The wife of two taels of silver

Lin Haitang was awakened by hunger. The two children were still asleep, so she went downstairs to get some food.

She ordered a bowl of wontons. She was clearly very hungry and the wontons smelled delicious. However, when Lin Haitang took the first bite, she could smell the fishy smell of pork and immediately began to retch.

The waiter was startled. "Madam, is there something wrong with these wontons? Can I get you another bowl?"

After vomiting, Lin Haitang drank some water and waved to the waiter: "It's okay, it's just that my stomach hasn't been feeling well these past two days, and I vomit every now and then."

The waiter breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Oh, then hurry up and see a doctor. Doctor Zhang from Bencaotang near Babaolou is a top-notch doctor. Madam, you can go there."

Lin Haitang took another sip of water: "No need to see a doctor, the wine will be fine in a couple of days."

Lin Haitang added, "Give me a bowl of porridge with a plate of refreshing pickles."

She drank some white porridge and had some pickled vegetables from the restaurant. They were sour, spicy and refreshing, and Lin Haitang loved them very much.

When Lin Haitang returned to the room, Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan were both awake. Gu Zhilan rubbed her eyes and stretched out her sticky hands for Lin Haitang to hold. Lin Haitang went over to hug the two children and put clothes on them. After a while, the breakfast that Lin Haitang had asked for for the two children was served.

After they finished eating, Lin Haitang said to the two children, "Mom will take you out to play later, okay? After we go out, Mom will find a place for you to go into the space to play, okay?"

The two children nodded obediently.

Lin Haitang brought the toys she bought for her two children yesterday, and also brought a set of clothes just in case.

Lin Haitang arrived at Xiannong Bookstore early. There were not many people there and the owner was even taking a nap at the front desk.

Lin Haitang woke him up: "Boss, wake up, there are guests."

The shopkeeper rubbed his eyes and said, "Oh, sorry, young lady. I'm a little sleepy today. Look, what book do you want to buy? You can go in and take a look first. If you can't find it, call me. You can read it here too."

Lin Haitang said, "I'm not buying books today, I'm selling them. Please call the person who can make the decision."

The shopkeeper smiled, stroked his goatee, and said, "Young lady, although I'm not the owner of this Xiannong Bookstore, but just an employee, I can still make the final decision on ordinary storybooks. Why don't you let me take a look at the storybooks first?"

Lin Haitang smiled: "That's fine, now that I've finished reading it, please ask the shopkeeper to invite the boss over quickly."

Lin Haitang only gave him one chapter.

The shopkeeper shook his head and laughed. This young woman, although young, had such a big tone.

The shopkeeper stretched out the paper and looked leisurely, as if he didn't take it to heart. However, the more he read, the more serious his expression became. In the end, he didn't even finish reading. He put the paper away tremblingly and bowed to Lin Haitang: "Miss, I am not very good at seeing. Please wait a moment, I will find someone right away."

The shopkeeper respectfully handed the article back to Lin Haitang, then invited her into the house, offering her delicious food and tea. He then said to his men, "I'm going to personally invite Master Liu Shuyun. Please keep him under my watchful eye! If you treat him poorly, I'll hold you accountable!"

The shopkeeper was still busy after getting in the carriage. He kept urging the coachman to go faster and faster. When he arrived at Liu's house, he ran straight in.

Liu Shuyun heard from his servants that the bookstore owner, Cai, wanted to see him urgently. Liu Shuyun said, "It's so early in the morning. Unless the bookstore is on fire, what's there to be anxious about? This old man, how come he becomes less and less stable as he gets older?"

When they arrived at the front hall, before Liu Shuyun could say anything, Shopkeeper Cai quickly came up to him and said, "Mr. Yun! Come with me! We have a genius here in our bookstore! I am not qualified to judge his articles, so please go quickly!"

Liu Shuyun became interested: "Oh? Really?"

