Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Although Physician Hua from Hui Chun Hall said that Lady Li was merely suffering from a condition caused by emotional stress and it was nothing serious, she, being very concerned about her reputation, insisted on appearing seriously ill and refused to come to the central quarters for breakfast the next day.

Madam Zhuang couldn’t be bothered to argue with her and simply ordered the central kitchen to send over a light meal for the sick.

The others also learned what happened to Lady Li after she was sold from the talkative Song Shiying.

She had been quite lucky and was sold to the Han family, a family of wealthy merchants in Dengfeng Prefecture, Henan. The Han family was the richest in Dengfeng Prefecture.

The head wife, noting that Lady Li was from the capital, literate, and well-mannered, appointed her to teach the household servants proper conduct, thus making her a manager of the inner quarters.

Like Madam Zhuang, she did not suffer much hardship.

Song Shiying remarked, “This just goes to show that women should be literate. If my mother had been illiterate, even if she had been sold to the richest family, she would have ended up as a common servant performing menial tasks.”

Upon hearing this, Third Madam Qiu’s expression darkened.

She was born into the Wu’an Marquis Estate, the legitimate daughter of the late Old Marquis of Wu’an. She was literate and well-versed in etiquette and rules, no less capable than her two sisters-in-law.

However, her two sisters-in-law were fortunate. One became a teaching nanny for the young ladies of the main family, and the other became a manager of the maids and nannies, while she ended up as a cook for a rural family.

If she hadn’t learned culinary skills from her love of food at her natal home, the gentleman’s wife, considering her too beautiful, even thought about making her clean out the night soil buckets.

It was enough to make one despair at life’s unfairness. Why was it that among the three sisters-in-law, her fate was the worst?

But then she remembered that her elder sister-in-law had two daughters-in-law from rural villages, and her second sister-in-law’s daughter had been sold to a brothel for a year. This thought gave her some comfort.

At least her Yue’er had spent the past two years at her natal family’s estate, living a pure and virtuous life, with no blemish for others to criticize.

Hearing Song Shiying’s remark, Zhong Wenjin nodded and said, “Third Sister is right, I agree. That’s why, while I was still in the village, I asked my husband to teach me to read.”

Chunniang immediately raised her hand and boasted, “Last night, my husband taught me to recite the Three Character Classic. I’m so clever that I’ve already memorized four lines.”

Madam Qiu, with a sarcastic tone, said, “Oh, you can recite four lines of the Three Character Classic? Chunniang, you’re quite something.”

Chunniang glanced at Madam Qiu and grinned, “The best is yet to come. My husband said that on the next day off, he’ll bring a gift and seek out a martial arts master for me. Once I learn martial arts, I’ll be even better at defending myself.”

Madam Qiu flinched and fell silent.

Jiang Chun, this woman, now dares to beat up Lady Zhang and Lady Wang. If she learns martial arts, who knows how out of control she'll become?

An'ge, my nephew, is really something else. He doesn't bother to control his own wife, just lets her give all the commands and run wild.

Even the eldest sister-in-law is acting like she’s gone mad, not even trying to stop her daughter-in-law's antics.

Is there even one sane person in this family?

She used to really dislike the old lady, her mother-in-law, always harping on about rules and etiquette, stricter than the professors at the Guozijian, the imperial academy. It was enough to drive her crazy.

But now she misses the old lady, wishing she would return to the mansion right away to teach this granddaughter-in-law, Jiang Chun, a lesson.

The elder sister-in-law is useless, and now it seems only the great-grandmother can rein her in.

Zhong Wenjin's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Wow, big sister-in-law, you're amazing!"

Jiang Chun gave her a playful pat on the shoulder and said with a grin, "If you go to a banquet and someone dares to bully you, just hide behind big sister-in-law, and she'll beat them up for you, make them cry out for their parents, acting like they've lost their husbands."

Madame Zhuang coughed a few times and glared at Jiang Chun, then said with a hint of irritation, "You’re getting carried away. This time you beat up a relative of the Cheng family. The Chengs let An'ge off the hook because of the past marriage alliance.

Other families won't be so forgiving. If you beat up their ladies, their men might file a petition against An'ge for failing to properly discipline his wife.

