn't doing well right now,

and we rely entirely on farming for a little money.

But farming depends on the weather.

My younger brother is going to private school,

so the family's finances will probably be tight for

the next few years . You should save some money

so you can buy something to eat if you get hungry.

There's nowhere to spend money in the village.

Are you silly?

I have to deliver goods to the county town every now and

then. You can come with me then, right?

Second sister, if you really take me to the county town,

then we'll see how well you work.

I promise I'll work hard.

Sister, I'm not giving you too much money.

The weaving workshop has been busy lately,

and that's overtime

pay for you. You've already given me a lot more

than I should have. I don't want this extra

money . Keep it .

Hey, second sister,

keep this money for me.

You can save this for me first.

If I run out of money later, I'll ask you for it.

Aren't you afraid I'll give it to your sister?

Hey, it's okay if you spend it all.

Anyway, this money is from you.

You're getting older now,

and it's really inconvenient

to always share a room with Mom, Dad, and your younger brother.

Even the money I give you

has nowhere to go.

Do you remember the room I slept in before I got married?

Yes, that's it. Mom recently

took down the bed board in that room.

I'm telling you, you should move to that room and live alone.

It'll be quiet, you won't have to sleep with others

, and you can hide money there.

I'll tell Mom when I get back.

Chen Guihua is greedy.

The third son earns money, and the fourth son spends

it.

As soon as Song Jitian starts saving up his own money,

he and Chen Guihua aren't on the same page.

That's enough.

Why

do you have to move to the west room to sleep?

That room is quiet .

I threw the bed board in the backyard a long time ago. Okay, after

you finish eating, I'll go and tidy up that room for you.

Why are you making such a fuss

? You're just like Song Guo,

always saying that sleeping alone is quiet

and you can't sleep in the main room.

Hey,

Mom, look how nice

it is! How was this made?

This is my new dye.

Mom, do you think this color is nice?

It's beautiful, very beautiful!

Mom, do you think it would look great

if I dyed this crimson color

and made it into clothes?

Second Sister, Xiuping, Auntie,

why are you dyeing a skirt?

Shouldn't you dye the fabric first

and then make it into a skirt?

I'm doing an experiment,

Second Sister, you can't dye it like that.

The bottom and

top of the fabric are different colors, and

the final color of the dress

is uneven.

That's what I want—unevenness. It's okay , let your Second Sister try it.

Aunt Xiuping has such a good temper.

If this were at home,

Second Sister would be beaten to death by Mom and Dad

. Mom, do you think this dress looks

good? You'd look even better if you dressed up.

I'll help you with your hair and makeup.

Oh,

I really didn't expect my mother-in-law to be so good at styling hair.

Look how beautiful you look now!

So beautiful!

If I added some hairpins or beads to your hair,

no need, just a flower would be fine.

There are roses in the yard, I'm going to pick

some. Dad, Cheng Li,

you're back!

Haha, this outfit looks good,

even the industry says it looks good.

This fabric might really sell well.

Do you think my skirt looks good? It looks

good

, it's newly dyed,

very nice.

When does the county school start?

Do you have a place to stay

? One of the

flowers is for Mom, can you give it to Mom?

I'm going to help Dad unload the car.

I'll go

eat. What are you spacing out for?

No, nothing

. Are you too tired

? Hmm,

let me help you.

You

can do it, I can. Take

your time , you do it.

They're clearly taking their hair off in front of the mirror, a couple's subtle affection,

but why does the atmosphere feel off?

My brother is helping someone lay out...

My brother fell off the roof

and broke his leg.

I need to borrow some money from our

family to see a doctor

. I'm really desperate,

that's why

I'm asking my family for help. Once my brother recovers, I'll have my family pay him back immediately.

How badly did

your brother fall?

He fainted on the spot,

and now his leg is swollen and thick.

My father passed away early,

and my mother's health isn't good.

I only have one younger brother

, and my nephews and children are still young.

I really have no other choice. My

family doesn't have enough money

. Even if we give all the autumn harvest to the clinic, it's still not enough.

My family can't be without a breadwinner,

that's why I'm asking for money.

Can someone who's fainted

from a fall be saved?

If someone dies

after lending this money,

wouldn't it be a complete waste?

Xiuzhi,

it's not that I'm unwilling to lend it to you.

You know our family's situation.

Third brother just got married this year,

and we built a new house.

We really don't have any extra money.

I can borrow

grain. Borrowing grain to exchange for money is fine too. We

just harvested our grain.

I can borrow some.

That grain is our food supply for next year. We

haven't paid the grain tax yet.

If we lend it out,

what will we eat?

How will we pay the tax?

My family won't lend us all of it.

Just five or six hundred catties will do.

Hmph, look at your tone.

Five or six hundred catties is too little?

Xiuzhi, you're Old Zheng's wife.

Don't... All you ever think about is your

third son's wife's dyeing skills. We

desperately need to sell our grain to open a dye shop;

how can we lend you money?

A while ago, you, Zhou Xiuzhi, used

me to build your reputation in the village.

Now I want to see how you'll beg my

mother.

I've been married into this family for so many years,

doing everything from laundry and cooking

to weaving, farming

, and feeding chickens and ducks.

Even if I haven't done anything outstanding, I've certainly put in the effort.

My

younger brother is in trouble now;

please lend a hand to my family. What wife

doesn't do these chores after

entering her husband's family ?

What family treats their wife like a princess?

To be honest, a clinic is just a place to throw money away.

A woman's waist...

Men's legs are incurable.

Hurry up and have your family get him out of the clinic.

Don't throw any more money in there!

Mother, what are you saying?

I just broke my leg!

The clinic said they could cure it!

Your brother keeps saying he's unconscious

and then he breaks his leg !

Are you even telling me anything?

Song Sui won't help me.

My mother-in-law is so mean.

I only have one daughter.

Even if she wants an egg, she gets scolded for being greedy.

Song Sui is pregnant.

How can we, mother and daughter, have a place to stand in this house?

Crazy, please beg your mother for me!

Over the years, my sister-in-law has made so many clothes and shoes for you.

Now that her family is in trouble

, she just wants to borrow some money from Lin. "We'll pay you back

next year after some time.

Why are you driving me crazy?

You make it sound like

your family is in such dire straits. Even if your family doesn't have money right now

, they can sell land.

You're so stingy.

Your family has mountains of gold and silver, but you wouldn't touch

a penny of it. You're

forcing your husband's family to give you money

. Your family has already sold 5 acres of land.

If they sell the rest, and your brother's leg is

n't cured, your whole family will really be doomed.

Hmph,

Xiuzhi, don't take offense at my harsh words.

Your brother is so badly injured,

it looks like he's about to die. You should

tell your family to prepare for his funeral as soon as possible.

Don't let your brother die

without even a decent set of clothes

."

Mother , don't ignore me.

Mother, are you alright? Mother,

who is it?

It's bad luck

to cry on the road so late at night. If you want to cry, go somewhere else. Come on,

Mother will take you to borrow money.

Wow, such a fat pheasant must be delicious

. Aren't pheasants hard to catch?

Father, how did you catch it

? Hahaha,

this chicken is so clumsy.

It crashed headfirst into the wooden door

and knocked itself unconscious.

This chicken is actually alive! Dead

chickens taste fishy,

live chickens taste fresh.

Father, you actually managed to catch one alive,

that's amazing!

Just average,

just lucky, hahaha.

Zhu Zi, wife,

is there something you need so late?

Uncle

, I'm here to see Aunt Xiuping and Xiaoping.

Come in quickly, come in quickly,

your aunt is inside.

"What happened to the child?

Did he fall on the way?

Auntie,

I heard that the weaving workshop is short of someone.

I can weave four bolts of

plain cloth. I'd like to

come work here. You can come anytime.

I'll save the loom for you.

The matchmaker can't come.

We need someone who can use four heddles and four sewers.

I don't care if Wang Meixiang is satisfied or not.

I'm family-oriented and not afraid

. Auntie, can I get an advance on my wages?

My younger brother broke his leg

and urgently needs money to treat it.

You don't need to say anything.

Wait a moment.

This is five taels.

Take it and use it urgently.

If it's not enough,

just tell me.

Auntie,

why

are you kneeling here?

You're not borrowing money from me

, you're asking for an advance on your wages.

Where is your brother now?

If it's urgent,

your Uncle Deshan and I will take you there in a mule cart.

That's so kind of you. Auntie,

Zhuzi will be back in a bit.

I'll have him drive the oxcart.

My mother-in-law is definitely afraid I'll secretly sell the ox

and will never let me take the ox out.

Can I get an advance

on my wages?" I need to borrow Auntie and Second Uncle's ox for a bit.

I'll return it first thing tomorrow morning.

My fields are all ready,

so I don't need the ox tomorrow.

Have Zhuzi come and fetch it later. It's

Zhou's wife who must have been cheated out of money by

Wang Meixiang, which is why she's like this. What

about Song Sui? Is she

just standing by, kicking

someone when they're down

, or stirring things up?

Zhou's wife, you two are out tonight

, so you don't have time to take care of the child.

Song Sui is pregnant, so it's inconvenient for her.

Wang's wife has to take care of your brother-in-law tonight.

Why don't you let Xiaohua stay with me?

You can come pick her up tomorrow.

Thank you for your

trouble.

Xiaohua,

your mother and father are going to see your uncle tonight and

will come to pick you up tomorrow.

How about you sleep

with your aunt tonight ? She just fell asleep, and I'm afraid I'll wake her up

and let her grab my sleeve. Helping in

an emergency is not enough to solve a long-term problem.

Xiuzhi has really encountered an emergency this time.

Zhou's wife is quite capable. How so

? Zhou's wife didn't

say anything at first... Instead of asking for money,

she said she wanted to come and work,

and then asked if she could get an advance on

her wages . Isn't that clever?

The Zheng family just harvested their grain;

they couldn't be short of money.

They also have many relatives

. She could have gone door to door crying and begging

, but after being turned down by her in-laws, she

didn't beg anyone else.

Instead, she wanted to earn money through her weaving skills.

She's really

smart. People who earn money through their own abilities are all very capable.

Song Su has such a

smart and capable money-lender.

I really don't know if it's a blessing or a curse.

Sometimes I really feel that you

're not like a teenager.

But being precocious has its advantages . Xiao

Tian, you're doing very well now. Even

though you don't have children yet

, you've already deeply understood the disadvantages of having children

. Listen to your mother and

wait until Xiao Yu is a bit plumper before having children.

Why are you sighing?

Are you going to sleep?

I'm going to blow out the lamp

. Ah,

what are you doing

? Just kidding!

No, no,

why

are there outsiders here

? Oh, he's so small. What do you know?

Besides, he's already asleep,

he won't see.

No, no,

then kiss me.

What? Kiss me,

otherwise

I won't be able to sleep.

The Book of Rites says, " Are

you going to kiss me or not?

I'm going to sleep, you should go to sleep early too.

" Hmm,

sister-in-law isn't borrowing money anymore

, maybe she went to borrow money from someone else.

Humph,

I was hoping sister-in-law would beg me.

If sister-in-law behaves well,

I might say a few good words for her to mother-in-law.

Didn't you say before that sister-in-law was good to you?

Why didn't you speak up for her just now?

Uh ,

isn't it because you and mother didn't agree?

I listen to you both

. Why does this sound so awkward?

Uh, I choked on a steamed bun . How

can you choke on this

? You must have never eaten white flour steamed buns before.

Coarse grains are loose,

fine flour is sticky and easy to clump together.

Eating it too fast can really choke you to death.

Uh

,

thank goodness

, thank goodness. I can't eat it so fast anymore.

Auntie brought some last night.

There are many colorful hair ties in the room

. Auntie, come in,

Auntie will braid your hair, okay?

Okay

,

I've finished eating, Xiuzhi

. She didn't ask for money

, but said she wanted to come and do some weaving and cloth work.

I gave her five taels

and told her to drive my

oxcart with Zhu and Zhu to her parents' home to deliver the money.

That Wang Meixiang

family, they always argue and bicker

, but there should be limits!

This is a matter of life and death.

Besides, these past years, Zheng Zhu and his wife

have been like farmhands at their house, doing

so much work that it's worth countless five taels.

I heard that Xiuzhi only has one younger brother,

and her mother is sick.

Her nephews and nieces are all still young.

Now that her brother is in trouble

, it's no wonder Xiuzhi is so anxious.

Yes,

who doesn't hope that their family will always be safe and sound?

Deshan is still so caring .

My family's is not like

that , hahaha. Sister-

in-law , how old

are you? Why are you still saying that this

couple is living a miserable life?

What can't you say? Hahaha.

Go to the backyard and get me two red tassels.

That thing is in the small...

The box on the storeroom

table needs that gradient red one.

Gu

Chengli is like his father

, a doting husband, haha.

Oh, right,

sister-in-law, I

promised you before that

I wouldn't

let him learn carpentry from Deshan.

How could he refuse

such a good opportunity

? Xiuping, to be honest,

I don't know how to thank you and Deshan enough.

I've raised several children,

but only my eldest and Xinyang have grown up.

The middle children didn't survive . My eldest

will inevitably take over

your brother's position in the village,

but what about Xinling?

He's 11 years younger than my eldest.

Everything seems fine now,

but once your brother and I are gone,

the situation will be very different

when the brothers separate.

To be honest, I've been worried about this for the past few years,

sometimes so much so that I can't sleep at night.

Sister-in-law, you're still young

, thinking about

these things is too early. I'm already 50 this year,

I'm not young anymore

. Back when I married into this family...

You're not even 10 years old yet,

and in the blink of an eye

you're almost 40.

Time really flies!

Sister-in-law, please entrust Xinli to me. I

promise I won't let him suffer.

Sister-in-law , I'll help you supervise him.

If he doesn't teach him properly,

I'll go and complain to you and my brother

, hahaha.

Aunt and Uncle

, look

how well I styled it!

Oh , it's

so pretty!

Hahaha,

Aunt He styled it for me.

It looks so good!

But when we leave, we have to

return the hair ornaments to you, Aunt He.

We can't take

them. Sister-in-law, you're too kind.

We don't have many ornaments

, but we have plenty of thread.

Those tassels were originally samples I made. You

can take them for the child to play with.

I can't accept that.

We already troubled you all yesterday.

We're from the same village.

If you want to come and help again in the future,

don't be so polite.

How is your brother?

The doctor at the clinic

said it's a fracture

and he can't move for a while.

He accidentally hit his head

when he fell and cut it.

He's awake now,

but he's a little dizzy.

The doctor gave him acupuncture

and said that as long as he takes medicine at home for a while

and recovers... I

'll definitely get better after a while

. I'll be able to pay back the money I borrowed from my aunt's house

in a while.

Amitabha!

This is truly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

The Zheng and Feng families are making trouble again

. Sure enough, they

're dividing the family

. In my dreams, the Zheng family never made a fuss about dividing the

family. You bastard

, say it again!

Say it again and see if you dare!

I'm still alive, and

you're already yelling about dividing the family.

Do you believe I'll separate your household too?

Divide the household! Divide the household!

Brother, don't talk nonsense.

We're a good family,

how can we divide the family?

What do you mean, a good family?

Yesterday, your sister-in-law almost knelt down and begged you.

Did you say a word for your sister-in-law?

I work day and night in this family.

Even when I go out to work, I have to hand over my work when I come back.

I've worked so many years,

and I haven't even earned 5 taels of silver.

It's my mother and Sui Sui who are talking about

the house. I ask you,

how has your sister-in-law treated you all these years? What

do you mean by this?

Who makes a fuss about dividing the family just because their parents are alive?

Besides, we haven't divided the family.

In every family, the younger

generation gives their money to their elders after

they earn it . Why don't you do the same?

Having a stepmother means having a stepfather.

If Dad treated me and the second son the same way he treated the third and fourth sons,

Wang Meixiang wouldn't dare bully his wife and daughter like this.

Today, I'm determined to separate from this family.

Even if I leave and live in a separate household,

I'll still

separate

. Separate , separate!

I heard the Zheng family making a fuss about separating yesterday, and

today he's here to work.

These four horses are working hard, using both hands and feet, which is exhausting for his eyes and strength.

He's really putting in

the effort

. Xiuzhi, have you really separated from your parents-in-law?

Yes, you've separated.

Xiuzhi, this is no joke.

If you really separate,

Zhuzi will have to do corvée labor next year, and he'll have to do it

every year after that.

I've inquired,

and if he doesn't want to go, he'll

have to pay at least four strings of cash to redeem himself. I weave cloth

and farm,

so I can earn the corvée redemption money for next year.

I can weave two zhang a day and earn 60 wen.

In two months, I can earn enough for four strings of cash. Qian Baoming

's skill is too valuable;

I must work hard to weave.

Orders are increasing, and

expanding production depends on improving efficiency.

Just add a sliding rail, connecting rod, and pull rope

to make a flying shuttle

, and you won't have to toss the shuttle back and forth with both hands.

Zheng Zhuzi would rather live in a dilapidated house

and give the old man 80 jin of grain every year

, insisting on separate households.

Zheng Fang, that good

-for-nothing, stays home all day,

refusing to go out and sell grain.

Are you going or not, Shouliang? If you don't go

, we're breaking up

! Oh my god

, your wife is still pregnant!

Her funeral clothes haven't been taken out yet!

Go quickly, Shouliang, and coax her back!

There are no granaries here,

so the grain price must be cheap.

We can each collect 400 jin

, half a wen difference

per jin , and earn 200 wen per trip.

I see you two don't recognize us;

we're not trustworthy outsiders

selling grain by weighing. Every time,

people from our village have to help us weigh the

grain. We charge one coin for every 10 jin (5 kg) of grain

. We brought a wooden fish (

a traditional Chinese instrument),

but the wooden fish won't do;

we have to weigh it ourselves . Grandpa, we're here to buy

grain . Where is the weigher in your village?

Please tell me.

I need 10 jin of grain for one coin. Okay,

can you help me find someone to sell my grain?

Okay, but you'll have to wait.

These two are the first ones here.

This is my son.

We'll weigh it together in a bit

. Do you think this grain is okay?

I think it's pretty good

, and it's cleaned quite well. What

do you think?

I think

it's fine . Okay, then that's it.

How many jin do you need?

800 jin

minimum,

164 jin. You can also take a look.

I forgot to ask you earlier,

which village are you from?

We're from Xiapi Village,

which is... Xiapi Village in Pingxiang

is actually from Siping Township.

It's not far from our village.

We could have come

much earlier

, but we weren't familiar with the roads here

and got lost, so we had to come back,

which is why we're late.

There are too many forks in

the road here; it's easy to get lost.

Let's pack the grain into the bags you brought.

We won't handle the grain;

if we pack it ourselves,

we can check if there are any problems.

The old man from Dongliu Village didn't lie to us.

Dad, I want to modify the loom at home

. How do you want to modify it?

I want to add something to the loom.

Wow,

what are you and my sister-in-law saying?

I don't understand a word.

You can do that?

That's great!

If we can really make this flying shuttle,

the weaving speed will be much faster.

Dad, why don't we try

it ? Let's make the chute first.

Second Uncle, Second Uncle

, I... I... I...

Come here and help me.

Oh, we

're finally back.

Why didn't we sell the grain in the city?

We went to three or four grain shops in the city

, but they all thought the grain was too damp

and said they would only buy it after it had dried a bit.

Where do we have room to store so much grain at home?

What happened?

Why didn't we sell it

? Is it because you sold

it at too high a price?

The grain is too damp.

The grain merchants

don't want to buy it

because they think it's hard to store . Don't you even check the

grain when you buy it? Why did you buy such damp grain?

Damp grain weighs down.

Your cartload of grain is worth much more than usual.

You

ca n't even think about such a small matter as filial piety .

How much grain did you buy

? 860 jin. Qingshui and I will each take half.

In my dream, he made a fortune in business.

How come he can't even tell the damp grain is weighed down?

You're such a useless person.

What are you going to eat?

Starve to death!

What kind of wife are you?

Nail probably didn't even eat lunch

. I'm exhausted.

A few days ago,

we sent a letter to Old Master Cheng.

Yesterday, the Cheng family replied.

Judging from the letter,

Old Master Cheng wanted Cheng Li to study at the county school,

but it was just because he admired talent. The joy

had no other meaning.

The post also mentioned that

with the county school now open ,

Mr. Cheng is busy with many matters.

It suggested that Cheng Li could focus on his studies after enrolling.

In that case,

it wouldn't be appropriate for your father and me to visit tomorrow

. However, to express our gratitude,

you two younger generation members should still visit in person.

We'll visit Mr. Cheng again

during the Spring Festival this year.

Xiaoping said

Mr. Cheng likes tea.

When you go tomorrow,

bring some tea for Mr. Cheng

, some fabric tassels

, and various colored cotton threads for the women of the Cheng family.

Remember to bring a law book.

Son understands.

When you arrive tomorrow,

Mr. Cheng will definitely test Cheng Li's knowledge separately.

You will meet the women of the Cheng family

then. There's no need to be nervous .

The women of the Cheng family aren't officials,

and they don't have official titles. Just sit down and chat

like ordinary relatives and

elders.

If they do anything impolite,

don't hold it in.

We're behaving uprightly;

there's no need to worry about their reactions.

Yes, I understand.

Old Master Cheng has six sons.

Excluding his youngest son, who's only 10 years old

, and his fifth son, who teaches,

the other four all hold positions in the government.

Old Master Cheng must be

in his fifties or sixties now.

His wife can still have children.

The youngest son wasn't born to Old Master Cheng's wife,

but to a concubine.

I almost forgot, in ancient

times, one could only take a concubine after forty if they had no offspring.

Hmph,

I'm not a man driven by lust; I haven't, and I haven't thought about it

in the future. Even if you become an official,

I'm definitely not

the kind of person who'll change my mind easily

. Besides, we're young and our

relationship is very strong.

You're so beautiful

and

devoted to me in everything you do.

You're filial to your parents

and care for your elders

. Even if I become successful one day,

I'll still take care of you.

You said it all,

and I believe it all

. Life is so long,

promises are the least reliable things,

but it does sound good.

I'm willing to believe you.

You really are as good as you say.

You really think I'm good-looking

? Oh, you

're getting angry?

Why aren't you saying anything?

You, let go first.

What are you thinking?

Nothing, stop fooling around. Sit down.

We need to hurry

, it'll be bad if we're late.

Look how polite you are.

Come on, come on

in. Why are you being so formal? Most of the items

are everyday household things.

I heard your colleague is particularly good at embroidery,

especially tiger-head shoes and hats, which are exceptional.

So I brought some colorful cotton thread.

It's all just hearsay

!

The tiger-head hat is so beautiful! The thread

colors are perfectly matched,

the pattern is three-dimensional

, the stitches are dense,

there's not a single skipped stitch or loose thread.

Even the sewn edges are so neat and clean.

Judging from the workmanship of this tiger-head hat,

it would take decades of embroidery skills

to make something so good.

I never expected you to know how to embroider at such a young age. It's

hilarious!

Last time, my orchid embroidery was mistaken for a duck by Gu Chengzi, and

I swore I'd never touch embroidery again.

How

could I possibly show off my little skills and embarrass myself like that?

I have... My aunt

is a master embroiderer.

But I must say, embroidery styles vary from place to place.

Here, we mostly

make tiger-head hats and shoes for children.

My grandmother told me that

in my hometown, they like to

make lion-head hats and shoes for children.

Unfortunately, I was born

too late to live there.

And lion-head ones too ? Could it be that

your family also moved here from elsewhere? My sister-in-law, what a coincidence

! I

've troubled

you for so long, teacher,

I must take my leave now.

It's almost noon,

please stay for a simple meal before you go.

It's not right to refuse an elder's invitation

, but my husband and I still have to visit our elders, so

we won't stay any longer.

Well then, I won't stay any longer.

The county school starts in a few days,

you must study diligently

so as not to waste Master Tang's cultivation

. After your birthday, you must study diligently.

The Cheng family daughter has also earned a lot more.

I've only been talking

and haven't even had time to drink water.

I'm sorry to have troubled you;

this is nothing

, just chatting.

How about it? Have you found out about the county school?

Old Cheng explained it to me in detail

, saying that there are dormitories inside the county school.

If you want to stay,

you can live in the dormitories

— two people per

dormitory room.

The treatment is so good!

This time, because only one teacher came

, the county school didn't accept many students. Xiaoping,

if it weren't for the letter of recommendation you brought back,

I definitely wouldn't have been able to study at the county school this time. Thank you.

Since you have the opportunity to enter the county school and receive instruction from a scholar

, study hard and take

the county-level exam next year.

I will!

I will definitely make you a county-level scholar! People

left, left, left. Mom said we should buy a few pounds of meat

to stew for dinner.

Zheng Fan was cheated in grain trading.

When did this happen

? It happened the day before yesterday.

I heard from Mom

that my brother-in-law was tricked into buying damp grain.

He bought 860 pounds,

but when he got home and weighed it,

he found it was only a little over 800 pounds.

He worked

so hard, the ox was exhausted and needed to rest for two days

, and he didn't earn

a penny. He was really ripped off.

Now all that grain

is just piling up at home. If

grain is so damp

, why not buy it?

That's why the imperial court

has to wait several months before

drying the grain before collecting grain tax.

A pile of damp grain in the warehouse

will all mold and stink.

It's all Song Sui's fault for telling Fang Zi

that grain trading can make money.

He only talked the talk

but didn't walk the walk.

Now we're stuck with

this grain, what are we going to do?

Being pregnant is like having a gold nugget in your belly,

one minute you want eggs

, the next you want fine grains.

Whose wife can eat so much?

Quickly, move all the grain from the truck inside,

don't let it get wet!

Sister Jia

, I've collected all the 'ranxian' (

a type of sweet vegetable), try it, it's so

sweet and delicious!

Eat slowly, I have

one more here, that's enough!

Wow, what a heavy rain!

This rain is good!

The seeds in the field were just planted,

this rain is perfect for irrigating the fields.

Damn God, why did it have to rain

now of all times

? Oh dear,

the kang (heated brick bed) is all wet!

I'm so unlucky

to have married such a wife!

We're so anxious moving grain,

and she hasn't even come over once!

She's... Your Highness,

or rather, Princess?

Before the wedding, Chen Guihua praised Song Sui to the skies,

saying how capable Song Sui was

at housework, dyeing cloth, and crafting.

The result? A lazy bum! Forget

housework, she

can't even wash clothes properly.

Mom, I'm going to the backyard to change.

Aren't you angry?

You're her husband,

working yourself to the bone here while

she's enjoying herself inside. She

doesn't even glance at me when I come to

visit . I can't do anything about it!

You have to teach her a lesson,

otherwise she'll ride roughshod over you forever.

What are you afraid of?

She's pregnant now

, can she really run away? How about

we have hot pot tonight? Hot

pot on a rainy day has a special flavor .

I'll go get

the pot .

Mom and Dad,

you should try it.

It tastes

great! It's

better than stewed meat!

Have a glass of wine with this! It goes perfectly with wine.

Come on

, everyone

, drink

up! Eating hot pot on

a rainy day , that's life

!

Ah, what? Your parents and younger brother want to sleep here tonight?

How can that be?

Where am I supposed to

sleep? My parents' room is leaking,

the kang (heated brick bed) is soaked,

so they can't sleep here. They're just thinking of making do for the night.

What about your older brother and sister-in-law's old room?

Why don't your parents sleep there? They

've stored grain in that room, there's no room.

Where am I supposed to sleep? How can

a father-in-law and daughter-in-law sleep on the same kang

? People will laugh at us to death if word gets out!

I already told you,

my parents' kang is wet,

they can't sleep at night, so we're

just squeezing in for one night.

What's wrong with that?

People will say

your parents are... On the way

from our old village to

our downstream village , men and women

slept in the fields with their bedding rolled up, and no one said anything.

What's wrong with us squeezing in for one night?

Why did it turn out like this?

I chose the better option, but

he still got angry at me.

I told him to go make money,

and he got scammed.

Why blame me ?

Is it because the timing of the business was wrong

?

Sister, did you have another fight at your in-laws' house?

What do you, a child, know

?

Every time this granddaughter comes back,

it's never good news.

It makes me feel uneasy.

Hey, Sui Sui

, you came in the rain.

Is there something wrong?

What do you mean I have something to say?

If there's nothing wrong, can't I go back to my parents' house?

Haha, haven't you eaten yet?

Come and eat here.

Mom, I'm sleeping at home tonight. One night,

my in-laws' house leaked and

the kang (heated

brick bed) got wet, so we couldn't sleep

there. We had to stay in the new house for the night.

I couldn't possibly share a room with my in-laws,

so

I thought I'd come back to sleep for one night.

What kind of behavior is it

to always run back to my parents' house after getting married ? Mom, tonight, give me a clean blanket.

I don't want one that someone else has used. We don't have

any clean ones.

If you don't want one, go back to your in-laws' house and take it.

Hmph,

okay

? This new kang is so much more comfortable than the old one in the front yard.

Stop talking and

go to sleep.

If only we could always live in this house!

The shuttle is stuck in the groove.

Hold the mast with your left hand and pull

the rope with your right. Pull the rope,

and

the shuttle will move from one side to the other. Try it!

It's so fast

, much faster than usual when weaving

! It's much faster.

A four-harness, four-treadle loom is slow,

but if you use a regular loom with this type of shuttle, equipped with

a Shenfeng shuttle,

weaving can be half as fast.

However, it has a drawback:

this type of loom cannot

use two different colored shuttles simultaneously.

This is indeed

a flying shuttle; the shuttle thread it can use is very limited,

so it can't produce fabrics with complex patterns

, but it's already quite powerful.

We don't need to make fabrics with overly flashy colors;

this is sufficient for now.

Don't underestimate us just because we currently have nine looms.

If we installed flying

shuttles on all of them, we wouldn't be slower than a weaving workshop with 15 looms.

When will we install flying shuttles on all the looms

? Let's do it in three days.

First, let's finish the batch of goods that Boss Li ordered.

Now, you...

What about next year's corvée labor for

the branch household pillar ? The weaving workshop owner's family are all kind-hearted people;

they'll lend

you five taels of silver without hesitation. You must diligently help them weave cloth,

you know? Mother,

have you tried the indigo dyeing method I told you about before?

Yes, you

have, but the cloth is always unevenly dyed

and the color easily fades.

But it's enough for our own use.

It's alright, it's enough for our own use.

We can even dye some thread

to reduce household expenses,

hahaha.

Madam Song, it's been a long time! I

am Du Luxing .

I met Madam Song at the teahouse before. In

a few days, my youngest son is going to start elementary school,

so I'm coming to buy him some pens. Your son

is exceptionally intelligent, with bright and

intelligent eyes. He's

starting his education at such

a young age; he's sure to achieve great things in the future

. Song My lady, please don't praise him

too much. He's quite mischievous.

I don't expect him to pass the imperial examinations or become an official;

I'll be satisfied

as long as he can read account books

and use an abacus.

I see that Madam Song sells cloth.

I wonder if your family has a

weaving workshop ? I didn't mean to inquire about your

affairs ; I just happened to see

you delivering cloth to the Li family's cloth

shop. My shop is right across from the Li family's

cloth shop.

Isn't that the Xingyuan Escort Agency

across from the Li family's cloth shop ? I have a sworn brother who deals in cloth.

If Madam Song has any cloth left,

I can tell my brother

so he can also get some from her. With

a shuttle,

production capacity doubles.

I'm just worried about not having a market.

I wonder if Boss Du's friend is a local?

He's a traveling merchant.

We've known

each other for years, and his character is impeccable.

If you're interested, Madam Song,

could we perhaps have a private conversation

? To

be honest,

my family recently bought

some fabric from the Li family's cloth shop. I found it quite excellent. I've

been paying closer attention lately,

and that's when I discovered that the Li family

's cloth shop actually bought yours, Madam Song.

My friend, surnamed Luo

, is a fabric merchant from

a neighboring county.

He always passes through Anyuan County on his trade routes,

heading towards Baoping Prefecture.

Last month, when he passed through my area on his way back to his hometown, he

specifically told me that

if I came across a suitable cloth supplier,

I should tell him.

Anyuan County belongs to the capital region , and the provincial

examinations require going to the capital.

Baoping Prefecture is the second largest city in the Hebei Province.

Once this market opens up,

the future is limitless

. However, the city needs to focus on the imperial examinations;

business opportunities don't look good,

and we can't reveal that it's our own factory. Thank you

so much, Boss Du, for your trouble.

My parents and Boss Li have been friends for many years

, and now that our clan has opened a weaving workshop,

we've been supplying Boss Li's business.

How about this:

I'll bring you a few sample bolts

of cloth tomorrow. When Boss Luo comes,

you can let him see the samples.

If he's not satisfied,

I'll definitely supply more.

Hahaha

, good! Madam

Song, you're indeed a straightforward person

. Let me toast you with tea instead of wine.

Parents , I think it's better to transfer the business of our weaving

to a reliable person in the clan.

Tomorrow I'll go to your uncle's house

and talk to him about this.

Let him help choose someone.

We can tell him that

if a suitable person is chosen... We shouldn't take advantage of others

for no reason.

Giving them five percent interest every year...

Hmm, that's a good idea.

I'll go write the contract out in a bit.

You've had a long day.

Heat some water in the kitchen

, eat, take a shower, and

get a good night's sleep.

Don't rush the transfer of the house contract.

Tomorrow, your dad will go to your uncle's house to inquire

and see if there's a suitable person to take over.

Once someone is chosen,

you can get busy

with other things. Oh, right, I bought you something.

You bought it especially for me.

I noticed that the calligraphy brushes on your desk were all split,

so I bought you two. Also,

the shop assistant at the ink shop said it's pine soot ink

and that scholars like to use it now, so

I bought you two pieces.

Come and try it out, see if it's good?

Good ink!

This is the best ink I've ever used in my life,

hahaha!

You're

so young

, and you're

already

talking about

this lifetime?

There

are so many

good

inks

in

the world

, this is the best ink I've ever used. (

A poem

follows

,

seemingly

unrelated

to

the

previous

text

.

) What about the imperial examinations

? Hahaha! Our family has three children

. The eldest studied for ten

years, the second for ten years

, and now only the youngest has made a name for himself in the city.

Our Gu family has been farming for generations;

no great figures have ever come from our ancestors.

As the saying goes, like

begets like

. A rat's son knows how to dig a hole.

To put it bluntly,

if it weren't for Xiuping as his mother, he wouldn't

even have passed the preliminary examinations in the city. For

families without connections, the imperial examinations are too difficult.

As long as we can support one

child, the Gu family will turn our lives around.

That's right,

Dad. Your words are too blunt.

Just tell me if you're willing or

not. If you're not willing,

I'll immediately take your second uncle

and aunt to your distant cousin's house.

Are you willing? Of course I'm willing! You agree too , right?

Father-in-law, you've made your point clear

. Brother, taking over Li Zheng's position

and dividing the family

property, we, the eldest son, won't get

such a good opportunity to make money. It would be foolish not to seize it.

I agree. My younger brother-in-law will have work to do

and won't compete with the head of the household for Li Zheng's position.

Song Qian brought her skills into

the family; she's

truly a lucky star .

Eldest brother, you previously had the second son learn carpentry from your second

uncle, and now you want him to take over weaving.

Do you have any objections?

No objections. I'm already 30 years old.

I usually help Dad with chores; I

don't have time to learn carpentry.

Besides, the second son was already with your second uncle,

so taking over weaving is just right.

Okay

, then so be it.

Sigh, my mother

, the son we raised with so much hardship is

going to be used as a dog by someone else.

When are your parents moving out?

Your parents don't want to move, do they?

My mother... She said she'd never lived in a new house in her life,

so she wanted to

kick

me out of the old house

and let her live in the new one, right?

My mother said

, "Shut up!

Your mother said

everything your mother says is your mother's

opinion . Can't you act like a real man

and stop saying everything your mother says?

Your Zheng family is really something! They

tell everyone they're building a new house for a wedding,

but once the new bride enters

the house, they don't let her live there anymore.

They want reputation, they want benefits, they

really want everything!

Be careful not to

overeat! Don't talk nonsense

!

My older sister had a miscarriage,

and they even called Zheng the herbalist to see

your older sister. Your older sister's mother-in-law wanted to kick her out of the new

house and make her sleep in the leaky old house.

Your older sister refused,

and the two of them started fighting.

And then there's Fangzi..." A while ago, I went to Pipa Village to steal grain to sell,

but I didn't make any money.

Your older sister's mother-in-law said it was your older sister's idea

and now she's demanding compensation.

I just saw your parents rush over there,

you should go and see too.

It's so lively,

we have to go and see

. Let's go together, finally we can

watch our in-laws make a fool of themselves

like outsiders

. Song Qian and Zhou Xiuzhi are definitely here to laugh at me

.

Since my older sister is alright,

I'll go. There's

so much work to do over there.

Go ahead.

Don't you have any conscience?

Your older sister is being bullied here,

and all you can think about is your in-laws' work.

This is your own older sister,

how can your heart be so hard?

Last time I tried to persuade Song Sui a few times,

and he gave me the cold shoulder

and said I was just there to laugh at him.

Today, as soon as I came in,

he buried himself under the covers

and didn't

say a word to me. Who's the heartless one here

? Wasn't it your older sister who was bullied?

What does her being bullied have to do with me? It

wasn't me who made him like this.

Get out! Get out! Get out!

I don't want to see you. Do

you think I wanted to come here

? If it weren't for so many eyes in the village watching me,

I promise I wouldn't have come in.

I feel disgusted just stepping on this ground right now.

What do you

mean, "you" and "me"?

You're always arguing

and causing trouble every other day, calling others over to see you.

If you don't want to be with Chef Zheng anymore,

just get a divorce.

What do you mean,

I went through all this trouble to marry Chef Zheng

and have suffered so much these past few months?

He hasn't even made his fortune yet, how

could I possibly divorce him?

The wife in my dream was so protective of Song Qian

, why is Song Qian doing so well now? It's so

unfair!

You neither want a divorce

nor are you making a scene all

the time . Since everything's alright here,

I'll leave now.

I'm busy over there. I

know you're busy, so hurry back.

You don't need to come over

unless it's absolutely necessary. You've really grown wings and can fly

now, saying such heartless things! If

you're so capable, then never

suffer any grievances at your in-laws' house

again. And if you do suffer, don't come back crying.

Well, just wait and see.

Maybe you'll never see me cry.

Even if I do cry, I will never come back to the Song family.

This place has never been my way out.

I'm

too old to interfere in the affairs of the younger

generation . How can Father and Grandmother be so biased?

I just don't want to see Song Qian.

Sui Sui, a few days ago Zheng Shan went to do business

and really didn't make any money.

Mother, what do you mean?

Lately, I

don't think Zheng Fang is capable of making money.

Mother, Meng Lifu

will only get rich when it gets cold

this year . After that, we'll move to the city.

It's just that the time isn't right yet.

Song Sui is fine, she's at home

. I'll go first.

Chen Jin'er has become more beautiful.

She married into the Gu family and is eating fine

food. She'll be even more radiant.

Is there anything else missing?

Everything is packed.

Bring two extra pairs of shoes and socks.

Bring

two basins

, one for washing your face

and

one for washing

your feet. Also, bring two towels for

wiping your face. Am

I being too long-winded?

My mom always tells my

dad this when he goes out.

My dad's love isn't instinct

, it's a skill.

He grew up in a loving family,

so naturally he understands how to love

and care for his family. He taught me what home and

marriage are

. What should I do?

I don't want you to go to

the county school. You only get a break every seven days.

I'll be back in a few days;

I won't keep you waiting too long.

Really, don't look at

what's improper

, haha. I need to go to the backyard to check on the dyeing thread.

You can take your time tidying it up here.

(Xiaoyan, Qianqian, Qingzhuoyu)

I've written this on it. Although the annotations

are all common ones

, they are still good for early childhood education.

Boss Du, please don't

mind. I'm so grateful

to thank Madam Song.

Hmm, after the New Year

, I might have to hire a security escort

to take the imperial examination in the prefectural city.

It's worth it to make connections beforehand.

The county school is

quite big, I estimate it's about the size of a three-courtyard house.

It used to be a Buddhist temple behind the county government office. When I was about ten years old, I

even went to visit the temple

with some people. It turns out that there was a Buddhist temple

behind the county government

office.

In the past,

on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and the nineteenth day of the ninth lunar month,

the Buddhist temple would hold sacrificial rites

and distribute offerings to people. Gradually,

every time those two days came around, people in the city would go to the temple to eat. The temple fair started today

. Although the temple is gone now

, the tradition of holding the fair continues.

How did the perfectly good Buddhist temple

become obsolete?

Was it the government that destroyed it?

Well,

we don't know the specifics

, haha.

It's definitely a county school;

the rooms are much more spacious than the previous private school.

I remember there was a wooden screen in the storeroom at home.

As the weather got colder,

we moved the screen here.

It can block the wind from the doorway

and protect privacy.

Oh, this is good

. I'll bring it over this afternoon

. Next time, I 'll bring it with me

when I come to teach. Okay,

you guys

hurry up and pack your things inside.

How come this room is so small?

There's no room for everything!

I'll show it to Xiao Chen

when it's finished.

Oh,

this must be Gu Tongsheng, the top scholar in the prefectural examination this year.

You must be Gu Tongsheng's father.

I am Jiang Youyi, and this is my son, Jiang Linzhi

. Linzhi, come and greet Uncle Gu and Gu Tongsheng.

I am Jiang Linzhi.

It is my

honor to share a cell with Gu Tongsheng.

We will be spending a lot of time together in the future

, so please guide me . I am grateful for

your courteous treatment.

As we spend more time together in the future

, let us encourage and support each other.

Fortunately, I didn't believe those

rumors outside that he relied on luck

. This farmer's son has an extraordinary

demeanor. Prefect An is indeed worthy of his reputation.

This is my wife, Song Qin.

Sister-in-law, are you well? Brother, are you well

? Shibo, are you

well?

Hahaha, all is well,

Master. Everything's packed, alright.

Since it's all packed

, we should be going.

I've packed my

things, Xiaoqian too, we should be going now

. Haha, in that case,

let's go together! Haha,

Brother Gu, don't worry too much about your family.

After seven days of rest,

Brother Gu will be reunited with your family.

Even

if we can meet again later, parting

now is still hard.

Father, a gentleman

cultivates himself with tranquility and

nurtures virtue with frugality.

What kind of behavior

is this, so impatient

?

Father, Gu Cheng, he... he went to the county school!

Father, you've nurtured him so carefully all these years,

and now that he's just passed the exam for Prefectural Governor,

he can't wait to go to the county school!

It's practically betraying your kindness! I'll...

It was I who sent him

!

Sixth

Father, how could you let Gu Chenghang study at the county school?

He's currently the top scholar in Guangping Prefecture, his

name is already on the list of those in charge of education.

He'll definitely pass the imperial examination next year and become a Xiucai (a successful candidate

in the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Sending him to the county school now

is like handing over a piece of meat to someone else.

Magistrate Hao, as a new official,

is making his first move by targeting private schools like ours.

Once the county school

opens , all the students will go there

, who will come to our private schools?

Besides, it's his first year in office...

The county only produced one scholar,

and the county magistrate used this achievement to curry favor with the higher-ups.

We've all become stepping stones.

