Chapter Eighty-Seven Instructed

  Yang Guan Shi hastily stepped into the backyard of Jingchun Hall, and the little servant at the door quickly closed the curtain upon seeing his urgent expression.

  Yang Guanshi had just entered the door when he saw Young Master Yang Xuancheng listening to the account report brought by Mo Zhuanfang, and hastily stepped aside with a knowing look.

  "Have you found it?" Yang Xuanching asked with his eyes still on the account book, glancing at Yang Guanshi in the dim light.

  Yang Guanshi habitually bowed his waist and respectfully said: "Back to Young Master, it's been investigated clearly. It was a young girl who brought her younger brother to send to the Zhou Mansion. I heard that they were from their own family, and it seems that the young girl has a good relationship with the maid beside Miss Zhou. She introduced them to Miss Zhou once, and Miss Zhou had a good impression of the siblings. This time, the young lady also wanted to curry favor with Miss Zhou, so she sent them as a gift." He paused for a moment before continuing: "Our strawberries were also bought from those people by that middleman, who only gave us a price of one hundred coins per catty." His voice gradually lowered towards the end.

  Yang Xuanqing listened silently, and the room was quiet except for the sound of Mo's abacus, and for a moment there was no other sound.

  The price of the goods they brought was two hundred coins per catty, and they made a profit of fifty taels of silver. This did not include the reward they were given, so Yang thought even more highly of them.

  Yang Xuanqing said after a moment of contemplation: "Investigate the background of that young lady's brother, if it's possible, we can directly buy strawberries from them in the future."

  Yang Guanshi listened and respectfully retreated, the courtesy to the door boy's farewell was also a casual nod. He couldn't figure out why Master let them off so easily after they had humiliated him. Was he still thinking of buying strawberries from them?

  It all started from yesterday. Yesterday, the government sent some things to the Zhou family's house, which were for Mrs. Zhou. As Yang Xuanqing was the new son-in-law of the Zhou family, he had to go and deliver the gifts without hesitation. Coincidentally, they had just bought some strawberries, so he picked a basket of the best ones to send over. However, before he even took out the gift, he saw a plate of washed strawberries in Mr. Zhou's study. If it weren't for the cleverness of the young servant who quickly removed the strawberries, this would have been a very embarrassing situation. Didn't their young master come back angry that day? How could they let them off so easily now?

  Yang, the steward, shook his head and put the matter aside. After all, he had never understood the thoughts of his masters, nor did he try to, for he knew that his loyalty was what had brought him this far. He still remembered his mother's warning: "You're not clever, so don't think too much; just do as your masters tell you and don't try to be a hero." Firstly, he didn't have the brains for it, and secondly, his position didn't require it. To this day, he had never forgotten these words and had always been careful not to relax, which was why among all the stewards released in the same batch as him, he was the one who had it easiest.

  Yang Guan Shi thought clearly and hurriedly walked out in big strides.

  There were still people in the house who didn't understand, just like Yang Guan Shi. Mo Zhuo Fang was tapping on the abacus with one hand and thinking with the other. This doesn't seem like the usual way Young Master handles things?

  "Old Mo, wrong number." A faint voice sounded in his ear.

  "What?" Mo the accountant was taken aback, looked down at the abacus and then at the account book, his face somewhat embarrassed. After so many years of doing this job, he had made a mistake today.

  After re-checking, the account book was correct. Mo Zhifang finally put his mind at ease. He looked up to see Yang Xuanqing still maintaining the same posture as when he had just checked the account book, with an unchanged expression on his face. From his experience of following Young Master Yang for so long, he could tell that his emotions were generally calm, neither sad nor happy. According to his usual demeanor, after hearing such words, his emotions would still be calm, either because he didn't care or because he had already let go. Since his emotions were fine, why not ask him now?

  Yang cleared his throat, and Mo the accountant saw Yang Xuanqing raise an eyebrow at him. He hastily handed over the account book in his hand, saying: "Young Master, the several estates and shops in Jinyang County are all well managed by Manager Yang, and the accounts are very clear. Even when Second Young Master withdrew silver a few months ago, he made a note of it." As he spoke, he handed over the note that Manager Yang had privately given him.

