Just as they were talking, Aunt Lu came over.

She had a basket slung over her arm, filled with three old pumpkins.

Before Aunt Lu had even left, others brought over vegetables like eggplant, winter melon, loofah, and green peppers.

Although summer vegetables are plentiful, in ancient times, they weren’t nearly as varied as they are today—it was always just those few types. Ye Li’s household consisted of four people: two adults and two children, though one of the adults was often away.

Ye Li wanted Ye Liang to take some of the vegetables home. Ye Liang shook his head and declined.

He still has to carry the tofu puffs and the skewers, and he’s running out of energy.

It’s not like they’re anything valuable; Ye Li can just save them to eat later. Besides, he often comes over to scrounge a meal anyway.

Today, Gong Lisheng bought a watermelon; tomorrow, he can buy some meat. Since Ye Liang wouldn’t take them, Ye Li had no choice but to figure out how to use them up himself.

Since there were no snacks left at home, Ye Li cut the pumpkin into chunks, put them on the small stove to boil, mashed them into a puree once cooked, mixed in glutinous rice flour, and then deep-fried them.

He made quite a few pumpkin balls.

He added only a little maltose, but the pumpkin itself was sweet enough, so the balls turned out crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—soft, chewy, and sweet—and were quite delicious.

Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya liked them quite a bit; the two of them skewered them with chopsticks and ate them like candied hawthorn on a stick—they still had vivid memories of the tofu puff skewers Ye Li had made for them earlier.

Considering there were no dental clinics at the time, Ye Li didn’t make a sugar syrup to turn the pumpkin dumplings into candy on a stick. This concern was not unfounded.

Because of the fried dough fritters, there was never a shortage of sugar in their home.

Dough fritters, jasmine honey tea, congee, and sweet snacks all required sugar, and he was genuinely worried that eating sugar too frequently would cause dental problems for the two little ones.

Jiang Ji brought a bowl of pumpkin dumplings to Jiang Dahu’s family, and Ye Li had fried a large basinful—enough to last them three to five days. When he returned, he was carrying three strings of coins.

He placed the copper coins—weighing over twenty jin—in the west room, then went into the kitchen. Ye Li had already prepared dinner: stir-fried pork with watermelon rind, and the dumplings that hadn’t been cooked at noon.

Watermelon rind is actually a delicious dish. Using the leftover rind from today’s watermelon, Ye Li had peeled off the outer skin and any bite marks, cut it into strips, and stir-fried it in the wok with the pork Bao Beiyuan had brought. When it came out of the pan, it looked almost exactly like winter melon.

But when eaten, it was crisp with a hint of sweetness—quite delicious.

The two little ones had just eaten quite a few pumpkin meatballs, so they were full after just a few bites of the stir-fried pork with watermelon rind and a couple of dumplings. But instead of going to wash up, they stared longingly at Ye Li.

The two of them already knew that tomorrow their older brother and Li-ge were going to the county town, and they wanted to go too…

“Xiao Mai and Ya-ger, be good. We have important business in the county town this time. Once your eldest brother finishes his provincial exam, we’ll all go to the county town together to have some fun.”

Ye Li promised with a smile.

“Really?” Jiang Ya asked, his eyes wide.

“Of course, Ya-ger. Do you know the story of Zengzi slaughtering the pig?” Ye Li asked. Jiang Ya shook his little head: “No.”

Jiang Ji cast a calm glance at Ye Li, then continued eating.

Ye Li patiently explained the story of Zengzi Slaughtering the Pig to earn Jiang Ya’s trust.

After finishing his explanation, he added, “Xiao Ya-ger, don’t worry. If your brother passes the provincial exam, we’ll go celebrate. If he doesn’t, we’ll go take our minds off things. Either way, we’re definitely going to the county town to have some fun.”

Jiang Ji: “……” 

Jiang Mai: “……”

But Jiang Ya was overjoyed. Being young, he didn’t understand superstitions or omens; he was just thrilled that the whole family would be going to the county town together.