You're so high and mighty

, haha! The title of "First Scholar" is so prestigious

, yet you just give it to the county school

without a second thought for the family's livelihood.

As the county school

grows bigger

, Cheng Laowu's private school, relying on his

father's education, also expands.

Our whole family will starve. Gu Chengli went to

the county school

with a letter stamped with the county government's seal.

Did Gu Chengli latch onto the county magistrate

, or did he latch onto Cheng Laowu? No

wonder

Gu Chengli, a farmer's son

whose ancestors have been farmers for generations

, if it weren't for his father seeing his

exceptional talent for studying at such a young age

and taking him into the private school,

where would he be now? So this

is because you've climbed the social ladder

and look down on our humble private school!

You treacherous person who betrayed your teacher, shut up!

Old Cheng came to see me a few days ago and

said that letting Gu Chengli enter the county school was the magistrate's idea.

But , as the saying goes, one

has to bow one's head

when under someone else's roof.

You yourself said that

Magistrate Hao is a new official making a big

show of things, and establishing a county school

is exactly what the court is currently promoting.

Fine, let Gu Chengli leave.

But why should

the world change overnight?

Fine, but why should even the imperial examination be changed?

What did all that I learned in my first half of life amount to?

Fine,

Father, you were a scholar in the previous dynasty!

Cheng Jiyun was just a

failed scholar who repeatedly failed the exams.

He was inferior to you in every way before

! Hahaha, now... After being reborn as a member of the

Cheng family, all the brothers were working in the county government

, but none of them remembered the Li family.

It

's all fate,

hahaha. I don't believe in fate.

How do you know if something

will work if you don't try?

Accepting fate is passive.

If I had accepted my fate when I first transmigrated into the Song family, I would

have died 800 times over.

Life is precious because of the struggles.

Ara,

you're still young and lucky.

You don't understand.

You'll understand

when you reach my age.

Sister, look at this color, how's it? Okay, we'll use this ratio from now on. Not bad! You're starting to look

more

and

more like a dyeing master.

I'll give you extra pay later. I'm hungry but haven't

eaten .

No need for extra pay,

sister, just feed me.

I want to eat oil-splashed noodles.

Let's go , Dad

, Second Brother

, you guys eat. No,

I'm not hungry yet.

I'll eat when it's lunchtime.

Eat slowly;

there are still threads in the dye vat

. Finish eating

early so you can keep an eye on the threads

and avoid dyeing the color too dark.

There's no rush.

I saw Song Xuan's mother-in-law go to town to buy a vat today.

She said she's going to build a shed next to the backyard.

I wonder if her family is going to dye cloth too?

It's very possible.

They own a weaving workshop,

so it's only a matter of time before the Zheng family opens a dyeing workshop

. But we have Fei. He's not

afraid. He's too

young

to even think that someone opening a dyeing workshop would steal his family's business.

Sister, I'm going to work in the backyard.

Sister,

Second Uncle, Brother Xin Li

, I'm going

now.

Ji Tian is a kind and honest boy.

If he weren't , Xiao Pei wouldn't have let him come and help.

Your mother-in-law hasn't been here these past few days...

She'll try to take the house from you again,

but she can't

beat me.

I

heard your in-laws are going to open a dye shop in the village.

You have to remember,

you can't let them take our business.

I know.

You can't take dyeing jobs from the surrounding villages,

and you can't take jobs from the fabric shops in town.

I've heard these things so many times,

but

you absolutely have to remember

this . And I have to tell you, your in-laws

won't make much money from the dye shop.

It's just that your grandmother

is a big shot. Wang Meixiang will stop working

if she doesn't make any money. I'm moving to the county to live a better life this year.

Who cares about this

? You don't have to worry about anything

about the dye shop. Let Wang Meixiang handle it herself.

Just focus on having the baby. The baby

will live with the main wife. Go to the city and live a good life.

Yeah, I know.

But please don't be like Song Qian,

so hard-hearted at such a young age. Hmph,

after getting married, he can't even see his family anymore.

He made his third son work

for only 13 coins a day,

treating him like an animal.

I wouldn't let his third son work there, but

your grandmother wouldn't allow

it, and we even had a fight over it.

Mom, don't worry,

I'll let the third son come with me to the county town later.

Hahaha

, Sui Sui, you're so sensible, you know

how to care for your own brothers

and think of your family.

Mom, do n't worry. Song Qian

and I are different.

Song Qian is destined to stay in the village for life

, while I'm going to the county town.

It turns out that different teachers are talking about the same book, but

the content is very different.

The Spring and Autumn Annals has both Zuo Zhuan and Gongyang Zhuan. I'm still far from

mastering the distinction between Gu and Liang.

It's already past 1-3 AM when I left the pass,

and I have to get up again at 5-7 AM. I

need to rest quickly.

Sorry, did the candlelight wake you?

Xiao Qian's suggestion the other day was really right—

put a wooden screen here

to block the wind and light.

No, I'm just thirsty and want some water.

Brother Gu, you haven't been awake

all this time, have you? I just didn't notice the time.

As expected of the Prefect of An,

you study so diligently!

You should rest early too.

Mother, how's the color of this fabric

? Is the transition natural enough?

The transition is very good

, natural and smooth,

quite nice.

Ah, that's it . Dyeing fabric is really too slow,

haha. Slow and steady wins the race.

Ah, this is too slow.

If we want to achieve stable mass production of this kind of fabric,

we need to hire someone to specifically wash the fabric.

Indeed

. Don't rush

to give the reward,

Boss Du. Didn't you say

that Wang Baoping's brother

, a merchant from the prefecture, will be here in half a month?

Let's stock up on some

goods first, so that when Boss Luo wants to buy

, we won't have any here

.

Don't go to Song Qian's place this afternoon.

Your eldest sister said she needs your help.

Your second sister has a batch of thread that needs to be dyed.

I can't leave. If

you go to your eldest sister's place to help,

you'll get a good

reward. You're always following Song Qian around,

and they've taken advantage of you.

What good is it to follow your eldest sister?

Going to help with the dyeing is like being a thief;

you won't even get a drink of water.

With your second sister, you can at least eat your fill every day.

Anyway, I'm not going.

You've become too independent, haven't you? Is

this

related to your mother?

Why didn't Xiao Qian come?

How's he doing at the county school?

Are you getting used to it?

Prince Qin, as expected of the county

magistrate, the scholar

he invited from the prefectural city

has benefited greatly

from his lectures . I thought your family was so kind as

to offer your daughter the dyeing monk's skills as part of her dowry,

but it turns out it was all a charade. Let's

all disperse

now. What's the point of dispersing? Let

everyone know! Luckily, I had

Song Sui dye the cloth beforehand.

Look at

how messy and faded his dyeing is!

I asked him to dye a red cloth

, but following his method,

the cloth turned completely yellow

and was unusable.

Your Song family, as expected of outsiders,

always does things for appearances,

hiding

malice in their hearts. Madder dye is inherently yellow;

it requires special techniques to remove the yellowing.

Song Sui… "You've never even dyed a thread at home,

you forgot the key steps, serves you right,

Wang Meixiang! Don't talk nonsense!

I, Song Yougen, always keep my word . If I

say I'll have my daughter marry with dyeing skills,

I'll never go back on my word

! This cloth is naturally yellowish after dyeing!

Bah!

How come my dyed cloth is yellowish and

yours is reddish?

When did you get back? I

just got back.

I heard you were here, so

I came to find you.

You must be tired after just getting back.

Let's go home

. Don't worry about this place,

there's still a lot to do.

I thought you wouldn't be back until evening,

I didn't expect you to be back so early.

After Master Qin finished his lecture,

the journey home was smooth.

How was the food at the county school?"

It's not bad, but the county school cook makes boiled cabbage every day,

it's really

hard to eat.

Oh , that's really unfair to you.

I soaked some soybeans in advance,

how about we have braised pork and stewed soybeans for

dinner tonight? I'll start the fire for

dinner. Have you been busy dyeing thread lately?

Has anything major happened at home

? Are you happy?

The family's livelihood can't just rest on your shoulders.

You need to rest

more and take care of your health.

Now that I'm studying at the county school,

I don't have to pay the entrance fee anymore, and

the cost of studying will be reduced a lot

.

Your Song family is really bullying us!

My family built

a new house and spent

money to get a wife

, and the dowry you promised

was just... "What a sham!

Ugh, this is unbearable!

Unbearable

! Hahaha!

Sui Sui, hurry up and talk to your mother!

Your Song family is bullying us!

I'm

not getting up until you give me an explanation!

This dyeing skill is my daughter's dowry skill,

it's to keep my daughter from starving,

not to make your family rich! What? You think you

can buy a family craft with just over 2,000 yuan?

Humph! There's no such thing as a free lunch! You have

such a big appetite

, aren't you afraid of bursting your stomach?

Mother is right, you think you can buy an ancestral craft with just

2,500 yuan?

Wang Meixiang,

you 're dreaming!

What? Do you want to fight? What about

your second son?

Everyone in the village knows that after your second son gets married,

his mother..." "Your family business is thriving,

and you're using her dowry skills,

Aunt Wang? You're wrong.

I did bring my skills with me when I married

, but I didn't do dyeing.

My family runs a textile business.

Besides, the yarn we use is from the county town, and the

loom is from the park.

My mother-in-law has

always overseen the work at the weaving workshop, and she's the one who keeps track of the wages for the aunties,

grandmas, and sisters-in-law who work there

. Furthermore, I don't know how to use a four-beast, four-twist loom.

The workshop can't even function without my mother-in-law.

Yet you say I used my dyeing skills to make money for my husband's family—

such a huge credit label

! I wouldn't even deserve it if I wanted to!

" He's just greedy for money. If

you're so capable, why don't you

set up a few looms at home and

hire people to work? Then, forget about my family's dowry dyeing skills;

I could personally come to your house to dye threads for

you. Do n't say anything more

, Wang

Meixiang. Don't talk nonsense;

dyeing cloth and dyeing thread are vastly different

, hahaha

. Yes, or you could just stop running the dye shop and

start a weaving workshop.

Then I'll come to your house to work

. Xiao Qian,

Cheng Mei

, you two, ignore him.

He only dares to say such things

because he sees only

the two of you younger generation here

today . If your parents heard him say that, they would

definitely be worried about him.

You should go back first;

it's too chaotic here,

lest... Some people will try to drag your

little money

into this again . Don't worry, we

've got your parents' backs.

Well, Xiaoping and I are leaving now.

I've never taken him seriously,

but when I face Wang Meixiang, all I want to do

is run away . He shut her up with just one sentence. Why should I, Sui Sui,

let it go?

Let's go home. Stop

making a scene.

What? It's me making a scene? I'm the legal

wife, and I'm carrying your child.

Are you just going to stand by and watch your mother bully me?

I am you. Don't argue with a madman.

My family can't afford you. Before you

got married, your parents praised you to the skies

, saying you were capable and could dye cloth.

But after you married into the family, I realized

none of that was true.

Ah

, Your Majesty, my stomach hurts.

Since God has given me a second chance... Back

in Gucheng Village, Anyuan County,

I'm determined to rise to

the top of the Guangping Prefecture examination in this chaotic world

and carve out my own path to success!

You jinx!

What terrible dyeing skills you

have! You've ruined everything!

How could the Zheng family have married such a useless thing like you

?! Ahhh

, Your Majesty , my stomach hurts!

This is so unlucky!

Why? Why is this

happening? I'm the one who was reborn

! I chose the best path!

Why am I living worse than a dog?

Song Qian, what makes you so special? It's a good thing

Song Sui is so healthy. If it

were an ordinary person,

all this stress every few days might have

caused them to lose their baby.

Who can argue with that?

Wang Meixiang is really something else!

Xiao Qian , come with me.

It'll be a mess over there if

I go with you.

You just got back from the county school, so don't go.

You said

we're husband and wife, one family.

As your husband,

how can I not go with you?

With Mom and Aunt here,

it's different.

Madam Song, you've finally arrived!

Boss Du, this is my father, Gu Deshan.

This is my mother, surnamed Shen.

Oh,

Boss Du, you must have met my father before,

so I won't introduce him further.

Of course, I recognize Boss Gu.

I'm not some boss,

Boss Du, just call me Gu Deshan. My

wife and daughter-in-law handle

the family business.

I'm here today to help move the goods.

This is my sworn brother, Luo Zhonghai.

Greetings everyone!

These are all woven fabrics.

The patterns on these cotton cloths are all woven.

Also, I have four

more "tree" patterns here. My wife said, "I have four trees.

May I take a look?"

This is a double happiness pattern.

It's mainly bright red

with green, yellow, and blue stripes.

There are double happiness patterns

on the left and right. This pattern is called a seven-color octagonal pattern here.

It's mainly an octagonal geometric pattern,

arranged continuously in four directions,

with small auspicious lights and cross patterns inside.

It has seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple

, and is woven with black and white edging.

We use this kind of cloth for weddings and festivals here.

It means " seven colors bring

good fortune and wealth from all directions."

As for this kind of cloth, Boss

Luo , you must have seen it often.

The red and white color scheme and the pattern

resemble plum blossoms.

It's most popular around the New Year.

"These are hot-selling items,

and we're all acquaintances

, so I won't beat

around the bush. Wife,

how many of these four trees

do you have? I'll take as many as you need! We're rich!

We're rich! Mother, let's go to the shop and buy some rabbit pelts!

It's getting cold lately, so let's

make two hats for Father and Chengli.

They'll wear them when they go out to keep warm.

I won't wear that stuff.

Let's go to the pelt shop.

One rabbit pelt is 35 coins.

The price of rabbit pelts is higher than in previous years.

There are fewer rabbit pelts this year

, but the quality is unbeatable.

Look at this! The fur is thick and warm, and

there's not a single loose hair on the surface.

I guarantee it won't spoil or rot for years after you buy it.

I never expected it to be so expensive

. No wonder an ordinary person can keep a

dog-skin coat as a family heirloom!

Give me 10,

Mother. That's too many.

One sleeve will need at least two rabbit pelts.

I'll also make you a scarf to

keep you warm in winter."

"Try it on,

Mom!

Try it on quickly! Does it fit?

If it doesn't fit,

I'll alter it. It fits

perfectly,

Mom! You're so good to me

! Silly girl, we're family!

The day after tomorrow, the county town will hold a folk performance.

Tomorrow, the town will come back from the county school.

Let's go see the folk performance as a family,

okay?

Cough cough cough.

What kind of charcoal is this?

Why is there so much smoke

? What's wrong? It's been

so cold lately,

my hands hurt from writing.

I was thinking of lighting a charcoal fire in the house to warm up.

Who knew that this charcoal would produce so much smoke

? Did you not light it properly? Let me do it.

Oh

, you're amazing!

I couldn't get it to light at all.

Gu Anshou can light charcoal. Of course he's amazing.

After all, Gu Anshou is from a farming family.

He must be very good at lighting fires.

How come Gu Anshou, the top scholar in the Guangping Prefecture examination,

doesn't recognize me, his former classmate?

Scholar Chen, what is this?" I mean

nothing,

I just can't stand some people who forget past favors once

they've climbed the social ladder.

Stop slandering people with empty words

.

I, Chen, am

upright and honest, unlike some people

. History says that

a scholar's ambition

begins with character and knowledge, then with literary talent.

When judging a person, first look at their writing and conduct

, then their talent.

If someone's character is base,

even if their writing is excellent

, they shouldn't be trusted

. Nonsense!

You dare slander someone's character with empty words

? What malicious intentions do you have in

spreading such baseless rumors

? For us scholars,

reputation is more important than life

. If these foul words spread, they will not only

ruin Brother Gu's reputation,

but also his future prospects in the imperial examinations

. If you can't produce even a shred of evidence today,

don't think you

can let this go easily.

I'm just telling the truth.

As Xunzi once said…

Indigo is extracted from the indigo plant, yet it is bluer than the plant itself; ice is made

from water, yet

it is colder than water.

From a young age, I

received my early education

at the Li family's private school.

Over the years, the teacher's meticulous instruction

enabled me to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations.

Now, His Majesty, desiring to enlighten the people and

cultivate pillars of the nation

, has issued an imperial edict ordering

the construction of county schools in all counties.

These schools will be personally supervised by

the county magistrate . Teacher Qin will teach

the classics, and Teacher Li, of noble character,

taught me in the past . A sage

has no fixed teacher;

upon hearing that I had come to study here,

he was not displeased but instead

praised the county magistrate's initiative

in establishing county schools

. He also marveled at His Majesty's benevolence

and instructed me to study diligently

after entering the county school. "

You must not fail the cultivation of His Majesty and the County Magistrate.

Yet you make unfounded speculations

and baseless accusations,

insisting that I have betrayed my teacher.

These words, seemingly directed at me alone

, not only insult my integrity

but also underestimate Master Li's magnanimity and vision.

Respect for teachers

is not about confining oneself to one place for study; striving

for knowledge and advancement

is also about not failing one

's teacher's kindness . Your one-sided and arbitrary judgment

truly misinterprets the bond between teacher and student

and betrays Master Li's daily teachings.

Well said,

worthy of being the top scholar of the prefecture.

Your words are truly thought-provoking.

We scholars who enter the county school

must not fail

the careful cultivation of the court and the County Magistrate.

You praise me, Scholar Zhao." I

simply cannot tolerate

some people slandering my teacher's character.

This person starts by defaming people's character and making

baseless accusations.

If you ask me, it would be best to report this to the Instructor and Master Qin.

Zhao, I was just unaware of the

situation. Besides, Master Li is also my mentor.

I was just speaking out for Master Li.

Chen, you and Brother Gu have been classmates for many years.

Brother Gu's coming to study at the county school is considered a betrayal of our teacher. What about you?

Aren't you also a betrayal of your teacher?

What do you think, Brother Gu

? This person slandered my teacher first and

made baseless accusations

to try to ruin the academic atmosphere. Of

course, it should be reported to the Education Department and the Master.

Yes, yes,

he is arbitrarily defaming Brother Gu today.

Tomorrow... Maybe it can slander the others present.

Chen Moxin suddenly attacked me.

There must be someone instigating it behind the scenes.

If it weren't for Xiao Qin getting Cheng Lao's letter,

I probably wouldn't have been able to come to the county school so easily.

I didn't expect you to be so popular.

Your classmates are easy to get along with.

Your mother made it. Wear it to keep warm.

It's so cold.

You should wear it. Your

mother loves me so much. She

made me a Guanyin hat. Your

mother also made me a rabbit fur coat

and this rabbit fur scarf. Isn't it pretty?

You

have one too. Your mother said she would make one for you this year for the New

Year. I just made a new coat last year.

I don't need it this year.

You specially warmed this hand warmer.

Hmm, it's cold on the way.

If you come to pick me up, I

can hold it to warm my hands.

Uncle and Aunt trust me that much? They

just left the weaving workshop to me to watch over,

so they're not worried about anything happening.

Second Brother Gu, what are you doing standing at the door in this cold weather?

I want to see the county folk performance too.

Grab my hand and lean on me.

There are too many people,

we'll definitely get separated.

After the folk performance,

everyone goes to the oxcart area.

Sister-in-law Wenmin, I'm holding you.

Just watch

over Wensi. Chengli, watch over Xiaobin.

You two don't get separated.

Dad , I know.

Can you see it?

You can

see

it. This year's folk performance is really good.

Did you see that fire-breathing thing? The flames aren't

that big.

I don't know how they did it.

This year's folk performance also has dragon dances.

Dragon dances are really rare in our area.

That little wife riding the donkey is really funny.

And the matchmaker next to her has her face painted all over with colorful paint

and a big mole on it

, but I think that matchmaker looks like a man in disguise.

So it's a man deliberately making himself look ugly.

Auntie, are you pretty?

Say Auntie is pretty and Auntie will give you some food.

Auntie is pretty.

Haha,

Mom and Dad, I see there's an empty plot of land behind our house.

I think instead of adding a house

, we should build a bigger new weaving house.

We can move all the looms there

and do all the work there.

After all, our front yard

is always

busy with people coming and going,

which isn't very convenient.

I think we can wait

until next spring.

There's less rain in spring,

which is perfect for building a house.

Bingzi, why are you

lying around on the straw stacks during the day like those lazybones in the village?

There's nothing to do in winter,

and there's no work in the fields right now, so you're just sunbathing

on the straw stacks.

When it gets warmer,

you should go out and do business!

It's freezing outside,

what kind of business can you do?

Go to other counties and exchange grain for sweet potatoes

!

I heard that Julu County produces sweet potatoes.

You could go to Julu County, buy a cartload of sweet potatoes

, and then bring them back to our county to exchange for grain.

Wouldn't that make you money? But...

I don't think that's a

good idea. Why not?

Why not?

Didn't you make your fortune in your past life by stealing

grain and sweet potatoes?

I don't even know where Julu County is or how to get there. Don't

stay cooped up inside all day thinking nonsense.

It's warm outside,

go out and get some sun.

It's the dead of winter now, and we finally

get two months of rest.

After the New Year and spring,

when the weather warms up,

we'll have to go back to the fields to work. By then, even if I wanted to rest, I wouldn't have the chance.

Why is he so unambitious

? At

this rate, when will he ever get rich

? Don't you want to live in the county town

?

Why would I live in

the county town? It's too expensive!

My second brother lived in the county town before,

and he said that renting two rooms there

costs 200 coins a month.

I can't afford that!

You can make money!

You can do business! "Opening a shop

means you can be a manager

and make money, then you can afford to live here.

I'm doing business

, yes, you're making money in business

, haha, Sui Sui

, are you still half asleep today?

Doing business requires money

, but we

don't have any. Even if I wanted to do business, I couldn't.

The capital for opening a shop will have to be asked of your parents.

I'll go with you to the county town.

We'll open a dye shop

there. We don't even need to go to the county town

to open a dye shop. You're

heavily pregnant now

. If you go to the county town,

you'll have to

cook, do laundry,

and run the dye shop all by yourself.

You definitely won't be able

to handle it.

Didn't my mother already buy several large vats?

Let's just run the dye shop at home. At least my mother can help out if

anything happens

. You've never thought about moving to the county town. You've never thought about doing business and making money.

What's wrong with you today?

Answer me . Xiao Chen, I

heard your older sister's in-laws are going to open a dye shop,

is that right? I haven't heard about that.

Xiao Chen, if Wang Meixiang opens a dye shop

, it will definitely squeeze out your family's business.

Go and persuade your parents

to stop Wang Meixiang from

doing it. We're

all from the same village.

Everyone knows my older sister's in-laws are running a dye shop, so

my family naturally knows

about the in-laws' business too."

What can a married daughter like me get involved in?

Jitian,

come with me to the storeroom to get something.

Your aunt, wash these starched threads,

we need them the day after tomorrow

. Mingming, after Song Qian married Zheng Fang,

she went to the county town to do business the winter before last.

But now, how come things have changed

? Could it be because the Zheng family built a new house

and bought dyeing supplies,

causing the family to run out of money?

My father-in-law and mother-in-law can no longer support Zheng Fang's business.

I will definitely let Zheng Fang go into business.

I will definitely live better than Song Qian.

What are you thinking about?

Hmm, nothing

. Mother, are there any people in our village who can weave plain satin?

Your Aunt Ma can

. Ah , Aunt Ma can weave satin?

There are such people

in our village . Your Aunt Ma's family also moved from another place.

It seems that their hometown is in Suzhou.

There are many silk weaving workshops there.

Your Aunt Ma even helped people weave plain satin and made money a few years ago.

Mother, I was actually thinking

that since silk can be woven into

smooth and shiny satin

, what if we use cotton thread to weave it?

Would it produce a similar effect to silk

? Probably not.

How can cotton thread compare to silk?

We can try it.

What if...? Use cotton thread? Weaving satin

won't work, no,

we need at least a five-legged loom to weave satin.

And weaving satin is different from weaving ordinary cloth;

coarse cotton thread won't look good.

Auntie, do you think this kind of cotton thread will do?

What kind of thread is this? It

's so fine

! Auntie, I want to try weaving satin with this new thread.

Can you help me test it?

I'll pay you for weaving 30 feet of cloth a day for the next few days

. How about that?

Xiao

Qian?

Oh, Xiao Qian went to Fengde's house.

He's been working with Fengde's wife on the new cloth these past few days.

Look at

this new cloth, Xiao Qian made it!

It's much finer than ordinary cotton thread.

I'm really impressed by him now.

How did he come up with

this method to make the cotton thread so fine?

Of course, he was forced into it.

I thought,

since silk satin can be so beautiful,

if we made the cotton thread finer

, could we also weave a similarly beautiful cloth?

I really didn't expect

cotton thread could be woven into such a smooth cloth.

Auntie, do you have anyone at home who knows how to weave satin?

I want to hire you to weave this kind of cloth for me.

Nineteen copper coins per foot, how about that

? No problem! My daughter can also weave satin.

I called her over and told her, "

Auntie, if anyone asks what kind of cloth this is,

just tell them

it's cotton satin.

If anyone asks about the thread,

I hope you'll tell them

it's a blend of cotton and silk. The reason this

cloth is so shiny

is because silk is added."

I remember Auntie was particularly good at accounting.

If the cotton satin sells well and

the weaving workshop expands,

you'll have to work hard

to help me manage the cotton satin weaving.

When I was young, my family did business and

accounting; you can hand it over to me then.

I promise I'll remember it perfectly. "

You're back!

The county school's on holiday.

What are you doing

here? Just wandering around

. Let's go back.

It's not like noon anymore

; it's a bit cold.

Why is it so chilly? I

should have brought a hand warmer when I came out.

My arms are warm;

hold my arm to warm them up.

I didn't expect Auntie Ma's house to be so

cold. Let's go

back. Okay?

What's wrong? Can't sleep? Did I

disturb you?

I'm not sleepy

. Let's

... Look at my new little clothes, aren't they pretty? Aren't

they pretty ? Aren't they

pretty ?

Cheng Li and Xiao Pi are here

; you can try some of the new wine too

." It still has

a nice sweet aftertaste.

Newly brewed grain wine is definitely better than aged grain wine.

Happy New Year ! May

the New Year be better than the old one!

May you live a long and healthy life!

Mom, let me help you.

It's all set out

in the kitchen; there are dumplings.

Let's go eat! After your dad and Chengli come back,

we'll go out to visit relatives and friends.

Is it cold outside?

It's not too cold, not particularly cold.

The wind is a bit strong today. Is the fire out?

We always wait until the fire from burning paper money

is completely extinguished before we come back. Don't worry,

I've finished eating

. Let's go visit relatives and friends

. Your dad and I will go to your uncle's house to rest for a while

. You and Chengli will go to your mother's house to pay your respects. "Hey

,

stop right

there! I'll beat you to death! I

just made you a new dress,

and you've already torn a hole in it

!

Sister, save me!

Mom's going to kill me!

Come here

! Mother-in-law,

please forgive him this time, it's New Year's!

Little brother, I definitely didn't mean it!

He 's from the city! Come

in, come in!

It's cold outside!

The city folks are right, it's New Year's!

Don't hit the child! And he

keeps talking about

death! Death

is so unlucky!

I'm going to beat him to death today

! Hey

, come inside! Come inside

and play!

Mom, I'm going out to play!

Come back here, you brat

! Why didn't you

go visiting relatives this morning? Why

are you here ?"

All the relatives have been visited.

My mother-in-law said that Cheng Li and I should come and wish you a Happy New Year.

There are so many relatives in the Gu family,

I 've been walking all morning,

my legs are about to fall off!

It's good to have more

relatives, they can lend a hand

if anything happens. Mingming and Suisui said

Zhenhua would start a business

and move to the county town

before the New Year

, but now it's the New Year

and the business hasn't started,

let alone moved to the county town.

Could it be that Suisui's dream was wrong?

Could it be that Gu Cheng could pass the imperial examination and become a scholar?

Guihua, Guihua, Guihua,

what's wrong

? Go get some fruit for Xiaoqian and Cheng Li.

Okay , I'll go get

it. Grandma, just now two cows were fighting outside

and they knocked down the temple in the middle of the village

! You mean the temple in front of Li Zheng's house

was knocked down by the cows?

Now a lot of people are watching.

Cheng Li, you taste

this! Where are you going?

During the New Year,

you don't even keep an eye on your own cows!

It's lucky it only knocked down the temple,

what if it had hit someone?

I was in such a hurry when I went out to visit relatives this morning that

the cows escaped from the house

. Humph, how did your cows get out?

I didn't keep an eye on them either.

These two cows don't usually fight,

I don't know what happened today.

What happened?

The temple collapsed! It's possible to rebuild a

statue, but there's no way

around it. The shops in town aren't open

during the New Year .

Mother, which god is enshrined in that temple?

It's the Xuande Temple.

The Xuande Temple

enshrines Liu Bei. The Xuande Temple is

associated with wind and rain.

It's really bad luck

for

the Xuande Temple to collapse on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

What if it affects the rain

in our village this

year? We need to repair the temple quickly

and also get a statue to ward off

evil spirits.

Father , let me do it ! Father, I know how to make clay sculptures

, why don't you let me do it?

Oh

dear, I didn't expect Chunfu to have this skill!

That really saved my life!

Chunfu, can you do it?

If not, never mind,

let Chengli write a red paper sign and stick it in the temple,

that's the same.

No problem.

I've seen what that statue looks like. I

can make it.

I made them before when I was at home,

but my grandfather said making statues is unlucky

and wouldn't let me touch them.

But we're not making this to sell

, just to put in the temple, it

's fine . Believe it or not,

it's up to you.

Some people think making clay statues is unlucky,

but others don't care.

Whether you care or not depends on the person.

As the saying goes, "There's no darkness in the eye, but

light in the heart.

" Mother is right.

Hearing your words

is better than reading for ten years!

It's just a small amount of money.

Have you eaten

yet? My mother stewed some chicken

and asked me to bring some over.

Second Aunt is still thinking of us.

Second Sister- in-law,

did you learn clay sculpting from a clay sculptor? Have you ever made clay

sculptures ? There's no need to learn

! You can just sculpt it

by copying the original.

Second Sister-in-law, you're really amazing!

What's so amazing about that

? It's useless !

Second Sister-in-law, you can make clay sculptures so well even without

formal training . You're a genius!

Someone as skilled as you,

let alone in Anyuan County , you

probably can't find another one

in the entire Guangping Prefecture.

I'm not as skilled as you say.

Making deity statues is unlucky

and can't be sold for money.

I just mess around with it sometimes.

How can it be messing around ?

If you don't make deity

statues, you can make clay dolls,

some children's figures, human figures, or cats and dogs,

dye them, and then sell them at the market.

What do you think?

They're all good sources of income.

You can do that too!

Of course,

Mom and Dad, you didn't see

that the basic shape of the statue was already out.

Second sister-in-law is too amazing!

Didn't you and Chunfu come up with the idea?

We can make some clay dolls

and sell

them at the market to make money.

Isn't that the same?

Mom is the same,

Mom is amazing too

. Hmm,

sweet words don't work on me . I

can't stop writing this today

, hahaha!

Wait

for the statue to dry in the shade

, then we can paint it.

You know,

Zhou Chunfu sculpted that statue really well,

the whole village praised it.

Don't you know that making statues is bad luck?

In the dream, after Zhou Chunfu made the statue...

Gu Xinli's leg was broken by a mule,

Chunfu miscarried, and

Gu Deshan fell seriously ill.

The villagers all said

it was Chunfu's work making a deity statue that caused the trouble;

those things are taboo, and

women can't touch

them. If they do,

their families will be implicated.

Isn't this a living portrait of a court lady?

And so on, a portrait of a court lady...

Chunfu, since you're so skillful,

do you know how to do makeup? If you do,

I can find models to wear pure cotton satin dresses

and have Chunfu do her makeup and set

up a runway for a fashion show;

it'll definitely be a bestseller

! No

, we don't have

any powerful backers right now. What if someone steals it

? We have to wait until Gu Chengli passes the imperial examination.

Right now, we need to see if Chunfu knows how to do makeup.

Let's use myself as a model first

... Look at this painting! It's

amazing,

Mom! You're so amazing!

How can you do everything?

You can read, do accounts

, manage the household

, arrange flowers,

appreciate tea, and even paint!

Mom, is there anything you can't do?

Although I know many things

, when it comes to actually doing things, only accounting is truly my forte . What are

you talking about ?

It's so lively

! I'm saying Mom can do everything

! Dad, look at Mom's painting!

Wow, my wife's painting skills are still so amazing,

not diminished at all!

When I first saw your mother paint,

my eyes widened in amazement!

Wow, really?

Of course !

When your mother first came to our village,

she stunned everyone.

They were all farmers who toiled in the land.

Who has ever seen a fairy-like woman

talking to a child like this? Why did

my elder sister once told Mother that

Gu Tongsheng would not pass the imperial examination and would live a hard life after

marrying into

the family, while the main wife would become rich.

Why couldn't Gu Chengli pass the imperial examination? He

couldn't take the exam during the mourning period. Could

it be that his father-in-law and mother-in-law were in danger ?

Why didn't you go to the house to get the money? There's nothing inside.

I just suddenly remembered that

I wanted to go to my grandmother's house to get a shoe pattern,

but I forgot.

I'm going to my parents' house to get it now.

Why did you come here?

Mother,

I want to ask you some things.

You are now the wife of a successful candidate

in the imperial examination and you manage such a large weaving workshop

with more than a dozen people under you.

What can I tell you?

Father and Grandmother are not at home.

Are you blind? "Can't your eyes

see for themselves?

Why are you closing the door

? Didn't I say I have

something to ask you?

What is it?

You married me off to the Gu

family to continue climbing the social ladder through that connection.

You married Song Sui off to the Zheng family

because the main wife could make money, right?

How did you know that?

Walls always have ears.

If you want something others don't know,

don't say it from the start.

Tell me, in Xia Yun Village, is the Gu family more powerful

or the Zheng family?

What would Gu Deshan and his wife

do if they knew you didn't marry Song Sui off to

Gu Chengli because you knew he couldn't pass the imperial examination?

What are you trying to do?

Do you think

people will believe you just

because you've told them this?

Whether others believe you or not is unimportant.

It's just that Wang Mei believes you." Enough!

You think Song Sui could live a good life marrying Zheng Fang?

Then let me ask you,

is Zheng Fang rich now?

If Wang Meixiang knew about Song Sui's dream

and discovered that it was because Song Sui married

Zheng Fang that Zheng Fang couldn't become rich,

Wang Meixiang would definitely say, "

How dare they give such a young, unmarried woman to their family?

And their family controls my dyeing skills!

Let's see who dares to say they want to divorce Sui Sui!" Sui Sui is

currently carrying

the Zheng family's eldest grandson in her belly.

Before the baby is born, who knows if it's a boy or a girl

? Besides, Zheng Youfu doesn't only have one son, Zheng Feng.

Tell me,

why couldn't Song Sui and Gu Chengli pass the imperial examination?

I'll tell you... Keep this to yourself,

otherwise, once I tell

everyone, no one will have a good life.

Okay, okay,

so you're siding with the Gu family and asking me this.

Now I really wish I could

strangle you the moment you were born.

It's just that you were too late.

Who can you blame for your regret now?

I'll tell

you,

and I'll keep it to myself. Otherwise,

no one will have a good life.

Mother, you should know better than me

what it's like to be ostracized in the village.

Wasn't it because the Song family was ostracized

that they were all donated out of the village?

Once I tell everyone

, not to mention whether Song Xu will be suspended

or whether Ji Tian can continue dyeing and making money,

based on you and Song... Xu delayed the emergence of a scholar from Xiapi Village

and hindered the Zheng family's fortune.

The Gu and Zheng families could then unite

to drive the Song family out of the village.

Mother, I am now a daughter-in-law of the Gu family. The

well-being of the Gu family is my well-being. If Gu Chengli

passes the imperial examination,

I will be a scholar

's wife, and you will be the scholar's mother-in-law.

The only scholar's mother-in-law in the entire village!

I never expected to hear the news of Gu Deshan's serious illness.

I would rather Gu

Chengli fail the examination because of Teacher Li

than because of this.

I must quickly find an excuse to take

my father-in-law to the clinic to see a doctor.

As for Chen Guihua's words just now,

they were all a lie.

Why do you look so pale?

Why are you here ?

It's not my mother-in-law;

I'll go talk to her.

Don't go .

If my father-in-law suddenly becomes seriously ill,

on one side is a bedridden husband,

and on the other is a son who has to stop taking the exam because of family matters.

What will my mother -in-law do?

It's inevitable that her body won't be able to handle it.

It's a dream, so let's not tell Gu Chengli yet. Do

n't go.

I'm your husband;

I can't watch you suffer.

Let me go talk to my mother-in-law.

Mom said I got married earlier than my eldest sister , and she

's already more than five months pregnant,

while I still haven't had any.

She said a few words to me.

Um,

I'll go explain to my mother-in-law now.

Tell her

that it's just that you're still young,

so let's not have children yet. We'll

wait until you're stronger. "Let

's have another

one ," I said the same thing,

but he's never liked me since he was little.

I guess he's just in a bad mood today

and wants to yell at me.

Let's go home,

you brat. If you're so capable, then be good to me for life.

I don't believe

that Shen Xiuping

would really treat you like her own daughter for life.

Dad

, what's wrong

? It's nothing, just a little tightness in my chest.

Who told you to stay in Tingliu

until late last night?

Hey, everyone's having drinks and talking,

I can't leave.

Dad, is your chest a dull ache

or a sharp pain?

Hey, it's nothing serious

, I'll go take a nap later.

Mom

, I heard from my grandma that

my grandpa also had a dull ache in his chest

back then, and then he fell into the water,

which is why he's so sick now.

Mom, let's take Grandpa to the county town to see a doctor.

I heard that

when the county magistrate came to Anyuan County to take office,

he brought an old doctor with him.

That old doctor is

very skilled and specializes in internal

medicine. Let's go there and see

... Hey,

where exactly is the tightness?

It's heart distension.

Heart distension causes irritability, shortness of

breath, and restlessness at night. How serious is heart distension?

How could

someone suddenly get this disease?

Insufficient congenital endowment

... He has both strength

and gentleness, weakness and power.

This is a congenital deficiency of heart qi , which was also

triggered by the recent cold weather and invasion of pathogenic factors.

Fortunately, it was discovered early

and there is nothing serious.

Follow this prescription to get the medicine

and drink a few doses.

Also, pay more attention to

avoiding staying up late, getting angry, and overworking.

You can also soak a few slices of Danshen in water to drink.

I have a congenital deficiency,

but I never felt it before.

When I was young, my body was strong , so it was

naturally not noticeable.

But as I got older

, my body and physical strength declined,

so it naturally became apparent.

Thank you, doctor,

for finding out what's wrong with my father-in-law's body so quickly.

My father-in-law's mother

must have been an older

mother when she gave birth

. No wonder he has a

congenital deficiency. His pulse is weak

. He should eat some good nourishing food and

not get pregnant in the short term. Once

his body is strong, everything will fall into place.

Thank you, doctor

, we will remember.

What's wrong?

Why do you suddenly want to see a doctor?

I just heard from someone that

you went to the clinic to see a doctor.

What's going on?

Deshan has been feeling a bit tight in his chest these past two days.

It just so happens that the city knows there are doctors in the county.

We went to see a

doctor who specializes in internal ailments

and got some medicine.

The doctor said it wasn't anything serious.

Sister-in-law and brother , I'm really fine.

All the other doctors said I'd be better after two doses of medicine.

How did it get to the point where I need medicine?

Luckily, my third sister-in-law suggested that my second uncle see a doctor in time

, otherwise, I don't know what would have

happened. Yes, it's all thanks to Xiaoqian's filial piety.

Since I married into

the family, my parents have treated me like their own daughter. My father

is unwell,

so as his child, I naturally have to worry about him a lot

. It's all thanks to your thoughtfulness.

Yes, yes,

if it were me

, I wouldn't have thought of seeing a doctor.

You just haven't

encountered such a situation

yet. If you were in a similar situation, you would definitely be able to handle it just as

well .

My parents were not young when they gave birth to you.

Back then, the family was poor

, and we ate

whatever we could find, sometimes not even knowing where our next meal

would come from. It's no wonder you developed health problems in the womb.

From now on , don't do any heavy or strenuous work

and take good care of yourself.

We had already discussed this on the way back. After leaving

Deshan, he stopped doing carpentry.

The weaving factory also needed help.

Then, he just needed to calm down and get his mind clear.

Did you hear what your second aunt said?

Hurry up and kowtow to your second uncle and aunt. No need

, no need.

It's not a holiday, why

kowtow? Your

sister-in-law's children have already paid their respects. Why

do you need to kowtow again today? Don't stop

him.

Let the second brother kowtow

so he remembers.

He 's lucky

to be able to learn skills from his uncle.

When you go out to apprentice,

you have to suffer for ten or eight years.

All the dirty and hard work is done by apprentices.

If you don't get beaten or scolded,

you're considered lucky. You're lucky

to have met your second uncle who teaches you skills

without being beaten, scolded, or mistreated.

Think about how your second uncle went out to apprentice as a carpenter.

He slept in a cowshed at night,

ate chaff,

and did the dirtiest and hardest work.

In the dead of winter, he helped people plan wood for

a living without

getting a penny. His hands were covered in blisters.

He endured it for nearly 10 years before they healed. When Master

Deshan came to visit Master Mu's place for the New Year,

I was shocked.

I hadn't seen him for half a year;

his face, hands, and ears were covered in chilblains, and

his palms were blistered.

I was furious and wanted

to go to town to demand an explanation.

Deshan was there to be an apprentice

, not to be a servant in his house.

But your older brother stopped me.

I didn't even know about this

. Ah, that's all in the past.

Later, I learned a trade

, and I used it to build a career and a family.

Second Uncle, this is a case of hardship before happiness.

Look how well Second Uncle is doing now—

prosperous in the city, filial

to his parents

, and his future will only get better .

The doctor said not to get angry, and

I guarantee

Second Uncle will never get angry again

. What do you mean, absolutely not?

Before our two families got married, we agreed that

my daughter would bring dyeing skills, which your family could use

, but not for dyeing cloth for the villagers.

Back then, you didn't say that

Song Sui was a half-baked

dyer. The fabric is faded and uneven,

so the agreement we made before

is obviously invalid.

No way!

If you try to steal my business,

I'll go complain to Gu Liangshan

! Don't try to intimidate me with Gu Liangshan

! Don't think I don't know

what kind of person your daughter is.

You want to complain

? I want to complain too!

Before the wedding, your family praised Song Sui

to the skies , saying she was capable,

could dye fabric, and even

make banquet mats. But what happened? She

spends ages washing clothes,

dyes fabric

unevenly, and even burns a simple dish. And she

calls herself a banquet mattender

? Hmph, your Song family really has the nerve to praise her!

Do you think everyone's blind?

I can clearly see that the one who's capable, dyes fabric

, and makes banquet mats

is your second daughter!

She's given us a pretty face but no substance

! And you expect me to do what we agreed on?

I'm telling you,

no way!

I'm just here to tell you that

we're neighbors,

we see each other all the time. Hmph!

Are you worried about how you'll look in the future?

Am I really not as good as Song Qian?

Why did Song

Qian have a good life in her past life after she got married,

and why is she doing

well in this life too

? That's not fair! I told you before

not to spoil Sui Sui too much, but

you wouldn't listen.

