Yang Haiyan naturally didn't know that she had become the topic of conversation after dinner, but if she knew, she wouldn't care. She earned her own money, so she could spend it however she wanted. If she had to live in the topic of others, then what was the point of earning money
Yang Haiyan looked at the two wild boars at the door and felt embarrassed: "There are too many of them. If I keep them for myself, how long will it take me to finish the meat?" Especially since the taste of the wild boar meat was just so-so.
Qin Fang had to go back to the military camp to be on duty in early April, so he took advantage of the few days left to take his private guards to the mountain to fight. Seeing Yang Haiyan say this, he said, "You make the decision." He was in charge of the hunting and didn't care how it was handled.
Yang Haiyan thought for a moment and said, "Captain Kun, take your men to transport these two wild boars to the county town to sell them, and then buy six old hens back."
Kunshi said: "Yes."
Huang Huzi: "I'll drive the donkey cart." Since the advent of horse-drawn carriages, the status of donkey carts has plummeted.
Yang Haiyan said: "Uncle Hong went to the village and drove the donkey cart away. Can we just release the wild boar on the horse?"
Qin Fang took a look and said, "It's okay to put it horizontally, but it's a bit troublesome."
Two horses carried two wild boars. Kunshi and Huang Huzi went to the county town. The town was small and could not accommodate the two wild boars.
Half an hour later, Kunshi and Huang Huzi came back with six clucking old hens.
The old hens were in the chicken coop. Kun Shi gave Yang Haiyan the five taels of silver he earned from selling wild boar meat: "Madam, this is the money left after buying six old hens."
Yang Haiyan took the silver and said, "Each of your households will receive one of the six old hens we bought. You have worked hard on hunting this time, so each of you will receive an extra month's salary. Aunt Lian, give the money to Captain Kun."
Nanny Lian took out five strings of copper coins and said, "Captain Kun, these are yours. The other four strings are for the other four private guards."
Kunshi had not expected that in addition to receiving an old hen for each household, there would also be a monthly allowance. He hurriedly thanked them, "Thank you, ma'am."
Yang Haiyan didn't feel bad at all, and thought it was what they deserved.
Kunshi carried the chicken coop back to the servants' yard. Huang Huzi heard the chickens crow as soon as he entered the yard. He left the yard and asked, "Captain, why did you bring back the old hens?"
Kunshi said, "Madam said this old hen is a reward for us, one for each household, but we can't raise chickens here, so we have to kill them in the next two days. Oh, and there's also a bunch of money, which is also a reward from Madam."
Huang Huzi couldn't stop smiling. His wife was so nice.
Huang Huzi's wife Huang Xu was not at home. She went to collect firewood with Meng Qiu, Meng An and Meng Qiu and had not returned yet. Huang Huzi did not know what to do with the old hen. He thought about it and threw it in the corner.
When Huang Xu and the others came back, they heard the sound of chickens crowing in the servants' yard. They were all stunned. After returning home, they found out that because they had hunted two wild boars and sold them, the mistress rewarded each family with an old hen and a month's salary. They were so happy.
Main Courtyard
Qin Fang asked Qin Shoucheng: "How was the private school today?"
Qin Shoucheng was more respectful to his elder brother than to his father and grandfather: "It's good. I went with Daying, and the classmates there are very friendly." The classmates were basically about six years old, and he, a twelve-year-old boy, could be regarded as their elder brother. But he didn't talk about such embarrassing things.
Qin Fang didn't say anything after hearing this. He looked at Qin Siya and asked, "What about Si Ya? Did you learn ten words today?"
Qin Siya was also timid and nodded obediently, not at all lively in front of her sister-in-law: "I learned. I learned ten characters and arithmetic with Aunt Lian in the morning, and learned needlework with my sister-in-law in the afternoon."
