What’s the most important thing in winter?

If Ye Li were to answer,  it would be just one word: warmth!

The windows in the newly built house opened inward, so no matter how strong the wind blew outside, it didn’t affect the bedroom. The stove opening for the kang was also in the bedroom;  every time the kang was heated, not only did the kang get hot,  but the bedroom was also filled with warmth.

The bedroom was small, so it retained heat well.

The warmth lingers for a long time.

Although the overall effect doesn’t quite match that of central heating, compared to the bitter cold outside, Ye Li is more than satisfied. However, in addition to a warm indoor environment, Ye Li has one more request: unlimited hot water.

Although Ye Li’s father always had hot water ready for him when he woke up each morning, the days were so long that he always needed hot water at some point—whether to make a hot drink or wash his hands, for example. How could he manage without it?

To have hot water whenever he wanted, given his current circumstances, meant buying coal.

After paying off his debt,  he asked Jiang Tong to accompany him to the county town to buy coal the very next day.

Coal was more expensive than firewood. A dan of firewood—weighing 100 jin—could only fetch a dozen or so wen; in winter, it would fetch twenty wen or more. But a single jin of coal cost three wen!

In those days, coal mining relied entirely on manual labor; output was low, and extraction was difficult. There were no coal mines in the vicinity of Beiyang County, so all the coal had to be transported from elsewhere.

As a result, the price of coal fluctuated year-round between two and three wen. Ordinary commoners simply couldn’t afford to burn it.

But with Ye Li’s current financial resources, even at three wen per jin, he could buy over 300 jin in a single day just from his workshop’s profits! If he burned ten jin a day, his daily earnings would cover a month’s worth of fuel.

Compared to the cost of various foods, this expense is really nothing.

These days, among everyday necessities, the most expensive items are still meat, sugar, rice, flour, and other refined foods. So, with a wave of his hand, he went ahead and bought 300 jin of coal.

After bringing the coal home, he was finally able to enjoy hot water whenever he wanted.

On ordinary days, he would block the stove’s air vent, but not completely, so as not to let the coal go out.

This state of smoldering rather than full combustion saved a lot of coal; he would fill a small iron pot with water, place it on the stove, and let it warm for half an hour, after which he’d have hot water to use.

If he wanted a hot drink, he would simply remove the cover from the air vent.

With the fire blazing, it wouldn’t be long before he could hold a bowl of hot tea or another warm drink in his hands. With that problem solved, Ye Li immediately headed back to the county town to find a carpenter to build some furniture. The new house was empty and bare, making it inconvenient to do anything.

There was nowhere to put the clothes she took off at night, so he had to pile them at the foot of the kang.

The large kang was empty, and there were no props to assist when he and Jiang Ji were together—after all, he couldn’t bring a high stool onto the kang. The small living room also needed a shelf for miscellaneous items.

Right now, his writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, along with other odds and ends, were all piled on the high-legged wooden table by the window, creating quite a mess.

Besides, a high stool is just a stool; it’s not as comfortable as a chair with a long backrest. Now that he sometimes practices calligraphy or reads a couple of pages of travelogues, he needs to have a comfortable chair made.

Also, if Jiang Mai wants to practice calligraphy, he has to come to the small living room. There’s no table in the boy’s room.

He’ll be starting private school next year, and now that the family’s circumstances have improved, they need to buy him a few new sets of clothes. Won’t he need two sets of writing supplies as well?

Items like a wardrobe, bookshelves, and a desk will definitely need to be arranged.

As for Jiang Ya’s room, that can wait a couple of years—he isn’t staying there anyway.

Jiang Tong couldn’t handle such large pieces of furniture himself, and since Ye Li was in a hurry, he had no choice but to find an old carpenter in the county town. The wood didn’t need to be of particularly high quality; these days, most furniture made for ordinary households was crafted from elm, poplar, and the like.

But there were so many pieces to be made—more than ten in total, large and small—that the deposit alone came to over one tael. Once he paid the deposit, a day’s earnings were gone.

But the sooner he bought them, the sooner he could enjoy them—this was money well spent!

As for the puppies, that matter had also been settled.