Now Wang Meihua is using this to make trouble

, wanting to open a dye shop in the village.

What are you going to do

? How can you blame me for all this

? I was just bragging about Sui Sui outside,

trying to give her a good reputation,

but you didn't stop me, Mother-in-law!

Now that something's happened

, you're pushing all the blame onto me.

Maybe someone in the village will try to dye their

clothes there . The cloth shops in town won't let them dye their

clothes . How can you blame me for

everything? Besides

, how do I know Sui Sui can't do anything?

Mother and Grandma are already biased towards Song Qian.

I must urge Zheng Chuang to start a business

. Once I have money

, Mother and Grandma will naturally side with my

parents again. I want our family to start a

cotton spinning and satin business. The thread needed is quite special

. The only

way for us now is to spin our own yarn.

We just need to advertise

that the yarn contains silk,

and most people won't suspect the secret of cotton satin.

So, we'll build a spinning workshop and a weaving workshop together.

Cotton satin requires dyeing,

so we'll need to build

a dyeing workshop. But that

means we'll have to invest most of our earnings from the previous year, and

it might not even be enough.

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub;

to make money, you have to be willing to spend money.

Actually, I have another idea

. What is it?

In the village, how much cloth do we weave

and how much yarn do we buy

each day ?

Even if someone doesn't know the exact figures

, they can probably estimate.

Although my uncle is Li Zheng

and we have many relatives in the village

, over time, some people might try to sabotage us.

So, I 'm thinking

that when the new workshop is built

and we recruit people,

we can't just hire those from our own families; we

also need to hire people from other families in the village.

So

, I'm thinking

that if many people want to work there,

we should have an open competition to see

who... "Choose the one that weaves the best and fastest!

That's a great idea!

A spinning mill needs cotton, so

this year we can discuss with everyone in the village and

encourage them to plant more cotton.

When it's harvest time

, each household should first pay the government's cotton tax

, then according to regulations, submit their share to the government for unified purchase.

We'll buy the remaining cotton

at a price higher than the official market price.

In addition, we can give each household a small amount of cotton seeds.

That way

, even those who don't work in the weaving mill

won't have anything to say.

That's a great idea!

How did your little brain grow?

How can you come up with

such ingenious and clever methods

every

day ? Hahaha,

child, you're naturally smart! It's

lunchtime!

You were so engrossed in your conversation that

I didn't want to disturb you.

I cooked your favorite white cowpeas in the porridge.

Wow, that's great!

Second Brother, you really separated the households!

Yes,

of course!

What kind of person is our Second Brother Zheng?

He always keeps his word!

Even if Second Brother separates..."

They can still live comfortably, it

's just a pity

that the ox is now with the main wife.

I misspoke,

second brother, don't be angry.

Trying to take my things for free

is

n't so easy .

I'll make him spit it out.

Second brother, you don't know

how smug that boy in the main wife

's family has been while you were gone.

He took your ox

and married Song Sui, the prettiest girl in our village.

Song Sui even brought her dyeing skills as part of her dowry.

Now she wants him to run a dyeing workshop at home and be the boss.

If it weren't for Brother Liang,

how could all the good things have fallen on Zheng Fang alone?

You guys,

tell me everything that's happened in the village lately

. What's Deshan's family doing

right after the New Year

? I heard they're building a weaving workshop.

Don't they already have one?

Why are they building

another one? The place is too small

. How novel!

Villagers can actually run a

weaving workshop? Will they be able to sell the cloth they weave?

Hey, isn't that Zheng Liang?

Why is he back?

He's Zheng Youfu's second son.

He got the family an ox.

Zheng Liang, where have you been all this time?

Zheng Liang ,

did you know your third brother got married?

Zheng Liang, your eldest brother separated from the family

last year and moved out to live alone.

How did my eldest brother separate

? Did the old man and that wicked woman drive him

out of the house

? This child came at the wrong time.

It was so hard to get pregnant,

how can you say such things?

If this time it's a boy,

not to mention your and Zhuzi's future

, even if Xiaohua gets married,

having a brother in her family will be something to rely on

. It's just a pity about the weaving work.

I earn 3 coins for every 4 bolts woven per foot.

If I can weave 20 feet a day,

that's 60 coins.

Now, countless people in the village are eyeing my position.

When my pregnancy gets bigger,

I can't do it anymore

and I'll definitely be replaced.

When your pregnancy gets bigger,

I'll go to the weaving room for you.

After you give birth,

we'll switch back.

Okay?

Then the money I earn will be mine.

I don't want money.

I'm old and

have nowhere to spend money

. Although my brother and sister-in- law

are good people

, you're getting old

too. You need to save some money for your coffin.

You can't just ask others for everything.

Xiuzhi, is Xiuzhi home?

What's wrong? Is this

your second uncle? He's back

and is fighting with your father-in-law.

Second brother, second brother

, what are you doing?

Second brother, let's sit down and talk this out. Don't fight

, you scoundrel! You

scoundrel!

I'm going to take you away too!

Waaaaah! Zheng Liang is a big bad guy

! Do n't steal my cow!

Don't steal my

eldest brother's cow

! Third brother, you're really something!

I went through so much trouble

to get this cow, and now it's yours!

Yes, yes , that's what I'm saying.

Hmph, who doesn't know what you two are up to?

First, get the cow into your hands,

then kick my eldest brother out, and

finally kick me out!

You want me and my eldest brother to die, and then

this whole house will belong to you? Bah!

You wish!

I'm the head of the household!

You unfilial

son! The Zheng family has never had a scoundrel like you!

I'm going to take you away too!

Hmph, who wants to stay in your house

?
This cow is mine!

I'm taking it away

! You're dreaming!

Who can stop me? Hmph!

Stop it, everyone! What kind of talk is this

? Are we still a family?

I never realized

Zheng Fang was so useless, so

timid and subservient

, not like a man at all.

Zheng Liang is also

a hoodlum ; when he

goes berserk, he doesn't recognize anyone

, even his own parents.

What happened

next? Later,

several elders of the Zheng family and Li Zheng went to mediate.

Zheng Youfu was beaten black and blue by his second son. Enraged

, he insisted on separating his son and living separately

. The second son was also stubborn,

saying that he not only wanted to live separately

but also wanted to take the cow with him,

exchanging one cow for two sons . That would be a reasonable way

to support himself in his old age.

Moral constraints are only limited to special groups.

Xiapi Village is full of farmers

struggling to make ends meet,

so moral constraints are naturally not there.

This batch of dyeing thread needs to be finished the day after tomorrow. These

past few days, several aunties have been working a little longer

, from Chenshi (7-9 AM) to Youchu (5-7 PM).

For every half hour they work, they get an extra three coins.

Hey,

this year, it's the

turn of the ten households in Jiali to go to

the yamen (government office). They said that

this year,

the yamen leader from Zhuo Village is going to do odd jobs

, which means working at the yamen

for half a month, moving things and guarding the warehouse.

Li Zheng,

how come our village got such a good job this year?

Who told our village to produce a scholar?

Oh,

hahaha,

this year's odd jobs are transporting grain.

Each household in our village has to send one person.

Gu Chengli's family doesn't have to send anyone.

This is the first time I've directly felt

what it means to produce a scholar

, and Gu Chengli is still just a scholar

. Now that we have money,

we don't need to go through famine or borrow money anymore.

We'll go directly to Li Zheng to redeem

you. It's all

my fault, Miao Hua.

You should remarry and find yourself a reliable partner for the rest of your life,

and a stepfather who can support your children.

If you dare say such a thing again

, believe me, I'll slap you across the face.

I can earn money by weaving now.

You can stay home, take care of the children, cook

, and feed the chickens and ducks.

Tonight, we'll go to Li Zheng's house to pay the redemption fee.

Sirs, you've worked hard. Please

sit down and rest

. If you can't finish speaking,

we'll go back and report as soon as possible.

Sir, you said so

? Then I'll let them begin.

But speaking

of which , sir, you look familiar.

Have we met before ?

Perhaps we came to your village to collect grain before

? Oh, my nephew passed the exam last year. The top scholar of the Ping family

, recommended by the Imperial Instructor, went to study

at the county school, which was right behind the county government office.

I went there a few times,

so I must have met the Imperial Instructor there

. Wait,

you mean your nephew is the top scholar of the prefecture

and is now studying at the county school,

and he even knows Instructor Cheng?

Then collect less

grain tax this year. It seems like the grain tax will be collected less this year than in previous years.

That 's right,

in previous years,

they would pile up grain in Sichuan until it overflowed before they would stop.

This year it's

unusual

. Could it be that the officials collecting grain tax this year

are actors playing the role of a righteous official?

No, what righteous official?

Those yamen runners only showed leniency because our village has produced

a top scholar

, and I heard that Gu Tongsheng is acquainted with the Imperial Instructor.

Xiaoqin,

I see you've been... She's been busy at the weaving workshop all day. She

should rest whenever she

can, and if she really can't, she should pass the work to someone else

. Don't exhaust yourself.

Oh,

look at that child's thin wrists. Xiuping

, I'll bring some eggs to your house later.

You give me a little money every morning to steam two for

Grandma Feng.

I don't want your eggs.

My parents have been giving me these.

You're being so polite, we're

all family.

I'll give you some, just accept

the money. Grandma Feng loves you,

so just accept it.

Okay, thank you. Grandma Feng, why

is Gu Jiahu, who was so sharp-tongued and mean in my dream,

so nice to Song Qian now?

Something must be wrong.

Sui Sui Sui Sui ,

what's wrong

?

I've called you so many times and you don't respond.

Did your mother-in-law upset you again?

Mother, did

you need something from me?

Come back with me. I

have something to say to you,

Song Qian.

How did she know I was dreaming?

Who knows how that little girl found out?

You don't even know what Song Qian said.

She actually said

that if I didn't tell her,

she would expose this

and make things difficult for everyone.

Humph,

I've figured it out.

Song Qin is just like your grandma

—cold-hearted and hard-hearted

, only thinking about herself.

So Song Qin took Gu Deshan to see a doctor.

Yes, but the doctor said Gu Deshan is fine

.

Son, clinics are just places to throw money away. No matter

if you're sick or not ,

once you go in, they'll prescribe two doses of medicine.

They're the most heartless places.

Sister-in-law, in the dream, Gu Deshan was very silent.

Shen Xiuping was tormenting me

and throwing a tantrum at me

. Mother said I must never be suppressed by my mother

-in-law. Then...

I was wondering how Song

Qian, that brat, knew about your dream.

Could it be that she dreamed too?

There's something I've been wanting to say.

Do you think Zheng Fan can really make money?

He

doesn't seem like someone capable of doing anything.

The dream and reality are reversed

, aren't they?

It can't be that in your dream, Song Qian was

running the business with Zheng Qu, right?

Hmph, how could that brat Song Qian possibly have that kind of ability?

The weaving is done by Shen Xiuping.

Gu Deshan set up the loom . The main business of

dyeing paper and thread

is controlled by Shen Xiuping.

Mother, didn't I tell you before?

Shen Xiuping helps with the accounting for several shops.

Even now, if Song Qian can do accounting

and knows some words

, she must have learned it all from Shen Xiuping.

How could a girl who can't read a single word

possibly do business?

Sui Sui ,

didn't you tell me to go into the grain trade?

I heard someone say there's a batch of grain at a low price , and

I'm sure I can make a fortune

after selling it.

Seriously,

line up!

Each household can only receive one batch ,

line up

! Hahaha

, everyone, quiet down!

Today I really am distributing cotton seeds.

Each household is limited to one batch.

We're all neighbors, and

I, Song Qian, won't lie.

Everyone can see that the new cotton mill is about to be built.

In the future, we'll definitely need to weave

cloth, and weaving cloth is inseparable from cotton.

So I'm thinking of encouraging the villagers to plant more cotton.

I guarantee that

when it's time to harvest the cotton

, after each household pays the government's cotton tax...

After submitting the quota to the government for unified purchase according to regulations,

the remaining new cotton textiles

will be purchased at market price.

I guarantee here

that as long as everyone plants cotton this year

, not a single household will lose money.

Alright,

come and eat!

You must be hungry after working so hard all day.

Xiaoqin, you'll eat here for lunch.

I've already asked Xinli to call her second uncle and aunt;

they'll be here soon.

Help! Gu Lizheng,

you have to find a way to save my Fangzi!

Fangzi... he's been arrested and imprisoned by the government

!

How could Fangzi be imprisoned?

What happened?

Tell me,

sister, don't be too anxious.

Tell us clearly

what happened. Tell us why Fuzi

was arrested so

we can think of a solution.

I don't know.

My mother, Lang's sister-in-law, suddenly came and told me. That's

how I found out.

Early this morning

, Fuzi went to deliver something to his uncle.

Not long after, two officials rushed into my house

and said Fuzi had committed a crime.

They took Fuzi away

without saying what it was.

My husband has already... I went to the county government office to inquire about the situation

and rushed back to report.

Li Zheng, Li Zheng,

I beg you

, please find a way to save the madman!

He's been sent to help with corvée labor and hasn't returned yet. If

something happens to the house,

I really can't live!

No, no, no

! Hahaha!

I do have one or two acquaintances at the county government office

, but they're all clerks and do

n't know anything about

prisons, criminal law,

or the situation in prison.

I'll have someone try to

find out as much as possible. As for how much they can find out

, that's up to fate. Aunt Ma,

has Fangzi done anything lately?

For example, has Fangzi offended anyone recently,

or

what happened when

he went out to work?

Think carefully,

has he offended anyone recently

? Fangzi has always been an honest kid;

he couldn't have offended anyone

, and nothing's wrong

with him. If I had to say something

, he's been doing business lately.

What kind of business

? Where

is he doing it? Who sold the goods to the government,

and where did he sell them ? It seems like

he's been reselling them ...

I don't know the specifics of the grain sale;

you'll have to ask my aunt,

Fengzi. He

's reselling grain.

Do

you know where Fazi is reselling grain?

Is it

in the county town?

You need to tell me

exactly what Fazi's business is like so

I can find out more quickly. Something happened

a few days ago.

Fazi said someone in Dongwa Town was in a hurry to sell

their grain, so he thought he could buy it

and transport it to the rice shops in the county town to make some money.

I told him long ago

not to do business

; staying home to farm and dye cloth is better than anything else.

But Song Sui forced Fazi to do business,

saying that reselling grain is profitable.

He's a jinx ! He

does nothing all day

and constantly complains about his husband's lack of ambition.

They built a new house, but he's still not

satisfied and insists on getting his husband to do some lousy business

so his husband can take him to the county town for a better life. I...

I need to find him and ask him clearly.

Does he really want to drive his father and son to their deaths?

Aunt, calm down.

If anything happens to your father and son...

"I'd rather die than live

any longer . If I'm going to die, Song Sui will have to pay with my life!

Sit down and

shut up! Can't

you talk properly?

Quickly tell

my uncle all the details of Zheng Fang's business dealings

. What good is your commotion here except wasting time?

Can you get Zheng Fang out of jail

? If you want Zheng Fang out,

now tell me honestly

how Zheng Fang heard there was cheap grain in Dongba Town

, and exactly when he went to collect it.

Uncle,

your crying, tantrums, and threats

of suicide at my house

are nothing

but a waste of time

and make Zheng Fang suffer in jail.

Put everything else aside for now, the most important thing

is to get Zheng Fang out

.

I heard about it from outside.

Are you alright

? I'm fine.

That's

good.

Uncle, I have a classmate at the county school

whose father is a clerk in the county government.

Maybe we can ask him for help.

Thank you, Gu Tongsheng

. All the expenses for asking him will be covered by the Zheng family."

Uncle, it's too early to say all this.

Right now, we just need to find out more people and

try to get them out as soon as possible.

I'm leaving now.

Be careful on the road.

Okay,

let's eat first

, and then we'll go check on the Zheng family.

I never knew this would happen.

Zheng Fang is so stupid.

She managed to get herself imprisoned just for collecting grain.

Now that old hag Wang Meixiang is

blaming everything on me,

thinking I'm the one who ruined Fangzi.

Fangzi really went to jail for stealing grain.

It was Song Qian who said it.

Mother, do you think Song Qian has a grudge against me?

We still don't know why Fanzi

was arrested,

but Song Qian just said it was because of trading,

which made Wang Meixiang hate me right away.

Mother, what grudge do I have against Song Qian?

Why did he do this?

That brat, that
brat, I can't stand seeing you like this ! I can't stand

seeing you like this! Just

wait, I'll be right back soon. Go back and give her a good scolding.

Sui Sui, what are you doing here?

Mother, look at what you're saying!

So what if Sui Sui is here? Sui Sui is

ignorant, but you, her mother,

don't understand ?

Sui Sui is Zheng's daughter-in-law

. Fangzi is now in jail. Her mother-in-law

is sick with anger,

her younger brother-in-law and father-in

-law aren't around. She

's not at her mother-in-law's bedside, not at

her husband's house waiting for news.

What is she doing at her parents' house?

Her mother-in-law thinks Fangzi was arrested because of me.

If I go back now,

who knows what she'll do to me?

Zheng Fang went out to do business

and got into trouble. What does that have to do with you

? Did you force Zheng Fang to buy

those grains ?

At your husband's house,

people might say a few words, but

if you don't go back,

then Wang Meixiang can just throw mud at you. Yes, yes, Sui

Sui

, go back quickly

. I'll go with you.

Xiao Tian, Xiao Tian,

what happened?

Your mother and your older sister's mother-in-law got into a fight.

Go check on them

,

you heartless ingrate !

Do you even know how badly you've ruined your older sister?

Because you told Wang

Meixiang that Fengzi was involved in business, she was arrested and thrown in jail.

Wang Meixiang now wants to tear your sister apart! You

're such an ingrate,

you even betray your own sister!

I truly regret giving birth to you.

Tell me, did Song Sui instigate Zheng Chuang to do business

? Who's the ingrate

? Who betrayed their own sister?

You know the answer

! And don't use the word "sister" again; it

makes me sick.

This matter has far-reaching implications. Not only

have several rice shop owners

in Zhengting County been arrested

, but the county magistrate,

registrar, and granary official have also been imprisoned

!

I've inquired... Inside information revealed that

the imperial court had been investigating corruption cases involving

government grain since April of last year,

affecting countless

prefectures, states, and counties. Fortunately,

the madman hadn't committed any major crimes;

as long as he handed over the embezzled grain,

he could be released.

How much

? 20 dan

!

How much

tax

! Damn it , hurry up and gather the grain so

the man can get out sooner!

Good heavens, 20 dan of grain

is almost enough for a year's worth of food, drink, and grain tax.

Even after

deducting the seeds needed for farming,

where am I supposed to get so much grain

? Damn it,

in this situation,

do you sell the ox or the land?

It's your choice.

This isn't an ordinary case of government grain corruption;

officials

colluded with each other,

embezzling a total of 24 million shi of grain.

This amount is... It seems

the entire monthly grain quota of the Great Dynasty

involved 13 provincial administration commissions,

the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Rites, and

the Ministry of War. Many officials from the six ministries were

sentenced to death with reprieve, and countless prefectural and county officials were imprisoned.

All the embezzled grain was confiscated.

Zheng Fang was implicated because he was involved in embezzling grain;

no one expected such a large case.

The Minister was a second-rank official, and so many officials

from the six ministries and prefectural and county

officials were implicated.

Now the Great Zhou court is practically empty.

Being an official in this era is truly dangerous.

Under this massive purge,

are there really no innocent people?

In this treacherous officialdom,

will Gu Chengli continue to take the imperial examinations?

Xiao Yun is now someone who is completely different from what is written in the history books

. The same emperor,

on one hand, quelled chaos with military might, brought peace and prosperity

with civil administration

, established official schools so that students could have good teachers,

and reformed taxes so that the people could live in peace and prosperity.

On the other hand, he used harsh laws

and cruel punishments , employing an

iron fist to crush centuries of bureaucratic corruption with thunderous force

. Although

he killed countless corrupt officials

, the extent of the repercussions

was appalling .

When history records his deeds,

he would inevitably be remembered as a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant.

But the world only saw the killings

and forgot that what the emperor had eradicated was the deep-rooted corruption in the government

and the parasites that exploited the people.

After the chaos

, what should be addressed most

is the well-being of the people. The emperor

was willing to bear a thousand years of infamy

to rectify the court and

clean up the bureaucracy.

Such courage

is rare throughout history.

Xiaoping, do you know why? Why

do I want to be an official?

Because I grew up in a farming family,

and I've personally witnessed and

experienced how miserable the lives of ordinary people are. From

the smallest details like

measuring grain in the forest to the smallest details

like collecting and extorting money,

there are countless ways to persecute

the people.

I don't have a wealthy family background

, nor do I have the power to change the world like an emperor.

But as long as I'm involved,

I can protect the people and ensure their well-being. A

strong youth makes a strong nation.

Then go take the exam.

Everything at home is under my control.

I think Lord Gu will definitely

be a clean and upright official

in the future . Lord Gu loves all people.

Tonight, please treat me well, okay?

Oh, you still have the nerve to complain? Otherwise, how

could you, Bingzi, endure this kind of suffering

? My family has truly had eight lifetimes of bad luck.

"

I did tell Bingzi to steal and sell grain to make money,

but I didn't tell him to steal stolen grain,

Mother-in-law! Don't throw all this mud at me!

Grain that's almost half the market price!

Humph, it's a wonder he dared to buy it. If

he doesn't get into trouble, who will?

It's your husband!

You're talking about your husband like that! Mother-in-law, why don't you wait until your

husband changes his clothes and then ask him

who told him there was cheap grain for sale in Dongwa Town?

It was my second brother who told me.

How come you bought 20 tons of grain

? There wasn't that much originally

, but the person who bought my grain said that when buying cheap grain,

the contract has to be written as an imaginary number,

so it became 20 tons.

How could Zheng Fa be so stupid

? Is this okay?

It should be fine

." Roasting the meat with hot air

will definitely work.

You've gone to so much trouble for the city, Mother.

Saying that

makes me feel like an outsider.

We're all family;

it's only right for family to care for each other.

I'm so glad my daughter -in-law is Xiao Qian now

. I originally thought Song Sui was just a bit spoiled,

but a reliable and honest person.

Now I see he's lazy, ambitious but

incompetent

, narrow-minded,

and shows no care for Xiao Pian . It's

done roasting.

Go call the fourth brother.

Xiao Qian looks

exactly like the daughter I've always dreamed of.

Mother, can you do the hairstyle in the maid's portrait?

Second Brother Zheng, Second Brother Zheng,

the procession is about to depart

!

Let's go see!

Second

Brother, I heard the leader on horseback

is a high-ranking official from Baoning Prefecture,

and he's going to take down these people who embezzled grain...

They're all being taken to Baoning Prefecture to be beheaded.

I heard even our county's magistrate is in there.

He used to be such a big shot, someone we could never even meet.

I heard he ate fine

noodles and had plenty of meat and fish every day.

Now,

stripped of his official robes and that official skin, hmph,

he's mixed in with the prisoners

and you wouldn't even recognize him.

Look, isn't that the owner of Gao's Rice Shop?

How come he's in there too?

The head of the county granary is

there too. Hey,

look, isn't that Master Zhao?

He owns over 100 acres of land,

how come he's committing a crime?

Father, Father, Father, you've been wronged

! Your Honor , you've been wronged

! My father was cheated into buying stolen grain, you've been wronged!

My father didn't know it was stolen grain!

Please,

Your Honor, have mercy!

How dare

this man! The evidence against him is overwhelming!

You dare to obstruct the authorities?

The government has ordered that

only the person involved be punished,

not their family.

Anyone who blocks the way will be arrested.

Separate everyone

. Zheng Fang is really lucky;

they didn't kill him this time

. It's really strange

that he got away.

Who says otherwise?

That kid really had a stroke of luck.

Second brother, I heard that

he got that kid out of jail because of Lian Qi.

Lian Qi

is a student

now studying at the county school.

The other party filed a lawsuit,

and not long after, the county government released that kid Zheng Hu.

Besides, I heard

that student is from the same village as you, Second brother.

You see him all the time.

Second brother, don't bother with that student.

Another day, we'll find a chance to give

that kid Zheng Fang another

beating. That brat gets all the good things,

Mom. Try one,

it tastes great

, but it uses too much meat

—three catties of pork for this little bit.

You just asked me if I could style

your hair like the ladies in the painting.

Actually, I can,

but I need a hair

bun. If I have a hair bun, can I style it?

I can certainly style simpler things

, but why would you style your hair like that?

I want to go to Guangping Prefecture to sell cloth.

The people in the prefecture are well-off;

the annual tribute will definitely fetch a high price there.

This year, someone from the city is also going to the prefecture to take the imperial examination,

but we can't disturb

them. We can't go with them.

If we decide to go,

we'll take a separate caravan

and invite a few trustworthy villagers to accompany us. What do

you think of this idea? How did

you come up with this? Your head is always full of

strange and wonderful ideas.

Mother, you think this is a good idea too?

When we get to the prefectural city, who should we find to dress you up for the

stage? Professional things should naturally be left to professionals. When we

get there , we'll hire a few actresses

or singers.

Those women are naturally beautiful,

and they definitely won't be stage-frightened after dressing up.

You two eat,

half for each of you, don't fight

. And fourth brother, don't leave after you finish eating,

I have something to tell you.

Mother, I have something to tell you.

It's delicious!

Third brother, do you eat such delicious food

with second sister every day

? Eat up! Go back, don't tell mother, okay?

I know, when I grow up,

I want to eat like that too! I came to work with my second sister.

Ever since I came

to work for her, she

's cooked for me every day. My mom's cooking is so bad,

I don't even want to eat home-cooked meals anymore

. I want to eat too

! Don't cry!

If my second sister sees me

, she'll think I stole your jerky!

Why haven't I grown up yet?

Dad and Grandma want to send me to town to get beaten by the old man.

That's sending you to a private school.

What's this?

I didn't steal his jerky!

Auntie, I'll stay at your house.

I'm not going back.

I'll be your son!

What are you

saying, you poor thing ? Hahaha!

Do you know how dirty you are?

Don't get your auntie's clothes dirty!

Why do you want to be my son? My

auntie's house is better than mine.

My second sister is here too,

but you have parents

... Your parents raised you all these years.

If you were to come and be my son,

how heartbroken would your parents and grandmother be?

Do you know who your aunt's biological son is? Oh,

it's

your second brother-in-law! Your second brother-in-law is a very accomplished scholar.

He was the top scholar in Anyuan County

and the top scholar in Guangping City.

Now he's studying at the county school under a scholar who passed the imperial examinations.

His learning is exceptional.

Your aunt already has such an outstanding son.

If you don't go to a private school to study and learn to read,

naturally they won't choose you as their son.

However, if you want to come,

it's not impossible,

really?

If you can learn to read

and write and do accounting,

maybe then it will work out.

So you should go to a private school and

be like your second brother-in-law,

Cheng Miao

. When you can read and write and do accounting,

your aunt... Maybe I can get

you to take her as my son.

Now I understand why there are maternal relatives

; they're really useful.

There are few literate people in the village who can do accounting.

If Song Chengmiao learns, I'll

bring him over to help with the accounts.

I'll beat you to death! Stop right there!

You still want to be Shen Xiuping's son?

I've wasted all these years raising you!

A little treat and you're all won over!

How can you be so shallow?

The child is still young;

what does he know?

He just wants to follow whoever

treats him well

. Hmph, Mother-in-law, are you implying that

I, as her mother, haven't treated her well?

I didn't say that!

Hmph, why doesn't Shen Xiuping have to work in the fields

? Why is her husband so obedient to her?

Plus, recently Song Qian and she's been so intimate

... Dao thought Shen Xiuping was the real mother. He was

going to beat his youngest son today. "Come here!

" Cheng Miao said. "Since

you want to go to school,

then let her go

. No, she

has to go. I said no,

and that's final." He also said, "I'll

take your hair. No hair with lice.

It has to be waist-length

, black, shiny,

and without any gray hair. I'll

give you three bushels of millet.

Look at

my hair, it's not good. I don't have lice.

Can

I really sell it? I don't want to remarry.

Anyway, it's useless to keep it

. Selling it and getting millet

will feed my child for a few days.

You

brat, you actually stole money from home behind my back!

Come out here

! I have something to tell you

. Mother, wait a minute.

Let me stir the fuel in this pot.

Mother, what are you doing? It hurts!

What am I doing

? If it weren't for you..." I found this in the sleeping room

and I didn't even know you were stealing money!

When did you learn to steal?

Was it that little girl Song Qian who called you that

? Humph, I knew you'd never learn anything good from her.

No, Second Sister,

Xiao Qin, Xiao Qin,

go check it out!

Ji Tian stole money

and your mother caught him!

Your mother is scolding Ji Tian in the weaving workshop

! Ji Tian stole money!

Second Sister

is calling you, but it's no use,

you can't control him.

I knew this would happen.

When the original owner was little, she took care of her younger brother.

Song Sui looked down on her younger siblings,

so after I came here, I successfully won over Song Ji Tian.

He did a lot of heavy work,

and I'm very comfortable using him.

This money was given to her privately.

Yes, it was me.

I

'm telling you, I gave Ji Tian 13 coins a day.

Actually, I secretly gave her two coins as a subsidy.

How could you be so inconsiderate?

Giving her money

is just letting her squander it!

Ji Tian has never squandered money.

Let me be blunt:

you sent your younger brother to a private school

and had Ji Tian work for me

because I felt it was unfair. I

was worried that you'd use all the money

Ji Tian had earned over the years to pay for your younger brother's education

, so I secretly subsidized him.

So it turns out this brat stirred up

trouble, causing my third son and me to drift apart.

We're all family, siblings,

and everyone's flesh and blood

. What's this about fairness? Do you think

Cheng Miao will forget Ji Tian, this third

son , once she's better?

Although both children are my flesh and blood

, I always protect my palm first

when something happens

. Like me and Song Sui,

you've always favored Song Sui.

I can't just watch Ji Tian go through

what I went through

. You brat, how can you compare to Sui Sui?

Since you got married,

do you still consider me your mother?

Sui Sui is a hundred times better than you.

That's exactly what I want to say.

Today I'm going to expose Chen Guihua's favoritism. From now on, no

matter what happens between Song Sui and her husband's family,

they won't be able to interfere under the guise of relatives.

Mother-in-law, be careful

what you say. Are

you alright?

Mother-in-law, what you just said was a bit too biased.

Xiao Qian is thrifty,

filial to her parents-in

-law, and gets along well

with relatives and friends. She never neglects any household affairs, big or small.

How could such a virtuous person

have any faults? My mother-in-law keeps

saying that Xiao Qian is not as good as my sister,

but in my opinion, Xiao

Qian is the most virtuous and kind wife.

My mother-in-law

says that Xiao Qian is not filial

, but since she started working at the office, Xiao Qian has let her younger brother come and help her,

and even secretly subsidizes him financially.

Such a daughter-in-law, such

a sister

, how much more filial

can Song Qian be compared to Song

Suigui? Xiao Qian is so good to her younger brother,

you should be secretly happy under the covers at night.

What are you making a fuss about?

Hahaha,

why are you back so early today?

Luckily I'm back early.

Actually, I can handle this matter.

I know you can handle it, but

I'm really fine. Xiao Pi,

I'm sure I can pass the imperial examination this year.

Secrets are kept, but

leaks are exposed.

I know what you want to say, that's enough.

Hehe. Second sister, second brother-in-law

, I'm going back first.

I feel like I've been disliked by my second brother-in-law.

I hope

Ji Tian won't be scolded by my mother-in-law

when he goes back today.

It 's okay, no matter what... "She 's my own son

, how could she possibly eat Ji Tian?

Besides, there's my dad and grandma,

so I'm relieved.

It's just that I'm afraid I've offended your mother badly today.

You did this to help me, so

let

's just forget about it. No one will bring it up again,

so relax

. It

was clearly my mother who was wrong today.

Even if the villagers gossip behind your back

, they'll only say that she's too biased

, not that you disrespected your mother-in-law.

Yes,

although it's said that parents should remonstrate with their children several times

, but they don't listen,

I really couldn't hold

back today.

I know I shouldn't be so disrespectful to

my elders and should uphold filial

piety and keep quiet

, but seeing you suffer, I still felt

flustered and couldn't bear it. I lost

my temper for a moment.

Ji Tian also

had a similar incident,

and he always hid behind you.

I 'm not like him;

I'm more worried about you.

I know

that's why I'm so happy today.

I'm glad you don't blame me.

Of course not. By the way

, I made some dried meat for you.

Try it and see how it tastes.

I'll go get it now.

I noticed you've lost so much weight lately,

so I guessed you must be at the county school." "Dad didn't eat well,

so he built a grill in the yard. He

cut the meat into strips and put them in to roast.

These meat strips can be kept for several days

, which is perfect for you to take to the county school.

They're delicious.

This is bean flour

with sugar added.

Just mix it with boiling water to drink.

It's convenient and filling. Take it

with you when you go to donate blood the day after tomorrow.

I'm his mother.

I can scold him

when he doesn't listen to me.

And that ungrateful wretch Song Qian,

I can scold

him too. Shut up!

Song Qian secretly subsidizes Ji Tian.

You, as his mother, are secretly happy about it

. And you're scolding the two children?

I think you've really lost your mind.

What good are three coins?

He runs a weaving workshop now,

with ten or so people working for him.

He can give more if he wants to

. That's your daughter.

Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you for saying that?

Give me the money.

Didn't you look down on Er Ya's little bit of money?

Third brother, go and return the money to Song Qian.

Didn't you see that Mom and Grandma

are arguing over three or five coins?

No,

cough cough,

Sui Sui, why are you here?

I heard about Ji Tian stealing money

..." Come see,

eldest sister. I didn't steal the money;

it was given to me secretly by second sister. Third

brother always follows Song Qian around.

I ask him for help,

but he always makes excuses.

Mother, do you know about this money?

Since you don't know,

then it's your

fault. Sui Sui, you're so sensible. You

're so far

along in your pregnancy;

why are you still going out?

My in- laws' house

is no place to live now.

My mother-in-law is always picking fights with me. My

brother-in-law is so shrewish and mischievous.

Zheng Fang listens to his

mother in everything. Mother, are you really not going to care about me?

Mother, I'm out of money .

Give me two or three hundred coins

so I can spend it first

.

Oh, Sui Sui,

you know

that recently the family has been short of money

when sending Cheng Miao to school.

I don't have much; just

give me two or three hundred coins.

Mother, don't worry.

I'll pay it back

when Fang Zi earns

money.

Going back to her parents' house to ask for things

again ? How much has her parents' family lost

since she got married?

If Sui Sui could earn even a tenth of that,

she wouldn't be arguing with her in-laws every day.

Brother Gu, what are you eating?

This dried meat is so delicious.

My sister-in-law is

so virtuous. Brother Gu, it's truly enviable

to have such a wife who cares for you.

Song Qian really thinks of me wholeheartedly,

Brother Gu.

You are truly blessed!

A harmonious marriage

sounds easy

, but very few couples actually achieve it.

Anyway, I'm not so fortunate.

How do you know this, since

you're not married

yet? Although I'm not married

, many men in my family are married, and

their wives are often quite domineering.

My father sent me to the county school

and put me in the same cell as you,

hoping I would pass the imperial examination

and find a good marriage.

My mother came from a family of censors in the previous dynasty,

but due to war, she was unexpectedly

relocated to Xiapi Village.

Although my mother was from an official family,

she wasn't domineering.

Brother Cheng Li, your disciple has such

a difficult background!

Brother Gu, Brother Jiang...

The night is long,

perfect for something delicious.

What smells so good? Dried

meat and bean flour porridge.

Brother Zhao, would you like some?

Brother Gu, your wife is truly skillful.

I want this look from an ancient painting.

Second sister-in-law, just paint my face

like a clay statue.

Outline the eyes,

the eyebrows don't need to be too detailed, just a quick

sweep.

Can I really do it?

Second sister-in-law, don't worry,

let's try now.

If it doesn't work, we'll practice slowly.

How does it look?

Beautiful! It's so beautiful

, like it stepped out of a painting.

I almost didn't recognize it.

Beautiful, with a touch of antiquity.

Second sister-in-law, you are the talent I've been searching for.

Join me!

In a while,

we'll go to the prefectural city to sell cloth.

Don't move yet.

What did you just say? Humph

, a grown man like you actually sent his wife back to her parents' home to ask for

money. He can't earn any money. Humph

,

didn't I say not to change clothes indoors?

You smell so bad

. And now that the weather is warm

, you should take more baths

to avoid getting lice.

Zheng Feng, you've done something wrong. I misspoke,

but don't look down on me. I'm useless.

I was just a farmer.

Lately, you've always spoken to me with anger.

You complain that I lost money in business,

but even if you complain, I won't... Go talk to your family!

Do you know that your mother

scolded me today?

I don't owe your family

anything! Why does your mother talk to me like that? In my

village,

everyone works hard every day, farming . Why

does your family say it's wrong

just because I do this ?

I haven't seen your father make a fortune dyeing cloth or doing business.

If I were really that bad, why

did your family insist on me marrying you

? Why didn't they marry you off to a wealthy family in the county town?

Zheng Fan, why do you talk to me like that? I

... I think I'm going into labor!

I'm going into labor

! Mother, Sui Sui, I'm going to

give birth!

Mother,

Song Sui Huai I'm about nine months pregnant,

it's definitely time for me to give birth.

What makes you think you can say

that if anything happens to Sui Sui,

I'll make you pay?

Zheng Fang and Song Sui had a fight,

that's why Song Sui was feeling unwell and giving birth

, hahaha.

She

'll be fine tomorrow.

This year's summer harvest was good

, four or five more bags of grain than usual.

Remember when I asked you for the recipe for dried meat?

My classmate from county school thought

the dried meat you made for me was delicious,

that's why they asked for the recipe

. They even said they'd come over in person to thank you.

It's nothing,

just a recipe for dried meat,

not... What valuable stuff

?!

The baby's crying!

Go get a diaper!

Don't bother me, I'm

on fire!

What?

There's a fire?

The baby peed!

Go get a diaper

!

You scared me to death!

Er Gouzi, if you could earn thirty or forty coins a day,

you wouldn't need to work in the fields.

I don't know how to weave, but

if I could earn that much money a day,

I wouldn't need to work in the fields

! Hahaha

, look at all the women in our village, they're practically turning the world upside down!

They've earned a little money from weaving, they

don't do laundry or cook,

and now they don't even need to work in the fields anymore

! If you ask me,

year after year...

Our village is going to have women in charge.

If my wife could earn that much money,

I wouldn't say a word

if she wanted to be in charge.

Look at you,

so ambitious! Ambition can't put food

on the table. Holding a jingling copper coin in your hand is true skill,

hahaha!

Born at

the wrong time , God is unfair,

hahaha ! Master

Li doesn't seem to be in a very good mood. Master Li is a scholar from the previous dynasty,

while Master Cheng failed the imperial examinations repeatedly and

became a clerk.

Although Master Li and Master Cheng are cousins

, they have been at odds for many years.

So today, seeing Master Cheng

suddenly become a county magistrate, Master Li's

mentality has collapsed.

That 's right

, this Li... The teacher is so petty.

Luckily you went to the county school.

Xiao Bing,

thank you

so much !

Brother Maolin, this is the 300 wen I borrowed from you before. I

sold the grain at home a couple of days ago

, and I'm paying

you back now. Oh, thank goodness I came back alive,

otherwise I wouldn't have known

that my own flesh and blood could be so despicable.

My wife was almost forced to remarry by them

, and my daughter was almost sold by them.

Luckily, my parents protected

them, so they didn't succeed.

My parents have been urging me to get married recently

, but I'm over 20 now,

and my family has no money.

Where can I get married?

I

used to always look forward to going home, but

now that I'm home, I'm still worried.

If only I knew how to weave!

My uncle's wife works in a weaving workshop and

earns several hundred wen a month,

enough to support a whole family.

Sigh, who told us we don't know how?

Do you guys want to come with me to work?

Where do we work?

I heard

that there are heavy lifting jobs now,

and the more you carry, the

more you earn.

Brother Maolin, you were a junior officer

when we were at the border

. We all listened to you then

, and we'll listen to you now too.

Okay, we'll go to the county town tomorrow and ask

you. Eat slowly,

no one will take

the food from you. This bun is delicious.

Drink some water, be careful not to choke,

Auntie! Your steamed buns are so delicious!

I've never had such delicious buns before. They're

filled with chives, eggs, wood ear mushrooms, dried shrimp, fried vermicelli

, and seasoned with thirteen-spice powder.

Even the dough is made of thin noodles.

How could it not be delicious?

Are you still eating?

You're full.

You can drink water later

. Okay, when Ji

Tiantian was this age in the city,

she suddenly became such a big eater.

She can eat three big steamed buns and two bowls of noodles in

one meal. From now on, if you

want to eat something, just tell your auntie

and she 'll make it for

you . I love everything.

Everything your auntie makes is delicious.

Second sister, I didn't say anything wrong just now

, did I? Good. From now on, speak like that .

Be sweet-talking, and people will like you.

Okay, I know.

Go get to work.

The orders have increased again.

We have to dye that batch of thread today.

What? They want us to be escorts?

What? They want us to be escorts?

I have no experience in escorting things

and I've never been to Guangping Prefecture

. Brother Maolin, don't worry about that.

I'll do something else

when we go to the prefectural city. I'll hire two escorts from a security company to guide us.

My second brother has been to Guangping Prefecture many times, and

he'll be going with me this time.

I have a lot of goods to carry

, so I'd like to hire a few trustworthy people to accompany us.

We'll be out for about half a month

escorting the goods, which is indeed hard work.

Two strings of cash per person

, Maolin, what do you think?

In the county town, carrying heavy loads earns 30 cash a day,

plus 2 cash

for protection and 5 cash

for food at a fixed stall.

After all that hard work , I only get 20 cash a day

, with some extra

money to earn two strings of cash. I'd have to carry

heavy loads for at least four months. Okay

, I'll go to

the others' places.

I'll ask Maolin to be my intermediary.

Two strings of cash each,

fine

, I won't let Maolin get away with it for nothing. If you need to help,

I'll give you

an extra three coins.

Just let me know if you don't need it. It

's not a big deal. Let's keep things

separate.

Brother Maolin, you helped me recruit people,

so I naturally can't let you do it for nothing. You're leaving now.

Maolin and his group are a well-thought-out

team. The people inspecting the goods must be trustworthy.

They are locals

with relatives, and their uncle is Li Zheng .

The possibility of them turning against them is extremely low.

They have been to the battlefield

and received training.

In a real fight, they are more powerful than local thugs.

They are currently the most reliable.

Xinli isn't home.

My mother went out to deliver goods to the Li family's cloth shop.

Today, I'm the only one at home.

Everyone, have some water.

My brothers and I have discussed it,

and we are all willing to go.

With the help of our older brothers,

I believe... We will definitely reach the

prefectural city safely.

First of all,

I want to thank you all.

We've taken on this job

, and we'll risk our lives to ensure the

goods are delivered safely .

The most important thing is everyone's safety.

We're all from the same village,

and I don't want to see anything happen to any of you

. So, my mother-in-law and I discussed this beforehand.

If anyone is injured on the way to the prefectural city,

the Ximian Textile Workshop will cover all medical expenses.

