Wang Shuping blew on the hot liquid and took a sip. Amazement immediately appeared in his eyes. The taste was a little bitter, but it was also very peculiar. He took another sip, swallowed it,and carefully recalled it before he said, “At first it was a little bitter, but after drinking more, it became a little sweet.” Taking another sip, he nodded. “It’s good.” Shao Yunan said, “This was made with the wild chrysanthemums picked from the mountain. But since Shijing and I don’t have energy to gather them and everyone is busy with farming, we didn’t get much. It has good cooling properties, so I made some for Shijing and the children to drink. This wild chrysanthemum tea is also good for colds and if you put in a few pieces of licorice, it would taste even better. I will ask Shijing to pack some for you later.”

 

“No, no.” How could Wang Shuping ask for it? This chrysanthemum tea has never been seen by him before, so it must be one way Shao Yunan thought of to make money. Shao Yunan looked at Wang Shijing, making him get up and leave. The chrysanthemum tea was stored in Wang Qing and Nizi’s room. Then Shao Yunan said, “Brother Shuping, don’t blame me for what happened just now. Shijing is a member of the Wang clan, so he cannot express his many grievances. Today, someone asked for my tea making method for a piece of meat and a bag of rice, so tomorrow even more people would come to ask for it for free. I’m not boasting. No one in the world knows my recipes but me. Even if I am no longer short of money, I’m not that generous. Not to mention that my family has many places that I need to spend money on. If they want my life-hood craft, I need to find the clan patriarch, otherwise anyone could use family kinship to pressure our family.”

 

Wang Shuping sighed. “Wang Dafu’s family really likes to take advantage of others. Yunan, my father and I really haven’t asked for the jam recipe.” Shao Yunan said, “I believe that. But my words are not nonsense either. That couple did accuse me of ‘why I sold the recipe to Zhao Lizheng’s family, instead of giving it to the patriarch’.” Wang Shuping was so angry that the veins on his forehead were about to come out. Shao Yunan said, “Brother Shuping, don’t blame me for speaking harshly. But why did Wang Dafu and the others dare to say such things? If the patriarch’s prestige in the clan was enough, would this family dare to throw dirty water on the patriarch? I was also told about it later. In the end, the patriarch siding with old lady Wang’s family made the clan unafraid of him. Brother Shuping, let me ask you. If Wang Zhisong fails the examination, will the patriarch be able to bear the consequences of his favoritism all this time?”

 

Wang Shuping did not say anything but he frowned as Shao Yunan continued. “I was initially prepared to use the jam recipe to earn money, but after I discussed it with Shijing, I decided to sell it. Because if it was left in our hands, we simply wouldn’t be able to protect it.” Wang Shuping raised his eyes, as Shao Yunan said very directly, “How can making money with jam bring me trouble from the clan? Can I only mean from old lady Wang’s family? Or someone from the clan that would come and make trouble if I made money? How would the patriarch judge at that time? The money earned in our family by selling stones already caused a lot of jealousy. If I hadn’t gone to the county school to reason with the teachers, my family’s money from the sale of the stones and the remaining stones would not be kept.” Wang Shuping’s face was burning. The patriarch was his father after all.

 

Wang Shuping could not answer, so Shao Yunan continued. “For the sake of Shijing and my peace in the future and so that we can earn money later, I sold the jam recipe. However, Shijing’s last name is still Wang, so I could only sell it to Zhao Lizheng, because only Zhao Lizheng can keep our family’s peace. If I handed it over to the clan patriarch he might have taken it to that family to ‘please’ Wang Zhisong. Even if it’s given to you, you can’t protect it.” Wang Shuping felt even more ashamed.

 

“Brother Shuping, if it was not a last resort, Shijing would not have left the clan. But today’s clan is not only not a refuge for us, but something that can be used to harm us. Shijing and I want to live well and we want our two children to be safe from the clan. We have to find someone who can protect us. The clan couldn’t protect us, so we had to find Zhao Lizheng. This house is also a protection talisman for me, Shijing, Wang Qing, and Nizi.” Shao Yunan helplessly said, “I was going to sell this chrysanthemum tea recipe to fourth Uncle and fourth Aunt Wang. But with Wang Dafu acting this way and the fact that the patriarch can do nothing with people like them, I hesitate. I don’t want fourth Uncle and fourth Aunt to suffer a disaster, instead of earning money.”

 

Wang Shuping was very surprised as he asked, “You are going to sell this too? This chrysanthemum tea may be even more profitable than that jam. Yunan, I will advise my father. Aren’t you and Shijing still in contact with the county magistrate? If you sell it, how much would you sell it for? People who wouldn’t be able to buy it would still gossip about you at that time, making the matter only worse.”

 

Shao Yunan smiled. “I can take care of everyone, but I must repay those who are kind to my family. Brother Shuping, seriously. If I were not afraid that the patriarch would take my recipe to that family, I would really want to give you this recipe for chrysanthemum tea. Shijing and I both know that you are looking out for us. Please don’t think I am small minded, but there is just no way that our family and that family would ever reconcile. Even if my recipe was burned, I won’t let them get even a little bit of advantage.”