Qin Fang nodded: "Well, learn to read and learn needlework. You have to know that whether it is learning to read or learning needlework, it is all for your own benefit. Although your sister-in-law will reward you with a little money, she rewards you with a little money to encourage you. You can't take it for granted. For example, your eldest sister, Da Ya, she didn't have the opportunity to study and learn to read and learn needlework at your age. For example, I, your eldest brother, only had the opportunity to learn to read last year.
When my elder brother first came to the military camp, he didn’t know a single word. I was very envious of those literate soldiers, so I would ask them one by one. Even if it was embarrassing, or even looked down upon, I would still ask, because I knew that if I didn’t ask, I would know nothing. If I asked, what I learned would be my own.
Yang Haiyan felt sad after hearing this. This man was a very clear-headed person who saw everything. He was responsible, but he came from a poor family. This family did not allow him to have big ideals because this could not fulfill his ideals.
However, he did not give up. He walked out of the village and, relying on his own efforts, he walked step by step to where he is now. For some reason, Yang Haiyan suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. In modern times, a 21-year-old young man is still enjoying the happy time in college, while Qin Fang...
Qin Siya lowered her head: "I know."
In fact, she knew nothing.
Qin Shoucheng held the chopsticks tightly. His sister might not know it, but he knew it.
Qin Fang didn't say much, and he would never bring up this topic again.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Yang Haiyan tried to ease it: "Husband, are you going hunting tomorrow?"
Qin Fang looked at her and said, "No, do you have plans for tomorrow?"
Yang Haiyan nodded: "I bought some fruit and vegetable seeds and fruit tree seedlings from the peddlers in the market today, and asked Uncle Hong to take them to the land in the countryside to plant. Shall we go and have a look tomorrow? Uncle Hong said that the house in the land will be completed soon. Speaking of which, I haven't seen it yet."
Qin Fang: "Okay, if we don't have enough manpower, let Kun Shi and the others help."
Yang Haiyan: “Yeah.”
the next day
Uncle Hong drove the carriage to take everyone to the countryside. Because it was the nearest village to the town, it only took half an hour to get there by carriage. Accompanying them were Yang Haiyan, Qin Fang, Kun Shi, Chen Dashi, Tao Shan, and Aunt Fan.
Uncle Hong said as he drove the carriage, "Madam, you see, it's the house in that field, on the land over there, and the yard over here."
Yang Haiyan opened the carriage curtain and saw that there were a lot of land, but there was only one yard. Because the owners of the land were all villagers, the villagers would not build houses on the land. And next to the yard, there were many people busy, some were building yards, some were farming, it looked very lively.
Yang Haiyan said: "I saw it."
When the carriage reached the entrance of the village, Uncle Hong said, "Sir, Madam, the road in the field is narrow. The horses and carriages can't go up. We have to walk."
Some people in the village looked over here curiously. Some people recognized Uncle Hong because he came to buy land, build houses, and hire people to plant crops. So everyone knew him and knew that he might be the housekeeper of a wealthy family. Everyone secretly inquired about his identity, but Uncle Hong was very tight-lipped and they didn't get a word out of him.
At this moment, Uncle Hong came with some people, some riding horses and some riding in carriages. Everyone guessed that this might be Uncle Hong's host.
Qin Fang got off the horse and came to the carriage. Yang Haiyan happened to come out and he supported her. Qin Fang said, "Tao Shan stays here. Uncle Hong will take us over to have a look."
Uncle Hong: "Yes, my Lord and Madam, please be careful on the road."
Uncle Hong led the way in front, and Yang Haiyan and others followed behind. After they walked for a distance, people at the entrance of the village began to whisper.
"Did you hear that? Uncle Hong is called Sir."
"I heard it, I heard it. This gentleman looks like an official. He is a bit scary."
"Yes, this is an official, not a merchant."
In the field, the old farmer leading the group is called Niu Da. Uncle Hong has inquired about it and knows that Niu Da is the best farmer in the village. So Uncle Hong let Niu Da be in charge of the planting this time. The people who come to work in the field are also found by Niu Da, and they are all good at farm work.
