Chapter 139 - 140: A Bad Premonition
Ouyang Bing clutched his brocade bag. ’Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?’
But curiosity overcame this vague premonition. "Let’s have a look first."
Ancient Wen Heng decided not to be stingy. He opened the bag wide and laid the items out one by one.
An ordinary ballpoint pen, a tin frog toy, a replica antique-style pocket watch, and a few small pieces of jewelry inlaid with tiny diamonds.
"How much are you asking for these?" Ouyang Bing examined each item, struggling to part with any of them. He held each one in his hands, turning it over and over for a long while.
Even the usually stoic Mudou was now staring at these novel objects without blinking.
"Well..." Ancient Wen Heng looked conflicted. "We don’t want to part with them."
Ouyang Bing opened his brocade bag, took out all the money tickets, and casually counted them. "I have six hundred taels of Silver here. This is everything I have on me. With this Silver, you could buy a small estate. Wouldn’t that be much better than just holding onto these things?"
Ancient Wen Heng relented, "Fine. You’re Brother Guo’s friend, after all. Just take them all."
Seeing how readily Ancient Wen Heng agreed, Ouyang Bing hesitated. "Why don’t you keep a few items?"
Ancient Wen Heng fell silent. ’It seems being too eager really isn’t the way to do business.’
He casually picked out a few pieces of jewelry. "Then I’ll keep these for my wife. As for the other two items, just pay what you think is fair."
"How could I do that?" Ouyang Bing grew anxious, wishing he could slap himself for running his mouth. "I actually need them as gifts. I must ask you to part with them."
Ancient Wen Heng pursed his lips, then reluctantly pushed everything over to him. "You know, you can still think it over."
’Even though the price was relatively high, these things couldn’t be produced in this dynasty. It was a classic case of rarity increasing value, so it’s not like I ripped the guy off by much.’
Watching Ouyang Bing hastily drop the silver notes, clutch the items, and rush away, Ancient Wen Heng couldn’t help but mutter, "I’m not going to steal them back from you. Was there really a need to run that fast?"
Counting the silver notes from their latest haul, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but say, "Brother Guo Yurong has indirectly done us a good deed. We finally have some savings now."
Although the pastry shop made a profit every day, it was nothing compared to how quickly this money came in.
"But weren’t you afraid you were going to overplay your hand back there?" Jin Qianqian had been standing by nervously the whole time.
"These things are all rare treasures. Anyone who sees them can’t bear to let go."
"Besides, he was at a disadvantage the moment he arrived. He was the one begging us to sell, not the other way around."
Ancient Wen Heng smiled with complete confidence. "I’ve been through countless negotiations, big and small. I have some skill when it comes to reading people."
Jin Qianqian gave him a thumbs-up. "Compared to you, I’m a total amateur."
"All I do is write and calculate all day. It feels like those skills are nothing special here."
Ancient Wen Heng pulled her into his embrace. "We’ll take it slow. We have our whole lives ahead of us."
’This little girl seems to have actually put on some weight. I hope that medicine from Guo Yurong really is miraculous, otherwise I’m not sure I’ll be able to restrain myself much longer.’
Not long after winter set in, snow began to fall, one storm after another, as if rushing to a festival.
Jin Qianqian wrapped her cotton-padded coat tighter. It truly took courage to go outside now.
"Looks like this snow is going to be heavy, too," Jin Qianqian said as she pushed open the window to watch the snowflakes drift down. Having lived in the south before, she had always yearned to see such white snow, but now that she was actually living in it, she had quickly changed her mind.
"We’re actually quite lucky. If we hadn’t settled down when we did, this snowy weather would have frozen people to death." As he said this, Ancient Wen Heng thought of the villagers from Bainiao who had traveled with them.
"Our village is doing relatively well; at least everyone has settled in. But the neighboring villages aren’t so fortunate. Yesterday, I even saw a few of their village heads go to the county government to find a solution. Apparently, the temporary wooden huts they built can’t withstand the ice and snow at all, and many people have fallen ill from the cold."
Jin Qianqian asked, "So, is the county government doing anything about it?"
Ancient Wen Heng shook his head. "They can’t. They just told them to figure it out themselves. After all, the settlement fees have already been paid. The fact that they didn’t build their houses properly isn’t the county government’s problem."
"I wonder how things are back home. Should we go back and take a look?" Thinking of the house they’d barely lived in, Jin Qianqian worried that the roof might collapse if the snow wasn’t cleared off.
Ancient Wen Heng’s academy was currently letting the students review their studies at home. They only had to go in every few days to hand in assignments set by the teacher and ask about anything they didn’t understand.
Ancient Wen Heng asked, "Aren’t you afraid of the cold anymore?"
The first day she saw snow, the little missy had been too excited to sleep, but after so many days of it, she was starting to miss the sun’s warmth.
"Of course I am," Jin Qianqian said, rubbing her palms together. "But it shouldn’t be a big deal as long as I dress warmly enough."
’After all, I’ve stockpiled a lot of warm clothes. I can wear as many layers as I want underneath and no one will notice.’
Ancient Wen Heng tidied up the books on the heated kang table. "Do you want to check on the shop first?"
Business had slowed now that the weather was cold, and the shelf life of the products was a bit longer. They only needed to go over and restock every couple of days.
Besides, the shop had hired another assistant, so Jin Qianqian could afford to slack off now and then.
Jin Qianqian replied, "I just restocked yesterday. And since we won’t be staying there for long, I’ll check on the shop when we get back."
Once they decided, they quickly packed their things, hitched up the donkey cart, and headed out of the city, swaying as they went.
"Scholar Gu, heading back home?" They had just reached the city gate when they ran into He Xiaodong, who was on duty. Ancient Wen Heng lifted his hat slightly.
Since they were acquainted with Li Yong, they knew most of these government officials. This connection was also a big reason why Jin Qianqian’s pastry shop had been able to open so smoothly.
"That’s right. We haven’t been back in a long time, so we’re going to visit the elders." As he spoke, Ancient Wen Heng pulled a small flask of liquor from the carriage. "Brother He, here. Have some to ward off the chill."
"Well, don’t mind if I do," He Xiaodong said, accepting the familiar-looking bottle without hesitation. "You’d best go slow on your way out. There are a lot of snowdrifts."
After thanking him, Ancient Wen Heng pulled his hat down securely again and cracked the whip, urging the donkey forward.
After so much time together, the stubborn donkey had long since learned the frequently traveled routes. Sometimes when Ancient Wen Heng took it to the academy, he didn’t even need to touch the reins; the animal knew the way by heart.
Trudging through the snow, they finally reached the village entrance, only to discover that the snow on their roof had already been cleared off.
Jin Qianqian raised an eyebrow. "I suppose Fifth Brother and the others must have come over to clear it."
After the government officials had come to deliver good news last time, Jin Qianqian had left one spare key with Li Cuicui and another with Hong Daya, just in case.
"Probably," Ancient Wen Heng replied. He didn’t think Gu Dashishi was that diligent. ’On a day like this, it’s a wonder he isn’t just lazing around on the heated kang.’
The two of them opened the courtyard gate and went inside, only to find a pile of chopped firewood stacked in a corner by the wall.