"We're leaving in the afternoon. Have you packed your things, boss?" Old Master Zhu interrupted his uncle Zhu Shouren's confident expression, tapped his pipe and asked him.
"Dad, everything is almost ready." replied the uncle.
"Have you prepared food, clothes, daily necessities, pens, ink, paper and inkstone?" Mr. Zhu asked again worriedly.
"I'll buy the pens, ink, paper and inkstone when I get to Yingtian. It's troublesome to carry them on the road." The uncle thought for a moment and replied.
How much does it cost to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone? Zhu Pingan was a little speechless after hearing what his uncle said. These things together don't take up much space, and all merchants are dishonest. If you buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone during the exam period, the price will be several times higher than usual. Judging from his uncle's attitude, he probably bought pens, ink, paper and inkstone in Yingtian for the previous many exams. If he bought a better inkstone, he would have to spend at least one or two taels of silver each time.
"Why go to Yingtian to buy them? It's a waste of money. Just bring all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone from home." Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhu immediately shook his head and told his uncle Zhu Shouren to bring all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone from home.
Hearing what Mr. Zhu said, Mrs. Zhu beside him suddenly interrupted and said, "By the way, my daughter-in-law just brought a lot of food, including cakes, bird's nests and so on. Big Boss, take some for the journey."
"Bird's nest?" The uncle was a little surprised, then narrowed his eyes slightly and commented, "Bird's nest is a good thing."
"Mom, bird's nests replenish qi and blood, and are more effective for us women, especially pregnant women. I've heard that wealthy people in the county eat bird's nests to replenish their bodies. This is the first time I've seen it, and I don't know what it tastes like." Xiao Si's Aunt stretched out her voice and tried to straighten her big belly while speaking. She reached out and stroked her belly gently as if she was touching a treasure, her small eyes staring at the box of bird's nests without blinking.
"Replenish qi and blood? That's great. Your elder brother has been traveling hard, so it's a good opportunity for him to replenish his body." As the grandmother spoke, she grabbed the bird's nest box with her big hand and without saying a word, handed it to her uncle Zhu Shouren who was standing beside her.
"Mom~~" Aunt Xiaosi touched her belly and looked at Old Mrs. Zhu with a face full of grievance.
"Okay, I'll leave two for you too." When Old Mrs. Zhu saw Fourth Aunt's belly, she thought of her unborn grandson. Then she hesitated for a moment and took the box back from her uncle's hand.
Uncle Zhu Shouren looked reluctant. The bird's nest was a good thing. If he took the bird's nest to please the beauties along the Qinhuai River, he would surely be able to have some of their beauty.
One, two, three, four! Only four?!
Old Mrs. Zhu opened the box and counted them, and found that there were only four bird's nests in the box even though it was packaged so well. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. The box looked big from the outside, but why were there only four inside? Why did it wrap it with so much cloth? If she gave two to the fourth son's family, then the eldest son would only have two left.
Why is this pig-like daughter-in-law so stingy that she only gave four bird's nests. Who can eat this amount of bird's nests? They are so small that they are not even enough to fill the gaps between teeth. This is too much.
Mrs. Zhu closed the box and glanced at Li Shu, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her words, "Zhi'er's family, do you have bird's nest at home? Give your uncle a few pounds to eat on the road."
Ten or eight kilograms
Li Shu turned her head when she heard that. The tassels on her hairpin swayed as she spoke. She seemed not to notice the old lady's discontented expression. Her big watery eyes looked at Old Lady Zhu with a half-smile, "Grandma, yes, but..."
Before Li Shu finished speaking, the little girl behind her was unhappy. She looked at Old Lady Zhu with a mocking expression, as if she were a bumpkin, and said indignantly:
"Madam, this bird's nest is not cabbage. How much is it? Let's not talk about the top-grade bird's nest my young lady brought. Even an ordinary bird's nest of one coin costs one tael of silver. Ten or eight kilograms would cost at least several hundred taels of silver."
The little girl's voice was full of dissatisfaction, and her words were full of ridicule for the old lady's exorbitant demands. She could even export eight or ten kilograms of bird's nest, which showed that the people from the country were really ignorant.
