Gu Wenheng had just finished hitching up the donkey cart when Gu Kaishan and Liu Heizi appeared at the gate. They had already arranged yesterday to travel to the county town together to sell dried fish.

They had just left the village entrance when Gu Kaishan started making small talk. "You rascal, you’re living more and more comfortably these days. You’ve even got servants now."

"It’s all thanks to my wife’s good fortune. You two are doing pretty well yourselves. Look at your clothes, they’re still brand new.

And you’ve brought quite a lot of fish. Looks like you’ve been earning a good bit."

Gu Kaishan grinned foolishly. "Heizi and I learned to swim recently, and we built a raft. We often go to the other side of the river to set some fish traps. No one really fishes over there, so we got to take advantage of it.

Speaking of which, did you see your sixth sister yesterday?"

Gu Wenheng and Jin Qianqian had thought of this yesterday, but since no one else brought it up, they didn’t ask.

"Your sixth sister... I think she’s got a problem up here," Gu Kaishan said, pointing to his forehead. "After spring began, your mother found a few families for her. Two of them didn’t even mind that she’s pregnant, and they agreed to let her send the child back to the He Family after it’s born.

And those two families, if you compare them to that He fellow, they’re so much better.

But your sixth sister... if she just didn’t want to and refused, that would’ve been one thing. But she insulted them, saying they were toads lusting after a swan’s flesh and telling them to take a piss and look at their own reflections."

Liu Heizi chuckled. "I happened to be there. That family and the matchmaker’s faces completely changed. But they didn’t take it lying down. They insulted your sixth sister from head to toe, basically saying there wasn’t a single good thing about her."

"She deserved it," Gu Kaishan said. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned in conspiratorially to Gu Wenheng’s ear. "I’ve seen that He fellow come looking for your sister a few times. If they can’t break it off, you should tell your mother. Stop trying to ruin other families."

Gu Wenheng asked, "Why don’t you say something?"

"Hah, aren’t I telling you right now? But honestly, among you siblings, only Old Six and Old Eight are worthless. From what I can see, though, they both take after your father."

Gu Kaishan said mockingly, "Any of the older folks in the village, they all laugh behind your father’s back, saying he doesn’t know how to appreciate his good fortune.

He didn’t cause any trouble this time he came back, did he?"

Gu Wenheng gave a wry smile. "How could he not? We were just talking about it this morning. Once they finish the work in the fields in a few days, I’ll drive the cart back and take him to Dao City to see a doctor."

"I’m actually hoping your dad really is fine," Gu Kaishan said with the expression of someone watching a play. "For the past few months, everyone has been visiting him every few days. When it turns out there’s nothing wrong with him, let’s see how he’s going to face everyone in the village."

"Where do you all sell this dried fish?" Gu Wenheng asked, changing the subject. It was, after all, a family shame. He pointed to the dried fish on the cart.

"We used to set up a stall at the market, but not many people actually bought them." At this, Gu Kaishan nodded sheepishly toward Jin Qianqian. "It’s all thanks to your wife for teaching us those recipes. We told everyone how to cook the fish, and after they tried it, more and more people started buying.

Even though some other people sell dried fish there too, many people choose to keep buying from us out of goodwill, since we were the ones who provided the recipes. Over time, it’s become a habit for them."

Jin Qianqian smiled. "I was just messing around in the kitchen. It’s thanks to you, Uncle Kai Shan, for being so quick-witted and finding such a good line of business for yourselves."

Gu Kaishan said, "No matter what, your uncle has benefited from your kindness. If you ever want to eat fish in the future, just let me know. I guarantee I’ll pick out the fattest ones for you."

Jin Qianqian thanked him repeatedly, saying she would definitely come to them if she needed anything. Seeing that she wasn’t treating them like strangers, Gu Kaishan and Liu Heizi felt very happy. After all, it was her skill they were using to make money, and this was all they could do to repay her for now.

Back by that lake, Jin Qianqian hadn’t hidden any of her fish recipes. Many people had learned them, but unfortunately, none were as clever as Gu Kaishan, who had managed to transform himself from a former loafer into a capable young man.

＆

「The truly busy days began.」 Gu Wenheng spent two days looking for a suitable house without success, so he had to go to the academy to continue his studies and prepare for the upcoming provincial examination.

Jin Qianqian, along with Sanqing, spent several days searching the county town, but they couldn’t find a suitable house either.

Her once-ambitious fighting spirit had wilted a bit. She gave up the search and simply had Hong Da drive the carriage straight ahead along the main road.

"Have Hong Da stop for a moment," Jin Qianqian said, looking out through the curtain at the land outside, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"How far is this from the county town?" Jin Qianqian got out of the carriage and looked at the empty plot of land before her. Although it was backed by a small hill, with a bit of extra manpower, even that small hill could be leveled.

"Less than ten li," Hong Da replied. He didn’t know why Jin Qianqian was asking, but after a moment’s thought, he gave a rough estimate.

Jin Qianqian’s eyes lit up. "Let’s go. Keep moving forward, but slow the carriage down."

They wandered around the outskirts of the county town for the better part of the day, with Jin Qianqian occasionally taking notes on a piece of white paper with a charcoal pencil.

Qing Mei was the first to lose her patience. "Madam, we’ve been wandering for most of the day. Shouldn’t we be heading back?"

Jin Qianqian glanced at the sky. "It’s getting late. Let’s head back for now."

The moment the carriage stopped at the courtyard gate, Gu Wenheng was there waiting for her. "Where did you run off to?"

Jin Qianqian brandished the paper in her hand triumphantly. "I went to find a solution."

Hong Da led the horse and carriage toward the small pastry shop. They had two modified carriages; one was kept here for use, while the other had to be left at the manor.

The courtyard here had long been monopolized by Little Donkey, so the horse-drawn carriage could only be parked in the small backyard of the pastry shop.

"I’ve got it! Since we can’t buy a courtyard big enough here, let’s just build one ourselves.

Why don’t we find Steward Mao and see if these plots of land have owners? We can pick an ownerless plot, buy it, and then ask Foreman Ding to rush the construction for us. When you calculate it all, it’s much more cost-effective than buying a house." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

’As for whether it’s too remote? These things are completely negligible,’ Jin Qianqian thought. ’It’s all within the county town area, and with a carriage for transportation, it’s not an issue at all.’

Gu Wenheng took the paper and examined it carefully. Afraid that her descriptions of the locations weren’t detailed enough, Jin Qianqian had also drawn a simple route map, which made everything clear at a glance.

"This is a good idea," Gu Wenheng said. He had also spent the last two days looking around the county town, and there weren’t many places that truly suited them. Moreover, the ones that did weren’t for sale.

"Look, this is what I’m thinking." Jin Qianqian took another sheet of white paper from the desk and began to sketch rapidly with her charcoal pencil. "We can build it with two courtyards. The front one for living, and the back one can be the soap workshop."