It's evening when Yu Shu and Cao Zixin come back from Wanxiang Street. It's raining lightly. The door of Zhao Hui's courtyard is half open, and the smell of food sneaks out. Yu Shu takes a deep breath and praises loudly, "What is Aunt Huei cooking? It smells so good!"
"Wash your hands first. One dish will be ready soon." Zhao Hui's hearty voice comes from inside.
"Sister, it's raining. Why are you going out?" Hearing Yu Shu's voice, Yu Xiaoxiu comes out of the kitchen with a pile of bowls. His mature face is much rounder.
This scene of returning home is like the memory from many years ago. It makes Yu Shu feel dazed for a moment. Hearing the sound of the door closing behind her, she smiles and strides over with the umbrella, "I went to do business with Brother Cao."
"What business?"
Cao Zixin says, "It's a good thing. Ask your sister to tell you after dinner."
He closes the umbrella and goes to the water tank to scoop half a basin of water. He carries it to the eaves and waits for Yu Shu to put the things down. Then he asks her to come out and wash her hands. When she is done, he hands her a clean towel to wipe her hands.
Zhao Hui is a good cook. Not only can she make wonton, but she also cooks two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes tonight. She gets fresh bamboo shoots and a plate of shredded pork with bamboo shoots. It looks red and green. It tastes as good as the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner that Yu Shu had at the Ji family.
Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu eat happily. Zhao Hui feels full just by watching them eat. She smiles from ear to ear. Cao Zixin occasionally puts food in Yu Xiaoxiu's bowl, but he doesn't take care of Yu Shu. After dinner, the rain stops. They go out to wash the dishes. They squat by the water tank and whisper to each other, "Sister, Brother Cao said before dinner that you have something good to do."
"I found a job to settle accounts in a big chamber of commerce in the city."
"Ah?
Chamber of commerce? Can you do it? "
"I'm learning while doing. Hee hee, I'm so smart. What can't I do? Guess how much they pay me every month. "
Yu Xiaoxiu curls his lips at her first sentence, but he still guesses cooperatively, "Fifty cents of silver?"
He knows that when his sister worked with Cao Zixin, she got ten copper coins a day. That's three taels of silver a month. Since it's a big chamber of commerce, she should pay more.
Yu Shu shakes her head, puts down the bowl, and shakes two fingers at him.
"Two taels? That's not bad." Big chamber of commerce? Not as generous as Brother Cao, Yu Xiaoxiu thinks.
"Idiot, it's two taels of silver."
"Two taels!" Yu Xiaoxiu raises his voice.
"That's right." Afraid that Yu Xiaoxiu isn't surprised enough, she complacently adds, "This is the first time. When I'm almost done learning, they will give me five taels of silver a month. What do you think? Isn't your sister amazing?"
"Splash" The rag in Yu Xiaoxiu's hand falls into the water. He can't close his mouth. The biggest money he has ever held was only two taels of silver. But now, Yu Shu told him that she can get five taels of silver a month!
"Sister, you're not bragging, right?"
"If you don't believe me, you can ask Brother Cao."
Yu Xiaoxiu stands up and runs into the house. After a while, he runs out excitedly and squats down next to Yu Shu. Like a little monkey, his two round eyes look at her without saying a word.
Yu Shu recognized the look in his eyes. It was the look of worship that she had often seen on Yu Lei's face. She felt a burst of joy in her heart. She leaned over and touched his forehead. She said intimately, "When I get my pay, I will buy you new clothes and shoes. I will also buy a good brush and ink for you to use."
Yu Xiaoxiu scratches his head. "I'm a boy, so I'm not that particular. Sister, you can keep it for yourself."
Yu Shu looks down at the worn out cloth shoes on his feet and the corner of his trousers. Her heart feels sour. Her little brother has a very strong self-esteem, but he has a hard life. Staying in the Ji family, he gets cold looks from everyone. Every day, he goes to the Sanjue Study House to attend classes. Among a group of well-dressed young masters and misses, he is dwarfed by them. This adds a bit of inferiority to his personality, and he always likes to lower his head in front of strangers.
His smile is lifeless at this age. If he still smiles at this age, in another year or two, it's hard to guarantee that he won't lose his spirit. Before that, she has to let him live a happy life.
After washing the dishes, it's already late. Although Yu Xiaoxiu is unwilling to leave, he obediently lets Cao Zixin send him back to the Ji family.
Zhao Hui boils a big pot of water and takes a bath with Yu Shu. The two close the courtyard door, blow out the oil lamp, and go to sleep. The next day, Yu Shu and Zhao Hui get up early and set up a stall on the street. Then, she goes to the Thai Heng Chamber of Commerce alone to look for Pei Jing.
After asking about the two of them, Yu Shu finds a magnificent clubhouse on the north side of Wanxiang Street. She meets Pei Jing at the gate. After greeting him, Pei Jing leads her to the backyard and finds a clean room behind two rows of houses. He gives her a stack of slightly moldy old account books and a brand new abacus. After explaining to her for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he is asked to leave.
By the time he remembers Yu Shu at noon and comes back, Yu Shu is already done with the account books.
"You finished reading all of them?" Pei Jing is shocked. He forgot to tell her that he is going to let her read them for three days.
"Yes, are there any more?" Yu Shu is too embarrassed to say that she finished reading them an hour ago. There are no other account books in the room, so she secretly practiced her calligraphy.
Pei Jing is afraid that Yu Shu is bragging, so he frowns his brows. He is a little unhappy in his heart, so he took an account book and handed it to her. "Did you read this one?"
