Chapter 241: Damn Pampering
The mother and her five children returned just in time, and Liu Ji had just prepared dinner and put the dishes on the table.
The kitchen was very busy in the evening and there was no space at all, so he had to go there early to prepare the food.
The prices of food-related items have been particularly high recently. Although they haven't skyrocketed, it's still painful to eat them.
The price of a pound of fine rice is five times what it used to be, and a bunch of vegetables can be sold for twenty or thirty cents, and you still have to snatch them. You have to wait until the city gates are opened and start buying as soon as farmers from the surrounding areas come in carrying their vegetables.
Liu Ji was unable to get up early today, so there were no green vegetables on the table, just two plates of pickles and a large pot of white porridge.
He had just been beaten and his body was still sore. Thinking about the fact that he would have to wait for the results of the provincial examination for more than half a month, Liu Ji really wanted to go home at this moment.
However, this negative emotion disappeared instantly when he heard the laughter of five people, mother and her children, outside the guest room door.
"You're back. Where did you go today? Why didn't you come back at noon? You must have been hungry. Did you eat?"
As soon as Qin Yao entered the door, Liu Ji came up to her warmly and asked a series of questions.
She glanced at him in surprise, "What's the matter?"
"It's okay." Liu Ji smiled and shook his head. He pushed all the bookcases of the four siblings to the corner of the room and put them away. He turned around and pointed at the hot food on the table and said, "Wash your hands and eat. You've been out all day. You must be hungry, right?"
The five of them, mother and children, all exclaimed in unison, went to the washbasin, washed their hands with the water prepared by the waiter in advance, and returned to the table to sit down.
There were still not enough stools, so Liu Ji and Dalang ate while standing, while Qin Yao and the three children ate while sitting.
Liu Ji wandered around in various directions, sometimes adding some pickles to Qin Yao, sometimes cleaning up the spilled soup for the twins, making the mother and children look at him as if they had seen a ghost.
Liu Ji touched his face and asked blankly: "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like this?"
Erlang asked directly: "Dad, did you do something bad?"
"No!" Liu Ji yelled, and hurriedly looked at Qin Yao to explain, "It's unfair. I read books in the guest room all day, and then I went out to the kitchen to cook for half an hour in the afternoon, and then you came back. How could I have the time to do bad things? Besides, how could I do bad things!"
"Then why are you so attentive?" Qin Yao looked at him suspiciously.
He treated her so well just after being beaten yesterday. Are you a masochist?
Liu Ji opened his eyes wide, "Isn't it good for me to be attentive? You guys just came back after being out for a whole day, and I missed you guys. Isn't it okay for me to be nice to you?"
Qin Yao shook off the goose bumps on her shoulders, looked him up and down, and made sure that there was no flaw in his expression. Then she nodded calmly, "I know, let's continue eating."
Liu Ji snorted in annoyance, then gently tapped Erlang's head twice with the tip of his chopsticks, "Eat your meal well, kid." Don't talk nonsense!
Erlang secretly made a face, which made the twins laugh.
The meal was lively. After the meal, Liu Ji grabbed Erlang and the two of them took the dishes to the kitchen together.
There are many advantages to staying in an inn. You don't have to wash the pots and pans. Just throw the dirty ones into the kitchen sink and someone will wash them.
After a whole day of setting up the stall and doing promotion and marketing, the four children finished their meal and yawned sleepily, preparing to wash up and go to bed.
After Liu Ji and Erlang came back, they closed the door, spread out the bed, and the family of six went to bed early.
However, Liu Ji couldn't sleep, so he faced the bed and asked Qin Yao in a low voice what she had done during the day.
"Social practice." Qin Yao said perfunctorily.
Liu Ji had just gotten some information out of Erlang, and when he heard this answer, he secretly rolled his eyes.
Fortunately, the room was dark, otherwise Qin Yao saw it and would have given him a beating.
"Liujia Village is so far away from the provincial capital. Who would travel all the way to buy a book box from us?" Liu Ji asked weakly.
Qin Yao scratched Si Niang's soft face with her fingers and replied softly, "As long as there is money to be made, this little distance doesn't matter."
"I heard you're planning to do that group purchase? And deliver goods to people's homes?"
Qin Yao looked at the dark shadow on the ground and said, "You know it very well."
"Hehe, Erlang told me about it himself." Liu Ji was very happy to sell his son.
Qin Yao looked at Erlang who was sleeping soundly, and thought that her son was still a lot worse than her in terms of cunning.
However, what Liu Ji cared about was not her business, but how much money she could make and how much benefit he could get from it.
So, why should she tell him?
Men should study hard and take exams, and worry less about the family's money.
"I've told you, your task is to study hard and pass the exam. I won't skimp on food and drink. You don't have to worry about these chores, I'll take care of them." Qin Yao smiled faintly and instructed, with a doting tone of voice that said, "Just study and be happy."
Liu Ji secretly pounded the quilt. Damn the pampering, whoever wants it can have it!
But he also knew that if he asked any more, he would only be poisoned into silence. Liu Ji sighed in a fake manner and said with concern:
"My wife, it's hard for a weak woman like you to manage such a big family. I am really guilty for not being able to help you share some of the hard work."
Qin Yao: "I don't feel tired, go to sleep, I'm sleepy."
".Sweet dream." After hesitating for a while, Liu Ji squeezed out these three words from between his teeth.
Go to bed early, get up early.
Qin Yao accompanied the children to complete morning reading and Dalang's basic exercises. After eating the simple breakfast made by Liu Ji, the mother and the five children took their book boxes and pencil cases and went out to set up a stall.
The imperial examination would be held in two days, so Liu Ji naturally had to stay in the guest room to study. He really couldn't find a reason to go out with Qin Yao to see how she sold things.
Liu Li had no plans to go out. He needed to calm down before the exam. Plus, the middleman who was handling the formalities would come to find them, so he was very busy.
Maybe it's because the imperial examination is approaching, there are fewer scholars on the street today than yesterday, but the publicity effect is still good. Many students' parents are very interested in the Shenli Book Box and are willing to buy it.
Even if Qin Yao proposed the group purchase with a minimum order of fifty, ordinary people would find it troublesome and could only suppress their enthusiasm.
For those who have relatives in Kaiyang County, they can write a letter and ask them to help purchase the goods, which is also a good way to reduce costs.
The number of target customers decreased today, so the mother and her four children closed up their stall and returned to the inn in the afternoon.
During this period, Dalang took on two letter-writing jobs, charging two cents for every ten words, and earned six cents for the writing expenses.
What ordinary people want is value for money, and they don't have high requirements for Dalang's handwriting. The customers who received the letters were quite satisfied.
Because they made money, the four brothers and sisters decided to come again later.
Seeing how excited they were, Qin Yao had to remind them, "The booth fee is three cents a day."
Although she was the one who paid for the stall today, she couldn't forget this cost.
Sanlang and Si Niang sighed immediately, "It's so hard to make money."