Qianqian, the nephew of Liang Erxiang’s mother, brought over two three-month-old puppies. He’d bought them in the village next door. When they arrived, Ye Li tried to pay for them, but Liang Erxiang refused to accept the money.

Ye Li didn’t insist; he’d let Liang Erxiang repay the favor in his own way.

Besides, her nephew had been helping with the egg collection for the past half-year. Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu had given him a discount, and because the volume was so high, he’d actually made quite a bit of money over that time.

Both puppies were Chinese native dogs, with earth-yellow fur; they were tiny and skinny, weighing just over five jin. Ye Li named them Wangcai and Shoucai.

The meanings were simple but fitting.

Back then, people kept dogs much more casually than they did pigs or chickens, and most couldn’t bring themselves to feed them grain directly. Since they were local dogs, they were free-range—they just ran around foraging for food or eating scraps.

Although Ye Li had no particular affection for small animals, he was counting on them to grow up and guard the house and yard, so he fed them leftovers or corn and soybean pulp cakes.

Ye Fulang hesitated to speak up about this.

But when he saw Jiang Ya and Jiang Mai cuddling the two puppies, Ye Fulang fell completely silent. After all, he couldn’t very well let the puppies get close to Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya after they’d eaten feces.

And so, Ye Li’s life settled into a routine.

Every day, he slept until he woke up naturally, and after waking up, he went over to the shed to strain the soybean pulp. He made tofu.

After breakfast, he had nothing to do for the rest of the day.

All he had to do was clean his bedroom and the living room; Ye Fulang took care of all the other household chores. After all, Ye Fulang didn’t have much else to do either—like him, he was only in charge of making tofu.

After finishing his chores, Ye Fulang would even pick up a needle and thread to make shoes for Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya. Ye Li had no interest in these tasks, so he simply took turns with Ye Fulang to cook meals.

His father had worked hard his whole life; now that he was staying with him, he certainly couldn’t treat him like a housekeeper.

As for Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya—they were just kids, after all—he had to spoil them, but not spoil them rotten.

So, the two little ones had to help out with some household chores every day. But overall, life was boring.

With the days dragging on and no internet, he had to find ways to pass the time. Sometimes he’d practice calligraphy.

Or play around with Jiang Ya’s hairstyle.

But that didn’t take long, so he’d boil some water to wash the little one’s hair and give him a bath.

This made Jiang Ya absolutely delighted; though he was small, he really loved the feeling of weightlessness as he floated in the bathtub.

After the bath, Ye Li would rub sheep’s fat all over his body, making his little body and face smooth and fair. He’d put on a bit of weight—his cheeks were plump, his little belly was round—and felt wonderful to the touch.

However, citing the custom that “Gers, boys and girls over seven shouldn’t bathe together,” Jiang Mai refused to bathe with Jiang Ya anymore. Back in the summer, the two of them had showered together every day in the little shed.

But after the New Year, Jiang Mai was set to start school, so the little guy began to get particular about such things. Ye Li didn’t say anything about it, though.

Although in his eyes, the little ger was still considered male, in the eyes of the indigenous people, they were indeed two separate genders. If they were a boy and a girl, it would indeed be inappropriate for them to bathe together anymore.

So he boiled hot water just for Jiang Mai, letting him bathe on his own. But there was no need to bathe every day.

He was still bored—so bored he could grow hair.

So in the afternoon, he headed over to the hut to listen to everyone gossip about their daily lives.

Before, he’d always wanted to get rid of the job of frying fried tofu puffs, feeling as though it tied him down like a dog chain. But now that he’d actually been freed from it, he couldn’t help but gravitate back toward the stove on his own.

The crowd’s conversation revolved around matchmaking.

Now that Yezaopo had become a prosperous village known far and wide, eligible bachelors and bachelorettes like Jiang Liu and Jiang Tong were in high demand. However, Jiang Liu’s family was looking for a son-in-law and had high standards; though Yezaopo was wealthy, it wasn’t rich enough to be choosy.

Those down-to-earth, tall, and sturdy young men were all the main breadwinners in their families. If they were to become sons-in-law by marriage, wouldn’t that be like water poured out? Their parents would have raised them for nothing.

Even if those young men were willing to move in, their parents wouldn’t be willing to let them go. Besides, young men like that have no trouble finding a wife, unless their family is particularly poor.

