Chapter 45
Su Wan and Shen Lin’s trip to Qingzhou Prefecture can be said to be smooth sailing.
Shen Lin spent only ninety cents to find a miracle doctor to treat Mrs Shen. During the five or six days in Qingzhou Prefecture, Mrs Shen’s legs were visibly getting better day by day.
Doctor Jiang asked me to come back for a follow-up visit after taking the medicine, which happened more than two months later.
Su Wan’s two recipes also sold very smoothly, with a total of 220 taels.
Moreover, in the following days, Manager Li paid for all the expenses of Shen Lin’s family and Su Wan in Qingzhou Prefecture. Su Wan said that this was not a good idea, but Manager Li’s wife said that she hoped Su Wan could have long-term cooperation with them in the future, and if she had other good prescriptions, she would definitely sell them to them.
Since this was for the purpose of long-term dealings, Su Wan did not hesitate to be polite and let Manager Li arrange accommodation and food for her, Shen Lin, and Shen Yaya in Qingzhou Prefecture.
Later, Manager Li wanted to send a carriage to take Su Wan and Shen Lin back to Qingyun County. Su Wan and Shen Lin had already gone out to buy horse and a carriage, so naturally they didn’t need Manager Li to send them so Manager Li then gave up.
Su Wan spent thirty taels to buy the horse and fifteen taels to buy the carriage.
Originally, Shen Lin and Su Wan said that this money should not be spent in this way and should be saved as Su Wan’s financial support.
However, Su Wan told Shen Lin that she wanted to do some small business in the future, and would inevitably have to travel between Qingshi Village and Qingyun County. She bought a horse and a carriage, one to speed up her journey, and the other to transport some things.
Su Wan was thinking of setting up a small stall selling Malatang on the street market in Qingyun County after returning. She looked around and found that there was no such food as Malatang in Qingyun County or Qingzhou Prefecture. If she sold it, it would most likely be popular.
Although she still had more than 160 taels of silver after buying the carriage, and she would get a share from Xiankelai in the future, Su Wan was still unwilling to live off her savings. She still needed a job to do. If she could do it well, she could open a store in the future.
If you buy a house in Qingyun County, you can live and work in peace and contentment.
Su Wan had thought about settling down and doing business in Qingyun County, but on the one hand, Qingzhou Prefecture was expensive, and it would cost a lot of money to buy a house and start a business. Su Wan had inquired and found that the housing prices in this dynasty were not rising as fast as they are now.
In the past ten years, houses in Qingzhou Prefecture and the capital have been priced the same.
Su Wan knew that most housing prices in ancient times would not fluctuate much, so there was no need to go through all the trouble to settle down in Qingzhou Prefecture. After all, if one wanted to settle down in Qingzhou Prefecture and live a better life, one or two hundred taels of silver would not be enough.
Su Wan told Shen Lin about her intention to buy horses and carriages, and Shen Lin agreed.
The way back was not as hurried as the way there. Whenever Shen Lin came across beautiful scenery along the way, he would drive the carriage slower to make it easier to enjoy the scenery.
It was already early winter, but the official road in Qingzhou Prefecture was not entirely desolate. There were still many green trees, and the weather was sunny and windy all the way, which made people feel cheerful.
On the way, Shen Lin told Su Wan that when his mother felt better, he wanted to go out to sea on a ship. He couldn’t make much money by farming at home in a year. He had inquired and found that he could earn thirty taels of silver for each trip on a ship. If he worked hard on the ship, he could earn forty taels of silver.
If you just rely on farming and don’t eat or drink, it will take you ten years to save enough money.
Su Wan felt it was dangerous and did not recommend Shen Lin to go out to sea to work. She just said that he should go back and discuss it.
Ever since Su Wan left, Wang Luosheng and even the entire Wang family have been looking forward to Su Wan’s return.
When Su Wan was around, it was Su Wan who found winter clothes for the Wang family, ironed the folds on the clothes straight, cleaned the stove at home tidy, and took good care of the stove every day to ensure that the house was always warm.
The weather has turned cold these days, and the Wang family bought a cart of charcoal to heat the house.
Wang’s father was working at the mill, and Mrs Wang tried to light the stove, but it wouldn’t light up no matter what she did. The house was filled with smoke, which blackened the house by two degrees.
Later, when Wang’s father came back, he found that Mrs Wang had not taken out the ashes in the stove. Wang’s father took out the half-burned charcoal and the remaining ashes from the previous day’s burning, and then lit the stove.
The stove was lit, but Mrs Wang and Wang Luoxue didn’t add more charcoal. When the charcoal in the stove burned out, the fire went out. Mrs Wang and Wang Luoxue felt cold, so they had to remove the ashes and light the fire again. They had to do this about three or four times a day.
Wang Luoxue was responsible for getting charcoal from the place where the charcoal fire was placed. The basket for holding charcoal was black and dirty, and Wang Luoxue always got herself covered in black. Wang Luoxue couldn’t help but think that if Su Wan was still there, she wouldn’t have to suffer all this.
Mrs Wang also recalled the time when Su Wan was still in the Wang family. When Su Wan was still in the Wang family, she never had to take care of the stove in winter. Every morning, before she and Wang Luoxue got up, Su Wan would light the stove in the main room and heat a pot of hot tea on it. The fire in the stove would not go out all day, and the house would have hot water all day long.
