Chapter 227: The Lucky Housekeeper

y you earned, but the wages would come from the shop's capital.The old woman couldn't read, but her mind was sharp. She kept a clear account in her heart.“The shop’s dividends are calculated as follow...After a month away from home, Lao Si Li and his two sons were eager to return. They traveled on the main road, which was safe and smooth, so they only rested for two hours at night.

Other times, they were always on the road.

Jia Yin would sleep when she was tired, and eat when she was hungry. She didn't feel particularly tired.

When the sun was high in the sky, the carriage finally turned onto the path leading to Suijin Beach.

Previously, the family received Ye Gongzi's message, knowing that Li Lao Si and his children were safe and sound. However, everyone still couldn't help but miss them.

Tao Hongying figured it was about time, so she simply divided the kitchen chores and took up a post at the grain outlet.

Seeing the shadow of a carriage, she immediately ran toward it.

Li Laosì jumped down from the carriage and greeted her with a silly grin, "Well, Hongying, I'm back."

Tao Hong was so angry she wanted to twist his ears, but when she saw her mother-in-law getting out of the car with their daughter, she could only glare at him fiercely. "I'll settle this with you later tonight."

After saying that, she went to embrace her daughter and helped her mother-in-law up.

"Mother, Fu Niu misses you! Fu Niu brought you some delicious food!"

Jia Yin hugged her mother, showering her with affection. She was so happy she couldn't contain herself. Tao Hongying playfully scolded her daughter, "You! You're like a golden-rimmed chamber pot, always so sweet-talking! You say you miss me every day and can't bear to be apart from me, but when it's time to go out and play, you never miss an opportunity!"

"Hee hee!" Jia Yin felt flustered, hugging her mother's neck and grinning mischievously, showing off a tiny white tooth. She played dumb all the way through, causing everyone to laugh.

The old woman asked, "How is everything at home Is there nothing wrong"

"No, mother, everything is fine. Everyone just misses you both." Tao Hongying replied, at this moment Jiayi and Liu Yang had already run into the valley.

After a month away, the two boys really missed home.

Aunt Liu pulled her son, her eyes also red, but she didn't blame him at all.

She married a鏢頭, living the life of a traveling warrior. She had grown accustomed to separations and reunions, possessing more resilience and patience than most.

Liu, the leader of the鏢 (protection escort), patted his son and disciple on the shoulders. Hearing that they were unharmed, he went to greet Li Lao Si.

The villagers had gathered around the carriage. Old Li didn't say much, she just pointed to the twenty or so bolts of fine cloth inside and smiled, "Lord Hou is leaving again. Before he left, he remembered the village and bought all this fabric for us to bring back. He said it was for making summer clothes for the elders and children in the village. I told him to keep the silver, for when he marries a wife later on."

Everyone laughed, "When the Lord marries a wife, let's help contribute some silver!"

The village head happened to come by and, hearing this, he laughed and scolded, "You think you've made a fortune selling cucumbers and now you're all learning to brag."

The villagers were all chuckling, they had indeed gotten a little inflated lately.

In these days, the winter melons and sweet melons in the melon field were hauled away truckload by truckload and picked one by one to be sent to the valley.

Though they couldn't calculate exactly how much money they made, they still remembered clearly that a cucumber cost three ounces of silver.

Even if each household doesn't get very much, they still have ten cucumbers, that's thirty ounces!

Silver is the source of confidence, so nowadays everyone walks with a swagger and their chest puffed out.

The village head sighed helplessly and drove them away.

"The fourth brother and the two boys have returned safely, so don't worry everyone. Just go back to what you were doing. Tonight, after Second Master settles the accounts, he will give everyone another round of wages."

"Great, we're getting paid again!" The villagers were all excited and cheered loudly.

The village head glared at them. “All of you, shut your mouths! Don’t go around gossiping and attracting unwanted attention. Keep the meat in your own pot, understand”

"Got it!" everyone laughed and then went about their business.

