pertwk Chapter 115 Quirky and Amazing
Chapter 115 Quirky and Amazing
Chapter 115 Quirky and Amazing
Over time, they became familiar with each other.
"Sister Minglan is bringing a friend along, it seems to be the eldest daughter of the Yu family." Mu Jie'er winked at Wang You as she spoke.
Wang You's face darkened when he saw Mu Jie'er's expression, and he said, "Don't talk nonsense."
A few years ago, when Mu Jie'er was playing with Minglan, she suddenly said, "Sister Minglan, if you marry my second brother, we'll be family, and we can play together every day."
So, you're saying that getting married is just about bringing her a playmate?
Wang You wasn't far away at the time, so he heard it clearly.
Minglan blushed deeply and felt very embarrassed.
"Don't worry, I was just young before, but I know my limits now."
After Mu Jie'er finished speaking, she instructed the driver to drive the car and looked at Wang You, saying, "However, Second Brother can consider it. I heard Sister Minglan say that this eldest daughter of the Yu family is not only excellent at needlework, but also gentle and virtuous."
Although Grand Tutor Yu has retired, he still has many disciples and former officials in the court.
Marrying her will greatly benefit your future.
"Shut up."
Wang You retorted irritably, "What business is it of yours to worry about my marriage? Besides, how old are you to be thinking about these things?"
"I'm already eleven years old, and in a few more years I'll be of marriageable age. How am I young?"
Mu Jie'er said with dissatisfaction, "Besides, I'm only doing this for your own good."
"Thank you."
Wang You turned his head away, lifted the carriage curtain to look at the scenery outside, and refused to pay any attention to her.
"Second brother, think about it."
Mu Jie'er continued to chatter on, "Among the girls you know, the third daughter of the Hai family is the most well-behaved, but I don't really like her."
Minglan and Jiacheng are both nice, but unfortunately one is born out of wedlock and the other is someone you can't possibly be close to.
Sister Rulan is a nice person. Although she has a bad temper and isn't very smart, she doesn't have any bad intentions.
But such a temperament makes it difficult to control oneself, and it's not really suitable.
Wang You: "————"
Wow, she considered both her own preferences and his.
He frequently visited the Hai family and naturally had contact with Hai Chaoyun.
At such a young age, he does things in a very proper and methodical manner.
This is the kind of thing that mothers-in-law like, but Wang You doesn't.
"Didn't you always tell me to marry my sixth sister? Why are you now complaining that she's an illegitimate daughter?"
'
"It's not that I'm disgusted, but my parents and grandmother would never agree. Given the relationship between the Wang and Sheng families, if they were to come and ask for Minglan's hand in marriage, wouldn't my aunt be furious?" Mu Jie'er shrugged.
Wang You turned to look at his younger sister, a half-smile on his face, and said, "I'm starting to wonder if you're really my sister, or my sixth sister's sister."
Mu Jie'er looked away, "Second Brother, what did you say? I don't understand."
"Don't you understand?"
Wang You sneered, "You think you can hide your little schemes from me?"
Mu Jie'er lowered her head and said, "Then you and Sister Minglan are indeed not suitable for each other."
What she just said seemed to be trying to matchmake Wang You and Yu Yanran, but her real purpose was to tell Wang You that he and Minglan were not suitable for each other.
Mu Jie'er is naturally intelligent. Although she is still young, she has studied at the Hai family for several years and her thinking is already quite mature.
When she was young and naive, she would say things like, "Let Wang You marry Minglan."
But now she understands that there is an insurmountable chasm between them, and there is almost no possibility of anything happening.
But she discovered that Minglan seemed to have some feelings for her brother, and Wang You also seemed to have some feelings for Minglan.
This wasn't just a wild guess; she had gleaned this from several outings they had taken together.
Although Wang You spoke quite a bit with Ru Lan and Ming Lan, there were significant differences in their tone of voice.
When he spoke to Rulan, his tone was more like that of an older brother talking to his younger sister.
But when he talks to Minglan, it's more like a normal conversation between peers.
Mu Jie'er regarded Minglan as a good sister and worried that the two of them would become more and more involved, which would ultimately not end well and would only cause more trouble.
"Don't worry about who I'm compatible with."
Wang You reached out and ruffled her hair, smiling slightly. "If I really wanted to marry someone, do you think I wouldn't be able to?"
'
"If you really have a way, why don't you tell your parents that you like Sister Minglan?" Mu Jie'er said.
Wang You retorted, "Who said I like her?"
"You can't hide it from me. You rarely smile genuinely when you're talking to other women. You only smile when you're with your best friend and Sister Minglan."
Mu Jie'er had an expression that said, "I've seen through everything all along."
"Smiling is a matter of politeness. Who do I talk to without smiling? Do you expect me to cry while I speak?" Wang You said irritably.
