New update schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday

Amt of chapters to be published this week (cause I missed last week’s upload): Four

Thanks for your patience!

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After seeing Ye Liang off, Jiang Ji entered the west room carrying the copper coins from Ye Liang’s payment.

Twenty catties of soybeans yielded sixty catties of tofu, but only four catties of tofu were sold today. The remaining fifty-six catties were all made into tofu puffs and large skewers, totaling twenty-eight catties.

The selling price was eleven wen per jin, so twenty-eight jin came to three hundred and eight wen.

There were also five jin of steamed buns.

The selling price for the steamed buns to Ye Liang was twenty-seven wen per jin—he had to give Ye Liang a three-wen discount.

Five jin came to one hundred and thirty-five wen.

Adding the two together, he had a total of four hundred and forty-three copper coins in his hand.

What a huge string—it felt heavy in his hands.

He placed the long string of copper coins on the wooden table and said to Ye Li, “Count them. There are four hundred and forty-three wen in total.”

Ye Li was lazily sprawled on the kang, facing away from him with the back of his head. Upon hearing this, he rolled over and said, “Count out sixty wen. I’ll take them with me later.”

“Sixty wen?”

He was a bit surprised and sat down by the edge of the kang: “Does that mean I have to come back once every fifteen days?”

Originally, two eggs a day were worth four wen, so ten days would be forty wen.

Now there were twenty extra wen.

He furrowed his long eyebrows. Could Ye Li be upset?

Around noon, because the sight had been too stimulating—Ye Li wasn’t just fair-skinned, his legs were also shapely, slender, and straight—he’d made him hold a certain pose: doing the splits on a stool, legs spread wide.

The consequence of his indulgence was that Ye Li’s inner thighs now ached, and he nearly walked with a bow-legged gait.

But he was the one who caused this.

It’s his fault.

Definitely his fault.

Ye Li has every right to be angry.

Before Ye Li could say a word, he pressed both hands against the small of her thighs: “Want me to massage it for you? We won’t do that pose again—just this once.”

“……”

Ye Li rolled his eyes and lifted his foot to give him a light kick on the shoulder: “What are you thinking! The extra twenty wen is your heat allowance!”

“It’s so hot out. What if you wanted to buy some tea too? You can’t go around with no money.”

As for the position from earlier that day.

Ahem, it wasn’t just Jiang Ji who enjoyed it.

He loved it too.

Ye Li’s explanation instantly put Jiang Ji at ease. He grabbed Ye Li’s ankle and shook his head. “No need. There’s cold water in the kitchen—drink as much as you like.”

“Besides, you’re the one who deserves the heat allowance. Standing over a pot of hot oil frying things in this sweltering heat—you’re working much harder than I am.”

Although Ye Li used a pair of long chopsticks, his hands didn’t get too close to the hot oil while frying.

But when it comes to frying, you can’t stay too far from the stove.

Ye Li was working much harder than he was.

With that thought, he leaned down, lay on his side on the kang, reached out with his long arm, and pulled Ye Li into his embrace. He kissed her lips. “Save it. The three of us have too many expenses.”

Ye Li snorted and gave him a symbolic shove in the chest. “I get to drink well water every day at home. How can you compare to me?”

“If I tell you to take it, just take it. Consider it a reward for being so grateful.”

“Hurry up and thank Master Ye Li for his generosity!”

Jiang Ji: “……”

He was at a loss for words, but he also wanted to laugh.

His slender fingers tapped Ye Li’s pert little nose, and he obediently said, “This humble servant thanks Lord Ye Li for his generosity.”

As soon as he finished speaking, their eyes met, and they both burst into laughter.

Just then, the voices of Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya came from outside; they had returned from gathering firewood.

Jiang Ji planted a firm kiss on Ye Li’s lips, then sat up and said, “Why don’t I cook dinner first? Can we eat before I leave?”

Summer days are long, and the city gates close later.

Ye Li, naturally reluctant to part with him, nodded. “Alright.”

Dinner was easy to prepare: just reheat the leftover fish soup from lunch, warm up some flatbreads, and slice a cucumber—and the meal was ready.

Still, no matter how much they delayed, the time to leave would eventually come.

After dinner, Jiang Ji picked up his backpack, bid farewell to Ye Li, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya, and left the house with a heavy heart.

To be honest, after all these days since he’d arrived, Ye Li had grown somewhat accustomed to Jiang Ji leaving like this.

Still, as he watched Jiang Ji’s slender figure gradually fade from view, he felt as though a piece of his heart had been torn away.

It was a painful feeling.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On the third day after Jiang Ji returned to the private school, Jiang Dahu pushed a handcart to the school to deliver provisions for Jiang Ji.

The private school collected provisions once every three months; if students failed to pay, they would not be allowed to eat in the school kitchen.

