Chapter 94: What I Desire
Li Xiaonan picked up her cup and looked out the window, calmly drinking tea.
Gu Yan laughed heartily, then took out a handkerchief to dab his eyes. He extended his folding fan and tapped it in front of Li Xiaonan.
“Pulling two looms and running to the marketplace shouting about who wants a loom – that’s a brilliant idea, how did you come up with it?”
Li Xiaonan leaned back against the chair back and asked Gu Yan, “Then let me ask you, if you wanted someone to buy your loom on credit, and pay you back with the cloth woven on it, what would you do?”
“Me~” Gu Yan drew out his words, looking at Li Xiaonan with a smile, “Gu Lane is too small a town. If it were me, I’d choose at least a county, like Kunshan County. I’d call Huang Xianzhou over and have him select dozens, even hundreds, of households to distribute the looms to.”
Li Xiaonan’s shoulders drooped as she listened.
This wasn’t doing business; this was governing the country and bringing peace to the world.
Indeed, the world was his family’s!
“Let’s do a different kind of business. I’ll pick one for you, and I guarantee you’ll make money with ease,” Gu Yan suggested sincerely, tapping his folding fan in front of Li Xiaonan.
“Then what’s the point of doing business? You might as well just give me a pile of silver,” Li Xiaonan retorted.
“That’s fine too. I’ll give you a manor, and if one isn’t enough, I’ll give you two. Then I’ll give you a few shops, and a huge pile of silver, a really big pile!” Gu Yan swept his folding fan upwards in a large circle.
“No!” Li Xiaonan flatly refused.
“Then how much silver do you want? Do you really want to be as rich as a nation? What do you need so much silver for? Once you’ve enjoyed the ultimate in food, clothing, housing, and transportation, your expenses are limited. What I’ll give you will be more than enough; you don’t need to be as rich as a nation,” Gu Yan said earnestly.
“In terms of enjoyment of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, I already feel it’s almost enough. Just a little bit better would suffice.
“I’m not doing this for enjoyment; I want to do something.
“The Sage said, ‘When a country has the Way, poverty and low status are shameful.’ I am a woman and cannot hold office, which is unavoidable. So, I will make money. I’m not making money for the money itself, but to do everything in my power to do what I want to do,” Li Xiaonan said with a serious expression.
“If the Emperor heard these words, he would surely be very pleased,” Gu Yan said with a smile. “I’ll write a letter to inform the Emperor.”
“Write that a woman from Pingjiang Prefecture… but don’t write my name,” Li Xiaonan quickly added.
“Then I’ll write that the common people of Jiangnan all believe~” Gu Yan drew out his words and waved his folding fan.
“My third sister says I take a mile when given an inch, but you’re the one taking an inch and making it a mile! If I say something, it becomes what the common people of Jiangnan believe? Tsk!” Li Xiaonan clicked her tongue.
When it came to talking nonsense, this Young Lord was still the best!
“What are you saying!” Gu Yan’s folding fan slapped in front of Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan let out a laugh.
“Why aren’t you slamming the table at me anymore?” Gu Yan raised his folding fan and suddenly asked.
“I don’t like slamming tables. The other day, I was trying to see if I could slam the table,” Li Xiaonan glanced at Gu Yan’s folding fan.
“You’ve got quite a few little grievances. What else do you want to know? Can you argue with me? Shall we try?” Gu Yan smiled.
“We’ve already argued,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“You little rascal. Have you learned all you wanted to know? Are you at ease now?”
“It’s not that I’ve learned all I wanted to know, but I’ve learned all I need to know now. I don’t know about the future, not just about you, but about myself too. A person, until the day they die, can’t say they won’t change, right?”
Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan, not answering her question, and merely gave a vague hum.
He had already seen the day of his death.
On the day of his death, Lu Xiu would use her burning passion to compensate for his unwillingness and endless regret.