Then An'ge would have to defend himself in front of the emperor, and the entire court would mock him."

Jiang Chun pouted and disagreed, "The Chengs let it slide because of the past marriage alliance? They probably want to renew their ties with the Song family!"

Song Shiying spat in disdain. "They want to break off the engagement if they want and renew their ties if they want? Do they think the Song family is a beggar?

I'm putting it out there, I only recognize big sister-in-law as my one and only big sister-in-law. Even if someone uses underhanded schemes to marry into the family, I won't acknowledge them."

Zhong Wenjin chimed in, "Exactly, I only recognize big sister-in-law as my sister-in-law. If someone else becomes my sister-in-law, I'll treat her like air, I won't even acknowledge her."

"You're really my good little sister-in-law and good sister-in-law," Jiang Chun said, holding Song Shiying and Zhong Wenjin’s hands, grinning.

She then looked up at Madame Zhuang and said, "Mother, my younger female cousin and sister-in-law have spoken. As a mother-in-law, shouldn't you say something too?"

Madame Zhuang gave her a scornful look and chuckled. "What am I supposed to say? Would you be willing to give up An'ge? Besides, An'ge isn't a fool, would he let others scheme against him?

If you're too bored, go help Young Master Jiang move house. Today is the last auspicious day of the month. If you don't move today, you'll have to wait until the twelfth of next month."

"Eh?"

Jiang Chun's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t had time to consult a fortune teller and check the almanac, yet Madame Zhuang had already arranged it.

It seems she’s been keeping an eye on the Jiang family’s affairs.

This mother-in-law of mine is tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

Jiang Chun immediately stood up, with a smile on her face, and said, "We’re moving. Mother has already found a lucky day for us, how could I refuse her kindness?"

With that, she lifted her foot to leave.

Song Shiying stood up immediately and said, "Big sister-in-law, I’ll help you."

Seeing this, Zhong Wenjin also stood up and said, "I have nothing else to do, so I’ll help too."

As everyone went to help, only Song Shiyue was left behind. Feeling guilty, she also stood up and said, "I’ll go too."

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "Actually, we don’t have much to move, and everything is still packed in boxes, so there’s not much to unpack. But it’s good if you all come over to familiarize yourselves with the place."

"Our new house is close to the West Market. There’s a restaurant near the market called Liao Ji that serves great food. I’ll have someone arrange a meal for us, and we’ll have lunch at the new house to celebrate the move."

When Madame Zhuang heard about the celebration, she turned and instructed Shanhu, "Prepare a housewarming gift and send it to the Jiang residence."

Hearing this, Jiang Chun smiled and said, "I’ll thank Mother on behalf of my father for the housewarming gift."

Madame Zhuang pursed her lips and remained silent.

Actually, this daughter-in-law of mine isn’t without her merits. Her greatest strength is that she knows how to listen and appreciate kindness.

If it were someone of lower birth, they might have thought that she didn’t want the Jiang family staying here and was looking for an excuse to make them leave.

But Jiang Chun was overjoyed and thanked her profusely.

Clearly, she didn’t think ill of her.

Despite her humble origins, she is neither sensitive nor insecure, which is indeed rare. At this moment, she somewhat understood why her son had taken a particular liking to her.

As for her bright appearance, graceful figure, and her ability to act coquettishly to gain favor, those were secondary virtues. Her son wasn’t that shallow!

Jiang Chun went to the front courtyard to relay Lady Zhuang's message to Jiang He.

In fact, Jiang He and Zheng Kun had been eagerly anticipating the move for some time.

As the saying goes, "A golden nest, a silver nest, are not as comfortable as one's own humble abode." Although the Song family had been very courteous to Jiang He and Zheng Kun, treating them to the same food and drink as the main family members,

for Jiang He, this was still his daughter’s in-laws’ home. As a father, living in his daughter’s in-laws’ home wasn’t appropriate.

For Zheng Kun, it was even more inappropriate. This was his cousin’s in-laws’ home. As a cousin's brother staying here and depending on others for food and drink, it was quite improper.

Upon hearing this, he immediately looked up at his uncle, Jiang He.

Jiang He made the decision: "Let’s move today."