If anyone is left disabled,

after they recover,

the Ximian Textile Workshop will hire them as workers,

paying them no less than 200 wen per month

and providing two sets of new clothes per year

.

If anyone dies,

the Ximian Textile Workshop will provide the deceased's family with

one string of cash and 80 jin of rice and wheat annually

as a form of compensation. It will only end when the parents are old and pass away,

the daughter is married,

and the son reaches adulthood

.

This is the contract .

If everyone thinks there are no problems,

then put your fingerprints on it.

Now,

Brother Maolin, please speak.

Isn't this too much trouble for the employer?

Brother Maolin doesn't believe it.

No, no,

it's just that this treatment is too good.

We are all fellow villagers.

You left your hometown to help me transport and guard the goods,

which is already risking your lives.

If anything unexpected happens on the road,

we will all have to rely on you, brothers.

I, Wang Shuanzi, am illiterate and cannot

read the contract,

but I trust the employer and I

trust Uncle Di Deshan even more.

Brother Shuanzi has some ink pads

, hahaha.

Since everyone agrees

, let's set a time.

We will set off in two days.

Second Sister, I also... If you want to go to the prefectural city,

take me with you.

Dad and Grandma agree to let you go,

so you can go

there. But you can't go to the prefectural city

because I disagree.

Many people go there too

, so it's not okay.

Is it because that little girl Song Qian wants you to go?

I knew she had

ulterior motives. You're unfamiliar with the place

and can't understand the locals.

Even if you die outside, no one will know.

Sister-in-law, you've raised two children. You

must know children better than I do.

With you watching over Xiaoya,

I'm completely at ease.

Please accept

these fabrics,

sister-in-law. Consider it a gift

from your second aunt

to Wensi and Wenmin for making clothes. In my dreams, Song Qian often dressed like this,

travel-worn

and with a pale face,

until that day when

he suddenly returned

looking radiant . How can two people

born from the same mother be so different?

One is capable and eloquent,

while the other

is... Ah, the difference between people is truly immense.

Other people's mothers-in-law

have money

whenever they want; they can easily produce money to build

a weaving workshop.

Some people don't even have money to buy dyes.

Why did the Gu family, who weren't in business in the dream

, start a business

after Song Qian married into it?

Why did

Zheng Suo, who should be opening a shop in the county town in the dream

, fail several times in business

and now farm in the village? Gu Chengli

, who clearly didn't go to the prefectural or county examinations this year,

went there anyway

. How did Song Qian know about the dream

? Could he also be strange?

I roasted a few crickets.

You want... Don't

you hear the child crying inside?

You're still roasting crickets here.

Is this how you take care of a child? Do

you even act like a father ?

You're outside listening to the child cry

and you don't even move an inch.

Are you even human?

It's just crying, it won't kill him.

He'll stop crying when he's tired. All you talk about

is death.

This is your little nephew.

Are you hoping your little nephew dies?

Stop yelling. Everyone has a mother who takes care of their children

. If you don't want to take care of the child, then curse the house and the house.

Go ask

around. Is this how a daughter-in-law acts?

This child isn't just mine.

Why do I have to take care of him all by myself?

Other mothers-in-law take care of their grandchildren. What about you? You

want to be as far away from your grandchild as possible.

Even when I was in postpartum confinement

, my mother took care of me.

How dare you talk to Ping'er like that?

Actually, the Mandarin spoken in our village is similar to what we speak

in the village , just with a slightly different intonation.

Say it with me, Pi Village

. The farthest

I've ever gone since I was little

was when I went with my mother to the temple fair in the neighboring county.

Oh dear,

I can't speak it, Auntie. If I can't speak Mandarin,

will I not be able to understand people when I get to the prefectural city?

Do you think

you can understand me now? Yes,

you can understand me, sister-in-law.

As long as you can understand me, that's fine.

Many people in the prefectural city speak with this intonation.

Sister-in-law, if you speak slowly, the other

person can understand you.

That's good, then I'm relieved.

As the saying goes,

different accents every five miles,

different customs every hundred miles.

The most troublesome thing about traveling

in this world is the variety of dialects

. So those who frequently travel between places for business

not only speak Mandarin

but can also understand the local dialect.

But how could ordinary people possibly speak Mandarin

? The first step for ordinary people to go out and

do business is blocked.

Even

if they become fluent in Mandarin later in life,

they will still have an accent

.
So, in this era, if someone goes to another place, the locals

can easily recognize them as not being a local

as soon as they open their mouth

. Gu Chengli speaks fluent

Mandarin, his tone almost identical to his mother-in-law's, so he

probably doesn't have an accent.

I asked his mother-in-law before why she trained him to speak Mandarin,

and she only said, "The officialdom also has its circles."

My mother-in-law has such foresight

! Xiao Tian, can you speak Mandarin? You've

been practicing.

Xiao Qian , you're really amazing!

It's because your mother-in-law taught you well.

I didn't expect this lady to be able to speak Mandarin.

I have a suggestion for you all:

before dark,

let's go to the inn ahead

to rest. Then you two can say a few words in Mandarin.

That way,

the inn might be cheaper.

If you can't speak Mandarin, you'll be charged more!

Haha, not necessarily

. But those who run inns are all... Hei

loves to rip off outsiders and unfamiliar caravans.

If someone in the caravan can speak Mandarin,

they'll be treated with more respect, and

the shopkeepers will be more restrained.

"Thank you for the tip, Chief Escort

. You're too kind , Madam

. I've taken your money,

so I'll naturally handle things properly.

Luckily, I found a reliable escort through an acquaintance;

otherwise, I don't know how many times I'd been ripped off along the way."

This inn looks like an

ordinary farmhouse courtyard.

The old man gave us two superior rooms

and prepared some hot water and food .

If the goods are lost,

not only will we not get our money

, but we'll also be too ashamed

to go back to the village.

Alright, if

we walk another seven or eight li, we'll reach the territory of Guangping Prefecture.

Everyone, keep going!

We 're almost there!

This journey has been truly arduous.

You always told me that traveling is tough,

and I used to think you were exaggerating.

I'll never say that again.

You never believed me before!

Earning money in this world is really not easy

. So this is Guangping Prefecture.

Where did you come from?

What are you doing here

? How many days will we stay in the city,

sir? I'm from Anyuan County,

and I've come

to the prefectural city to sell cloth. I'll be staying for half a month.

I

want to wait until the results of the imperial examinations are released

and the city is bustling before selling cloth.

The cloth merchants let us go

, asking about cotton cloth and

cotton satin from shop to shop. We can wait until

the results are released before selling

cotton satin , but we can't just wait until the last day to sell other cloths.

I was thinking that in the next few days, I'll take some floral cloth

and go door to shop to ask.

Xinli will accompany you. Okay,

I'll go with Xiaoqian.

Sister -in-law, I'll trouble you to take care of my mother at home.

Don't worry.

Xiaoqian,

can we just go in directly?

We don't know the shopkeepers

. Second brother always asks around like this.

If this shop doesn't sell, it's okay,

we can go to another one. Do you

want to buy cloth, madam?

What kind of cloth do you have here?

Our cloth shop has all kinds of cloth,

cotton, linen, and ramie.

What kind do you want?

sir, do you sell Xiaomei here?

"Patterned fine cotton fabric?

I'll have to ask our shopkeeper.

This is the owner of our weaving workshop.

We've been staying in Sweetwater Lane these days.

If the shopkeeper wants to buy fabric, just

come over there. It's

amazing! Auntie,

Xiaoqian, he got a big order.

Someone will come to see the fabric tomorrow morning.

How much did you sell?

The other party said they want 200 bolts of ordinary patterned cotton fabric and

4 bolts of satin. They'll take

whatever we have.

I first inquired about

the prices of cotton fabric in the city,

and after comparing several prices, I set a price.

Although I don't know if it's cheap or expensive

, at least we won't lose money this time .

You don't know how expensive things are in the city.

Usually when we come to the city,

we don't dare to spend much money.

I sold the patterned fine cotton fabric at 11 wen per foot, and

the 4 bolts of satin at 18 wen per bolt.

The fabric shop immediately agreed to buy it

after hearing my price.

No wonder some people are willing to take risks to go out and trade.

The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!

Suddenly so much money... could it be that

all the candidates in

the prefecture will be..." Everyone's here for the

imperial examinations, the entire city is under martial law,

and with the Provincial Education Commissioner in attendance,

we'll be fine in the city.

When we go out tomorrow,

have Maolin and the others accompany us.

These days, whenever we go out,

we must inform them in advance; we

absolutely cannot go out

alone. Where exactly are we holding this?

If we 're setting up a stage like a theater,

the space can't be too small

. Come on, let's find someone to ask around.

Do you think

anyone will tell us since we

're unfamiliar with this place

? Don't worry, we can definitely find out.

Dear guests, please enjoy your

meal. If you'd like more dishes, please let me

know. Young man, don't go yet.

I want to

ask you

something.

You've come to the right place! I

know exactly

where the crowds are in Guangping Prefecture,

and which opera troupe performs the best.

It's not easy to come to Guangping Prefecture, so

we can't miss out on good things . Please tell us, young man,

which opera troupe performs the best in Guangping Prefecture?

How about

the Chunhua Troupe in the south of the city?

Now you all know, right?

Got it! Eat up!

We'll find a broker later

and have him take us to the yamen.

We'll stew this chicken ourselves.

It shouldn't cost 50 coins,

but they're charging over 100 here!

That's outrageous! Second Sister-in-law, if we didn't need to gather information, I wouldn't have come to a place like this either. It's truly a rare sight.

The provincial examination is tomorrow, and I never expected a scholar to go to the yamen to file a complaint. Yes, after all, a student who has passed the preliminary examination isn't an official, nor is a scholar who has passed the county examination. If it were just a business transaction, no one would object. The real problem is

that

someone

might

expose

this

matter

.

I

heard that the two are classmates on the surface,

but they're actually from the countryside.

They're fighting tooth and

nail for the title of scholar

, determined to prevent the other from passing tomorrow's provincial examination.

By the way, where are their ancestral homes

? I think it's Anyuan County.

I never expected that... Using such despicable means to

accuse my family of running a weaving workshop and competing with the people

for profit, implying moral flaws

, is simply unacceptable to Gu Chengli.

He's so smug, saying that writing should be substantial and

devoid of flowery

language—utter nonsense!

He abandoned his teacher to pursue further studies,

and when I exposed his actions, I

was expelled .

He's actually narrow-minded and jealous,

intolerant of anyone's achievements.

I overheard from Master Li

that his family runs a weaving workshop,

and I knew my chance had come.

Tomorrow is the provincial examination

; I certainly won't pass the county -level

exam, so he can forget about it too.

I've been well-versed in the teachings of the sages since childhood and understand

the principle of officials competing with the people for profit.

Yet Gu Chengli, as the head of the prefectural examination , wants to enter officialdom

through the imperial examinations,

but he knowingly breaks the law,

engaging in such despicable acts

that violate the teachings of the sages and encroach upon the livelihoods of the people.

The sages nurtured their heirs

hoping we would uphold our principles.

An Sheji, a student, could no longer tolerate

Gu Chengli's actions

and had no choice but to report to the Prefect,

requesting that he be investigated according to the law.

He warned against allowing unscrupulous individuals to use the opportunity of

passing the imperial examinations to harm

the local community and tarnish

the reputation of scholars.

"Nonsense! Silence! No noise is allowed in the hall

! Your Honor,

this man is falsely accusing me.

My family doesn't do business

; the person who does is my cousin.

You can certainly argue,

but the village is over a hundred miles away.

A round trip would take at least four or five days.

Once the investigation is complete and the academicians have finished, be

quiet!

I want to mess with Gu Chengli's mentality.

If the Prefect investigates, he

can forget about entering the examination hall tomorrow.

If the Prefect protects him

, I can catch him off guard.

No matter how you look at it,

I won't lose out.

Is this man insane?

What grudge does Brother Chengli have

against this person that he would do this?

This person is the one who slandered Brother Chengli

during the examination!

It's him!

I'll go up and say, '

Why are you stopping me

from doing business?' This matter isn't that big,

and the other party is just

making baseless accusations. All I need

is for Chengli to say..." We must insist that

the other party has no other choice

, but if you go now

, you'll drag other things into it.

Also, don't forget that

the provincial examination is tomorrow.

Let's downplay this

and make sure Cheng Li can pass the provincial examination smoothly tomorrow. That's the important thing.

You shameless brat

, Chen Ximo is a useful dog.

As long as I provoke him,

he'll bite.

Gu Chengyan thought he

could really pass the imperial examination without Master

Li's help. That's a pipe dream.

Two brothers,

we are both from Anyuan County.

You two just said that someone has sued a fellow candidate from the same hometown,

and it has already reached the government. Is

that right?

Who is beating the drum ?

Reporting to the magistrate

, the person beating the drum at the gate is Gu Chengli's wife and cousin.

They said they want to come forward to testify.

How could this happen?

How could someone from the city be arrested and brought to the government office?

Calm down, it's not a big deal

.

Brother Shuanzi, Second Sister-in-law

, you two come with me to the government office. Second Brother

, you say what you want, I'll listen to you.

You and Brother Maolin, hurry home and get our

travel permits and your contract as the landlord of Xinmianzhi,

as well as the business card I gave to the owner of Puchufang.

Good

job, be quick.

Don't tell your mother-in-law,

get everything. After we finish our business,

we 'll meet at the entrance of the government office.

Hmm

, I understand. Little Concubine has gotten darker

and thinner, but her eyes are still bright.

This humble

woman, Song Qian

, is the first wife of Gu Chengli.

I greet you, Prefect. You say you are Gu Chengli's wife

, and

your family runs a weaving workshop?

Your Excellency,

the weaving workshop is run by my second cousin, Gu Xinli, from my eldest uncle's family.

My grandfather passed away

early, and my uncle and father-in-law separated their households 20 years ago.

You are the

owner, Second Brother. Your Excellency asks if you are the owner of the weaving workshop.

I am the owner

of the weaving workshop!

Utter nonsense ! Your Excellency,

these two are lying . As far as I know,

the weaving workshop was run by Gu Chengli's parents

, and their ability to run it

was due to Gu Chengli's wife's skill in dyeing cloth

. You seem quite familiar with my family's situation,

Your Excellency. We brought our travel permit and weaving workshop contract.

Please take a look, Your Excellency.

Present

them here.

Your Excellency

, the small piece of paper among them

is the business card I gave to various cloth

shops in the prefectural city when I sold cloth these days. I received

cards from Rong Family Cloth Shop, Baise Cloth Shop, and Li Family Cloth Shop. Your

Excellency can summon the managers of these three cloth shops

to find out the truth. The name on that fake

business card

is actually mine.

And what's this about

dyeing cloth? My wife's family has

a family tradition of dyeing cloth. When she got married, her family

gave her that skill as part of her dowry.

Now, my younger brother

works as the head dyer in a weaving and dyeing workshop.

Hmm, it seems that's right.

My lord, my lord, you are right!

These two people are definitely imposters

. They are definitely imposters!

Gu Chengli's wife is an

illiterate peasant girl.

How could she possibly speak Mandarin?

Besides, I've been staying at the same inn as Gu Chengli,

and I've never heard of his family coming to the prefectural city to sell cloth.

Moreover, if they were coming to sell cloth,

why didn't they come with

the scholars taking the imperial examinations?

That way, they

could avoid the city's taxes.

They must be imposters. They

didn't come together

because they didn't want to disturb my husband's examinations

and were worried about his health.

That's why they begged their cousin to bring me along.

Besides, judging from your

clothes and your accent

, you clearly come from a peasant family. I

never expected you to have such prejudice against peasants.

Who says peasant girls can't be literate?

You

can't speak Mandarin, yet

you clearly knew everything about my family just now

, but you repeatedly twisted the truth.

First, you falsely accused my husband of misconduct,

and now you question our identities without any basis. According to

the laws of Wu,

impersonation is a serious crime.

What deep-seated hatred have we, my husband and I,

accused of wanting to kill us? Please

, Your Honor, see the truth

and clear our names. My Honor,

please don't be

afraid , I must tell

you, my Honor

, Chen Ximo and I were old friends and classmates, but

we've been at odds for a long time.

Back when we were both studying at the Li family's private school,

he boasted about his ornate writing and mocked

my lagging essays. When

I turned around and studied,

he actually slandered me to our teacher,

saying I had disgraced the school. Our

teacher, with his discerning eye,

rebuked him for his magnanimity. Narrow-mindedness

led to his expulsion from the private school,

and he has harbored resentment ever since

, repeatedly provoking me.

Today, he tells me that my visit

is merely a pretext

to ruin my future.

Every word he says is true.

I implore you to see the truth.

Gu Chengli's words are indeed true.

You cannot provide any concrete evidence

, yet you deliberately frame your classmate,

adding to your guilt. Here,

strip Chen Ximo of his scholar's degree, give him twenty strokes of the cane , expel him from

the government office

, and never allow him to take the imperial examinations again.

Hey,

I just didn't want Gu Chengwang to take the exam.

How did it become that I was stripped of my degree

and can never take the imperial examinations again?

What was the point of all these years of studying?

Hurry up, hurry up,

don't slouch here,

sir!

Give me another chance!

I really didn't know that the weaving workshop

wasn't owned by Gu Chengli alone.

I've studied hard for over ten years, and

it's finally... "I can't believe

you all came after

I passed the preliminary examination, Second Uncle. If we hadn't come,

you and Cheng Li would have been wronged.

I'm afraid of power,

not morality. Don't pay any attention

to me. Focus on your exam tomorrow

. It's worse for

someone like you to be stripped of his degree

than to die. Bah! You call yourself a scholar

? You 're shameless!

You spout lies all the time.

Our Gu family has been cursed for eight lifetimes

to be targeted by someone like you.

Don't let me see you again.

You still have the nerve to glare at me

? Take a piss and look at yourself. You

look like a drowned chick.

I find you disgusting.

Madam, you

should be forgiving.

It 's impolite

to insult a scholar like that.

Hmph

, isn't this Master Li?

When I went to your house to deliver the festival gifts this Dragon Boat Festival,

we..." "I've seen him before,

Master Li. Since you're so eloquent

, you should have arrived sooner.

You claim to be fair, selfless,

and the greatest sage in the world.

You stood by and watched your own brother

slander my husband and my

identity as fraudulent in the main hall

without uttering a sound.

Now you're asking us to spare him

? What do you mean by that

? Oh dear , with so many people around, you

have no manners at all.

How can you speak to your elders like that

? Gu Chengli, you just watched your wife

humiliate your former teacher

like this . Don't try to boss

me around. I won't fall for your act

. Our family was almost driven to death by your seventh brother,

and you didn't even stand up to say a word of justice.

Now you're standing up and playing the good guy.

Are you a cat or a mouse?

Whose side are you on

?" I can see right through you!

You claim to be my husband's tutor? Bah!

What kind of tutor is a mere student?

My husband is studying under your father!

Your seventh brother has always been at odds with my husband,

picking fights time and time again.

And now you're publicly defending him.

It's clear what kind of life

my husband led when he studied at your family's private school

!

Luckily, the current emperor is wise and

has established a county school.

My husband was summoned to attend and

escaped your den of wolves.

Otherwise, not only would he be in trouble in the prefectural city today, but

he might not even have made it here.

Women and petty men are difficult to deal with.

Stop with the nonsense I don't understand.

I think you two are in cahoots,

both trying to harm us.

Your hearts are sharper than needles! She's still young, but

seeing how learned my husband is,

she secretly made up stories and

went to the yamen to falsely accuse him,

trying to ruin our whole family.

We can't afford

to offend her, but we can

at least avoid her.

The academicians want five people to mutually guarantee each other's

rights. Who would team up with you for a joint guarantee? Be careful!

If you fail your exams, you'll get malicious. If something happens

later, the guarantors will lose their titles and go

to jail.

Only a fool would dare to team up with you for a joint guarantee. Damn, I suddenly think marrying a capable wife isn't so bad.

How did you get to the prefectural city? When did you

arrive?

Why did you suddenly appear in the main hall?

I wanted to ask him if he

had a bad time at the Li Family Private School. Never

mind, I'll ask him another time.

What I said today

will probably ruin

the reputation of the Li Family Private School in

Anyuan County. Which inn are you staying at

? Don't stay at the inn. We 've

rented a small courtyard in the prefectural city.

Why don't you and Dad come and stay there?

Yes, come and stay there.

Second Aunt is here too.

Second Aunt is here in the prefectural city too.

Yes, Second Uncle

, let's hurry to the inn to pack our things.

You kids are really something.

Why didn't you tell me you were coming to the prefectural city beforehand? I

haven't told Cheng Li's mother about today's events yet.

No, no, I didn't tell her.

My second aunt didn't know that

in such a peaceful and prosperous time

, such a false accusation would still happen.

It's simply unbelievable!

Don't be angry, everything's been resolved.

That person was stripped of his student status by the prefect.

And Xiao Qian

also helped scold Master Li.

You didn't see how Xiao Qian scolded people;

I felt so good listening to him. Hahaha!

Master Li's face flushed red, and

he finally stammered something like, "

Luckily, you're a resourceful child.

If it weren't for you

, things wouldn't have ended so easily today.

This shows our family is blessed.

It just so happens that I stumbled upon this."

That Uncle Li actually used the excuse of "immorality" to pressure Cheng Li.

Cheng Li is a junior,

and my father is an elder.

With so many people around,

it's easy for them to be suppressed.

Naturally, it was time for me,

a country girl who didn't know any rules, to step in.

Besides, ever since that guy stood up

to speak for that Chen guy,

I've wanted to curse him. This is

a good opportunity to vent my anger.

Who said you don't know any rules?

You're the most knowledgeable

and intelligent one.

You studied at the Li family's private school before.

Mother, rest assured

, just as the maid said,

my teacher is Teacher Li.

Teacher Li only teaches young children;

my son didn't suffer any hardship

during his years at the Li family private school.

As for Teacher Li's current attitude,

it 's probably because I suddenly went to study at the county school,

and that's why he's unhappy with me.

Brother-in-law, brother-in-law

, you have to help me!

I've studied for so many years

and suffered so much;

I finally passed the preliminary examination

and can't lose my academic achievement!

Besides, I'm the only male in the Chen family;

my sister will be heartbroken when she finds out! Brother

-in-law , you have to help me!

You have to help me!

Let go!

Do you know

that because of your foolish actions,

I've already been implicated and is being punished

by the prefect? I've been stripped of my academic honors

and forbidden from ever taking the exam again.

What can I do?

You won't help me,

how can you not help me?

Back then, you said Gu Chengli disrespected

his teachers and broke his promise to you

by climbing the social ladder and going to study at the Imperial Academy. I

was expelled from the Imperial Academy to avenge you,

which is why I can't accept the teachings of a Juren (a

successful candidate in the provincial examination)

and now I'm unable to pass the provincial examination

. All of this happened so long ago.

Besides, it wasn't me who asked you to avenge me.

How can you pin the blame for being expelled from

the county school on me

? You were the one who told me Gu Chengli's family owned a weaving workshop

, and you were the one who told me scholars couldn't do business.

You were the one who kept instigating

me to go to the prefectural government to sue Gu Chengli.

So saying Gu Chengli can't go to the examination hall

is utter nonsense.

Don't spout such lies.

You want to kick me aside?

It's clearly you who's always been jealous of Gu Chenglin's talent.

Before, your father kept you in check

, so you didn't dare do too much.

Later, Gu Chengyun went to the county school,

leaving your Li family's private school

and receiving instruction

from a scholar, and you resented Gu Chengyun even more.

You've spoken ill of Gu Chengli to me time and time again,

and I remember

it all.
Believe it

or not,
if I were to reveal your actions right now,

and you were to ruin my reputation along with yours

, do you think anyone would believe your rumors?

Others will just think you're making baseless accusations.
People would only think you're making baseless accusations.

It doesn't

matter anyway, my life is ruined.

Unless someone vouches for you,

you won't get into the Imperial

Examination Hall or become an academician.

We'll both be useless.

You ruined yourself,

and now you want to ruin me

too! Ugh!

Help me
! Help me!

Sir, this shop is closed during the academician period. Don't

come in

! No, I didn't kill anyone.

Go to bed early tonight

, I have to go to the Imperial Examination Hall early tomorrow morning.

Okay,

why are you looking at me like that

? You're dark, aren't you?

Oh, this

is makeup

.

When you're out and about, you need extra protection. Dressing a

little rougher makes you safer.

Thank you

for today, Xiaoping. I

don't know what else to say

but thank you. You 're welcome. I

've encountered a few scoundrels in my life.

Don't worry about anything, just

focus on your exams tomorrow.

I didn't tell you I was coming to the capital

because I was worried about putting too much pressure on you

, but now it's me who's come to you.

This will never happen again.

Parents, Xiao Chen, I'm going. Go

ahead, think about it, did you forget anything?

Did you bring

everything? Yes,

Mr. Gao, everything's ready. Yes, everything's

ready

. Brother Cheng Li, something terrible happened yesterday afternoon.

Teacher Li killed Chen Ximo.

What did

you say? Don't listen to his nonsense.

Those two got into some kind of argument,

and in the scuffle,

Chen Ximo hit his head on the edge of the table,

which is how the accident happened.

Anyway, it was an accident.

Don't worry about the details. It's not surprising, anyway,

he killed someone.

Don't overthink it.

This has nothing to do with you.

I know. Focus on

your exam.

It's none of your business

. Students will be lining up to enter and be tested later

. Mom, let's go back first.

Once it closes inside

, it won't open for three days.

If we wait here until

the exam is over in the city,

he'll be so filial. He

won't be happy

to see you and Dad like this.

I know. Let's go back.

This exam question quotes two passages.

One is from the Book of

Songs, "Wangfu Qiu Xianwang Kegong Mingxing

" (枉服求先 王克 共明刑), and

the other is from Mencius, "Liang Hui Wang Shang Baomin

Er Mo Zhi Neng Yu Ye

" (保民而王 莫之能御也). "I

asked, ' How can governing a country be balanced

between virtue and punishment?'"

I think the purpose of law is not punishment. Punishing criminals

is the means

to protect ordinary people.

Punishing crime is the means

, protecting the people is the ultimate goal.

The law is the ultimate measure, and bringing peace to the people is the fundamental purpose

. The original intention of punishment

is

to punish evildoers to bring peace to the people.

Weren't you going to find a theatrical troupe to cooperate with?

Why didn't you go? It

doesn't matter.

I'll go find

Xiao Qian

after Cheng Li comes out of the examination hall in the next two days . Don't worry about us.

We have this old problem.

Every time someone from the city goes to the examination hall, we're like this.

You should do what you need to do.

There's no need for you to stay cooped up in this little courtyard with us.

I'm not in the mood to do anything else

since I haven't come out of the city.

In this era, corvée labor is deadly.

There are signs at any time

, and you might even be dragged to the battlefield and die far from home.

Passing the imperial examination in your hometown

is not... Not only am I exempt from corvée labor

, but I'm also exempt from corvée labor

and can protect my entire family from harassment by the yamen runners.

This imperial examination could change my social standing,

and I would benefit from it too

. Naturally, I'm nervous.

I'm thinking about making quick money by selling cotton and satin at a fashion show

, and leaving the prefectural city as soon as

I can to avoid trouble .

If he passes the exam and becomes a scholar,

my insurance will be one more layer.

Look, someone's being carried out.

Where are Rong Sheng's family from Yuanhe County?

Cheng Li, where are they? Look,

Cheng Li is over there!

Cheng Li, we're over here!

We're over here!

I'm fine.

Let's go back and

take a bath or have a meal.

Let's wash the pot first;

there's hot water warming up.

Auntie,

Cheng Li is still sleeping.

Is he alright? He's just too tired.

After learning about the cloth-buying plan, Gu Deshan

followed the opera troupe.

We booked a small opera troupe

with a pipa player and a flute player.

The troupe owner thought

it was strange that they couldn't find any famous actresses.

It doesn't matter if I don't pass the exam;

our family is wealthy now,

and we can take

the exams later

. I started my formal education at age 6 and

began taking the imperial examinations at age 12. I'm 19 this

year. In previous years, I took the preliminary exams almost every two years.

I'm used to failing

, but I have to persevere

because I know it's not just about me,

but about the entire Gu family.

Since I started school,

my parents and my uncle's

family have always supported me.

Sometimes I think

that when I'm in my thirties,

if I can barely pass the county-level exam,

I'll go... Being a minor official in the yamen means

I can still do some work for my family,

so don't be nervous

. I'm not nervous.

My brothers

, please help me find the same name on

the list as the one on the paper

. Hahaha

,

boss!

I found the same name at the very top !

The top-ranked

academician of this year, the

scholar from Anyuan County, Gu Chengli, my

second aunt, my second aunt,

Chengli passed the exam.

Hmm,

Cheng Li, he's the top

scholar! I remember Cheng Li

was also the top scholar in the county exam,

right? That's a "small three-yuan" (

a title for

achieving high honors in the imperial examinations)

. What is a "small three-yuan

"? The imperial examinations are divided into "small three-yuan" and "big three-yuan".

Passing all three exams—county, prefectural, and provincial—is called "small three-yuan

". Passing all three exams—provincial, metropolitan, and palace—

is called "small three-yuan ". The first one

is called the Grand Triple Crown

Scholar.

There are many talented people in the imperial examinations, but very few can achieve the triple crown

. Although Cheng Li is only a Junior Triple Crown Scholar

, it's still very impressive.

I noticed there are three small characters after his name, but

unfortunately, I don't know what they

mean. What do

they say

? Hehehe, Gu Xiucai

from Anyuan County

congratulates you!

Congratulations, Gu Xiucai!

You are the top scholar in this year's provincial examination in Guangping Prefecture

, achieving the triple crown!

The imperial court has exceptionally bestowed upon you the title of Lin Shansheng.

Thank you for the good news, young man.

Mr. Chen,

I originally thought I wasn't nervous

, since I only passed the preliminary examination this year.

But now, I feel increasingly uneasy

... It's normal to be nervous. I'm also

the 36th academician this year.

Zhao Xiuyuan, a scholar from Anyuan County,

passed the exam. I

come from the Zhao family.

My grandfather and father were both officials.

Now that I've passed the exam,

I can finally change my family's fortunes

. Congratulations, Xiuyuan !

Congratulations to you

too! It seems I didn't make it this time. Don't

be too discouraged.

You're younger than me and Cheng Li. You

just passed the preliminary exam this year.

There will be other opportunities.

We haven't finished registering

yet. Wait a little longer,

son. You wait here while

I go outside to check the list.

Ma Bosheng, a scholar from Julu County,

is the 62nd academician this year.

I am Ma Boyong from Julu County.

I passed !

Jiang Jiangzhi, a scholar from Anyuan County,

also passed

! Hahaha!

My mother said

Cheng Li would definitely be dragged to a banquet by his classmates today,

and now it seems

she was right.

I felt like going with him.

Let's celebrate properly today,

hahaha,

cheers!

Why are you back?

A bunch of people are drunk,

I didn't want to mess around with them,

so I came back.

Be careful what they say behind your back, that you're

a low-ranking scholar from Guangping Prefecture and not a good fit.

They'll say you're

just a Xiucai (a lower-ranking scholar),

nothing special.

If you want to enter

officialdom, there are many more exams to take.

You're quite ambitious,

hahaha !

You passed!

You really passed!

And you're a top-ranking scholar!

How are you so amazing?

Song Sui dreamt that Gu Chengli would never pass the Xiucai exam in his life.

It seems his dream was crushed. Let's not

take a break.

Now that the exams are over,

the students are starting to return home.

While the city is bustling

, let's quickly set up the stage.

I remember you know how to use water sleeves.

When you go on stage, you can play a few tunes while playing

the pipa.

Everyone looks down on street performers

, but this host is very professional.

He doesn't look down on them

or use any foul language.

This makes me feel like I'm a star

. I understand

.

Okay, okay.

This is a Qingyi (female role) from the Fushun troupe

named Shuixiu.

She wears a red cotton satin jacket and a

soft, silky

fabric

that hangs down her body. The fabric

is smooth, dense, and

brightly colored.

When made into a dress, it looks elegant and luxurious

. Only half the price of silk!

Limited to 200 bolts today!

Cloth shop closing down sale!

Cotton tribute cloth, just like silk,

only 75 coins per foot!

Only 200 bolts available today!

Don't miss

out! Buy

now, or they'll be gone!

I'm here to buy! Let me see the cloth.

I want the peach pink color.

Is your cloth really that good?

I've never seen this kind of

cloth before. It's so cheap

, there can't be any problems, right?

We're all honest merchants,

why would we cheat?

A customer can tell at a glance

that my goods are absolutely fine. Excuse

me, excuse me!

Anyone want the sky blue? Come over here!

Sure enough,

the New Year's feast in the prefectural city caused a stir among the cloth shops... Thankfully

, we're already on our way back!

This

trip to the prefectural city was really worthwhile!

Yesterday, I received an invitation letter from the prefectural academy,

and I can study there next spring.

The academy not only has three successful candidates who take turns teaching,

but also a master who teaches the Six Arts of a Gentleman, and a vast collection of books.

Going to the academy will inevitably mean parting ways with Xiaoyun.

I didn't want

Xiaoyun to be sad after seeing the letter

; instead, she

was happy for me.

She said that romantic feelings should come later

and that I shouldn't miss this good opportunity.

Why are you staring at me like that?

There's something on my face.

Do n't move.

Is it a bug?

I should put on my veil.

It's a leaf

! Haha

,

the car is full of goods bought in the prefectural city.

Chunfu is now convinced of my worth.

Gu Xinli

secretly complained that his wife

was becoming his sister-in-law's little follower.

Finally, they arrived,

and he could go home soon.

Although the prefectural city was bustling

, he still felt home was the best place.

This is what they mean by "there's no place like home."

Hey, isn't that my older brother?

What are you doing here?

I knew you were coming back soon,

so I specially waited for you here. You

must be exhausted from the journey,

your bones are practically falling apart!

By the way , older brother

, how are you?

Don't worry, you can eat and sleep

well.

From now on, I'll have to call you Scholar Gu.

Does that mean that if I pass the imperial examination, my older

brother will become distant from me

? No way! Hahaha,

hurry back home!

We're all overjoyed

to hear you passed the imperial examination

and were even granted the title of Scholar-official.

The village scholar is back!

Get the

music going!

Make it lively!

I never expected

the village to value

Gu Chengli's passing the imperial examination

so much! Uncle, I didn't let you down this time!

I passed!

Uncle knows you've always been a

filial and grateful child.

Our Gu family

can finally hold our heads high in this area!

Good! Good!

Look how happy your older brother is, he's lost weight.

Take a good rest at home these days.

Don't keep talking to Chengli.

They must be exhausted from their journey back.

Yes, yes, go

back and rest.

Food and hot water are all prepared.

My son-in-law is a scholar;

let's see who dares to ostracize the Song family now that

we have such a good marriage!

The third son is still alive... Working in the weaving workshop

is so enjoyable!

I never imagined that little girl, Song Qian,

would become a scholar's wife in the blink of an eye.

But then I think about how Gu Chengzhi

passed the imperial examination

and became a scholar's wife.

How could that be?

In my dream, Gu Chengzhi only passed the examination more than ten years later.

How could things have changed now

? Did Song Qian and Gu Chengyan return from the prefectural city

? Ahh,

seeing my son is like seeing a useless wife.

Why isn't he rich yet

? Why is he still in the village, farming like a good-for-nothing?

Cry, cry, cry! All you know is to cry!

What good are

you besides crying? Stop crying! He passed

the imperial examination in the city and

got a

government stipend. He'll receive government rice every year.

Our village will be so lively for a few days!

Oh dear,

I, Gu Liangshan, am going to... We're having a three-day feast in the village,

slaughtering a pig

each day. Everyone who's free tomorrow should come help out,

and we're inviting everyone to the feast.

Brother, how can I let you pay for this? I'm

here; it's none of your business.

This is a congratulatory gift for Cheng Li.

He's been thinking about this for

years,

and now that we can finally hold it

, let him do it.

Sister-in-law, a three-day feast is no small sum . Second Aunt

, my father has been saving up for

this feast for years

, hoping to have a grand celebration after Cheng Li passes the imperial examination in the city.

You and Second Uncle, please don't refuse!

Hahaha,

Mother, do you think these things are appropriate

? Do we need to add anything else?

No, we don't need anything.

You've prepared very well

; it's all thanks to my excellent teaching.

Today, Uncle is truly... The feast

lasted three days,

with a whole pig every day.

I felt my original preparations

were too meager, so I added another 30%.

Back then, Gu Chengli was able to study under Master Li

thanks to his elder brother's

family. I don't think Chengli

suffered any real hardship at the Li family's private school.

Think about it,

Chengli was the top scorer in the county exam

and then the top scorer in the prefectural exam.

Of course, this doesn't exclude

the fact that Chengli was inherently excellent,

but look at Chengli's gentle and

refined nature. How could

someone who has been suppressed and rejected for a long time

be like this?

So, I think that Master Li

was at most just jealous of Chengli behind his back.

Although there is competition among classmates

, it is mostly healthy. For

Cheng Li, hardship is nourishment for growth

, not an ordeal.

You're right.

As for why

someone suddenly jumped out to cause trouble,

I think there's a reason that makes sense.

The Li Family Private School is the best private school in Anyuan County.

No matter how good its reputation is

, they charge tuition fees,

which is essentially a business.

And with the opening of the county school

and the hiring of a scholar from out of town to teach,

the Li Family Private School's business was the first to be affected.

That young teacher Li was already jealous of Cheng Li.

Before, when Cheng Li studied at the Li Family Private School,

he benefited from it

, so he tolerated it.

Later, when Cheng Li went to study at the county school in the city,

no matter how well he did in the exams,

people would only say it was the county school's achievement, so

the other party naturally lost his temper.

But evil people will be punished by heaven

. After someone

got into trouble

, let alone trying to cause trouble,

he can't even see us if he wants to

. You're

so clever, I didn't even think of that.

You're just worried sick, Mother. I

've prepared writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones

for my elder brother's children , Wensi and Wenmin.

Do you think we need anything else? Maybe

some more paper?

With such a wife,

what more could a

husband ask for?

I'm so fortunate to have her, I cherish

her dearly.

Your dear sister came back from the prefectural city,

and you didn't even go to get closer to her.

Even Li Zheng's second

daughter-in-law went to the prefectural city to make her fortune.

When she came back, she was pulling three carts full of goods,

all of which I heard were for sale.

Do you still think you and Song Qian

are the same as when you were just girls at home?

Song Qian

is now a scholar's wife ,

and... With such a large weaving workshop

managing about ten people,

Gu Liangshan said

he'd be holding a three-day feast in the village

starting tomorrow,

slaughtering a pig each day.

With such a good opportunity,

why aren't you taking advantage of it

?

Your younger brother is currently dyeing thread at the workshop;

it's easy work,

earning him nearly half a string of cash a month.

He can also dye cloth now.

You said Gu Lizheng is going to hold a feast

? Yes, the village is in an uproar because of this.

Why didn't Gu Lizheng hold a feast in

my dream when Gu Cheng passed the imperial examination?

Why are things that didn't happen in my dream

now appearing one by one?

Mother said Song Qian asked about the dream.

Could it be that all of this was Song Qian's scheme?

Could it be that I've been falling for Song Qian's trick all along?

But in the dream, the main wife really did become rich!

Get out of here

! What are you doing?

The child finally fell asleep.

Why don't you go into business

and make money?

Why do

you insist on staying at home farming? Tell me

, what are you doing?

Fengzi was already in jail.

Don't you think you've harmed Bingzi enough?

I

can make a deal by sending him money.

Why can't he, a grown man, do the same?

Why are you sending so many things?

They're all things that can be used normally,

not big items.

These are things for Wensi and Wenmin to use for studying. They're

all small items, picked out one by one from the bookstores in the prefectural city.

Among them is a picture book for early childhood education

with illustrations

that are perfect for... Wenmin's first lesson

also included some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—

the children will need them for reading and writing. Oh

dear, even when I'm away,

you still have to worry about the family. It

wasn't just me who carried things; my

second sister-in-law also helped a lot.

You didn't even tell me sooner!

I was so busy coming back

that I completely forgot.

I already ordered the three pigs.

I'll go to Butcher Wang in town first thing tomorrow morning and

he'll bring them over—one pig

per day.

I've also arranged the cooks and food for

the banquet. There's nothing to do at home

tomorrow; you two don't need to help.

Just wait and eat!

That's great!

I'll just have a ready-made meal.

Hehe,

I think

you've received your acceptance letter to the prefectural school. Xuexin

is going to study in the prefectural city after the New Year.

His uncle's

prefectural school has three successful candidates

in the imperial examinations , one of whom is said to have

retired from the Imperial Academy in the capital.

Uncle Liangshan, Uncle Liangshan, Uncle Liangshan,

hurry and go to Zheng Youfu's house! There's

trouble at their house again!

What happened?

They 're fighting again!

You know Zheng Youfu injured his leg

recently ,

and the herbalist said he'd need to rest in bed for a hundred or two hundred days.

Now, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are fighting

, and there's no one in charge

. No one can stop them!

Song Sui, why are you fighting with Wang Meixiang again?

Why do these two, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, fight every

now and then

? You're all lying to me, lying to me!

Wang Meixiang, you... "You bastard,

you have no humanity!

Who lied to you?

You stay home all day, eating and drinking well, serving everyone.

Look at the whole village, which wife acts like you,

always like a pampered young mistress

? And you say my family lied to you?

Then tell me, what did my family lie to you

about?

Shut up! Why aren't you sleeping?

What kind of family is this, arguing like

this? Is that how you talk to your mother-in-law?

Song Qian

, you are Song Qian

? Yes, Sui Sui

, Song Qian has returned from the prefectural city.

He came to see you.

It's me!

You're now a scholar's wife!

You've opened a weaving workshop and become rich!

Song Sui is acting strangely,

her emotions are too agitated.

Could it be postpartum anxiety or postpartum depression

? You've changed my life

!

You ask your mother in your dream..."

You know about the dream, right? You

know everything that happened in the dream

. If you hadn't taken Gu Deshan to see the doctor beforehand, Gu Chengli wouldn't have

had the chance to take the imperial examination

in the prefectural city this year.

And his studies at the county school

weren't in the dream either.

I should have discovered

all of this long ago. You did it all

; you changed my fate.

Now you're rich

and a scholar's wife;

you've got everything.

I don't understand what you're saying.

You understand,

you definitely understand.

Li Zheng and Song Qian aren't good people;

they've been pretending all along.

They used me.

I was the one who was originally engaged to Gu Chengli;

I was the one who should have married Gu Chengli.

It was Song... Qian took my place as the wife of a scholar.

I was supposed to be making a fortune,

but Song Qian took all the money I could have earned,

leaving me with nothing. It's all her

fault,

everything is hers.

What does Song Sui mean? What does it mean that I should have married her?

What does it mean that I can't go to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination this year?

What does it mean that I didn't get into the county school?

Originally, a concubine's son could have made a fortune

! Ahhh,

sister, please save the Huo family! The gun

is big enough, dismember the dog!

I've wanted to do this for a long time!

You actually hit me!

If you dare say another word,

I'll slap you again!

You dare?

Song Qian actually dared to hit me!

The timid Song Qian of the past actually dared to hit me!