Unfortunately, although Jiang Dahu had asked several matchmakers to keep an eye out, there were still no suitable candidates. Jiang Liu, however, wasn’t in a hurry.

With two sources of income—century eggs and fried tofu puffs—she felt completely confident.

Besides, having witnessed the deep affection between Ye Li and Jiang Ji, she had no intention of settling for less.

Since these topics involved people he knew well, Ye Li listened with great interest. But just chatting was boring.

So he moved the stove over to the shed and had the blacksmith forge an iron grate. That way, when the water wasn’t being heated, everyone could roast bread slices or peanuts on it.

They could also pop a sweet potato or a regular potato into the stove.

Before Jiang Ji went back to school, he had prepared some walnut flour for him and had shared some with Liu Yi and Tang Yu at the time.

Afterward, he made a full ten jin; he sent five jin to Jiang Ji and kept the remaining five jin for his own family to drink. He couldn’t just focus on Jiang Ji—with the elderly and young children at home, they couldn’t be deprived of nutrition.

And, of course, he couldn’t be left out.

He certainly wasn’t going to shortchange his own palate.

He wasn’t the type to keep things all to himself either; aside from Zhao Feng, everyone in the workshop was family.

But Zhao Feng was a decent person—cheerful and hardworking—so whenever he boiled water on the stove to make walnut powder, he’d make a bowl for everyone in the workshop as well.

The walnut and black sesame powder was ground to a fine consistency, and cane sugar was added to it. For everyone who relied on coarse grains as their staple food, it was truly a rare delicacy.

Everyone said it tasted great.

After all the praise, they worked even harder and with greater dedication.

The work was easy, and now that they were “eating and taking home a share,” they’d really be letting Ye Li down if they didn’t give it their all. In Ye Li’s previous life, small companies feared nothing more than nepotism; once relatives started meddling, the company was in danger.

But the employees at his small workshop were all afraid of not having enough work to do; they always felt a bit guilty about earning just thirty wen a day.

Having such conscientious employees was a blessing for Ye Li, so he wasn’t stingy. Since he had nothing better to do anyway, he had Ye Liang buy over a hundred jin of walnuts, rice, and sesame seeds, and they produced thirty jin of walnut powder in one go.

This walnut powder was a treat for everyone.

In the middle of the night, when Jiang Dahu and Jiang Tong were grinding beans, they could mix up a bowl to have for breakfast. In the afternoon, when everyone was frying tofu puffs, they could also mix up a bowl to have as an afternoon snack.

In the dead of winter, drinking a bowl of steaming hot grain porridge would instantly warm them from head to toe, and from body to heart. Besides walnut flour, Ye Li would also prepare other foods.

With the two little ones, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, at home—and now that they had hot water—he no longer resisted doing the washing and cleaning. When he went to the blacksmith’s shop to order a wire mesh, he had a cast-iron griddle made as well.

When he returned, he placed this iron griddle on the stove under the shed.

This stove had been built specifically for frying fried tofu puffs outdoors, but it was now sitting idle. With the iron griddle on top, it could serve its purpose for the time being.

The griddle had many uses—he could fry tofu puffs, make small egg rolls, or bake sesame wafers.

Since making egg cookies required beating the egg mixture—which was too tiring—he opted for simpler versions: small egg rolls and sesame crisps.

Both of these treats are extremely simple to make: just mix the beaten eggs with flour, pour the batter onto the griddle, and you’re done.

These three treats were once again met with unanimous praise from everyone.

Zhao Feng couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: Ye Li really knows how to splurge!

Even for the cheapest tofu, Ye Li used plenty of lard and seasonings—not to mention the pastries made with white flour. When she returned home and told her family about this, the Jiang Fuzheng family couldn’t stop praising Ye Li for her generosity.

When Jiang Fuzheng brought his mule over in the middle of the night to work, he didn’t turn and leave right away as he usually did. He had something important to discuss with Ye Li.

Earlier, Ye Li had let him know the cost of the fried tofu puffs, so he could calculate how much silver he was making each day just from them.