But now, no one in the family wants to boil water on the stove. Not to mention hot water, even cold water is not enough.
The two maids had been sent away long ago, and all the chores had to be done by themselves. The water that Mrs Wang and Wang Luoxue fetched every day was barely enough for cooking and was not even enough for washing.
Moreover, the Wang family’s house was in a mess, and Mrs Wang was embarrassed to invite Mrs. Feng, who usually stayed home.
During that time, Wang Luosheng couldn’t wait for Su Wan every day. Later, he heard that Su Wan followed Shen Lin to Qingzhou Prefecture to treat Shen’s illness. Mrs Wang was very angry and told Wang Luosheng that Su Wan would definitely spend all the money from selling candied haws in Qingzhou Prefecture, so she should not dream of entering the Wang family.
Later, Mrs Wang heard from others that Shen Lin was selling candied haws for Su Wan, so Mrs Wang naturally thought that Su Wan was rich.
The weather has been getting colder these days, and the Wang family has been in a mess. Mrs Wang suddenly realized how good Su Wan is. She used to think that Su Wan ate too much of the family’s food and was useless. But now it seems that if Su Wan were here, she could do a lot of work.
The night before Su Wan and Shen Lin were leaving Qingzhou Prefecture, Mrs Wang called Wang Luosheng over and said, “Son, When Su Wan is back from Qingzhou this time, you must call her back to our house. We can’t do without someone to do the work at home. My old waist is about to break from all the work.”
As Mrs Wang spoke, she wiped away her tears.
If it were in the past, Wang Luosheng had no doubt that he could call Su Wan to come and go at will, but he was turned away when he went to look for Su Wan some time ago, and Wang Luosheng began to have some doubts in his heart.
Wang Luosheng was a little embarrassed: “Su Wan doesn’t seem to want to go back to our house.”
Mrs Wang said, “Why wouldn’t she want to come back? She likes you so much. If we could let her come back, she would be so happy.”
Wang Luosheng said: “Mom, you also know that I went to see her several times. She was indifferent the first time, and then she just ignored me.”
Mrs Wang slapped her thigh and said, “My silly son, don’t worry. She is not acting like this not because she doesn’t care about you but because she cares about you too much.”
”Our family won’t let her be your child bride. She’s still a little hurt. Besides, she’s treating you like this to play hard to get.”
”This time, Shen Lin went to Qingzhou Prefecture to treat Mrs Shen. He will definitely spend all his money. I think Shen Lin and Mrs Shen will have to beg for food. In this case, how can they support Su Wan?”
”The Shen family has nothing to eat or drink, and Su Wan is not much better off. Take advantage of this opportunity and give Su Wan some good food. Spend a few dollars to buy her a cheap hairpin or something. She will definitely follow you back obediently.”
Wang Luosheng did not doubt Su Wan’s feelings for him. He was reborn and knew how much Su Wan loved him in his previous life. He was used to being superior to Su Wan, so he was a little at a loss when faced with Su Wan’s temper.
Mrs Wang’s idea made Wang Luosheng suddenly enlightened. If it were in the past, Wang Luosheng would never be able to care about Su Wan, but now Wang Luosheng felt that he really wanted to get closer to Su Wan.
Wang Luosheng nodded.
Mrs Wang took out ten cents and handed them to Su Wan, saying, “Don’t delay. Go buy a hairpin when you get home from school tomorrow. When Su Wan comes back, give it to her. She will surely be so moved that she will burst into tears and follow you back immediately.”
”Just lie to her now and tell her that you will marry her in the future. When you pass the imperial examination, she will have no say over it.”
After Mrs Wang finished speaking, she said with a sense of relief: “When she comes back, mother and Luo Xue will have some free time. These days are really not a life for human beings.”
After telling Wang Luosheng some more words on how to trick Su Wan, Mrs Wang left Wang Luosheng’s room. Thinking that Su Wan could come back, Mrs Wang breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Lin and Su Wan set out from Qingshi Village to Qingzhou Prefecture in the middle of the night and arrived in the afternoon of the same day. The journey back from Qingzhou Prefecture was relatively easy. Shen Lin drove the carriage slowly and it took him two days to come back. When he returned to Qingshi Village, it was already evening.
Because it was winter and the weather was cold, there were very few people on the road, unlike in summer when there were crowds of people at the entrance of the village.
Some villagers also saw the carriage, but they thought it was just a carriage passing by the village.
In Qingshi Village, no one owns a horse-drawn carriage.
Shen Lin was dressed in new clothes, but no one recognized that the coachmen was Shen Lin. Shen Lin saw that the people he met on the road were not good people, so he did not say hello.
Shen Lin did not go back through the front gate of his house, but drove the carriage in through the back door. The front gate of Shen’s house was not wide enough for the carriage to enter, but the back door was spacious. Shen Lin drove the carriage into the backyard. Su Wan and Shen Yaya jumped down first and helped Mrs Shen get off the carriage and return to the house.
Shen Lin unloaded the carriage, fed the horses grass and water, then returned to the main courtyard and quickly lit the stoves in Mrs Shen’s and Su Wan’s rooms.
