Li Wanming first heard the name Pei Yanqi when she was waiting for someone outside the Imperial College.
At that time, besides studying for the imperial examinations, the scholars would always discuss during their leisure time who had the best knowledge and wrote the most excellent essays this year.
That was when they mentioned Pei Yanqi.
They said he was well - learned and good - looking, but unfortunately, he came from a poor family and had no background in the capital.
Li Wanming slapped her thigh and said, "It's him!"
When she found Pei Yanqi, he was munching on pickled vegetables in a dilapidated temple.
The cold wind howled. He was wearing a tattered jacket and squatting shiveringly in the corner, reading a book.
Li Wanming got straight to the point. "I heard you're very poor. I've found a way for you to make money. Are you willing?"
Pei Yanqi stared at this woman who had barged into the temple alone in astonishment. "What do you want?"
"Nothing. It's just..."
Before she could finish, she saw Pei Yanqi covering his chest tightly, looking solemn and pure. "Even if I'm poor, I'll never sell myself!"
...
"Don't flatter yourself!"
"I just want you to be my husband. Don't worry. There won't be any physical contact. We'll get divorced in ten days, and you'll be free."
Pei Yanqi's vigilant expression relaxed. "In that case, we can talk... How much is the lady willing to pay?"
Li Wanming said, "Ten taels of silver."
"I may not be very talented, but I'm still a bachelor."
"Fifty taels."
"Not only am I a bachelor, but I'm also a successful candidate in the provincial examination..."
"One hundred taels."
Pei Yanqi swallowed hard. "However, if I marry the lady, I'll become a man with a marriage history. It'll be difficult for me to get engaged in the future..."
Li Wanming said, "Final offer, three hundred taels. If you don't agree, I'll find someone else."
Pei Yanqi stood up and bowed to her three times. "Don't worry, lady. I'll stand under the imperial list and let you knock my head as much as you like. I won't say a word!"
From beginning to end, he didn't ask her why she wanted to find a husband in such a way. It seemed that this was the least important thing in this absurd matter.
However, the world is full of surprises.
She didn't knock his head, nor did she drag him home.
When they met again, she was a married woman, and he was the number one scholar.
Pei Yanqi raised his chin haughtily and looked down on her from the corner of his eye. "If you're here to reconcile with me, there's no need! Even if I have no bottom line, I won't have an affair with a married woman!"
...
Li Wanming rolled her eyes at him. "Don't flatter yourself! I'm here today to ask if you can get a liquor license?"
Pei Yanqi was stunned. "What do you need a liquor license for?"
"To sell liquor."
Pei Yanqi was even more surprised. "You're the daughter of a general, and you've just got a charming husband. Why do you need to sell liquor?"
"Just tell me if you can do it or not."
Pei Yanqi said, "Miss Li is joking. I'm just a number one scholar and haven't been appointed to any official position yet. Where can I get a liquor license for you?"
"I'll give you a 10% share of the profit."
Pei Yanqi swallowed hard again.
He hesitated and said, "But the issuance of liquor licenses is under the control of the Ministry of Revenue. I'm not familiar with them..."
"A 10% share of the profit as a dry - share. You don't need to spend a single cent of capital."
Pei Yanqi thought for a while and said, "Then you can't say outside that the liquor store has anything to do with me. I still want to be an official... Also, if there are losses, I won't bear any of them."
"Deal."
"Okay. I'll come to you when I get the liquor license."
Just like last time, he still didn't dig deep into why she wanted to sell liquor.
It seemed that for this strange woman who suddenly appeared in the dilapidated temple and threw a hundred taels of silver at him, anything she did was taken for granted.
With the matter of the liquor license settled, Li Wanming was in a great mood. As she hummed a tune and returned to the Cheng Mansion, planning to check on the liquor brewing in the jars, she suddenly saw thick smoke billowing from the direction of the kitchen.
She and Xiao Jingnan rushed over immediately.
They saw Sister Liu rushing out, waving a ladle. Her face was covered in black soot.
"Who pours water into a hot oil pan? Are you crazy?"