When Niu Da saw Uncle Hong coming, he hurried over to greet him: "Uncle Hong."
Uncle Hong nodded: "How is it?"
Niu Da: "The yard can be built today, as for the land..."
After listening to Niu Da's words, Uncle Hong nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead and get busy."
Niu Da: “Yes.”
Uncle Hong walked back to Yang Haiyan and said, "My Lord, Madam. Madam, the current plan for the five acres of land is this: the corners on the side will be used to build pig pens, chicken pens, and duck pens to prevent the yard from smelling too strong, so they are separated.
The remaining 200 fruit tree seedlings (apple and pear seedlings) occupy one acre of land. Of the remaining land, half an acre is used to plant fruit seeds (watermelon seeds), half an acre is used to plant corn, half an acre is used to plant seeds in red cloth bags (cauliflower), half an acre is used to plant seeds in white bags (broccoli), and half an acre is used to plant seeds in blue bags (tomatoes). The remaining one acre or so is used to plant some sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Yang Haiyan nodded: "Okay, you decide. These are all arranged by the old farmer just now?"
Uncle Hong said, "Yes, he is the best farmer in the village. I have asked around and visited his farmland. He is really good."
Yang Haiyan heard this and said: "Then go ask him if he is willing to take care of the crops for 300 wen a month."
When Uncle Hong heard this, he hurriedly said, "I'll go ask him right away."
Niu Da is 45 years old this year, and he has grandchildren. He is not young anymore, and he has no other skills except farming. But in the countryside, no matter how good you are at farming, it is useless, because there is limited land and the harvest is also limited. He thought that this is how he would spend his life, but he didn't expect that someone would hire him to look after the crops, so of course he agreed.
Niu Da followed Uncle Hong over, knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you... Thank you... Niu Da will do his best to take good care of the crops."
Qin Fang: "No need to be polite, old man, just go and do your work."
Niu Da: “Hey.” He retreated respectfully.
Yang Haiyan said, "Husband, how is this place? It's close to the town. If there is a harvest, we won't have to buy food for the rest of our lives."
Qin Fang looked at the busy people: "It's fine, but Yanyan has worked hard." Everything she did was for this family. It was because he was not good enough that she had to worry about the family's affairs.
county seat
It was the first time for Kun Zhang to sell snacks. She was very unsure at first and didn't know whether she could do well in business. She bought three pounds of small cakes and small cookies to test the waters. Although Mrs. Han said that they sold well, she hadn't tried it herself and was still unsure.
However, after selling for an hour, she was completely relieved. It was indeed very easy to sell. The price she sold was the same as Mrs. Han's before. She calculated that if she sold all of it this time, she could earn about 60 yuan. However, six kilograms of snacks in the morning was the limit, because only people bought in the morning. After a while, fewer and fewer people would come, and there would be no one to buy snacks, unless the shop was open all the time, like her stall, everyone would disperse and go home.
Kun Zhang also calculated that if she came every day, she could earn more than one or two taels a month.
Just when Kun Zhang was happy, a middle-aged man came over and looked her over. Kun Zhang was a little scared and took a few steps back: "You..."
As she was about to speak, the middle-aged man also spoke at the same time: "Madam, may I have a word with you?"
Kun Zhang was a little afraid: "Do you have something to say?"
The middle-aged man said, "Don't worry, lady. I'm the owner of the dim sum shop over there..." He pointed to the dim sum shop not far away, "I think your dim sum is pretty good. Do you have any plans to sell it to a shop owner?" Speaking of which, last year, there was also a lady who often came to sell this kind of dim sum. At the beginning, he didn't pay much attention to it, but later he noticed it and asked his servants to buy some dim sum to try. It was indeed cheap and delicious.
