“If you don’t believe it, find a doctor to treat him!”
After saying this, Chen Shanlin didn’t bother with him anymore.
Jiang Dahe returned to the fields, and the Zhangs all gathered around to ask about the situation.
“No cure!”
Jiang Dahe’s wife, Yang Qingqing, voiced her suspicion: “Could they be deceiving us?”
Sitting aside, Jiang Cuifen said: “Daya, that cunning girl, might really trick us. But even if Dahai recovers, he wouldn’t abandon his mother, right?”
“He wouldn’t dare to abandon me!”
Zhang Shi felt no guilt.
Jiang Zhengde gave her a look and said: “You’re good at causing trouble but not at solving it. I told you before, he isn’t our biological son, so he can choose not to care about us!”
“Dad, should we go find Dahai?”
Jiang Dashan was also worried that Jiang Dahai might not recognize them in the future.
“What’s the point of finding him? To tell him you were lying before? Do you think he’d believe that? Or to check on him, to show concern? Do you think that would make a difference?”
Jiang Zhengde was truly infuriated by them; had he been present before, he would never have allowed such a thing to happen.
Jiang Cuifen pouted and grumbled: “Dad, you say this is no good, that’s no good, then come up with a solution!”
“Shut up, it’s all because of what you’ve done.”
Jiang Zhengde couldn’t think of any solution at the moment and didn’t want to deal with them, so he turned back to his room.
Jiang Yan, naturally, was unaware of these events. In the following days, she indeed visited Jiang Dahai less frequently, just as she had said.
On the morning of August 20th.
Before Jiang Yan and her group had entered the Su family’s gate, a colorfully dressed matchmaker walked out.
“Daya, you’re here.”
Matchmaker Li greeted them enthusiastically.
Jiang Yan and her group weren’t very familiar with her, just nodding in acknowledgment.
Matchmaker Li suddenly remembered something, stopped, and approached them: “Daya, you’re not young anymore, shall I find you a marital home?”
“Thank you, but no need!”
Jiang Yan directly refused.
Matchmaker Li knew someone from Jiang Yan’s workshop and, seeing her firm refusal, didn’t dare to press further, just smilingly told them to come find her if they changed their minds.
As soon as she left.
Su Ping’an and Su Jixiang came out from the main gate.
“Daya, you’re here.”
Jiang Ling casually asked: “Ping’an cousin, Jixiang cousin, don’t you usually go to town every day? Why haven’t you left yet today?”
Knowing she was just curious.
Su Jixiang chuckled and said: “A matchmaker just came to our house to talk about marriage proposals for us.”
Su Ping’an was too shy to speak.
“Who’s the girl?”
Jiang Yan asked, looking intrigued.
Su Ping’an, fearing his brother might say something inappropriate, quickly explained: “Nothing’s set yet. Matchmaker Li just wanted to discuss it with our parents. They think we’re at the age to get engaged, so they asked her to help find someone.”
“Oh, well, congratulations anyway. You’ll probably have wives soon.”
Jiang Yan said with a smile.
Su Jixiang laughed.
Su Ping’an pursed his lips and said: “Daya, I’m not really eager to get married so soon.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but advise him: “It’s simple. If you don’t want to, just tell your parents. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, don’t settle if you’re not willing. Wait until you feel ready, then look.”
Su Ping’an thought she made sense and turned back home.
Soon after.
He came out, smiling.
Time flew by, and it was soon August 28th.
That morning.
Ouyang Siyun arrived early with his caravan to their village and sought out Jiang Yan to give her the previous dividends. “Lard soap, seven thousand seven hundred and fifty taels. The pork sauce and pork floss together cost one thousand five hundred and fifty taels of silver. After deducting the one thousand three hundred taels I already gave you, here are two hundred and fifty taels for you. Together with the previous seven thousand seven hundred and fifty taels, that makes a total of eight thousand taels.” “Wow, that’s so much!” Jiang Yan was quite surprised. Ouyang Siyun raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying, “Indeed, you haven’t seen how capable I am. In the imperial capital and these big cities, I sell lard soap for three taels of silver each, others for one tael. In poorer places, I sell them for five hundred coins each, but they’re all limited. Compared to lard soap, pork sauce and pork floss actually sell better; some people even come back asking if we have more. You can make more next month.” He truly lived up to his reputation as a businessman. Jiang Yan appreciated this, which is why she didn’t fuss over her costs and agreed to a fifty-fifty profit split with him. “Don’t worry, this month isn’t short on earnings either.” When Ouyang Siyun left, he took away twenty thousand bars of lard soap, five thousand jars of pork sauce, and four thousand cans of pork floss. Lin Fen knew Jiang Yan had settled the accounts, and she was dying to know how much. As soon as Ouyang Siyun left, she hurried over to ask Jiang Yan, “Da Ya, you’ve made quite a bit of money this time, haven’t you?” “Want to know? I won’t tell you!” Jiang Yan walked away briskly. She had already handed the banknotes over to her uncle for accounting. After tallying up, subtracting the costs, they had made a net profit of more than seven thousand taels of silver from their previous sales. There was no denying the profit was substantial. With so much money, Jiang Yan wasn’t worried about running out of funds. She took out a hundred taels of silver and instructed Su Old to buy two carriages the next day. One for him to use for purchasing supplies in the future, and the other for Su Jixiang and his team to use when going into town. Moreover, she gave each of them a banknote of one hundred taels. Both Su Old and Su Lao Er were visibly surprised, saying in unison, “Da Ya, you’ve already given us wages, how can we take more of your money!” “Uncle, if it weren’t for your help, the two workshops wouldn’t be doing this well. Just take it, but use it wisely, no second wives or anything like that.” Jiang Yan said with a smile. “Am I that kind of person?” Su Lao Er said, half laughing, half crying. “I’m not, am I? I’m not that kind of person either!” Su Old now seemed much more cheerful than before. Taking the money, Su Lao Er, fearing he might lose it, soon handed it over to Wang Xiuzhen for safekeeping. Su Old kept his money hidden, not giving it to Lin Fen, just in case she would be unsatisfied and start complaining to Jiang Yan.
Chapter 54: Truly Unbearable
