Pastoral Splendor

As dawn broke, the air was filled with the slightly astringent scent of fresh grass. On the peach tree beside the gate of Old Master Xiao's courtyard, the peach blossoms had not yet fully unfolded their petals, shyly blooming halfway open. A few petals had fallen to the ground, scattered like tiny white pebbles, shimmering with a pinkish luster, faintly dazzling the eyes.

There was some commotion in Xiao Laoda's family. You could hear the splashing of water in the yard, as if someone was washing their face. Soft voices came from inside the yard: "Third Sister, are you really taking me to the city?"

"Third Sister doesn't lie!" Yan Ying wiped her face with a handkerchief, looked at Liu Hua who had been following her around since early morning, and smiled as she patted her head: "You can rest assured."

Rikka was wearing her best outfit, not too old, with a light blue base still visible. Her hair was tied into two small braids, bouncing around her ears.

Several of the Xiao family's maids squatted under the eaves, standing in a row, waiting to take the washbasins to wash their faces. Sihua happily put her hands into the washbasin, her eyes full of longing: "Third sister, can we really wear new clothes?"

Yan Ying nodded: "Yes, Third Sister will buy two sets for each of you."

"No need, no need." Wu Hua stood next to Si Hua and whispered, "Just buy one. We can save the money and use it for something else later."

Erhua also praised her: "Wuhua is right, one new dress is enough, why waste it?" She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath: "Sanhua, you take the sisters to Yuzhou City, I'll go up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots."

“I’ll go too.” Wu Hua walked to the corner of the wall, picked up a basket, and said, “We can’t delay the important matter. These bamboo shoots can be sold for so much money. We should dig up more.”

Sihua washed her face, emptied the rice from the basin, and took a breath: "Then I'll go dig bamboo shoots too. Third Sister, take Liuhua to the city. Liuhua has never been to the city before, let her see the world."

Yan Ying felt a warm glow in her heart as she watched the sisters politely deferring to each other. She tugged at Er Hua and said, "Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. Let's go early and buy the things as soon as possible. The bamboo shoots are still in the field, and no one will come to steal them! If you don't go to the city, it will be difficult for me to buy these clothes."

Liuhua also grabbed Nihua's hand: "Second sister, let's go together."

After some pushing and shoving, the six sisters finally decided to go to Yuzhou City together. The courtyard gate creaked open, and six slender figures emerged, rushing to Xiao Laifu's house: "Brother Laifu, Brother Laifu!"

Xiao Laifu had just gotten up when he heard Yan Ying say she was going to Yuzhou City. He was a little surprised. Why was this young lady from the Xiao family always going to Yuzhou City lately? Last time, she went to Yuzhou City by his mule cart and bought more than twenty ceramic jars. He wondered what she was going to do with them. Today, all six sisters in the family were going to Yuzhou.

"Brother Laifu, my sister and I are going to Yuzhou City for some fun." Yan Ying smiled, took Liu Hua's hand, and helped her onto the mule cart. "If Brother Laifu can wait for us at the city gate so we can go back together, I'll pay double the fare, how about that?"

Xiao Laifu secretly planned that he would drive the mule cart to Yuzhou City, while the Xiao sisters went to play. In the meantime, he could also take a trip around Yuzhou City for an hour or two to see if he could pick up some goods. He would bring them back with him, which would be a good deal.

"Alright, let's meet at the agreed place." Xiao Laifu cracked his whip, and the mule slowly started walking. It seemed to be still half asleep, its head drooping and its eyelids not open, but it still walked very steadily. Before long, it left Xiao Family Village.

After entering Yuzhou City, Yan Ying and Er Hua told Xiao Laifu to find him in an hour by the big crooked tree in the city. Then, Yan Ying and her sisters headed towards East Street. Er Hua looked at Yan Ying and asked, "San Hua, where are you going? East Street is the most bustling place in Yuzhou City. Are we going there to buy clothes?"

