Chapter 115: 131

Chapter 131 – Investment

Yu Tang’s eyes widened further.

His attendant actually dared to challenge Pei Yan’s decision!

Normally, wouldn’t an attendant follow whatever their master instructs them to do?

What was this servant’s status and background?

With one look, Pei Yan knew exactly what Yu Tang was thinking.

He gave Yu Tang a sidelong glance and said coolly, “Pei Qi is my nursemaid’s son.”

“Oh, oh.” Yu Tang hurriedly lowered her head and admitting her faux pas, “It was a momentary overstep on my part.”

Pei Yan replied coldly, “I don’t think it’s a fleeting thought, but rather, something you do all the time.”

Such a lovely young lady, why does she have this bad habit of judging the actions of others? This had to change.

To be mindful of one’s words and hide one’s eloquence in speech is one of the seven virtues of a noble lady.

Pei Yan was pondering on how to teach Yu Tang this when Pei Qi came in hurriedly and said, “Third Master, Master Gu’s attendant refuses to leave and wants to see you. He further implored that their master has an important matter to see you about……”

He paused here and glanced at Yu Tang.

Yu Tang immediately stood up and said tactfully, “I am only here to deliver some tea for you to try. Since you are busy, then I will take my leave.”

Pei Yan, however, ignored Yu Tang and said to Pei Qi, “What nonsense is Gu Zhaoyang up to again?”

When Pei Qi saw that he was not hiding this from Yu Tang, he did not hold back and said straightforwardly, “He said it was about the transportation of salt.”

Yu Tang was in shock.

Gu Chang asked to see Pei Yan over this, so it was clear that Pei Yan was either involved in getting quotations for salt prices or doing something related to salt trading.

It would be inappropriate for her to stay any longer.

“I’m leaving!” She didn’t wait for Pei Yan to answer. She quickly gathered the books that Ah Ming packed for her earlier and curtsied towards Pei Yan, saying, “I have so many books with me, I’d better hurry home to read them. I am still unsure of what to do with the forest land back in the countryside. I’ll try planting some peanuts first. When the peanuts are harvested, I will send some for you to try. I’m not sure if you prefer peanut crisps or boiled peanuts, so I’ll make you some of each when the time comes.”

Her words were a little disorganized and unclear.

Pei Yan found it amusing to watch.

Usually, Lady Yu was very daring and bold, but now she was stricken with fright.

Just what was she thinking of?

She couldn’t have thought he was dealing in illicit salt trading, could she?

Or did she think she had inadvertently pried into his family’s business and was scared?

If that’s the case, then he should let her get a little scared.

If not, she might grow to be too bold and reckless, going wherever she wants, saying whatever she pleases. She even fought with Li Duan in his presence. If he hadn’t sent word out that he was protecting her, she would have suffered badly.

It was good to teach her a lesson and learn to tread carefully.

He was doing it for her own good!

The more Pei Yan thought about it, the more he felt he had done the right thing.

With a stoic face, he instructed Ah Ming, “Send Lady Yu back.”

Yu Tang hurriedly followed Ah Ming out of the gardens.

Along the way, she remembered that Pei Yan had gone to Huai’an earlier, supposedly to help someone, and he went with Imperial Scholar Zhou…… Gu Chang left the capital on official business for Huai’an as well…… Pei Yan’s expression was unpleasant; could there be a connection between these things?

She carefully recalled things from her past.

There wasn’t anything about the Pei Family’s involvement in salt trading.

The more Yu Tang thought, the more her head hurt, it was like a blind person trying to identify an object. Even after much thought, it still remained an enigma so she might as well forget about it. Given Pei Yan’s ability, if he didn’t have a way to deal with it, it would be near impossible for her to come up with any countermeasures.

She only hoped for him to have a successful and safe trip, and that nothing would go awry.

She glanced at the books in her arms and offered a silent prayer, thinking that she should read them all as soon as she got home, so as not to disappoint Pei Yan’s kindness.

However, what she didn’t expect was that her father and her eldest cousin had actually returned as well.

Yu Tang let out a cry of surprise and put the books aside before hugging her father’s arm, saying happily, “Father, brother, when did you come back? Why didn’t you tell the family in advance so that we could go and pick you up?”

After only a few days’ work, Yu Wen looked a little more tanned than when he left home, but he was in high spirits, and his two eyes shone as bright as the morning star.

He laughed heartily and stroked his daughter’s head, saying, “I bought you a new box of jewels from Suzhou this year. When your mother is free, you can go to the Jewellery House to make some jewellery.” The last sentence was directed to Madam Chen.

Madam Chen chided, “Just returning safely is enough, why did you still buy those things? Jewellery is expensive this year, isn’t it? You don’t have to buy this year’s new ones, the ones from previous years will be the same.”

Yu Yuan chortled, “As the saying goes, people grow old, pearl lose their lustre with time, meaning that pearls are not as valuable if they have been kept for a long time. If you want to buy, you have to buy new ones.”

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Madam Chen couldn’t help but laugh at this, and in a rare moment of jest, she asked teasingly, “Are you finding both your mother and I to be getting old?” 

Yu Yuan looked aghast, he turned beet red and rubbed his head sheepishly, saying meekly, “No, no! Aunt, please forgive my inability to speak eloquently…”

Madam Chen interjected with a smile, saying, “I’m just teasing you. However, since you’re already married, you have to be careful when you say such things in the future, lest you make my niece-in-law uncomfortable in her heart.”

Yu Yuan hurriedly bowed his head and assented.