Shopkeeper Cai said excitedly, "Sir, let me say this with disrespect, but even you couldn't write that kind of article. Even the current Imperial Tutor, Mr. Xi, would be amazed if he saw it!"

Liu Shuyun folded his fan and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go, I want to see this divine being too."

Lin Haitang was drinking tea in the room prepared for her by the shopkeeper. Maybe it was because it was in a bookstore, but the room smelled strongly of books and ink. Lin Haitang felt that her stomach was a little uncomfortable and kept churning. She went over to open the window to let in the air, and then she felt much better.

The room was on the second floor. Looking down from the window, I could see a small alley downstairs. Two or three children were playing in the alley. One was playing the role of mother, another was playing the role of father, and another wanted to play the role of child. The little boy playing the role of child disagreed and said, "I don't want to call you father! I want Ah Hua to be my wife, and you are the child!"

The little boy disagreed and said, "No! Ah Hua is my wife. Let Ah Hua speak. Ah Hua, who do you choose as your husband?"

The little girl with two buns blushed and pointed at the second boy and said, "I want you to be my husband."

The second boy laughed happily. Even though the first boy was angry, he could do nothing but call out "Dad" and "Mom" in a dry voice.

Lin Haitang found it very interesting and became more and more excited. At this time, Liu Shuyun arrived.

Shopkeeper Cai knocked on the door and said, "Miss, I have brought the master here."

Liu Shuyun raised his eyebrows. She was actually a woman.

"Come in." Lin Haitang said.

"Ms. Lin?" Liu Shuyun was really surprised when he saw that it was Lin Haitang.

Lin Haitang smiled lightly: "Mr. Liu, we meet again."

Liu Shuyun was deeply surprised and asked, "What kind of book is Miss Lin selling? My shopkeeper has been praising it to the heavens and the earth. Miss Lin, could you please open your eyes?"

Lin Haitang took out the dozen or so chapters of the Dream of the Red Chamber that she had copied, placed them on the table, and said, "Please."

Liu Shuyun sat down and began to read Dream of the Red Chamber.

They read for an hour without saying a word. Liu Shuyun read it over and over again, wishing he could read every word a hundred times.

Finally, Liu Shuyun put down the paper and said, "Miss Lin, are these articles written by you?"

Lin Haitang smiled and said, "No, these handwritings are from my own hand, but these articles were given to me by an old man who appeared in my dream. The old man dictated them and I wrote them down, and thus, these articles came into being."

Liu Shuyun chuckled and shook his head: "Miss Lin, do you think I would believe these irrelevant words?"

Lin Haitang took a sip of tea lightly: "Believe it or not, but it is indeed the case."

"Does that old gentleman have a name?"

"Have."

"how?"

"Cao Xueqin."

Shopkeeper Cai said excitedly, "Miss Lin is a very talented writer. There's no need to say these intangible words. This article was written by her, right?"

Lin Haitang replied with a smile, "Boss, Master Liu, I'm not lying to you. These articles were truly dictated to me by that old gentleman who appeared in my dream."

Liu Shuyun said to Shopkeeper Cai, "Old Cai, please go out first. I want to have a good talk with Miss Lin."

From the beginning, Lin Haitang knew that others would not easily believe her, thinking that she was just selling "Dream of the Red Chamber" on behalf of others, but this was indeed the case. Lin Haitang had "stolen" Mr. Cao Xueqin's article to make money for herself, but there was no other way to make money.

"Mr. Liu, feel free to ask whatever you want to ask. I will tell you everything I know."

"Ms. Lin, may I ask, is your husband Gu An?" Liu Shuyun hesitated for a moment, but still asked.

The water in Lin Haitang's mouth almost spurted out. She didn't know whether to swallow it or not. She had no choice but to swallow it: "Mr. Liu, do you know the... the husband?" When saying the word "husband", Lin Haitang stumbled.

"Then it seems that I really did not admit my mistake. Heng'an and I are close friends. I was present when you got married." Seeing Lin Haitang admit it, Liu Shuyun said.