But what Ye Li earned was his to keep. Now that his youngest daughter-in-law was feasting at Ye Li’s place every day, how could he possibly charge the five wen rental fee for the mule?

So he waited and waited—until he and Ye Fulang began straining the soybean pulp, and until Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu came over to help as well—before Ye Li finally got up, slowly and reluctantly.

He didn’t take it personally; after all, he’d seen what “Ye Li” was like when he first married into Yezaopo.

When Ye Li washed his hands and came over to the shed to strain the soybean pulp, he broached the subject of the rent with him. Ye Li froze upon hearing this, and her mind cleared somewhat: “Feasting and drinking?”

“That’s right. The entire family has been feasting here every day. If you were to convert what she’s eaten into copper coins, it would have long exceeded five wen. From now on, the rent for this mule is waived.”

Jiang Fuzheng said earnestly. 

Ye Li: “……” He felt a pang of guilt.

Could iron-plate tofu and little egg rolls really count as feasting?

His little workshop had no holidays, no overtime pay, and no other benefits, yet the workload had doubled since the beginning—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a heartless boss.

Yet Jiang Fuzheng had deliberately waited this long just to waive the mule’s rental fee… What a wonderful clan chief and village head he was!

Surely he’d have to arrange some other benefits now?

Social security is a given, but surely they should hand out some gifts during festivals and holidays? Just as he was mulling this over, Zhang Shi came looking for him again.

It turned out that word of his family’s perks had spread throughout the village via the Jiang Fuzheng family. During the off-season, the villagers couldn’t sit still at home and loved to drop by each other’s houses for a chat.

The Jiang Fuzheng family had shared these little details as conversation starters, and hearing them made Zhang Shi incredibly envious. Earning a high wage while getting free food and drink, and having such light work—how could there be such a good deal in this world! To win over Ye Li, this time Zhang Shi brought along two young roosters.

Ye Li refused to accept them, so he just dropped them and walked away!

It wasn’t that he absolutely needed Ye Li to promise anything—after all, he was asking someone to do him a favor, and he understood the ins and outs of social etiquette. This left Ye Li at a loss—one is bound to be indebted to someone who treats you to a meal, but Ye Li hadn’t even decided yet whether to hire anyone.

But Zhang Shi wasn’t the only one doing this.

Other villagers—like Aunt Lu and Aunt Qiumei—couldn’t resist dropping by either, each bringing gifts of one sort or another: meat, flour, fabric—all sorts of things.

They didn’t expect these small gifts to actually secure them a spot in the workshop; they just wanted to make their presence known so that if Ye Li decided to hire workers, he’d consider them first.

They would never slack off—whatever Ye Li told them to do, they’d do it!

One day, when Ye Liang drove over in his oxcart, Liu Yi was actually sitting in the cart with him.

Business in town had been getting worse and worse. Since Ye Wen was stuck at home with nothing to do, Liu Yi had come along with Ye Liang, leaving all the town’s business in the hands of Ye Wen and Tang Yu.

In fact, Ye Liang and Liu Yi got along extremely well.

Liu Yi was several years younger than Ye Liang. Back then, he had disregarded his mother’s objections and insisted on throwing himself into the Ye family’s quagmire. Because of this, Ye Liang truly loved Liu Yi with all his heart.

But over the past half year or so, the two haven’t spent much time together—making money takes priority.

But now, business in town has dropped by half compared to before—and at times, even by more than half. These days, Liu Yi has started selling fried tofu puffs and century eggs directly.

So Liu Yi thought to himself: rather than staying in town with Tang Yu, why not have Ye Wen go over instead? That way, Ye Wen and Tang Yu could spend more time together, and he and Ye Liang could spend a little more time together as well.

Liu Yi was there purely to keep Ye Liang company. Since Ye Liang would stand by the stove for three full hours at a time, Liu Yi felt sorry for him and wanted to take turns frying with him.

He came three days in a row without mentioning joining the workshop, so Ye Li brought it up on his own. He called Liu Yi into his small parlor to discuss the matter.

It was simply a matter of an extra thirty wen in wages.

As his brother-in-law, he was sure to receive preferential treatment.

But after hearing him out, Liu Yi quickly shook his head: “The workshop has enough staff right now. How could I take a salary for doing nothing?”

