Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

Ruan Wan dared not tell Lou Qianyuan her concerns, in case he was genuinely repentant.

In the past few days, Ruan Wan hadn't had much time to pay attention to her. The 24th was Lou Qianyuan's birthday, which Ruan Wan had seen on their marriage compatibility chart.

As Lou Qianyuan's nominal wife, she naturally wanted to make the most of her first birthday celebration for her husband.

Also, the estates and shops that the Ruan family gave to Ruan Wan as part of her dowry will be coming over tomorrow to report on the year's harvest.

Ruan Wan was still unaware of the extent of her assets. After dinner, she asked Qiu Shuang to find out her dowry list.

Looking at the stack of land deeds and house deeds in front of her, Ruan Wan belatedly realized that she was actually a rich woman.

After marrying into the family, Ruan Wan was always hesitant to use Lou Qianyuan's money, since she might have to rely on him for the rest of her life.

I never imagined I was so rich.

Qiu Shuang glanced at it and said, "Miss, the estate in the suburbs has two hundred acres of fertile land, four shops in the west of the city, four shops in the north of the city, and ten shops on the south street. Judging from their locations, they are all prime locations."

Ruan Wan didn't know the market, but judging from Qiu Shuang's expression, these things must be very valuable.

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "Your father-in-law is really generous, giving you almost all the good shops in the family as your dowry. Those ten shops on South Street are still under the name of the old lady."

Looking at these land deeds and house deeds, Ruan Wan thought of her grandmother again, and couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Lou Qianyuan joked, "If I had known you had so many properties, I wouldn't have gone back to be an official. We could have just collected rent, eaten, drunk, and had fun."

I clutched the land deed and house deed to my chest, thinking, "These are all mine."

"The annual rent and the harvest from the estate are so much, you can't possibly spend it all. Why don't you take me with you?"

Ruan Wan really didn't know what the market price was for these shops in the capital, so she decided to ask Lou Qianyuan first, so as not to embarrass herself tomorrow.

Ruan Wan asked, "I really don't know what the market value is for these shops I own."

Lou Qianyuan took the land deeds and house deeds from Ruan Wan, walked to the desk, divided the deeds into three stacks, and said, "The four shops in the west of the city, each will have an annual rent of 150 taels; the four shops in the north of the city, each will have an annual rent of 170 taels; the most valuable are the ten shops on the south street, each will have an annual rent of 200 taels."

Ruan Wan did the math in her head and realized that these alone would bring in about 3,200 taels of silver a year, not counting the estate.

Lou Qianyuan also calculated that "including the harvest from the estate, the annual income is about five thousand taels."

Five thousand taels of silver was a huge sum for Ruan Wan. When she practiced medicine in Liuzhou, she was already doing very well if she earned two hundred taels of silver a year.

Ruan Wan carefully put away the land deed and house deed, looked at Lou Qianyuan, and said, "I want to discuss something with you."

"Just say it. There's no need for such formalities between us. Just say what you need to say."

Ruan Wan continued, "These shops and estates were once owned by the Ruan family. I'm worried that Su Ying's people might have infiltrated them. I'd like to ask Uncle Liang to help me manage these properties. Of course, I will pay him wages."

Ruan Wan had been thinking about this for a while, but she didn't have anyone she could rely on. After thinking it over, she finally decided that Uncle Liang was the most suitable person.

Uncle Liang has been in the southern Xinjiang region for over twenty years, dealing in goods from both the north and south of China. He is skilled at dealing with people.

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "You should have said so sooner. Uncle Liang went back to Mangshan Town a long time ago."

"When did this happen? How come I had no idea?"

"A few days after your brother-in-law took you back, he came to say goodbye. Uncle Liang wanted to return to his hometown to spend his old age in peace, so I sent someone to go with him to help him acquire some property."

Ruan Wan was suddenly in a dilemma. In the capital, she had no one else she could trust.

Lou Qianyuan asked, "What do you think of Liang Feng?"

"Liang Feng, is that Uncle Liang's nephew, Liang Feng?"

Lou Qianyuan nodded. Ruan Wan recalled Liang Feng's appearance, feeling a little shy and overly rigid. Could he handle the job?

