CH 39.1

Of course, Shao Yunan wouldn’t have only two jars of  golden silk chrysanthemum, but he was afraid that he might not find the golden silk chrysanthemum variety in the Great State of Yan. Therefore, it wasn’t that simple to take out too much at one time. Besides, it was only natural to keep the good stuff for your own enjoyment. He had golden chrysanthemum seeds, so when he tells Wang Shijing about his space, all the seeds would be planted. Since several acres of his land in the space became ‘barren.’ Shao Yunan became very distressed, which also made it necessary to tell Wang Shijing about the space.

But since he already showed the chrysanthemum tea to shopkeeper Xu, he should also give some tea to County Magistrate Jiang and Dean Cen. Otherwise, they would get news from Yizhang Xuan and get their own ideas. Yongning Hall’s c​​hrysanthemum tea was provided by the Sun family, but the one from Yizhang Xuan restaurant was provided by him.

The day after shopkeeper Xu’s visit, Shao Yunan picked some chrysanthemum tea at home and selected the best quality for County Magistrate Jiang, Dean Cen, and teachers Guan and Cen. He also wanted to give shopkeeper Zeng some to taste. Shao Yunan wanted to send Wang Qing to White Moon Academy, so he was bound to curry favor with Dean Cen. Wang Shijing went to the new house to tell Uncle Zhou and Father Wang that they had to go to the county town, so they were waiting for him to return.

As the carriage drove into Xiushui Village, the villagers who had finished farming saw that the drivers were two strong and powerful men. The carriage also looked like it belonged to a large family, so many villagers speculated where it was going after they saw it. Then the driver stopped and asked the villagers nearby, “May I ask how I can get to Wang Shijing’s house?”

They were looking for Wang Shijing? Immediately a villager said, “Go down the road and turn north at the last intersection. It’s the one with the shortest courtyard wall.”

“Thank you.” The carriage driver drove away. After the carriage left, the villagers gathered together and talked about it. “They come to look for Shijing?”

“Didn’t someone just come to their house in a carriage yesterday? Is it the same person?”

“No, the carriage is different. I heard the person who came yesterday was the shopkeeper from Yizhang Xuan restaurant. When he left, he took something with him, so he must have done some business with their family again.”

“This Shijing married the right male wife. Just look at how prosperous his family’s life has become.”

“Not to mention his family’s life, his old family almost got wiped out.”

“Haha, old lady Wang’s family is probably so regretful that they turned blue.”

“Not to mention old lady Wang’s family, Patriarch Wang must also be regretful. Look at that child student from old lady Wang’s family, he has been back to the village for so long, but he never even once went to Patriarch Wang’s house. But when it comes to money, he still covets it. He really has no shame.”

“That’s right. I can already foresee that this boy won’t be able to pass the examination in the future. This boy is already famous in the county town. I went to the county town a few days ago to buy clothes. When the shopkeeper heard that I am from Xiushui village, he asked me if I knew a child student named Wang Zhisong. I became so panicked at that time.”

“He deserved it. No one expected that he would be so cruel in private. A child as young as Wang Qing just touched his books, but he was punished with kneeling overnight. If I were Shijing, I would have beaten him up.”

The gossip about Wang Shijing was transferred to Wang Zhisong. Many people in the village made money so they went to the county town more often. The story of Wang Zhisong was spread through the county school. The students of the county school had all kinds of identities, so it wasn’t strange that something that was discussed in private was also a well well-known secret? Only Wang Zhisong, who didn’t go outside, didn’t know that he had become famous. So, he still wanted to rent a house in the county town to stay away from the village gossip, while waiting for the exam the following year.

The driver easily found the house with the shortest courtyard wall and parked the carriage on the side of the road. Then the big man next to the driver jumped down and lifted the curtain, “Lord, it’s here.” The person in the carriage looked out and with the help of the big man’s arm, got off the carriage and said, “Go knock on the door.”

