Mrs. Yao handed over the account books in her hand, full of joy, and took care of her son in the courtyard. That afternoon, the maid heard the news from outside. As expected, the responsibility of the housekeeper fell into the hands of Miss Xu San. But the Xu family uncle asked Mrs. Xu
After begging for a half-day love, Mrs. Xu originally wanted to take a break and return to her parents' home, but now she is only confined for two years. Mrs. Yao sighed lowly: "I knew that just to avoid giving me face, I would not let my sister-in-law out.
"
The maid complained: "For her to do such a thing, who would be divorced? It's so unfair, Madam."
Mrs. Yao smiled and said: "Things like divorcing your wife are just talk to scare her. Her father is the real one, and your uncle is still pointing out his father-in-law to help. Logically speaking, my grandfather has not been released from prison yet, and the government is responsible for it."
They pretended to ban her for two months, but she insisted on using her as a weapon. If she didn't give her any clues, how could she endure this? Remember, even if she has the support of her mother-in-law,
The in-laws’ family can’t act recklessly either.”
"What did grandma say? She even committed seven offenses!"
"Qi Chu is just used to frame the common people. Officials only care about the influence of the wife's family and the official position of the father and brother." Yao pursed her lips. She had only been vaguely aware of these things before, but Qin Keqing said everything straightforwardly. Now look at it.
Yes, exactly.
The maid said: "Then grandma knows the regent's sister, why don't they care about her!"
Yao said leisurely: "Because - they hate Prime Minister Lin for collecting land taxes from the scholars' families, and they wish that the regent would step down, and the princess regent, the daughter of a maritime merchant, would not be able to succeed." She suddenly remembered Nie Chun's words, "
I don't want to admit that the social status of Hanlin's position has regressed and it has regressed greatly. Sister Nie is really a sensible person."
The maid didn't understand: "Grandma, what's your status?"
Yao pointed out the window and said: "Earlier, when I left this mansion, most of the people outside were in awe when they heard the word 'Hanlin', whether they were merchants, clerks, soldiers, or officials; only those who can write excellent articles can do it."
Because of the Imperial Academy, the whole country knows that those who write well will be able to become officials. Now..." She shook her head slowly, "Now the regent wants practical talents, and they are from all walks of life. Not just articles.
It doesn't matter, but, in the past, only one article was important, but now dozens of articles are important, and Hanlin can no longer show it." The maid seemed to understand but not understand. Mrs. Yao sighed softly and ordered her to get Sanskrit materials.
Just after flipping through two pages of information, a mother-in-law came in from outside and replied: "Grandma, the third girl is here." Yao suddenly felt a headache. She had already guessed that this sister-in-law might come to disturb her, and she didn't want her to be so impatient. It didn't matter, sooner or later she would hide away.
However, I had to say "please quickly".
While they were talking, Miss Xu San walked in the door and called with a smile: "Hello, third sister-in-law."
Yao hurriedly stood up to greet her: "Why is the third sister here?"
Miss Xu San said: "I have something to ask my third sister-in-law."
Yao said curiously: "Third sister... beg me? I am stupid and don't know anything. I just don't cause trouble to others. How can I help others?"
"Third sister-in-law is too modest." Miss Xu San looked at her and said, "Third sister-in-law is the real smart person in this house." Mrs. Yao was surprised, and just when she was about to take advantage of others, Miss Xu San said sternly, "Now my wife has ordered me to take over.
After checking the account book, I don’t know what to do.”
"Did you give it to the third sister?" Mrs. Yao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Anyway, Mrs. Shu is never wrong. As long as you don't give it to me, give it to anyone."
Miss Xu San raised her eyebrows and said, "Sister-in-law, you are really merciless. I didn't say a word, but you kept pushing me."
Yao didn't argue at all, and said with a smile: "Whatever my sister says."
Miss Xu San was young and didn't have much experience. She originally thought that Mr. Yao would talk to her about it, so she prepared a lot of words to go around in circles. Unexpectedly, she admitted it out of hand. She didn't know what to say and was stunned. Ms. Yao preferred it.
She didn't say any gossip to cover up the situation, she just sat upright. After a long while, Miss Xu San smiled bitterly and said: "The third sister-in-law's trick is to defeat ten skills with one force, and she won't even give me a break."
Yao shi tilted her head slightly: "What trick is my sister going to use?"
Miss Xu San lowered her head and sighed: "That's all." Nai said seriously, "Sister-in-law Third must also know what I want to say. Otherwise, when you came out of my wife's house this morning, you ran so fast?"
Yao wanted to pretend to be stupid, but seeing her look like that, he couldn't do it, so he said seriously: "I know that Third Sister expects me to do business with Qin Dong's family. I made it clear today in Madam's room. Third Master
If you ask me to go, I will go; the third master didn’t say anything, so I definitely can’t secretly run a business behind his back. If I can’t defeat the third master, can’t I just ask the master to come?”