Yan Ying smiled and said, "No, I'm going to the money exchange to deposit my money."

"Oh, right, right, it's not safe to carry so much silver around, lest thieves set their sights on it." Erhua pulled Yanying along quickly: "Have you hidden it well?"

Yan Ying smiled and said, "Of course."

When they arrived at Huitong Money Exchange, it had just opened. The clerk was still wiping the door with a rag when he saw Yan Ying and her sisters coming over. He shouted loudly, "Come on, come on, what are you doing standing here at the door? Is this the place for you?"

Yan Ying walked in without even glancing at the waiter, leaving him somewhat stunned. He stood at the door with a rag in his hand, watching Yan Ying walk towards the counter before rushing after her. Water droplets from the rag splashed everywhere, making the floor wet.

"Hey, hey, young lady, what are you doing?" The waiter caught up with Yan Ying and stopped her. "The manager is busy. Tell me what's wrong."

"I want to deposit silver." Yan Ying saw the disdain on the clerk's face, smiled slightly, and placed her hand on the counter: "What? Can't I deposit silver?" This clerk of the money shop is a snob. Last time, Jian Yifei accompanied her here to deposit silver. The clerk saw that Jian Yifei's clothes and appearance were that of a wealthy person, so he fawned over her. But when he heard her say that she wanted to deposit fifteen taels of silver, he immediately became listless.

"Deposit silver?" The clerk waved his hand: "We don't accept half-taels or one-tael deposits!"

"I'll deposit twenty taels." Yan Ying took out two large silver ingots. The clerk, seeing the two gleaming silver ingots, was speechless. He went behind the counter and began writing a receipt. The shopkeeper, sitting behind the table checking the accounts, listened to the noise outside, looked up at Yan Ying, and a smile spread across his round face: "Miss is here again."

Yan Ying smiled at the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, do you still remember me?"

"I remember, I remember. You deposited fifteen taels of silver last time, and I remembered that." The shopkeeper stood up with a smile: "Miss, you really know how to make money. You've come to deposit silver again. It's only been half a month."

"Well, it's better to deposit it in your bank than to keep it at home. You can at least get a few copper coins as interest." Yan Ying laughed and said, "If you deposit a lot in the future, you might even get tens of taels of silver in interest a year."

The shop assistant handed over the silver notes with a disdainful look on his face: "Young lady, don't talk big. With interest of several dozen taels of silver a year, how much silver would you have to save?" He looked her up and down: "I think you might be having some trouble."

Liu Hua followed behind Yan Ying, listening indignantly to the shopkeeper's words: "Third Sister said that she will save up a thousand taels of silver for each of us as dowry in the future!"

The shopkeeper looked at Yan Ying in surprise, then smiled and said, "Young lady, you are truly ambitious!" He reached out and slapped the waiter on the head, "Look at her, a young girl with such thoughts at such a young age, she is much more ambitious than you."

Yan Ying led her sisters out and headed towards Zhuque Street in Yuzhou. East Street was the most bustling street, selling only the finest goods. The silver in her pocket wasn't enough to cover her expenses. This month she had earned a total of forty-five taels and saved fifteen. Last time, she spent more than two taels of her five taels, and then Xu Yixuan gave her five taels for food. She earned two taels of that and bought more than twenty jars, leaving her with almost nothing. This time, she kept five taels out of twenty-five, leaving her with more than seven taels. She planned to buy a set of clothes for everyone in the family, some daily necessities, and several dozen more jars. She should have about three taels left, which she would use slowly, occasionally buying meat to improve their meals.

The group took a stroll around Zhuque Street, a place where ordinary people shop. Yan Ying looked around and was somewhat disappointed. The clothing shops there sold mostly secondhand clothes, only about 70-80% new, and some were only about 50-60% new.

"Girl, don't be so picky! These clothes aren't new, but the material is excellent!" The shop owner exclaimed, holding up the garments. "Have you ever worn silk? These are all silk; feel them, they're so smooth!"

