Peasant Girl Bookseller

Chapter 250
Mai Xiang saw that the outside was gloomy, and at this time Li Shi came in to see Mai Xiang, no matter what the reason was, Mai Xiang was indeed somewhat moved. ,
"Fifth Aunt, you came here after it's snowing so hard. Be careful that the wheat waves are freezing. Why don't you just stay here these days. Your original house hasn't been moved, so I'll keep it for you."

Mrs. Li thought for a while, then smiled and said: "Alright, someone just happened to talk to me and save some coal money for me. The snow fell early this winter and it hasn't stopped much. The price of coal has also risen." Quite a few, it really makes it impossible for us poor people to live."

"Aunt Wu is still a poor person?" Mai Xiang joked. She knew that Wu Fu's life this year should be pretty easy, at least 200 taels of dividends. If there are 20 taels of silver in a year, it will be enough.

However, Mai Xiang is not very clear about the coal price increase, because Huai Ci is responsible for these matters. Before he entered the Imperial College, he prepared enough firewood and rice on both sides of the publishing house and at home, saying that it was for Mai Xiang. Take it easy.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li smiled wryly, and asked after a while: "How much money do you plan to give to your eighth uncle when you get married?"

"It depends on the individual. Brothers have different conditions. There is no need to compare. Each person does his best. What's more, the money is not in the open."

Although Mai Xiang made up her mind to give Eight Fortune 20 taels of silver, she didn't want to tell Li Shi so that Li Shi would not be under pressure. Li Shi has suffered enough from being squeezed by the old lady in the past few years.

"Even so, it has to be about the same, otherwise, your nanny should find fault with me again?" Shi Li smiled wryly again.

"What reason does she still have to pick? Have you been with them all these years? Not to mention others, how much has my aunt spent on you in the past two years?"

When Li Shi heard this, the circles of her eyes suddenly turned red.

Seeing the other party's expression, Mai Xiang remembered that the pair of gold bracelets Jiufeng had when they were on a blind date seemed to be new, so she asked, "Could it be that the mother has gone looking for you again in the past few months?"

"No, no, I don't want much this year. As soon as your fifth uncle got the dividend, he went to buy land, leaving only a little for daily life in his hand. It's just, just..."

"It's just what, you said it, what can't Aunt Wu tell me?" Mai Xiang became anxious when she saw the other party's hesitant temper.

"It's just that when your mother was sick, we asked us to pay 20 taels of money for the medicine."

"What? Didn't I always pay for Mammy's medicine? Besides, Mammy's illness didn't cost 20 taels, did she?" Mai Xiang was taken aback.

"Well, your nanny said that she also needs to see a doctor and take medicine when she goes back to the country. You can't just ask for the money from your family. Also, your nanny left me a problem before she left, and asked me to entrust someone to pay for it here. Ask around, if anyone has a suitable boy, find one for your old aunt."

"You? Why would Mammy entrust you to look for it?" Mai Xiang never expected that Mrs. Liu could put down her dignity to beg Mrs. Li.

But the problem is that the qualifications of the people that Mrs. Li knows are at most comparable to those of Wufu, but they are just a few acquainted shopkeepers, and they will definitely not have such good conditions as the Wu family. It seems that Mrs. Liu is really anxious and does not want to procrastinate any longer.

However, Mai Xiang didn't understand again. Since she was from a family with comparable conditions, why did Mrs. Liu go to great lengths to find an excuse to rob Wufu?

Why did Jiufeng's marriage go sour this time? Didn't Mrs. Liu reflect on herself at all?
In other words, Mrs. Liu just wants to use money to buy her daughter to change her mind. Jiufeng has more money and dowry. married.

Thinking of this, Mai Xiang thought that Ye Dafu would not promise Liu Shi less, it seems that Mai Xiang has to communicate with Mai Huang, this large amount of money cannot be put into Ye Dafu's hands for the time being.

When Mai Xiang was looking down and distracted, Li said again: "Mai Xiang, these days I asked the matchmaker to ask around, and finally found two families with similar conditions, and I want to ask you to do the accounting."

When Mai Xiang heard this, she quickly waved her hands and said, "Aunt Wu, we don't count this matter in our accounting. Let's wait until the eighth uncle gets married in a few days and go back to discuss it with Mommy."

Mai Xiang really didn't want to worry about it, let's not say that her efforts were not appreciated, she was afraid she would have to spend some money in vain, the problem is, if Jiufeng was sensible, Mai Xiang would pay a little money.

In fact, in the past few years, Mai Xiang has not treated Jiufeng badly at all. Basically, every time she buys clothes and jewelry for Mai Huang, she will bring a copy of Jiufeng, but Jiufeng is not satisfied at all. She wants to compare with Mai Xiang. Comparing with Ziju, this kind of vanity has no limit once it inflates, Mai Xiang doesn't want to be taken advantage of.

Besides, she's just a junior, and she can't hide from these things, so a fool moves forward.

After hearing this, Mrs. Li patted herself on the head and said with a smile: "But I'm confused, you are so young and you are so serious, I always treat you as an adult."

Mai Xiang smiled when she heard this, she was used to it, and so did her family.