Just as Jiang Chun had mentioned, most of the Jiang family’s belongings remained packed in boxes. There were only a few daily items used by Jiang He and Zheng Kun, which they quickly packed up.

Song Shiying, Zhong Wenjin, and Song Shiyue had little to assist with.

Jiang Chun had Manager Liu arrange four flatbed carts and five enclosed carriages.

The flatbed carts were used to load the Jiang family's and Zheng Kun's luggage.

The enclosed carriages were for people, with Jiang He and Zheng Kun in one; Jiang Chun and Zhong Wenjin in another; and Song Shiying and Song Shiyue in another.

The other two carriages were for the maids and elder servants who accompanied them.

A convoy of nine carts proceeded grandly toward the West Market.

Since there were quite a few vehicles, Jiang Chun had to forego the chance to check in at the West Market, much to her disappointment.

Upon arriving at the Jiang residence, Jiang He stepped down from the carriage and used his key to unlock the front gate. The servants helping them carried the luggage into the main house.

Jiang Chun took out a string of coins and had Gui Ye distribute them, allowing the servants to return to the estate on the flatbed carts, leaving only the drivers of the enclosed carriages behind.

Only then did Song Shiying and the others have the chance to properly examine the small, one-courtyard house.

After touring the house, Zhong Wenjin said enviously, "Though small, it is fully equipped. The location is excellent, close to the West Market, making it convenient to purchase anything needed."

"I really love this kind of small house. If only I had the money, I would definitely buy one on this street."

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "Most of the people living on this street are merchants doing business in the West Market. Second Sister-in-law, are you thinking about starting a business in the West Market too?"

Before Zhong Wenjin could reply, Jiang Chun continued, "It's great to do business. Without it, where would we get the money to spend? I'd also like to do business, but the only thing I know how to do is slaughter pigs and sell meat. I don't know any other trade.

If Second Sister-in-law has any good business opportunities, don't forget to count me in.

I have about one to two thousand taels of silver. It’s better to invest in your business and earn some profits than to let it sit idle."

Jiang Chun had obtained more than eight hundred taels from pawning items and another six hundred taels from selling ambergris, plus Second Madam Li still owed her five hundred taels for her redemption, which is the money to buy her freedom—together, she had more than nineteen hundred taels.

Zhong Wenjin was delighted upon hearing this.

Although she had only been in the capital for five or six days, she had already felt the weight of the phrase "Living in the capital is tough."

Although the Song family provided food, shelter, and clothing, there were still many expenses in daily life.

For example, just now, the eldest daughter-in-law gave a tip of a hundred wen to the servants who accompanied them.

For the Song family, a hundred wen was just pocket change, and the servants who split this sum didn’t seem particularly excited.

But for her, a hundred wen meant three days of digging herbs in the mountains, drying them, and then walking for three days and nights to Anhe Town to sell them.

She was truly in need of money and truly wanted to earn some.

However, the money she earned went towards Song Shirui's medical treatment, and she only had only about five taels of loose silver left now.

With such a small capital, dreaming of becoming a long-distance trader was just a pipe dream.

She couldn’t depend on Song Shirui; he wanted to transfer from the Imperial Guards to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and had already taken two hundred taels from Madam Zhuang, her mother-in-law, to bribe his superiors.

Could she possibly take some of the money her mother-in-law had given her husband for his official duties to start a business? That would be overstepping.

She had originally planned to take it slow, starting with inexpensive goods and gradually building up capital.

In three to five years, when she had saved enough, she would then aim for a larger shop and grow her business.

Who would have thought that during this difficult starting period, the eldest sister-in-law would actively jump at the chance to invest one or two thousand taels of silver.

It was like bringing charcoal in a snowstorm!

With this one or two thousand taels of silver, she could purchase Yun brocade, Shu brocade, and intricately designed jewelry to sell within the system. After converting them, she could then buy daily necessities like glass mirrors, vintage pocket watches, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo from Pinxixi Mall, and sell them in the Imperial City.

The residents of the Imperial City, who prided themselves on their pampered and privileged status, adored lavish and exotic foreign goods. These "foreign goods" would surely be in high demand, allowing her to make a fortune.