“Even though you earn more, if we want the workshop to run smoothly in the long run, I can’t just take pay without doing any work.” 

“Once I set that precedent, don’t you think the others will start getting ideas?”

Ye Li: “……” His heart felt warm. This was his own brother-in-law!

He smiled and said, “Brother Yi, actually, the workshop is short-staffed. Everyone’s workload has doubled since we started. I’m planning to build a new kiln. If you join us, the others will have less work to do.”

But upon hearing this, Liu Yi hesitated and said, “I heard from your older brother that every family in the village wants to join the workshop. If I squeeze in here, won’t that make you fall out with people?”

“You’re my brother-in-law. We’re family—how can that be cutting in line?”

Although he had previously promised to consider the villagers, now that his brother-in-law also had this need, he would definitely prioritize bringing Liu Yi into the workshop. Liu Yi frowned and didn’t give an immediate answer: “I’ll discuss it with your older brother first.”

Ye Li：“……”

Or maybe he should really expand production?

Actually, several small business owners had recently asked to increase their daily order volumes—the current seven or eight jin a day simply wasn’t enough to meet demand! If he doubled that figure, it should be just about right.

But doing so would also significantly boost the workshop’s profits.

Currently, relying on fried tofu puffs, century eggs, and milk tea, his monthly income was already nearing forty taels. If he expanded production, he could easily reach sixty or seventy taels!

That’s nearly a thousand taels a year! That would certainly attract attention.

He originally decided to start the workshop partly to take it easy and partly to make money. At the time, Jiang Ji’s future was uncertain, and his studies required a considerable amount of silver.

The family home was dilapidated and drafty, and he wanted to build a heated room.

On top of that, his food expenses were so high that he dared not eat or drink lavishly—not to mention that he later found out Jiang Ji owed more than eight taels in debt. With expenses popping up everywhere, all he could think about at the time was making money; his mind was completely consumed by it, and he didn’t give much thought to anything else.

Later, Jiang Ji suggested that he start by getting his own family involved to set up the workshop, and he agreed.

As a result, the planned village workshop turned into a small family workshop, with his entire family shouldering all the risks. Now that the money was coming in so rapidly, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

He just wanted to keep a low profile and get by.

But the villagers—including Liu Yi—all wanted to work in the workshop. Moreover, he had plenty of expenses of his own.

Jiang Ji was studying in the county town, and next year Jiang Mai would also be entering a private school; he wanted to buy a small courtyard house there. That way, Jiang Ji could come home every day.

He wouldn’t be so bored; he’d grow moss—living in the county town, he could at least go out and stroll the streets!

But housing prices in Beiyang County weren’t cheap. The county school was in the northeast corner.

The private school, however, was in the south of the city.

He’d have to choose a courtyard located halfway between the two.

By then, Jiang Ya would certainly not want to stay home alone. Therefore, he would need at least three bedrooms.

Add to that a kitchen, a storage room, a cow shed, a well, and so on—this courtyard certainly wouldn’t be small. It also couldn’t be too remote; he’d have to consider whether he’d be able to sell it later.

So, a courtyard like this would cost at least three or four hundred taels.

He wanted to buy it sooner, but at his current income, it would take him a whole year to save up!

Next year, Jiang Mai will be starting school, and between tuition, books, and extra meals, it would easily cost twenty or thirty taels. It felt awful to have money but not dare to earn it boldly and freely.

Or maybe, just like with the century eggs, he could tie the entire village to the workshop?

He’s only heard of prefects who wiped out entire families and county magistrates who ruined households, but in times of peace—especially with the Grain Transport Commissioner stationed in Beiyang County—the county magistrate wouldn’t dare carry out a village massacre, would he?

If the whole village becomes wealthy, his own family won’t stand out as much.

Unable to make up his mind, he shared his thoughts with Jiang Ji when he once again rode in Jiang Tong’s oxcart to deliver a meal to Jiang Ji, asking him to weigh the matter carefully.

This time, the meal he brought was a simplified version of “Crossing the Bridge” rice noodles. It was quite fitting for the occasion.

Since you can’t eat soupy dishes like this standing at the entrance to the county academy, Jiang Ji led him back to his quarters, leaving Jiang Tong to watch over the oxcart alone.