Mu Jie'er shook her head and said, "That's different. Think about it carefully. When you talk to Sister Minglan, or when you talk to others, is your state of mind the same?"
Wang You was taken aback when he heard this. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that although he always smiled when he talked to others, it was more of a muscle memory.
As he just said, smiling is a sign of politeness.
Wang You could recall laughing when he was talking to others, but when he recalled talking to Minglan, the feeling was very strange.
It's more like chatting with friends who share common interests.
Minglan's thinking far surpassed that of her peers, yet she was not bound by the prevailing etiquette and rules.
Therefore, chatting with her is very comfortable.
"Could it be that I've really fallen for Minglan?" Wang You wondered to himself.
"Second brother, did I hit the nail on the head?" Mu Jie'er said smugly.
"You don't need to worry about my affairs."
Wang You snapped out of his daze and said irritably, "Mind your own business."
"Hehehe~" Sister Mu made a face at Wang You.
After a long silence, Mu'er asked, "Second brother, if Father and Mother object, do you really have a way to marry Sister Minglan?"
Wang You ignored her; he realized he had underestimated Mu Jie'er.
The little girl is getting more and more cunning. At first, he thought that Mu Jie'er thought there was no possibility between him and Minglan and didn't want Minglan to be hurt because of this, so he said those words.
But now that I think about it, was that really Mu Jie'er's goal?
Is it possible that he wanted to see if he had any solutions?
Wang Youyi was also unsure, but his sister's thoughtfulness had its advantages.
At least in the future, I won't have to worry about her being bullied after she gets married.
Half an hour later, the three carriages stopped outside Xiliu Village.
Xiliuzhuang was a manor owned by the Wang family in Bianjing (Kaifeng), with more than 2,000 mu of farmland.
Because many willow trees were planted on the estate, it was called Willow Manor.
This estate was acquired when Grand Tutor Wang was still alive.
The Wang family had not been in Bianjing for several years, and their affairs had been managed by a steward.
"Greetings, Second Young Master and Fourth Young Lady!"
Manager Ding and his men were waiting at the entrance of the estate. When they saw Wang You and Mu Jie'er get out of the carriage, they quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"Uncle Ding, no need for such formalities," Wang You said with a smile and a wave of his hand.
Steward Ding is the son of the old lady and former Granny Sun, and also a servant of the Wang family. He is almost forty years old now.
Previously, Zhuangzi was managed by his father, but after his father passed away a few years ago, he took over the management.
Such servants, born into the household, always maintained a certain level of respectability in front of their masters.
"Sister Rulan, Sister Minglan."
Mu Jie'er ran towards Ru Lan and Ming Lan, who were coming down from behind, with a smile.
Wang You also saw a girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old in front of Minglan, with a gentle and delicate temperament, which he thought must be Yu Yanran.
After chatting with Steward Ding for a while, Wang You noticed that the others were still gathered there whispering to each other, so he said, "Let's go into the manor first and then talk."
"Sisters, let's go into the manor first."
As Mu Jie'er spoke, she grabbed Minglan's arm and said, "Sister Minglan, I'll have to trouble you to continue teaching me how to play polo later."
They came to the village not because the scenery was beautiful.
In fact, these villages are surrounded by farmland, and there's not much scenery to see.
Apart from a few princes and nobles, the wealthy families in Bianjing were mostly quite small.
There was no other way; with the whole family living together and several concubines added, there wasn't enough room to live, so naturally there wasn't any extra space for entertainment.
So they built some recreational facilities on their own estate, so that they could go there to play and relax when they had free time.
Mu Jie set up a small polo field here last year and even raised a few horses.
As for where the money came from, it came from the gold coins that Wang You had obtained.
Under Wang You's instructions, Shi Keng spent several years integrating all the private boats operating on the canal.
Achieving this was naturally not easy, and it was largely due to Shi Keng's abilities and the reputation of the Wang family.
There weren't many truly corrupt officials in the Song Dynasty.
Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty valued civil affairs over military matters, but few people know that the Song Dynasty had the fewest corrupt officials of all dynasties in history.
This was not entirely due to the high salaries of Song Dynasty officials.
Song Dynasty officials received high salaries, but that was only enough for them to maintain a relatively extravagant lifestyle.
Officials exchange gifts to secure promotions, and the practice of lavish dowries all require money.
That meager salary is insufficient to cover these expenses.
The reason why there were fewer corrupt officials in the Song Dynasty was because the commerce of the Song Dynasty was highly developed.
Throughout history, there have been regulations prohibiting officials from engaging in business.
Before the Song Dynasty, sons of merchants were not allowed to become officials. After the implementation of the imperial examination system, sons of merchants were also prohibited from participating in the examinations.
Legend has it that Li Bai did not participate in the imperial examinations because his family was a merchant family and therefore ineligible to take the exams.
However, no matter how much the imperial court prohibits it, it can only prohibit officials and their immediate family members.