Miss Xu San sneered: "The third sister-in-law and the third brother are husband and wife, how can we not understand his temper? He will definitely not agree."
Yao clapped her hands: "But here we are again! Since my sister knows, what else can I say? There is no need to mention this matter again."
Miss Xu San choked and sighed: "Sister-in-law San also knows that the family situation is difficult nowadays..."
Mr. Yao lowered his face and said, "Didn't I say that I don't need to mention it again?"
Miss Xu San closed her eyes and said after a while: "Sister-in-law is so cruel."
Yao said calmly: "Since the third sister is so ruthless, am I not as good as you?"
Miss Xu San stumbled and said: "If the whole family is not at a loss what to do, why should I sacrifice my face to ask for help from my sister-in-law?"
Mr. Yao sat upright and said: "If that's the case, shouldn't we ask the master and the other gentlemen to come up with a solution? There's no reason for the female family members in the backyard to come up with a solution. Even if the female family members come up with a solution, they should be thinking about how to get rid of the problem."
She paused and said, "I already thought about it yesterday. Is it too much to make clothes every month? It's not like children are growing in stature. Their stature remains the same. I made so many clothes in the past few years, which are enough to wear for a long time.
There’s no need for so many servants, you can spread them out..."
Miss Xu San said sharply: "These rules are all passed down from the old lady's generation!"
Mr. Yao remained motionless: "The old lady was appointed by the minister, so she naturally follows the rules in the backyard of the minister's house. The old lady who left was the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and her salary and... other income were much more than the master. What's more, the master is not
The eldest son’s share of the inheritance is limited. As the saying goes, if you don’t have diamonds, don’t do porcelain work. There is a way to live rich, and there is a way to live poor..."
Miss Xu San stood up excitedly: "Third sister-in-law, it doesn't hurt to stand and talk. You are married, and all your food and clothing expenses are from our family. My fourth sister and I don't know what will happen in the future..." As he said,
shed tears.
Only then did Yao realize that what she was worried about was the dowry. She was born as a concubine, and her family could not give her much dowry; now she is afraid that it will be even less. She thought for a moment and said, "I understand my sister's worries. But I can't help with this matter."
Yours. Let's do this. In a few days, President Shi of the Charity Association will go to give porridge again, and I heard that Qin Dong's family will also go." There was no such "heard". She thought about it, and wrote a letter to Qin Keqing to ask her to meet her.
Yes. "I'll introduce you to her. If you want to learn business from her, talk to her yourself."
Miss Xu San said anxiously: "How can I, an innocent girl who has never left the court, do business?"
"Oh." Yao said calmly, "Then forget it."
Miss Xu San begged with tears in her eyes: "My dear sister-in-law, just take pity on me and my fourth sister."
Yao suddenly felt funny: "Regardless of whether I have that ability or not - it's one thing for Mr. Qin's family to be willing to discuss Sanskrit with me, but it's another thing for them to take me to do business. Do I have to go into business if I pity you?"
"There are so many pitiful people in the world, why can't my sister pity them? How can I hide it from my husband who despises merchants when I go into business behind my back for a long time? Sooner or later he will not know? I pity you, who will pity me?"
Miss Xu San hurriedly said: "My sister-in-law knows the regent's sister, and my third brother doesn't dare to do anything to you. If my sister-in-law does such a wrong thing, she will only be banned for two years."
Yao glanced at her: "As the old saying goes, marry a man and marry a man, and you will be clothed and fed. If I can make money to support a large family, and the third master doesn't want to see me, why should I come and stay in the Xu family as a widow? Why not have a daughter?
Come over by yourself." Ms. Xu San had never heard such words before and was dumbfounded. Mr. Yao was impatient to accompany her and said with a cold face, "Third sister, have you finished talking? It's better to go sit in someone else's room after you finish talking."
Miss Xu San stood up in a daze, not even caring about etiquette, and walked out numbly. Yao's maid waved her handkerchief behind her and shouted: "Good riddance, Miss Three~~Pfft-hahaha..." Yao wanted to
He pretended to blame the two of them. Then he thought about it, what was there to blame? They were also happy for themselves, so they gave up.
This Miss Xu San is really a character. After such a bad encounter, she came to see Yao again two days later. She came to ask Yao to introduce her to Qin Keqing. She said with tears: "Since I am a sister-in-law, I don't want to be dirty."
For the sake of the whole family, someone has to give it a try." Mrs. Yao didn't like it when she heard this, but the idea came from her own mouth in the first place. She couldn't do it if she didn't accept it, so she had to agree.
So he hurriedly wrote a letter to Qin Keqing, detailing the matter from the beginning without hiding anything. Qin Keqing smiled after receiving the letter, knowing that she was unhappy, and wrote back: Easy to handle.