Considering that some students lived far away, a three-day grace period was granted.

Jiang Dahu had been busy harvesting wheat and only found time today to go to the school to deliver the provisions.

Before leaving, he specifically came over to ask Ye Li if he wanted to go along.

Generally speaking, Ye Li had nothing to do in the mornings.

Today, Ye Li indeed had nothing to do.

But according to Jiang Dahu’s habit, after delivering the grain, he would wait for Jiang Ji to finish class so they could chat for a while.

Waiting at the private school’s entrance in the middle of the day.

With Jiang Dahu right there, he couldn’t really have any private conversations.

So, when Jiang Ji returned from the private school the day before, and he asked if he wanted to go with Jiang Dahu to deliver the grain, he shook his head and declined.

Actually, Jiang Ji didn’t want him to make the trip either—in this sweltering heat, having to walk all the way through the county town would be too much of a hardship.

So, Jiang Dahu went to the private school alone to deliver the grain.

When Jiang Dahu left, Ye Li gave him a small cloth bag containing three neatly shaped rice balls.

Usually at this time, Liang Erxiang would make a few flatbreads for Jiang Dahu to take along.

Now that he had this fulang, he decided to try something new.

Jiang Dahu pushed the handcart for an hour before reaching the private school. He asked the gatekeeper to announce his arrival, and soon two cooks came out to help him carry the two sacks of corn into the kitchen.

Weighing, registration, and fingerprinting.

Afterward, he left the private school and waited by the main gate. When the bell signaling the end of class rang, he quickly craned his neck to peer inside.

Before long, Jiang Ji emerged.

He held a bowl in one hand and clutched four vegetable dumplings in the other.

When Jiang Dahu got closer and took a look, he saw that the bowl didn’t contain the usual thin, clear porridge that was so transparent you could see your reflection, but rather a thick, dark paste.

Jiang Dahu was surprised. “What is this?”

Jiang Ji explained, “This is walnut and black sesame powder that Ye Li ground for me. It adds a nice aroma to the porridge. Second Uncle, you should drink it up. Finish it and then head back.”

Usually, when Jiang Dahu came to deliver grain, he would get a meal from the kitchen for Jiang Dahu to eat before leaving.

It was such a long journey; he couldn’t possibly go back on an empty stomach.

As for his own meals, he could drink as much thin porridge as he wanted from the kitchen, and Liang Erxiang would also prepare some flatbreads for him.

Jiang Dahu didn’t hesitate—he was indeed thirsty.

Besides, this was Jiang Ji showing his filial piety!

He took the bowl and handed the small cloth bundle containing the rice balls to Jiang Ji: “Eat up. Li-ger said not to leave them out too long, or they’ll go bad.”

Jiang Ji opened the cloth bundle and was somewhat surprised by the appearance of the rice balls.

However, he quickly cheered up.

Although Ye Li hadn’t come in person, he had still gone to the trouble of preparing them for him!

He handed one rice ball to Jiang Dahu, held the remaining two in his hands, and was just about to dig in when a familiar voice called out from nearby: “Jiang Ji!”

He looked over and saw Bao Beiyuan pushing a handcart toward them.

He smiled. It was a lively day.

Clutching the rice balls, he walked over to Bao Beiyuan. “What brings you here? How’s business been these past few days?”

“I figured Second Uncle would be coming by today to deliver the grain, so I made a special trip to ask him to pass a message to Brother Li, so he wouldn’t worry.”

Bao Beiyuan parked the handcart under the shade of a tree, wiped the sweat from his face with his hand, and explained, “I’ve been too busy. I didn’t have time to go to Yezaopo, so I ha to ask Uncle to pass on the message.”

“Come on, you and Uncle, have a bowl of tea.”

He’d brought a bowl with him specifically to pour drinks for Jiang Ji and Jiang Dahu.

Jiang Ji didn’t stand on ceremony; he shoved a rice ball into Bao Beiyuan’s hand and asked, “Business going well?”

At that, Bao Beiyuan immediately broke into a wide grin. “Great—absolutely great! I’ve been lucky, too.”

That day at his stall, he’d landed a big order from Chen Sheng.

The Chen family was large, and the drinks he’d prepared that day weren’t enough. The Chens hadn’t had their fill, so they told him to come back the next day.

As it turned out, when he delivered drinks to the Chen household the next day, two of Chen Sheng’s friends were there, so he landed two more orders.

Chen Sheng’s two friends were also well-off.

Now, every day he makes the rounds to these three households first, then stops by the jelly shop, and he can usually sell out the day’s supply.

The jasmine honey tea is just to make up the numbers—one clay pot a day.

His main product, the soy milk rice dumplings, sold seventy bundles yesterday!

Today he prepared eighty bundles. With a net profit of two wen and five li per bundle, if he sold them all, he’d make two hundred wen!

