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Jiang Sanlang reached out and poked his son’s forehead, irritably said: “Master Zhou didn’t even know you guys had gone to Jingzhou. When I told him, he immediately chartered a large ship to rush over.”

As for how Master Zhou mobilized the troops, he himself didn’t know, presumably he had to use a lot of connections.

The next day, Yingbao alone went to Deer Garden, and let Youyou out.

The red color on Youyou had faded a bit, making it look even more peculiar.

Yingbao apologized by patting its head and its backside, and let Youyou go to the herd of deer.

Youyou nuzzled against his little master, striding towards the herd.

The herd was startled at first, but then recognized its leader and continued to graze on the grass on the ground.

After watching for a while, Yingbao turned to look for Chuchu and handed over the things brought by Chuyan.

Niuniu was already three years old, a bit older than her cousin Dali.

“Niuniu, do you still remember me?” Yingbao put the back-basket on the ground and teased the muddy child.

Niuniu blinked her big eyes, then suddenly cried out, “Sister.”

Yingbao laughed heartily: “Call me aunt, little aunt!”

Niuniu obediently called her: “Little aunt.”

“That’s right, I’m your little aunt.” Yingbao picked her up and took out a handkerchief to wipe her face.

She was too busy yesterday and hadn’t had a chance to see her. Today she just happened to bring the things from Chuyan and bought two boxes of cakes for Niuniu.

Upon not seeing Chuchu around, Yingbao asked, “How come Niuniu is home alone? Where are your mom and little brother?”

“Mommy took my brother to wash clothes.” Niuniu spoke clearly, her big eyes fixed on Yingbao.

Yingbao put her down and took her to wash her hands again.

This Chuchu is really something, letting her little girl get so dirty and not washing her.

Soon enough, a basin of water was turned black by Niuniu’s washing, yet her hands were still not clean.

After using two basins of water, Niuniu’s little face and hands were finally clean. Yingbao handed her a piece of pastry and sat beside her, watching her eat.

Niuniu ate very carefully, even imitating Yingbao by sitting on a small stool.

Yingbao said, “Niuniu, you can’t lounge on the ground to play in the future. You might swallow little bugs.”

“Mm!” Niuniu nodded.

Yingbao picked up a Khun Ming puzzle from the ground and taught Niuniu how to solve it.

Niuniu was smart and quickly got the hang of it. She stuffed the last bit of cake into her mouth and started to attempt the puzzle just like Yingbao.

At that moment, Chuchu returned carrying Heidan. She was overjoyed to see Yingbao. She put down her basket, hugged Yingbao, and started to hang up the laundry.

Yingbao also picked up the wet clothes to wring dry and then hang them on the bamboo rack. “Sister Chuchu, I ran into Chuyan. He wanted me to bring some things to you.”

Chuchu paused, asked anxiously, “What is Chuyan doing now? Why didn’t he write me?”

“He can’t easily do so.” Once Yingbao finished hanging up a few pieces of clothes, she pointed to a basket of items and said, “These are what he wanted me to give you.”

The basket contained fabrics, two small child’s gold lockets, two pairs of small golden bracelets, two golden hairpins, a pair of large golden bracelets, and two hundred taels of silver.

Chuchu held the items and began to cry. “No matter how inconvenient it is for him, he should at least let me know he’s safe. After all these years, he hasn’t given me any word.”

Every time she thought that Chuyan left with her husband’s brother, anger swelled within Chuchu.

She cried for a while, then, upon hearing Heidan behind her start to howl, she quickly put him down and started to breastfeed him.

Upon seeing Chuchu, who now looked like a haggard rural woman, sitting on a stool, lifting her garment to breastfeed her child, Yingbao couldn’t help but grimace.

She didn’t want to have children herself in the future, much less breastfeed them.

Breastfeeding, that’s pretty scary.

After leaving Chuchu’s house, Niuniu kept crying and chasing after her.

Unable to resist, Yingbao takes her hand and leads her along.

ChuChu spends all day busy with housework, washing clothes, cooking, nursing the baby, even having to take care of the garden. Black Egg also must be carried with her, so Niuniu is often overlooked.

