Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

After the banquet ended, everyone rose to take their leave. Baochai waited until everyone had gone a few steps before slowly walking up to Jia Cong and smiling sweetly.

"It seems that Brother Cong has put a lot of thought into this birthday gift. He really put his heart into it. In the future, when he has free time, he won't always have to worry about the same thing. We sisters have been hoping to have some novel and interesting things to see."

Jia Cong gave a slight bow, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Since Sister Bao has given the order, how could I dare disobey? I will remember it..."

Baochai was a perceptive person, so she didn't say anything more. She just made a few more lighthearted jokes before following Tanchun and the others.

Daiyu instructed Zijuan to take the teacup back to her room, dismissed the maids, and sat alone facing the glass cup. As she stroked it, she thought of Jia Cong's thoughtfulness, and her heart warmed slightly. However, she then thought of her own loneliness and dependence on others. Even with such good intentions, she was ultimately a rootless duckweed and could not accept such kindness.

Lost in thought for a moment, she burst into tears again. After crying for a while, she carefully asked Zijuan to put the teacup away, saying that she would use it to make tea that evening.

The next day, instead of receiving the money from Wang Xifeng, Jia Zheng ordered his servants to help Jia Cong move. With the imperial decree issued, the Grand View Garden was finally ready for tidying up.

On February 22nd, Jia Cong, like Bao Yu, was able to move into the Grand View Garden.

Daiyu remained in Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Baochai went to Hengwu Garden, and although Jia Cong had gained some status in the mansion, it was not high after all, so he moved to Qingyan Hall, which was a little further away, in a dejected manner.

Qingyan Hall is built by the water, perched on a riverbank overlooking the mountain. You can fish right from the window. It is surrounded by reeds on all sides. A path meanders through the reeds and is not far from Luxue Nunnery. It also leads to the bamboo bridge of Ouxiang Pavilion.

Jia Cong was fairly satisfied. Although it wasn't as luxurious as the Grand View Garden, it was much more spacious. Moreover, Grandmother Jia had ordered four more maids and four more servants to be added to his household, and they served him even more attentively than before.

After entering the Grand View Garden, Baoyu became more and more relaxed. Jia Zheng, due to the presence of many beautiful women in the courtyard, would not come often. The sisters and maids made this troublesome boy feel like a mouse in a rice jar.

Jia Cong was quite satisfied. The area around Qingyan Hall was mostly riverbanks with a lot of open space, so he brought his own Ba Hongchen here as well, instructing the servants to take good care of him. In his spare time, he would run around the area a few times to practice his Yulin spear technique.

But after nightfall, he dug out the "Mirror of Love and Lust" from the bottom of the box. No matter how he looked through it, he could no longer find the figure of the old man who practiced martial arts, which made him somewhat discouraged.

The next day, Jia Cong had just returned from the drill ground and hadn't even entered the courtyard of Qingyan Hall when he heard Wang Xifeng shouting inside.

"Has Brother Cong returned? Come with me to the Ancestor!"

He hurried inside, only to be grabbed by the wrist by Sister Feng, who was still talking to him.

"I've come today to congratulate you, brother. The yield of the white fungus has increased by more than tenfold! Our ancestor has sent word that you should hurry up and collect your reward!"

Jia Cong was secretly pleased. Wang Xifeng was indeed efficient. In just about forty days, the greenhouse-grown white fungus was already on the table. However, he was still not satisfied with the yield. According to the methods of later generations, the yield would be at least fifty to a hundred times higher. It was just that the era had limited the production.

Following Wang Xifeng all the way to Rongqing Hall, Grandmother Jia was slurping down her white fungus soup, being served by two maids.

Upon seeing Jia Cong, Grandmother Jia quickly and cheerfully waved her hand.

"Cong'er is here. Quick, serve him a bowl too."

Jia Cong hurriedly stepped forward to greet Grandmother Jia, saying, "Greetings to Grandmother."

When the maidservant handed him the white fungus soup in a gilded lacquer bowl, he took it with both hands, took a small sip, and then praised, "Grandmother, the soup here is becoming more and more authentic."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. She raised her hand and patted the seat beside her, gesturing for him to sit down.

"You little rascal, you know how to talk! It's not that the soup is good, it's your new method that works!"

She took a sip of her soup, her tone full of approval.

"The white fungus we ate in the manor before was either bought from outside, which was expensive and scarce, or it was grown sporadically in the garden, not enough for just two or three people. Now, with your method, the yield has increased dozens of times, and there's more than enough for everyone in the manor to eat!"

Wang Xifeng, standing to the side, also smiled and joined in the conversation.

"What the old lady said is absolutely right. The other day, Lai's eldest daughter-in-law came to inquire and said that the shopkeepers in the capital are always worried about the shortage of white fungus. If our manor can supply it in bulk, they will definitely be willing to place an order! Now that the production is stable, we can straighten out the sales procedures and add some extra expenses to the manor, so that we don't have to be so restrictive about expenses everywhere."

As Grandmother Jia nodded, she turned to her head maid, Yuanyang, and instructed her:

"Go, fetch me that jade-inlaid thumb ring from my box!"

Jia Cong quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

"Thank you for your grace, our ancestors!"

Before long, Yuanyang came over carrying a small sandalwood box decorated with gold. Jia Cong stepped forward, took it, and opened it. Inside, there was a bright gold thumb ring with exquisitely inlaid jade. He bowed again and thanked her solemnly.

The group talked for half a day in Rongqing Hall. After Grandmother Jia took her afternoon nap, Jia Cong and Wang Xifeng took their leave. They were then summoned to Jia Lian's residence, where Xifeng took a heavy bundle of silver from a maid and placed it in his hand.

"Brother Cong, don't rush to thank the Ancestor for his reward, your wife has another one here!"

When Jia Cong saw that there were indeed neatly stacked ingots of silver, totaling more than two hundred taels, he was immediately delighted, but he pretended to decline for a while.

"Sister-in-law, you're being too polite. You're the one who's been helping to manage this workshop. How could I, a hands-off manager, possibly accept this money?"

"Oh, that won't do!" Wang Xifeng waved her hand. "This was decided by our matriarch. Besides, the perfume formula is fundamental. Without you, where would these incomes come from?"

She leaned closer, her smile both shrewd and warm. "Brother, don't complain about the small amount. The silver ear mushroom business is just starting out. Once mass production begins and orders start pouring in, the profits will be even greater than those from the perfume workshop. Your share of the profits will more than double! I guarantee you won't lose out!"

"Thank you very much for your trouble, sister-in-law."

Wang Xifeng, intentionally or unintentionally, climbed onto his increasingly strong arm.

"Why are you being so polite, we're practically family? Just focus on getting to the bottom of things. Your sister-in-law will take care of everything else, from sales channels to accounts! Not to mention the income from the Western glass, we'll probably be able to make a living off these few things alone."

Jia Cong, without showing any emotion, smiled and brushed aside Wang Xifeng's groping hands, then handed the silver to Li Rong behind him.

"Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. I'll go back and put the money away now..."

Wang Xifeng was not annoyed. She simply smiled and saw him off for a while before returning to her residence, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.

With these two hundred taels, the previously depleted treasury suddenly became abundant again. That very night, Jia Cong asked Li Rong to add a few dishes to the small kitchen in the Grand View Garden, and then drank two jugs of wine before going to sleep.