Wang Qing’s aggravation turned into disbelief as he looked up. “Little Uncle?” Shao Yunan said, “Your Little Uncle Guo. Little Uncle Guo is shy, so you can tell people that he is your Little Uncle.” Wang Qing nodded again, still a little aggrieved. “My school bag is gone, what will I carry tomorrow?”

There was nothing Shao Yunan could do about that, so Kang Rui spoke. “Today you will bring more snacks and exchange it for your school bag. Tell them that if they like this kind of school bag, you can book it for them. A school bag…” he looked at Shao Yunan, “How much do you think is appropriate for one?”

Shao Yunan was speechless. “Brother, I thought you would say that you will help Qing get his school bag back tomorrow.” Kang Rui, however, just smiled and said, “Brother can’t step in for this kind of thing. It’s wrong for them to forcefully buy Qing’s school bag and snacks, but in a way, it will strain their relationship less if this matter is handled by Qing himself.”

Well, the Senior Brother was the educator so it would be just right to listen to his Senior Brother. Shao Yunan thought about it and said, “Just say 5 taels of silver each. If they want to add additional content, money will be added according to the amount of content added.” Then he shook his head again. “It’s not good, Qing went to study and not to do business. Let me think about what we should do about it.” Wang Shijing came up with an idea. “Or we can just open a bag store.”

Shao Yunan… “We can’t open a bag store so fast and kids definitely can’t wait.” Thinking of it, Shao Yunan tapped his head. “Well, Wang Qing, tell your classmates that Grandma Zhou will make a bag-style booklet and they can decide which one they like in advance. The prices will be stated in the booklet and Little Father will ask her to prepare it.”

Wang Qing nodded. “Good.” Then he worriedly said, “But I said it was designed for me by my Little Father.” Shao Yunan, “That’s nothing. Little Father designed it, but wasn’t the one to make it. You can just say that the bags will be prepared by Grandma Zhou and Little Father was just advertising it.” Wang Qing stopped worrying at this point and just pouted again. “I want my schoolbag.”

“Little Father will prepare more snacks for you tomorrow so you can exchange them back.” Since his Little Father said so, Wang Qing felt better and immediately said he was going to do his homework. Seeing Wang Qing leave, Shao Yunan looked at Kang Rui, who immediately said, “No one would dare to grab it from him.” What he ate for lunch was also the delicious bento Shao Yunan made for him. Shao Yunan was embarrassed, “How did Senior Brother know what I was going to ask?”

“Your expression was clear.” Wang Qing happily went to school, but in the end, his school bag was gone and the lunch he brought was shared among the students led by Zou Xiaofang, so he didn’t even get a bite. Although they gave him their jade pendant, he didn’t care for them, making Wang Qing very depressed. Only after eating the big meal prepared by his Little Father and Uncle Guo did his mood become better, but just a little bit.

Shao Yunan told Aunt Zhou about making the bags. Aunt Zhou was both very surprised and somehow grateful to Shao Yunan. Her family worked in the Wang residence and they received a lot of money every month. Now Shao Yunan even found work for her, so Aunt Zhou really didn’t know how she should thank Shao Yunan, since these school bags were also designed by Shao Yunan. 

Shao Yunan suggested that Aunt Zhou bring Zheng Wei, Ding Ye, and Ding Ji to do it together. Those three women were good at handicrafts and they all worked at the Wang residence, although they didn’t talk too much. Aunt Zhou would also not be able to do it alone. If this bag turned out to be a good business opportunity, he would consider opening a bag store.

Aunt Zhou took over the task and Shao Yunan said that he would receive 30% of the money earned, Aunt Zhou would receive 30%, and Zheng Wei, Ding Ye, and Ding Ji would each receive 10% of the remaining 30%. Zheng Wei, Ding Ye, and Ding Ji were all his family slaves and were already happy that their master was willing to give them a share of the money.

After sort of finding a money-making deal for Aunt Zhou, Shao Yunan asked Wang Shijing to go to Wang Wenhe’s house. Wang Shijing, who had been given the task by his wife, went out with a packet of walnut cakes.

Since Wang Qing’s snacks were bought by his classmates, Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo felt aggrieved, but they couldn’t keep their snacks either as they were forcibly bought by their classmates. Almost all the students in White Moon Academy were from rich families, so Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo who were from ordinary farmer families were unable to hold on to their snacks. 

They were also not like Wang Qing, who could eat delicious snacks every day. They also didn’t have the guts to ask Uncle Yunan for more. When they got home, they didn’t feel like eating dinner. There were three kinds of snacks in the box and neither of them had tried them before they were forced to sell them, without even tasting them. But Wang Qing was still the most pitiful. He didn’t keep either his lunch box or school bag.

Zhao Yuande and Zhao He, and Wang Shupin and his wife didn’t know what to do after their sons came home and told them about this incident. It’s not like their sons were bullied by their classmates, it could only be said that the snacks Shao Yunan made were too tempting. They even felt a little guilty that Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo didn’t protect Wang Qing well. Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo also brought back jade pendants, silver locks, etc., but Zhao Yuande and Wang Shuping asked their sons to return them to their classmates when they went to school the next day.