Before the Song Dynasty, commerce was almost entirely monopolized by powerful families.
Furthermore, they monopolized officialdom and didn't care about the meager salaries from the imperial court.
By the Song Dynasty, aristocratic families had disappeared, and their monopolies in officialdom and commerce were no longer present.
When an official becomes an official, his family can arrange for someone to go into business. Even if the business is outside their jurisdiction, no one will deliberately make things difficult for them if someone in their family is an official.
They would make money in business and then use it to bribe their relatives who were officials.
With a higher official rank, one can expand their business.
It was this model of using officials to protect merchants and using merchants to support officials that resulted in very few corrupt officials in the Song Dynasty.
Take the Sheng family for example; the eldest branch of the Sheng family would send some money to Sheng Hong every year.
Part of it was used for bribery, and part for daily expenses, to ensure that Sheng would not embezzle money due to lack of funds, thus leaving a handle for him to lose his official position.
If it were only because Old Madam Sheng had been kind to the eldest son's family, given Madam Wang's disdainful attitude towards them, the eldest son's family would simply repay Old Madam Sheng. Why would they keep sending money to Sheng Hong?
The Wang family is small; Grand Tutor Wang has a younger brother who is now an official in the local government, and none of them are involved in business.
Shi Keng used the Wang family's name and didn't do any particularly lucrative business, so naturally no one made things difficult for him.
But in reality, the profit margin in the express delivery business is not low.
First of all, it's a unique business, so even if others want to compete, they have no chance.
To do this business, you need to build a transportation network along the Grand Canal.
Although the merchants who transported goods via the Grand Canal had fleets, they did not own many ships, mainly for transporting their own goods.
Shi Keng, on the other hand, could integrate these privately owned boats at almost no cost.
All that's needed is to coordinate the ships to carry the letters and goods.
Each dock only needs to have some people to receive and deliver goods.
Besides employing servants and distributing goods to the cargo ships, this brought Wang You several thousand taels of silver in income each year.
Although it doesn't look like much, it's actually quite a lot.
After all, Wang You didn't pay any costs, and those sailors were just partners; he didn't recruit them, nor was he worried that they would cause trouble for the Wang family.
Wang You did all of this without telling his family, but Mu Jie'er often went to his place, so it couldn't be kept secret.
Yesterday, Sister Mu extorted money from him, also for those horses.
She set up a small polo field in Xiliuzhuang, keeping it a secret from her family, and even doing so under Wang You's name.
After all, Mu Jie'er is a young girl, and Steward Ding wouldn't dare to help her keep it a secret from the old lady and the mistress of the house.
But Wang You was different. He was sixteen or seventeen and still held an official position. It wasn't anything shameful for Wang You to pay for it himself, so he naturally wouldn't offend Wang You over such a small matter.
Even if the old lady and Madam Feng found out and blamed him, he could say that he thought they already knew, which is why he didn't report it.
Polo fields are a one-off business, but the cost of buying and maintaining horses is a significant expense.
Horses were very expensive in the Song Dynasty because the Liao Dynasty restricted the flow of warhorses into the Song Dynasty.
Although some warhorses would be traded with the Song Dynasty, these warhorses had all been castrated and could not be bred by the Song Dynasty itself.
Therefore, warhorses are not only scarce in number, but also extremely expensive.
Rideable horses need to be fed high-quality feed, otherwise they will lose a lot of weight and become unable to run, let alone carry the rider.
Wang You led the women into the estate, and Steward Ding escorted them to the outside of the polo field before bowing and leaving.
As soon as they arrived at the polo field, Mu Jie'er pulled Minglan to the stable.
It was Yu Yanran's first time meeting Wang You, and feeling embarrassed to stay, she went along with him.
Rulan had no interest in polo, so she followed Wang You to the shed next door where people could rest.
"Cousin, why don't you put some rocking chairs here?" Rulan said.
Sheng Changbai and Qi Heng had been to the Wang family and seen Wang You's rocking chair.
This thing doesn't require much technical skill, and both of them had one made.
Naturally, it couldn't be kept secret any longer, and it quickly became a sensation in Bianjing.
"I'll have someone fix it later."
Wang You and the maids brought out refreshments and tea, then dismissed the man, asking curiously, "Did you and your fourth cousin have a fight yesterday?"
"You call her 'cousin' so affectionately, you'd think she really was your cousin if you didn't know better," Rulan said unhappily.
It has to be said that this is what makes Rulan unlikable.
When she's in a bad mood or dislikes someone, she speaks without thinking.
If someone who doesn't know her personality heard this, they would definitely feel very uncomfortable.
Wang You knew her personality and didn't argue with her, saying, "Then I can't just call her by her name, can I? It's just a form of address."
Rulan wasn't targeting Wang You; she was just angry because she was punished yesterday and the mere mention of Molan made her furious.
>