She wasn’t entirely Lu Xiu, yet she was Lu Xiu.
The Lu Xiu of his desires was just like the person before him: lively and energetic, bouncing and jumping with hands on her hips, daring to slam the table and argue with him, resting her chin on her hand and telling him, “I want to do this, I want to do that…”
………………………………
Li Xiaonan’s business venture was a complete failure. By the time the blood blisters on her feet had scabbed over and fallen off, completely healed, there were only about ten days left until Li Yin Zhu’s wedding. They had to rush back to Li Family Market to prepare for the important event of Li Yin Zhu’s marriage.
Li Wen Liang’s wife, Sister-in-law Guo, and Hong Zhen Ye’s mother, Mrs. Wu, had been going back and forth to discuss the details of the shop and dowry. They had returned to Kunshan County with their daughter Ai Ye half a month earlier.
Li Wen Liang had already returned two days prior with the last batch of dowry.
Li Xuedong and Hong Zhen Ye had returned to Kunshan County the day before. The next day, Li Jin Zhu, her four sisters, and Mei Jie, along with the dowry added by Sister-in-law Yin for Li Yin Zhu, departed in two large carts for Li Family Market.
Early in the morning, Mei Jie checked everywhere again, starting from the vegetable patch in the backyard, and finally looked into the kitchen. Seeing that everything was properly stored, she picked up a full basket of food for the journey, including rice cakes and green dumplings, and was about to leave when Li Jin Zhu entered the kitchen.
“Everything’s ready, I just checked,” Mei Jie said with a smile.
“Mm,” Li Jin Zhu said, feeling a bit awkward. She took the basket from Mei Jie, lifted the lid to peek, then closed it and handed it back to Mei Jie, only to take it back from her again.
Mei Jie’s heart tightened.
She had told Jin Zhu that she wouldn’t be returning on this trip to see Yin Zhu married; she would stay home to look after the house. She didn’t want to go back to Li Family Market, fearing she wouldn’t be able to leave once she returned.
She liked it here. In her entire life, this square courtyard had been the most comfortable and carefree place.
Jin Zhu’s awkwardness made her wonder if they were planning to get rid of her.
Mei Jie’s tense face turned slightly pale.
“Ahem!” Li Jin Zhu coughed awkwardly. “Well, it’s nothing really.”
Mei Jie pursed her lips tightly and watched Li Jin Zhu without saying a word.
She would not speak first. She would not ask! If they didn’t want her anymore, they could tell her themselves. She would never speak first!
“Well, Mei Jie, you know, Yin Zhu is getting married,” Li Jin Zhu said, her face flushing with awkwardness. “Our family, you know, I don’t understand… well, Sister-in-law Yin said that… that it needs to be taught. Could you teach Yin Zhu?”
As soon as Li Jin Zhu finished speaking, she raised her hand and wiped her face.
Mei Jie stared blankly for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. The basket in her hand almost fell to the ground.
She had been so scared that her back was covered in a cold sweat.
“I know this is difficult for you, but Mei Jie, look, in our family, it’s only you. Well, there’s no one else,” Li Jin Zhu said, seeing Mei Jie’s silence, she quickly lowered her voice and explained with a smile.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry!”
Mei Jie quickly nodded, exhaled a breath of relief, and her mind settled. After a moment of daze, she became sad again.
“I’m telling you, these past few days, whenever I think about Yin Zhu getting married, about Yin Zhu marrying well, about Yin Zhu being so fortunate, but then I think about Yin Zhu getting married, and I…”
Mei Jie let out a suppressed and pained sigh.
“No matter how good it is, when a woman gets married, she suffers. That thing… sigh, you wouldn’t understand. You’re lucky! You won’t suffer. It’s hard for women when they get married. Don’t worry, I’ll tell Yin Zhu, I’ll teach her how to endure.”
Mei Jie didn’t finish speaking before tears fell. She quickly raised her hand to wipe them away.
