"It's been one month and twenty-two days since our snack shop opened. We've earned a total of five hundred and three liang!" In the dead of night, Mrs. Su, You Yin, You Zhu, You Bao, and You Jin were sitting in Su Family's main room. You Jin whispered to the four of them the results of the last few days' accounting: "Among them, forty-seven liang were from selling fragrant melon seeds. The remaining four hundred and fifty-six liang were earned by our snack shop!"
"So much!" Not only the children, but even Mrs. Su was dumbfounded: "You Jin, did you calculate correctly? Our family really made so much money?"
Mrs. Su couldn't imagine this. It turned out that her little skill can make so much money.
The four children also looked shocked: "Five hundred liang! So much silver!"
You Yin and You Zhu were working alongside You Jin every day, so they naturally knew that they were making money. But they didn't expect to earn this much money. Fast-thinking You Zhu thought: "Eldest Sister, how about we open another shop next year?"
Seeing that everyone was so shocked, You Jin grinned: "Although we earned more than five hundred liang, we spent almost two hundred liang to buy the shop and the labor. After cutting this off, there's not much left. If we rush to open another shop again, money and manpower are problems. If we go too far, we will have problems."
"I've already figured it out. Our house will have to be rebuilt when spring comes. Not only do we have so many people in the house, we sisters need a room for each of us, don't we?"
You Jin didn't plan to keep this sum. Rebuilding the house and buying more land all cost money.
When they heard that they could have their own room, the sisters were very excited. They didn't even have their own room when they grew up! So they chattered and began to suggest ideas to You Jin: "Eldest Sister, then we need a big kitchen!"
"Yes, we need a yard. And there are peach blossoms on the mountain behind. We can plant some peach blossoms!"
"Okay, okay. The more you talk, the happier you are. Go to bed early. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve." Mrs. Su smilingly calmed her daughters who were about to jump up.
You Jin nodded: "We'll start choosing a site to build a house after the spring thawing after the New Year."
After discussing with Mrs. Su mother and daughter for a while, she came out of the main room and went back to the east wing to sleep.
***
In the early morning of New Year's Eve, continuous firecrackers sounded from nowhere. After stretching her waist, You Jin climbed up from the warm kang. She saw figures swaying outside through the bright paper pasted on the window. It turned out to be Su Family's little girls playing in the yard.
"Ah! Third Elder Sister, don't throw the firecrackers at me!" You Bao, who was being chased by You Zhu with the firecrackers, kept screaming while dodging. The younger ones happily followed behind the two of them. The sound of laughter chimed in the yard. The snow-white house seemed to be full of vitality and very lively.
You Zhu, who was sweating slightly from running, lit a firecracker and quickly threw it beside You Bao. The firecracker wasn't very powerful. Still, it made You Bao scream. Seeing a savior come out, she hurried over: "Eldest Sister, Third Elder Sister is bullying me!"
"Su You Bao, aren't you ashamed? You can't run, so you ask Eldest Sister for help!" You Zhu made a cheeky face at You Bao. Her cheeks were rosy. Truly full of energy.
You Jin reassuringly patted You Bao's shoulder and grinned: "Alright, you're all sweating from running. Go in quickly and get a handkerchief to dry off. If you get sick during the New Year, you can't take medicine. Then you'll have to suffer."
At Eldest Sister's words, the children obediently went in to wipe off their sweat. Look at Younger Sisters who were all dressed in thick clothes and had grown up a lot after a year of eating and drinking. They bloomed a lot. Each and every one of them looked like little beauties. You Jin only felt a sense of accomplishment in her heart.
After wiping off the sweat and drinking some hot soup to ward out the cold, it was time for Su sisters to study again. According to Yu Lan's arrangement, Su sisters had an hour each in the morning and afternoon to study. Even on New Year's Eve, there was no day off. They still have to learn what they should learn.
Though Su Family sisters started to attend classes, Xin Yi, Shan Nai and others weren't idle. They were going to prepare tonight's New Year's Eve dinner.
Su Family had a lot of people celebrating the New Year this year. So You Jin bought a new year pig from a family in Wuliqiao. After killing it, some was given to Mrs. Su to make smoked bacon and two hams. The rest were all frozen and eaten slowly. Plus, there was the cabbage and potatoes that can be stored at home. The chickens that have been raised for a year can also be eaten. You Jin had also bought one mutton rib cage in Luohe Prefecture. There was no worry about whether New Year's Eve dinner would be bountiful or not.
Now Mrs. Su didn't have to do it herself. Still, she was used to cooking for her daughters. So she told Xin Yi to watch over the two little ones and started preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner in an orderly manner with the five maids in the kitchen.
Su Family's New Year's Eve dinner this year wasn't too small. There were Su Family's ten members and seven maids including Yu Lan. Plus Uncle Wang and Han Li's two brothers, there were exactly twenty people attending New Year's Eve dinner. Mrs. Su decided to prepare six dishes and one soup. Each dish was a big pot full. That way, there was fear of not being full.
On New Year's Eve, the weather was pretty good the whole day. As the sun was setting, You Jin took a few younger sisters and pasted up the couplets outside Su Family's courtyard. Then she stood at the door of Su's house and looked at Wuliqiao Village on the other side of the river. There was also smoke curling up from the kitchens. A faint golden light shrouds the vast land. The snow-covered land in the distance was also golden. From time to time, there were a few dogs barking, children's playful laughter, and the on and off sound of firecrackers.
