Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

When Song Laoer's family had lunch, they deliberately did not wake Qin Haodong up and left some food for him. He was sleeping so soundly that Qin Haoxi ran in to check on him several times, but he did not wake up.

After dinner, Song Ersao handed the task of processing the jujubes to Si Niang and the children, while she and Song San Niang made the mooncake filling.

Ask the helpers to come and make mooncakes in the afternoon. Because there are no mooncake boxes, they can only be made in the afternoon. Wait until Song Sanniang sells the mooncakes on hand and comes back with the newly made mooncake boxes before they can be packed.

There are no more four wooden boxes left, and nine paper boxes are left. The Seven Stars and the Moon have the most left, with forty-three. They made that many yesterday based on the remaining mooncake boxes.

Taking the mooncakes, the father and daughter went to the county town again.

When they arrived at the county town, Song Sanniang asked Song Laoer to sell mooncakes by himself, while she went to the bookstore.

She randomly picked one and went in. After entering, she was a little disappointed.

There are only a few bookshelves in the store, and each shelf has several books stacked together in a row. All the books stacked together are the same book.

For example, one shelf is filled with enlightenment books, and some shelves contain the Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, and Hundred Family Names.

Then on the upper level are the Disciple Rules, Thousands of Poems, and Young Scholars.

The next level is Zeng Guang Xian Wen, Sheng Lu Qi Men, Lishang Dui Yun, etc.

Looking at another bookshelf, there are works by some popular celebrities or literati from past dynasties.

Then there is another shelf for novels, stories, miscellaneous talks and strange theories.

Then there is a bookshelf with historical works, laws, etc.

There are several tables put together against the wall, on which are placed pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as various rolled-up paintings and some learning supplies.

Song Sanniang wanted to learn about the history of her own dynasty and the history of the previous dynasties, as well as geography and humanities, but she had not seen any relevant books.

She casually flipped through the books. Perhaps because she was used to the wide variety of modern books and the rich colors of the books,

Seeing these simple books with black words on white paper, she felt as if she was living in a feudal and backward era.

The clerk in the bookstore ignored Song Sanniang and wiped everywhere in the store with a rag. Song Sanniang took a copy of the Three Character Classic and a copy of the Thousand Character Classic, and then went to the counter to pay.

The shopkeeper put down the book in his hand and said, "Sir, the Thousand Character Classic and the Three Character Classic are both 300 characters long."

Song Sanniang paid the money, then thought of her own scribbles and those of Si Niang and Wu Niang, and bought six ordinary brushes and a piece of ordinary paper, spending 650 coins.

After taking the things out of the door, Song Sanniang couldn't help but smack her lips.

In ancient times, studying could make you bankrupt. An ordinary book cost two or three hundred coins, not to mention the books needed for the imperial examinations, writing brushes, inkstones, and tuition.

In addition, you need to arrange for a guarantor when applying for the exam, and there are various expenses for taking the exam.

All resources are in the hands of the powerful and wealthy, making it difficult for the poor to get ahead.

Song Sanniang thought of her two cousins. She wondered if they, scholars from ordinary families, would be bullied in school.

She felt her thoughts drifting further and further away, so she quickly came to her senses and rushed to the stall.

Seeing the things in Song Sanniang's hands, Song Laoer couldn't help but laugh and said, "Are you going to be a female teacher?"

Song Sanniang nodded and smiled, "Yes, as the female teacher of our Song family, I now have five students."

Song Lao Er thought of the way Si Niang and the others were chattering and learning from Song San Niang, and he laughed again.

At this time, a male voice sounded, "Female teacher, you are so ambitious."

The father and daughter looked and found that it was the third master of the He family, He Pingdu. The father and daughter greeted him honestly, and He Pingdu nodded to indicate that he received it.

The father and daughter didn't know what he was doing here today, so Song Lao Er asked with a smile, "Master He, did the cook in your house do the right thing when my wife taught me how to make radish cake last time?"

He Pingdu nodded. "If I make it according to her method, it will be the same. I can eat it often."

Song Lao Er then asked in confusion, "Why did Mr. He come here today?"

He Pingdu said with a smile, "You guys sell mooncakes, I'll buy them, it's nothing, don't be alarmed."

Little Jinzi poked her head out from behind him and said, "Miss Song, you sent mooncakes to our young lady. Our young master really likes them."

He Pingdu hit Xiao Jinzi on the head with his fan and said, "You're too talkative."

Xiao Jinzi touched his head and shrank back, closing his mouth and stopping talking.

Song Sanniang had no choice but to step forward and say, "Third Master, we only have these two types of mooncakes today. If you want to eat them yourself, just buy the one with a paper box. If you want to give them to someone, buy the one with seven stars and a moon. The eldest lady also bought one as a gift."

She opened two packages and showed them to He Pingdu. He Pingdu looked at them for a few seconds and then asked, "I heard that you made these boxes yourself?"

"I don't have the skills to do this. I asked the gift shop to make it. I was just giving a suggestion," Song Sanniang replied honestly.

"Well, it's well done. I quite like the pattern. Which shop made it? I want to use this pattern to make a folding fan."

He Pingdu unfolded the paper fan in his hand and compared it with the pattern on the mooncake box. His fan was a picture of bamboo in ink, which looked relatively simple.

Song Sanniang mentioned the store, and then He Pingdu said, "Then give me six boxes of Seven Stars and the Moon. I will give them to my teacher and classmates so that they can also try them."

Song Lao Er immediately took out six boxes of mooncakes and handed them to Xiao Jinzi. Xiao Jinzi held the six boxes of mooncakes in both hands and said with a grin, "Master, give us the money quickly so that we can take the mooncakes back first." The mooncakes seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

He Pingdu knocked on Xiao Jinzi's head again, "You are such a naughty slave. You acted like you were carrying a mountain with just this little weight. It seems that you are too comfortable normally."

After saying that, he took out his silver bag, asked the price, threw down two twenty-tael silver ingots and one-tael silver change, said there was no need for change, and walked away slowly with Xiaojinzi. From time to time, Xiaojinzi's voice could be heard making jokes.

Song Sanniang just felt that the third master lived a very comfortable life. He could leisurely wander around with his servants without having to worry about anything. She also wanted to live such a life.

I secretly thought to myself that I still had to make more money so that myself and my family could live like a landlord’s wife.

Song Sanniang suddenly said to Song Laoer, "Dad, my uncle and his family are going to the city this time, and I want to go with them. I want to see the situation in the city and then consider whether to open our store in the county or the city."

Song Lao Er was a little surprised. He had never thought about opening a store in the capital.

"Why do you want to open a store in the capital? Isn't it better to be in the county? We can go home every day. If we go to the capital, we are unfamiliar with the place and have to rent a house there."

"Well, so I want to go to the prefectural city first. If the prefectural city is good, we can open a store in the prefectural city. After the prefectural city has established a firm foothold, we can come back to the county town to open another one. We have to look forward."

Song Sanniang understood Song Laoer's concerns. She also liked the life in the village and the days of earning money in the county town and going home to eat every day.

But if you expand your business and make more money, you can live like this and live a better life.

Since there is a better opportunity, she must seize it first. She carefully told Song Laoer her thoughts, analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of going to the capital city, and finally convinced him. She had a new plan in her heart.