Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

"I don't want to buy out all my recipes at once, I want a share of the profits!" When Wang Qing'er was downstairs, she originally thought she would just sell each recipe for one hundred taels of silver. But after going upstairs and seeing that Mu Nan knew Shang Congjian and that they had a good relationship, she changed her mind and decided to take a share of the profits from each dish.

Shang Congjian frowned slightly, surprised that this young girl had such a business acumen, so he asked, "Profit sharing? How?"

"I'll take 30% of the profit from each dish, settled monthly. What do you think, Young Master Shang?"

"Thirty percent?"

"Yes, I will take a 30% cut of the profits from any of your restaurants that sell my dishes."

"All the restaurants?"

Wang Qing'er nodded with absolute certainty.

After considering for a moment, Shang Congjian said, "I can't make that decision myself; I have to ask my father."

Wang Qing'er thought to herself, "Well, so you're just a second-in-command who can't make any decisions. Well then, we'll just have to wait and see!"

"Okay, then you can talk after you've said your piece. I'm taking my wife shopping now." Mu Nan said, getting up and pulling Wang Qing'er outside.

Shang Congjian also stood up and said, "No? Senior Brother, Sister-in-law, you're leaving already?"

Mu Nan said irritably, "I'm not leaving. Do you think you can sign the profit-sharing agreement today?"

"No way." Seeing the two coming downstairs, Shang Congjian hurriedly followed them down. "Hey, wait for me! Take me with you when you go shopping!"

"Wow, the night market is so lively!" Wang Qing'er walked out of the restaurant and looked at the brightly lit street, the bustling crowd, and the stalls selling all kinds of porcelain, hair accessories, rouge and powder, and snacks on both sides.

"Would you like something else to eat?" Mu Nan asked her.

"I don't want to eat anymore, I ate quite a lot tonight." Wang Qing'er didn't eat much for dinner, but the pastries in the private room were pretty good, and she ate several pieces before she felt full.

"Do you like the dim sum at the restaurant?" Mu Nan asked, noticing that she had eaten several pieces of dim sum.

"Hmm! Not bad!"

"I'll take you shopping. Is there anything else you want to buy?"

"Okay! Let's go to the clothing store first to buy some clothes for Grandma, Dad, and Mu Xiao, and buy some for you too."

"Okay, it's up to you!"

Wang Qing'er went to a clothing store and picked out a suitable outfit for each member of her family. She had seen the height of the three Wu brothers, so she also bought one for each of them.

I went and bought a lot of fabric, mostly soft and delicate cotton, suitable for working, as it is absorbent and breathable.

Seeing the oilcloth in the shop, she suddenly remembered that the Mu family always wore bamboo hats and raincoats when they worked in the rain. Their clothes would still get wet while working, and these two items were quite bulky and inconvenient to carry around.

Thinking that if this oilcloth could be made into a raincoat, it would be easy to wear while working without getting wet, so he bought a few more bolts of oilcloth.

The shop packed up all the clothes and fabrics and delivered them directly to Yuelai Inn.

"Brother Mu Nan, take me to the bookstore, I want to buy books."

"Okay." Mu Nan led her to a bookstore she used to frequent when she was a student.

Upon arriving at the bookstore, Wang Qing'er saw a wide variety of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Looking at the marked prices, she realized it was no wonder that ordinary families couldn't afford to support scholars; these things were too expensive. Even buying the cheapest items would probably cost dozens of taels of silver a year.

She asked Mu Nan and Shang Congjian to help her choose a few sets of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones suitable for Mu Lin, and also to buy a few sets for Mu Qin and herself.

She went to read some storybooks, but after reading a few, she found them boring; they were all love stories between poor scholars and rich young ladies.

I originally wanted to pick out a few books to take home to pass the time when I was bored, but I gave up in the end.

If she was really bored, she might as well write a book herself. She had heard countless stories, such as Calabash Brothers, Investiture of the Gods, Journey to the West... She could not only write them, but also draw them.

I couldn't find any suitable books for Muqin, but I saw a few that were suitable for Yao'er. The illustrations were simple and clear, and the stories were vivid and interesting, so I bought them all.

After leaving the bookstore, Wang Qing'er was taken by Mu Nan to a pastry shop to order some pastries to be delivered to the Yuelai Inn the next morning.

Finally, we went to a jewelry shop and picked out many silk flowers, as well as earrings and hair ornaments.

The two men following behind were carrying large bags and packages. Shang Congjian asked breathlessly, "Mu Nan, where did you find your little wife?"

Looking at his wife, who was touching and looking around in front of him, Mu Nan said with doting eyes, "It's an arranged marriage."

Looking at the overflowing love in his senior brother's eyes, Shang Congjian said, "You've really fallen for this little girl this time. How come she never stops buying things?"

"She earned her own money, so she can spend it however she wants!"

"Oh ho, senior brother, I didn't expect you to be a gigolo?"

"I'm a kept man, so if you're so capable, go find a wife who lets you live off her!" Mu Nan said, quickening his pace to catch up with his wife.

"I've never seen someone who lives off a woman so self-righteously." Shang Congjian shook his head helplessly.

"Hey, wait for me..."

Wang Qing'er returned to her room at the inn, collapsed onto the bed, yawning, and said, "So tired and sleepy! Shopping is not as good as working at home! It's like paying money to suffer."

"Qing'er, lie down for a while, I'll go and have someone fetch water for you to take a bath."

"Brother Mu Nan, I'm sleepy. I won't take a bath tonight. I'm going to sleep first." She yawned as she took off her coat and lay down on the bed, patting the spot next to her as she said, "Brother Mu Nan, you should rest early too."

"Okay, I'll go take a shower and be right back." Mu Nan said, then went into the bathroom and took a quick cold shower.

As soon as he lay down on the bed, Wang Qing'er snuggled into his arms. The two of them were already used to snuggling together and sleeping in each other's arms.

This was both a joy and an ordeal for Mu Nan. He was happy because he could finally hold his sweet and soft wife every night to sleep, but he was also tormented because he could only hug and kiss her and dared not take any further action, for fear that his wife would not be happy.

"Brother Mu Nan, you studied medicine?"

Why do you ask that?

"Didn't you go to the clinic to see your master today? What else would the master at that clinic study if not medicine?"

"My master not only knew medicine but also martial arts. He mainly taught me martial arts, but only after the incident at home did he teach me to recognize medicinal herbs and simple pulse diagnosis."

"You know martial arts? I've never seen you use it before. Are you skilled in martial arts? And can you fly? Like, the kind that can leap across rooftops and walk on walls?" Wang Qing'er perked up when she heard that Mu Nan knew martial arts. In this dynasty, such skills were a valuable means of self-defense, and she really wanted to learn them.

"It can fly and scale walls, but it's best not to use martial arts. Once you start using them, it means you're in danger."

"That's true. Can you teach me when we get back? And why don't you teach Mu Xiao and Mu Lin?" Wang Qing'er felt it was very rare to know martial arts, so she asked one question after another.