Breathing out a breath of turbid air, it turned into a white mist in an instant before disappearing. You Jin turned around, entered the house, and closed the half-old wooden door to hide the warmth of the room from outsiders' view.
The new year's eve dinner was held in Mrs. Su main room. The sky was slightly darkened. After Bai Zhi brought the last bamboo shoot and chicken soup to the table, You Jin jollily picked up the teacup in her hand: "Today's New Year's Eve, I will replace wine with tea and thank you everyone's hard work this year. I hope that next year we can work together to earn more money, eat better food, and live in a bigger house!"
After listening to You Jin's words, everyone in the brightly lit main room cheere, "Yes! Earn more money!"
They also stood up with a clatter and toasted with tea instead of wine.
Uncle Wang was the only one who drank alcohol. You Jin specially brought back half a jin of quality Zhuyeqing for Uncle Wang to enjoy. After happily drinking a bowl of wine, Uncle Wang laughed: "I'm already old. Money doesn't matter. I'll be satisfied if I can drink better wine next year!"
"Okay! I will get you better wine next year!" You Jin responded with great enthusiasm. Then she announced: "Everyone pick up your chopsticks. If you wait any longer, it will be cold!"
Su Family's New Year's Eve dinner was rich and delicious. The kang was so burning that it even made the whole house very hot. Everyone's mouths were covered in oil as their bodies felt cosy. This meal took a whole half an hour to finish, leaving only leftovers on the table.
After the meal, Uncle Wang couldn't win against the alcohol. So he went back to the canal worker's dormitory to rest. Only Han Li brothers were left to watch the new year with everyone in Su's house.
"You Zhu, you take Er Hua and the others to the storeroom to take out the firecrackers and fireworks that were bought a few days ago and light them for fun!" Standing under the eaves of the porch looking at the clear starry sky, You Jin smiled and found something fun for the bored children.
Sure enough, after hearing You Jin's, the children cheered and went to the storeroom. Only the older ones like You Jin stood on the porch and watched.
"It's been half a year since you came to our house, are you accustomed to it?" You Jin and Han Li stood side by side a few steps away, watching the children in the courtyard. She merrily asked.
Han Li was a person of few words. He only replied with an 'en' and didn't say anything else. You Jin wasn't angry at all. She jollily said: "At first, I didn't want you to come to my house. I don't know your background. You were defensive and have attack power. But You Yin can't stand seeing you suffering, so she begged me for a long time."
Amused, she shook her head, "I can't do anything with her either."
This was the first time Han Li heard the origin of him coming to Su's house. It turned out that she had pleaded for him! Seeing the laughing figure in lavender clothes in the courtyard, Han Li's eyes were full of gratitude.
"Forget it. This is all in the past. Since you have come to my Su's house, you can just stay there. If you want to leave someday, please tell us in advance." You Jin sighed. She leisurely continued: "After all, there is friendship, right?"
Han Li and his younger brother didn't sell themselves to Su Family. If they want to leave, they can do it at any time.
"I won't go." How rare, Han Li expressed his stance. Seeing his response, You Jin just smiled lightly and didn't make any comments.
The New Year's Eve countdown was til midnight. Children seldom made it to this point. After playing until ten pm, they all start to get sleepy and want to go to bed. After carefully covering the younger sisters who were sleeping in a row with warm quilts, You Jin quietly exited Mrs. Su's room and came into the hall. At this time, Mrs. Su was whispering to Yu Lan. Seeing that she came out, they immediately shut up.
Seeing them like this, You Jin didn't say anything. She went out of the main room and back to her own room. She picked up an old book that was about to fall apart, went back to the main room to sit by the candle, and read it with relish.
Back to Yu Lan listening to Mrs. Su words. Instead, of having a happy face like Mrs. Su, Yu Lan frowned and shook her head instead: "Madam, you'd better ask Eldest Miss about this matter first. In my opinion, the two are not compatible."
"What? Do you think that You Jin isn't good enough for He Family's Eldest Son?" Hearing what she said, Su thought that Yu Lan felt that her family reached for a high branch like He Family, "Although He Family's Eldest Son is currently a Tongsheng, but our You Jin isn't much worse than him! Our current family business is much better than He Family's, no?"
"Madam, it's not us climbing a higher branch. I think it's He Family who climbed the higher branch. Eldest Miss crawled out of your stomach. Naturally, you know her mind and ability the best. Let's not talk about anything else and just Su Family's future matter. Our family's current situation is all built by Eldest Miss's bare hands. Looking at the whole Dafeng, is there any girl at the age of twelve or thirteen who has such great ability?" In Yu Lan's view, He Family's son was just a little Tongsheng. Not to mention the capital city, one can pick a field of them in Luohe Prefecture. However, the whole Dafeng, one can't find another person like her family's Miss! Naturally, it was He Family climbing to their Su Family's higher branch.
Yu Lan glanced at You Jin, who was sitting a little distance from the two of them and said in a hushed voice: "Eldest Miss is one with her own idea. If you set it without asking her, in the future when Eldest Miss finds out, she'll be displeased. And due to this matter, family becomes enemies!"
Hearing what she said, Mrs. Su sighed. She understood Yu Lan's rationality. You Jin had always been one with her own mind since little. If she directly arranged a marriage that You Jin didn't like, they might really end up as enemies. She responded: "You are right. I'll discuss it with her tomorrow!"
In the main room, Shan Nai and other young girls were talking and laughing while eating melon and fruit snacks. It was very lively, You Jin focused on the book. So she really didn't hear what Mrs. Su and Yu Lan were whispering.