CHAPTER 65
Now, the county magistrate has clearly determined how Shen Lin should show filial piety in the future. This means that Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen can no longer criticize Shen Lin for being unfilial. This completely solves their worries.
Shen Lin and Su Wan took the carriage to the snack street. Because of today’s lawsuit, Su Wan and Shen Lin closed the shops on the snack street for half a day. Although the shops on the snack street started business at noon, they did not prepare in the morning, so it was difficult to do business at noon. They had to go back to prepare for the evening business. There were no sales at noon today, so in the evening, they sold 160 bowls instead of 80 bowls.
In the evening, Shen Lin and Su Wan returned to their home in Qingshi Village. Su Wan began to discuss with Mrs. Shen about selling the house in Qingshi Village and moving to Qingyun County.
Originally, Mrs. Shen had been very supportive of Su Wan’s idea. Now that Su Wan was so successful, she agreed and let Su Wan and Shen Lin make the plan.
Su Wan continued, “These days, the two shops on Snack Street and South Street have been doing well, earning a few taels of silver every day. This is also thanks to Brother Shen’s idea of opening a branch store and Brother Shen’s help. However, from now on, I think it’s better to let Brother Shen pursue the path of studying.”
Shen Lin said, “But…”
Su Wan said, “Brother Shen, I know what you are thinking. You must think that you have not earned any money yet, so how can you go to school? But in my opinion, the stall can earn so much money now, thanks to you. And with your ideas, we will definitely be able to earn more money in the future. At least half of the credit is due to you, so you don’t have to feel embarrassed. Since we can earn money, don’t waste your time and go to school.”
Mrs. Shen also said, “Lin’er, I also thought that if you studied, you were wasting Wanwan’s money, but after hearing what Wanwan said, it makes sense. We should look at the long term. Although our business is good now, after Wanwan marries you, she will still be just a merchant’s wife, with no status. If you can pass the imperial examination, Wanwan will also be glorious, don’t you think?”
Su Wan continued, “Besides, we will have to earn more money in the future, which means we will have to pay a lot of taxes. If you pass the exam to become a scholar, we won’t have to pay taxes. By then, I think the taxes you are exempted from because of your success will be more than the money you spent on studying. Brother Shen Lin, I believe you are a person who can distinguish the priorities.”
Shen Lin pondered for a long time. Indeed, if he went to study, he would have to spend Su Wan’s money to pass the level he couldn’t pass.
But what his mother and Su Wan said also made sense. One was Su Wan’s future status, and the other was the business taxes. The idea of opening a branch was all thought up by Shen Lin. Shen Lin roughly calculated the accounts. If this method could work, making money would be a piece of cake.
By then, the difficulty of this family will not be money but status. In this world, everyone will look up to people with achievements but will look down on businessmen.
If he could pass the imperial examination, even if he didn’t become an official, he could earn a lot of money by opening a private school in the future, and he wouldn’t have to rely solely on Su Wan’s method of making money to make a living.
Though he had helped Su Wan come up with many good ideas, he was still dependent on Su Wan and could not make a living on his own.
After thinking clearly about the importance of the matter, Shen Lin made up his mind, “Okay then, I’ll go back to study.”
Su Wan had been talking to Shen Lin about studying. Today was the first time Shen Lin agreed. Su Wan was very happy and started planning immediately.
“If you go to school, we can hire two or three people for the stall on the snack street. We can sell more every day and earn enough to hire people. As for the stall on South Street, the Yang brothers are taking good care of it, and they are very reliable. We don’t need to worry about it.”
“As for you, just concentrate on your studies. As for the things you mentioned about opening a branch store, I’ll take care of it. I will hire people for the stall this time, and once it’s going smoothly, I’ll have plenty of free time, which is perfect for doing these things.”
Shen Lin was a little worried. “You are a girl after all; it is too hard for you to run around outside.”
Mrs. Shen interrupted Shen Lin, “Since Wanwan said so, it means she is willing to do these things. You should study hard. My body is getting better now. I will take care of the housework. Wanwan can do what she likes.”
Su Wan also quickly echoed Mrs. Shen’s words, “Yes, these are the things I like and am willing to do.”
Shen Lin said calmly, “In this case, just do it. You are a person who can accomplish things. But there is one thing. If you have any difficulties, you must tell me. You can’t handle it alone.”
Su Wan nodded. “Don’t worry; if I have any problems, I will not hide them and will definitely tell you first.”
In this way, Shen Lin’s study was decided.
Songshan Academy is the best academy in Qingyun County. Shen Lin used to study at Songshan Academy, so naturally he has to go back to Songshan Academy to study now.
When Shen Lin dropped out of school, Master Li, the principal of Songshan Academy, was very sorry and said that he could only charge one-third of Shen Lin’s tuition and let Shen Lin continue his studies.