As a result, Niuniu spends most of her time playing alone.

Today, she finally encounters a young lady…or rather a little aunt dedicated to playing with her, and naturally warms up to her.

Yingbao takes Niuniu to stroll around the market outside the village, where they see Chen Zhao as expected.

She and her older sister Chen Wan jointly run a food stall selling fried sugar cakes and pork wontons.

The wontons are filled with abundant black pepper, vinegar and coriander. The scent simply wafts through the air for miles.

Seeing Yingbao, Chen Zhao is happy, beckoning to her, “Yingbao, come quickly! Try the wontons I made.”

Yingbao leads Niuniu over and sits down at the small table.

Looking around, she sees that after a month or two, the market has a few more stalls, an extra butcher’s stall and even a saddlery.

More and more people are setting up homes and extending further on the South Slope. The market here is even busier than the town.

Not counting the medicine stores, cloth shops, and inns run by wealthy families in town, the number of stalls in this side of the market is extensive, selling all kinds of things.

There are women and young girls from neighboring villages selling embroidered products on the roadside, carrying small stools, and embroidering on the spot.

“The wontons are ready.” Chen Zhao brings a bowl of hot wontons to Yingbao and a smaller one for Niuniu.

Yingbao stirs the wontons slowly to cool them off and asks Chen Zhao, “Is business okay?”

“Of course. My older sister and I can earn 500 coins a day.” Chen Zhao wipes her hands on her apron with pride, “On market days, we can earn up to two silver coins.”

Once the wontons in the small bowl have cooled, Yingbao hands the spoon to Niuniu.

“Do your grandparents agree with you keeping your business?”

“What could she do if she doesn’t agree?” sneered Chen Zhao, “We’ve given plenty to the family.”

After pondering, she starts complaining to Yingbao, “The expenses for Dad’s studies in the County City are increasing. I wonder where they all went?”

Looking around to make sure there are no outsiders, Chen Zhao lowers her voice and asks, “Yingbao, can you tell me how much it costs to study at the county school per month?”

“I’m not sure.” Yingbao begins eating her wontons and feeds Niuniu in-between.

Chen Zhao stares at her, “Your brother Jiang Jie is also studying at the county school, isn’t he? How come you don’t know?”

“Oh, you mean Jiang Jie. He doesn’t use much. He can’t even spend 500 coins a month.” Yingbao tells the truth.

Her brother resides in the shop’s backyard and eats meals prepared by their aunt daily. Occasionally he dines out with classmates, but never spends more than thirty coins.

As for stationery, he consumes at most two to three hundred coins a month.

Of course, that’s because she had bulk purchased superior paper and ink from the Prefecture City, which would last Jiang Jie several years.

“Ha! I knew it! He went to the county city with that woman, not to study!” Chen Zhao angrily scrubs the table with a cloth, “Each month, he spends ten silver coins. It’s so hard for us to earn some money, but it just goes to his woman’s rouge and face powder.”

“Ahzhao.” Chen Wan scowls disapprovingly at her sister, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Family matters shouldn’t be discussed with outsiders, particularly about their own father.

Chen Zhao dismisses it, “What nonsense have I talked? Yingbao is not an outsider.”

Yingbao alternates between feeding Niuniu and herself and quickly finishes the wontons.

Setting down the money for the wontons, Yingbao adds, “My brother never uses family money for his studies. He’s a scholarship student and receives four silver coins a month plus grain, vegetables, pork, and mutton.”

Chen Changping is just a fifth-rank charity student who doesn’t even have the qualification to take the provincial exam.

Not all the students studying in the County Government school can take the Imperial civil service examinations. Every three years, only the scholarship students are allowed to take the provincial exam.

Occasionally charitable students join the examination, but that requires the Instructor’s approval. If the Instructor feels your studies lack merit, he simply won’t give you the provincial exam certificate.

Without the certificate, the County Government will not let you register for the exam, nor will they provide travel expenses.

Therefore, if Chen Changping wants to enter officialdom in this lifetime, he most probably needs another way.

If so, which of his daughters will he sacrifice to pave the way for him?