“A few days ago, Uncle Liang sent a letter saying that Liang Feng wanted to come to the capital to study medicine and asked me to find a way to do so. I’ve been busy lately and haven’t had time to deal with it. But when you brought it up today, I remembered him.”

Ruan Wan frowned, not looking at him. What did these two things have to do with each other? "Liang Feng came here to learn medicine, not to learn how to manage a shop."

Lou Qianyuan smiled and said, "Of course I know that."

Lou Qianyuan pointed to the property deed in my hand and said, "There's a shop on West Street that's the largest pharmacy in the west of the city. You can arrange for Liang Feng to go there, and also have him keep an eye on things inside the shop."

After careful consideration, Ruan Wan realized that she trusted Liang Feng's character and there was indeed no one else she could use at the moment.

"Write a letter to Liang Feng and tell him to come over. I'll ask him beforehand. If he doesn't want to get involved in these things, just let him learn at the pharmacy."

Lou Qianyuan smiled and said, "Then I'll write a letter and send it over right away."

When Ruan Wan realized that Liang Feng was coming, she thought that this was just a brief encounter and she would probably never have the chance to see him again.

Thinking of Liang Feng, Ruan Wan also thought of Sister Hongdou and Grandma Li's family.

Ruan Wan asked Qiu Shuang to seal some silver and a few sets of new clothes, wrote an address on a piece of paper, and handed it to Qiu Shuang, saying, "Have someone send it to this address as quickly as possible, and try to get it before the New Year."

The next morning after breakfast, Qiu Shuang waited at the door, having already notified Uncle Li in advance.

Ruan Wan sat in the reception room, with a screen in front of her, which conveniently prevented her from directly facing Qin Xian, who had come to report the accounts.

Qiu Shuang led the man in, and Ruan Wan peeked through the crack. He was a chubby middle-aged man with graying hair.

Qin Xian knelt down behind the screen and bowed to Ruan Wan, saying, "This old servant greets Third Miss."

Qin Xian is a member of the Ruan family, so he should still be addressed according to the Ruan family's name.

Ruan Wan sat up straight and said, "Uncle Qin, please excuse the formalities and have a seat."

"Thank you, Miss Third."

After Qin Xian sat down, Qiu Shuang immediately served tea. Qin Xian then took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Qiu Shuang.

Qiu Shuang took it and handed it to Ruan Wan.

"Third Miss, this is a detailed list. It shows the harvest from the estate and the rent from the shops for the year."

Ruan Wan opened the paper and looked at it. Sure enough, it was just as Lou Qianyuan had said last night. The rent was exactly the same, but the harvest on the estate was half less.

"Third Miss, in previous years one mu of land could produce two dan of grain. This year, due to the flood, the millet harvest in the first half of the year was successful, but the rice in the middle of the year was flooded first and then dried up, resulting in a complete crop failure. Fortunately, sorghum was planted immediately, which salvaged some of the losses."

Indeed, this year has been a year of disasters, so it's already quite remarkable that we've had this much harvest.

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Qin. I have something to ask you to do."

"Third Miss, please give your orders."

"A relative of the young master's family wants to study medicine at a pharmacy in the north of the city. Could you arrange that?"

"Yes, Third Miss, when will they arrive? This old servant will make the arrangements."

"No rush, I'll send someone to let you know when they arrive."

Ruan Wan continued, "I would also like to ask Uncle Qin to teach this person how to manage the estate. After all, I've already married into the Lou family, and it wouldn't be good to trouble my family again."

Qin Xian looked somewhat troubled, rose, knelt before the screen, and said, "This estate is a day's journey from the pharmacy in the north of the city. I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for the young master's relatives to visit. Moreover, if he has never done farm work before, teaching him won't be something he can learn in a short time."

Ruan Wan gave Qiu Shuang a wink, and Qiu Shuang immediately stepped forward to help Qin Xian up.

Qin Xian's words make sense. Farm work is not something that can be learned overnight. When to sow seeds, how to remove pests, and how to irrigate are all skills that need to be learned.

Moreover, we must learn to adapt. Just like this year, after the flood receded, Qin Xian immediately planted sorghum, which salvaged some of the losses.