Thinking of this, she felt incredibly motivated and immediately nodded, saying, "Eldest sister-in-law, I plan to collaborate with the itinerant foreign monk who previously gave me the insect-repellent miracle medicine and the anti-wolf spray to do business, selling rare and unique foreign goods.

If you are truly interested in investing, would you like me to give you 30% dry shares for this one or two thousand taels of silver? We will settle the accounts at the end of each year and distribute the profits according to the shares."

Given that this was a partnership with the itinerant foreign monk, it made sense for her to hold four shares, while the eldest sister-in-law and the monk each held three shares.

Reaching into her sleeve, she took out a bottle of anti-wolf spray and placed it in Jiang Chun's hand, saying with a smile, "This is the anti-wolf spray I promised to give you for self-defense. I finally found it in my luggage today."

Jiang Chun took the bottle of anti-wolf spray and put it into her waist pocket, grinning. "Thank you, second sister-in-law."

After a pause, she continued, "Thirty percent dry shares are too much. Twenty percent is sufficient. After all, I am only responsible for the investment, while the actual management will be entirely under your charge."

Though Zhong Wenjin had only known the eldest sister-in-law for a short time, she found her to be straightforward and transparent, without any ulterior motives.

Zhong Wenjin pursed her lips, then smiled, and said, "Then 20%, I'll defer to you, eldest sister-in-law."

When they were saying these things, they didn't hide it from Song Shiying and Song Shiyue.

However, Jiang He and Zheng Kun were organizing the broken items brought from Daliushu Village in the storeroom and didn't hear this conversation.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Chun also reminded Song Shiying about the debt, saying, "When you have time, urge your mother to repay the debt as soon as possible, or it might delay my investment in your second sister-in-law’s business, which means delaying her cool money-making."

Song Shiying: "..."

She pouted and muttered, "After working so hard to save up so much money by slaughtering pigs and carrying sacks, you’re not keeping it safe but instead investing it in the second sister-in-law’s business...

It's not that I underestimate the second sister-in-law, but business always involves risks. If the second sister-in-law has bad luck and loses all the money, you’ll regret it then!"

Zhong Wenjin was just about to explain that this business was a sure thing that would never incur losses, but Jiang Chun waved her hand to stop her.

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "Just go ahead and do it, Second Sister-in-Law. I trust your abilities.

Even in the worst case scenario, if you really do lose all my money, it’s not a problem. I’ll just borrow some money from Mother to lend you so you can make a comeback."

"Big Sister-in-Law, your trust in me..." Zhong Wenjin was so touched that she was about to cry.

The fact that her sister-in-law was willing to invest all her money in her, and even consider prying loose some money from her mother-in-law for her, was deeply touching.

Without exaggeration, this was even better than the way her own mother had treated her in her previous life.

On the surface, Jiang Chun appeared solemn, but in her heart, she was secretly delighted.

Second Sister-in-Law's cross-border business was a sure bet and there was no way it could fail.

If she hadn't relied on the fact that they were sisters-in-law and had been actively currying favor in the past few days, she wouldn't have had the chance to get on this profitable opportunity.

Now that she had invested all her money in Second Sister-in-Law's business, she could just sit back and wait to collect the profits.

Thinking about how two of the dozen or so shops Zhong Wenjin would own in the future would be her own, she was so excited that she wanted to jump up.

In her excitement, she had two tables of food set up at Liao Ji Restaurant, one for the women and one for Jiang He and Zheng Kun.

She even had someone buy a string of a hundred firecrackers and set it off.

Excusing herself to leave, she came back in with two jars of wine.

Both jars of wine were rewards from daily check-ins, one jar of Jinhua wine for Jiang He and Zheng Kun to drink, and another jar of osmanthus wine for the women.

This was Zhong Wenjin's first time drinking wine from this era, and after taking a sip of the osmanthus wine, she immediately spat it out and turned her head.

Coughing, she said in disbelief, "How can this wine be so bad? Is this really wine? It’s more like aged vinegar with a splash of baijiu!"

Jiang Chun bent over laughing.

Having gone through the same experience, she found it amusing to see others react similarly.

Seeing Zhong Wenjin's reaction, she was reminded of her own first taste of wine, which had also left her questioning life.

