HLnovel Chapter 61 Can your family afford it?
Chapter 61 Can your family afford it?
Li Huaiyuan pressed for details, "What kind of business is it?"
Tian Tian lowered her head in embarrassment, "Sir, the business hasn't started yet, so please forgive me for keeping it a secret."
"You'll find out next spring..."
Li Huaiyuan looked at Tian Tian...
Strangely enough, the girl's eyes were so bright and clear that it was hard for him not to believe her.
Winter is almost here, and spring is not far away.
Li Huaiyuan pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Very well, I will not ask any further questions."
"Next year... I will await your news."
Tian Tian was slightly surprised, stood up, and cupped her hands in thanks, "Thank you for your trust, sir."
Li Huaiyuan then looked at Qian Fulai, "Young Master Qian, this opportunity is for you, you must seize it."
Qian Fulai stood up quickly. "Thank you, sir. I will certainly live up to your expectations."
Li Huaiyuan nodded in satisfaction and left.
Qian Fulai patted his chest and let out a breath, "This is the first time I've spoken so closely with the county magistrate."
He moved closer to Tian Tian and asked, "Tian Er, what kind of business are you planning to do next spring? Can you tell me in advance so I can be mentally prepared?"
Tian Tian: "Making steamed buns."
"steamed stuffed bun?!"
"What is it?" Qian Fulai had never heard of it.
Tian Tian didn't know how to explain it to him, "You'll know when I start making it."
Qian Fulai thought Tian Tian was deliberately hiding it from him, and pouted unhappily, "I really don't understand, why do you have to wait until spring?"
“I think you should start before the New Year, when everyone buys gifts and spends money without batting an eye.”
Qian Fulai's words really did remind Tian Tian.
Yes, the Lunar New Year holiday is the biggest shopping season of the year.
How can you miss out on a business opportunity?
"I'll go back and discuss it with my mother and Aunt Liu."
"Young master, I'll be leaving now. I need to go buy some things."
*
When Tian Tian got home, she first told Lu Tao and Liu San Niang what Li Huaiyuan had said.
"The magistrate values us so much?" Lu Tao was quite surprised.
Ordinary people would never have the chance to meet the county magistrate, let alone receive his praise.
"But didn't Tian Tian say that we won't make bean curd sheets next year, and will make steamed buns instead?" Liu San Niang asked with some concern.
The county magistrate valued the bean curd skin, but they immediately stopped making it.
Will the county magistrate be angry?
"Auntie, don't worry, I've already spoken to the magistrate. The bean curd skin business won't last long."
He didn't say anything.
Tian Tian grabbed Liu San Niang and Lu Tao's hands, "Mother, Aunt, I wanted to ask you something today..."
"What do you think if I moved the time for making steamed buns to before... the Lunar New Year?"
Liu San Niang immediately replied, "Sure, anytime is fine."
Tian Tian had no choice but to remind her, "But the period around the Lunar New Year is the time for visiting relatives..."
Liu San Niang spread her hands, "I have no relatives."
She turned to Lu Tao, "But Sister Lu, what about your family..."
"Don't you know you've already severed all ties with the Tian family?"
"Should we go back and inform them?"
Lu Tao's expression darkened when she heard the words "her maternal home"...
My maternal home...
Father, mother, brother and sister-in-law... If you count the time, it has been more than three years since she last saw them.
She is unfilial.
On the other hand, her parents, brother and sister-in-law knew what kind of life she was living in the Tian family, but they never cared.
Thinking back, she married into Qingliu Village at the age of fifteen, and it has been nineteen years now.
She could count on one hand the number of times she saw her parents, brother, and sister-in-law, and each time it was just her and Zhiyuan who went, and each time... they were kicked out.
"Making a living is more important. We can talk about other things another time," Lu Tao murmured.
She looked up and said, "Sweetie, if you want to make the steamed buns ahead of time, then make them ahead of time. Nothing else matters."
Tian Tian nodded, "Okay, then we'll do it ahead of time."
After lunch, Tian Tian took the gifts she had bought to Tian Bonian's house.
Because of the Fulai Restaurant incident, the matter of finding Tian Bonian to recommend Tian Jinghe for the county school was delayed for a few days.
"Uncle Changqing, what brings you home?" When Tian Tian arrived at Tian Bonian's house, she saw Tian Bonian's eldest son, Tian Changqing, chopping firewood in the yard.
Tian Changqing became a clerk in the county school thanks to Tian Bonian's recommendation.
"You are...Tian Tian from Zhiyuan's family?" Tian Changqing had been staying at the county school for a long time and had bought a house in the county. He only returned to the village occasionally, and when he did, he would help with some chores at home and then leave again. So he hadn't seen Tian Tian for a long time.
Tian Tian nodded, "Yes, Uncle Changqing, I'm here to see my great-grandfather. Is he here?"
“My father is inside, come in.” Tian Changqing put down the axe in his hand and opened the courtyard gate for her.
"Tian Tian has grown up. Shouldn't she be of marriageable age this year?"
Tian Tian nodded, "Yes, you've come of age."
She had just reached the age of marriage a few days before being married off by Tian Zhongqing and Wang Yulan.
There was no coming-of-age ceremony.
“You’ve grown up.” Tian Changqing sighed, then turned and walked back into the house. “Dad, Tian Tian is here to see you.”
Tian Bonian's voice came from inside the house, "Tian Tian? Come in."
Tian Tian carried the gifts inside, where Tian Bonian was lying on a recliner, rocking back and forth...
“Dad had some wine at noon,” Tian Changqing said.
Tian Tian nodded with a smile, but in her heart she was thinking that even though they lived in the same village, every family was living a different life.
The Tian Bonian family was much better off than the other villagers. Tian Bonian was a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and his eldest son Tian Changqing and second son Tian Changshun were both Xiucai (successful candidates in the county-level imperial examinations).
It's like drinking alcohol...
Few of the elderly people in the village can afford to drink alcohol.
Tian Zhongqing couldn't get a drink either.
Tian Bonian's voice was hoarse, "Tian Tian, what do you want to see your great-grandfather about?"
Tian Tian placed the gift on the chair next to Tian Bonian. "Grandpa, I've come today to ask you for a favor."
Tian Bonian squinted at him and asked, "What is it?"
"It's my family's Jinghe..."
"Grandpa, Jinghe spoke again some time ago."
Tian Bonian steadied himself in the recliner in surprise. "Really?!"
"Jinghe really spoke up?"
Tian's sweet dessert.
"Good, good." Tian Bonian nodded happily. "My second brother... is still somewhat blessed."
Tian Tian disliked his words, but since she needed his help, she didn't say anything. "Grandpa, I'd like Jinghe to study at the county school. I wonder if you would be willing to write a letter of recommendation for Jinghe..."
Tian Bonian blinked, becoming more clear-headed. "Let Jinghe study?"
His first question was... "Can your family afford it?"
Their family rented a thatched hut at the end of the village, and the first month's rent was paid by Liu San Niang.
The rent for last month and this month was delivered by Mrs. Lu herself.
But the tuition fees for reading, the money for buying books, and the money for buying writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were not as high as renting silver, which was only a mere hundred coins.
It has to be at least ten taels, fifty taels, one hundred taels...
In an ordinary farming family, the entire household might not be able to afford to support a single person who has received an education.
The Lu family has three widows, and they just want to support Jinghe's education.
In Tian Bonian's view, it was simply a pipe dream.