At that time, he also wanted to buy this recipe, but something happened and delayed him for a few days. When he came back, he found that the lady no longer set up a stall to sell snacks. Until today, a lady came to sell snacks, and he also asked his servants to buy snacks. The taste was the same as last year, so he came here in person.
Kun Zhang refused directly: "I'm sorry, this recipe is not mine, and this dessert is not made by me. I just ordered some to do business in the county."
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes: "Oh?" He stared at Kun Zhang, trying to tell the truth from her expression. However, he saw that Kun Zhang's fear was real, but he didn't see her humility. He smiled and said, "Then, when you go back, ask the boss if he is willing to sell this recipe. If he is willing to sell it, you can come to my shop to find me. What do you think?"
Kun Zhang nodded immediately: "Okay."
Middle-aged man: "Sorry to bother you, lady."
After the middle-aged man left, Kun Zhang stopped doing business. She also had some small cakes and biscuits, so she took them back home for her son to eat. After all, she had earned some money that day.
Kun Zhang didn't know that as soon as she left, the middle-aged man said to the servants, "Follow her and see where she lives and who is the boss of the dim sum she mentioned."
Servant: "Yes."
When Kun Zhang arrived at the gate of the county town, she paid two cents and got on the donkey cart from the county town to the town. The servant saw this and also paid two cents and followed.
Kun Zhang returned to Qianfu's house. It was still early. Yang Haiyan and the others had gone to the countryside and had not returned yet. When she prepared lunch and stewed the chicken from yesterday, Yang Haiyan and the others also returned. She heard the noise outside and went out immediately. "Madam..."
Kunshi saw his wife coming over and looked at her with some confusion.
Kun Zhang came to see Yang Haiyan. She nodded and greeted Kun Shi, then bowed to Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan and said, "Madam, I have something to tell you."
Seeing that she looked a little nervous, Yang Haiyan said, "Come with me." Then she said to Aunt Fan, "Aunt Fan, let's have chicken noodle soup for lunch."
Aunt Fan: “Yes.”
Yang Haiyan took Kun Zhang to the stone table in the inner courtyard and sat down: "Captain Kun's family, what's wrong with you? Sit down and talk slowly."
Kun Zhang: "Thank you, madam. This is what happened. Today I went to the county town to sell snacks..." She told the story of the middle-aged man, "Madam, have I caused you any trouble?"
Yang Haiyan thought it was something else, but it turned out to be this. She said, "It's nothing. If you go to the county town tomorrow, you can ask the owner of the snack shop to tell him to come here and talk to me."
Kun Zhang was relieved to see that Yang Haiyan's expression did not seem fake, as she was afraid that she had implicated her wife.
The next day, Kun Zhang went to the county town to do business again. But before going to do business, she went to the dim sum shop, met the middle-aged man, and brought Yang Haiyan's words with her.
In fact, the middle-aged man knew it yesterday. Yesterday, the servant followed Kun Zhang to the military camp family housing and saw with his own eyes that she had built a two-story courtyard. As a genuine border guard, he naturally knew that the military camp family housing meant a place where the soldiers of Yonghe Marquis lived. And the two-story courtyard inside was the residence of a thousand men of the seventh rank.
If he had hoped to buy the recipe cheaply at the beginning, then after knowing that the recipe was related to Lord Qianfu, he no longer had this crooked idea. Of course, he was not a bad person, and as a businessman, it was normal for him to hope that the recipe was cheaper.
After Kun Zhang came, the middle-aged man also learned more certain news. It turned out that the woman's husband was the captain of the private guard of Qin Qianfu. The private guard was equivalent to the confidant of Qin Qianfu. That's why this woman was able to get snacks from Mrs. Qin's snack shop.
After Kun Zhang sold all the cakes and cookies for the day, she got on the middle-aged man’s donkey cart and returned to the family quarters.