Lin Haitang had never expected to meet her step-husband's old friend while selling books, and she was a little confused for a moment.

Liu Shuyun hesitated for a moment, then spoke: "Ms. Lin, is Dream of the Red Chamber written by Heng'an?"

Lin Haitang laughed. "No, Gu An was fighting on the frontier. How could he have written this? This is really what Cao Xueqin told me in a dream, and I wrote it down." Lin Haitang hadn't said a word yet. She didn't think Gu An had the talent to write Dream of the Red Chamber. Even if he was talented, or his writing was rare, he was only in his twenties. How could he have written a masterpiece like Dream of the Red Chamber? It was ridiculous, hilarious.

Liu Shuyun closed his folding fan and pondered for a moment before deciding to temporarily believe Lin Haitan's statement. Regardless, this book was excellent and there was absolutely no way it would end up in another bookstore. "So, Miss Lin, how would you like to sell it?"

Money is definitely not too much. Lin Haitang smiled and said, "Let's sign a document. We will split every copy of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' sold 50-50."

"Ms. Lin, most of the books sold in Xiannong Bookstore are bought out in one go or sold at a 30/70 split, with the bookstore taking 70% and the author taking 30%. I haven't seen a case of 50/50 split yet." Liu Shuyun smiled and shook his head.

Lin Haitang raised her eyebrows and said, "Mr. Liu has also seen my book. It will definitely sell well. Since your bookstore is unwilling, I will find another one."

Finally, Liu Shuyun compromised, and the two of them signed a document in duplicate. Lin Haitang also asked Liu Shuyun for 100 taels of silver as a deposit. The two parties agreed to a monthly dividend. Lin Haitang said, "I can't live in Yancheng permanently for the time being, and it's not practical for me to come here every month. It's too inconvenient with my children. How about this? Could you send someone to deliver the monthly dividend to the Xiannong Bookstore branch in Hua'an County?"

Liu Shuyun said, "I can send someone to deliver it directly to your home, so you don't have to go to the county again."

Lin Haitang declined: "No, wealth should not be flaunted. If you go there specifically to deliver it, it will make too much noise, and there will be too much gossip in the village, so it's better not to cause extra trouble."

The two of them reached an agreement and also agreed to submit ten chapters in January, and to complete the first twenty chapters before Lin Haitang left.

After the deal was settled, Liu Shuyun, as Gu An's confidant and good friend, said with concern: "Miss Lin, if you have any questions, please come to me, Liu. Gu An and I met each other too late, and I admire his literary talent. Now Heng'an is guarding the border and defending the country. I will do my best to help you and your son."

Lin Haitang was not polite either, she raised her glass and smiled: "Okay, I will definitely not be polite to Mr. Liu, thank you in advance."

Lin Haitang found an excuse to go back. She was worried about the two children, who had been in the space for a long time.

Liu Shuyun returned to the Liu Mansion, and the more he thought about it, the more puzzled he became. The Lin Haitang he had met before and the Lin Haitang he saw now were completely different people. The change was so great that even he was a little confused. He didn't know if Gu An, who was far away in the borderland, knew about this. After thinking about it, he wrote a letter, found a way, and sent it to the military camp as fast as he could:

Heng'an, it's nice to see you in person. I haven't seen Heng'an for many days, and we couldn't see each other before the New Year due to various reasons. I wonder if Heng'an is in good health. On March 20th, I saw your wife in Yancheng. Miss Lin is truly a gifted writer, very different from the one I saw on your wedding day. Her talent is no less than yours. The Dream of the Red Chamber has me fascinated. I think Heng'an has a good teaching method, which has enabled his wife and son-in-law to excel so well. I admire him very much.

Heng'an's two children are so cute that I can't help but want to pinch their faces to make them laugh when I see them.

I hope Hengan can return home soon, safe and healthy.

Lin Haitang didn't know that her identity had been exposed by Liu Shuyun. After returning to the inn, she released the two children and planned the following writing plan.