He patted the table with his little hand. “It’s settled then! Li-ge, Zengzi’s going to slaughter a pig!”

Ye Li burst out laughing and nodded. “Alright!”

Having achieved his goal, Jiang Ya felt relieved. He dragged Jiang Mai off to wash up.

Tonight, he and his second-oldest brother had only drunk half a bowl of dumpling water—there was no way he’d wet the bed! Jiang Ji finished his meal quickly and grabbed some mugwort to fumigate the room.

After tidying up the kitchen, Ye Li entered the west room and immediately spotted the three strings of coins on the table. He was a bit surprised.

That much?

Jiang Ji was still burning mugwort in the east room. Just as Ye Li was about to go over and ask for clarification, the two little ones, fresh from their bath, bounded into the main hall.

So Ye Li grabbed a change of clothes and went to take a bath first.

By the time he finished bathing, Jiang Ji had already put Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya to sleep. He returned to his room to wait.

In his previous life, he would have definitely made a shopping list for the next day. But now, he could only commit it to memory.

Before long, Jiang Ji pushed open the door and walked in.

Ye Li glanced at him, but this time he wasn’t admiring his good looks; instead, he pointed at the copper coins on the table and asked, “What are you carrying all this money for?”

Jiang Ji casually bolted the door and replied, “For the exam.” 

“For the exam?” Ye Li was surprised.

He really didn’t know much about this sort of thing.

Jiang Ji pulled over a high stool, sat down in front of the kang, and explained, “It costs money to register for the provincial exam and to find a scholar to act as a guarantor.” 

“…How much?”

Ye Li asked.

This was a gap in his knowledge.

He only knew that in the ancient imperial examinations, to prevent cheating, candidates were required to sign each other’s papers as guarantors—typically five people, each verifying the authenticity of the others’ information.

Additionally, they had to find a Linsheng to vouch for them.

A “Linsheng” was one of the top-ranking “Xiucai”; not only did they study at the county academy for free, but the imperial court also provided them with grain and silver every year. He only understood the general idea and didn’t know the specifics.

At the time, his original self had resented Jiang Ji for spending so much money; he was too preoccupied with his anger to ask for specifics. Therefore, he genuinely had no idea at that moment that it would cost so much.

Seeing that Ye Li seemed genuinely unaware, Jiang Ji grew suspicious. He appeared to know so much—how could he not know these things? But he refrained from making any assumptions.

He simply explained patiently, “One session of the preliminary exam costs sixty wen; two sessions of the provincial exam amount to one hundred and twenty wen. Additionally, you’ll need two state-sponsored scholars to act as guarantors. You must find them yourself; this is called ‘recognizing a guarantor.’”

“The authorities will also forcibly assign a scholar to act as a guarantor; this is called ‘assigned sponsorship,’ and the specific person is determined after the prefectural examination.”

“Since the scholars bear the risk and must accompany the candidates to the Prefectural Capital to act as guarantors, all expenses are borne by the five of us Tongshengs.” 

“For the two Tongsheng, aside from one guan each as a service fee, the additional travel, lodging, and food costs are shared equally among the five of us.”

“I don’t need to worry about finding people; Master Han will step in to help. I just need to hand the silver over to him. Since I had to pay fees for the private school anyway, I decided to bring it all back with me.”

After hearing this, Ye Li immediately asked, “So, the registration fee is 120 wen. And the service fees for the two guarantors total 2,000 wen?” Jiang Ji nodded. “That’s right. As for the specific costs of travel, lodging, and meals, during the last prefectural examination, I spent a total of 14 taels.”

“Including the registration fee and the two scholars’ fees, the total expense came to just over sixteen taels.” 

“…That little? Didn’t you stay in the Prefectural Capital for over a month last time?”

Ye Li asked.

A smile spread across Jiang Ji’s face as he replied, “Master Han has an old mansion in the Prefectural Capital. We only need to pay the standard rent to stay there, plus a little for meals—the old servants in the house take care of the cooking, so it doesn’t cost much.”

As the provincial exam approached, lodging costs in the Prefectural Capital would skyrocket.