Yang Haiyan had just finished teaching Qin Siya arithmetic when Nanny Lian came to report that the owner of the snack shop in the county town had arrived. Because the other party was an outsider, especially a male guest, Yang Haiyan took Nanny Lian to the main hall to greet him. On ordinary days, whether it was Uncle Hong or the private guard, she would always be accompanied by Nanny Lian to talk to people in the study. But outsiders had to be more discreet to avoid gossip.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long." Yang Haiyan walked into the main hall where Ping, the owner of the dim sum shop, was sitting. When he saw Yang Haiyan coming, he quickly stood up.
Shopkeeper Ping said, "Hello, Madam."
It was the first time that Yang Haiyan met someone in such a formal manner. After she sat down, she said, "Boss, there is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat. Aunt Lian, bring the tea."
Aunt Lian: “Yes.”
Shopkeeper Ping sat down and said without beating around the bush: "Mrs. Qin, I believe you know why I came here. I wonder if you have ever thought of selling the recipes for those small cakes and cookies."
Of course, it was impossible to sell it, because the ancient technology could not make butter. Although it didn't matter if she didn't put butter in, it would be more fragrant. Moreover, Yang Haiyan was not interested in getting rich, otherwise she could have come up with a few more dessert recipes, but making money this way was meaningless. After she sold the soap recipe, she was no longer short of money. Now the dessert shop can earn ten taels of silver every month. She has no worries about clothes and daily necessities now, so why bother selling the recipe
So Yang Haiyan shook her head and said, "I'm very sorry, but I plan to pass down the recipe from generation to generation. I won't sell it."
In fact, after knowing Yang Haiyan's identity, Shopkeeper Ping also knew that the purchase of the wife was a slim hope. He came here today for other things, and the purchase of the wife was just a casual mention. Shopkeeper Ping asked: "Can the cakes in the Madam's shop be approved for us to sell in our shop in the county?"
Yang Haiyan said: "Of course there is no problem with this." They are all doing business, and they are doing business openly. Why would she not agree when others come to order snacks
Then, the two began to discuss the price. Yang Haiyan usually earns about 30 yuan per kilogram of small cakes and biscuits. Now she sells them to Ping Zhang, and gives him a profit of 5 yuan per kilogram, which is actually the same price as Yang Dahua and Kun Zhang. This is a business deal, and the wholesale price should be unified. Otherwise, one is more expensive and the other is cheaper, which will always make people feel unhappy. Then, every day, she needs to provide Ping Zhang's shop with 10 kilograms of small cakes and 10 kilograms of small biscuits.
Yang Haiyan calculated that according to the amount set by Manager Ping, she could earn twelve taels of silver from Manager Ping every month, which equals one hundred and forty-four taels a year.
However, Yang Haiyan also signed a contract with the shopkeeper, and she could no longer be so reluctant to grant it to other people in the county. After the two signed the contract, because there was no county government in the town, they also invited the mayor to be a witness.
After the deed was signed, Manager Ping paid the April payment first and then left in a good mood.
Manager Ping's boss was introduced by Kun Zhang, and even if Kun Zhang was just an accident, as a boss, he must reward his employees when it's time to do so. So Yang Haiyan asked Aunt Lian to ask Kun Zhang to come to the main courtyard.
When Kun Zhang came, she was still a little nervous: "Madam, are you looking for me?"
Yang Haiyan said: "Our county's dim sum has been sold to Shopkeeper Ping. From now on, we can't sell our dim sum in the county."
Kun Zhang felt a little sorry after hearing this. She couldn't do this business in the county town. Although she felt sorry, she also understood. After all, the snacks in the county town were a big business.
When Yang Haiyan was talking about this, he observed Kun Zhang's expression. Seeing that she did not show any inexplicable emotions, Yang Haiyan continued: "It was you who brought this business to Manager Ping. These ten taels of silver are a reward for you."
Kun Zhang hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I can't have it. Madam, I can't have this." She didn't help either. If the shopkeeper liked the dim sum, he could find it even without her.