Rikka reached out and touched it, looking on with envy: "Third sister, it's so smooth."

Yan Ying smiled. These clothes must have been secretly taken by the stewards of wealthy families and sold off their mistress's unwanted garments. The fabric was indeed fine, but she had no use for it. Working in the fields, how could she wear silk clothes! With a few forceful bends of her back and a few quick kicks of her arms and legs, she tore the silk to shreds.

Yan Ying glanced at the shop owner and said with a grin, "Auntie, your clothes are nice, but we don't need them. They'll just get torn easily when we're working in the fields. It's not worth it. Do you have any coarse cloth?"

The proprietress was somewhat disappointed and shook her head: "Who would buy coarse cloth clothes? Everyone makes them at home. If someone has money to buy clothes at a shop, they definitely won't buy coarse cloth. Go take a look at that stall over there, buy a few feet of coarse cloth, and have your mother make them for you."

"Thank you so much, Auntie. When we have money in the future, we'll come to your shop to buy silk clothes." Yan Ying took Liu Hua's hand and led her sisters to the fabric vendor's stall. Although the stall was small, it had a wide variety of fabrics. When the vendor saw the six flower-like girls, his face lit up with a smile: "Come, come, girls, come and take a look! I have the latest floral fabrics here!"

The Xiao family girls stood in front of the small cart for a long time, and finally each chose the fabric they wanted. Yan Ying silently estimated the size, bargained with the vendor, and spent less than one tael of silver to get a new dress for everyone in the family. Si Hua and Wu Hua hugged their chosen floral fabric tightly, with happy smiles on their faces. They had always worn hand-me-downs, and today they finally had new clothes of their own.

After buying clothes, she went to the general store where she had bought the jars before. The owner remembered Yan Ying and, seeing that she was coming back to buy jars, readily gave her the lowest price. Yan Ying selected more than thirty jars: "Boss, could you put the jars aside for me first? I'll go buy other things and come back to your shop to pick them up later."

"Good, good, good." The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed with laughter. He hadn't expected that this young girl would buy a whole batch of goods every time she came. She was truly a good customer of his shop!

Chapter Thirty-Four: Schemes

Xiao Laifu blinked as she watched more than thirty jars being loaded onto her carriage. The boss directed his assistants to tie the jars securely with hemp rope before patting them on the surface: "Miss Xiao, this way you won't bump or knock them over."

Yan Ying nodded and smiled, counting out money from the cloth bag she was holding and handing it to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, please check if it's correct?"

The shopkeeper frantically worked on the abacus for a while, then looked at the silver Yan Ying had given him, and nodded with a smile: "Young lady, you are really clever. You managed to come up with this total without even using an abacus."

"How could this third daughter of the Xiao family be so clever?" Xiao Laifu looked at Yan Ying in confusion. Yes, it was still the same as before, Xiao Sanhua standing there. She held her head high, her face beaming with a smile, radiant in the sunlight.

Xiao's third daughter doesn't come out often. He has only seen her a few times. Each time he sees her, he can only look at the part of her hair on the top of her head. It seems that she has never raised her face. Even when she speaks, she is timid and soft-spoken, as if she is afraid of offending others. How could she be so smiling now?

Yan Ying counted out a small piece of silver and handed it to Er Hua: "Go and call another carriage. I'll follow this jar." This jar was an essential item for her to get rich, and it was extremely important.

Erhua pushed the loose silver back: "I'll walk them back, don't waste money."

Yan Ying sighed: "It's twenty li away, how long will it take you to walk? Liu Hua is young, what if she can't walk anymore on the way? Hurry up and take the money to hire a carriage to come with us, we don't lack this little bit of money!"

Xiao Laifu listened intently, puzzled. Was Old Master Xiao's family not short of money? His family was probably the poorest in Xiao Family Village. If it weren't for his married daughter secretly helping them, they probably wouldn't have been able to afford meat for the New Year last year! Now these three girls from the Xiao family were talking so casually—did they find money somewhere?