Chapter 60: Financing and Cashing Shop
When Aunt Zhang heard Master Jie say that the Second Master had become suspicious, she became alarmed and asked hurriedly:
"What is Second Master investigating? How is he investigating? Will he find us? I have been feeling terrified these past two days. We can't keep that Second Mistress!"
"You are a person who believes everything you hear. You are not responsible for even the smallest matter. It is not that easy to investigate. He doesn't even know he is poisoned, so there is no point in investigating. Besides, you didn't deliver the flowers and spices yourself. It's just that this incident made him suspicious and he became more cautious. It won't be that easy for us to act in the future."
Aunt Zhang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, but then she said with a headache:
"The eldest master dotes on me and loves me, but I have tried several times and found that the position of the second master as the head of the family is unshakable in his heart. What's more, there is also the barrier of the old lady. I am afraid that the second master will become more and more powerful, and it will be more difficult for us to take action. The eldest lady is also very wary of me. How can I find such a good opportunity in the future!"
The room suddenly became quiet for a long time. Aunt Zhang saw her brother bowing his head and saying nothing, so she sighed and said :
"It seems that this is the only way. How many days can you stay this time, brother?"
"I thought the Second Master was dead this time, and it would take some time to deal with his funeral. I rushed here after I finished dealing with things over there. There is nothing important to go back now. Let's see how things go. If there is no major news over there, I will wait until the old lady's birthday is over before leaving. It's a good opportunity to take a look at the property here."
Aunt Zhang suddenly remembered something, looked up at her brother and said:
"By the way, the old lady went to Jingyun Temple yesterday to fulfill a vow, and unexpectedly met Master Jingyun. Do you think it has something to do with Second Master's illness? I heard that Master Jingyun is hundreds of years old, and he can predict the future 500 years in the past and 500 years in the future. The old lady has been silent since she came back from seeing him. Do you think Master Jingyun can figure out what we did behind the scenes?"
Uncle Jie looked at his sister helplessly and said:
"You are just a guilty conscience, suspicious all the time. From now on, just pretend that nothing happened and put your mind at ease. If you continue like this, you will suspect something out of nothing!"
"I heard from the maid in the first wife's room that the first wife is still thinking about marrying the cousin to the second master, and is trying to find a way to deal with the second wife. Do you think we should take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of the second wife?"
"You women have long hair but short vision. Even if the Second Master divorces the Second Wife, it will not shake the Second Master's position as the head of the family. You should stay out of this matter. Yun'er is still young. Don't let him know about what happened in the past. I'm leaving first. Sister, please be careful these days."
Then he stood up and was about to leave.
"I'm worried that this second wife has noticed something. I always feel that her eyes make people tremble with fear."
After listening to her brother's lecture, Aunt Zhang felt a little aggrieved. She muttered softly and stood up as well.
Uncle Jie walked out and said:
"What did I just say about you? Sooner or later, you will be scared to death by yourself. Don't think about anything during this period of time. Just stay with Yun'er peacefully. We'll talk about it after this storm is over. I'm leaving."
Aunt Zhang looked at Master Jie's departing back, her eyes burning with desperate stubbornness. She thought, she must be able to find a way to let her Yun'er ascend to the position of the head of the family. That bitch's son is not as good as her Yun'er, and is not worthy of being the head of the Xiao family...
Mengxi didn't know that just because the old lady came to burn incense to fulfill her wish and met Master Jingyun, the old lady's thought changed her long-cherished fate. At this time, she was practicing calligraphy with all her heart.
Zhiqiu frowned as she looked at the words on the paper in front of her that looked like they were scratched by a rooster. No wonder Second Mistress went against all odds and placed the desk in the bedroom. It turned out to be to hide her incompetence. Ever since Second Mistress suggested that Zhiqiu teach her calligraphy, Zhiqiu, after seeing her horrible big words, dared not let anyone come in to help her practice calligraphy. After each piece of calligraphy, Zhiqiu's first priority was to destroy the body and get rid of all traces. Mengxi found it funny, and knew that she was doing it for her own good, so she let her do it.
"Second Madam, you write poems and talk about medicine. You seem to be very knowledgeable. Even my father and brother praise you for your extraordinary knowledge and respect. How come you can't read?"
"Oh, this, that, that. My father said that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. He never let me practice calligraphy since I was a child. I only learned some needlework. All the things I know are told to me by my mother."
Mengxi explained hesitantly and lowered her head in shame.
You can't say that she has been using computers and pens since she was a child and has never written calligraphy. She can't read, but she just can't read traditional Chinese characters. Can't you see that she learns to read very quickly? There is no one as smart as her, Mengxi shamelessly said.
"But Second Madam's needlework isn't very good either, right?"
Zhiqiu said very sympathetically, "What the Second Madam did is also called needlework?"
Oh my god, Mengxi’s head couldn’t be lowered any lower. If it was lowered any lower, it would be under the table.
"Well, um, um, Zhiqiu, have those pots of red bananas been moved to the backyard?"
Ever since Mengxi knew her cousin was coming, she was afraid that her cousin would have some thoughts after seeing Hong Xin Jiao, which she would not be able to control and might make some mistakes. So she asked Zhiqiu to gather them all in the backyard of the east wing. The backyard was big enough and was her absolute forbidden area, so it was very safe.
"We moved it over a long time ago. We picked some more flowers this morning and put them in the back to dry. Zhixia and the others are processing the flowers that were dried the day before yesterday according to what Second Grandma told us."
Mengxi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she had successfully changed the subject. This was the good thing about Zhiqiu in her family: as long as she turned, he would run after her.
"That's good. This way I can make some scented tea to drink. When I have all the tools, I can also make some spices and skin care products."
"That's not something that ordinary people can do. Can Second Grandma really do it?"
Mengxi rolled her eyes at her, said nothing, and continued to fight hard with Da Zi with her head down.
"Oh, Second Grandma, my brother sent someone to tell me that my father is almost cured. The medicine Second Grandma prescribed is really amazing. We will definitely make money if we open a pharmacy. My brother and father are so excited. Even I am a little impatient."
Zhiqiu suddenly remembered the matter at the pharmacy and started talking about it excitedly.
"Oh, how's the location selection for the medicine hall going?"
"My brother said that he has found a place that he is very satisfied with. It is located in the east lane of Pingyang City. The location is very prosperous, the storefront is large, and it has two floors, about 400 to 500 square meters. The backyard is even larger, with wing rooms and a warehouse, which can accommodate people, store medicine, and also have a place for processing. It is less than half an hour away from the Xiao Mansion, so it will be convenient to send letters back and forth in the future. The most important thing is that the owner of the pharmacy is eager to sell it because of an urgent matter in his hometown, so the price is very low. I heard from my brother that this is a rare opportunity. But, but..."
Zhiqiu lowered his head and couldn't continue.
Mengxi finally put down the pen in his hand and raised his head:
"Just what?"
"It's just that we don't have enough silver."
"How much silver do we need? How much do we need?"
"The exchange price is not particularly high, only eight hundred taels, but there are too many medicinal materials in the pharmacy. A rough count showed that it is worth about five or six hundred taels, which adds up to nearly one thousand four hundred taels. Your head ornaments and the silver in the dowry are less than one thousand taels, so there is still a shortfall of more than four hundred taels. My brother talked to the shopkeeper for a long time yesterday and asked if he could ask for less medicinal materials. The shopkeeper said that he had taken good care of us and the price could not be lower. If it were not for an emergency in his hometown, he would never sell it at such a low price. If he could take the medicinal materials away, it would not be this price, Second Madam, if it really doesn't work, we can just exchange it for a smaller price first, but it's a pity."