Ever since Jiang Ji had enrolled, the prospective scholar had never once stayed there. The dormitory had become Jiang Ji’s private room.

It was already dark, and as soon as they entered the room, Jiang Ji lit a candle.

The room wasn’t large; the heated bed was a single, and at the head of the bed stood a simple desk and a small cabinet. Jiang Ji brought over Hou Lingsheng’s stool, and he and Ye Li sat down at the table.

The rice noodles were served in a jar, and Ye Li had already blanched the various side dishes.

The rice noodles were covered with a thick layer of oil, and since Ye Li had wrapped the earthenware jar in a small cotton quilt, the chicken broth was still piping hot after their walk.

The only problem was that the rice noodles had been soaking a bit too long, which had significantly diminished their texture. But Jiang Ji didn’t mind.

It was his first time eating rice noodles.

He picked up his chopsticks and stirred the dish, and a rich aroma immediately filled the small, cool room. As soon as he took a bite of the rice noodles, he couldn’t help but give Ye Li a thumbs-up: “Delicious.”

The texture was very delicate, similar to noodles, but with an extra touch of smoothness.

“Have a sip of the broth,” Ye Li said, handing him a spoon.

He took it, scooped up a spoonful of broth, and brought it to his mouth. The broth was slightly spicy with a hint of tartness—delicious and appetizing. He instinctively took Ye Li’s hand in his other hand and said softly, “Thank you for going to all this trouble to make this.” Ye Li smiled at his words. “Hurry up and drink it. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Jiang Ji asked curiously.

“Well, everyone’s been working so hard, and I want to give them a little bonus.”

“The closest holiday is the Winter Solstice, but that’s still nearly a month away—too far off. I’d like to keep track of everyone’s birthdays, and whoever has a birthday, I’ll give them some rice, flour, and meat.”

Ye Li explained.

Jiang Ji thought for a moment and nodded. “Sounds good.”

That’s a good idea. It’s worth doing.

“Second Uncle’s birthday is coming up soon. In past years, Second Aunt would boil two eggs for him, but he’d always give them to Xiao Mai.”

“Alright.” Ye Li made a note of it. “I’ll prepare some rice, flour, and pork a day in advance. This will be distributed in the workshop’s name. As the younger generation, we didn’t say anything before we were married, but this time we need to prepare a birthday gift for Second Uncle.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji said, “It’s only right.”

However, as he looked at Ye Li’s face, his thoughts drifted far away. Both he and Ye Li’s birthdays fell in the spring.

That was the same month they’d gotten married.

He didn’t want to dwell on the past, but Ye Li’s birthday next year…

Hmm, there are still a few months left; he’d better start saving some pocket money.

Unaware of his thoughts, Ye Li brought up the matter of expanding production.

“…Our village may be small, but there are still more than twenty households here, and Uncle Jiang is the village head. If I take a smaller share of the profits, everyone will become prosperous, and then we won’t stand out so much.”

After listening, Jiang Ji pondered for a moment and said, “Go back and ask Uncle Jiang; he knows more than we do.”

He and Ye Li were too young and had little connection with the people at the county office; for such a major matter, they absolutely had to consult with Jiang Fuzheng.

“All right.” Ye Li had been planning to do just that.

As the two spoke, the rice noodles in the pot were reduced to nothing but broth. Ye Li urged Jiang Ji to finish up.

By the time Jiang Ji had finished the last spoonful of broth, he was already sweating. Enjoying such a delicious meal in the middle of winter—what a treat!

However, now that the meal was over, it was time for Ye Li to leave.

He couldn’t help but take Ye Li’s hand once more.

The cold, lonely candlelight had, thanks to Ye Li’s arrival, instantly become as warm and cozy as if they were at home. Ye Li felt reluctant to leave as well.

Fortunately, Jiang Ji had been in school for over half a month, and the winter break was just a week away.

So he winked at Jiang Ji: “The kang table I ordered is ready. When you get back, let’s give it a try.” Jiang Ji froze upon hearing this. Try out the kang table?

But the next moment, remembering the purpose of the high stool, he immediately took a deep breath to push the image from his mind. I mustn’t think about it!