Don't say anything more! You... Stop talking

now. Even if we reveal the arranged marriage now,

Song Sui can't remarry Gu Chengli.

On the contrary, if the Zheng family finds out about the arranged marriage,

Sui Sui will be dead, and

our family will be in trouble too. Are you

awake?

Look around. How many people are watching?

How many people are listening to your nonsense?

What did I just say,

Mother?

Song Sui just choked up. She

probably won't be able to take care of the child for the next few days.

Take her home and let her rest for a couple of days.

Oh dear,

she has a fever! Oh dear, is she delirious? Of course she's

delirious!

My dear in-law, Sui Sui is delirious and

has said a lot of crazy things.

Don't take it to heart.

I'll take her back right now

.

As for the child,

you can help with this first. "He

's so busy, he

does nothing but

stay home taking care of a child, and he still gets sick?

Is he a paper doll? He

'll break at the slightest touch

! Humph,

let's go back. We

'll go to my house tomorrow.

What's wrong

? I'm fine. Let's go back

.

If I hadn't married Xiaoqian

, I might not have had the chance to donate blood.

Dad's illness might have made me miss the hospital exam.

If I had married Song Sui,

he wouldn't have gotten along well with my mother.

Thank God Xiaoqian married me.

You didn't sleep well last night. You

've

been traveling for days,

and lying on the kang at home all of a sudden

feels a bit strange.

This is your life of hard work,

Xiaoqian. This is steamed egg custard I made for you.

Thank you, Mom. I've been craving it on the road these past few days.

Go and eat.

Okay."

It seems everyone took Song Sui's

words from last night as nonsense.

After all, no one could believe Song Sui had a precognitive dream.

Why is it that Song Qian can live a good life

both in dreams and in reality

, while he himself is always like this

? Song Qian is just lucky.

To put it bluntly, it's Zheng Chuan's fault for being so useless. He

was about to succeed in his business dealings with the main wife,

but then Zheng Liang screwed him

over. He's incredibly unlucky .

I told Zheng Fang to take the grain

to another county to exchange for sweet potatoes and potatoes,

but Wang Meixiang refused.

Wang Meixiang just hates me

and deliberately goes against my wishes.

Now that the cattle are gone,

everything is truly gone.

Three days have passed, and no one from the Zheng family has come to pick me up.

I'm going back to find Zheng Teng.

I want Grandma to know

that I'm no less capable than Song Qian.

Big sister,

I have to go now.

I was the one who first told my parents I wanted to marry Xiao Qian.

I was the one who took my father to see the doctor.

It was you!

From that day on,

I felt something was off about Song Sui's words.

Today, I want to try.

Let's see what secrets Song Sui has.

Yes, it was me

, and I also voluntarily left the Li family private school

for the county school.

In my dreams, every time Gu Chengli's figure flashed by,

suppressed anger, helplessness, and fear

would fill my chest.

I know this man is cold-hearted,

selfish, and self-serving.

I am definitely no match for him.

So after waking up,

I decisively chose the wife

who was so obedient to Song Qian

in my dream . Did you also have a dream?

I knew it.

I should have known. How could

someone as proud as you

possibly be interested in the dark and thin Song Qian?

You

're really stupid.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You know

you wasted more than ten years to barely pass the county-level exam

and could only become a minor official in the yamen.

Your father owes my family a life.

You want to pass the imperial examination

and have a good reputation

, so you married Song Qian.

So you seized the opportunity to go to the county school

and leave the Li family school

. You even took Gu Deshan to see a doctor in advance

so that you could pass the prefectural exam this year.

Song Qian had a falling out with my parents and

married me with her dyeing skills.

You used Song Qian's dyeing skills

to run a weaving workshop to earn money to support your studies

. Song Qian thought he was living a good life,

but it turns out it was all your mother and son's scheme!

I don't understand what you're saying

!

This man is terrifying!

Others may not know in the dream

, but I know it all perfectly well.

Madam Li is kind,

Little Li is gentle,

and his seventh brother is a very good person.

He has helped me many times

during the busy farming season and even led the ox to help my family with the plowing

. But in Gu Chengli, he ruined the reputation of the Li family, who

had taught him for many years , and

escaped unscathed. What

exactly do you want to do?

What about Li Fuzi?

What did you do to the Li family?

Little Li Fuzi killed his brother-in-law in the prefectural city

and has been imprisoned by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

He will be executed soon.

After hearing the news,

Li Fuzi fell seriously ill and was bedridden

. The Li family is in chaos.

You really did make a move again!

Song Sui, are you afraid of me?

What do you mean I made a move again

? Could it be that in Song Sui's dream,

I did something to the Li family?

Song Sui said, "I only passed the Xiucai exam more than ten years later

, but now I not only passed

but I am also a Linsheng student. I can enter the prefectural school in one year

. The current situation is

completely different from Song Sui's dream.

So why did you choose to marry Zheng so quickly after he had the dream?"

Is it because Xiaoqian married Zheng Fang?

Xiaoqian is so smart,

she can live well no matter where she goes.

Zheng Fang is a soft-hearted person with no opinions.

Stay away from Xiaoqian.

No matter what you do in the Zheng family,

it has nothing to do with Xiaoqian.

Otherwise, you know what I would do.

I would stay away from Gu Cheng.

This man is crazy.

You're back.

Look at this robe

and this "Four Directions Pacify the

Barbarians". Your aunt made these for you.

Wear them to

the teacher appreciation banquet tomorrow

.

A dream is a dream

. When you wake up, everything is meaningless. Xiaoqian

married me.

I married Xiaoqian.

Everything I have now is reality.

What's wrong

? Nothing, I'm just happy

. It's been so many days, and

you're still so happy.

Hurry up and change into it.

Your aunt said

the size can be altered if it's not right

. No wonder so many people have a uniform fetish.

Gu Cheng looks even more handsome

after changing into the clothes

. How is it? Does it

look good

? Do you like it? I

like it.

How about now

? I like it even more.

When Cheng Li goes to study in the city,

you need to have a close person by your side.

This person is your other half. Ears

are like an extra mouth and eyes for you

, so this person must be

someone you can completely trust.

The person accompanying Cheng Li

must be

carefully selected from the village, from families you know well.

If you choose an older person,

although they are steady

, their legs aren't very agile.

If you choose a younger person

, they are agile

but not steady.

Mother, what do you think of Gu Maolin?

On our way to the prefectural city,

I could tell he's a meticulous and bold person

with some martial arts skills.

If he can accompany Cheng Li,

you and Father will feel more at ease

. Oh,

how could I forget him ?

Mother, how should we pay him? How

much is appropriate?

400 coins

a month

, plus 30 jin of grain every three months,

two sets of clothes a year,

and another 30 jin of rice at the end of the year.

But Cheng Li will be going to the prefectural school next year.

Can people be brought into the prefectural school?

Heh,

silly girl, we have so much weaving and spinning work.

If the city doesn't need help,

we can have him come and help us.

Mother is right.

Brother Yuanshan, Sister- in-law Wen

, as long as you don't mind Maolin

running around with the city, that's fine.

I don't mind, I don't mind

running around, I'm still following behind the scholar and his husband

, haha,

how come this child is so noisy?

I've raised four children

and never seen such a noisy child.

Crying, crying, crying every day,

not sleeping at night.

I stay up all night with him,

I'm almost exhausted.

Fa Zi's mother always complains that I don't do any work,

and Fa Zi doesn't care about the child

. Doesn't Fa Zi have to go to the fields to work during the day?

Mother, why is my life so hard?

Sigh, just bear with it,

it will be better when the child is older.

You keep telling me to bear it.

How long am I supposed to endure this,

Mother?

I think there's really no hope of political punishment. I

thought it wouldn't be a big deal if the old couple were gone, but

who knew that suddenly losing two laborers

would make such a big difference.

After Song Sui gave birth

, she stayed at home all day doing nothing.

I had to go to the fields to work, cook

, and do laundry.

It was so frustrating!

Song Qinghuang, you dog emperor

,

you still expect her to come back on her own?

It's almost dark

, go and pick up your wife.

If I don't go

, the child cries every night,

making it impossible to sleep.

It's getting cold

, isn't it?

It was quite warm a few days ago. It

's

not cold.

What are you two doing?

Second brother, what are you going to do so early? There

are two looms in the

weaving workshop that keep shaking. I'm here early this morning before they open,

to get some tools and fix them.

Second Brother, are you coming over for lunch?

No, I've already eaten at home.

I'll go get busy now.

Second Brother, you're really working so hard! Oh

yes,

should we buy a horse

? What?

I mean, buy a horse?

Didn't you say the academy teaches the Six Arts of a Gentleman?

Brother Maolin said he learned to ride horses at the border.

Should we buy a horse so

you can try it out first

? That way, it'll be easier for you to get started when you get to the academy.

Would n't that be a waste

? No , I can learn too.

Besides, horses can be used to haul goods

.

Buying a horse? I actually know where to buy horses in the county town

, but they're so rare

! Instead of asking someone to keep an eye out beforehand

, why not just buy two horses?

We run a weaving workshop

and frequently deliver goods to town,

a round trip of over 40 li (approximately 20 kilometers).

Mules are indeed slower

than horses

, but a single horse carrying heavy loads for such a long distance can easily become exhausted.

If we buy two horses,

we can take turns carrying the load

and avoid frequent rest stops

, making deliveries much faster.

Once we get the horses,

I'll teach you how to ride

! Mother,

you can ride horses?

Don't believe me?

It's just

that Anyuan County is remote, and it

doesn't quite seem like

we can buy good horses.

Not only can I ride horses,

but I can also play polo

— you know

, that polo that often appears in poems and literature .

I haven't played in many years,

and I don't even know if I still remember it

. Yes, yes, yes, yes!

I'm sure my memories of playing polo will come back immediately

when Mother rides a horse.

Mother, I'll

play with you then.

But polo horses need special training,

ordinary horses won't do.

The weather outside isn't stable

right now.

To play polo, you first need to learn how to ride a horse.

Mother, teach me step by step, I'm not in a hurry.

Son, what is polo?

It's Cuju (蹴鞠).

Cao Zhi wrote in his famous poem "The Capital"

that even riding and playing Cuju

is incredibly skillful.

So Cuju is polo

. Holding a stick and

riding a horse

, the person who hits the ball into the designated area wins.

It's actually quite similar to Cuju.

One person runs on the ground and kicks the ball, while

the other rides on horseback and hits the ball with a stick.

So that's how it is.

My generation... I've never seen anyone play ball on horseback before.

Is it dangerous?

As long as you know how to ride

and train the horse well,

it's not dangerous.

Sixth Brother , I've given you the money,

you have to get me two good horses!

Second Brother Gu, don't worry,

don't you know my character?

I guarantee I'll get you two of the best horses.

What's been happening at the Li family private school lately

?

Ever since Li Laoshu's son

killed someone in the prefectural city,

Li Laoshu has been ill.

He recently had a stroke and

is now paralyzed in bed

, unable to move.

Now the second and third branches of the Li family are fighting over the inheritance and want to

send the wife of the young Li's husband, who

's in jail, back to her parents' home.

You know

those two are notorious scum in the county.

There's nothing they can't do.

It seems Anyuan County will no longer have the Li Family Private School.

Thanks!

Hey, Second Brother Gu,

we're brothers,

why

are you being so formal?

Master, Master,

someone's looking for you outside!

How many times have

I told you? How many times have I told you

? You can't just come in

when there are people here!

Why don't you listen, kid?

Hehe, Second Brother Gu,

I'm sorry.

This is a distant relative of mine.

He just came from the village last month.

His family is poor, they don't know where their next meal is coming from.

He's only now learning to herd livestock from me. He's

young and doesn't know any better.

Please be patient with him

. It's alright, he's still young,

I'll teach him slowly later. Hurry up

and thank you, Second Uncle Gu

. Thank you, Gu... Second Uncle

, I'm leaving now.

Remember to pick out two good horses for me.

If you can get two that can play polo, that would be even better.

Those kinds of horses are hard to find

and much more expensive than ordinary ones

. Second Brother, when did you learn to play polo?

Hmph, get lost!

My wife can play.

If we can really find those kinds of horses

, paying

more money is no problem. Sister-in-law , you're truly amazing!

Second Brother, don't forget your brother when you become successful!

I'm here to buy horses from you

, hehehe.

You'd better help me find two good ones.

It would be best if you could see if any

wealthy families are selling off their possessions

and get me two good horses from there.

Oh, Second Brother,

you really

know how to give me a tough time! "I knew you

were very capable , otherwise I wouldn't have come looking for you.

Alright,

I'll try my best to find it for you, Second Brother. As for

whether I can find it or not,

just do my best. Okay

, I'll be going now

. Uncle Gu, someone from the prefectural city is looking for you.

I

came from the prefectural city to buy cloth.

I left my business card when I sold cloth there.

If someone is interested,

they might be able to find out.

But Anyuan County is more than 100 li away from Guangping Prefecture,

so they can't reach there.

As long as I don't spread the word too much when I go to the prefectural city next time,

they have a 90% chance of not finding it.

The cotton tribute team's weaving method is safe in my hands.

The other party is my father who came to buy 4 bolts of Suhe floral cloth.

How much do they want to buy?

100 bolts.

They want a total of 1,000 bolts. They

want 500 bolts of floral cloth,

500 bolts of silk, and 4 bolts of silk."

Ah, so much!

It seems we'll have to sign a contract and collect a deposit.

Our weaving workshop can't come up with that much cloth right away.

The old woman is right.

If they only ask for 1,000 bolts of cloth,

what if we finish weaving but can't find them and

all the cloth is stuck in our hands?

We absolutely must collect

a deposit. How much is appropriate?

20%

, at least that will cover half the cost of the cotton yarn. That's feasible.

Let's leave the numbers on the contract blank

for now

, and fill in the final confirmed numbers after we discuss it with the caravan leader tomorrow.

Parents, what do you think of my idea?

This is a good idea!

It prevents those people from seeing the price on the contract

and then trying to lower the price further.

Hahaha,

1,000 bolts of cloth!

I had thought about it before... I never imagined such a big order!

I originally thought I'd just build a small weaving workshop,

but now business is booming.

I'm so lucky! It's because

the fabric sold in

your workshop is of high quality and

has novel patterns

that people travel

hundreds of miles to our county to buy fabric from you.

That sounds so nice!

Let me see how your mouth works! You

only say things I like to hear.

Xiaoqian, could she be thinking...? You said when I go to talk business with those people

from the prefectural city tomorrow,

should I bring a piece of fabric as a sample?

I remember there are a few

pieces of silk with particularly good patterns

in the backyard warehouse.

I'll go get them

and go tomorrow

. It's too late today,

and I

need to sleep.

Oh,

you're tugging at my clothes... What are you

doing? Resting

is good.

I didn't expect you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be

so unruly now. Team

Leader Qi, we're here ! We

even brought some sample fabrics. Please have some first

.

We're early,

haha. Everyone, please find a place to sit.

I'll be right

there. Let's go to the room and chat.

The rest of you can eat slowly.

Lao Liao, Da Dong, you two come with me.

This caravan doesn't look like elites.

They're dressed simply with patches.

It's hard to believe they asked for 1,000 bolts of fabric.

These are sample fabrics we brought specially.

Feel free to look around.

This

fabric is nice. The weave is dense,

the colors are bright

, and the patterns are beautiful. It's

thick, crisp, and

doesn't stiffen.

The patterns on the fabric are indeed woven in.

The printing and dyeing can't achieve such fine detail.

This time we brought back... The sample fabrics you received

are just a few of the types from our textile workshop.

Our new cotton weaving workshop also offers a variety of other fabrics,

including various colored coarse yarn plain weave button fabrics

(this type is stiff

but thick and durable),

extra-thick plain weave fabrics (

thick, firm, and

resistant to deformation,

perfect for winter clothing),

and lightweight, breathable summer

fabrics. We also have

willow and checkered fabrics made by

dyeing yarn before weaving.

Our workshop not only has plain weave homespun fabrics

but also twill weave cotton fabrics

—

this fabric is softer

and has a better drape. Look,

I never imagined I had

such a complete range of textiles!

And the prices are so high! The only

one who can really sit still today is this little girl;

she's definitely an expert.

Yesterday, I heard my father…

I won't keep you in suspense about

the large amount of cloth Mr. Qi wants.

We'll go by the market price here:

9 cash per foot for four bolts of

woven cotton cloth ,

3 cash per foot for plain cotton cloth, 6-8

cash per foot for plain cotton cloth, and 8

cash per foot for twill cotton cloth. Mr. Qi, are you from Shaanxi

?

My wife understands my local dialect

, but not my spoken

dialect. However , a family in our village

migrated from Shaanxi years ago,

and Mr. Qi's accent sounds somewhat familiar

, which is why I asked

. Haha, I was thinking to myself yesterday,

the more I hear Mr. Qi's voice, the more familiar it sounds!

Indeed,

your accent is

very similar to that of a family in our village.

I'm from southern Shaanxi . Southern

Shaanxi isn't suitable for growing cotton.

The Guangping Prefecture area, which borders

Shaanxi, is where cotton is grown on a large scale. It makes sense for caravans to come here to buy cotton cloth. Offering

a price reduction can lead to long-term partnerships

and guaranteed profits.

Our textile mill is located in the next village.

If Mr. Qi doesn't mind the trouble,

he can come and see for himself

. In this era, those who make big money are very daring.

I'm a legitimate businessman;

I never cheat people. The

goods are delivered as soon as the

buyer arrives . Since the establishment of the new textile mill less than a year ago

, it has already entered a purely profitable model.

In the countryside,

men have always been in charge of the household,

and women could only rely on their reproductive value

and marriage to make a living.

But now that the village has a textile mill, the wealthy

can earn incomes comparable to men

through their skills

. Will the village still be dominated by men in the future?

I'm really looking forward to it. The

new weaving workshop is quite large,

and we don't know how much charcoal we

'll need. Charcoal is essential

, but how to burn it more efficiently is the primary problem.

Mom and Dad, what should we do?

The weaving workshop can't stop production.

Boss Qi's order of 1,000 bolts of cloth isn't urgent,

but

the goods from Li's cloth shop and Boss Luo's caravan can't wait. Can

you give us some suggestions?

If all else fails

, we can do what we did last year and

put more braziers in the weaving workshop.

We can't let people freeze.

Your mother is right; most of

the people in our branch here

have elderly parents and young children to

support. We can't let them get cold.

When I was studying at the county school,

we used coal briquettes for heating

.

But

now we bring coal ash directly from the coal mine

and then use it for fuel. The master craftsman personally rolled the coal into balls by hand.

If we made them ourselves

, wouldn't we save some money?

Oh dear, how could I forget such a simple and

convenient way to keep warm?

Honeycomb briquettes!

Making a hollow in the middle of the coal

allows oxygen to contact the coal over a larger area,

ensuring complete combustion

and preventing the fire from going out.

I think Cheng Li is right.

It's definitely cheaper than buying coal briquettes directly.

I heard that

the coal used for the school was

bought from coal pits near the Jingjin coal transport route.

The person who purchased the coal slag was Cheng Lao's third son.

I think we can follow his lead

and get a few truckloads.

Well said

!

He's definitely reached the age where he can stand on his own.

Small money, small

money!

What are you thinking about,

so engrossed?

I've been wondering why coal briquettes are so small

. Can't they be made bigger?

If they're too big, they won't burn.

Why won't they burn bigger?

Is it because the fire isn't big enough

, or something else? It's

like starting a fire in a stove.

If the fire doesn't start at first

, you have to use a fire hook to lift the firewood from below

to allow ventilation.

As soon as there's some air, the fire will start.

To make the flames bigger

, you need a bellows

to circulate the air in the stove

, making the fire burn more fiercely.

So, if we just poke a few holes in the middle of a large coal briquette

when making it,

wouldn't it burn

?

The bigger the coal briquette, the longer it burns,

and the easier it is to make. Faster,

that makes sense, that makes a lot of sense!

We can try it.

At least eight charcoal

braziers

need to be prepared in the weaving room. Mother , I have another idea

.

Is this okay

, Second Sister-in-law? You're so great! Uncle

Zhou, could you please burn

some charcoal?

I'll pay you. Hey, why are you paying me? We

just need to burn some things here,

so just put your brazier in and burn

it too. It'll be a favor. I

won't stand on ceremony.

My family is making coal briquettes recently.

I'll bring you some

after

they've dried.

Oh,

no way!

Uncle Zhou, I've already taken advantage of you by burning this charcoal brazier.

If you refuse again

, my parents will say I'm being unreasonable

when I get back. You've said all sorts of good and bad things to me. Father,

we 're all family, so don't be so rude.

You're too kind , it's

just a small amount of money.

You'll definitely lose if you just

open your mouth.

How can you talk like that?

Mother, why did you hit me?

Aunt Lou, please don't blame my second sister-

in-law. I just like her temper.

It won't burn well in a short time. It's

cold outside, let's come inside and sit by the fire.

Hehe,

the fire will slowly rise.

It will only burn when the coal at the bottom is burned out.

This way,

we don't have to start the fire every time.

We just need to clean out the ash at the bottom periodically.

If we want a small fire

, we close the ash removal area at the bottom.

If we want a big fire

, we open the bottom

and clean out the ash.

Xiuping, standing here,

don't you feel your legs are warm and cozy?

It's really better than a charcoal brazier.

Not bad, really good.

If it were on a stove... You can put a pot on top

and cook there.

Not only can you cook,

but you can also put a kettle on it

and boil water.

It's usable all year round.

My family needs three stoves.

Deshan, you guys get some more honeycomb briquettes these next few days,

okay? Hahaha.

Mom

, we got this coal through Brother Cheng.

Old Master Cheng has been very kind to Cheng Li,

shouldn't we

send some coal stoves and charcoal

to the Cheng family? It's excellent that you thought of this

. After all, Old Master Cheng and Brother Cheng helped us,

and it's only right that we go to their door to express our gratitude.

Cheng Li, what do you think

? It's only right.

But now that Old Master Cheng is the county magistrate,

his status is extraordinary.

If someone says behind our backs that we're currying favor with the Cheng family,

how will you explain that

? Well then... They say that

people can't always shut their mouths;

after all, opinions on

the most virtuous emperors

throughout

history are mixed. Even

copper coins are considered foul by some

, let alone living people.

Who can be perfect in everything

and

expect praise for everything?

Little Qian is right.

Sometimes, the more one values fame

, the more one is bound by it.

Normal interpersonal relationships

are simply about social etiquette and propriety

, not about deliberately currying favor.

There's no need to dwell on it or pay attention

to gossip.

The more you value a relationship with someone,

the more effort you need to put into maintaining it.

You can't act rashly

, doing whatever comes to mind.

Even the best relationships

, the closest family members,

must always maintain

consideration and propriety in their interactions

. This applies to superiors

, family,

friends,

and especially to spouses.

Thank you for your teachings,

Mother; I will always remember them.

I will also always remember them.

If my relationship with Chengli

can be like that of my parents,

I will be content.

What are you surprised about?

Don't you think Mother and Father are very sweet together?

You're mistaken.

I'm telling you the truth

. No woman in this world

doesn't want her husband to love her

and for them to be in harmony.

I'm just an ordinary person,

and seeing how well my parents live,

I naturally envy and long for their happiness.

I like Cheng Li,

and naturally I want him to like me too.

I mean, I also hope

so. No

, that's not it either.

I mean,

Mother, it's getting late.

Cheng Li and I should go back to our rooms to rest.

Are young people this bold these days?

Looks like I'm getting old.

That's the county magistrate!

Is it really okay

for two children to go alone

? What's

wrong with Cheng Li? He's a scholar now,

and Xiao Qian has even sold cloth in the prefectural city.

Both children have seen the world.

Don't worry about it.

Go back to making honeycomb briquettes.

You make it sound so easy,

elder brother and sister-in-law.

Don't worry.

Last night, Deshan and I

explained the important things to the children.

Now that Master

Cheng is the county magistrate... It's not appropriate for elders to just visit;

it would be more appropriate to send the two children.

I know this is reasonable

, but I always feel that the children are still young.

How come

they can go out on their own so quickly?

Oh, you are Scholar Gu,

and this must be your wife.

You two are here to see Lord Cheng

. I learned that you are off today,

so I came to visit you.

I didn't know you were

me. I am Lord Cheng's new steward,

Scholar Gu. You can call me He Da.

Please come in, please come

in. I'll bring the mule in for you.

Please go to the side and warm yourself in the breeze. Please allow

me to go in and announce your arrival.

He Da, who is it?

Please come in,

Madam. You

've already come all this way.

What

did you bring? Yes, you are right, Master.

Since you're already here,

please take it.

We need to burn charcoal for winter.

A while ago, I asked Brother Cheng to transport coal from

Beijing to Shanxi, and he brought back several truckloads of coal ash.

After that, I made some honeycomb briquettes

. Thinking that it's cold today

and my grandchildren are too young

to get cold,

I also brought some over.

Coal is expensive these

days, and we

only have enough .

You can't just take it

! He was just complaining about how

your legs get so cold in winter.

We made honeycomb briquettes

and had someone help us light several coal stoves, so

he quickly brought them over.

These honeycomb briquettes burn longer than regular coal.

Four briquettes can burn all day

in a special stove.

The house stays warm all day

, and you can even boil water on it.

Even at night, if you want warm water,

you can have it anytime.

Quickly, light the honeycomb briquettes for the teacher and his wife.

Can you cook on this stove?

Shimo said

yes, you can cook on it!

You just said these honeycomb briquettes burn longer than regular coal

. Try it at home;

it'll probably burn about 20% less coal per day than regular coal

!

Who made this?

I need to see them right now!

What are you doing?

Cheng Li and Xiao Qian finally came to see you,

and you don't understand? This

is important business! Xiao Qian made it

! It

was you! It was you

! Hahaha, I really didn't expect this! Xiao Qian

, you little girl, you

always surprise me!

Come on, tell me

who you are... How did you come up with this method

to make the coal burn so long?

My family are farmers, and

if we want to burn coal, we

naturally need to find something cheap and long-lasting.

Then the city suggested

that we buy some coal

ash and make coal briquettes at home.

Later, I found that the briquettes

were too small and too laborious

to make, so I thought about making them bigger.

But bigger ones were harder to burn, so

I thought of making some small holes in the middle of the coal

so that it could burn.

Cheng Li, Xiao Xuan is great

, you should cherish her. This coal stove

from the student council

can save coal,

such a beneficial thing for the people,

I must report to the magistrate. I

never thought that honeycomb briquettes could be involved in important matters.

People's livelihood is a big deal.

Cheng Li, you have made a contribution.

Please ask the teacher to report to the magistrate. When the magistrate arrived,

he said, "These honeycomb briquettes..." Both the honeycomb briquettes and the coal stove

were made by Xiaopi
.

Although

husband and wife are supposed to be one

, I am a man who

has studied the classics

, knows the rites of sages, and understands right

and wrong, merit and demerit. I have

raised him with a clear conscience before Heaven and
Earth.

This ingenious idea and method are all

the result of Xiaopi's tireless

efforts in thinking and experimenting day and night.

I only lent a hand

by helping him move the coal.

I dare not take credit for

anything. I am a man,

and whether I continue to take the imperial examinations

or do other things

in the future, the world is vast

and I will make my own way.

Therefore, I, the student, do not wish to claim credit

. Good!

Making a honeycomb briquette has improved people's livelihoods.

It's like a dream.

Will we not be able to make our own honeycomb briquettes in the future?

We won't need a money-saving plan. "They 've been taken over by the imperial court, haven't they?

Forget it, we'll just make what we need for ourselves

and not sell it.

Come on, let's hurry home.

Mom said she'll steam some big steamed buns tonight.

Okay, sit tight

. Look at those clouds, don't they look like rabbits?

They really do! Oh,

and there's another one that looks like a fan. Are

the clouds in other places

the same as those in Anxian County? Why

don't we go outside and take a look

? Aren't you going to study in the prefectural city after the New Year?

Then you can see

how the sky in the prefectural city is different from that in Anxian County.

Hey,

if you want to get rich, you have to build roads first.

The roads are so bad

, how can we expect the people here to become wealthy?

Mom, what are you doing here? It's

so cold here!

I brought a hand warmer. I

saw you hadn't come back for so long, so

I came..." You 've troubled your mother

by waiting here

. Come on up,

let's go home together.

You did

the right thing. Gu Jia's education is too upright.

I'm a little worried. Will he

really be able to adapt to officialdom if he enters the government?

Should we let him experience the darkness of the business world

? Xiuzhi, your husband has gone to the city to work again.

Yes, my brothers found him jobs.

He can work as long as he can.

My younger brother injured his leg last year,

but he can work in the fields this year.

The two of them went together.

Xiuzhi, you and Zhuzi really made the right decision to separate the family.

Look how comfortable your life is now. You

have more energy

and a child.

Your in-laws had another fight yesterday.

I didn't expect that Song Sui to be so powerful

. She has your third brother-in-law completely under

her thumb and even made him stand up. She

and Wang Meixiang are arguing over there,

and they even made your mother-in-law cry.

It 's all a small matter

, nothing serious

. Who in the village doesn't argue and bicker?

They're gathered together, what are they saying

? Let me hear. They're

not talking about anything

, just sitting down to rest and chat.

Yes, just casual conversation.

Xiuzhi's younger brother's leg is healed

and he can go back to work.

Congratulations! When can he get out of bed?

He could walk a few months ago. The employer

who recently started working

said he wants you to go to his place.

Go ahead, I guarantee

it won't be anything bad.

Sister Zhou is here, come sit down

!

Sister Zhou, you're eight months pregnant, right?

My pregnancy is advanced

, so I weave slower than others.

My mother is a skilled weaver of four bolts of cloth.

Lately... I can't let my mother do the work for me.

I'll switch back with her after I give birth.

Aunt Zhou, you misunderstood.

I'm not asking you to leave.

It's normal for

you to have a baby.

Our weaving workshop is full of women.

I can't fire

every woman who has a baby,

or there will be no one left in the workshop.

You should have the baby.

I'll keep your position in the weaving workshop for you.

You don't need to trouble your mother to come and work.

You can come back to work after you give birth.

You're eight months

pregnant now, and you'll have a 60-day rest period after giving birth before you come back.

During this period, I'll give you 100 coins a month as a production allowance.

How does that sound

? I really

mean it. This is called maternity leave, a benefit that

every employee in our weaving workshop

can enjoy.

Sister-in-law Zhou, keep this note safe

. When you come back to work at the weaving workshop next year, you

need to bring this note to cancel your leave.

You can start your maternity leave

today.

Zhongzhong, I'll listen to Madam Song.

As for wages,

since the quality of the weaving is up

to standard, you'll still get the weaving workshop's wages.

Thank you, Madam Song. Thank you.

In this dynasty, taking maternity leave

would definitely make you look like a rich fool who's too greedy.

But women need time to recover after giving birth.

I can't help her now that she's

completely lost her source of income due to her health

. I'll help her if I

can. Song Qian, what are you doing?

I feel like I'm too kind-hearted.

Second sister-in-law, is there something you need?

I came here to hide from you,

you don't even know.

Once Second Aunt starts teaching me how to use an abacus,

she's like a different person.

She even hits people with a wooden ruler!

No way

, look, it's all red.

I'm scared of Second Aunt now. She's

so ruthless!

Second sister-in-law, do you still want to learn?

Of course I have to learn the skill.

Otherwise, this beating on my palm won't have been for nothing.

Besides, who would learn this skill? "Don't suffer for it!

I'm only at the beginning.

My grandma told me that

when my dad was little, he was clumsy

and couldn't learn to make tiles,

so

my grandpa beat him with a rattan cane. My dad

could only

sleep on his stomach for days.

When you were learning the abacus from your second aunt,

were you beaten

? Of course you were ! That abacus formula was so hard to memorize: '

One up, seven down, seven

down, five down, four down.'

It gave me a headache

!

Second aunt, you

've rested enough

, your palms

don't hurt anymore. You've rested enough,

so hurry back and

copy the abacus formula 20 times.

20 times! I'll go copy it now

and give it to me first thing tomorrow morning.

I know,

you're just talking nonsense

. Hehe , I

just wanted to comfort my

second sister-in-law because she's so pitiful.

If I said that Mom was so kind when she taught me,

how unbalanced would my second sister-in-law feel?

Chunfu is different from you.

You're younger and

remember things quickly

, so it's easier for me to teach you

. Chunfu is 20 this year

, she'll be 21 after the New Year,

and she remembers

things slower than you and is lazier.

I

know, I know

Mom is doing this for your own good,

but everyone has different talents."

People learn things at different speeds.

I'm not bragging, but

I've always been a fast learner.

Even my arithmetic in the city was taught to me, Mother,

and now he's even passed the imperial examination!

Mother, you taught us two bright students,

so it's normal that you're not used

to teaching my second sister-in-law.

If you ask me, people's natural talents are limited.

Most of my second sister-in-law's talent probably

went into handicrafts.

So naturally, she'll be slower at learning abacus and writing.

You can't get fat in

one bite; you'll learn slowly.

So be it, haha. You keep praising her.

I just feel sorry for her

. Xiuping, Xiaochen,

you two hurry home! The

yamen people are here! Have all the county

yamen officials

arrived ? I misspoke, I misspoke.

We should wait

at the village entrance.

A yamen runner just came to deliver a message

, saying we need to go to the village

entrance for roll call.

He said the county magistrate is also

coming and wants me to go.

Where are my eldest and second brothers?

They went to wash their faces and change clothes. They've been

sifting ash and making coal briquettes these past few days

and they're all dirty.

It's not good to just let them see the county magistrate like that.

Oh, what a joyous occasion!

I heard the county magistrate is coming to our village!

Is that true?

How could it be false?

It's almost certainly true!

Oh, you're too kind of a joker.

How old is Song Qian?

You have no idea how much credit he

could have received.

He's so lazy and greedy at home; even

I, his mother, can't get him to do anything.

Luckily, he's a girl

and got married early,

otherwise he would have been a worry for me his whole life

. In-law,

I know you're modest and don't like hearing praise for your child.

Xiao Ben is my wife now,

and we think he's exceptionally good

—smart, capable, and filial.

Don't be modest,

in-law. Don't listen to his nonsense.

He's always talking big

. When Xiao Qian is doing well,

our whole Song family is happy.

I'm Song Qian's mother,

and he doesn't even speak up for me!

That wretched girl never does anything that makes me happy.

Get up, get up!

Stop kneeling!

I've come today because of the honeycomb

briquettes. Your Honor,

the honeycomb briquettes were made by my wife.

This is your wife,

the one who made the honeycomb briquettes.

" I, Song Qian, have just met you, sir.

I

have already reported the uses of honeycomb briquettes to the prefectural yamen

. The prefect praised it highly,

saying it was a beneficial act for the country and the

people. Scholar Gu and Madam Song,

you both deserve credit,

but Madam Song's contribution is paramount!

You flatter me, sir . It is

merely my humble opinion.

I am content that it benefits the village.

Moreover, the widespread use of honeycomb briquettes

is inseparable from the tireless efforts of you and Lord Cheng,

as well as the tireless work of my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and

uncle's family.

I would never dare to claim

credit for this! Is this silly

girl stupid

, pushing the credit out?

Madam Song's magnanimity

is truly

rare; she is indeed a woman who does not yield to men.

Where is Madam Song's uncle?" Li Zheng

from Xiafu Village, Gu Liangshan, has met the County Magistrate. Despite

being Li Zheng

, he still personally makes

honeycomb briquettes, a product beneficial to the country and its people.

If all Li Zhengs in the world were like you,

how could our Great Wu Dynasty not prosper? Bring this over;

it's a gift from the county government.

Also, Song Qianhui, the wife of the Gu family from Xiapi Village, is

kind-hearted, gentle,

and has

a magnanimous spirit.

She is bestowed three bolts of silk,

ten bolts of cotton cloth,

and twenty taels of silver.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for your

generous reward.

I will continue to do my best to unite my neighbors

and live up to your kindness.

Good, good, good,

Xiao Shuai, you're really amazing!

Hahaha! Is

this

plaque with the character "金" (gold) made of gold?

What are you thinking?

How could it be made of gold?

It's

just gold paint. There really is gold paint!

This thing, once hung in the house,

becomes a symbolic family heirloom.

Its name might even last a hundred years. It

's also a contribution to the county magistrate and Elder Cheng.

Who says a woman who travels to ancient times can't leave her

name in the county annals ?

I'm over 50 years old,

practically on my deathbed,

yet I still receive personal praise from the county magistrate!

My life hasn't been in vain,

hehe

. What are you doing?

You can only look, not touch!

This is a reward from the county government.

What if you damage it

? This is silk! It

's definitely different from cotton.

Our woven cotton satin

looks a bit like silk.

This box is good too;

it looks like it will last for many years.

Chen Guihua is unhappy.

Regardless of why

... Are you sure

I'm thinking of

making her even more unhappy?

I just don't know if Mom and Dad agree.

Since you think this way,

I naturally agree.

Go tell your father,

this is silk!

I'm Song Qian's biological mother.

It's not unreasonable

for him to share some of the good stuff,

right? Anjing, Xiao Qian said she wanted to donate this plaque to our clan.

What?

This brat,

why is she so loose-handed?

Liangshan, hang the oxygen tank there!

What if rats bite it

? Yes, this house leaks,

the plaque will get soaked

if it's left here. Otherwise, we'll build an ancestral hall.

Yes, our Gu family has produced a scholar, and

now we have a plaque bestowed by the county magistrate.

We should build one, there's already

a family in town that built an ancestral hall, it's

very grand. I

heard that their family has to

go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors

during the New Year .

If each household contributes thirty or forty coins,

more than 30 households can raise a string of cash. That

's right, we can use a string of cash to buy timber, soil, and adobe

bricks. Our clan can

get it ourselves. When the time comes, those who are able can contribute their labor,

and the ancestral hall will be built.

My family will contribute four strings of cash.

Next year, my family doesn't have to pay for the divination fee

, so I'll use the money to redeem myself for the divination fee to repair the ancestral hall. Let's make

the ancestral hall better.

As for the clan members

who are willing to contribute their labor, they can contribute their labor.

Those who are willing to contribute more money

can contribute another twenty or thirty coins.

It all depends on everyone's willingness.

My family will contribute.

Brother, you can forget about it.

You just held a banquet in the village a few days ago.

Let 's keep things separate.

"I'll contribute one string of cash,

the rest can do as they please.

My father and uncle,

the county government gave us a reward

, why not use that money to repair the ancestral hall?" "

How can that be? That 's

money the county government gave you.

We're already very grateful

that you gave the plaque to the clan,

we can't take your money to repair the ancestral hall.

This 20 taels of silver is too conspicuous.

Most people don't know how much my family earns.

This is different from having gleaming silver ingots

directly in front of us.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law will definitely think it's my money.

Besides, given Chen Guihua's personality

, she might come to borrow it again in a while.

Uncle, I'm a family-oriented wife

. If the family is doing

well, I'm doing well. I couldn't have done

this honeycomb briquette thing by

myself without the family's help.

Besides,

I've studied in the city for so many years,

I haven't skimped on..." I'm

giving back to the clan after their help,

as a way of making up for past favors.

The small amount of money was all for me.

We, the Gu family, are truly blessed to have a junior like you, and

for the

city to have a wife like you.

The Gu family is so kind!

On behalf of everyone in the Gu family, thank you!

You silly girl, are you stupid? That

huge plaque

was a gift from the county magistrate,

how could you just give it away like that?

And that money, 20 taels!

Do you know how much 20 taels is? You

wouldn't even be worth 20 taels if you were sold.

Of course you wouldn't sell me

because I'm a girl

, and after I get married, the Song family

will have more in-laws in the village.

You didn't sell me because you wanted to live better in the next village.

"I

'm your mother!

How dare you talk to me like that?

You're Song Sui's mother

, Song Jitian's mother

, Song Chengmiao's mother

, but not mine, Song Qian's mother!

Whenever I get something good,

you're never happy for me.

You only think, 'Why didn't Song Sui get

all this?'

You think Song Sui

is like this now because

of you?

You think Song Sui looks like you,

so you don't let her do any work , raising her

from an ordinary farming family

like a rich family's daughter.

You hate Song Qian,

and the happier you are

as long as Song Sui hates Song Qian too.

Song Sui has been spoiled, lazy,

and arrogant because of you

, but in the Song family, you're her safety net.

Once she gets married, her true colors will be revealed

." Sui became like this

because of your affection

and indulgence. The

reason why Song Sui couldn't get

the blood I could get

is ultimately because of your face.

I've already donated

money and

that's how it is.

I have nothing more to say.

If you're unhappy,

then there's nothing I can do.

This kind of person never engages in internal conflict and

pushes all the responsibility onto outsiders.

Song Sui and Chen Guihua are the same kind of people.

Since they are mother and daughter,

let them be good to each other for life.

You brat, I 've raised you for nothing. You

've done me a disservice. You don't remember your family at all when there's something good about you.

Sui Sui , when did you come

? The more I think about Song Qian's words, the stranger they seem. Could it be

that you're not going to learn from Song Qian?

He was like this when he was a child.

Whenever he had something, he

would... He never refused

anyone who asked him for

anything , but now he's even

more generous.

Is it because you're obedient?

Or do you know how to be close to your mother? You

always tell her what's on your mind

, unlike Song Qian,

who never thinks of his family.

I've really wasted my time raising him.

Yes, I've always listened to my mother,

even telling her about Gu Cheng's failure to pass the imperial examination.

But even though I've been so obedient,

why am I living like this now?

Song Qian, on the other hand, is doing better and better.

I hate Zheng Cheng more and more now;

the thought of sleeping on the same bed with him tonight

makes me nauseous.

Dad, stop looking, come eat!

Yes, Dad, come eat!

Ever since this plaque was hung in the house,

you've been like a possessed man, looking at it every day.

Dad, this plaque was bestowed upon Xiao Qian by the county magistrate.

It's not like it was specially made for you,

why are you so happy?

Xiaoqian married someone from the city,

so she's my daughter!

My daughter got such a big plaque

, and you're so comfortable leaving it in our house,

how could I not be happy?

You two can't even

compare to someone from the city in your studies,

and now you can't even compare to Xiaoqian in

your work . What use are you to me? I

told you not to mess with your father,

and now look what happened,

I got scolded too. Fine, it

's all my fault,

Grandpa, don't be angry.

From now on, I'll study hard

and go to the prefectural city to take the imperial examinations.

Haha,

Wenmin is right, you

have to study hard too. See? When

you grow up

, if you pass the imperial examinations,

not only will your plaque hang in the ancestral hall,

but a flagpole will also be erected at the entrance of our village.

Come on, come on, slow down, be careful.

There are still quite a few chestnuts left

, about half a bag.

Don't eat those yet;

I'll take some to Song Qian's place tonight.

He and Aunt Xiuping have always taken good care of me at the weaving workshop.

I'm currently resting at home

with a work permit, and

I'm a little uneasy.

Is it too meager?

They run such a big weaving workshop; why

would they even bother with just a few chestnuts from us?

I've only heard occasionally that Song Qian

really likes chestnuts, but

we don't grow them here. Besides,

giving gifts is about showing goodwill;

expensive gifts are beyond our

means. You're right

. I'll go pick

them out later, remove the bad ones

, and make sure they're clean before taking them to

Xiuzhi. Xiuzhi,

is your son Zhuzi home?