Add in the profits from the condiments and the jasmine honey tea, and he could earn around another sixty or so wen a day!

He splits the profits eighty-twenty with Ye Li, so he’d get two hundred and ten wen.

That’s way too much.

It really is too much.

If he keeps this up, he’ll make six taels a month!

Yet Ye Li only gets six or seven hundred wen—that’s a whole zero’s difference!

That’s why he came over today. It wasn’t just to ask Jiang Dahu to pass a message to Ye Li to put his mind at ease. He also plans to adjust the profit-sharing ratio.

It should be a 30-70 split.

Otherwise, this money would be too hot to handle for him!

After hearing Bao Beiyuan’s words, Jiang Ji simply said, “Then you’ll have to talk to Ye Li when you have a chance. This is his business; my word doesn’t carry any weight.”

Hearing this, Bao Beiyuan’s eyes widened: “You don’t run the household?”

“Right now, he’s the one supporting my education; he’s the head of the household.”

Jiang Ji said with a smile.

Bao Beiyuan looked at his smile and immediately scowled with disdain, letting out a “Ugh”: “Look how happy you are! You’re not holding your ground as a husband.”

“We’re all family. As long as the Fulang can stand his ground, that’s enough. Anyway, go talk to Ye Li about this—I can’t make the decision.”

As he spoke, Jiang Ji popped the last bit of rice ball into his mouth.

The rice ball was filled with egg, shredded cucumber, and shredded tofu puffs, all topped with Ye Li’s special sauce.

Delicious!

Seeing him so delighted, Bao Beiyuan turned to Jiang Dahu: “Uncle, could you please pass a message to Brother Li for me? He came up with this recipe—how could I possibly take all the credit?”

Jiang Dahu was already stunned by the profits Bao Beiyuan had mentioned.

Six taels of silver a month!

He couldn’t believe it—he really couldn’t believe it.

He never imagined a single drink could earn so much money!

From now on, he wouldn’t be able to hold his head high in front of Ye Li; his nephew-in-law was simply too capable.

He nodded several times. “I’ll talk to him as soon as I get home.”

“Oh, thank you, Second Uncle,” Bao Beiyuan said gratefully.

He didn’t linger. It was sweltering out; if he stayed any longer, not only would the ice in the drink melt completely, but the coolness would vanish too.

He pushed his handcart and hurried off.

Jiang Dahu didn’t want to disturb Jiang Ji’s afternoon nap either. After finishing his cornbread and porridge, he wiped his mouth and pushed his handcart home.

Passing through the county town, he arrived home to find Ye Li frying tofu puffs.

He relayed Bao Beiyuan’s message to Ye Li, who was quite pleased—from now on, he could earn money without leaving the house.

With the income from the drinks, his financial situation had eased considerably!

However, he felt a bit awkward about the 30-70 split.

In this sweltering heat, buying goat’s milk, tea leaves, and ice; grinding glutinous rice and soybeans into flour; cooking the seasonings; and finally pushing the unicycle through the streets—Bao Beiyuan was doing all this work alone.

Let’s stick with an 80-20 split.

Time flows like water, passing silently. A few days later, the day of Ye Wen’s wedding arrived.

Early that morning, Jiang Tong arrived at the Jiang household with his oxcart.

Ye Li loaded the thirty pounds of tofu puffs he’d fried the day before onto the oxcart; these would be served at the midday banquet as a meat dish.

The Ye family was not well-off, so for today’s wedding banquet, Ye Daji had only bought a single slab of pork. Since the meat was scarce, he planned to use the tofu puffs to make up for it.

In terms of value, the tofu puffs were actually on par with the meat.

He had also prepared a basket of eggs and a bolt of cotton cloth as his wedding gift for the newlyweds.

By rural standards, this was a very generous gift.

The two little ones, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, had changed into clean clothes and had their hair neatly combed. As soon as Ye Li locked the courtyard gate, they hurried onto the ox cart.

Both were a bit excited—today was the banquet!

The oxcart jolted along the road, passing through the county town and traveling another ten or so li before finally arriving at the Ye family home.

According to custom, weddings held at this time of year were traditionally followed by a banquet at dusk.

But since Ye Wen’s wedding, Ye Li had already suspended business for two days; if he couldn’t return tonight, he wouldn’t be able to conduct business tomorrow either.

If that happened, not only would he lose three days’ income, but the Ye family would as well.

Combined, this loss would exceed one tael—who could bear to let that happen?

Ye Daji spoke with his in-laws and moved the banquet to noon.

Consequently, when Ye Li and the others arrived, the Ye household was bustling with activity.

Ye Wen had already carried the bride back.

Villagers in the courtyard were preparing the feast.

Ye Li handed the tofu puffs to the cook, gave the eggs, cotton cloth, and a hundred wens as a gift to Father Ye, and then led Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya into the bridal chamber to see the Fulang.