Otherwise, he’d probably lose control and follow Ye Li back to the village! His reaction instantly made Ye Li’s face light up with a radiant smile.

Not caring that his mouth was still greasy from the rice noodles he’d just eaten, Ye Li threw herself into his arms and kissed him: “My dear husband, give me a kiss.” 

Jiang Ji: “……”

Fine, just one kiss—just one!

By the time he dropped Ye Li off at the entrance to the county academy, a quarter of an hour had passed.

Jiang Tong, watching from a short distance away, couldn’t help but tug at his thick overcoat, then jump down from the ox cart and bounce up and down a few times. Those two were finally out.

He’d nearly frozen stiff waiting out there!

However, this time, Jiang Ji spotted him.

Jiang Ji had walked Ye Li all the way to the ox cart and said to him with an apologetic expression, “Brother Datong, I was talking things over with Ye Li just now and lost track of time. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tong immediately shook his head: “I’ve got nothing better to do anyway—go ahead and talk.” Back when he was an apprentice at the Wang family, he knew nothing of the ways of the world.

For the past half-year, he’d been focused solely on making money.

As a result, he hadn’t even noticed Ye Li and Jiang Ji’s unnaturally rosy lips. As for their slightly flushed cheeks, with the weather this cold, they must have just been from the chill.

Ye Li cleared his throat lightly and said, “Jiang Ji, you should go back.” 

Hearing this, Jiang Ji nodded: “Okay.”

Ye Li then climbed onto the ox cart; this time, both he and Jiang Ji acted quite composed, showing not the slightest hint of clinginess.

Once back in the village, Ye Li went to bed early. Worried he might sleep too soundly, he even asked Ye Fulang to wake him up the next morning. With Ye Fulang there, he successfully met Jiang Fuzheng—who had come to deliver the mule for work—in the early hours of the next morning.

“This matter must not be made public until it’s settled.”

So he and Jiang Fuzheng stood a few meters away from the shed, and he whispered his plans and concerns to Jiang Fuzheng. If they set up a village workshop, each household would send one person to work there.

The workshop’s daily output could reach six hundred jin!

The profit per jin is five wen and seven li; six hundred jin would amount to three thousand four hundred and twenty wen!

Three thousand four hundred and twenty wen a day—that’s one hundred and two taels and six hundred wen a month! One hundred taels a month!

Even after deducting labor costs, his monthly profit would still be seventy taels! But he was willing to take only fifty taels.

The remaining twenty taels are divided into three parts.

One portion is set aside for employee benefits—such as holiday bonuses and year-end bonuses—all of which are paid from this fund. Another portion is distributed to the workers as wages.

He currently lacks the financial resources to build a village workshop.

After all, it’s a village-level workshop—he can’t just make do with a makeshift shed as he does now. When the time comes, he’ll definitely need to build a spacious courtyard, and every household will have to chip in.

Since this workshop was essentially crowdfunded, he planned to pay the workers generous wages.

The remaining funds will be set aside to establish a clan school, dig wells on the village’s farmland, and purchase irrigation tools—such as dragon-bone water wheels. Everyone in Yezaopo bears the surname Jiang. Although family ties have grown distant and tenuous over time, they are still, on the surface, part of the same clan.

In this day and age, the only way for a clan to thrive and grow is through education.

Once the clan had more talented people, they would no longer hesitate or be afraid of this or that.

Jiang Fuzheng hadn’t expected such a grand plan; his expression shifted from joy to gravity to excitement. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately said, “The current county magistrate is still fairly honest.”

“That disaster twenty years ago, though a natural calamity, was primarily caused by local officials embezzling relief funds and grain. After His Majesty quelled the bandits, he cracked down hard on a batch of corrupt officials, and the atmosphere in the bureaucracy has improved considerably.”

“Especially here in Beiyang County, which is a place where wealth accumulates and attracts a lot of attention—ordinary officials wouldn’t risk causing a tragedy that ruins families just for a few hundred taels.”

Besides, there are plenty of other ways for them to make money.

Take, for example, the carriage companies, escort agencies, and trading houses dealing in goods from the north and south in the county town—which of them doesn’t make more money than the fried tofu puffs workshop? Even without getting involved in the grain transport system, the officials at the county yamen would have already made a fortune just from these businesses alone.