"So expensive? One penny costs one tael of silver?" Old Mrs. Zhu opened her mouth wide when she heard that.
"That's right, this is just an ordinary bird's nest. The bird's nest our young lady brought is the top-quality bird's nest shipped from Southeast Asia." The little girl held her head high, her face filled with pride.
Old Mrs. Zhu now felt that the bird's nest in her hand was very heavy. She didn't expect that the bird's nest was so valuable. Such a small amount would cost several taels of silver. The way she looked at Li Shu was completely different from before.
"Besides, old lady, it's true that bird's nest is a tonic, but eight kilograms of it will definitely make a person big, and that's no joke." The little girl added.
After hearing what the maid said, Grandmother Zhu smacked her lips and no longer wanted the 10-8 kilograms of bird's nest. After thinking for a while, she opened the bird's nest box, took one out and kept it, and gave the other three to her uncle Zhu Shouren, asking him to hurry to Yingtian to replenish his body.
Seeing this, Aunt Xiao Si, who was standing by, pouted her lips.
Old Mrs. Zhu packed up some bird's nests, cakes and supplements and gave them to her aunt, asking her to put them in order for her uncle Zhu Shouren and take them away when he left.
Uncle Zhu Shouren glanced at Zhu Ping'an and Li Shu, then coughed, looked at Old Man Zhu and said, "Dad, I have everything ready for the imperial examination in Yingtian, except that I am a little short of money."
"Brother, why are you still shy? All the more than ten taels of silver in the family are tied up in you." Xiao Si's aunt looked like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
"Why is it still not enough?" Old Master Zhu looked at his uncle Zhu Shouren. He knew that all the money in the family had been given to the eldest son.
"Dad, when I go to Yingtian, I have to invite Lord Liu to dinner. It's related to my son's future. My fellow disciples and his mentor are also indispensable. All these favors cost money, Dad. Dad, the money you gave me is enough for me, but it won't be enough to pay for all these favors. It's so difficult." Uncle Zhu Shouren shook his head and sighed heavily.
"But there's no money at home." Old Master Zhu frowned, then took two deep puffs of his pipe, and clouds of smoke rose up.
"Dad, how about this, I'll ask Zhi'er to borrow some money first." Uncle Zhu Shouren looked like he had been thinking for a long time about the family, then he turned his head to Zhu Ping'an and said what he had been planning for a long time:
"Zi'er, we are one family and we should not have different opinions. Your uncle has prepared everything for the imperial examination in Yingtian, except that he is a little short of money. Don't let your grandfather worry about it. Zhi'er will lend you ten taels of silver temporarily, and I will return it to you when your uncle comes back from the examination."
Don't make grandpa worry? It's like I'm so unfilial! With such a hat, and in front of grandpa, this is not borrowing money, it's clearly forcing money. This kind of tactics of taking advantage of others, my uncle is really good at it.
However, it would be fine if you were just lending the money properly, but this kind of forcing money made Zhu Ping'an very disgusted.
Moreover, thinking about his uncle's behavior in the imperial examination last time, and then thinking about his uncle's attempt to embezzle his family's land yesterday, Zhu Ping'an didn't even have the idea of borrowing money, so it was good enough that he didn't pursue his uncle.
From what Little Fourth Aunt said, the family had already given Uncle more than ten taels of silver. It was enough for him to go to Yingtian to take the exam!
"Ahem, if it was a few days ago, I would have lent it to you without you telling me. But I was in trouble at sea a few days ago, you must know that. I was lucky enough to survive, but all my valuables were lost in the sea, and I am now penniless."
Zhu Pingan shook his head a little embarrassedly, raised the corners of his lips, and suddenly remembered something. Then he took out a handful of about ten copper coins from his pocket, stuffed them into his uncle's hand enthusiastically, and said generously,
"Oh, I remember now. This morning my mother gave me ten cents to buy soy sauce. Soy sauce is a small matter, but my uncle's imperial examination is a big matter. I will use this money to help my uncle with the emergency." (To be continued.)