  Yang Xuanqing casually flipped through the account book, took over the note and tore it off, saying: "Yang Guanshi did a good job on this matter. Tell him that he doesn't need to be so cautious, if there's anything, just report directly to me." He couldn't see that this was something Yang Guanshi had privately given to Mo Zhuanfang, this note must have been written by Xuanqing under duress, and he wasn't afraid of offending people, really stubborn.

  Mo the accountant was overjoyed, he was truly happy for Yang's success. The young master's words were clear, indicating that he would protect him in the future. It is worth noting that the young master did not casually take people under his wing, let alone someone who could stand on their own outside like a manager.

  "Thank you, Master." Mo Zhuanfang said sincerely. Usually he would call Yang Xuancan "Young Master", only occasionally calling him "Master". Yang Xuancan had never been too fond of this title, but he didn't think about accepting it, nor could he stop others from showing their respect to him.

  "Well, are we just going to let the young master and mistress off like that?" Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Mo Zuofang couldn't help but ask, and as soon as he spoke, he regretted it.

  Yang Xuanqing looked up and glanced at Mo Zangfang, a flash of surprise in his eyes, which was caught by Mo Zangfang, who looked somewhat embarrassed.

  "Are you very free?" Yang Xuancheng turned another page of the account book and said leisurely, "Let's calculate the account book of Changde County as well."

  Mo's face turned sour, that was a rotten account book from Changde County. Young master wasn't planning to let the accountant from the mansion check it, how did he get it? Thinking it's better to leave quickly, he hugged the abacus and prepared to leave. Just as he reached the door, a voice made his feet slip, almost falling over.

  "From now on, pay more attention to news from the Zhou family and casually reveal the old lady's preferences."

  Mo Zangfang turned around to take a look, and Yang Xuancan still maintained the same posture as before, without even opening his eyelids. It was as if he thought what he had just heard was an illusion, but he knew that those words really came from their young master's mouth.

  "Yes, sir, I'll go and give the orders." Mo the accountant called out, then hastily went to the front yard to look for Yang the manager.

  Now every day when he has time, Hu Zi takes out the enlightenment book that Zhen Er bought for him, reads it a few times, and then dips his finger in tea water to draw red marks on the table.

  Zhen'er saw him like this and felt heartache, also told him that the paper he bought was for practicing calligraphy, but he thought the paper was expensive and couldn't bear to use it. He said a few times that Zhen'er rarely saw him being stubborn, so she didn't persuade him anymore. She just thought that next time when she went to the market, she must buy a writing paper for Hu Zi, so he would have to practice calligraphy on the paper.

  After a while, Zhen'er and Hu'zi took the sickle and went to cut medicinal herbs again. Hu'zi enthusiastically went to catch shrimp.

  At noon, Zhen'er explained the key points to him and reminded him that fishing for shrimp is most taboo impatience. He kept muttering to himself, probably also remembering it in his heart. Not long after, Zhen'er found that Hu Zi had caught three or four shrimps. Hu Zi was very happy looking at the red lobsters in the bucket, but occasionally when there were shrimps that didn't get hooked and ran away, Hu Zi would be very frustrated.

  Hutou really likes these things, Zhen'er originally wanted to make a few more fishing rods. This thing is easy to do, but the net pocket is too simple. Even if many shrimps are caught, many will escape due to poor tools, resulting in Hutou's even greater regret. So Zhen'er decided to wait until next time at the market to buy a convenient and practical net pocket for Hutou.

  In the evening, I returned home. Zhen'er washed all the twenty or so shrimps that Hu Zi had caught, leaving only a bit of meat on the tail to stir-fry for it. Hu Zi ate very contentedly and finished everything in one breath.

  It's said that internet cafe management has become more standardized nowadays, but it's a pity for me. I rushed to post articles at 6 am, only to find the internet cafe wasn't open yet, saying they wouldn't have internet until 8 am. It's really frustrating~~(。)