But there was no need to mention any of this to Ye Li.

Still, he was extremely pleased with Ye Li and Jiang Ji.

Although they were young and had earned a considerable amount of silver and achieved academic success in a short time, the two of them hadn’t let it go to their heads; on the contrary, they’d become even more cautious. They even planned to contribute funds to establish a clan school!

A clan school—a clan school!

As the clan head, how could he not be thrilled?

With this couple around, how could Yezaopo fail to thrive?

As for the well and the dragon-bone waterwheel—as a farmer, he was overjoyed by these as well!

Suppressing the excitement in his heart and clearing his mind, he continued, “Besides, Xiao Ji is a Xiucai—that’s a safeguard in itself. Anyone who wants to take action against a Xiucai would first have to report to the Provincial Education Commissioner to have his academic title revoked, which is quite a hassle.”

“When the time comes, I’ll just have a few drinks with the officials at the county office.” 

“Go ahead and set up that workshop—don’t worry about it.”

“However, you’re setting aside too much of the profit. You don’t need twenty taels—ten taels a month is plenty.” 

“Ten taels?” Ye Li sounded a bit doubtful.

“That’s right, ten taels is enough. Don’t forget you’ve set aside an additional thirty taels for labor costs—that adds up to forty taels.” 

“If you give up twenty taels, that’s fifty taels in total! How could I possibly spend all that?”

“You can save up gradually for the clan school, the well, and farm tools.”

As Jiang Fuzheng spoke, he began to break down the numbers for Ye Li.

If each person’s daily wage was thirty wen, that would amount to nine hundred wen a month. With each family contributing one person—including the Ye family—there would be thirty workers in the workshop.

That would amount to twenty-seven taels in monthly wages.

As for the village schoolhouse, if they want it to be impressive, they’ll build it entirely of blue bricks.

Since the village is small, the courtyard wouldn’t need to be very large. Including the lecture hall and the teacher’s quarters, the construction costs would come to about twenty to thirty taels.

Villagers would not need to pay tuition to attend school, and the teacher’s monthly salary—even if he were a Xiucai—would be just three taels. Of course, if the teacher is highly skilled, three taels wouldn’t be enough; it would have to be four or five taels.

For now, let’s calculate based on the minimum expense: three taels.

For birthday gifts, let’s assume three people have birthdays each month, with a budget of 200 wen per person, totaling 600 wen per month. Twenty-seven taels + three taels + 600 wen—so the monthly fixed expenses come to thirty taels and six qian.

Ye Li offers a discount of ten taels, leaving a balance of nine taels and four hundred wen.

That’s the monthly figure, so the annual total is 112taelsl and 8 hundred wen.

It’s not as if there are festivals every month; there are more during the twelfth lunar month.

Moreover, the New Year is the biggest festival, so the benefits should be more generous. But how generous can they really be?

If they calculate based on seven festivals a year, with each employee receiving 200 wen in festival gifts per festival, the total cost for one festival would be 6 taels.

Seven festivals would amount to forty-two taels.

Subtract forty-two taels from one hundred twelve taels and eight qian, and seventy taels remain.

If they use these seventy taels to build a village school, buy farming tools, and dig a well—once all these necessities are fully provided for—those seventy taels will be left over with nowhere to spend them.

So, Ye Li only needs to set aside ten taels each month. Even that won’t be enough to spend it all!

Jiang Fuzheng’s argument was so reasonable that Ye Li couldn’t refute it. Ye Li instantly cheered up.

He’d have ten taels left over every month!

Once the workshop was up and running, he could earn sixty taels a month just from fried tofu puffs!

“Uncle Jiang, Jiang Ji and I trust you completely. With your blessing, I’m definitely going to set up this village workshop.” 

“Go ahead. It’s a great thing for our village. I’m even more eager than the two of you to get this workshop up and running.” Jiang Fuzheng smiled, paying no mind to the hint of doubt in Ye Li’s words.

Better safe than sorry!

“All right, then please call a meeting of the villagers today to discuss this matter,” Ye Li said cheerfully. Let’s strive to get the village workshop up and running as soon as possible!