Wealthy beyond measure, yet you call me a sister-supporting-brother demon?

Ma Guifen was frantic. She had spent a long time choosing this piece of cloth; the color and price were just right. How could Yuansheng have snatched it away! "Brother, business is about first come, first served! I was here first, how could you sell the cloth to him?"

“Auntie, you’re right. In business, it’s all about first come, first served. This young man paid first, so of course we should give him the cloth.” With a little effort, the waiter took the cloth from Ma Guifen’s arms.

Ma Guifen was so angry with Yuan Sheng earlier that morning that she almost fell over. If it weren't for Yuan Sheng's interference, she would have gotten the well and the land! Now this scoundrel is ruining her plans again. She put her hands on her hips and started yelling and cursing.

"Yuansheng, who do you think you are, daring to steal cloth from my Qingshu? Do you even know what this cloth is for? It's for making robes for scholars! Do you even deserve to wear it?"

"What are you going to do with this cloth? A short jacket and long trousers? A commoner who farms the land is trying to steal this cloth."

Zhang Qingshu raised his chin and looked down at Yuan Sheng with his nostrils flared.

Yuan Sheng said calmly, "The cloth is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it. It's none of your business."

He pointed at Zhang Qingshu and said, "Your nose hairs are too long. They need to be trimmed; they affect your appearance."

Zhang Qingshu's imposing manner immediately weakened, and he quickly lowered his "noble" head. "You've made a little money and you're already arrogant! You're a petty person who's gotten ahead!"

"You all look down on me because you haven't made any money, so why can't I? Excuse me, I need to buy some fabric."

Yuan Sheng pulled the two apart and directly lifted the cloth.

Yuan Sheng and Zhu Chenxi were not affected by them at all, and the two of them carefully selected their items.

"Chenxi, that pale yellow dress is nice."

It's really beautiful, but a bit pricey.

“My lord, let’s just buy the fabric. You know my embroidery skills. I can do it myself. There’s no need to spend the money.”

Yuan Sheng thought about it and agreed. "Okay, I'll listen to you."

The two eventually bought five bolts of cloth: one white for an undergarment, one pale yellow for Zhu Chenxi's clothes, one brown for Yuan Laifu's clothes, and one tan for Sheng Guihua's clothes.

Buying five bolts of cloth at once is a big deal for a customer. The five bolts of cloth cost a total of one tael of silver and three hundred cash. Yuan Sheng also had the shopkeeper give Zhu Chenxi a pair of shoes as a gift.

Zhu Chenxi held the shoes, feeling a little unreal.

Her eyelashes were long and curved, and her dark, bright eyes sparkled as she stole glances at her husband beside her.

My heart is pounding; it feels so strange.

How could my husband be so handsome? He's practically radiant.

After buying clothes, Yuansheng went to the grain store.

Brown rice costs five coins per pound.

Low-grade white rice costs eight copper coins per pound.

Medium-quality white rice costs thirteen coins per pound.

The best white rice costs twenty coins a pound, which is about the same price as meat.

The flour in Yuansheng's family was the lowest grade of dark flour, which they had to mix with coarse grains. The little rice they had was brown rice with half a husk, which was even worse than the brown rice that cost five coins a pound in the grain store.

If you want to eat well, you should give your family the best. Yuan Sheng bought 20 catties of high-quality white rice for 400 wen.

I bought two jin of rapeseed oil, which cost 100 wen.

I bought a pound of salt and it cost me thirty coins.

During this visit to the grain store, Yuansheng discovered another business opportunity. Peanut oil didn't exist at this time, so this product could be developed later.

The salt of this era was coarse salt, which tasted slightly bitter. He could purify the salt.

Although he couldn't buy or sell salt directly, he could use it in braised meat, adding another layer of protection to his secret recipe.

Most importantly, his parents, his wife, and he himself need to eat. If he can afford it, he should certainly provide the best salt for his beloved family.

Yuan Sheng made a mental note of it.

……

Zhang Qingshu returned from the academy mainly to discuss with his family whether to pursue further studies, and his trip to the cloth shop to buy fabric to make a new robe was also for this purpose.