Fortunately, Master Han was kind-hearted, and since the rent was split among the five of them, it was still manageable. Most of the money went toward food.

He himself could eat cornbread for every meal, but the two guarantors certainly couldn’t be fed cornbread every day. If he offended them and they failed the exam, how could he ever find someone to vouch for him again?

Consequently, food expenses were the biggest expense.

Otherwise, he could have kept the expenses for this trip to the Prefectural Capital down to ten taels. After hearing his explanation, Ye Li felt a pang of sympathy.

He was poor at home but had to live lavishly on the road—especially for such an important exam—yet he ended up eating cornbread every day. Fortunately, he was there this time.

No matter what, he had to make sure Jiang Ji traveled in comfort this time.

No matter the outcome, he couldn’t let him suffer through the journey again.

However, he pointed to the three strings of coins and asked, “So, you need to pay 2,120 wen to attend the private school this time. But you brought back three strings of coins—what are you going to do with all that?”

“…We’re going shopping tomorrow. I can’t always have you footing the bill.”

Jiang Ji answered honestly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Li immediately raised his hand and gave his shoulder a light thump: “Jiang Ji, didn’t we put last night’s incident behind us? Why are you doing this again?” 

“Are you deliberately playing the victim to coax me into spilling everything?”

That accusation was a bit harsh.

Jiang Ji immediately shook his head in denial: “I didn’t!”

“Say it again? Do you dare swear to it?” Ye Li said, his face stern.

“…The first part, yes. The second part, absolutely not!”

Jiang Ji backtracked.

“See, see.” Ye Li couldn’t help but punch him again. “I told you to let it go. If you keep this up, I’m really going to get angry.”

Jiang Ji: “……” He felt a bit defeated.

His straight shoulders slumped.

Seeing Ye Li still glaring at him, he sighed inwardly, rose from the high stool, and with a long arm reached out to pull Ye Li into his embrace. Then he fell back onto the kang.

The two lay facing each other.

But Ye Li didn’t stop glaring just because his posture had changed. Jiang Ji quietly held Ye Li’s gaze.

The longer he looked, the more adorable Ye Li seemed to him. Of course, what was even more precious was Ye Li’s heart. He smiled: “Alright, let’s truly put this behind us.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Li rolled his eyes at him, then turned and pointed to the money on the table. “To punish you, I’m confiscating the remaining few hundred wen.” 

“Fine!” Jiang Ji replied without hesitation.

He had been planning to spend that money on Ye Li anyway.

Ye Li turned around and, seeing the look of delight on his face, snorted, “Tomorrow I’ll buy some fabric and make you another robe so you’ll have a spare.”

“No need! I’ll just wear a new one for the exam. This one doesn’t have any patches, so I can wear it on the road or at home.”

Jiang Ji hurriedly said.

“Then make new clothes for Xiao Mai and Ya-ger. I think both of their outfits are way too worn out.”

Ye Li changed his mind.

This time, Jiang Ji didn’t shake his head. After thinking it over, he agreed, “All right.”

Xiao Mai had picked up his old clothes.

Ya-ger wore Xiao Mai’s hand-me-downs.

It really was three years of new clothes, three years of old clothes, and another three years of mending and patching.

Xiao Mai had worn new clothes before, but Ya-ger hadn’t been so lucky. Now that things were going better at home, it was time to make a new outfit.

Seeing that Jiang Ji had agreed, Ye Li asked about other matters. What else needed to be prepared for the trip to the Prefectural Capital?

Jiang Ji shook his head.

The Prefectural Capital isn’t far from Beiyang County—it’s a three-day journey in total.

The weather in autumn is quite pleasant. He’ll just pack two sets of bedding and some clothes into a burlap sack, put the books and writing supplies in a trunk, and then he can hop on the carriage and be on his way. There’s nothing else he needed to prepare.

After hearing his words, Ye Li’s brows furrowed so tightly they could have crushed a mosquito. Yet he couldn’t find fault with his reasoning.