"He's gone out to haul coal ash,

Auntie. What happened?

Is your third uncle in trouble again

? Zhengfang was on his way

back from the market in town today

when he was suddenly detained by people from other villages.

They're demanding money from Zhengfang.

What's going on every day?

I only knew your

second uncle, Zheng Liang, was always causing trouble outside.

How come it's Zhengfang now?

What are we going to do?

The woman is asking for 13 strings of cash. We

can't possibly come up with that much.

Could it be that we've encountered robbers?

In this peaceful world , how

can something like this happen?

How did Fangzi get detained?

Tell me in detail

how you know they

detained Fangzi." Did anyone say anything?

The other party told me to come back and report

that those people said Fangzi owed them a cow

and that my family had to pay money to exchange it.

What cow

? Could it be the cow Zheng Liang brought back

? Yes, yes,

that's the cow.

Tell me everything from the beginning:

when was Fangzi detained today,

and what message did they ask you to deliver?

They said if the money wasn't returned,

they would go to the yamen to sue the officials.

That cow isn't in my family

's name anymore, and Fangzi doesn't have any cows

registered under his name. Why would they ask Fangzi for

a cow? It's different from other livestock;

it's clearly registered in the official land register.

If it really goes to the

government, they will definitely investigate how Fangzi

got the cow.

How will you explain that then

? But that's... Zheng Liang got this

stuff, it has nothing to do with my house.

It must be Zheng Liang

, that little rascal.

I knew Zheng Liang was up to no good.

If anything happens in the village,

you should handle it first.

I know.

Every time something like this happens,

my heart pounds.

I'm afraid they'll fight outside. If

something serious happens, it'll be terrible

. No, since they detained the main house

and even sent the main house owner back to report

, it means they don't dare to cause trouble in our village.

As long as Aunt Wang pays the money,

everything will be fine.

Sigh,

just for a cow,

Zheng Youfu's family has suddenly gotten into so much trouble.

If you ask me, you can't just take what you want.

I think this matter is probably

... It was Zheng Liang who caused this.

How come

the gambling den was suddenly locked up?

Zheng Liang secretly brought the cattle back.

Now that so much time has passed,

why did the other party suddenly come to Zheng Fang demanding the cattle back? They

probably found out their

cattle were registered under Zheng Fang's name,

which is why they detained him.

That makes sense .

Is Zheng Tang alright?

He's fine, just looks frightened .

The older brother talked

to the other party for a while, gave them seven gambling coins,

and that was the end of it

, hahaha.

Was it Zheng Liang who did it

? Did he tell those people

the cattle were registered under his name?

Last time he tricked Fang Zi into reselling grain,

almost causing Fang Zi to die in jail.

This time it's even worse

; he directly had Fang Zi detained.

He really hates him. "Let Fangzi die!

Cough cough cough!

What kind of expression is that?

Fangzi is your husband.

He suffered so much today,

and you didn't even ask him a question.

Is that how a wife should act?

What good would it have done if I had asked

? Fangzi is back now, isn't he?

He's not missing a piece of flesh

. Okay,

cough cough cough

! Dad

, oh dear, old man

, what's wrong

?

What ?

Zheng Youfu is dead?

I went with him to pick up Zheng Shun this day.

How could he just disappear like that?

I heard he was sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) when he

suddenly started coughing,

then collapsed to the ground and

became still.

Dad, Uncle He,

what happened?

Zheng Youfu is gone.

Cheng Li, you come with me.

Xiao Qian, you and your mother go to sleep first.

We're not sure when we'll be back tonight."

I finally remarried and

life was getting better and better

, but ever since my son got married,

there's been no peace in the house.

Now my second husband is dead,

and I'm a widow again. My

youngest son is still young,

and all the future prospects rest on Fangzi's shoulders.

Why is my life so bitter?

My eldest sister, you've already lost your good fortune

. You can't fall ill!

Your son Dongzi is still young.

If you're gone,

who will take care of him?

Why is my life so bitter

? Ahhhh,

my life is so bitter!

Song Cui, where should I put this?

Song Cui, where are your scissors?

Song Cui, who should I ask to buy animal paper

? It's so annoying!

Aren't there people in charge?

Why do you have to ask me so many questions? My

mother-in-law manages everything in the house.

How am I supposed to know

what your attitude is?

Your father-in-law is dead,

your mother-in-law is sick,

and your sister-in-law is about to give birth.

There's a mess here;

if you don't take care of it, who will?

I don't want to get involved in this mess.

Wang Meixiang even said she wants me to pay with my life —it

's ridiculous ! Your father-in-law

was clearly angered to death by Zheng Liang. Go ask Zheng Fang

; I don't know anything. Fangzi is in a hysteria

because

his

father died.

How can I ask him for advice?

Your brother-in-law hasn't come back yet.

Right now, you're the only one in charge at home.

Zheng Fang is such a hopeless case; it's

truly despicable.

Zheng Fang is the man in charge of the household;

why don't you rely on him

instead of me?

You're amazing; I admire

you . What's wrong with

you? Do you know how awful the rumors are going around the village?

Mother only cares about saving face

and doesn't care about my feelings at all

. It's so awful ! I'm already in this state,

what else do I have to care about?

I've endured all

the harsh words

and the most scornful looks,

so what's a little extra

money? I suddenly realized that

you and your older sister don't seem to have the same mother

. Yes, you saw the funeral at Wang Meixiang's house a few days ago—it was

a complete mess, no one was in charge.

Even Zheng Fang,

a perfectly healthy man

, acted like he had hysteria.

That's how it

is; neither of them is capable.

Everyone, there's a lot of cloth to weave this year.

Even though it's almost December

, if anyone has time at home

and can come... Those who weave cloth,

please come to

the weaving workshop. It's been open all day,

and wages are being paid as usual

, haha.

I made you a new rabbit fur coat.

Try it on and see if it fits.

Mother , you've already made me a rabbit fur coat this year,

why did you make another one?

First, let's offer it to Luoshan, then to others.

Your current status is that of a scholar's wife.

During the New Year, you'll be visiting other people's homes,

so having a few more coats

will make it more convenient to change into them. Try it on;

Mother's coat will definitely fit.

Hmm, not bad,

fits perfectly.

Xiuping, are you home?

Come in, come in! It's cold outside.

Uncle Zhou, have some water!

Oh, it's

me! I'm here to play matchmaker today,

haha.

Coal stoves have been selling exceptionally well these past few days

, but I'm also thinking about how to make

these coal stoves ... "You taught me this, and you're only

giving me 60%?

That won't do!

I've been in business all my life,

and I still have a basic reputation.

This coal stove wasn't my original creation.

Now that I've made money,

it's only right that I share some.

Uncle Zhou, we can't take this money.

The idea was yours ; it's

really unreasonable

for me to take it all

. This kind of clay stove doesn't require much skill.

The reason I made it this way

was to match the burning of honeycomb briquettes.

Anyone who knows anything

can make one

just by looking at it.

Your business is doing well

because of your skill;

the Nimon stove you make is sturdy,

and it has nothing to do with me.

I can't take this money,

Dad. You see what I said before..." What?

Xiaoqing definitely won't take your money.

This

... what am I supposed to say?

Brother Zhou, after you go back, just continue selling.

Don't worry about us.

Uncle Zhou, although I won't take your money

, my aunt's family can cooperate with you.

What kind of cooperation?

Besides Chunfu, no one in my family knows how to make clay stoves.

My eldest and second cousins are currently selling honeycomb briquettes.

Uncle Zhou's coal stove business is doing well, so

we can bundle the honeycomb briquettes and coal stoves together.

For example, buy a certain number of coal stoves and get a certain number of honeycomb briquettes free

, or buy a certain number of honeycomb briquettes and get a coal stove

free. How did you come up with this idea?

This is naturally a very popular

and trendy bundling method in modern society. Sold out

!

Hahaha,

I heard the county is going to hold a Lantern Festival this year

, but my daughter has been coughing a bit these past few days, so

I can't go.

Xiao Chen, if you go, please bring me a pretty lantern.

Is the Lantern Festival in the evening? Yes,

my dad was temporarily called in by the county government to help out these past few days.

They said he was making something.

My dad is a bricklayer,

but the government is using him as a paper maker.

There's a Lantern Festival tomorrow,

let's go and take a look!

Okay

. I was so busy lately, and

now that the New Year is over

, I'm not used to it.

Don't you think you've been neglecting me lately?

What?

We haven't had a break

since we came back from the prefectural city.

First, there was the banquet,

then the cotton harvest,

and then... You took on a huge order

and then got involved in making honeycomb briquettes.

You're always at the weaving workshop.

I can only talk to you

at this time every day

. It's my fault. I shouldn't have ignored you. I'm

also

wrong. I know you're busy

, but I still told you all this.

Only by saying it can I understand your feelings.

If two people keep their feelings bottled up inside

, what kind of life is that?

Mr. Song, may I ask you to

turn off the lights with me tomorrow night?

Yes

, hahaha.

My wife, let's go to bed.

Okay.

It seems we need to get a windproof carriage from now on.

We two, hurry up

, there are too many people, don't get separated.

Okay, whatever you say.

You two, don't stand there,

come over here,

boss. Is the mother

of the rabbit in the picture born

in the Year of the Rabbit? Boss, draw a dog

and I'll buy you

a son. No way!

What kind of wife coaxes her husband?

Hey, Brother Gu and Sister-in-

law Jiang,

Sister-in-law, just call me by my name

. Calling me Xiucai is too formal.

This lantern festival is

jointly funded by several businesses in Anyuan County.

The one at the top is the Eight Treasures Embroidered Ball Lantern,

supposedly made with the help of a

famous lantern-making master from Jiangnan.

Tonight, whoever guesses the most riddles

will win that embroidered ball lantern

. Want it?

Okay,

how do I participate in the competition

? Hey Cheng Li, why did you go up there?

He went to get the lantern for me . Hey, why

are you glaring at me like that? There's a bug in my

eye!

Where did this bug come from in the dead of winter?

Hahaha!

Drawing round, writing square ,

winter is short, summer is long.

Please guess a character:

two shapes in one body,

four limbs, eight heads

, four eights, one eight.

The flying spring flows upwards

, looking

left and right at the horse,

both sides together,

feet treading on ten thousand miles of sand.

Please guess the animal.

This question has stumped many people

, but I know

it very well. I'm really impressed

by Xiao Qian.

As expected of the top scholar in Guangping Prefecture

, I , Bai Qishan,

am willing to admit

defeat. Do

you like

it ?

This is glass

. What is glass? It

's something that lets light through.

This is it.

I really like it.

Xiao Qian, let's go back.

I did

n't expect you to be so punctual, Qi

. Hahaha. I'm used to traveling trade routes,

so I can probably predict where I'll be taken.

The goods are all ready,

just waiting for your inspection.

The quality of these fabrics is particularly good.

Boss Song, you are a trustworthy person. People

say you can run away but you can't hide.

My weaving workshop is right here, in

the surrounding area. People all buy from me.

I sell based on reputation.

If my reputation is bad and

people come knocking on my door,

my brothel will have to close down,

hahaha.

Goodbye,

Xiaoqian. When are we going to the prefectural city?

Three days later, Second Brother.

This time,

we'll hire a caravan to go to the prefectural city

. We'll keep our own people to no more than five.

Last time we brought so many people

because we wanted to make quick money with cotton tribute coupons

, but we won't be selling cotton tribute coupons again in the short term.

I understand.

This time, I've already decided. Second Brother,

what about Wang Shuanzi and Zheng Nian? What do you think about taking

Wang Shuanzi and Zheng Nian

with you?

Last time we went to the prefectural city

together, I observed that Wang Shuanzi was

the most skilled

and strongest besides Gu Maolin.

Taking him along will provide more safety.

As for Zheng Nian,

Zheng Fu was detained at the time... Although

Zheng Mian was flustered

, he got to the point.

It was because of the information he provided that Quan

was able to bring Zheng Fu back so quickly. Moreover

, Zheng Mian was a member of the Zheng family

, and the grandson of the Zheng family patriarch.

Both the Gu and Zheng families

were prominent clans in the village

, but ever since Gu passed the imperial examination and became a scholar,

the Gu family had started to dominate the Zheng family.

Not to mention, they later started a weaving workshop.

The Zheng family, after all, lived next door.

Having someone from the Zheng family around

would balance the village's relations.

There's no such thing

as a thief who can

be thief for a thousand days

; it's better to actively win

them over than to be constantly on guard. Good

,

I see. You're very thoughtful. And

what about the other one?

Second brother, I'm a woman,

so naturally I should choose a woman to go with me

. She's a clever and capable cook,

aged 15-35.

We can rent a courtyard to store goods,

and she can help with cooking.

I'll keep an eye out for

women in the village who

are willing to go to the prefectural city with you

. Second brother, I'll trouble

you. Also, you need to talk to Wang Shuanzi and Zheng Nian.

Is that too much trouble

? I'll go first then.

I'll go with you. Mother

, the weaving workshop is busy these days and

needs someone.

But you're so

young.

I'm worried about you

going to such a far place as the prefectural city.

Yes, otherwise I'd go too.

When I first arrived at the Song family, I

ran around selling things in the county town and county carriage town.

The Song family never considered whether

a young girl like me would have any accidents.

Your worries are truly touching.

I've been to the prefectural city before,

and I know the way fairly well.

Besides, Brother Xinli is here. I plan to

hire a caravan from the escort agency

when I go to the prefectural city this time.

I

promise, once I've settled in and arrived in the prefectural city,

I'll go find Cheng Li immediately.

"Let Nianzi come with me to the prefectural city.

I'm definitely going!

I've been looking forward to going to the prefectural city for ages.

I heard from the villagers that the prefectural city is so big and lively.

Apparently, when magpies call, it means something good is going to happen.

Why go to

the prefectural city? It's so far

. What if something happens

? Who's going this time?

Me, Nianzi, and Wang Shuanzi from the village.

Also, it's almost spring,

and Xiao Qian is going to the prefectural city to deliver spring clothes.

He'll go with us

too. We also need

to find someone to go with us on the way

to help with cooking

and laundry.

We just haven't found a suitable

person yet, and we're really worried about it

. Chu Mubo, if you have any suitable candidates,

just let me know.

I'll personally come and invite

them. I think Song Qian should lead the way this time."

Gu Xinli didn't say anything, which was his

tacit agreement. He had misjudged

Song Sui before, but

he didn't expect the second son of the Song family to be even more

capable. How lucky the Gu family is!

They have Shen Xiuting

and now Song Qian. The Zheng

family doesn't have this kind of luck.

Okay, when do we go?

Two days

later. Okay, I understand.

Go and tell Song Qian

that Nianzi will also come with us this time.

Uncle Zheng, it's good that you agreed.

Uncle Zheng, don't worry,

I'll have Nianzi accompany us the whole way. I

will definitely bring him back safely.

Don't

worry. Nianzi is going out with you to do business;

it's to broaden his horizons and improve his skills.

There's no such thing as a safe

journey. Don't think that just because your father and I have a good relationship,

you'll indulge Nianzi

and make him work.

If he's disobedient

and causes trouble,

you can scold or even beat him.

If something really happens to my grandson,

I won't live either.

Hey, Uncle Zheng

, what are you saying?

To tell you the truth, the reason

I came to find Nianzi

is because he's quick -witted

. Years ago, when we were being held

captive, it was thanks to Nianzi's message that

we were able to bring Zheng Feng back so quickly.

Back then, Xiaotian praised Nianzi at home for being clever and

calm under

pressure , a capable person

. Why isn't Song Qian a daughter-in-law of the Zheng family?

Hey, Nianzi, you

heard that, right?

Since your older brother said so,

you should go with him.

Be clever, observe more, and talk less.

Once you're out there,

you have to listen to your older brother and Sister-in-law Song Qian.

I heard that, I remember it.

It's all Gu Xinli's

fault. Why did I have to get pregnant

? If I hadn't, I

could still be going with you now.

This child's arrival was truly untimely.

Second sister-in-law, you should stay home and rest well.

The road was too bumpy,

not good for your pregnancy.

The weaving business at home needs help,

so you can help out.

That's all I can do.

I'm back now.

So, Uncle Chunmu, do you agree to Zheng Nian going?

How could he not agree?

You don't know what kind of mouth Uncle Chunmu has. He's

used every kind of sweet talk and harsh words imaginable.

I said I would bring Zheng Nian back

safely, but he said that Zheng Nian should do more work

, and even beatings and scoldings are fine

. Hmph,

that man of his, he

just has a silver tongue. Otherwise

, how could he have competed with me for

the position of Li Zhong in the lower village

during the village

merger? If it weren't for his son Zheng Zhong being so useless,

and the other villages' widows... After the woman got involved,

someone swindled her out of three sheep.

The exact location of the sheep is still uncertain.

What happened to the widow

? It was a group of people

who conspired to cheat him out of his money.

She was a widow from Shayang Village.

Zheng Zhong went there to sell sheep,

and the two of them got to know each other.

Hmm, if you ask me,

Zheng Zhong did have some thoughts about her.

The widow said the leg of her stool was broken and

asked Zheng Zhong to fix it.

Then, somehow, her clothes got wet and she needed a change.

The widow said there were clothes in the house

and took Zheng Zhong inside.

But as soon as she closed the door

, a group of people rushed in

, shouting that they were catching her in adultery. "

You're out and about

, you should keep your distance

from women. Don't assume all women are..."

If they want to harm you,

you're doomed. When you're out

in

unfamiliar territory,

getting involved with shady characters is tantamount to suicide. Don't

forget your wife and children are waiting for you at home. It's

an ancient version of a honey trap!

Dad, don't worry,

I definitely won't do that.

A person's character is

inseparable from their family education.

I'm thinking of going to the city.

I wonder how he's doing at the academy.

Congratulations, Brother Gu! You

've gotten first place again in the quiz

! Brother Gao, Brother Sun, Brother Wencai,

there's a banquet at Chunfeng Tower tonight.

I'd like to invite you, Brother

Gu. You must do me the honor!

Brother Gao, you've really gone all out this time, even

inviting Miss Mingyue!

Miss Mingyue is even more talented than Xie Daoyun

! Brother Gu, you absolutely must go!

Since you've all invited

me, I... I should decline,

but Minister Qin Jiudao has arranged for me to organize historical records,

and I am simply too busy

to attend to it. I will not disturb you any longer, Brother Gu.

I will host

a banquet for everyone

another day . Brother Gu, I

will take my leave now

. Please come in. Gu

Cheng is truly arrogant.

I have invited him several times,

but he has refused to come. He

is a student who passed the imperial examinations with top honors and was promoted by the provincial education commissioner

. I heard that he even made a mess of things recently.

Even if he never participates in the imperial examinations again,

he will still be a student of the provincial examinations.

Naturally, he has the right to be proud.

But that is Mingyue.

Gu Cheng is just a farmer's son.

What kind of talented girl has he seen?

Brother Wencai, you cannot speak to me. I have made a mistake.

Tonight's wine is the finest Shaoxing rice wine.

Brother Gu, you are not fortunate

enough to enjoy it. Brother Wencai,

let's go!

I'm in for a treat tonight!

It's just a small jar,

you can drink it yourselves.

Why did you bring it over?

Why does this wine taste like this?

My mother said Shaoxing rice wine is made from glutinous rice.

This small jar costs more than ten strings of cash!

What?

What does this wine

taste like ? It doesn't taste like wine at all. It's sweet and mushy

, not as strong as Tiger Wine

!

How can wine be sweet? It

does have a slightly sweet taste

, and it's not as spicy as Tiger Wine. Good

, I think it's not bad either.

I'm here to repay the rice debt.

Oh dear, why the rush?

Today is the perfect day

! Auntie's face looks so bad.

Did they have a fight?

Not

two days later, Gu Xinlu was going to the prefectural city to sell cloth

, saying he would only pick two people from the village this time.

I wonder why... Grandma chose the millstone.

She didn't want the millstone to go.

She was going to the prefectural city to sell cloth again.

Why are there so few people this time

? Didn't she find six people last time?

She doesn't need so many this time. She

said she wanted to hire a caravan

to escort them to the prefectural city.

Gu thought to himself that

Song Qian was going to the prefectural city to deliver spring clothes to Gu Xiucai.

He also wanted to find a woman on the way who could

help with cooking and washing clothes.

Mother,

why are you washing clothes?

Whose clothes are these

? I asked him to wash them.

I see that the chores at home are piling up

and no one is doing them.

A 13-year-old girl learns to weave every day, but

I haven't seen her learn anything. She would be

better off being more diligent and doing chores at home so she doesn't

have to eat for free every day.

Don't just stand there,

hurry up! Take the hoe and go to the vegetable garden to plant the rapeseed.

It's a shame you were a maidservant in a wealthy family years ago, yet

you

have no sense of propriety. See

, I'm fine,

it's just a few clothes,

I can wash

them all.

What will you do in the future?

I'm afraid Grandma will keep Yutao at home doing chores,

turning her into an old maid and then marrying her off easily.

I don't want Yutao to repeat my mistakes as a maid.

If I do more work every day,

Grandma and Aunt won't say anything to me. Rather than

letting Yutao wash clothes in this house for half her life,

it's better for her to go be Song Qian 's maid.

Song Qian's mother-in-law, Shen Xiuping,

is more like a lady than an official's wife.

Song Qian certainly won't be bad either.

Come on, Mom will take you to our hometown.

Aunt Zheng, we do need people here,

but Yutao is only 1... 3.

She washes clothes and cooks at home every day. She's

quick and

efficient, has no lice

, is healthy, and has good teeth. She

's never been sick all year round.

She doesn't ask for wages;

just give her a meal.

Okay, I

understand.

You'll come with me to the prefectural city

the day after tomorrow. You'll cook

and wash clothes, and

run errands for me along your route. You

'll get paid on time every month,

and two sets of clothes a year.

If you do a good job, you'll get extra bonuses.

I understand.

Thank you, master. You

don't need to kneel down all the time.

You're not my servant,

and my family doesn't have that rule. Tomorrow

afternoon, come back then, and we'll sign a contract.

Oh,

Mother, isn't she too young?

Sister-in-law Feng is really too pitiful,

so I brought her back.

It's not too young.

You should indeed have someone to run errands for you.

Younger people are more obedient,

and you'll feel more at ease using them.

But remember, in the initial period,

focus on their character.

A little cleverness is n't a problem

; what's important is whether they're obedient and

keep their mouth shut.

I know,

second son's wife

, I know you're upset that I made Yu Tao do the laundry.

But go out and ask

around; what family doesn't have a girl this age who doesn't do chores?

Besides, she doesn't even have the surname Zheng.

Our family has already done enough by raising her this far.

Do you think we'd let her stay at home and do nothing?

Mother-in-law, you misunderstood me.

I also know that Yu Tao is a girl this age;

it's not good for her to stay at home all day doing nothing.

So today, when I heard that the Gu family went to the prefectural city to sell goods,

they needed... The person hiring a laundry and cooking staff

quickly sent Yu Tao there.

Yu Tao, tell your grandma

how much you'll earn working there!

250 coins a month,

two sets of clothes a year

, and 30 jin of rice for the New Year

!

I thought it wouldn't be good for Yu Tao to just stay home doing nothing,

so I wanted her to go out and work.

All the money she earns will go back to the family

as a way of repaying her for all these years.

I was worried someone would steal it,

so I rushed off with Yu Tao

without telling the family.

Gui Niang, you really know how to find a place for Yu Tao! She

's so young and already earning money outside!

I don't know how many people will envy her!

Going to the caravan to do laundry and cooking

means you have to travel to the prefectural city;

it 's all hard-earned money.

Yu Tao, don't complain! I

'll go and try my luck.

Maybe I can find a good path. It's

better than staying here.

Remember what your mother told you before

about how to be a servant?

You have to do a lot of work

, not talk carelessly,

not look around carelessly,

and act like you're blind and mute. Yes,

don't

listen to what others say about you. A

servant is no different from a slave.

Your dignity is in their hands.

They can treat you

however they want

. Don't be afraid.

We're all from the same village.

Gu Deshan and his wife are very good people.

Their son is a scholar, and their

wife, Song Qian, is known for her kindness.

After you go there to work,

you won't have to be like this.

The prefectural city is so far away.

How can you bear to leave

Yutao? She's already so big

these past few days... I've been asking around,

and I'm sure Mother won't say anything

if I marry Yutao off this year.

But getting married is good, isn't it?

I know the Gu family weaving workshop never delays wages,

and they even give out rice, flour, and cooking oil during holidays.

I know you've always treated Yutao well

, but Yutao has been raised by the family for so many years,

and now she's old enough to work.

If she marries off now, it

will inevitably burden you, and Mother and my sister-in-law will say something.

Okay,

I'm just afraid my in-laws won't let Yutao go. Don't

worry, with me here,

Yutao will definitely be able to go.

Last year, my father-in-law bought two well-trained horses,

and I spent a winter learning to ride and drive them in the city.

Thinking back to how he looked so aggrieved

when I neglected him because I was busy weaving, I just want to laugh.

You're taking both horses with you; what if

something happens on the road...? If anything happens,

just untie the harness,

get on your horse, and run!

We have mules and oxen at home, so we

don't need a horse. But

there's no "but." I

've sewn a few gold ingots into one

corner of this garment. A poor family

needs to be prepared for

a rich journey.

Take extra money with you

just in case.

I still have money.

Take this; I know you have money,

but that doesn't stop me from giving it to your

mother. You're so good

to me, so kind.

The road is too chaotic;

wearing men's clothes will be safer. Just

stay by my side on the road.

As long as you don't wander off,

there won't be any problems.

I know ,

you brat, don't

worry. They're traveling on official roads. With Xinshi

following them

, Nianzi will be fine.

I know.

Hey, Boss Song,

Boss Du, let's go... "Not too late, right?

Not too late at all

! These are truly two fine horses.

Excuse me,

Mr. Song, where did you buy these two horses?

I'd like to buy two too

. My father-in-law had someone help me buy them.

If Mr. Du also wants to buy some,

you can ask my father-in-law

to make the connection. Okay, I'll head to Xiafang Village another day.

Hey Zheng Yuan, hehehe.

My wife, have some water

. When you're out and about, just call me

'boss.' Got it all? Got

it?

What?

This kid can't sit still,

asking questions all the way.

I told him to talk to

the other caravans and find out what they do.

There are four caravans in total this time.

Besides us, who are going to the prefectural city to sell things,

the others are going to buy goods.

Some are buying medicinal herbs,

some are buying spices."

Another one went to buy groceries.

I never imagined that such a small thing as incense

and candles

would require going all the way to the prefectural city.

Did you find out

which shops they belong to

? I know the one buying medicinal herbs is

the owner and manager of the Zhao Family's Internal Affairs Hall. The one buying groceries is the owner of the Wang Family Grocery Store

next to Rome Market in the county town.

The one buying spices is...yes,

the owner of the Liu Family Incense Shop in the county town.

How did you know who the owners were?

I'm the one responsible for taking you to the prefectural city. Of course

, I'd find out beforehand

who you were traveling with. Turns out

, I wasted my

time asking around. Not that

I wasted my time , though

. Although I knew beforehand that I was traveling with them

, I didn't know their character.

You and him... We can chat with them

and find out who's easy to get along with

and who we need to avoid,

so you did a great job,

really,

really, really good.

I'll go talk to them again later.

You also need to be careful and

stay alert

. Make sure you don't leave the group.

Even if they invite you to go to the bathroom together,

you absolutely cannot go.

This isn't just for Zheng Mian,

it's for everyone.

Do you understand?

We've arrived

at Huangping Prefecture!

Everyone, perk up!

We've

finally arrived!

The boss said

I shouldn't wander off

! Steamed buns! Meat filling, vegetarian filling, sugar filling,

everything! Steamed

buns for sale!

Freshly steamed hot buns !

So this is Guangping Prefecture. The prefectural

city is quite lively,

isn't it? "Master

, wash your face and wait until we finish eating. I'll take you out for a walk. You

absolutely must finish this

! Mmm,

this is the best noodles I've ever had, my

lady. This is Jingxiang Hutong.

The road here is wide enough that

two carriages

can pass each other without missing each other

. This courtyard used to belong to an old scholar.

Scholars are particular

, so they converted the spacious first courtyard into a second one.

The location is good.

Turn left at the alley entrance and you'll find the bustling street.

It's also close to the government office,

so local thugs won't dare to

cause trouble here. Oh, and it's also close to

the Prefectural School

. Yes, the Prefectural School is the ancestral temple and main hall of Minglun Hall.

So, my lady, you and your family

are 100% safe living here.

Young man,

you just said the previous owner was an old..."

Why did the old

scholar move away? He used to be a teacher;

the three rooms in the front were originally

his classroom for students' introductory lessons.

The old scholar got old, and

his younger family members were useless and couldn't

support the family business, so

the whole family moved out of the city to the countryside.

Should we sell this house?

Xiao Qian, isn't that too hasty?

No, second brother,

I inquired about the house prices here last time I came.

This house isn't expensive at all.

When did you inquire?

I didn't know.

Maybe you don't remember?

Wow, the landlord really knows everything

and negotiated the price with the broker so easily.

In the end, he even managed to get a discount of 20 taels!

And the landlord even bought me rice and a sweet candy.

So sweet

! What?!

Don't tell anyone

about how much money you spent on the house today,

okay? I know,

my mother said

that a good girl

should learn to be mute,

deaf, and blind

, and be diligent.

Bringing Yu Tao out today was also a test for her,

since I can't have talkative people around me.

It's one thing for a farmer's son from Gucheng

to be good at studying, but

why is he also proficient in the Six Arts and

can play the zither?

It's really

strange.

What the hell is this weather?

What bad luck! How did I run into this farmer's son again?

So arrogant!

He deserves it. This guy married a country bumpkin as a wife
and a country farmer as a wife.

I thought I was seeing things.

Cheng Li brother, it's raining outside.
City brother, it's raining outside.

What? "Pursue your own

virtue and restrain your conscience.

Gu Chengli, don't you have a lover in the prefectural city too? Gu
Chengli, don't you have a lover in the prefectural city too? Hmph

, Xiuyuan,

isn't that your sister-in-law?

Why is your sister-in-law in the prefectural city?

Sister-in-law

? What sister- in-law

? That's Gu Chengli's wife.

But isn't Gu Chengli's wife an illiterate

, vulgar, and shallow peasant woman?

You

missed her so much that you came.

Look how quickly you left,

you didn't even have

an umbrella. What if you catch a cold

? You have to take good care of yourself

while you're out. You can't do this

again. Yes, I promise I won't do it again.

Sister-in-law, why did you suddenly come to the prefectural city

?

I found a place to stay in the prefectural city.

Today is a day off at the prefectural school.

If you two have time..."

Why don't you come to my house for a simple meal

?

I've prepared some light wine;

please don't mind. Of course

we

would!

Our place isn't far;

it's just a short walk.

Oh

dear, I forgot to give the article to Inspector Qin!

Lin Zhi, didn't you also forget to give it to him

? That article about governing with virtue?

Did you forget to submit it

? Is there such an article?

Madam Song, Lin Zhi and I have other matters to attend to, so

we won't bother you today . We'll

definitely pay you a visit tomorrow

. We'll be going now.

Alright

,

let's go back.

It's raining and cold here.

Xiu Yuan, why are you holding

your wife 's

hand? We already said

we've arranged a place to stay in the prefectural city

and prepared some light wine

to invite us. Let's go together

! Those young people haven't seen each other for days,

they must have a lot to talk about.

Going today would be annoying, we

can go tomorrow. It's

raining today

, let's just stay at the academy and not go out

. Who told me Gu Chengli is

from a peasant family? What kind of peasant son

studies so well, does such basic arithmetic

, is proficient in the Six Arts,

and even has a wife who ran away from the village to the city

and bought him a place to live

? How could he possibly be an ordinary peasant

? Brother Wencai, what are you doing standing here?

I remember Fuyue Restaurant recently had a really good dish,

let's go try it together.

I remember you said Gu Chengli is from a peasant family,

right? Yes,

what's the problem?

We're both from peasant families

, I struggle to make ends meet at the academy,

but he's living a carefree

life. "If I hadn't had diarrhea during the college entrance exam and didn't perform well,

how could he have had a chance to get a minor triple

infection

? Hmph,

what's wrong with you? Why

are you all alone

? It's not safe.

It's not that far anyway, look

, the place is just ahead.

But that won't do.

You're not familiar with the city at all.

From now on , you must have someone with you when you go out.

I will never do that again.

This time, I just thought I hadn't seen you in a long time

and wanted to talk to you alone,

so I didn't let anyone else follow me

. Xiao Qian , he was thinking, '

Xiao

Qian, could it be that Gu Chengli is finally not a little old-fashioned?

It's raining now,

there aren't many people on the street.

Two people sharing an oil-paper umbrella

, how romantic it would be to kiss!

The rain is getting heavier,

let's hurry back to

the place.'" Where is

Gu Chengli? Is he allergic to romance?

It's just here.

Luckily it's close by

, otherwise we would have been soaked outside.

I almost couldn't control myself and wanted to kiss Xiao Qian.

A gentleman's feelings are restrained by propriety.

I saw that the rain was getting heavier

and that you two hadn't come back yet, so

I thought I'd hurry up and pick you up. Is

the host not wet?

No, this is Yu Tao, the daughter of Uncle Huangzi from our village. She

came to Fucheng this time

to help with some cleaning and cooking.

Come in, come in, it's cool here.

Originally, I wanted to give the main house to my second brother,

but he absolutely refused

, saying that his second brother-in-law couldn't live with his sister-in-law.

Now my second brother and Zheng Mian are

living in the back house of the first courtyard.

Yu Tao is living in the west wing.

The goods are all placed in the front building. The

west wing is empty now, but

we can convert it into a study later.

The east wing is the kitchen and dining area.

Second brother, you've worked hard taking care of Xiaoqian these past few days.

What's the trouble?

This courtyard was bought with a small amount of money.

If it weren't for him

, I would never have been able to live in such a nice courtyard in my life.

Host, host,

have some ginger tea.

Thank you so much.

It's all what I should do.

The host is really beautiful today.

It's the first time I've ever seen such a beautiful host.

Second brother, go and rest.

We'll go out to run the goods again

tomorrow when it stops raining.

Okay

, I haven't asked you yet

when you arrived in the prefectural city.

You arrived the day

before yesterday. You bought the courtyard the day before

yesterday and moved in yesterday morning.

Then you hurriedly tidied up the courtyard.

Today, I couldn't wait to go to the prefectural school to see you.

I really missed you so much after

not seeing you for so long. I

saw you outside the prefectural school just now

and thought I was seeing things.

Now , I

've finally seen you, Qingqing!

Yunhu Buxi

really misses me,

and I miss you too. I miss you

so much. I

think about you even when I'm eating, sleeping, or doing accounting

, so I came to the prefectural city to find you.

I've lost weight recently

because the weather is warmer and

I've changed into lighter clothes.

It's daytime now,

and I've put out

the fire. To make braised pork, you first blanch the pork

, then caramelize

the sugar. When caramelizing the sugar

, the fire on the stove must be low. If

you overcook the sugar, it will turn bitter.

You need to caramelize the sugar until it bubbles,

and when the bubbles are about to disappear,

quickly put the pork in,

then add seasonings, stir-fry

, and then add hot water to stew.

Remember, it must be hot water.

You can also add dried

hawthorn. The organic acids in dried hawthorn

make

the pork more tender

, but don't add too much

, or it will be too sour.

I'm sure I can learn it.

I want to cook for my master for the rest of my life.

How can you eat so much?

The food at the prefectural school is only occasionally meaty.

It's been so long since I've had your cooking.

Do

you want another bowl? Let me tell you I'm not

at the prefectural school for a while. I'm going

to buy a bowl of sweet rice cakes from the dessert shop to take back to Xiaoqian.

Gu Chengli is a complete wolf in sheep's clothing,

with a deep and cunning mind.

Scholar Gu

, greetings everyone.

Scholar Gu, I'm about to leave the academy.

My wife has come to the city. She

came so suddenly

, I wasn't prepared at all

!

I didn't expect my wife to come to the city.

It's raining at the tasting,

and she's still waiting at the gate. I

won't chat with you all any longer, farewell.

Gu Chengli, what's wrong with him today?

His wife came to see him.

Look how happy he is!

How did you know

? Uh,

I met her at the tasting.

Hearing the sound of the abacus,

and seeing Xiao Chen's profile as if he were seriously reviewing accounts,

I felt a sense of relief.

What are you laughing at?

Heh,

nothing.

It's late,

we should rest.

Ah, wife

, let's rest.

Second brother, didn't the master say he was coming to the city to sell cloth?

Why hasn't he sold any cloth these past two days?

He's been going out to play.

You don't understand, do you?

Second brother, the master is about to leave

. You little rascal, just wait and see,

you'll understand soon enough. Hurry up and follow me.

These are the people Shen San introduced, right?

You are Wu Dong.

Hey, my wife, just call me Er Dongzi.

Brother Wu, no need to be so polite.

I've heard you're the know-it-all of Guangping Prefecture.

That's just a nickname the brothers in the underworld give you out of politeness. If

my wife wants to ask anything,

as long as I, Er Dongzi, know

the answer, I'll tell you everything.

We 've come to the prefectural city to buy cloth. We

heard that last year the prefectural city had half-price silk

, and we wanted to buy a batch

. So that's what it is

. To be honest

, the person selling the silk was from out of town.

He sold it all and left,

and nobody knows where he went.

But that silk was indeed good cloth.

Many

people are secretly guessing

that the cloth was actually stolen goods

, which is why it was sold so cheaply.

It seems the cotton tribute silk thing hasn't really taken off in the prefectural city

yet. Now we'll see how much information you can get from Wu Dongzi

about the cloth shop.

We need to return this jade bracelet quickly.

There's absolutely no need to buy it.

Little Chen, you don't know how much this kid can drink.

He drank almost half a jar of wine

and wasn't affected at all

. Although I haven't drunk much,

"I've never gotten drunk since I was a child.

How's the news about the cloth shop in Fucheng going

? I 've got everything sorted out

. You're a cloth merchant from Anyuan County.

You

're here to sell goods too,

that's right.

Please come in and have a seat.

I'll go find our manager right away. Here

's a small payment. What's going on?

We haven't been here for so long,

how come the shop assistant still recognizes you?

But when we came to sell cloth last time,

did they remember me?

I was just

worried. Don't worry, Second Brother,

it's just cloth.

Second Brother, what are you saying?

Let's talk about how to sell cloth later

. Boss Gu, Boss Song, please sit, please sit

!

Quickly boil some water

and brew some good tea to entertain our distinguished guests.

It must be good tea.

Today, as soon as I came in

, the shop assistant in your cloth shop recognized me.

Boss Song, the goods from last time were this.

The quality and color of the cloth were both excellent. This time, a total of 500 bolts of various colored fabrics

, 300 bolts of different colored fabrics, and 4 bolts of satin

were delivered .

All the colors are here,

you can take a look.

" "Good fabric! Good fabric!

The number indicates how many bolts

of different patterns

you brought this time. Clever design! Clever design!

I know you're a straightforward person,

Manager Yang, after dealing with you twice

. You've done so much business in Fucheng, so

I'll sell this batch at the same price as last time.

That's fine.

As a businessman,

I'm naturally happy to

get a good price.

We have our own weaving workshop in Anyuan County.

This is all the types and patterns of fabrics we produce.

Manager Yang, please let me know which ones you need.

We can bring more

next time we come to Fucheng.

Boss Song wants to supply my fabric shop long-term

. That's right

, as long as the quality of the fabric is good,

I can keep buying .

How's everything

going?"

All sold out.

I'm a man,

I should be the breadwinner,

but in the end, I still have to rely on my wife to

earn money to support the family . Stop, stop! When I'm doing business,

the caravans come to the prefectural city to sell goods.

I'm happy when

I'm calculating on the abacus late at night and counting

every copper coin

I earn . Although the process is hard

, it's money I earned through my own abilities,

so I enjoy it. Do you think I'll be happy

if you pass the imperial examination and become an official,

and

I stay at home

all day eating, embroidering,

and staring at the sun when I'm bored

? Let

me tell you, no.

A small weaving workshop in Xiapi Village

allows one-third of the women in the village to

earn money with their own hands.

They're happy,

and I'm happy too.

I go out to run caravans

and sell Xiapi Village's cloth to the prefectural city.

The more I sell, the

better the business of the Xiapi Village weaving workshop will be.

This way, the workshop can recruit more female workers, and

more women can

support themselves with their own hands.

Of course,

I don't deny that

I also earn money

in this process

, but this is money I earned with my own hands.

This is what I deserve

. I know you care about me

and don't want me to be so tired,

but compared to making you feel... I love you,

but I want you to see my value.

I'm sorry

, I didn't know, I didn't know you thought that way.

So, now?

Hmm,

I understand. I won't say similar things again.

Men need to be trained while they're young,

otherwise they'll become stubborn when they get old.

Yu Tao, what are you doing?

Someone's already called us for dinner.

Let's go out.

A few days ago

, I thought the master was taking us to play in the city.

Turns out he was looking for someone to inquire about the city.

That Er Dongzi is indeed the know-it-all of the city.

Ask him anything,

and he can answer any question.

How about that? Are you convinced now

? I'm 100% convinced now

. Go back, don't see me off anymore

. While Xiao Chen is away

, I'll continue to study at the academy. Mao Lin, I 'll

trouble you to look after the yard

. Don't worry , leave the yard to me.

I'm happy

to live in such a nice yard .

Xiao Qian likes to spend money,

so please

water the roses and balsams

in the yard regularly.

Next time Xiao Qian

comes to the city, please let me know at the academy.

No problem .

We've been away for half a month

, and I don't know how things are at home.

Hahaha, Second Brother Gu

, don't worry,

everything at home is definitely fine.

"Good my foot! I absolutely disagree with

Zheng Fang's idea of going to work at Song Qian's weaving workshop.

If he really goes,

where will I put my face?

Mother has already spoken to Aunt Xiuping.

Zheng Fang, do you have any ambition at all?

I've told you so many times,

reselling grain can make money.

You suffered losses the last few times

, but you changed your ways afterward.

You just wouldn't go.

Now,

you actually want to listen to your mother and go to Gu's weaving workshop to make money.

I absolutely disagree!

My mother has already said it.

Whatever your mother says,

whatever your

mother says, it's all your mother's opinion. When will you,

as the main wife, be able to make your own decisions and stop letting your mother interfere in your affairs?

Song Sui, what do you mean by this?

Humph, I knew you weren't a good person. You're

always

trying to get Bingzi to stay away from me, trying to control Bingzi

and make him listen to you in everything.

Let me tell you, you're dreaming!

After my father-in-law died,

Wang Meixiang became even more sharp-tongued and mean.

She actually wanted to torment me."

But I won't let him have his way.

Bingzi can't go to work at the weaving workshop.

I knew you had ulterior motives.

Your younger brother is working there.

Are you afraid Fengzi will take his place?

What do you mean by that

? Do you really consider yourself a daughter-in-law of the Zheng family?

You always rush to take

anything good to your parents' house.

You're so close to your parents' house

, why did you marry out?

You might as well stay in your old Song family and die

as an old maid.

