CHAPTER 54
When Shen Lin and Su Wan got engaged, he gave the house deed and land deed to Su Wan as a betrothal gift.
Su Wan said, “You gave me both the house deed and the land deed. But in my opinion, this is the best way to make me feel at ease. Since we are going to live together in the future, the house should be yours to live in, and the land should be yours to farm.”
“Now I want you to study, to pass the imperial examination, so that you can protect me in the future. If you are willing to fulfill my wish, then do as I say. If you are not willing, then…”
Su Wan continued, “As for making money, you don’t have to worry about it. You can see that I have many ways to make money. What I lack is someone who can protect me. If you have a good reputation, we won’t have to pay taxes whether we farm or do business in the future, and no one will dare to bully us. So, think about whether you want to study or not.”
Shen Lin did not say anything. This was the truth. What Su Wan said would be beneficial in the long run. However, for the moment, Shen Lin could not accept the fact that he had to rely on Su Wan’s money to study.
Su Wan added, “You are not someone who doesn’t understand things. I know what you are worried about. In the short term, you go out to earn money, so you naturally think that I can relax a little. But even if you go out to sea, I will also go to Qingyun County to do business. At that time, no one will help me and no one will protect me. I would just suffer alone.”
Shen Lin was somewhat moved by Su Wan’s words. It was indeed true. If he went out to sea, Su Wan would have to go to Qingyun County to do business alone. Since she was doing business, she would have to move things. How could she, a girl, move them? Besides, Su Wan was pretty. If someone with ill intentions saw that she had no man to protect her, they would inevitably come and deliberately make things difficult for her.
Thinking of this, Shen Lin felt that he could not go out to sea.
Su Wan knew that Shen Lin had always earned money to support his family. He would definitely not be able to accept the fact that he was asked to spend money on studies and support the family by himself.
So Su Wan left the room, leaving Shen Lin alone in the room to think about it.
Su Wan harnessed the carriage and went to Qingyun County, where she spotted a stall on a street selling food not far from the academy.
This stall is just a small grid. On the left is a shop selling buns, and on the right is a shop selling dim sum. Inside the grid is the place for eating, and outside are several tables where diners can eat on the tables by themselves.
There are tables in front of each cubicle, but the cubicle that Su Wan has her eyes on has tables selling buns and dim sum next to them. Diners don’t have to sit at their seats to eat, so Su Wan can use all of these tables.
Su Wan was very satisfied with the stall and immediately signed a one-year contract with the stall owner and rented the stall for two taels of silver.
After renting a place, Su Wan went to buy pots, pans, and utensils for making spicy hot pot, as well as some seasonings, vegetables, tofu, etc. Since the place had been rented, Su Wan did not plan to dawdle any longer and planned to open the business tomorrow.
After buying these, Su Wan drove the carriage and took Shen Yaya back to the Shen family. When Su Wan and Shen Yaya arrived home, they saw Mrs. Shen busy in the kitchen.
Su Wan was surprised. “Auntie, how can you come out to cook?”
Mrs. Shen stopped and looked back; her face was rosy and clear. “I feel quite strong today, so I came here to try to make rice. Unexpectedly, the porridge is almost done, and I don’t feel tired. You see, I’m making red bean porridge.”
Su Wan and Shen Yaya hurried forward to help Mrs. Shen, fearing that Mrs. Shen’s legs had not yet recovered. Mrs. Shen let the two people come to help her and said, “Don’t worry; Lin’er knows that I’m cooking here. He confirmed that I’m fine before letting me cook in this room.”
Hearing that Shen Lin knew about it, Su Wan felt relieved. Su Wan had been getting along with Mrs. Shen these days. Although Mrs. Shen had never helped Su Wan and Shen Lin with work due to health reasons, Su Wan could feel that Mrs. Shen really cared about her and liked her.
In the book, Mrs. Shen died early, and Su Wan never got along with Mrs. Shen. Now it seems that there will be no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law problems between Mrs. Shen and Su Wan.
Mrs. Shen was supported by Su Wan and sat down in the main room. Shen said, “If things can continue like this, it won’t be long before I can cook for you and clean the house. You don’t have to worry about anything at home. You and Lin’er, just do what you want to do.”
When Mrs. Shen was not sick, she was good at taking care of household chores. It was only after she fell ill that she could no longer work.
Su Wan said, “Aunt, you will definitely get better. Didn’t Doctor Jiang say that you will be fine after taking the medicine for two months? In my opinion, Doctor Jiang’s medicine is effective. Now Aunt can go out to work.”
Mrs. Shen smiled and held Su Wan’s hand. “Since Lin’er’s father passed away, I always felt that life was getting harder and harder, without any hope. Every time I opened my eyes, I was worried about things. But since you came home, life has been getting better and better, and my health has also been getting better and better. Su Wan, in my opinion, you are the lucky koi of our family.”
Su Wan smiled at Shen, “Of course I am the lucky koi of the family. Our lives will be even better in the future.”
Shen Lin entered the house, and Su Wan told Shen Lin that the pots and pans were still on the carriage, so Shen Lin turned around and went to the backyard to unload the pots and pans.
Shen Lin unloaded the pots, pans, and vegetables from the carriage and took them to the kitchen. Without waiting for Su Wan to say anything, Shen Lin fetched some water and cleaned the pots, pans, and vegetables. He then washed the vegetables that Su Wan had bought.
It took an incense stick of time to finish all these. Shen Lin realized that he really could not go out to sea. Su Wan was going to Qingyun County to do business. She would have to do these jobs of washing vegetables, dishes, buying groceries, and moving things every day. If he stayed and helped her do all these, she would suffer less. If he left, she would have to do all these by herself.
Shen Lin was originally hesitant, but within the time it took to stick up incense, he had already made up his mind that he would not go out to sea.
However, Shen Lin did not consider Su Wan’s suggestion that he should go to school. Studying would cost a lot of money, and Shen Lin did not want to put such a heavy burden on Su Wan.
After Shen Lin finished all this, he arranged for his family to drink the red bean porridge made by Mrs. Shen. After the meal, Shen Lin asked Su Wan if she had made a sign. Su Wan shook her head; she really had forgotten about this matter.
Shen Lin asked Su Wan what the snack stall should be called. Su Wan thought about it and decided to call it Shen’s Malatang.
Shen Lin smiled. This name sounded very warm. After knowing the name, Shen Lin used the red cloth at home as a cover and wrote the name Su Wan had thought of on it.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE :- I have completed the translation of this novel. If you want to read all the chapters in one go, you can purchase them on my Ko-fi page, https://ko-fi.com/cupcaketsl (as some of my readers were asking if I had an advance chapter thing). Those who want to read it all at once can buy them.