A burlap sack was like a suitcase, and a book chest was like a backpack. In his previous life, when he went off to school, he’d traveled just like that. Imagining Jiang Ji with a burlap sack slung over one shoulder and a book chest in the other hand, he raised his hand and tapped his forehead.

Oh well.

He’d better give Jiang Ji some extra money.

After they’d settled the important matters, it was already late. With nothing else to do, they blew out the oil lamp and went to sleep.

The next day, after pressing the tofu, the two put on their straw hats, climbed onto Jiang Tong’s oxcart, and set off bumpily toward the county town. On the oxcart, next to Ye Li, sat a large backpack.

Inside the basket were six strings of copper coins.

One guan weighs a little over eight jin, so these six guan amounted to nearly fifty jin.

Jiang Ji was a bit puzzled—no, he was actually afraid—and stared at the basket over and over again: “What on earth are you planning to buy?” Was he going to spend a fortune on him?

Ye Li held a palm-leaf fan, noticed his expression, and found it somewhat amusing. She tapped him with the fan and said, “Don’t overthink it. I’m going to the money house to exchange these copper coins for silver notes.”

The Great Xia banknotes came in a variety of denominations.

There were notes for one guan, two guan, and five guan. Of course, there were also notes for a hundred taels.

He didn’t have a hundred taels of silver.

But he did have five guan.

“Silver notes?” Jiang Ji asked in surprise.

“Yes, a promissory note is light and easy to carry. When the time comes, slip it into the lining of the clothes I’ll have made for you. This is your last resort. Even if you lose all your other money, you’ll still be able to return to Beiyang County.”

“…I won’t lose it. I’m not a child. Besides, I’ve already been to the Prefectural Capital once.”

Jiang Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But his heart felt incredibly warm. Ye Li really cared about him too much.

“Just take it. It’s better to be safe than sorry—it’s always good to be prepared. Besides, you can’t be eating steamed corn buns every day this time of year. You know as well as I do that our family has plenty of ways to make money now. With the fermented eggs, my monthly cut will be several taels.” When they first drew up the agreement, they’d stipulated that he’d take a 10% cut no matter how much the villagers sold.

Judging by the villagers’ enthusiasm yesterday, the production of preserved eggs would at least double in the future. That meant his commission would also double from 1,900 wen.

And that was just the minimum; in reality, his cut would be even higher. Jiang Ji couldn’t refute Ye Li’s words.

He said nothing more, but resolved in his heart that for this final month, he would not return home.

He would devote himself entirely to his studies!

What good is repaying him with his body? Academic success is the best repayment.

After entering the city, the two headed straight for the money exchange.

At the money exchange, Ye Li paid a ten-wen processing fee and exchanged five strings of copper coins for a five-guan silver note.

This silver note resembled the ones seen in TV dramas. After leaving the money house, he stared at the note, running his fingers over it again and again, then holding it up to the sunlight. He marveled at the anti-counterfeiting techniques of the ancients, then tucked the note away and went with Jiang Ji to the fabric shop to buy cloth and to the vegetable market to buy meat.

After all that hustle and bustle, by the time they had made their way to the noodle shop, asking around along the way, the sun was already high in the sky. The noodle shop was open.

Gong Lisheng and Chen Cuihua were sitting inside the shop, peeling garlic to prepare a garlic paste.

When the couple spotted Ye Li and Jiang Ji, they warmly invited them inside. Chen Cuihua brought out a few pieces of mung bean cake and went to wash a few apples.

However, most of the apples were still green and no bigger than Jiang Ya’s fist.

As soon as Ye Li saw them—even before he could smell them—his mouth instinctively began to water; he could imagine just how sour those apples would be. He waved his hand and got down to business.

He also briefly recounted the villagers’ discussions from the previous day. Of course, he made it clear that he intended to follow the mass line.

He didn’t have time to sell cold-dressed preserved eggs himself, but for Bao Beiyuan’s sake—and since Gong Lisheng was a decent man—his family would continue to supply preserved eggs to the noodle shop.