According to the private tutor, a famous teacher who had passed the imperial examination was coming to Jizhou Prefecture to study in three months. This famous teacher was a fellow townsman of his close friend.

If the students of the private school could raise three hundred taels for tuition, he might be able to invite a great scholar to lecture at the school for a month.

For students, this is a tremendous opportunity. After a month of instruction from a renowned teacher, not only will their chances of passing the county-level exam be higher, but they will also have a better chance of passing the provincial-level exam later.

However, each student had to pay a tuition fee of thirty taels of silver.

This sum of money was nothing to the wealthy families in the town; it was a paltry amount. But for Zhang Qingshu, it was a large sum.

After all, the tuition fee for the private school he is currently attending is only ten taels of silver per year.

Ordinary farmers can only save three or four taels of silver a year after working hard.

His family owned forty acres of land, making them wealthy in Shanhou Village, yet they only had sixty or seventy taels of silver in their savings.

The Zhang family sat together to discuss the matter.

“There’s nothing to discuss, the money has to be paid. There’s an old saying, ‘Hearing a few words from a wise man is better than reading for ten years.’ This is Qingshu’s chance!” Zhang Wen said decisively.

"Father, a single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study."

Zhang Wen slapped his mouth. "See? This is the difference between reading and not reading. My Qing Shu is excellent!"

Zhang Qingshu's two older brothers didn't object; they listened to their father. His two wives, however, were somewhat unhappy.

My brother-in-law's annual tuition, including writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and books, costs at least twenty taels of silver a year.

Not only could he not do any work for the family, but he also spent all the family's money. The Zhang family earned a lot of money in a year, but the rest of them lived a very frugal life. They could not eat meat twice a year, and they would use a piece of pork skin to wipe the pot repeatedly. They lived even more frugally than the poorest people.

Moreover, their children are getting older, so forget about their education; they'll need to prepare dowries and betrothal gifts for their future marriages.

In previous years, spending twenty taels a year was acceptable, but this year, spending another thirty taels would mean spending fifty taels. The whole family would work hard all year, tightening their belts to save money, and could only save twenty taels. The remaining thirty taels would be spent entirely on savings.

The eldest daughter-in-law, Liu Chunhua, waited for the second daughter-in-law, Zhang Yan, to speak, but the second daughter-in-law's lips remained tightly sealed, like a clam.

"Dad, I disagree! Liqun will be getting married in a few years. We only earn so much in a year. Spending thirty taels at once will wipe out our savings. What if something happens to the family later and we need the money urgently?"

Zhang Liqun is the eldest son of Zhang Qingshan and Liu Chunhua, and he is twelve years old this year.

Second daughter-in-law Zhang Yan nodded, "Father, Mother, I think what my sister-in-law said makes sense."

Ma Guifen curled her lip and said, "Do you two have any right to speak here? Don't you care about the green hills and clear waters?"

The eldest son, Zhang Qingshan, glared at his wife and said, "Women shouldn't meddle in men's business."

Zhang Wen coughed and said, "Eldest son, second son, and their wives, you need to understand that once Qingshu passes the imperial examination and becomes a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), our land will be exempt from taxes. So many people will try to curry favor with us, give us gifts, and register their land under our names. And this is just for a Xiucai."

"If Qingshu ever becomes successful, not only will Qingshan and Qingshui benefit, but the younger members of the family will also benefit greatly. They can choose any marriage they want! Don't be so short-sighted, don't be like that family next door, so easily swayed!"

Liu Chunhua certainly understood the reasoning behind her father-in-law's words, but the key question was, was it really that easy to become a scholar?

Laiyuan County only has twenty slots each year, while there have been many, even thousands, of students in previous years who were selected as candidates for the imperial examinations.

There was a huge threshold between a student who had passed the preliminary examination and a scholar who had passed the county-level examination.

They say the neighbor is short-sighted, but at least the neighbor makes money and feeds their family.

The aroma of the meat was so enticing that even her youngest son cried.

The neighbors next door are nothing like them. They toil away every day like donkeys pulling a millstone, yet they don't get a single drop of oil in their food.

Despite owning a lot of land and a good income, they live like paupers every day.

Even the best food had to be reserved for his brother-in-law, Zhang Qingshu.