Yu Shu only took a glance and nodded her head. "It's about the rice harvest and business in Huainan in the eighth month of the Xinsi year. Oh, I saw that there is an account that I didn't calculate, so I broke the corner of the book."
As she speaks, she flips through the book and handed it to Pei Jing. "Here it is. There is a place that I didn't calculate properly, so it is empty."
Pei Jing lowered his head to take a look. There was indeed a small corner there. On the account book, there was a blank space that was missing. It was not calculated clearly. It was deliberately left unmarked by the experienced accountant. If he did not flip through the pages carefully, he would not be able to see the problem at all.
This child had really read the entire stack of accounts in detail!
This discovery made Pei Jing surprised and happy. He is also a little ashamed because of his doubts.
"Ahem, not bad." Pei Jing clears his throat. "It is almost noon. You go home and eat first. Come back in the afternoon."
Yu Shu touches the bag on the table and shyly smiles at him. "I brought food. It is too far to go home. Can I stay here for lunch?"
Pei Jing hesitated. Originally, he wanted to be strict with Yu Shu for a few days, but this child had already exceeded the scope of his expectations. To be honest, he really didn't know what to ask of her at this time and a half.
"Then you stay here. There is tea on the table. After you finish drinking, call the servants in the yard. Someone will come and fill it."
"Okay."
Pei Jing leaves with his hands behind his back. He leaves the door open and goes to the window. He turns back and looks inside through the half-open window. He sees Yu Shu taking out two palm-sized dry cakes and a booklet from her bag. She goes to the table and pours a cup of tea. She nibbles on the dry cakes while flipping through the booklet. She doesn't waste any time.
She is a successful person. Pei Jing has such a thought in his mind. He nods and walks away with satisfaction. He thinks that he will ask someone to bring a soft couch over tomorrow so that the child can have a place to lie down when she is tired at noon. In the afternoon, before the sun sets, Pei Jing lets Yu Shu go home. He has no choice. In the afternoon, he took the abacus to test Yu Shu and showed her the unique skill of beating a red goose. He wanted to shock her. He didn't expect that the child asked him to beat her twice. After only two tries, she learned the original and gave it to him. She didn't even make a mistake. As a result, he was the one who was shocked.
This child had learned too quickly and was too worry-free. On the contrary, Pei Jing felt a sense of frustration. He had originally wanted to nurture their relationship through teaching, but now, she had learned it on her own before he had even taught her. If this continued, wouldn't she be able to find the wrong account the day after tomorrow and start working the day after that?
Fortunately, there is one thing that can comfort Pei Jing. Yu Shu's writing is too slow. She writes one stroke at a time. She doesn't have enough pauses. She can't even be considered neat. It can only be recognized by others.
The accountant has many good handwriting. Pei Jing's semi-cursive writing is very natural and unrestrained. He naturally looks down on Yu Shu's poor handwriting. He repeatedly asks her to go back and practice writing. When the accountant leaves, he sends a letter that he has been teaching her writing for the whole afternoon.
Yu Shu doesn't know Pei Jing's depression. In order to get the standard five taels of silver as soon as possible, she deliberately shows off today. However, she still appropriately hides her shortcomings. She doesn't dare to show too much, lest Pei Jing becomes suspicious.
Take the pile of account books in the morning for example. She looks through them and finds at least five mistakes, but she can only point out the seemingly marked gap to him. She pretends not to see the rest. As for the calculation, she can only blame herself for being itchy and can't help learning from him. Fortunately, she is unfamiliar with the pair of double abacus. She dials the wrong number twice before she finds the correct position. Yu Shu leaves the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce and first goes to Changmen Street to find Zhao Hui. From a distance, she sees Yu Xiaoxiu helping Zhao Hui clean up the dishes and chopsticks. She doesn't feel strange. Since Xiaoxiu found her place, he runs to Zhao Hui's place every two or three days to help her do chores. Zhao Hui is happy to have a child to accompany her. At first, she refuses to let him do any work, but later, she can't resist the boy and slowly lets him do it.
Yu Shu understands in her heart that Yu Xiaoxiu is helping her repay Zhao Hui for taking him in. Such a sensible and precocious brother, how can she not feel distressed?
Zhao Hui stands by the stove and wipes her sweat. When she sees Yu Shu, she calls Yu Xiaoxiu and says, "Xiaoxiu, put the things down. Your sister is back. You two play by yourselves."
Yu Shu and Zhao Hui say hello. Seeing that there are not many guests, they choose a table and sit down. She beckons to Yu Xiaoxiu. Yu Xiaoxiu puts down the rag and sits down opposite her obediently.
"Sister." Yu Xiaoxiu's eyes flick away. He thinks about what Xue Wenzhe asked him in the morning. He makes up his mind not to tell his sister.
"Have you finished your homework for today?" Yu Shu doesn't find his abnormality and asks him about his homework as usual.
"I have. Oh, by the way, this is for you." Yu Xiaoxiu pauses, takes out something from his arms and hands it to her. "When Aunt Liu cleaned up the room, she found it under your bed."
In his hand, he was holding the yellow stone that Taoist Jing Chen had given her a month ago. It was round and round.
"I thought I lost it." Yu Shu takes it and rubs her palms. She suddenly remembers that she hasn't gone to see Jing Chen for a month. She doesn't know if the little Taoist Priest Bai has spent all his money. Will he sleep hungry in the plum forest again?
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