The second brother’s husband was named Tang Yu. He had a rather delicate appearance and seemed quite sharp-witted. As soon as he saw Ye Li, he warmly called him “Brother Li” and invited him to sit down.

Ye Li pulled out the pumpkin seeds he carried with him and actually sat down to chat with his second brother-in-law.

He had no intention of going out to the courtyard to help; they were here today to eat at the banquet, not to work as laborers.

Ye Li played the role of the idle master, and neither the Ye family nor the villagers who had come to watch the festivities thought anything of it. His former self had always been lazy, and now that Ye Li had set up this money-making business, if he didn’t take a break, who else had the right to?

Dinner was served soon after.

Today’s spread wasn’t particularly meager. In addition to two meat dishes made with pork, each table had a whole fish and a bowl of stir-fried chicken.

Two months ago, the Ye family couldn’t even afford a proper meal for dinner.

That they could now set such a table had already exceeded everyone’s expectations.

As the honored guest—Ye Li was the most capable member of the entire Ye family at present—he was assigned by his father to serve as an escort, dining in the bridal chamber alongside the fulang’s maternal relatives.

Their table was even more lavish, featuring two bowls of succulent pork belly.

Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were so delighted they were practically dripping with grease.

Once they were full, Ye Li got up, led the two little ones onto the oxcart, and headed home.

But after entering the county town, the oxcart turned off the main street into a narrow alley.

They planned to make a stop at the private school.

Ye Daji, thinking of his fine son-in-law, had specially set aside a bowl of braised pork and four white flour buns for Jiang Ji.

Ye Li had also made a new dish these past few days: shredded pork floss.

He brought it along today, intending for Jiang Ji to have a little meat with every meal.

Jiang Ji knew that Ye Wen was getting married today.

But he hadn’t expected Ye Li to bring the two little ones along, so he was absolutely delighted. As soon as they stepped out of the private school’s gate, he scooped up Jiang Ya and Jiang Mai, kissing each of them in turn.

The two little ones’ faces flushed bright red as they swarmed around him, chattering away about the day’s events.

They were too young to realize that their older brother’s thoughts had already turned to their new uncle.

Jiang Tong noticed this. He scratched his head and stepped aside to let the family of four have a private chat.

But how could there be any private conversation in front of the two little ones?

Ye Li stuffed some braised pork and white flour buns into Jiang Ji’s hands, urging him to eat first.

Jiang Ji tore open a bun, stuffed two slices of braised pork inside, and then handed it to Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya.

Distracted by the food, the two little ones slowly moved away from the oxcart, curiously eyeing the private school’s gate and the passersby.

Jiang Ji stood by the oxcart, staring intently at Ye Li’s face. As he munched on his bun, he asked, “What do you think of Second Brother’s wife?”

“He’s quite good. And he must really like Second Brother—he blushed the moment he saw him.” Ye Li said.

He had spent the day chatting in the new room, partly to gauge his second brother-in-law’s character.

Judging by today, there was nothing to fault.

“That’s good,” Jiang Ji nodded. “With a new addition to the family, Father will have some help and can rest more often.”

Liu Yi was now focused on the tofu puff business, so most of the household chores had fallen on Father Ye.

“By the way, what do you think about what Bao Beiyuan mentioned last time?” he asked again.

“A 30-70 split is too risky; let’s go with 20-80,” Ye Li said.

But to his surprise, Jiang Ji replied, “Hmm… Although Bao Beiyuan is currently on his own, he doesn’t place much value on money. So, let’s stick with the 30-70 split.”

Ye Li was a bit puzzled. “You’re in favor of a 30-70 split?”

“I am. So I’m here to whisper in your ear.”

Jiang Ji spoke as he raised a finger to his own face. “Will Master Ye give this humble servant some face?”

That single remark instantly made Ye Li chuckle. “Master Ye is easily swayed; I can’t resist your sweet-talking.”

“But tell me, why do you agree to this split?”

Jiang Ji looked at his smiling face and smiled back, his narrow, elongated eyes sparkling: “He came to see me again yesterday and said he likes being busy now—that way, he doesn’t have time to think about his father.”

“As for money, as long as he has enough to get by, that’s all that matters to him.”

“When I thought of how hard you work every day, I agreed.”

He lowered his voice as he spoke: “Just take it. I can’t repay you with my own person these days, so I can only let this silver soothe the emptiness of your bed.”

Without him, money would suffice.

Now all the household chores rest on Ye Li’s shoulders; heaven knows how anxious he must be.

But he mustn’t rush, mustn’t panic.

He had to stay steady.

Studying was the most important thing.

That was why he wanted Ye Li to take the money.

That extra ten percent—calculated monthly—was no small sum; it could help Ye Li with quite a few things.