A few days later, Shi Xiangyun led his wives and grandmothers to serve porridge at Muni Courtyard outside the west gate of the city. Yao took Miss Xu San with him. When they arrived, they saw Qin Keqing talking to Shi Xiangyun, so they went to meet him.
Qin Keqing smiled and said, "Why did you bring a little girl out?"
Mrs. Yao pointed out: "This is my sister-in-law, she is fourteen years old this year." Miss Xu San stepped forward and saluted.
Qin Keqing said "Oh", looked at Miss Xu San up and down, and smiled at the corner of her eyes: "I understand. She looks so beautiful. There are quite a few ladies here today."
Miss Xu San lowered her head slightly and said, "Dr. Qin's family misunderstood. My daughter didn't come here for that."
"Ah, I'm sorry." Qin Keqing said, "In that case, I won't disturb you anymore." He turned to leave.
Miss Xu San was so anxious that she jumped up. Yao hurriedly said: "Master Qin, wait a minute!" Qin Keqing turned around. Yao said, "I brought her to see you today."
Qin Keqing was surprised: "See me? My son is still young."
Yao said angrily: "What does it have to do with your son?" He glanced at Miss Xu San and said, "My sister-in-law is interested in doing business and wants to learn from Qin Dong's family."
Qin Keqing raised his eyebrows: "A girl from the Hanlin family wants to learn to be a merchant?"
Miss Xu San said with tears in her eyes: "The family situation is difficult and there is no way."
Qin Keqing immediately said: "Then you don't need to learn." Miss Xu San was stunned. Qin Keqing said, "The art of merchants is not easy, and not everyone can learn it." He glanced at Yao and said, "Your third grandma
She has never been able to understand numbers. She will never be able to learn how to do business in her next life." Yao turned her back and secretly made a face. Qin Keqing continued, "You have no choice but to learn to be a merchant because of your family's difficult circumstances. From this we can see that
: First, you don’t like it and want to do this, so you are not interested. Second, you think that being a merchant is easy to learn. If you think of a very difficult thing as easy, you will never be able to do it. It is not as difficult as being a merchant.
Less than the imperial examination."
Miss Xu San was confused. How had she ever heard of this in her boudoir? She said blankly: "Didn't you say that you can make money as long as you get the supply of cocoa tea?"
Qin Keqing looked at her for a long time, making Miss Xu San feel uncomfortable. After a long time, she said: "Cocoa tea is not just about getting the supply, and you can make money. There are many ways to manage it. Besides, even if this is true, why should I give it to you?"
You? Why don’t you keep it and make money for yourself? Do I owe you anything?”
No matter at home, in the residence of relatives or when going out to meet other ladies, Miss Xu San has never been so abruptly stopped by someone. She didn't know how to answer it. She was so anxious that she forgot everything and blurted out: "Dong Qin's family.
Aren’t you friends with my third sister-in-law? Qin Dong’s family is a heroine. People say that being a friend means having trouble at all costs..." She suddenly couldn't continue because she saw Qin Keqing looking strange.
Qin Keqing sighed and turned to look at Yao. Yao had covered her face with her sleeves: "Who am I? Where am I? I don't recognize you."
Qin Keqing is so funny - this is a line from a drama rehearsed by female students of Tsinghua University. He Xiaonan learned it, and he thought he also learned it for her to see. He shook his head and said: "People say that the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water. I and I
That's the case with your third sister-in-law. Once we talk about money, we can't be friends. There are people who go out of their way to help their friends, but they are very rare. You can't just because one person out of a thousand goes out of their way to help your friend.
I mistakenly thought that the other nine hundred and ninety-nine could stab my friend. Not to mention that there were at least ten of them who would take advantage of the situation to stab their friend. If you are so ignorant of the world, you will definitely not be able to make a deal, so you should go back and be honest.
Just study." Seeing that the little girl was completely stupid, she felt a little pitiful and glanced at Yao.
Only then did Yao remember that she was her sister-in-law. She thought for a moment and said: "You are only fourteen years old and have never been out of the backyard. It is not surprising that you don't know what is going on outside. Usually if you say a few nice words and others agree to your request, that's
Because your request is very simple. Make some food ideas, compose some poems, tie knots and draw pictures, all at random, without any capital, even if it costs a lot, it will not cost you much. When doing business, all transactions involve large amounts of money.
, how can someone agree to you just because of a few nice words? When everyone in the world says nice things, can they still do business? Nothing is easy. I didn’t agree to you and my wife before, for one thing I know that the Third Master will not
I will, and secondly, I know I am not the material."
Miss Xu San's face was covered with tears, and all the rouge and perfume had melted away. She lowered her head and said in her mouth: "Thank you, sister-in-law, for teaching me. I'll take note of it." But she tightened the handkerchief tightly in her hand.
With an inadvertent effort, she tore the veil with one hand.
Qin Keqing looked at him coldly, then glanced at Yao Shi again, smiling at the corner of his mouth.