"By the way, Mai Xiang, speaking of this, your Mai Huang will be thirteen next year, what kind of family do you want to find her?" Li changed the subject.

She knew that Mai Xiang must have the final say on matters concerning Mai Huang and the others, and Zhao's stupidity might delay the child.

"This, I really haven't thought about it."

Mai Xiang knew that the white lady of the Li Chang's family was still thinking about Mai Huang.That fat pier has been studying in the city for the past two years, and Mai Xiang doesn't know how he is doing now. Besides, Pang pier is only two years older than Mai Huang. He is only fourteen years old this year. He is still a child. How can he start a family?What does he support his family with?

However, in Mai Xiang's eyes, Chubby is not a good candidate, but in Mai Huang's heart?After all, this is Mai Huang's life. Thinking of this, Mai Xiang gets tangled up again.

The next day, the snow stopped, and the heavy snow at the door was more than half a foot thick, and it would not melt for a while.Mai Xiang thought for a while, anyway, this newspaper doesn't make any money, and there is no news from Yongen's side, and it's so cold that the publishing house can't work, so it's better to give everyone a holiday earlier to save money. some coal.

Thinking of this, Mai Xiang sent Bai Yang to the publishing house and brought all the ledgers. Mai Xiang closed the ledgers herself, asked the steward to give everyone wages and red envelopes, and sent the workers home for the New Year. Well, anyway, it's only ten days away from the twelfth lunar month.

On this day, the sky was finally clear, and the snow on the road had almost melted. Mai Xiang was about to deliver bank notes to these shareholders, when Ji Xiaolan came to her door.

"Master, you old man is really well-informed. Knowing that I was going to send you a bank note, you found it yourself, which saved me a trip." Mai Xiang laughed hurriedly.

"I'm looking for you for a serious business, so don't talk to the master." Ji Xiaolan tapped Maixiang with the pipe stick.

Mai Xiang rubbed her head and smiled wryly, "Master, it's something wrong now."

"Let me ask you, did you make a handwritten newspaper as a gift to the Prince as a gift to the Emperor?" Ji Xiaolan ignored Mai Xiang's trickery and asked seriously.

"Ah? Master knows?"

"The emperor called the people from the Hanlin Academy, asked everyone what they thought, and specifically named me by name."

"Master, did I cause you trouble?" Mai Xiang was taken aback.

The reason why she was looking for Yong En and not Ji Xiaolan was because she was worried that Ji Xiaolan would be involved. Ji Xiaolan had just entered an official position and her foundation was not stable, so Yong En was different. Yong En was a hereditary prince, and Yong En had several achievements However, Qianlong would not turn his face against Yong En.

"It's not troublesome, I just can't figure out what His Majesty's intention is." Ji Xiaolan shook her head.

"How did the master answer?"

"I, no matter what, I have to give my apprentice a face."

"Then what does the emperor mean?"

"Because it's not interesting, I feel that I can't figure it out."

Mai Xiang thought for a while and asked, "Master, do you ask the talented scholars of the Imperial Academy to write comments and notes on articles, does the emperor know?"

In the second and third issues of "Ink", under Mai Xiang's suggestion, Ji Xiaolan asked several colleagues from the Imperial Academy to participate in the writing of article comments and annotations, and Mai Xiang also gave them a generous embellishment fee.The officials in the Imperial Academy are all upright officials, and the salary and money to support their families are really stretched. If you just spend a few nights reading a few articles and expressing your opinions, you can get tens of taels of money for writing. Who would not like such a good job? catch?
Mai Xiang's move not only earned a lot of money and fame for her bookstore, but also accumulated some contacts for Ji Xiaolan, after all, Ji Xiaolan just went to the Imperial Academy.

"You should know that this matter does not involve government affairs. It is just to accumulate some experience for those students to rush for the exam. The emperor will not object. To be honest, I personally think that your intention to run a newspaper is good. However, if the emperor sits high on the dragon chair all day, how can he know what the people are thinking, and how can he ensure that his decision-making is truly for the sake of the people? How to be a good emperor who is diligent in government and loves the people? In the same way, if you are far away from the rivers and lakes, you will worry about your emperor. If the people don’t know what the emperor is doing and thinking, how can he share the worries for the emperor? Water can carry a boat and also capsize it The emperor also understands the truth. I think this newspaper is a good opportunity for communication, which is convenient for the people and the emperor."

"Is that what you told the emperor?" Mai Xiang asked.

"Of course, your master has always dared to speak out."

"Then what does the master mean by looking for an apprentice?"

"I don't want to come here in advance to tell you. If the emperor gets angry and dismisses my official position, the master will really have to rely on apprentices to support me." Ji Xiaolan laughed after finishing speaking.

Mai Xiang rolled her eyes when she heard this, shook her head and smiled, "Master is becoming more and more rogue. By the way, master, this winter, master will annotate a few collections of classics and history, and I will use them in the spring of next year."

Next year is the year of the township examination, and such books are sure to be popular.

"Girl, your brain is spinning very fast." Ji Xiaolan also thought of this.

Just as Ji Xiaolan's pipe stick was about to hit Mai Xiang's head, Feng Ye came in and said that Prince Li had sent someone to fetch Mai Xiang.

(End of this chapter)