The village head beckoned the Li family, “Go back quickly, Mr. Wen came last night and has been waiting. Mrs. Cui hasn't gone back either, she's thinking of you all.”

Those twenty personal guards took advantage of this opportunity to come forward and bid farewell to the crowd, planning to rush to Kyoto.

Of course, everyone wouldn't let them just leave like that. They pulled them under the shade of a tree and sat down, sharing a simple meal to fill their stomachs. Then they opened another large watermelon.

The emerald-green rind, the fiery red flesh, and the sweet taste left all the soldiers raving with delight and excitement.

This is a cold melon, it's said to be something the emperor bestowed a name on.

In Kyoto, even the nobility probably haven't had the chance to taste this, yet they can just hold it in their hands and bite into it!

The village head smiled and greeted them, "Be sure not to swallow the seeds, spit them out and keep them. This year this thing is too valuable. Everyone just try a fresh one. Next year, we'll plant all the riverbank land with bitter melons. At that time, I'll take you to the field and eat as much as you want."

"Okay, village head, we remember that! Next year, I want to eat one myself, holding onto it and gnawing!"

A young soldier grinned, causing everyone to laugh.

The village chief, with a flourish of his hand, promised boisterously, “Next year, we’ll set aside a day to empty the hot springs. You can soak in the hot water while munching on cucumbers!”

Everyone thought about the scene and laughed even more happily.

Twenty people shared one watermelon, each person getting only a slice.

After spitting out a bowl of seeds, everyone got up and continued on their journey.

The Li family had also returned to the village. Mrs. Cui and Mr. Wen were sitting in the shade of a tree in front of the Li residence, enjoying the coolness. Upon seeing the carriage, they both stood up.

Li Laosi jumped down from the cart, strode forward to pay respects, and said, "Mr. Wen, all the books, not a single one missing, have been brought back."

"This is great!" Mr. Wen patted Li Lao Si's shoulder and smiled, "You guys have been through a lot, haven't you Are you hurt"

"No, just a little trouble, but it's solved."

Li Lao Si casually replied and then began moving his books downstairs.

Soon, all the books and things Ye Gongzi bought were moved into the house.

Jia Yin hugged Mrs. Cui's neck, showing off her new treasure to her, making Mrs. Cui laugh non-stop.

Mr. Wen turned around, a complex mixture of emotions swirling in his heart, his eyes gleaming with a hint of eagerness.

Li Laotai missed her grandson and asked, “Teacher, there are so many books. How long will Jiaren take to copy them all by himself Shouldn't we find someone to help”

Mr. Wen smiled and said, "I went to Mr. Guo's place a few days ago. Mr. Guo said that he was very worried that his fourth son and the others hadn't come out of the mountain after a month. I took the opportunity to mention it, and he agreed."

“These books, I will send to the academy and tell Mr. Peng to have more than 30 students in his class copy them together. These handwritten copies will also be kept at the academy for a year, available for all the academy students to read, as a way of thanking them for their hard work!”

The Li family members didn't react immediately, they just felt that this was a bit of a hassle.

But Jia Yin understood, Mr. Wen was building momentum for Jiarren.

In this day and age, a collection of books is more precious than gold.

Moreover, the Guo family used to run a school. The books they were able to take with them when fleeing for their lives were even more precious and rare.

Even though Jiarren and his classmates were just helping with the copying, they essentially read through it once and definitely benefited from it.

And these handwritten copies, staying in the academy for a year, even if they could only be read and not copied, would broaden the students' horizons and increase their reading volume.

If it falls into the hands of a clever student, who can memorize it after just a few readings, it might even leave dozens of copies in the academy.

Most importantly, after a year, these books will be returned to the Li family, and Jiaren will become the sweet scent of the academy.is, she should have disciplined everyone back in the mountains and left a good impression on Old Fourth Li.At the very least, she should introduce her to Lord Hou and praise her highly.Unfortunately,...