Reborn in Dunhuang, I am farming and doing business in the desert

Chapter 28: Don’t Be Jealous of My Sister
Xue Lingyao returned home, snuggled up to her mother, and whispered, "Mom, why don't we go find Dad too?"

Wang was confused and raised her eyes from the needlework in her hands: "Why are you looking for your father? He is very busy at the post office and has no time to play with us."

Xue Lingyao pouted and said sullenly, "It's no joke. Shen Tingzhang bought a lot of winter clothes from foreign merchants. Mother, don't you know about this?"

Wang hesitated for a moment and nodded: "I have heard about this. It is said that the winter clothes sold by the Shen family are very warm. One of our neighbors has bought one."

"That's it." Xue Lingyao shook her mother's arm and said coquettishly, "Master Shen bought two more bags today, probably winter clothes too."

"So what?" Wang resumed sewing the clothes and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to buy one too? Otherwise, I will go to Shen's house later."

"Who wants to buy her clothes?" Xue Lingyao said coquettishly, "I wouldn't buy them even if they were given to me. They are so ugly."

Wang looked at her daughter and said, "Lingyao, if you have something to say, just speak directly. Don't be so vague and guess riddles with your mother. Don't do this in the future."

Xue Lingyao frowned and pouted, "It was Mom who couldn't figure it out, and you blame me?"

"Okay, okay, it's mother's fault. Just tell me what you want to do." Wang patted her daughter's hand and asked softly.

Xue Lingyao then relaxed her brows and said softly, "My daughter wants to say that Daddy's monthly salary is only five stone of grain, and he has to support his uncle's family, which is really too tight. If it weren't for the little fortune we brought from the capital, I don't know how our family would have survived these years?

My daughter suggested that we ask Dad to buy some goods from the merchants in the Western Regions and bring them back. We can also sell them at the market, so that we can earn some money to supplement the family income."

Wang was stunned by her daughter's remarks, but also moved.

But she still shook her head: "No! Your father comes from a noble family after all, how could he do such a despicable thing?"

Although merchants are rich, they are not presentable. Once they embark on this path, there is no hope of turning things around in the future.

"Why not?" Xue Lingyao said dissatisfiedly: "If the Shen family can do it, why can't we?"

What if one day the Shen family becomes wealthy and lives better than her own family, how would she feel?
Wang sighed: "How can you compare with the Shen family? They are just local peasants. Their ancestors have been farmers for generations, so naturally they can do any menial things.

We are different. The Xue and Wang families are both famous families. We are just temporarily stranded here. When the imperial court issues an amnesty order one day, we will return to the capital. From now on, we will be worlds apart from the Shen family."

"But we are still criminals now." Xue Lingyao was unwilling to give up and gently shook her mother's arm: "Besides, it will cost a lot of money to go back to the capital. We only have that little savings left, and I don't know if it is enough to cover the journey."

Wang was silent.

She really didn't have much money on hand. After living in the northwest for several years, the annual expenses for food, clothing, and population tax were not small. Later, she donated a postal clerk to her husband, and the money she brought from the capital was almost gone.

Moreover, she was not good at farming and her children were too young, so the ten acres of land allocated by the court were all rented out to others for cultivation. Every year, she could only harvest a small amount of grain, barely enough for the family to eat.

If an amnesty order is issued, I will have to prepare some money for the journey, otherwise I won’t even be able to return to the capital.

"Okay, I'll talk to your father when he comes back." Wang said faintly, "It remains to be seen whether it will work or not."

I knew nothing about business and had no idea what to do.

However, with the Shen family as a reference, it should not be difficult.

Xue Lingyao immediately smiled and pulled her mother to say, "Mom, you are so kind. If we make money, we will buy some cloth for Dad and Mom to make formal dresses."

Wang also smiled, but when she saw her son in the yard, her smile gradually froze.

"Yier, have you finished your homework today?"

When Xue Yi heard his mother's voice, his body instinctively tensed up and he bowed to her politely: "I have finished writing my reply, mother."

Wang nodded and lowered her eyes: "Read it a few times after you finish writing it. Don't let anyone rush you. You are already fourteen years old, you should understand something." "Yes, mother." Xue Yi bowed, took a few steps back, and turned to walk towards his room.

Kneeling beside the small table, Xue Yi picked up a scroll of bamboo slips. His mind was filled with the scene of his elder sister acting coquettishly around their mother. He wished he could take her place.

Why did my mother dislike me? I was the only male heir of the Xue family.

Xue Yi stared at the bamboo slips intently, and a feeling of hatred suddenly arose in his heart.

He knew this was wrong. How could a son hate his mother?
As a younger brother, how dare I be jealous of my sister?
At this moment, Shen Zhao's face appeared in his mind again. It was a face exactly the same as his sister's.

A fierce light flashed in Xue Yi's eyes. He slowly drew a little man on the ground with a stick and wrote Shen Zhao's name next to it.

Then he raised the stick and stabbed the little man's head hard, over and over again, as if to vent his anger.
The Shen family is very lively at this moment.

Not long after Shen Ang and his wife brought the two large bundles into the wing room, Shen Zhao brought out a few cotton coats for the neighbors to see.

"These are thick cotton clothes. If you want to buy them, I will give them to you according to the original price, two hundred coins each."

Shen Zhao introduced the product without any shyness: "This is the style of a small country in the Western Regions. It is convenient to wear and work, and it is also very warm. Our family is going to wear this for the winter."

She also put on a red cotton coat and a hood, and with her beautiful appearance, she immediately attracted a lot of people's attention.

"A Zhao, I want to buy what you are wearing." An aunt said and handed over a string of copper coins.

Shen Zhao took the money and took off his cotton coat and stuffed it into his aunt's hand: "Aunt, you have good taste. Your sister will look good in it."

Hehe! I made back the money I put in for thirty pieces in one go. It was a great start.

The aunt smiled, picked up her cotton coat, shook it, and went home happily.

Then two more people bought cotton clothes, but instead of paying money, each of them brought two stone of beans.

Shen Zhao didn't object and accepted them all.

I'll soak the beans later and make tofu tomorrow morning.

However, before making tofu, the entire stone mill must be used, otherwise you won’t be able to grind soy milk.

You also have to buy a large vat and a wooden frame for hanging the tofu, and get two stones to make the tofu board.

Soon it was getting dark. Shen Zhao saw off his neighbors and had dinner with his family.

A big bowl of cabbage, tofu and vermicelli, served with hot white rice, the family of four all ate until their stomachs were full.

"What is this made of?" Shen Ang picked up the long vermicelli with chopsticks and slurped it into his mouth.

Shen Zhao: "It seems to be made of sweet potato flour."

"What are sweet potatoes?" Shen Heng asked.

Shen Zhao blinked: "It's just a kind of sweet taro." She had never eaten it either.

"Then can you figure it out?" Shen Heng asked his sister expectantly.

It was not until today that he found out that the iron pots and ingredients in the house were all bought by his sister from some unknown place.

(End of this chapter)