Ruan Wan asked, "Then what should we do now?"

Qin Xian smiled and said, "My two sons manage the estate with me. The two hundred acres allocated to the Third Miss have always been managed by my youngest son. As per the old family custom, my youngest son will continue to manage it, and as per the family rules, he will take 20% of the harvest."

Da Tou's shop in the city, Qin Xian seemed like an honest person. He was very well-behaved when we first met and didn't deceive me.

After considering it for a moment, Ruan Wan said, "Let's do as you say, Uncle Qin."

Qin Xian knelt down and kowtowed again, saying, "This old servant and my son are now relying on the Third Miss."

After seeing Qin Xian off, Ruan Wan handed the silver notes to Qiu Shuang and told her to keep them.

Qiu Shuang smiled and said, "Qin Xian also sent over a lot of New Year's goods. Would you like to go and take a look, Miss?"

The village has not only farmland, but also hills and ponds.

When Ruan Wan went to the kitchen, she saw that Qin Xian had delivered two large carts of New Year's goods.

Dried goods include shiitake mushrooms, red dates, lotus seeds, fox nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and chestnuts.

There were ten pheasants, ten wild ducks, four roe deer, ten wild rabbits, and a basket of live fish.

The preserved goods include dried fish, preserved meat, preserved chicken, and preserved duck.

In addition, there are two batches of top-quality pearl rice, two batches of fine white flour, and two baskets of melons and fruits.

They really did send a lot of good things. Including the things sent from the Lou family estate the day before yesterday, the warehouse is almost full.

The day before yesterday, the Lou family estate sent New Year's goods. It was all managed by Uncle Li, but Uncle Li didn't even inform Ruan Wan. It was only when Qiu Shuang passed by the kitchen that she saw it.

So early this morning, Ruan Wan asked Qiu Shuang to inform Uncle Li that the Ruan family estate was sending New Year's goods.

Ruan Wan looked at these new things and wondered how she could use them to celebrate Lou Qianyuan's birthday.

As for birthday cakes, Ruan Wan had only eaten them when she was very young, when she was still living with her parents, and she had absolutely no idea how to make them.

She does know how to make longevity peaches, but Lou Qianyuan is still very young and doesn't have anything new to offer.

Dumplings or longevity noodles? Ruan Wan was starting to struggle.

Lou Qianyuan has never lacked delicacies since childhood, so even the most novel gadgets are nothing new to him.

This has become a difficult task.

Early on the morning of the 24th, the Empress sent her personal maid to deliver birthday gifts.

The clothes, shoes, and two pairs of socks were all made by the Empress herself.

Gold and silver toys were commonplace to them, but the clothes made by the Empress herself were truly precious.

Ruan Wan thought the same thing. Lou Qianyuan's family had everything they needed, so she made something by hand to express her feelings.

There's no time to do anything else, so all we can do is prepare a birthday banquet for him.

Uncle Li came to ask Lou Qianyuan last night if he wanted to send out invitations to his friends to celebrate his birthday.

Lou Qianyuan declined Uncle Li's suggestion, saying, "This year is Madam's first birthday since she married into the family, and I want to celebrate it with Wan'er behind closed doors."

Seeing Lou Qianyuan's anticipation, Ruan Wan suddenly felt more pressured.

After a quick lunch, Ruan Wan led Qiu Shuang to the kitchen to get busy. Lou Qianyuan wanted to follow and watch, but Ruan Wan refused.

"If you follow along, I'll only prepare a bowl of longevity noodles."

"Longevity noodles are fine too, I'll like anything you make."

"But if you don't come along, I'll make some things you've never eaten before."

Lou Qianyuan then agreed not to watch along.

Five cooks, led by Sister-in-law Fang, were wearing aprons and ready for action.

Ruan Wan gave the order: "Sister-in-law Fang, chop the pork into minced meat, three parts fat and seven parts lean."

"Sister Liu peels the shrimp, removes the vein, and leaves the heads on."

"Sister Zhang grinds the soaked rice into a paste, while Sister Li separately crushes the madder root, eclipta prostrata, woad, turmeric, and spinach."