The big man went to knock on the door and a moment later, a child’s voice from from inside. “Coming, who is it?”

“Excuse me, this is Wang Shijing’s house, right?” Because of Shao Yunan’s status as a male wife, no one who came could say that they were looking for him (even though they actually came to meet him). “Yes.” With that, the door was opened by a small boy. The adult man then stepped forward and asked, “Are your father and little father at home?”

Wang Qing stared blankly at this young uncle with extraordinary temperament and nodded subconsciously, “My little father is here but my father is out.” At this time, Shao Yunan came out of the room. “Who is it?” As he looked up he was stunned. “Lord…” The other party’s gesture made him swallow the ‘Lord Jiang.’

Jiang Kangning walked in and gestured to the big man to close the door behind him and not follow him inside. Shao Yunan blinked. “Lord, should I just say that you read my thoughts? I was just about to go to see you.” The other side froze and then laughed. “It’s good to have such a heart to heart connection. You also didn’t need to come to the county town to see me, since this official himself came.”

Wang Qing’s body trembled, so Shao Yunan pulled him over. “Wang Qing, greet the lord.”

“My lord!” Wang Qing hurriedly saluted, then Wang Nizi also came out. Shao Yunan pulled Wang Nizi and also asked her to greet the lord. Both children were very nervous facing the  official.

“Qing, you and Nizi should go and ask your father to come back quickly, since such an honored guest came. Your father went to the new house.”

“Yes!” Wang Qing took his sister’s hand and ran away nervously, while Shao Yunan guided Jiang Kangning into the house.

Jiang Kangning jokingly said as he followed him inside, “This official heard that gentleman Shao has been making a lot of money recently. Not only did he buy a large piece of land for his new house, he also bought thirty acres of land and a mountain. This magistrate was told yesterday that you are becoming one of the richest families in Xiushui Village.”

“Haha. It was an accident. I didn’t expect this money to be so easy to earn.” Jiang Kangning pointed at Shao Yunan with a smile. “I’ve never seen you so shameless and thick-skinned. When you say money can be so easily earned, it is almost as if you are looking for a fight.

“Hehe.” Shao Yunan asked Magistrate Jiang to sit down on the kang bed and said, “Sit down for a while, I will make some tea for you.”

“Chrysanthemum tea?” Magistrate Jiang’s inquiry carried a bit of a peculiar endnote. Shao Yunan blinked his eyes as if he wondered if ‘he should ask for punishment.’ Then he blinked again and said, “How could ordinary chrysanthemum tea be worthy of your status as County Magistrate? I will make you a chrysanthemum tea of three taels of silver a piece.”

County Magistrate Jiang became surprised for a moment, as Shao Yunan went out with a puppy look. Once he left, County Magistrate Jiang stopped smiling and let out a long breath. After a moment Shao Yunan came back with boiled water. Originally, he had planned to go to the county town, so he didn’t boil any water. He also didn’t know how to start the stove at home, so he used the tea stove he used to make Longjing tea, to boil the water needed for the golden silk chrysanthemum tea for County Magistrate Jiang.

When Shao Yunan put the tea cup in front of him, County Magistrate Jiang exclaimed, “This is chrysanthemum tea?”

“Yes. But it’s not the same kind as the one sold by Yongning Hall. This is a different variety of chrysanthemum that Shijing and I accidentally discovered. I call it ‘Golden Silk Chrysanthemum,’ but the quantity is very small, so I could only sell a hundred of them to the shopkeeper Xu from Yizhang Xuan restaurant. I also kept some for myself, because I planned to bring it to Lord today.”

County Magistrate Jiang raised his cup with the chrysanthemum tea. So… it was different from Yongning Hall’s chrysanthemum tea. He also had some understanding of the chrysanthemum tea’s origin. Therefore, Shao Yunan didn’t need to hide his cooperation with Yizhang Xuan restaurant.