Madam Chen then turned to Yu Tang, saying “It’s such a warm day, don’t stick to your father anymore. Your father and brother just returned home shortly before you, so if you have anything to say, you should wait for them to freshen up first.”

Yu Tang smiled cheerfully and thanked her father and elder cousin for their hard work these days and loosened her grip on her father’s arm.

Yu Wen then addressed Yu Yuan, saying “You should also go home and rest. Come over for dinner with your father, your mother and your wife tonight. There are some things that we need to discuss.”

Yu Yuan bowed respectfully and bade farewell to Madam Chen and Yu Tang, and took San Mu back home.

Madam Chen went to help Yu Wen change his clothes, while Yu Tang personally helped set the table and waited until Yu Wen had changed. She took the initiative to serve her father a bowl of mushroom soup and asked him to eat dinner.

Yu Wen was finally able to relax and be comfortable. He was accompanied by his wife and daughter as he ate his meal and later moved to the back garden to sit under the grape vines. Shuangtao brought some tea and snacks as he asked Yu Tang, “I heard from your mother that you went to the Pei Residence early in the morning today. Was there anything urgent?”

Yu Tang held the books that Pei Yan had lent her and said in a voice slightly filled with pride, “Look! These are the books that Third Master loaned to me.” Thereafter, she talked incessantly about her visit to the Pei’s residence, “You wouldn’t believe it, I actually saw pears! They were delivered from their family’s farm! They’re ready for sale at the market even at this time of year! Third master also said that if they were good, he would sell them to the commercial traders …… Third master is really good at farming …… No wonder everyone has to study…… and there are books on how to farm ……”

Now even Madam Chen was astonished.

She flipped through a book that Yu Tang borrowed and said in surprise, “The book has instructions on how to farm? This is the first time I’ve heard of this.”

Yu Wen was already eagerly flipping through the books.

Yu Tang looked on, and pursed her lips in a smile.

She said to her father, “Third Master said that if I couldn’t understand it, I should ask you!”

Yu Wen, who had his head buried in the book, stiffened for a moment, before chuckling and replied, “I’ll look at it first, I’ll look at it first.”

Yu Tang blinked her eyes in confusion.

The situation seemed to be different from what she thought.

Shouldn’t her father have learnt how to farm after reading the book? Why did he sound like he wasn’t sure of anything? Was Pei Yan too smart, or was her father …… completely incompetent?

Yu Tang was thinking of how to ask her father politely when she heard her eldest uncle Yu Bo’s voice: “Huili, Ah Yuan said you were looking for me to talk about something important?”

The three members of Yutang’s family busily stood up.

“Brother came!” Yu Wen greeted Yu Bo, while Yu Tang and Madam Chen greeted Yu Yuan, Madam Wang and Lady Xiang who came along with Yu Bo.

Old Aunty Chen and Shuang Tao hurriedly brought chairs over.

The group sat down in groups according to senority, and Shuangtao and Old Aunty Chen changed the refreshments and served nuts and fruits.

Only then did Yu Wen look at Yu Yuan proudly and said to Yu Bo, “Brother, let Ah Yuan speak! This matter is also a credit to Ah Yuan.”

It looked like her father and eldest cousin’s trip to Suzhou was very fruitful.

Father did not bring it up as he must have wanted to praise eldest cousin in front of everyone.

Yu Tang silently mused in her heart as her gaze fell on Yu Yuan’s body along with the rest.

It was rare for Yu Yuan to be acknowledged by his elders like this.

His face was beet red, but his eyes shone bright in excitement. He first said humbly, “It was all because of uncle’s help,” and then he briefly told them about his trip to Suzhou with Yu Tang, before saying, “After we came back and discussed it with uncle, uncle was a little uneasy, so he went to Suzhou with me to meet Master Jiang. Master Jiang was a young and talented man, courageous and resourceful, calm but adaptable, and got along very well my uncle.” The more he spoke, the more excited he became, “But it was the first time that uncle was involved in a deal with him, so he didn’t promised Master Jiang anything at that moment but just rushed off to Ningbo with me overnight!”

“Ah!” The crowd was taken aback.

Seeing this, Yu Wen smiled smugly, as he light-heartedly lifted the tea cup in his hand and took a sip.

Yu Yuan grinned wordlessly and continued, “Uncle took me along not only to check out that ship owner surnamed Wang, but also to see the Wang family’s ship and inquire about the maritime business in the past few years. Once we felt that what Master Jiang said was true, we rushed back to Suzhou overnight, and that’s how we agreed on the investment deal with Master Jiang.”

In other words, the family decided to take a stake in Jiang Chao’s maritime business.

Yu Tang couldn’t help but exclaim, “Then, how much silver did we offer to contribute?”

Yu Wen lifted his chin and said, rather proudly, “Six thousand taels!”

Another two thousand taels was added.

Yu Tang said in disbelief, “That much?”

Yu Bo responded, “Since when did our family have such a large sum of silver?”

Madam Wang and Madam Chen looked at each other in disbelief.

Lady Xiang probably knew more as she lowered her head, but kept looking at Yu Yuan out of the corner of her eyes.

For a while, the place was silent.

Yu Wen opened his fan with a flourish and said aloud in a confident voice, “Don’t worry, I’ve seen this transaction myself, it’s a definite good deal, nothing will go wrong. As for the family’s silver,” he glanced at Yu Bo, “I have recently made a windfall, so I will take the silver from there and not from you. But if we make any profits, we’ll split it equally between the two families, half and half!”

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