While feeling schadenfreude, Jiang Chun didn’t forget to mention to Zhong Wenjin, "The brewing techniques of the Great Zhou dynasty are not great. The wine produced is sour and spicy, just like vinegar mixed with baijiu. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to brew wine. Otherwise, I would definitely improve it so that drinking isn’t like a torture."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wenjin’s eyes darted around.

But she remained silent.

They enjoyed a lavish hotpot banquet at the Jiang residence and took a nap in the room reserved for her by Jiang He. By late afternoon, they were preparing to return home.

They waited at the door for the coachman to fetch the horses. They noticed the western neighbors moving in and out, clearly in the process of moving.

Jiang Chun casually glanced at the gate, and her expression immediately changed.

If she recalled correctly, the characters 'Mu Residence' had hung on the gate of the western neighbors, but now they had been replaced with 'Fan Residence.'

Fan Residence?

The Fan Butcher’s house?

What a ‘coincidence!’

The Cheng family acted swiftly. It wasn’t long after they bought the house that Fan the Butcher moved in as their neighbor.

This is yet another development that didn’t occur in the original story.

After all, the original protagonist didn’t have a check-in system and had a very strained relationship with Song Shian, so she couldn’t afford the 2,000 taels of silver needed to buy a house for Jiang He.

Jiang He had been living with the Song family for some time, until Song Shian provided Jiang Chun with a shop to run a butcher business, and Jiang He moved out to live at the shop.

The Cheng family wanted Fan the Butcher to have contact with Jiang Chun, so they set him up with a shop near the Jiang family’s butcher shop in the western market.

Perhaps because in this life, Jiang Chun and Song Shian are a loving couple, unlike the strained relationship in the original story, the Cheng family feared that if they delayed and Jiang Chun had a son, it would complicate matters.

So, they promptly purchased the house adjacent to the Jiang family’s home and had Fan the Butcher move in.

Jiang Chun would say they are overthinking the situation.

When Jiang He asked Song Shian to be a live-in son-in-law, he made it clear that their first child, regardless of gender, would bear the Jiang family name and continue the Jiang family lineage.

Jiang Chun’s second child could take Song Shian’s family name.

Of course, the condition is that Jiang Chun is willing to have another child.

Jiang Chun pursed her lips.

She didn’t spot a "square-faced young man with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a robust build, and a tan complexion" among the people coming and going, so obviously Fan the Butcher wasn’t there.

It wasn’t a problem.

The previous owner of this body liked this type of man, but Jiang Chun didn’t.

In fact, she found it rather repulsive.

She preferred men like Song Shian, who had slit-like eyes and thin lips, a cold and distant gaze, fair skin, a tall and slender figure like a green pine tree, and an aura of scholarly refinement.

To make her tempted, a man would have to be at least ten times more attractive than him.

After all, apart from his good looks, Song Shian’s other qualities were equally impressive. He was also very considerate of her feelings and willing to put in effort to explore different intimate techniques.

So, even if a man ten times more attractive than him stood in front of her, Jiang Chun might not be tempted.

Much less this dark-skinned, muscular brute like Fan the Butcher.

Jiang Chun scoffed, then helped Zhong Wenjin and the others into the carriage before climbing up nimbly herself.

Since he wasn’t here today, she wouldn’t bother with him for now.

But if he later tried to play the same "winning her over with time" game as in the original story, she’d teach him a lesson.

She’d make sure he knew the reputation of the notorious "Night Sea Patrol" wasn’t for nothing.

If he dared to seduce her, he’d be lucky to escape unscathed.

Song Shiying, seeing her sister-in-law frequently lifting the carriage window curtain to look outside, couldn’t help but ask, “Sister-in-law, what are you looking at?”

Jiang Chun dropped the curtain and snorted with a laugh, “I saw a pile of filth.”

Zhong Wenjin, not fully understanding, said matter-of-factly, “Just avoid it and pretend you didn’t see it.”

In ancient times, oxen, horses, and pedestrians shared the roads. Although there were people assigned to clean the streets, the hygiene couldn’t compare to modern times.

Jiang Chun thought, I’d like to avoid it, but this mess is bound to cling to me.

On the surface, she smiled and said, “You’re right, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see it. It’ll be cleared away with a shovel soon enough anyway.”