Qinglan's face was blackened by the smoke, and a chunk of her hair was singed. She cried, "I've never been in the kitchen before. How would I know this would happen..."
Tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving two shiny trails, like two glittering streams flowing out of a coal mine.
"You're still being reasonable just because you've never been in the kitchen? What kind of girl your age has never even entered a kitchen?"
After the laundry incident last time, Li Wanming was surprised to find that they couldn't even do basic tasks like boiling water, chopping firewood, sweeping the floor, or cooking!
This wouldn't do.
As the daughters of a vegetable farmer, not having any household skills... wouldn't they just sit around and wait for free food every day?
Li Wanming asked Sister Liu and Aunt Song to teach them how to do things, at least to learn the basic survival skills.
Today, Caiwei, Qinglan, and Zifu were learning to cook with Sister Liu. The girls were bustling around in the kitchen in a flurry.
Qinglan finally finished cutting the vegetables and was nervously putting them into the pot. Unexpectedly, by accident, a tall flame suddenly shot up from the pot!
She was so scared that she instinctively scooped up a ladle of cold water from the side and poured it into the hot oil pan!
...
The flames exploded and splashed everywhere.
Soon, the fire caught the firewood in the corner, and the whole kitchen burst into flames.
Fortunately, Wu Yao and Lu Ping arrived in time and put out the fire. Otherwise, the whole Cheng Mansion would have been burned to ruins.
"You good - for - nothing! I told you to stir - fry a dish, and you burned down the kitchen!"
Sister Liu scolded angrily.
Qinglan was both aggrieved and scared. She stood there crying non - stop. "If I can't use water, then what should I do..."
"Cover it with the pot lid!"
"Oh, my ancestors! I've been cooking for a lifetime, and I've never seen anyone as stupid as you!"
"You can't wash the vegetables, can't cut them properly, can blow up the stove while stir - frying, and can break three bowls while washing them. How much family wealth can withstand your waste?"
Li Wanming quickly comforted her. "It's okay. As long as everyone is safe."
She looked around and found only Qinglan. She asked, "Where are Caiwei and Zifu? Aren't they supposed to help in the kitchen? Why aren't they here?"
Hearing these two names, Sister Liu got even angrier. She gritted her back teeth, and her cheeks twitched a few times before she managed to hold back her urge to scold.
Aunt Song whispered beside her, "Master Cheng saw the second master planting vegetables today and said he wanted to help. Unfortunately, he accidentally sprained his back. Miss Caiwei went to take care of him."
??
Isn't farming even more strenuous than growing vegetables?
How could a person who farms sprain his back while growing vegetables?
Just as Li Wanming was about to ask, she heard Xiao Jingnan quickly say, "Father's body is already fine. Thank you, wife, for your concern."
Concern?
Well, as a daughter - in - law, she should indeed be concerned about her father - in - law's health first.
She put this matter aside for the time being.
"What about Zifu? Where is she?"
"... Miss Zifu said she wasn't used to wearing coarse - cloth clothes. She felt uncomfortable and went back to rest."
Not used to wearing coarse - cloth clothes...
Then what did she want to wear?
Li Wanming looked at Xiao Jingnan. "Hasn't she returned the clothes she borrowed last time?"
Xiao Jingnan's face also looked a bit unpleasant. He pondered for a moment and said to Qinglan, "Go and invite Miss Zifu here."
Soon, Zifu came.
She was wearing a khaki - colored homespun skirt with her waist tightly cinched, making her waist look extremely slender and soft. She had deliberately let down a wisp of hair and walked gracefully from outside the courtyard gate. Even in simple clothes, her beauty was undeniable.
"My lord..."
The wind had died down, and the dust was fragrant. Tears welled up in her eyes before she even spoke.
"It's not that I'm being fussy, but this homespun cloth is really too rough."
"I only wore it for a while, and I broke out in rashes all over my body. It hurts and itches. I was so uncomfortable that I wanted to go back and rest..."
Zifu looked sad and pitiful, like a white flower that had been tortured by the harsh wind and frost.