 

Wang Shuping’s mood went up and down as Shao Yunan spoke. “Brother Shuping, even if the patriarch won’t reveal the recipe to the other family. I’m worried that all the money you’ve worked so hard to earn will be used to subsidize it. Even if you don’t care, it’s impossible for your wife to endure it all the time. You’d better persuade the patriarch to not just focus on Wang Zhisong’s reputation. The family is not known for showing gratitude. Even if Wang Zhisong can achieve the prime minister status, what would he give to the Wang clan and the patriarch? I’m not asking the patriarch to ignore them, I just want the patriarch to be fair and just.”

 

Wang Shijing came in with a paper bag in his hands. He came over and put the paper bag in front of Wang Shuping who could immediately smell the smell of chrysanthemums. “Brother Shuping, take it back and soak it in hot water for a moment before drinking.”

 

“No, I will come back another day.” Wang Shuping refused to take it, so Shao Yunan took it and stuffed it into his arms. “It’s not for you to drink. This stuff clears the liver and brightens the eyes and helps with curing the cold and sore throat, so it’s most suitable for Brother Yan to drink. I heard that he studies very hard.” Wang Shuping pursed his lips and finally took it. “Then I won’t be polite with you.” After a pause, he said, “You should make this stuff yourselves and sell it for money. I’ve never even seen this, even at doctor Sun’s place. Doctor Sun also knows the owner of the pharmacy in the county town, so this tea can be sold to the pharmacy to make money.”

 

Shao Yunan thought that Wang Shuping and Wang Wenhe really didn’t behave like father and son. Just look how reasonable Wang Shuping was. Shao Yunan laughed. “Okay, I’ll discuss it with Shujing. But if there are more clan members coming to me asking for the recipe what should I do? I can’t go to the patriarch every time.” Wang Shuping’s expression immediately became cold. “Just directly point them to me. Most people who resist are still reasonable and for those who are too unreasonable, there is no need to give them face. I will persuade my father. The three clan elders also understand in their hearts how to choose or else in the future, anyone who has a craft that can earn money would go missing.”

 

“This is all I have to say.” Shao Yunan felt that Wang Shuping was more suitable to be the patriarch. Wang Shuping took a packet of the wild chrysanthemum flowers and left, while Shao Yunan turned around and smiled greatly at Wang Shijing. ”The patriarch will probably become so angry that he will vomit blood.” Wang Shijing took him into his arms. “If the patriarch is still bent on having his own way, the clan will only become more and more distant from him, and sooner or later something will happen. The good thing is that Wang Shuping is very sensible.” Shao Yunan breathed a sigh of relief. “Ha, now that the Sun and Zhao clans are on our side, we will have no worries about doing business in the future.” After saying that, Shao Yunan suddenly exclaimed, “I forgot about something very important!”

 

“What’s the matter? You don’t need to worry.” Wang Shijing was so startled that he hugged his wife with both hands. “The matter of buying the grape seeds!” Shao Yunan slapped his head hard, breaking away from Wang Shijing’s embrace. He was about to rush into the other room to write the letter. He had been so busy that he had forgotten such an important matter! Wang Shijing caught up with him and grabbed him. “Don’t worry, wife. I asked Brother Yuande to write it for me a long time ago. It was already delivered to trusted letter runners to be sent out.”

 

“Ah? When?”

 

“Before the farming season. I asked him to help me write a letter when Brother Yuande went to the county town to deliver the jam. I also didn’t ask only for grape seeds, but said I wanted to get as many types of seeds as they could get of rare fruits from there. If they had any tea tree seeds, I also asked them to get them for me. There is a kind of melon over there called red melon, with red flesh that is really good to eat in summer. It’s sweet and juicy, so you will really like it. There is also another kind of melon with yellow skin and many gold lines on the skin, called golden thread melon. It’s also particularly sweet. If we can also grow it, we can see if it can also be made into a jam.”

 

Wasn’t that watermelon and melon? Shao Yunan jumped onto Wang Shijing and climbed up on him on all fours. “Shijing you are so powerful!” Then he gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Wang Shijing doesn’t understand what he meant, but it was certainly a good thing. He was also very happy that he made his wife happy. Then he carried him into their room and put him on the bed. “I’m going to boil water, want to take a bath?”

 

“No, just wipe it. How long will it take for the letter to reach your comrade-in-arms?”

 

“They are brothers who fought with me in the war.” Comrade-in-arms…  It sounded really appropriate. Wang Shijing… “It depends on how long it takes the merchant to get there, it will take a month at the earliest.”

 

“Oh, isn’t it at least two months before I get a reply?” The ancient times without express delivery was really too inconvenient! “There is no hurry. If I didn’t need to keep an eye on the fields and the new house, I’d go pick wild chrysanthemums for you. This chrysanthemum tea is really delicious, you should make more of it.”

 

“You like it?”

 

“… it has a cooling effect and is good for sore throats, drinking more of it would be good.”

 

“… You coquettish old man!”

 

“Coquettish? What do you mean?”

 

Was he old? Wang Shijing touched his temples as Shao Yunan dragged him into the bed. “A guy who looks honest like you, but is actually a pervert. That’s what coquettish means!”

 

“You are my wife.” Wang Shijing did not consider himself a pervert. Shouldn’t he be flirtatious with his own wife? Fortunately in the next room, their words could not be heard as Wang Nazi very seriously said, “Brother, I will be as good as my little father in the future.” Wang Qing touched his sister’s head. “Well, brother also wants to be like little father.” Shao Yunan did not yet know that he had become the idol of the two children. At this time, he was being gnawed on by a certain someone.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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