After hearing his words, Gong Lisheng and Chen Cuihua exchanged a glance, both furrowing their brows. But they had long anticipated the villagers’ demand for a higher price.

The price Gong Lisheng had quoted the day before was merely a test of the waters; if the villagers didn’t agree, they could always negotiate further.

Still, the exact amount…

Gong Lisheng tentatively asked, “What if I add another fifty wen?” One hundred and fifty wen became two hundred wen.

For every 500 preserved eggs he sold, his total profit was 500 wen. Now, by offering up 200 wen, he felt he was showing considerable goodwill. Could it be that they wanted to split the 500 wen evenly?

Upon hearing this figure, Ye Li smiled and said, “Brother Sheng, actually, I have an idea.”   

“Go ahead,” Gong Lisheng replied eagerly.

Chen Cuihua also stared at him, looking slightly nervous.

Ye Li didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “How about we base the payment on the number of preserved eggs sold? If you and your wife can guarantee selling three hundred portions a day, how about we split the profits fifty-fifty?”

“Three hundred a day?”

Gong Lisheng and Chen Cuihua were taken aback.

“That’s right, three hundred eggs a day. That’s a profit of six hundred wen. Split fifty-fifty, that’s three hundred wen. Three hundred wen a day adds up to nearly ten taels of silver a month.”

That’s no small sum!

This was the plan he’d decided on after discussing it with Jiang Ji last night.

The villagers of Yezaopo were his fellow countrymen; they were on the same side as him. As for Gong Lisheng, he didn’t want to fall out with him either.

After all, the man wasn’t playing dumb, and he was buying watermelons in bulk. He was, without a doubt, a down-to-earth working man.

Furthermore, there was Bao Beiyuan in the middle.

So, he and Jiang Ji struck a compromise: they’d split the profits evenly, ensuring he didn’t show favoritism to anyone. As a result, it was Gong Lisheng who bore the brunt of it.

But the money to be made was no small sum.

As for the villagers, they wouldn’t have to worry every day about losing money or rack their brains to maximize their profits.

Gong Lisheng was stunned by the figure of ten taels. Without a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Do you have that many preserved eggs to sell?” 

“If you can’t sell them all, we’ll settle for one hundred wen. After all, it’s you and your wife who put in the hard work,”

Ye Li said.

“Hmm… Alright.”

Gong Lisheng didn’t hesitate much and quickly nodded. Originally, he had expected to give up two hundred wen. His bottom line was to give up half.

Of course, if the villagers of Yezaopo held their ground, there was always room for further negotiation. Sigh, what can you do?

There were no customers for the cold noodles right now.

As long as there was money to be made from preserved eggs, he’d definitely go for it. It was better than sitting around doing nothing, no matter what.

He wasn’t Bao Beixing! He wasn’t lazy!

The price Ye Li was offering now was acceptable to him.

Gong Lisheng agreed, and once the business was settled, Ye Li and Jiang Ji didn’t linger. Besides, customers had already started coming in to buy the cold-served preserved eggs.

Yesterday, Gong Lisheng brought back over four thousand preserved eggs—Jiang Tong alone had nearly two thousand, and Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu had over a thousand each. With so many preserved eggs, the initial investment was quite high.

Of course, what attracted Gong Lisheng and his wife even more was the profit margin. Eager to turn a profit, they didn’t keep Ye Li and Jiang Ji around for long.

Chen Cuihua cut a large piece of cold noodles for Ye Li to take with him.

Chen Cuihua had prepared the noodles early that morning. Since business was slow most days, she didn’t make much of it, so with a single cut of her knife, she gave Ye Li a third of the block.

No matter how much Ye Li protested, she insisted on not taking any money.

Ye Li had no choice but to put the noodles into his backpack. He and Jiang Ji climbed onto the oxcart; the two didn’t linger any longer but headed straight out of the city and home. Ye Li had already prepared the walnuts and black sesame seeds earlier, so there was no need to buy any today.

As for the shredded pork, which required fresh meat, he would make it tomorrow when Jiang Ji returned to the private school.