Bah! You can't just talk nonsense without some basis.

Explain yourself clearly.

When did I take anything to my parents' house?

Hmph, those few feet of fine cotton cloth the other day,

didn't you take them to your parents' house?

I bought those with my own savings. I

took them back so my mother could make me a pair of shoes.

What? Your old Zheng family's stuff?

Your family is so poor we can barely afford to eat.

What is there that I would take?

You're a jinx, a jinx.

The Zheng family is in this state

all because of you!

Ahhh,

is that Song Qian?

You're back from the prefectural city

? Why are you back so quickly?

I asked your mother before,

and she said you wouldn't be back for another half month.

We came back because we

sold out our goods early.

Mom and Dad,

I'm back from the prefectural city. I've

lost weight

and gotten darker, but I

haven't lost any weight. Mom, that's

why I feel that way, it's just because I haven't seen you for a long time.

Dad, I'm not dark,

that's just what I put on my face.

Mom and Dad, my second sister and the others are back from the prefectural city.

They

sold out all the goods they brought

this time . I also heard that my second sister

placed a long-term supply order with a very big cloth shop in the prefectural city

, saying that they can bring cloth to the prefectural city to sell more often in the future.

My second sister is really amazing

. Mom , when I grow up,

can I go to the prefectural city with my second sister?

Really, Mom, she's siding with Song Qian again.

Next, is Mother going to tell me to bear with it again?

Hey, Song Ying is successful

, I'll benefit from him somehow.

Even if he's stingy , I'll feel good if

I hear some nice things people say about me when I go out.

Mother, are you going out to see Song Yong?

Sui Sui, Wang Meixiang lost her husband

, she's upset and

wants to find someone to argue with.

You don't need to

pay attention to her. Are you telling me to bear with it?

Mother, you really care about me and

want to see me doing well.

I'm not telling you to bear with it

, I'm just telling you not to complain all the time.

Who doesn't live like this? Besides,

don't say anymore.

Nobody in this world can be relied on.

If I want a good life, I have to rely on myself.

Sui Sui, Sui Sui

, Mother, what's wrong with Eldest Sister?

Nothing, probably went back to her husband's family.

Come on, let's go to your Second Sister's place to see

what's going on . Haha, Mother-in-law, you're

here ! Haha, I heard Xiao Qian is back,

so I came to see him too.

The child has had a hard time on the road.

I see he's lost a lot of weight.

Yes, yes,

when you're out and about

, nothing compares to home.

Chen Guihua, why can you suddenly talk ? If

things don't work out with Zheng Fan,

maybe we'll have to work on our own in the future.

Song Ping runs a weaving workshop

, and Gu Cheng is a scholar;

following him will be beneficial

. Am I supposed to support my parents?

No need to waste my energy

; I'd rather go settle accounts.

Meng Liang, that kid's back!

Where is he now?

At Zheng

Zhuzi's house? I'll go check on him first.

You guys continue chatting.

Hey,

Zheng Youfu died

a good death!

My own father died along with my mother.

Now I'm being beaten entirely because I listened to my older brother.

Zheng Liang will be a yamen runner in the future.

Looking at the honest and simple-minded Zheng Fu, I get angry.

If I hadn't married Zheng... If only I had a husband,

I really can't take it anymore!

My sister's in trouble!

What happened?

My eldest sister ran away with Zheng Liang

! What did you say?

My

sister really did run away with Zheng Liang!

Someone said they saw them

walking out of the village together

this morning!

What is Song Sui after? It

can't be just for the thrill, right?

Wang Meixiang is making a scene at our house right now

, saying my eldest sister took her family's

money!

Sister, what are we going to do?

Zheng Liang isn't a good person,

how could my eldest sister run away with him?

You just said Wang Meixiang went to make a scene with Mother.

Yes, let's go

back and see what 's going on

. This is the good daughter your Song family raised!

She seduced my crazy husband before marriage

, afraid she wouldn't be able to marry into our family,

and now she's run away with another man after marriage

! "You're a womanizer?

That's bullshit!

Wang Meixiang, stop spewing nonsense!

It was clearly your wife who took advantage of my daughter before the marriage,

and I caught her red-handed.

Now you say my Sui Sui ran away

? I want her back!

Zheng Liang is your son!

It was Zheng Liang who kidnapped my Sui Sui!

Who's Zheng Liang's mother

? I'm not him!

I don't have a son like that! Humph, who are you?

Ever since my Sui Sui married into your family,

you've been causing trouble for her every other day.

I can tell you've long disliked

Sui Sui and wanted to divorce her

so your son could marry a new wife.

Now that Zheng Liang is here

, you two have

teamed up! Oh no! My Sui Sui

, where have you hidden my daughter?

Give her back!"

"Ah,

Grandma, are you alright?

I'm

fine

, but this doesn't look like I'm fine

. If you fainted, it would be such

a terrible thing.

Third brother, quickly go and call Zheng Cao to heal you.

He would never do such a thing. He couldn't possibly have

run away with Zheng Liang . From now on, no one in the family should ever mention the name Song Sui again.

Grandma, what are you saying ?

Just because one person saw Sui and Zheng Liang together,

you think Sui Sui ran away with Zheng Liang?

I don't believe it.

The facts are right in front of us

, what else is there to say?

It's right in front of us.

Maybe Zheng Liang seduced

Sui Sui and deliberately lured her away.

You know how much Zheng Liang

hates Wang Meixiang, that stepmother , she

's tried to ruin Zheng Fang's life several times.

Maybe this time he kidnapped Sui

Sui to spite Wang Meixiang

." In

his dream, Zheng Liang was successful and became a policeman. His

eldest daughter disliked the first wife for being useless and

decisively chose Zheng Liang.

I must not let Wang Meixiang

pin the blame for Song Xue running away with Zheng Liang on us,

otherwise how will the two boys in the family get married?

Eldest son , you have spoiled him rotten.

Second daughter, you must find your eldest sister. You

must not let her go out and mess around with Zheng Liang.

Zheng Liang is a street thug and

a thug in a gambling den.

He does nothing right.

Your eldest sister will not have a good ending if she follows him.

Grandma Li Zheng and the Zheng family head have already sent people to look for them.

I believe there will be results soon.

Although they haven't been found yet

, some people say they saw the two of them

in a restaurant in the county town.

Some people say they saw them during the day. Two people were eating there.

Brother Zheng, I don't know what to say.

I'm truly ashamed

to have a daughter like that

. Hey, Brother Song

, what are you saying?

Before we found those two

, who knew what was going on?

When Song Sui comes back

, I'm going to break his legs!

You want me to help Zheng Fang raise her son?

What do you mean, help Zheng Fang raise

her son? He's

still my son

! No way!

Zheng Liang is the kind of

person you can only agree with

. If it comes to force,

he can be tougher than me. My son is Wang Meixiang's only grandson.

With Zheng Feng's pathetic state

, he'll never be able to get married.

If we bring the child out

, wouldn't that be the same as cutting off

Wang Meixiang's family line?

Wang Meixiang will definitely be worried then.

You're right.

Why do you see me like that?

Humph, I never expected that you, this

seemingly gentle and weak woman,

would actually be such a ruthless one.

I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult.

The person I originally wanted to marry was you

, but you weren't home at the time

, so I had no choice

but to choose Zheng Feng.

This spring,

a fortune teller came to our village to cast a divination.

I overheard him saying that

this year's harvest wouldn't be as good as in previous years,

and it seemed like there would be heavy rains,

which would make grain prices high.

He suggested we stock up on some grain while we could.

You believe those people?

Humph, if those fortune tellers were really accurate,

how could we still be so poor?

Anyway, you have some money on hand

, why not try doing some small business?

What if you make money?

Okay, we'll get to the kids' stuff

tomorrow.

No rush. Going back to the village now

is like standing there waiting to be caught. We

'll have to wait until this storm passes.

It's not realistic to run a school and have the kids

learn arithmetic and writing to work for me

right now. Come

on, sit down. Second sister-in-law,

what brings you here?

I've been

standing here all day.

Xiao Chen, I came to tell you something,

but I'm not sure

. You know I'm pregnant now.

Maybe I'm just overthinking things.

Sister-in-law, what is it?

I feel like there's something wrong with the cotton prices we've been buying lately.

Uncle Liangshan,

Uncle Liangshan, I really won't do it again!

Uncle Deshan, I've been blinded by greed!

Bow

. Dad

, go call everyone from the Gu family to the ancestral

hall. Ancestral

hall ! Today I've gathered everyone

here to discuss something

. I'm sure you all know that

our Gu family's

weaving workshop was established because of my sister-in-law, Shen Xiuping, and my niece-in-law, Song Qian.

And because a scholar emerged from our clan,

the government didn't overcharge us taxes.

But

now, some people are using the clan's name

to deceive outsiders into buying cotton at low prices.

It turns out that

village rules and regulations are truly paramount

here . People are social animals;

in a closed village,

publicly punishing someone by sweeping the streets for three years

is worse than imprisonment.

I was prepared. Instead

of simply blaming them for not fulfilling their duties , I

'll gradually establish clear rewards and punishments.

So,

you need to be familiar with this kind of thing in the future. With

more people involved, this is how things work:

inferior goods are passed off

as superiors, superiors are deceived,

black and white are reversed

, and even mutual attacks occur.

Your

job is

to pick out the right people from the chaotic information.

Recognizing and employing people sounds easy, but it's

actually very difficult.

People aren't static.

Just because someone was good in the past doesn't mean they'll be good

in the future; just because someone was bad in the past doesn't mean they won't do the right thing.

Do you know why I

called my uncle to handle this?

Because the other party is from the Gu family.

My eldest uncle is the clan head of the Gu family.

It's perfectly legitimate to

hand this over to him.

With him keeping things under control

, no matter how it's handled,

the other clan members won't object.

That's right

, different people and

different situations

require different approaches.

If the person who committed the crime this time wasn't a member of the Gu family,

you could have taken them to the authorities.

I understand.

This is a warning to others

. No one should dare to do this again for a while.

Businesses like family-based systems

because families are natural alliances of interest.

With concerns in their hearts, they dare not act recklessly.

But that's not absolute.

People like Song Sui and Zheng Liang

wouldn't care about even their own relatives.

Are we really going?

What if I get caught

by Wang Meixiang or Zheng Chuan while I'm holding the child

and can't escape? Don't worry, I've arranged for a new household registration video

. Once you've taken the child

, we'll go to the prefectural city.

Oh

, it's you!

You've got some nerve. You

even dare to come back.

My family didn't want you for a long time.

Dongzi, you misunderstood.

I didn't really want to leave before. Look,

I'm back now.

Get out of our family quickly.

I don't want to see

you again. "Wait

, wait!

What are you doing holding Gou Dan?

Are you trying to steal the child?

Who pushed me?

Why are you so slow

? I've been stopped.

Okay, no wonder my mother said that

you two are really messing around.

You wait,

I'm going to tell my mother,

tell the clan chief.

You two just wait and see! Do

n't come any closer

! Why are you hitting me so hard?

Who told him to insult me

? Is he dead?

This kid is the best at playing dumb.

He's trying to extort me!

Someone's dead! Someone's dead!

What? Someone's dead?

He's clearly trying to extort me!

He's not making a sound!

Fourth brother, really!

He doesn't even know to close the door in the middle of the day!

Dongzi, Dongzi,

who the hell did this ?

Help! Dongzi, Dongzi,

don't scare me!

Who the hell did this ?

How did it get like this?

Mother, it was Zheng Liang who hit me.

Song Sui and he were together.

They even stole Gou Dan!

What did you say?

Why is there a child crying in the field

in the middle of the day

? Stop! Stop!

Song Sui, get down

! Move aside! Move aside

! Song Sui, get down! Get down!

Stop! Stop!

I want to get down

! Stop! Go back!

I just saw my father!

Are you crazy?

Do you know that?" "What will happen if I go back now?

Zheng Dong is dead

, it's not like I beat him to death.

I don't care, I'm going back now.

You think Zheng Dong's death has nothing to do with you?

Don't forget

you were the one who went in to steal the child first.

What stealing?

This is my child,

I can take him if I want.

It depends on whether the Zheng family acknowledges him or not!

I

can't live like this anymore,

this is driving me to my death!

Hai Fangzi angered his father to death several times before, and

now he beat Douzi like this.

Who knows if he will come back to beat people again?

I'm a widow with two sons

, how am I going to live?

It's all because of your Song family's good daughter,

a good-for-nothing. One of her

ran off with a wild man,

and now she's trying to steal my grandson.

Your Song family is truly an outsider,

with no proper roots. You must have done

dirty and despicable things

back in your hometown to be ostracized. I spit on you,

you're the one with a bad

root and a wicked heart.

Zheng Liang has repeatedly caused trouble for Zheng Xiang

because of you, this black-hearted stepmother.

You put the cow he brought back under your own son's name,

and you still think this is something the villagers..." You have no idea,

you heartless bastard! You

almost froze Zheng Zhuzi and Zheng Liang to death back then,

and you still have the nerve to say my family

is doing well? What are you arguing about

? Hahaha,

I'm so wronged!

My husband just lost

his son and he's been beaten like this.

Does that mean everyone can

bully us, a widow and orphan, now? Hahaha,

what kind of talk is that?

You're the wife of the Zheng family,

and your house is already big.

You live in the downstream village.

Who would bully you for no reason?

His own daughter even stole my grandson.

Sui

Sui is with Zheng Liang.

Zheng Liang is your son.

This is your family matter

. Why are you blaming my family

? Alright

, what time is it?

Still arguing?

Now, while Song Sui and Zheng Liang

haven't run too far,

let's hurry up and chase after them.

Maybe we can still bring them back.

Where's Dad? Where's Dad? Dad

said he left the hoe in the field. He went to get it.

How long has he been gone

? A while,

right? Oh no! Something terrible has happened

! Guihua, someone look! Your husband has collapsed

by the cornfield on the west side.

What? What

? How could this happen?

There's a reason! There's a reason!

Third brother, you stay here and watch over Grandma.

I'm going to the cornfield to the west to see Dad.

I'll go too .

You watch over Grandma first.

Dad just fainted

; he might be alright

. I'll go check on

him. Okay

sister, I'll listen to you.

What happened?

Who the hell did this to you?

I saw Zheng Liang driving a carriage with Song Sui.

I went up to stop them,

but they wouldn't stop and even bumped into me.

No way, you must be mistaken.

How could it be Sui Sui?

I'd recognize him even if he were ashes.

I don't have such a shameless daughter.

I'll pretend I never gave birth to him.

You must be mistaken.

They're the ones who raised Song Sui to be selfish and weak.

Now that Song Sui is showing her bad side to them,

they can't accept it.

It's so ironic

! Oh no,

she's probably broken a bone.

What ? Broken a bone

? What are we going to do?

If the bone is broken, I can't walk.

I'll go back and find someone to bring a plank. Come here

, let's carry him back first.

That's a good idea.

I'll go home and find some planks.

Oh, I have planks

at home, come and get them.

He'll be a cripple from now on.

In ancient times, there was no surgery or steel nails;

fractures relied entirely on self-healing.

Sigh, the bone in his right ankle can't be set.

Even if he recovers

, he'll have to walk with crutches.

You want me to take care of the aftermath? Impossible.

I'm going to take Song Jitian and Song Chengmiao away too.

Before, you said you could do housework with your hands, but

now you'll have

to take care of the sick and elderly

yourself . It's okay, as long as he's alive.

Jitian can work and earn money now.

As for the money for his younger brother's private school,

if it's really not possible, I'll

pay for it . Song Chengmiao must go to school.

Firstly, it's for the future... The second reason he can work at the weaving workshop

is to prevent him from causing trouble outside.

I'm happy to spend a little money for a good reputation

. Guihua, look how filial Xiaoqian is!

He even said he'd support his younger brother's education in the future, hahaha

. Yes, yes, Xiaoqian

is so good to his two younger brothers.

Guihua, with Xiaoqin helping out,

you can just stay home and take care of

Yougen and your mother-in-law.

I wanted you to take care of the family,

but you only support your youngest son's education.

I'm so frustrated!

Xiaoping , don't be too sad.

Your father's leg is injured,

but at least he's alright.

Well, that's a blessing in disguise.

I'm just thinking about Song Sui.

Is Song Sui crazy?

She values Zheng Liang so much

. I don't trust her judgment.

Sigh, let's find him and ask

him... Everything is clear

now. Luckily, we had

the arranged marriage. Wang Meixiang's family has been in constant turmoil.

My daughter-in-law is so good!

Now, after Dad injured his leg,

and Grandma's health isn't good,

Mom says we won't dye cloth at home anymore.

Song Sui and Zheng Liang are still missing.

Sister, why did Song Sui do this?

Mom and Dad loved my eldest sister the most.

Even if Song Sui comes back,

I won't acknowledge him anymore.

Is Mom still thinking about Song Sui?

Maybe. Dad's temper has changed,

and Mom is irritable too.

They argue every day .

My younger brother, Zhu Shi, said

he doesn't want to stay at home anymore

. Sister , I don't want to go back and hear Mom and Dad arguing.

You can't go back

, you should just go back and

be patient

. Ahhh,

how come... Why are you crying every day?

What's there to cry about?

He'll stop crying when he's tired of it. He fled

to the prefectural city and hasn't even had time

to stockpile grain yet. When are you planning to stockpile grain

? If

the price really goes up,

let me think about it some more. In

the county town, we can borrow money and gamble.

In the prefectural city, we're unfamiliar with the

area , and if we spend our money, we'll really starve.

Why don't you even listen to me?

I said it will go up, and it definitely will.

You're not even as good as the main wife. At

least she listened to me. I bought twice

,

and the first time I didn't make any money, and

I ended up in jail.

This time it's different.

Believe me,

this time it will definitely go up.

Zheng Liang, don't you want to make a lot of money and then go back to the village

so that all those people who look down on you

will have to look at you with a smile?

Right now, those people in the village look down on you.

The truth is, it's because you're poor.

As

the saying goes,

money makes the world

go round. Once you're rich, come back to the village. As long as you're willing to spend money,

even if you kill Zheng Dong

or Zheng Feng

, the Zheng family won't do anything to you. Fine, I'll do it!

I'm sure I'll make a fortune this time

. Song Sui, how

could you be so insensible? She

was doing just fine with Zheng Fu

, but she had to run off with Zheng Liang.

Why did she come back

and break her own father's leg?

All the care I've put in for the past ten years

has been for nothing. I 've raised such a cold-blooded daughter.

Isn't it all because you

spoiled her? I just said what I was thinking,

and looking at my mother-in-law's face, I'm furious.

If I hadn't followed the old man back then... The Song family came to this godforsaken place,

how did I become like this?

I spoiled her, it 's all my fault

. Don't try to absolve yourself of all responsibility.

Who was it that said our eldest sister was lucky

to marry into a good family

and become an official's wife,

to be pampered and cared for?

Now that something's happened

, you 're blaming everything on me. Don't

underestimate me, I know nothing.

More than half of the bad reputation I, Chen Guihua, have in this village

is because of you.

You poor

old woman, you suffer at home all day at home from my bad temper as your fierce daughter-in-law.

I'm fierce, I'm unreasonable,

everything is wrong.

Now even when our eldest sister got into trouble, it's all my fault,

Chen Guihua. How dare you speak to my mother like that

? You two are now in cahoots.

"I'm not here specifically to talk about me,

hahaha. Song Yougen,

do you have any conscience at all

? Back then, your whole family dragged me to Xiapi Village,

and I gave birth to four children for you.

These days, I've done everything – washing clothes, cooking

, harvesting vegetables,

weeding –

and you still find fault with me all the time.

I can't live like this anymore.

Let's die together!

Xiaoqin, Xiaoqin

, go see her!

Your grandma is dying!

What

? Aunt Zhang was perfectly healthy,

how come she suddenly stopped?

It's Xiaopin's mother. She had a few

words with Grandma Zhang

over the New Year's celebration.

Grandma Zhang got so angry that she

couldn't catch her breath.

Oh,

Xiaoping

, don't be too sad.

It's all fate.

Your grandma isn't young anymore."

Now that it's all over so suddenly,

at least she didn't suffer much when she died

, so it can be considered a happy funeral.

Let's go and see

! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!

I shouldn't have argued with my mother-in-law over Sui Sui's matter.

A life for a life,

Song Yougen, kill me!

Second sister, second sister

,

if it weren't for the fact that you're Song Qian's mother,

I would have slapped you

! Grandma's already in trouble,

and you, as her daughter-in-law

, didn't help with the funeral arrangements

or let anyone announce her death.

You're just making a scene here. Shut

up! You keep saying you

argued with Grandma because of Song Sui

. Does that mean Song Sui wasn't spoiled by you?

I'll make it clear right now

: Song Sui did this

because of your indulgence.

Song Sui didn't do any chores at home,

but you praised her for being capable outside.

You taught Song Sui to lie.

She wanted a better life and arranged a marriage for her,

and you helped her arrange it

. You made her arrogant and incompetent.

Although Song Sui herself isn't a good person

, the father is to blame for not teaching his son properly.

You're no good either,

hahaha

!

Is Song Sui cursed to bring misfortune to her family? Luckily, Song Qian

kept her in check before she got married.

After Song Qian married into Gu Deshan's family...

Gu Deshan's family is so prosperous!

Third brother, take Mother to wash her face.

Mother

, Uncle, I'm young and inexperienced, I

've never seen such a big event before.

I'm in charge of the funeral arrangements,

so I'll trouble you to take care of things.

These are all minor matters.

Little Concubine, advise your father to take it easy.

His leg is already injured,

let him rest and not move around too much.

I know.

I wanted to applaud

when Old Lady Zhang was angered to death by Song Sui

, but Song Qian has become successful

, and I want Fangzi to work in the weaving workshop,

so I can only come to mourn with my nose in my mouth.

Seeing Chen Guihong's face

makes me happy

, but I can't be too obvious about it. Don't

be too sad either.

That's how people are.

Sometimes a person who looks quite strong

can be gone in a second if they

get a little angry .

If it weren't for the fact that he's useless and can't

make a lot of money,

why would he bother following Zhengliang all the time?

The worse Chen Guifang's face looks, the

happier I am.

The once sunny main wife

has now become silent and dull. She

's not even 20 years old

, but she looks like she's been through a lot.

Keep these five copper coins safe. Bury them

in the grave when you're buried.

Okay, I know.

Song Qian, find one of the old quilts your family used.

Hmm,

here it is, Auntie. See if this is okay?

Is it too old

?

As long as it's a quilt,

it doesn't matter if it's old or

not. Song Qian has really changed,

like she's a different person.

She married Gu Chengli and is indeed living a good life.

Gu Chengli is a scholar, so

Song Qian is naturally living a good life.

So much has happened in the past two years.

Sometimes I feel like I'm having a nightmare.

Fangzi, Fangzi , what are you daydreaming about?

It's nothing. How can

two sisters born from the same mother's womb

be so different?

When you got married,

so many people envied you.

But now it's nothing

. Isn't it just a girl?

I heard you're going to work in the weaving workshop. You'll

marry another one

when you earn money.

That's Gou Dan. Song Sui

took him away.

Hey Song Qian, you've been drinking too much.

Song Qian is filial to

Chen Guifang. He angered his mother to death.

It's normal for Song Qian to have a grudge against her.

In the Song family, the most important thing is the right to speak and the right to power.

If I were still the second daughter of the Song family,

I would probably have been sold for dowry money.

I swallowed my pride and said nice things,

but Song Qian ignored me. I

went to do other things.

Li Zhang, it still doesn't rain today.

We have to think of something.

Hey, if God doesn't rain,

there's nothing we can do. Son

,

if all else fails,

we'll have to rely on well irrigation,

which will be incredibly difficult

, and we don't know when it will be finished. We'll

have to irrigate, even if it's a long time,

otherwise the crops will die of drought.

Hey,

Dad, go to your uncle's house and

wash your face.

It's hot outside .

Go to your uncle's to discuss using our oxen to irrigate the fields.

Yes,

we must use a dragon-bone waterwheel to draw water from the wells

and rely on livestock for irrigation.

Your

uncle has said that

everyone in the Gu family with livestock

should contribute theirs.

These days, whoever uses livestock to irrigate the fields

will receive an extra two catties of bran per day. Livestock is precious, and ordinary families certainly wouldn't want to lend it out, but once your

uncle

gives

the order,

almost no one in the Gu family objects

. Many people in the village are saying they want to

hold a rainmaking ceremony at the Xuande Temple.

A group of people will paint their faces bright red

and beat drums and gongs. Does

the Xuande Temple really control rain?

Doesn't it?

I don't know

if God will really send rain like this.

When praying,

don't talk. If you don't want to see, just go home.

How's the situation?

Hey,

the ditches to the north are full of water.

I've never seen anything like this in my life.

The old folks in the village... People say

the water in our ditches is so full,

the neighboring counties must have already been flooded.

I heard before that

our Anyuan County is higher than half the area,

so it seems it's true.

I hope it doesn't rain anymore,

or there will be a disaster.

I thought the disaster was far away from me, but I

didn't expect it to be so close.

Auntie, don't worry,

I will definitely keep an eye on the sacrificial fields. I'll

leave the sacrificial fields to you.

This relative of the Gu family is really useful.

But thinking of Song Yougen's leg,

I feel sullen because of Song Sui.

What happened to Cheng Li? I

just thought I was seeing things.

How could Song Sui appear in the prefectural city for no reason

? It's nothing.

Today it's finally been repaired,

let's relax.

Recently, many counties in Guangping Prefecture have been flooded.

Although the floods are severe

, we are just students after all

. Even if we want to, we ca n't do anything about it.

I understand.

I just saw

a familiar figure

and thought I saw an old friend,

Cheng Li

. The prefectural school is going to recommend students to study at the Imperial Academy.

You have to seize the opportunity.

Is this matter approved?

What's approved or not?

Since there is such a rumor

, it means there is such a thing.

Let me give you a sneak peek.

I plan to go back to the county school in a few days.

Maybe I can

get into the Imperial Academy through that

. You need to think this through carefully.

It won't be easy to leave the prefectural school

and come back

; I know that.

During my time at the prefectural school,

I 've become

quite philosophical about it. Even in this small

Guangping Prefecture,

there are countless

people more talented and hardworking than me

, not to mention outside.

We have to go to the capital for the autumn imperial examinations.

Who are the people in the capital? They

're all sons of officials,

taught by excellent teachers from a young

age . Whether it's academics or interpersonal skills,

I can't keep up with them even on horseback.

There are too many talented people at the prefectural school.

With my current level of knowledge,

I have no chance at

all. Let's take a gamble.

If I can study at the Imperial Academy,

my life will be worthwhile.

Since

our minds are made up, let's both give it our all.

I hope we can reunite at the Imperial Academy. I

hope we can reunite

! What are you doing?

I just saw Gu Chengliu.

He almost spotted me.

Oh,

Gu Chengyi is the scholar from our village, right?

Your former fiancé. What?

You want to go find him? What

nonsense are you talking about?

Why would I want to go find him?

Don't forget

why we ran to the prefectural city

in the first place.

Hmph, don't worry. I got news a while ago that

Zheng Dong isn't dead.

That kid's got a lot of luck.

What? Not dead

? Why didn't you tell me before?

Why didn't you tell

me? Why am I telling you this?

Of course you're telling me!

I thought, I thought, I

thought Zheng Dong was really dead!

I thought I could only wander outside

and never be able to return to Xiapi Village!

I want to go back!

I want to go back to Xiapi Village

! Hmph,

don't even think about it! Your grandma died of anger because of you!

Your dad broke his leg because of you!

Where do you think you can go back

to

?

What did you say?

Second brother-in-law is back!

I just saw him!

How come you suddenly came back? Why

didn't you mention coming back in the letter

you sent home a couple of days ago?

Was the journey tiring? How

many days did it take?

The academy is on autumn harvest break!

I forgot to mention it in the letter a while ago!

It was n't tiring;

it took three and a half days!

Thank you, Maolin! I'm so sorry to have troubled you so

much taking care of things

in the city while I was away.

You 're too kind, sir. I even

bought a house in the city

and let me stay there.

If it weren't for you,

I wouldn't be living in such a nice house.

I feel at ease

with you there, but

if the house is deserted, it'll fall into

disrepair very quickly

. I won't go

in now; I need to go home and check on

things. Wait a minute,

my in-laws and my uncle's family in the village are helping to look after things

. Don't worry too much, Maolin.

Everything is fine at home.

This basket contains sesame seeds, candy, bean powder, and sugar.

Maolin, take it all home

as a thank you gift to you and your sister-in-law.

No, no,

this isn't New Year's...

I haven't done anything special, how

can I accept these things?

They're all ready-made

and not valuable,

Brother Maolin, please accept them.

Besides, bringing things back from the city

is already a great achievement.

If you don't want to accept them,

I haven't troubled myself in the prefectural city or Gucheng.

I even earned extra money carrying the bags,

the treatment is good enough.

Brother Maolin, these things are a small dowry for you,

please

accept them. I,

I'm so embarrassed.

Brother Maolin, if you really feel embarrassed,

please help my parents more in the future.

Take care of my parents in the prefectural city.

I'll take care of everything in the city, hahaha

.

I miss you

so much, I wish I

could turn into the southwest wind

and die to enter your embrace

. Is it

in your heart that you're thinking of me

, or here that you're thinking of

me?

What is it you're thinking of, where exactly?

Tell me quickly!

I... I'm thinking of everything! Wow, you've made

great

progress !

Really? I don't believe it!

Cheng Li, Cheng Li,

I heard you're back!

Second Brother, we're in this room.

Gu family, Gu Wenjing.

Three words leaving

the capital. Scholar, you've had a hard day.

Scholar, please have a cup of tea to soothe your throat!

Hahaha

!

Eat eggs

, eat pickles!

Although the capital city is very prosperous

, I still feel that home is better

. By the way, something happened to the Song family

recently. Fortunately, they changed their spouse not long before the wedding,

otherwise it would have been a real headache

. Yes

, fortunately, I married Xiao Qian.

I saw Song Sui in the capital city before.

When will you see her? He arrived

more than a month ago.

He unexpectedly saw

me at a restaurant in the prefectural city. At the time, I thought I had mistaken him for someone else

and didn't pay much attention.

He actually went to the prefectural city.

Those two must have

forged their household registration to get hired.

They really have a lot of guts.

Forging household registration documents can lead

to imprisonment and exile if caught by the authorities.

Xiaoping,

he's fine, don't worry

. He must have been tired on the way back yesterday.

You're such a child. He

only came back from the city yesterday, he

must have been tired on the way. Why

didn't you let him rest this morning

and bring him here?

Mother-in-law, don't blame me.

I'm used to traveling.

The journey wasn't too bad.

You've been to faraway places.

People like us... Having never been to any other place,

I

'm sure I wouldn't be used to

the city. I saw Song Sui in the prefectural city...

What?!

I saw Song Sui in the prefectural city

?! I... I always thought I'd mistaken someone for someone else

until this morning when I heard about what happened at home.

It's most likely that

the person I saw was Song Sui.

It's a pleasant surprise that Sui Sui went to the prefectural city,

but the changes at home are all because of him.

Where did you see her?

In a restaurant.

He still has the nerve to go to a restaurant

and embarrass himself like that!

He'd better never come back in this lifetime.

I'll just pretend I never had a daughter like her. It's

almost harvest time,

and it's starting to rain again

. The cotton harvest

is about to begin, and the new cotton is almost ready.

Why the sudden cotton harvest,

Second Brother?

This year's weather has been abnormal.

First, there was a period of drought

, followed by a period of heavy rain.

Now is the cotton harvesting season,

and the continuous rain will definitely lead to a reduction in cotton production.

I have a feeling that

cotton in November will likely

be more expensive and scarcer than it is now.

Let's stock up two months in advance

to prepare for any eventuality.

Xiaoping is right.

Cotton is related to how much cloth our weaving workshops can produce next year.

If the weaving workshops stop working,

the villagers will lose one livelihood.

At least we must ensure that everyone has a good New Year.

Okay, I'll go harvest the cotton now.

The later it gets, the colder it will be.

I'm afraid the fields will freeze.

If they freeze, the soil will clump together,

making the fields difficult to cultivate.

When you get to the prefectural city,

be sure to write home to let us know you're safe.

Okay, I promise you,

cotton... Cotton production has halved,

but the government's purchase quota remains unchanged.

The market cotton supply has decreased,

but thankfully, the cotton was purchased in advance,

allowing textile production to continue.

Yu Tao, what are you doing?

I'm learning to read.

This is what the master instructed me

to learn. Weren't you washing clothes and cooking over there?

Why do you suddenly need to learn to read?

The master said that

if I don't know a single word

while working for him, what if I accidentally take the wrong things?

So he's making me learn to read.

Yu Tao,

your clothes are really beautiful.

My cousin says that

because she wants my things,

but I don't want to give them to her this time,

right? The master also said that I look good in these clothes. The master

also said that since I'm working for him, my

clothes must be neat and tidy.

The master's husband is a scholar;

if I go out dressed in rags,

outsiders won't know...

I thought the scholar was being mean to the people who did the housework.

I thought that after I spoke up, Yu Tao would

give me things as usual.

Why is it different now?

Yu Tao has really grown up. She's been

following Song Qian around and

she's even learning to talk.

Hmph, look at my silly girl,

still standing there in a daze!

Come here quickly,

can't you see? She's climbed up the social ladder

and is even starting to learn to read.

Hmph, in two more years

, the whole village might not be able to contain her.

You want her clothes

, but you have to see if she'll give them to

you. Sister-in-law, what are you so angry about?

The clothes Yu Tao is wearing were bought by her employer. She's

learning to read, and her employer also made her do it. She

has to listen to her employer

when she works for them and gets paid.

In two more months, it will be the New Year.

Then, sister-in-law will give her more... Sister,

it's not too late to buy some nice clothes. Hmph, you think I care about

these tattered clothes? You

're just a maid who washes clothes and cooks for others,

acting like you're superior to everyone else.

Hmm, you're so young and already serving others. When you

grow up,

you 'll be serving others your whole life.

Sister-in-law,

do you dislike Yutao

or me? If you dislike me, then

say whatever you want to me, not Yutao,

so as not to implicate the scholar and his wife

. Yutao goes out to work and all the money he earns goes to the family.

Now that he has nice clothes,

the eldest son's family

will want to take

them. Sister-in-law

, you're too harsh.

Yutao didn't give them to you out of good intentions.

This set of clothes was given to him by the scholar's wife because she saw

that Yutao did a good job.

Da Ya is not young anymore.

If this set of clothes were to be worn by the eldest sister...

If word gets out, everyone in the village will be

gossiping behind their backs about Daya stealing his sister's clothes.

He really is worthy of

someone who's served his master.

I can't argue with you.

I have worked as a maid

, but Yutao isn't.

She's a law-abiding citizen

; working for wages

is no different from working in the weaving workshop.

I must use this opportunity to expose this

, otherwise, this family will only take Yutao's

money and look down on her.

Go find your grandpa and grandma,

and we'll tell them we're never

going to work for the scholar's wife again.

We won't earn any money there, so we

won't be looked down upon at home.

I heard your family had a fight yesterday.

Are you alright? If you

have any problems,

just tell them... I said,

"Mother said the scholar's wife is a good mistress.

I've been following her for a long time,

and I have hope for the future.

" The mistress made me a new dress.

My aunt's eldest sister wanted it, but

I refused to give it

to her. It turns out it was this dress that caused the trouble.

No, no , it

wasn't the dress that caused the trouble;

it's all about people.

My mother said, "Things aren't distinguished by good or bad

; it's people who distinguish good

from bad." My mother is right.

I've forgotten how to pronounce "mistress

." It's pronounced like

"chuchutou" (锄

锄头

). Mistress, you go ahead

and do your work . I'm going to sweep the yard.

This is woven with fine wool.

It'll get colder and colder in the future.

Wear this; it will protect your hands.

Thank you,

mistress. Yutao, what good thing happened to you today?

Why are you smiling all the time?

The little girl is easily satisfied.

I gave her a pair of deerskin gloves,

and she was overjoyed. She's

planning to go to the prefectural city to sell cloth, waiting

until the latest batch of cloth is woven before going.

Mother, if you ask me

, I'd say go before winter arrives and

the weather isn't too cold.

There's been a lot of rain this year,

and I'm worried about heavy snow on the road.

Mother, actually, I'm planning to go to Julu County.

What would I do there?

Mother, this year there's been a lot of rain

and the harvest is reduced.

Our family is okay, but

many families don't have enough food.

I've heard before that Julu County produces sweet potatoes and potatoes

, especially sweet potatoes .

One pound of corn can be exchanged for at least three pounds of sweet potatoes.

I can go there to exchange for sweet potatoes

and then bring them back to sell.

Although... It'll be hard work

, but we can get a lot of grain in return.

I never expected Song Qian to think that way. Our

family isn't short of money; we have enough to eat and drink.

But Song Heng saw that some families in the village weren't having enough to eat.

We should show compassion and care to all the disabled, widowed, orphaned,

and lonely people in the world

. This year, the task of selling cloth in the prefectural city

is all entrusted to me.

You go to Julu County to exchange for sweet potatoes.

When you go there, take more people

with you, so that they can go with you. Also,

ask those who came back from the border

if they're going. And

don't just sit there laughing.

Since you're planning to go out,

you need to be prepared

.

Since you're going to Julu County,

it's best to find a merchant who

has done business there before to guide you

, so you won't be ripped off

. Your father has a wide network of connections in the county town;

I don't know if he knows anyone like that.

Oh,

we were just talking about you, and here

you are!

What are you saying,

Dad? I want to go to Julu County to trade corn for sweet potatoes.

Hmm,

why the sudden urge to do this?

Xiaoping said that this year's floods have reduced the grain yield,

and many families in the village don't have enough

food. If we can trade the grain for sweet potatoes,

maybe many families in the village

can have a good New Year.

I'm not that great,

Dad.

Don't worry, I didn't just

decide to go out and trade for sweet potatoes on

a whim . First of all, Julu County isn't far from our county

, and every winter some

peddlers come from there to trade grain,

which proves that they

have been growing sweet potatoes on a large scale

for years . Secondly,

there are five people

in our village like Wang Shuanzi who came back from the border

and have martial arts

skills to escort caravans.

If they go with us,

the journey will definitely be safe.

Finally, this year our county's corn yield has been greatly reduced

, but when I went to the county town the day before yesterday, I

met a merchant who came back from Julu County.

He said that there was no disaster there

, and I also

got a tip from a merchant from Julu County... I bought some sweet potatoes

and remembered them from yesterday's dinner.

I didn't expect Song Qian to have thought so much about it.

But we need someone familiar with Julu County to guide

us on our way to exchange for grain.

I do know someone who's been there

, but what if you go

and don't get any sweet potatoes? It

's not like selling cloth ; you

won't be stuck with unsold cotton

. Grain is different.

If you don't get any sweet potatoes, you might be pressured

to sell grain in an unfamiliar place,

and you might even lose money.

Exchanging grain for sweet potatoes

—whether you make a profit or a loss—

is

fine. The child's heart is good.

We've made so much money these past two years;

even if we lose

, we can afford it.

I'm being upfront about this:

if the child goes to exchange for grain full of confidence

but comes back empty-handed,

how heartbroken would that be?

Like Zheng Shuang, who became dejected after losing money.

Business is a game of wins and losses.

I

need to be clear with the child.

I don't know.

If we lose, consider it inexperience;

next time

we won't make the same mistake.

I think whether it's doing business or

anything else,

you should always try within your means.

What if you succeed?

Hahaha, well said!

Well said ,

but I'm afraid people will be lazy.

This time

, I'll go with you to exchange grain.

Hey,

my mother said she's going to the prefectural city to sell cloth,

so it's fine if Xinli goes with me .

Now that it's winter

, it's too cold outside,

and you're weak,

so you should stay

home and rest. It's still Xinli

's job to deliver the cloth to the prefectural city.

I'm sorry for taking care of Xinli.

Since Xinli is going to the prefectural city,

I'll go with you to exchange grain

. It 's freezing cold,

why are you coming with us?

I've never been to Julu County,

I want to go and see it.

No, no,

you always say I'm weak.

I've lived in the city for so many years,

my health has long since recovered.

On the contrary, you

have a heart condition

, yet you always want to go out.

I don't have a heart condition.

Have you ever seen me have an attack?

My in-laws have such a good relationship

, I'm like a bright light bulb

.

Hey

,

let's go to the kitchen to cook.

You can help me start the fire.

Hmm,

one pound of corn can be exchanged for three pounds of sweet potatoes.

If it's true... Even if we can get

enough grain for the families in the village who are short of food this winter,

it's not guaranteed we'll be able to get

it . I just came to tell you today that

we were planning to

ask you if you'd like to do it.

This idea must have come from Chen Yatou.

The day before yesterday, when I went to the county town,

I met a sweet potato vendor from Julu County, and that's

when I came up with this grain-exchange method.

Hey,

have you all decided who will go?

My parents

and Wang Shuanzi, who came back from the border, are a few people

. But we haven't told them yet.

There's no work in the village

this winter,

so they're all resting at home.

If you go and call them,

nine times out of ten they'll go.

Xingli needs to transport cloth to the prefectural city soon,

so let Xingli go with you.

My family will contribute 60 units of grain to exchange for sweet potatoes.

Okay,

brother,

why are you contributing so much grain

? What if we lose money

? Losing money is losing money.

There's no such thing as a sure thing in business.

I'm from Xiabi. If Li Zheng from the village

can really bring back the sweet potatoes,

the whole village can have

a good New Year thanks to them.

Gu Liangshan has the villagers of Xiayu Village and

the Gu family are all good people

, so how can I lose?

My dad said he knows someone familiar with Julu County,

and we can ask that person to guide us.

How long does it take to get from our village to Julu County?

I asked the sweet potato vendor

, and he said it takes about a day and a half

to get to our county seat

. That's not too far.

My family will provide 5 loads of grain,

a total of 11 dan (1,320 jin).

We'll split it into four carts

and take two empty carts with us.

At 1 jin of grain for 3 jin of sweet potatoes, we'll

return with 3,960 jin.

Each cart can carry 660 jin,

which is no problem at all.

Your mules and oxen,

plus mine, and we just need to borrow two more animals

from other people in the village...

"That's enough

. My second brother needs two horses for his trip to the prefectural city in a couple of days, so

we need to find two more.

I'll go borrow some livestock from Zheng Liumu

's family. Anyway, their livestock are idle lately.

What? You want to go to Julu County to exchange for sweet potatoes ?

If you want to exchange for sweet potatoes,

just go to the county town and find a vendor to exchange

them. Why go through all that trouble to go to Julu County?

I want to exchange them in another county.

Hurry up and lend me your two oxen.

Gu Liangshan, the more you try to hide

things, the more suspicious it becomes

. You only have one mule and one ox

, which isn't enough to pull the grain to another county.

There must be other families partnering with you

, including the Deshan family.

The Deshan family is becoming a well-known wealthy family in Siping Township.

How could they not have enough to eat?

How much grain are you planning to bring to exchange? You

've prepared 11 loads in total.

Tell me, are you

going to lend it to me or not? Give me a straight answer.

If you're not going to lend it

, I'll go ask other families

. Hey, I didn't say I wouldn't

lend it." I can lend you

my two oxcarts

, but I have a condition. If there's another condition,

I

'll borrow from someone else.