But Shen Lin needed to go back to the farm for a living and also take care of his mother and sister. Not only did he have no money to study, he also had no time, so Shen Lin could only reluctantly refuse.
Therefore, before going to Songshan Academy to study, Shen Lin made a special trip to visit Master Li and said that he would report to Songshan Academy in five or six days. Master Li was very happy to see Shen Lin coming back to study, and he even invited Shen Lin to stay for a few drinks.
In the first five or six days before going to Songshan Academy, Shen Lin and Su Wan would find a few reliable people to do the work and teach them. Once they had done the work smoothly, Shen Lin would be able to go to the academy to study with peace of mind.
Shen Lin and Su Wan found three middle-aged women. These days, Su Wan had been on this street and had figured out which workers worked well and which were lazy. Su Wan found three women who worked well but were treated harshly by their employers. These three women were exploited and scolded by their previous employers. When they met the generous and kind Su Wan, they felt that their work was much more comfortable than before.
When these three women worked for their previous employer, they were always scolded as stupid and threatened to be fired by their previous employer.
Su Wan went to them privately, so when the black-hearted employer once again said he wanted to fire them, they quit one after another. Therefore, although these businesses did not like the workers’ new employers, they would not blame Su Wan.
Su Wan would not blame herself at all for poaching the person from that black-hearted boss. After all, it was he who did not cherish them well.
These women are honest and simple-minded, and they work very efficiently. Su Wan and Shen Lin don’t need to intervene; they do their work in an orderly manner.
Therefore, all Su Wan had to do every day was prepare the ingredients for making spicy hot pot, and she didn’t have to do anything else.
Just when Su Wan and Shen Lin thought everything was going smoothly and Shen Lin was about to go to Songshan Academy to study the next day, four girls in gorgeous and elegant clothes came to the stalls in the snack street.
Su Wan spotted Yang Yunyan at a glance. Yang Yunyan was wearing a gorgeous brocade dress and stood in the crowd with several other girls who were also dressed gorgeously, with a proud look on her face.
Several young men in the queue saw that these girls were pretty, so they took the initiative to change places with them and put Yang Yunyan and the others in the front in order to leave a good impression on these girls.
Yang Yunyan and the others moved to the front as a matter of course and hardly even glanced at these young men in ordinary clothes. Yang Yunyan was the most talented woman in Qingyun County, and there were too many men courting her. In her eyes, this was a very normal thing.
Su Wan also saw this scene. She thought to herself that Yang Yunyan was indeed aloof. The young men in Qingyun County probably liked this kind of high-handed and out-of-reach person.
But then Su Wan discovered that this was not entirely the case, and those young men didn’t seem very happy either.
But Su Wan just glanced at them casually. Even if Yang Yunyan came over, she would just treat her as an ordinary guest. So Su Wan turned around to see how the three women were working.
The seats of those young men were quite near the front, so Yang Yunyan and the others waited in line for a while before finally getting to the table.
Yang Yunyan and the others were pretty, so the guests all turned their attention to the table where Yang Yunyan was sitting.
The woman in charge of serving the dishes brought four bowls of Malatang to the people.
Yang Yunyan picked up the chopsticks elegantly, took a bite, and then hastily spat it out onto the table. Then she quickly took a sip of tea and complained, “What does this taste like? It’s far worse than the one on South Street.”
The guests around and those in line all looked at Yang Yunyan’s table.
Su Wan understood. She treated Yang Yunyan as an ordinary guest, but Yang Yunyan did not treat this as an ordinary meal.
Bai Yiyi, who was next to Yang Yunyan, also said, “That’s right, I smell this; it can’t compare to the one on South Street.”
Another girl in green also took a bite and frowned. “This one is so popular, I thought it would be better than the one on South Street, but it turns out it’s not even one tenth as good as the one on South Street.”
Another girl in yellow shook her head and said, “This restaurant is just famous for nothing.” She also said to the people in line, “Don’t queue up; this one is just so-so. The one on South Street is the best.”
Among these diners, many have never tried the Malatang in the snack street. They all came here because of its reputation. Now, after hearing these beautiful girls say that this Malatang in the snack street is just so-so, they started asking people around them whether it is as delicious as the legend says. If it is not, they will not queue up; after all, queuing is quite tiring.
There were also customers who had only eaten at the snack street store and had never eaten at the South Street store. After hearing what Yang Yunyan and the others said, they hurriedly asked, “I have heard that there is also a store at South Street. Is the one at South Street really better than this one?”
Yang Yunyan nodded proudly. “The one on South Street is indeed ten times more delicious than this one.”
T/N :- Thank you Iza for the Ko-fi<3 It really motivates me to do better. Here’s a 2 extra updates for you. <3
