章節 16: Chapter 16: The Spiritedness
Ye Xinyan adamantly refused to accept it, so Qi Younian had no choice but to take the silver back.
He knew that Ye Xinyan and her mother-in-law had done some small business a few days before the new year and earned some silver pieces, thinking that Ye Xinyan wanted to continue making those items for sale, he advised, "Business after the new year is tough. If you want to make those hair accessories and festive knots, start with fewer pieces. Assess the market before you proceed and don't invest all your capital at once, be careful not to be unable to recover it."
Ye Xinyan said with a smile, "Those things can hardly make any money; they only sell because people want something new before the new year. Those hair ornaments and flowers knots, if a deft person looks closely, they can make them too. If I need to run a business to make money, I would have to think of other methods."
Qi Younian asked with surprise, "There are many businesses that make money?" Looking at the girl's composed demeanor, it seemed to him that making money was not a difficult task in her eyes.
Ye Xinyan explained, "I can only think of two small businesses. The real money-making ventures are not something we poor people can start."
"Don't talk about yourself that way. When you and your mother-in-law first arrived in Miyi County, it was clear that you had traveled a long distance and faced hardships. A normal woman would not be able to make such a journey safely. Judging by your accent, you came from the east, right?"
Since Old Master Qi had shared his own story with her in detail, even if Qi Younian hadn't asked, Ye Xinyan was planning to mention a bit about her own situation.
She said, "You're right, I ran away from home. My family's condition was quite good, but I made a serious mistake and was discarded by my husband's family, and my own family has strict rules, planning to lock me up in the ancestral temple. My nanny and I escaped. We did bring some gold and silver with us, but we were robbed in Xunbei City, and the thieves took everything. Finally, we relied on the few pieces of silver we had hidden in our sleeves to get here."
At this point, Ye Xinyan smiled bitterly, "Our luck was seriously bad. After finally getting here, my mother-in-law's relatives had moved away. Grandpa Qi, it's embarrassing to talk about my troubles, so I can only tell you this much, and ask for your understanding. However, I assure you that we are definitely not involved in any lawsuits or anything of the sort, we just ran away to avoid family troubles. And we have been gone for a long time, my family has given up looking for us, we won't cause any trouble for you."
Listening to Ye Xinyan's explanation, Qi Younian could understand it. The rules of large families are strict, and for a married woman who has indeed made a well-known mistake, the consequences are truly unpredictable. Ye Xinyan's identity did not seem very clear, but her nanny's posture and movements, not ordinary at all, clearly from a wealthy household.
Qi Younian had already speculated about their identities, so his inquiry was merely casual.
As for the major mistake Ye Xinyan mentioned having made in her husband's family, Qi Younian didn't mind it much. Since she was discarded, it meant the mistake wasn't huge. If it had been unforgivable, it would probably have resulted in official punishment or drowning, far more than just being discarded.
Seeing that Qi Younian didn't seem to care, Ye Xinyan remembered what Nanny Jin said about acknowledging her as a granddaughter, "Grandpa Qi, when discussing with my mother-in-law, she said that acknowledging a granddaughter is a significant event which requires serving tea and paying respects. Do you think that would be convenient?"
Qi Younian thought the same as Ye Xinyan. Given Ye Zi's special circumstances, acknowledging her as a granddaughter wasn't something they could publicize. Although Ye Zi said her family had given up searching for her, being cautious was still wise.
Regarding serving tea and paying respects, if it wasn't for others to see, it could be done anytime, just seizing an appropriate opportunity would be fine.
...
Ye Xinyan had informed Qi Younian of her decision early on to reassure the old master and also to be able to arrange the journey sooner. Starting from the first month of the lunar year, the weather would gradually warm up, and the Lijia would also be urging them to leave; leaving earlier would reduce gossip.
As for travel expenses, Ye Xinyan originally planned to wait until the market opened after the new year to do a small business and earn some silver. But after careful thought, no matter the business, in one or two months' time, she might not be able to earn a few taels of silver. Moreover, business during the period after the new year is slack, not easy to make much money, which would delay the travel plans.
Qi Younian was also eager to return, and Ye Xinyan's thoughts were indeed practical. The three of them briefly discussed and decided to pick a good day to set out early.
After the discussion, Ye Xinyan and Nanny Jin began to organize their belongings from both families. Although they were temporarily living here, they had stayed for over two months and had acquired some pots and pans that, for the most part, they wouldn't be able to take with them on the road.
These items were bought with their hard-earned real gold and silver, to just discard them? This outcome caused great distress to the impoverished Ye Xinyan.
By contrast, Qi Younian had many more possessions. But having moved around a lot, he was very adept at packing. The things he needed to take with him were quickly packed up, and the rest, he intended to give away or simply leave in the room for the next tenant.
Ye Xinyan felt distressed about the household items of her own but then looked at Grandpa Qi's belongings; what was her stuff compared to his?
No, it couldn't be done, she came from poverty, she couldn't just throw things away for nothing.
"What?" said Qi Younian with surprise when he heard Ye Xinyan's intention. "This stuff has been used for many years, it's so old, can it really be sold?"
While rifling through the things Qi Younian planned to give away, Ye Xinyan said with distress, "How can they not be sold? Even if they don't fetch much, selling them for less is still selling for money, isn't it?"
Qi Younian, observing Ye Xinyan's miserly expression, deeply doubted whether this Ye Zi was truly of a wealthy family's blood. If it hadn't been for Grandma Jin, who always handled her with such cautious regard, Qi Younian would hardly believe that such a stingy woman could actually be Grandma Jin's mistress.
In the end, neither Nanny Jin nor Qi Younian could stop Ye Xinyan.
Ye Xinyan gathered up all the items from Qi Younian's and her household that she found acceptable, taking out the smaller, easily transportable items first and setting up shop in a secluded spot in the Western Market.
Having experience selling flowers and headpieces in the twelfth lunar month, Ye Xinyan stood in front of her Western Market stall and shouted, "Fire sale, these are all household items you need, sell for money!"
"Passerby, take a look, a rare opportunity, miss it and you'll regret it!"
Nanny Jin and Qi Younian were originally there to help her move things, especially Qi Younian, who found such a Ye Xinyan quite surprising and was almost jump-scared by her boldness.
He quietly asked Nanny Jin, "She's your young miss, right? In the past... was she also this bold?"
Nanny Jin gave a wry smile and shook her head silently.
Her young miss had indeed been arrogant and fearless in the past, but... whether she was like she is now was hard to say. After all, their circumstances were different now. Poor Miss, who had lived a life of luxury and indulgence since childhood, was now, driven by the situation, putting her past arrogance to such use.
Ye Xinyan couldn't care less about all that; now wasn't the time to worry about saving face or keeping up appearances. They were about to embark on their journey, from Jiangyang Prefecture to Yuyuan Prefecture, passing through two prefectures and counties, a journey of over two thousand li. But their combined travel expenses were less than twenty taels of silver, leaving her no choice but to be stingy and thrifty.
-- 收到的禮物 
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票