Hey, hey, don't lend them to

me! I haven't finished speaking!

Why are you leaving already

?

Okay, okay, tell me your conditions.

I'll say it first

. If the conditions are too high, I won't agree.

You want to borrow my oxen

and you won't let me make any conditions

? Then I'll just lend them to you

for nothing!

Listen to me first.

I won't ask for money from you

for borrowing my oxen.

I'll give you a load of grain,

and you can exchange it for some sweet potatoes.

That's it. Okay,

I agree. You haven't even decided

when you're going to exchange the grain

yet, and

you're already coming to borrow the oxcarts

? Of course, you have to borrow them first.

What if you lend them out in a few days? What

are you thinking?

I don't think it's a big deal. What's wrong

with this ? This year,

every household has had a reduced harvest.

Gu Liangshan wants to go to another county to exchange for some sweet potatoes

so his family can have a good New Year.

Isn't that normal?

Reduced

harvest? No good !

This old man is trying to win people's hearts

!

Think about it,

this year, every household has indeed had a reduced harvest,

but is Gu Liangshan's family lacking food

, or is Gu Deshan's family lacking food

? Neither of them is

lacking food. What's lacking is the other families in the village.

Can't you understand?

Neither of them is lacking food,

yet they still want to go to another county to exchange for grain.

So, the grain they bring back will definitely be for the villagers.

Gu Liangshan's move is really clever.

He's making the whole village feel indebted to him.

You're overthinking it. "

You're underestimating me.

Gu Liangshan is as cunning as a hornet's nest.

When has he ever made a losing deal?

This time, our family has to go too.

We can't let the Gu family and their family get all the benefits. We

have to exchange at least five dan of grain.

But didn't you already agree to lend Gu Liangshan the ox?

Humph,

I can go to other people in the village to lend it to him.

Ah,

all that's left is to cook dumplings.

We don't need your help.

Just sit over there

for a while, dinner will

be ready soon. Everything's ready.

You've been busy all afternoon

, so sit here for a bit.

Xiao Zhen, look

how

good my dumplings are!

Haha,

big brother

Zheng Chuanmu agreed to lend us the ox.

He not only plans to lend us the ox,

he also plans to..." "We're going to another county to exchange grain,

huh? You're just worrying.

He can definitely come up with at least five sheds' worth of grain.

Hmph, brother,

you must have provoked Zheng Bingmu again.

How can you say I provoked him?

I just told him that

our two families were going to another county to exchange grain.

I didn't force him to go with us.

As for Zheng Bingmu,

I've known him for 30 years,

and I know him inside and out

. Zheng Bingmu isn't weak in his work, and

although he has some ulterior motives

, he's not a bad person.

But he has two flaws:

first, he won't act until he sees the benefit;

second, he's overthinking things

and always feels that others are plotting against him.

The more I speak in riddles and ambiguities,

the more he thinks, and maybe even

..." Xiao Tian

, you think my going to exchange

grain was just to win people over ? If you encounter someone like Zheng

Zhumu in your business dealings,

you can partner with him

, but don't entrust important matters to him.

He's the kind of person who might change his mind at any time.

Uncle, I know.

Just

you wait and see.

After dinner,

Zheng Chuimu will definitely come knocking on the door about exchanging grain in another county.

Dumplings are here!

Hahaha!

Prices have gone up!

Grain prices have really gone up!

Leaving that good-for-nothing Zheng Fu

will definitely allow us to live a good life

!

Before, she faked Lu Zheng, selling

her yard and belongings to raise 50 strings of cash

to exchange for 50 sacks of grain

, falsely claiming to be a grain merchant coming to the city.

Now, four jin of grain has gone up by one copper coin, and

the grain in her hand has gone up by one and a half strings of cash.

This woman's brain is really...

I'm a bit short on cash lately.

If I hesitate any longer, I'll sell my grain and gamble.

Since we can make money this

way, let's wait until we have

more money before gambling.

Grain prices are rising right now,

so let's quickly use this batch of grain to exchange for sweet potatoes

and then bring them to the prefectural city to sell.

We'll definitely make a

fortune!

Is that reliable? Absolutely!

In our county,

one jin of grain can usually be exchanged for more than two jin of sweet potatoes. Think about it,

don't those who resell sweet potatoes make money?

If we exchange them ourselves,

one jin of grain can get us three jin of sweet potatoes. It

's absolutely reliable!

Okay, I'll listen to you.

You have to listen to me, right?

If you listen to me, we can make money.

When are we going to exchange grain?

You really want to go too?

Of course, if we go,

I'll even give you an oxcart! I've prepared

two of my cars,

and I'll borrow two more for you from outside.

We'll also have Da Zhong and his brothers-in

-law come with you.

They can even watch your cars on the road,

haha.

Old Zheng, we've known each other for so many years,

and to be honest,

I've never gone to another county to exchange grain before.

I really don't know if we'll make a profit or a loss this time.

If we lose, don't come looking for trouble later. Don't

worry ,

business has its ups and downs,

I know that very well.

If we make a profit with you, I'll benefit; if we lose,

I'll accept it.

Is that alright? With you saying that,

I feel relieved.

That's

settled then.

The grain exchange team will set off

early the day after tomorrow

. Tomorrow, you go back and prepare...

um, prepare for Da Zhong. We need to bring a thick blanket

along the way.

We need to find someone familiar to guide us to

Julu County.

What if we

bring someone we don't know, and they rip us off

? Old Liu from the mule and horse market in the county town is a local of Julu County.

We can ask him to come with us.

Old Liu isn't even from Anyuan County!

He doesn't know how plentiful Julu County's sweet potatoes are. No

wonder, even though it's not that far from Julu County to

ours

, there aren't many people coming to exchange grain.

This road is so difficult to travel

! Haha, the road is relatively easy to travel in winter,

but once the grass grows on both sides of the road,

most of the road will be covered

and it will be impossible to walk.

And

this area is a low-lying area;

every year in June, July, and August...

This place is impassable;

it will definitely flood

if it rains.

If you want to get rich, build roads first.

When we're rich,

we'll repair all the roads we need for business.

Eat slowly, don't choke,

drink some water to help you relax.

Mom is so good to you

. You weren't complaining about the bumpy ride in the car.

I 'll put two more mattresses under you later;

it won't

hurt at all.

I'm young and strong

; it's Mom who's more resilient.

If you're uncomfortable, you

must tell me.

And you too, if you feel unwell, just say so.

Hmm,

we're almost at our resting place.

Old Peng, I've brought you business!

There are 12 people in total

, and they'll all be sleeping here tonight.

Oh,

my house can't accommodate so many people

. Don't you have a donkey shed?

Quickly make room

for two. The women are staying in the house,

while we men are sleeping in the donkey shed.

We have to guard the goods

depot tonight. Come on in! The

donkey shed smells terrible,

how can anyone live there?

Haha, there are no animals in this donkey shed,

it's just for people to store goods and sleep in.

Come in, sit down and rest for a while.

You must be tired from the journey.

Since you don't have winter clothes,

it's warmest to curl up in bed.

Not moving around means less food

and less grain.

This is the first time I've seen this situation with my own eyes.

My throat feels like it's stuffed with cotton.

Hey, are you alright?

I'm fine.

My family will be back soon.

They'll tidy up the west room for you.

Why are you only coming back now?

Hurry up and tidy up the west room.

There are two guests who will be staying there tonight

. I'll go tidy up now

and I'll go help too.

I'm going too.

Your wife is pregnant again!

She got pregnant in the spring and

gave birth to three or four girls.

I wonder if she'll have a boy this time.

If she can't,

our family line will end.

The harvest wasn't good this year,

and there are fewer passing guests.

We haven't received any guests

since winter.

The room is a bit messy,

please don't mind.

Having a place to rest

while traveling is good enough

, why would we mind?

Let me do it.

You're so pregnant, it's inconvenient.

Oh dear, how can I let you do it?

How many months pregnant are you?

More than seven months.

The fortune teller said

it's a boy.

Environmental pressure and old-fashioned ideas make this poor

woman feel... It's a sin not to have a boy!

I want to open a workshop and hire female workers!

What are you thinking,

Mother? I brought a change of clothes this time.

I wanted to give my

clothes to Old Peng's daughter.

They have two girls.

I also brought a set.

You can give them both

, one

set for each of them.

Mother, you are as kind as a Bodhisattva.

We can't accept this.

We just happened to bring two sets of clothes.

The two children don't have any clothes

, so they

can wear these.

What's wrong?

Xiao Chen went to deliver clothes to the two children.

That's good.

Hurry up and kowtow to your benefactor

!

Originally, they did have a set of winter clothes,

but they got wet

yesterday and haven't dried yet,

so they don't have any clothes.

It wasn't me who got it wet on purpose;

it was Fugui from my uncle's family who deliberately splashed it on me.

How dare you say that?

If you hadn't provoked Fugui, would

he have splashed you with water?

Everyone has been traveling all day

and is hungry.

I'll have the two sisters cook.

I've collected our benefactor's clothes;

we'll cook a good meal tonight.

Hmm, I understand.

I saw a woman in the caravan

who was beautiful and kind-hearted. Her

cotton-padded coat is so warm.

Come inside and take off these two nice clothes.

Go to my sister-in-law's house and borrow two sets of old clothes.

The fabric is

easy to sell; we can get money.

What?

We'll definitely send it to my uncle's family again.

My uncle's family looks down on our

father. Why should we be close to my uncle's family?

That's not right

. Besides, my uncle's family... Sister-in-law, do you have any extra old cotton-padded clothes?

Why don't you go ask around?

How will you know if they're

buying sweet potatoes? How

many ounces of grain can you exchange for a pound of sweet potatoes?

Haha, just follow the market price.

We want to exchange in large quantities . Why don't you go to our village to exchange for sweet potatoes?

In the county town now, a pound of grain can only be exchanged for 3.5 pounds of sweet potatoes

. If you go to our village,

a pound of grain can be exchanged for 4 pounds

. No, no, we

already made an agreement with a grain shop

to exchange there.

Look at you, you

're willing to let them make more grain.

If you go , you might

get robbed.

The man riding the donkey on the road wasn't lying.

We asked two or three people , and

they all said a pound of grain could be exchanged for 3.5 pounds of sweet potatoes.

That price is

already... The price is higher than we expected.

Since exchanging grain in bulk is cheaper,

can we just exchange it at the market

? No

, we're all newcomers.

Those hooligans who frequent the county town

can easily tell we're not from around here.

If someone tries to take advantage

of the situation and steals grain

, or shouts and

calls for a group of people to rush up and grab it,

we won't be able to stop them. We still

have to go to the grain store to exchange it.

Even if the price is lower than buying it in bulk,

we'll accept it.

My niece-in-law is

right, exchanging it at the grain store is safer.

I underestimated it.

It's noon.

Let's find a place to eat first,

and then go exchange the grain after we eat.

Let's take good

care of things in the city. Didn't we say we were in the prefectural city before? Have you seen Song Xu?

Could it be that Song Xu and Zheng Liang aren't together?

Uncle Zhong, doesn't that person look like

Zheng Liang ? Liangzi, who called me?

You brat, don't run away!

I'm bringing you back today! Don't

all go! Don't all go!

Someone needs to keep watch here!

Cheng Li said he saw Song Sui in the prefectural city.

Could it be that Song Sui and Zheng Liang aren't together?

This year's grain harvest is poor;

could Song Sui come to Julu County to exchange for sweet potatoes?

That kid Zheng Liang is as slippery as a fish!

I could reach him

, but he still got away.

Or are we just not familiar with the roads around here

? If we were in our county

, we wouldn't let that kid get away.

If we don't catch him this time,

it'll be hard to catch him again later.

Who says it isn't

true ?

We lost him after turning a corner.

If you can't catch them, fine.

We're here to exchange grain,

not to arrest people.

Are you seeing ghosts

or being chased by wolves?

How did things get like this?

I ran into Zheng Zhong.

They're in Julu County. They

almost caught me just now.

What?

They came here to arrest you?

How did they know we were here?

Did you leak some information?

How was I supposed to know they'd come?

Have you seen Song Qian?

In my memory,

Song Qian is a skinny, dark-

skinned girl who's hard to spot in a crowd.

Didn't you see

her?

Damn

, they actually came all this way

to catch me .

I didn't

want things to turn out this way.

Wang Meixiang and Zheng Chuang don't care about the child.

I was afraid the child wouldn't be well. I got beaten for taking

Zheng Dong away because he had a foul mouth;

my father broke his leg because he stubbornly ran into a horse;

my grandmother died of anger because she argued with my mother.

I wasn't the one who did it,

so why is it all my fault?

Xiapi Village even sent people to arrest me!

That's so unreasonable!

If I'm taken back to Xiapi Village,

everyone will look at me with contempt and disgust.

I'll go crazy!

Let's go! We

have to leave quickly!

Are you crazy? We came here to exchange for grain.

Boss Sun has a large batch of sweet potatoes,

and we 're almost there.

If we leave now,

even if it's a wasted trip, it's better than being taken back to Xiapo Village.

If I find out who leaked

the news of my arrival in Julu County

, I'll kill them!

We're

exchanging 16 dan (a unit

of weight

) of grain for sweet potatoes.

It 's a huge deal!

If we can handle it,

we'll definitely have a prosperous year.

I need to check the quality of the grain first . If it

's good, that's fine. These past two days, everything's settled.

Yesterday, someone wanted to exchange for sweet potatoes,

but today another one came. Is he

a merchant from Fucheng?

No, he's not.

He's a local merchant.

I heard he's hooked up with a wealthy boss in Fucheng

and wants to transport sweet potatoes there

, but he wants to buy them on credit.

Business is tough these days

; my small business can't afford credit,

so I didn't agree.

Since he's a local merchant,

it means he's not Zheng Liang or Song Sui or

anything like that. "They 're gone.

You said they left?

Yes, they just left two hours ago.

I even asked them where they were going,

and they said they were going

to find you. Oh no, all of it is ruined

. I bought so many sweet potatoes on Shengli Road,

and they're all stuck with me.

What happened up ahead?

I'll go check it out.

Brother, we came to stay at an inn,

but we didn't expect to see such a crowd.

What happened?

Oh, we were scammed!

We were scammed! We were robbed of our money at the inn.

No,

this guy bought a whole bunch of sweet potatoes on credit. He

was going to sell them in the prefectural city,

but just as he finished collecting them,

the big boss from the prefectural city ran away.

He couldn't do business

and ended up with a huge debt.

The guy collapsed on the spot.

A whole bunch of sweet potatoes!

That guy had

so many sweet potatoes in his hands

!" Why are you in such a hurry to sell them

? What happened inside? Why are there

so many people gathered

there ? One of the vendors was cheated

and fainted in anger.

So unlucky!

The other party has a huge stockpile of sweet potatoes

that they can't sell.

What? A huge stockpile of sweet potatoes?

You two want to take over that stock?

But our grain

is already pre-ordered to Liu's Grain Bank.

If we want to buy their sweet potatoes, we'll

have to wait until next time.

But given the current situation, I

'm afraid they're in a hurry to get rid of their sweet potatoes

and come back empty-handed.

Let's just go up and ask

them. If they agree to sell,

we'll draw up a contract.

I agree

!

Second Uncle, let's take all these sweet potatoes back!

What if we can't sell them?

This year, the entire Anyuan County is experiencing a crop reduction,

not just our Xiazhu Village.

Are we worried that no one will want our food

if we take it back?

Dad, we need to think of a way

to see if we can exchange one jin of grain for more than four jin of sweet potatoes.

I'm afraid we'll have to buy all of their sweet potatoes

to get that price.

That's what I'm thinking.

Buying so many sweet potatoes

might be too much.

What if they spoil?

Brother, besides steaming,

roasting, and boiling, sweet

potatoes can also be dried into sweet potato

chips and made into sweet potato noodles.

Especially sweet potato noodles,

which can be stored for a long time

and can even be taken to the prefectural city to sell

!

I originally thought Song Qian was just a little girl with

a reputation that was all hype,

but after getting to know her, I realized that... He's truly remarkable—

bold, meticulous, and

daring.

Most men in the village can't compare to him

.

Lately, I've noticed something's off about that couple ,

but I wanted to take a gamble. I ended up

buying over ten thousand catties of sweet potatoes on credit,

and then

they disappeared

. In this vast sea of people, where

am I supposed to find them ? I heard you sell sweet potatoes here?

We

've come to Julu County to exchange them for sweet potatoes. We

brought 11 batches of grain

and have already signed a contract with Liu's Grain Shop.

If we exchange this batch

again, we'll have to

wait for the next one

. We're from Xiapi Village in Anyuan County.

My father's older brother is the village head of Xiapi Village,

and my husband, my parents' son,

is a scholar from Xiapi Village.

Half of the people in this grain exchange group

are from our village. If one of the Gu family members

is a scholar, things will be

much easier. Boss Sun, you don't need

to worry about our identities.

Besides, Boss Sun knows that the autumn harvest was affected by rain and

the grain yield in Anyuan County was reduced.

We sincerely want to exchange grain with you.

Hey, gentlemen, please don't blame me.

I'm just scared of being cheated

and don't want to make big money anymore.

I just want to get rid of the sweet potatoes quickly.

Sweet potatoes will mold and sprout if left for too long.

One pound of grain for four and a half pounds of sweet potatoes.

I'll take all the sweet potatoes you have.

Really, you really want them

all. But the quality of the sweet potatoes must be good,

definitely good, definitely good.

Boss Sun,

could you tell us about those two people who

cheated you?

There's nothing I can't say.

The man and woman are a couple

from Shenqi County.

The man's surname is Chen.

The woman's surname is Ma.

I only

believed them because I

recognized their accents. It's highly likely that Zheng Liang and Song Sui forged the household registration.

I can't tell Boss Sun about this

; what if he thinks we're

in cahoots to lower the price?

Hey, what are you being so stingy about?

The two girls aren't wearing the clothes I gave them ; they're

wearing old cotton-padded coats and shivering.

Parents , I wanted to take those two girls with me. We

only have Yu Pao at home;

he can't spare the time.

Adding two more girls would be good.

These two girls

are from another county, far

from home . I

can take them with me and teach them for a couple of years.

The clever one can stay and do chores.

I'm not a saint;

we really need someone to do the work.

Now that we've seen it,

we can't pretend we're blind.

These two girls will have to rely on us from now on. I

think it's okay,

what do you think?

I have no objection.

Years ago, when I was a carpenter, I met the maids and wives of wealthy families.

They were young ladies

from wealthy families.

Now that our family is better off,

we can afford to feed two more mouths to feed.

Why would we need to buy my two maids ? Hahaha, Old Peng,

we've known each other for so many years

, don't you trust me?

I've also known Brother Gu for many years.

If I didn't trust his character,

I wouldn't have come to

Julu County with them to exchange grain. The

Gu family are kind and gentle.

If you're really worried

, you can go to Xiapi Village in Anyuan County and ask around.

Everyone in the village knows Gu Deshan.

His son is studying at the prefectural school

and has even achieved the rank of Xiucai

. Hmph,

I said... What's wrong with you?

Your family is so poor

you can't even get enough to eat,

and your wife is pregnant with one

or two daughters. With you,

they don't even have decent winter clothes.

You might as well give

the girls to a good family; at least

they'd have warm clothes in winter.

Let me tell you,

Sister Shen is planning to exchange three strings of cash for your eldest daughter, Wu

, and give you two winter sweet potatoes.

You'd better think it

over; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

. Seeing how good

you've made it

sound, and with your guarantee,

how could I refuse? Yes, whatever

you want

, just say

it. But buying two at once means

we won't have anyone to work!

How old is your second daughter, Wu? They

can't do much work.

How about this: five poisonous coins

plus four winter sweet potatoes.

We'll take both girls with us.

What do you think?

This is like a windfall!

Before, we wanted to send Wu Daya to work for a wealthy family

for two years for free.

Selling her to a slave trader

would ruin our reputation.

But this time, with Ma Laoliu as guarantor

and the other party being a wealthy scholar's family,

it sounds good

.

Sure, sure, of course

! We have to get back

early tomorrow morning

. These two girls will be my mother's goddaughters from now on.

If you agree, put your fingerprints on them.

Wu Daya, Wu Erya, I won't sell!

What nonsense are you talking about?

I've already taken the money and grain.

Then you should return everything you've taken! Return it

! Return it! We'll take it all back today! What are we eating this winter?

If you can give birth to a son this time,

the family will have to provide food to feed the child.

Stop talking nonsense

. Wrap yourself up,

it's not cold on the road.

Ah,

eat! We have to walk all day today.

Sister, this cake is sweet.

This is a good person to give you cotton clothes and

sweet cakes.

I'm not too scared.

It's so cold today,

my feet are almost frozen off.

Brother-in-law, why don't we make a

fire and roast some sweet potatoes?

It'll be warm and we can eat our fill.

That's a good idea! Mom

and Dad, your steamed buns are frozen solid.

I'll roast them for you.

They should be edible.

They'll

definitely

taste good . Hahahaha.

Be careful not to burn your hands.

Yes, roasted sweet potatoes are better than boiled or steamed ones.

Of course they're better.

Don't you see roasted sweet potatoes? What a waste!

At least half of it is ruined.

Hey,

what's that smell of roasted sweet potatoes

? Are you guys selling sweet potatoes over there? What's the price?

Tell them

we're not selling.

Hey, I've never seen a customer refuse to do business.

Which gang are you from?

We're just passing by and taking a break. We're not selling

anything. If you're not selling,

why are you carrying so many carts?

Oh ho, why are you with a woman? What are

you looking at? What are

you doing?

Are you trying to kill someone?

I'm telling you,

our village isn't far from here.

If you dare to lay a hand on me

, believe me, none of you will escape!

Hahaha, do you think I'm from out of town?

Let's hurry up and leave.

Sanbaozi,

didn't you say there were some outsiders looking for... "You guys

still want to fight?

Where did everyone go?

Those guys must have run away when things got tough.

That convoy is definitely carrying sweet potatoes.

Those few fighters don't look familiar.

As long as we stand in front of the convoy,

they'll have to pull out a bunch or two of sweet potatoes to get past

us . Hai-ge, those guys carrying the goods can't run fast.

Let's hurry and chase them, we

can definitely catch up.

They didn't even hit you, why are you chasing?

This is our territory.

These outsiders

dare to be so arrogant here

, we have to teach them a lesson.

We're not bandits

, why are we giving them a lesson?

Sanbao, you're not after the goods on their truck, are you

trying to trick us into coming here to be your thugs?

How could that be?

Hai-ge, we..." He's my cousin

, how could I betray you like that?

It's best if I don't

. I

have things to do

at home. Thank goodness

they didn't chase after me

. I came here safely,

but here they are, looking for trouble .

These people are obviously local thugs from the surrounding villages,

specializing in petty theft.

Now that it's winter and everyone's resting at home,

they're extorting money from unfamiliar caravans on the roadside, trying

to get whatever they can get.

Luckily, I hired these men who came back from the border.

Oh, the grain traders are back!

I heard they went to another county to trade sweet potatoes. Did they

succeed?

Look at the cart, it's full

, they must have succeeded

. Boss, boss, you're back!

Gu Chengli, why are you back

? Parents, were you safe

on the way

? Don't worry

, everything's fine.

It's so cold

on the road !

Yutao, quickly go to the kitchen and fetch three basins of hot water

.

These two are people I brought back from the road;

they'll help with chores around the house from now on. It

's cold outside, come inside and warm up by the fire.

Leave everything outside to me;

then I'll trouble you, elder brother and sister-in-law. It's

just a small matter.

Hurry home, come inside and warm up.

Auntie didn't even glance at me. Why

aren't you getting off the cart

? What are you standing

there for? Your parents didn't even look at me.

You're not a four or five-year-old;

why are they looking at you? Get off!

Your master brought back two girls from outside this time

; they'll live in the same room with you from now on.

Get some hot water for them to wash up.

Okay,

I'll see her. Your clothes aren't clean.

Go find my aunt

and tell her I told

you to go. My aunt

can borrow two clean, well-fitting cotton-padded coats

for those two girls. I understand.

Soak your feet in hot water.

I'll do it myself.

You don't like it?

I've always done it this way since I was little. I remember watching my dad wash my mom

's clothes. Thinking about how my parents-in-law got along makes me laugh.

I'm just not used to

being warm.

Is it warm? When did you come back?

Why did you suddenly come back

? I missed you

. Just because you missed me, I

came back from the prefectural city in this freezing weather.

I wanted to come back and see you.

I dream about you. So, with

the Imperial Academy exam

approaching, the atmosphere at the prefectural school is tense.

My mind is restless.

I miss Song Qian. I

asked for leave to go home and found out he went to exchange grain.

I waited

for a day and a night

. In this gentle city, there's

such a domineering and forceful side.

I'm sorry, I was too impulsive.

It 's okay, I like it

. What's wrong lately?

What happened?

I just miss you. Well,

how are you

? I understand.

Since you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask.

I miss you too,

so

much.

Tomorrow I have to exchange grain with Boss Sun.

The landlord's house is huge!

When we were out exchanging grain,

we saw these two girls at a rest stop.

Now, Mother has taken them in as goddaughters.

I'm bringing you back.

I won't beat or scold you normally

, but remember one thing:

I don't accept people with dirty

hands or mouths here

. If I find anyone stealing

or swearing,

don't blame me for punishing you

. Here I come! It

's not like you were at home before.

First, you have to be quick and efficient,

and second, you have to know the rules.

I'll teach you the rules these next few days.

Yu Tao, you'll learn them too. "

Finally, you're going to teach me the rules!"

Yu Tao is happy.

It seems learning the rules isn't a bad thing.

Wu Daya and Wu Erya are not good names

. "Drinking the dew and

hearing the sound of the sparse paulownia tree,"

you'll be called Qinglu and Shutong from now on.

Yes,

Mother is really amazing.

I didn't dare to say anything just now.

This is the aura of the eldest daughter-in-law.

Compared to me, Xiao Pi seems to like Mother more.

My feelings are a bit complicated.

Mother has always been used to doing this kind of thing.

Entrust the three girls to Mother,

and I guarantee you'll find them useful in the future.

You're

right. I never expected that

we would run into anyone

while we went out to exchange grain

. Who?

We ran into Zheng Liang.

Zheng Zhongshu even led people to chase after him

, but they didn't catch

him. How could he be there

? Did you see Sui Sui?

I heard that we saw Zheng Liang.

Zheng Zhongshu led several people to chase after him

, but he still got away.

Song Qian has grown up

and doesn't want to

leave all the housework to me.

He went to buy maids to serve him.

He sees that Gu Deshan's family is getting better and better. I'm

so angry my liver hurts! They really didn't see

Sui Sui. Apparently, they didn't see

Gui Hua either.

You shouldn't even think about your eldest daughter anymore.

All the mess that

's happened in your family lately

is because of her. Cough

cough cough.

Is there any news about Song Sui?

Don't look for her.

I'll pretend that daughter is dead.

Even if she wants to come back one day,

I'll beat her out with a stick.

How can you talk like that

? Sui Sui is your own daughter.

That ingrate isn't my daughter.

She's the one who caused this.

I'll beat him every time I see him.

This time, we went to exchange grain

. We didn't bring much grain

. We hired people to share the burden, so

we didn't make much money.

We even hired people on the way

. It was basically a pure loss.

But if we bought all 20,000 catties of Sun 's goods and sold them at market price,

we could make more than 20 strings of cash.

That's enough to cover the corvée

labor and redemption fees for 5 adults. It

's the cost of two years for an ordinary farmer.

Xiao Qing

went to other counties to exchange grain to help others

because of the reduced harvest in Anyuan County and the lack of food for the people

. I'm full of knowledge,

but I haven't done anything practical for the people.

A scholar-official should take saving the world and bringing peace to the people as his foundation.

Xiao Qing has also taught me a lesson.

What's wrong with

me? I admire you,

I do admire you for being able to make money,

and I certainly do admire you

, but I must be humble.

Oh, it's all a small matter.

Yan Yuan said, "I wish to be without boasting of my virtues and without

seeking personal gain." Consort Lao truly embodies the inner cultivation of a gentleman.

Today, my wife's guidance has

been incredibly beneficial to the city.

What did I suggest?

Deshan, Xiaoqian, have you

finished eating?

We're going to find Boss Sun.

Da Zhong is such a blockhead .

Boss Sun's 20,000 jin of sweet potatoes have all

been bought by Gu Deshan and Song Qian.

Let's go, let's put on some warm clothes.

Last night, I heard from Xingli that

you encountered some people trying to rob grain on your way back.

This time, when you go, take a different route

and bring more people.

Encountering grain robbers

is so dangerous

, why didn't you mention it to me? It was

just a false alarm.

Those people were probably just thugs from nearby villages.

They were scared away as soon as they saw the knife.

Oh yes,

I also heard from Da Zhong.

When you go again, take a

different route

and you'll even see knives.

It's really too dangerous.

But Xiaoqian is reselling grain so that

the villagers will have food this winter.

I really can't bring myself to tell him not to go again.

Don't worry too much,

there are so many people in the convoy

, and Wang Shuanzi and the others have martial arts skills.

Wherever they stood,

the local thugs and bullies could only hide

; none dared to approach.

Since this matter was beneficial to the people,

why not ask the county government for help?

If there were officials in the grain transport team,

which thug or bully would dare to cause trouble?

I could also ask Elder Cheng for help;

at least the 20,000 jin of sweet potatoes

that Xiao Qian had signed a contract for would definitely be transported.

I have a plan

to ensure everyone's safety during the grain transport.

Please, elders, listen to my words:

we can ask the government to intervene

and escort everyone under the guise of grain transport. Good

heavens, what's wrong with his brain?

I was only thinking about small-scale operations,

and he's already thinking about cooperating with the government.

Is this what ancient scholars are like?

It's terrifying!

According to his plan,

my transaction with Boss Sun will not be affected at all

; on the contrary... Perhaps it's because the officials' involvement

has benefited me

.

The government is a place that devours people without spitting out the bones

; for us ordinary folks to deal with the government

is practically suicide.

Father, Mother, Uncle, Uncle Zheng,

I think the city's plan is excellent.

First, the road to exchanging grain is indeed unsafe.

If there are officials protecting us , even

if we transport a large amount of grain

, we won't be afraid of being robbed. Second,

I trust Elder Cheng's character.

Now, as the county magistrate, his

status and position are undeniable.

This year, Anyuan County's autumn harvest was poor

; he must be even more anxious.

If we can truly exchange for a large quantity of sweet potatoes

to feed the people of Anyuan County,

I really can't think of any reason why Elder Cheng would refuse.

Finally, Elder Ping

is a scholar and an educational official; he was exceptionally appointed... "We're

a government-subsidized student, and our family even has the

plaque bestowed upon us because of the beehive incident.

Even if there's a disagreement with the county government at the end,

we'll only suffer a little loss at most.

But compared to safety on the road, we

won't be seriously

injured . A husband and

wife working

together is just like that!

Xiaoqian's words completely put my mind at ease.

The Gu family is really lucky!

Hahaha, well said, well said!

We must find Old Master Cheng as soon as possible.

What virtue or ability does my son

have to marry a wife like Xiaoqian?

And what virtue or ability do I, Shen Xiuping,

have to have a daughter like Xiaoqian?

With such a wife , what more

could a husband ask for?

Fortunately, the two families exchanged marriages in time.

Did God think I was suffering too much,

so He arranged for Xiaoqian to be by my side?

Father..." Uncle Zheng,

please go to the county town to see Boss Sun first

and tell him to calm down.

I'll write an article

and send it to Old Master Cheng

right away. Truly

worthy of being the top scholar in Guangping Prefecture,

your writing is really solid. The words are

so righteous and awe-inspiring,

for the country and the people.

Thinking back, I was only thinking about making money before, and

I feel inexplicably ashamed

. My ideological awareness is still too low.

Very good, well written,

the situation in both counties is analyzed very clearly.

If this matter can be

accomplished , it will be a good thing for the people of both counties

. Xiao Qian, you go with me to the town to see Old Master Cheng.

I'll go. Mother,

aren't you going?

You were the first to come up with the method of exchanging grain.

This article was written by Cheng Li.

It's most suitable for the two of you to go.

Okay,

we'll go.

Cheng Li, Madam Song.

Master Cheng is receiving guests,

so we'll have to wait here a while.

Zhao Xiucai

and Song Niangzi, just call me by my name;

calling me Xiucai is too formal.

Uncle Xiuyuan is the county magistrate,

in charge of arrests and maintaining order. We

can recruit him. I

came to visit Master Cheng

because I transferred to the county school

. What brings you here?

He actually transferred back to the county school from the prefectural school;

it seems he did so voluntarily.

Because of this...

What is this?

Are you serious?

What's your opinion ?

Brother Cheng Li, do you remember when we were in the prefectural school,

the teacher taught the "Discourse on Salt and Iron,"

where he said that

setting up machinery to build fields and livestock,

competing with the people of the hundred counties for resources,

and competing with merchants for power,

is not the way to demonstrate the virtue of the ruler and benefit the country.

Small things require labor

, large things require great

resources; therefore, it is necessary to close the source ponds

and harness the benefits of mountains and seas

to aid... The emperor, who shares wealth

with the people,

does not monopolize the benefits of mountains and seas. Even

a beautiful woman with a precious artifact hides it

away in a box; how much more so should

a ruler possess mountains and seas?

These two seem to be reciting a text.

Xiu Yuan believes the government shouldn't interfere in the people's business.

The city's view is the opposite.

Brother Xiu Yuan thinks,

how could ordinary people have the ability to transport large quantities

of grain from one county to another?

Now I'll tell you,

connections and backing

are both indispensable.

The government's fate is to

minimize the price difference

, allowing the people of Anyuan County

to get cheaper sweet potatoes.

Thank you for your guidance.

I have benefited greatly

from your words.

Actually, the idea of "changing beams" was my wife's.

This year's autumn harvest was rainy,

resulting in a reduced grain yield in Xiapu Village.

Many families in the village don't have enough grain and are eating

small change. Kind-hearted and

unable to bear seeing the elders of her village go hungry

and cold, she took out 50 units of grain from her

own household and gathered the wealthy households in the village to exchange for grain in Julu County.

I deeply admire

Madam Song 's righteousness

. Brother Zhao, don't listen to Cheng Li's nonsense.

I'm not that noble.

I'm going to exchange grain purely to make a little profit.

Madam Song's self-deprecation

and lack of ambition

are truly admirable.

She's dressed so well;

the money she earns from exchanging grain isn't even enough to buy this outfit.

Isn't that righteousness?

You scholars, stop fantasizing!

Can't I be a profit-driven businessman?

Why did Song Qian suddenly get angry?

Haha, I heard everything you just said.

Confucius said, "Everyone has a heart that cannot bear to see others suffer." Little Qian,

every time you see... Even noodles can give me a surprise!

This hat is too big.

I still want to make money from Boss

Sun. Under the Ming Dynasty, it's

hard to stay in a position that shouldn't be yours for long. I won't take it,

so please don't laugh at me.

I went to another county to exchange grain, and I really did want to make some money from the price difference. Judging by

actions, not intentions

, no one in the world is perfect.

No matter what you think, if

what you did was a good thing,

then you are good.

Cheng Li, let me see your article. Does

Master Cheng mean he agrees?

The government can't interfere in this matter,

and they can't let officials escort the grain.

Why? Uncle Cheng,

you can clearly see that

exchanging grain is a good thing for the people of both counties.

The court has laws and

regulations, and things must be done in a proper manner.

Although I can't verify it openly

, I can inform Tang Zun about this matter.

And in a private capacity, I will write a letter to the county seat of Julu County.

At that time, I will secretly dispatch

a few skilled yamen runners from the government

to escort you in transporting grain.

Except for not using the government's name

, all the connections we can use are available.

Thank you, sir.

What... what is going on?

Mr. Sun, don't be nervous.

Our deal remains

the same. I just want you to help me

raise more sweet potatoes

. I don't want to touch sweet potatoes anymore.

Those 20,000 jin of sweet potatoes almost killed me.

Mr. Song, you want to cooperate with me,

and you think highly of me,

so I'm naturally happy.

But

I don't want to really touch sweet potatoes again.

Those 20,000

jin of sweet potatoes almost killed me.

I understand Mr. Sun's concerns

and feelings.

However, this exchange of sweet potatoes

is not a simple private exchange

, but a grain exchange between the two counties.

The government's help is indispensable.

Mr. Sun, you are a man of wealth. I believe you, a businessman in the sands,

understand this better than I do.

Mr. Sun, you don't need to worry about the money at all. How

about this:

I'll pay a 20% deposit.

If we can get in touch with the government,

we won't have to worry about trading with you in Anyuan County

. Mr. Sun,

this time it's not just me who wants to trade grain with you

; the entire Anyuan County government wants to trade grain with you.

I guarantee you here

that all the sweet potatoes from any caravan I lead

will be traded with you

!

It's a huge deal!

You just need to collect the sweet potatoes in Julu County

and transport them here;

we'll cover everything.

However,

we'll still have to

calculate it at one jin of grain for four and a half jin of sweet potatoes

, and this time

I'll pay you a 20% deposit first. Okay,

I'll do it,

Mr. Song. I'm only doing this because of you.

I wouldn't

have agreed to this risky job

with anyone else.

Mr. Sun, I guarantee you won't be disappointed

if you cooperate with me.

This is the first time I've seen Xiao Qian do business

so differently than usual. I

originally wanted to visit

Uncle Cheng, but instead I heard that Madam Song wanted to exchange grain.

As a scholar, I

should value people's livelihood.

I'll go and find out what the magistrate said

for Madam Song and her friend

. There are more than 100 households in Xiapi Village with

more than 6,000 jin of sweet potatoes.

On average, each family gets 50 jin.

Adults eat two or three jin a day.

A family of six consumes 10 jin a day.

50 jin is only enough to eat for five or six days.

This time, I'm

going to Julu County.

What am I supposed to do with you

? No, no,

you're just a scholar .

How can you come with us to exchange grain?

This grain exchange

is related to the winter food of the people in Anyuan County.

I have to go.

It would be too lowly for

you, a scholar,

to go to other counties with the grain exchange caravan.

People are equal regardless of status.

The grain exchange caravan carries the lives of millions of people.

This is a good deed, and

I'm going with them. How can

you say it's beneath me? Say something!

Don't stay silent.

Try to persuade the scholar

to go back to the prefectural school.

I think it's better to go to the city.

Money talks.

What kind of good job is exchanging grain?

It's so cold now;

what if I catch a cold?

This trip to another county to exchange grain

will inevitably involve yamen runners.

Those runners are always arrogant and

don't respect ordinary people.

What if they don't obey orders on the way?

Or what if they extort money

? If that happens,

next time exchanging grain won't be twice as efficient

; it will be twice as inefficient.

If there are people from the city in the group,

those runners won't dare do anything;

they'll listen to them.

That's the advantage of status.

Now I'm the scholar's wife.

Even if I ignore Chen Guihua,

the village won't say anything bad about me.

That's called having a great scholar to defend me. In a few days,

the boat will go with us

to exchange grain. As for

the leave letter from the prefectural school,

I'll ask Maolin to go to the prefectural school

and deliver it for

me . By the way

, how did Zhao Xiuyuan transfer from the prefectural school to the county school

? The Imperial Academy recruits students from both the prefectural and county schools;

the competition at the prefectural school is too fierce.

Brother Xiuyuan , you're not confident,

so you're trying to use the county school's quota

to see if you can pass this year

's Imperial Academy selection exam

.

What? The Imperial Academy is recruiting students

? Don't be so impulsive

! Didn't you say your back was aching?

The Imperial Academy selection is almost here,

how can you still be in the mood to mess around with me?

Little Qian, the imperial court has one capital, 13 provinces, 153 prefectures,

1,175 counties

, towns, villages, and countless others.

This year, the Imperial Academy

will recruit only 60 students

—

one in ten thousand!

Little Qian, I lack confidence

, that's why I haven't told you

or our parents.

In recent years, I've repeatedly failed the exams

; I'm long past my prime. I've gone

from a child prodigy to an ordinary person.

I'm not a child prodigy

, not a genius,

just an ordinary person

. Perhaps my memory is a little better than others

, but

who says you're not a genius?

In my heart, you are a genius!

You passed the preliminary exam at 18

and the county-level exam at 19;

you were the top scholar in the entire Guangping Prefecture,

and were even exceptionally promoted to a subsidized student by the provincial education commissioner.

Jiang Ziya met King Wu of Zhou at the age of 72,

and Gongsun Hong became prime minister at the age of 76.

Cheng Li, you are already very excellent. You

don't need to put so much pressure on yourself.

I remember my conversation with Song Sui.

He said that I wasted half my life and only passed the county-level exam,

ending up as a minor official

. This matter is like a weight on my heart.

Being a minor official means I have no chance of a

career in government. Xiao Qian was sent by God to save me.

After marrying Xiao Qian

, I passed the county-level exam and went to the prefectural school.

My friends and teachers all changed.

The Li family had an accident

. Anyuan County lost the Li family school.

My family ran a weaving workshop to make money.

I could concentrate on my studies.

If this is a beautiful dream

, I beg God to let me never wake up.

You sold the grain to gamble.

Do you know that the grain was meant to be exchanged for sweet potatoes?

We could have made a fortune.

How could you use it to gamble?

Hmph.

Zheng Liang is not Zheng Tu.

He has a stubborn temper and his own opinions

. I can't do anything with him.

Hehe.

Look what's in there

.

Money,

silver ingots, and gold.

I never thought gambling could actually make money!

Where did you get that

money? Of course, it 's what I,

the great lord, earned! Heh heh,

I never thought you could actually earn so much!

Do you think I'm the first wife, that good

-for-nothing

? I have plenty of money!

Why are you always thinking about exchanging grain

? Because it makes money!

Gambling is unreliable; winning one day and losing the next.

It's better to focus on real assets.

I want to open a shop,

own a house and land,

and I'll never lose to Song Qian.

I know how to coax him.

He's proud

and feels ashamed to have come out.

I don't believe him.

His brothers often run spies;

he can't be a good guy.

We have to get money from him.

Who doesn't want more money?

Let's buy a house first

, then do some business.

In a couple of years, when the business is bigger

, we'll go back to Anyuan County.

These days, a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken.

Someone must have spread the word to the village that

we're going to Julu County.

Otherwise, how could you have run into Zheng Zhong like that

? Hmm,

if... If I find out which bastard is behind this,

I'll definitely make him pay!

You 're just too good to your brothers. You

always think of them first when it comes to food and drink, and

now that you're down on

your luck , they start plotting against you behind your back.

Liang-ge, don't be too angry

. Once we're rich, we'll go back to our hometown

and show those bastards

that Zheng Liang is definitely not going to be a loser!

Ugh,

all you do is cry!

Do I need to feed or drink him?

If he keeps crying,

I'll sell him! My son

is hard to raise; he cries

at the slightest provocation.

Liang-ge, do n't be angry

. The child is probably just waking up.

I'll go see him.

I was thinking we should hire someone to help take care of the child

so he won't bother us in the middle of the night.

Hmm, let's go see him.

The noise is giving me a headache.

And the one in the long robe

is Zhao Xiuyuan.

Brother Gu and Madam Song,

I'll go with you this time.