Wang Shen was doing homework with her grandson on the kang, while thinking about what kind of shoulder ‘school bag’ he wanted. It was already late today, so she could only go to find sister Zhou tomorrow and ask her how to make the schoolbag. If that didn’t work, she would pay sister Zhou to make one for her grandson who really wanted one.

She was racking her brains to draw a pattern according to her grandson’s instructions, when her daughter-in-law came in from outside. “Mother, brother Shijing came, saying that he wanted to talk with father.” When Wang Shen heard this, she immediately got off the Kang. “Stay with Brother Yan, I will go.”

“Ai!” Ever since Wang Shijing left the clan, Wang Wenhe has been feeling very uncomfortable, since Wang Shijing never came to visit him. Wang Shan was also worried that Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan would never come to their house again. For Wang Shen, the relationship between their family and Shijing’s family directly determined the future of her grandson, Wang Yan, so there was no room for negligence.

When Wang Shen went to the main room, Wang Wenhe and Wang Shuping were already there. Wang Shijing, seeing her, stood up and greeted her. “Aunt.”

“Have a seat. I’ll get you some water!” Wang Shen hurriedly went out to pour water. She was also relieved to see that Wang Shijing had brought something over, which meant that the other party really treated their family as elders.

Unlike his wife, when Wang Wenhe saw Wang Shijing again, he had mixed feelings and didn’t know what to say, but Wang Shuping naturally said, “You and Yunan recognized Elder Cen as your father, are Elder Cen’s biological children fine with it? I heard people say that they are all in the capital.”

Wang Shijing said, “Brother and sister are very happy. They wrote that they would come for a visit when they can. Yunan and I wrote them back and told them not to hurry. It takes a lot of time to go back and forth. It’s also cold. When the weather gets warmer, Yunan and I will take our parents to the capital to see them.”

Wang Wenhe’s face twitched, as Wang Shuping said, “You and Yunan are now free of worries and have the love of your parents, so it’s the end of your suffering.” Wang Shijing said, “This is also thanks to Brother Shuping. You didn’t spare any effort for me and Yunan.”

Wang Shuping, “You and Yunan have always respected me, so how could I stand by when you two needed help? It’s just that when you left the clan like this, a lot of clansmen were a little sad.” Wang Shijing nodded. “I know. It’s just that only by leaving could I become completely relieved.” Wang Shuping sighed… “Don’t think about the past.”

Wang Shijing glanced at Wang Wenhe, who was still depressed and said, “Uncle Wang, Brother Shuping, I came today to tell you something. Brother Kangchen wants to partner with Yunan to open a restaurant in the county town. The person behind shopkeeper Xu had some trouble, so he planned to close Yizhang restaurant and  shopkeeper Xu agreed to help. When this restaurant opens, all kinds of ingredients need to be supplied by someone. Since Yunan and I are part of it, we want the  ingredients to come from our village. So I came to ask if the members of the Wang clan are willing to supply it.”

Wang Wenhe looked at Wang Shijing suddenly and even Wang Shuping was surprised. “Shijing, you mean, you want the Wang clan to supply ingredients to your restaurant?”

“Hmm. Vegetables and fruits, chickens and ducks, pork, eggs, whatever. As long as the quality is good, the restaurant will take it.” Wang Shuping got excited and panicked a little at the same time. “How much do you need? I am afraid we won’t have enough.”

Wang Shijing, “The restaurant won’t open so soon. The people of the clan can plan and raise livestock first. We will open in May at the earliest, since Yunan and I need to finish the tea business first.”

Wang Shuping immediately counted the time in his head when he heard it, while Wang Shijing said, “If this matter can’t be done by the members of the Wang clan, it is also okay to look for acquisitions outside the members of the Wang clan. I have a list and the approximate amount needed. You can let the clan members see how much each family can afford. Then provide me with an amount as soon as possible, then I will go to Uncle Zhao.”

Wang Shijing took out the list and handed it to Wang Shuping, then handed out another list and said, “This is the method of making sesame paste. We will need a lot of it in the restaurant in the future. This sesame paste is something Yunan and I mean for brother Shuping to do himself. When you become the patriarch, you can decide if you want to share the benefits with the whole clan.”

Wang Shuping was shaken, and so was Wang Wenhe. Wang Shijing said calmly, “Yunan and I will not forget those who have been kind to our family, but we will also not forgive those greedy people either. Brother Yan will definitely have a future, so you should plan ahead.”

Wang Shijing’s early planning was to prepare the silver in advance that Wang Yan would need for future imperial examinations. With Wang Wenhe’s current prestige and the current situation of the Wang clan, the best choice for Wang Yan was for Wang Shuping’s family to pay for his studies alone.

Wang Shuping took two deep breaths and said gratefully, “Shijing, your and Yunan’s kindness will never be forgotten. In the future, no matter how far Yan’s studies go, he is half your child. If you need him, just call him. If you need help, even if I can’t help you I will still try.”

Wang Shuping really didn’t know how to repay the gratitude he felt toward Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan. Wang Shijing didn’t need anything in return from Wang Shuping, these things were ordered by his wife to repay favors.

Edited by: Jaisland

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