On the twentieth day of the seventh lunar month, Li Wanming put on the most gorgeous dress of her life. Wearing a magnificent crown and looking resplendent, she stood at the entrance of Zhaoyu Academy, waiting for Chen Jinde.
Today was not only the day when her eldest sister was coming but also the day when Zhaoyu Academy was about to resume classes.
The Chen family didn't arrive early. It was not until the end of the third hour of the day that a single - horse carriage with a green sail came from the street.
The carriage stopped, and Li Wanxin got off. There was a look of confusion on her face. "Little sister..."
"Eldest sister!"
Li Wanming quickly stepped forward to greet her.
After not seeing each other for a few months, her eldest sister seemed to be in good health, but her eyes were listless, and she looked very at a loss.
Li Wanxin grabbed her hand. "Little sister, did you... make the Chen family drive me out?"
Her voice was extremely miserable, with a hint of doubt.
"What do you mean 'drive out'!"
Li Wanming spat and said, "Is that what Chen Jinde told you?"
Li Wanxin panicked. "Little sister, how can you call my father - in - law by his name directly? This... this is inappropriate..."
She was a gentle and virtuous lady, well - behaved and quiet since childhood, and had never had a quarrel with anyone.
Even when seeing the most unacceptable things, she would only say "inappropriate".
Li Wanming was completely different from her. She was rebellious and used to being lawless.
Hearing what her eldest sister said, she just curled her lips and said indifferently, "If he wants others to respect him, he should first respect himself!"
Since learning about the despicable means Chen Jinde used against Wanfu Pawnshop, Li Wanming had no courtesy towards him at all.
"Little sister, you..."
Xiao Jingnan stepped forward. "Eldest sister, Wanming has opened a women's academy. Now we still need a teacher who can teach vegetable - planting and weaving. That's why she asked the Director of the Imperial Academy, Chen, for permission to let you come and help. You are still the young mistress of the Chen family. If you want to go back, you can go back at any time."
As he was speaking, he glanced at Li Wanming and shook his head imperceptibly, with a hint of persuasion in his eyes.
Li Wanming understood what he meant and had to swallow all her dissatisfaction with Chen Jinde. She said, "Yes, eldest sister. I've opened an academy, and I'm short of hands now. Will you come and help me for a while?"
Although the fight between her and Chen Jinde had made a big stir in the city, Li Wanming had been staying in the inner courtyard and didn't know much about it.
Moreover, she was in the Chen family. Even if she accidentally heard a word or two, it might not be the truth.
It was impossible to explain it clearly to her for the moment. She could only follow Xiao Jingnan's words to calm her down first and let her settle in the academy.
Hearing that it was Li Wanming who needed help instead of being driven out, Li Wanxin finally felt a little relieved. "Alright... Since it's you who need me to come and help, I'll come."
Li Wanming was delighted. "Great!"
She turned to look in the direction of the carriage. "Hey? Why didn't Lord Chen come?"
When they made the bet, it was agreed that Chen Jinde would personally send Li Wanxin over.
This old man had lost completely. He couldn't be too ashamed to come, could he?
The young servant who came with them explained sheepishly, "Our master is not feeling well and is not very convenient to go out..."
"Not feeling well?"
Li Wanming raised her eyebrows. "He only had a near - stroke last time. Hasn't he recovered after lying in bed for three months?"
"No, Third Miss." Qiuying, the brisk maid who came with Li Wanxin, replied cheerfully in a clear voice, "The old master of the Chen family has already recovered from his illness last time. It's just that yesterday when you sent something over with Chuntao, the master suddenly felt unwell again for some reason..."
Suddenly felt unwell...
Li Wanming couldn't help curling one corner of her mouth.
What she sent with Chuntao were the account books of three shops.
Every detail was clearly written. The three shops she first took over, the inn, the pawnshop, and the paper - handicraft shop, had made a profit of 450 taels, 866 taels, and 1,327 taels respectively in the past three months.
All of them had turned losses into profits and made a fortune.
She had won a complete victory in this bet with the Imperial Academy.
So why did Chen Jinde suddenly feel unwell?
Of course, he was angry with her!
"Qiuying." Li Wanxin gave Qiuying a reproachful look when she heard her maid talking too much and stopped her.
In her mind, juniors should not criticize their elders, and openly discussing the faults of the elders was an immoral thing. Qiuying was her maid. How could she do such an impolite thing?
Qiuying stuck out her tongue and stopped talking, but her eyes were still curved, and her whole body was beaming with joy.
When Chuntao came to deliver something yesterday, the two of them had a long talk outside the door.
When Qiuying heard that the eldest miss would be able to leave the Chen family and move to the academy tomorrow, she was extremely happy.
Before, every time she wanted to tell the eldest miss what the third miss was doing now, the eldest miss would become worried, afraid that her little sister would offend the elders and get a bad reputation.
So she didn't dare to say much to the eldest miss.
Now it was all right. The eldest miss was going to move out!
Leaving the dull environment of the Chen family, the eldest miss would finally be able to live more comfortably, right?
The more Qiuying thought about it, the happier she became. So when packing up things today, although the eldest miss had a sad face, she couldn't help looking excited.
Li Wanming glanced at Qiuying and secretly laughed in her heart.
She was in a happy mood at the moment and was too lazy to care about these trivial matters with Chen Jinde.
Anyway, her purpose was to pick up her eldest sister. Now that the purpose had been achieved, there was no need to beat a fallen dog. Let Lord Chen stay at home and recuperate with his tail between his legs.
As for the fiasco of the Imperial Academy, the people in the capital were not easy to be fooled. Sooner or later, they would spread the news far and wide...
Before the thought in her mind was finished, Xiao Jingnan had already spoken.
Facing the on - looking crowd outside the academy, he said loudly, "Dear folks, I think you all know about the bet my wife made with Director Chen of the Imperial Academy three months ago."
"At that time, Lord Chen gave my wife three of the most dilapidated shops in the capital and set many harsh conditions. He asked my wife to lead the students of the academy to turn losses into profits within three months. Otherwise, Zhaoyu Academy would have to close!"
"Thanks to the unremitting efforts of my wife and the students of the academy, we not only made a profit but also turned these three shops into the most well - known ones in the capital!"
"What does this show?"
He paused for a moment, scanned the people below, and then shouted even louder, "It shows that the teaching quality of our Zhaoyu Academy is excellent!"
"Think about it. Our Zhaoyu Academy has only been open for a few months, and the girls who come to study here haven't even completed a full - term course. Yet they already have such outstanding talents. They can work as accountants, shop assistants, chefs, shopkeepers, and craftsmen... and they have made great achievements in all their undertakings!"
"This fully shows that our Zhaoyu Academy is a united academy, a practical academy, and an academy that can lead everyone to work hard and get rich!"
"From now on, if anyone says that girls can't go out to make money and can only stay at home to do laundry, cook, and take care of children, you should spit in his face and ask him to come and take a good look at the characters 'Zhaoyu'!"
"From now on, not only the men in your families can make money, but the women can also. Let's work together, get rich together, and make our lives more prosperous!"
"In a couple of days, Zhaoyu Academy will resume classes. Our tuition fees and course arrangements will be the same as before. We welcome everyone to sign up actively."
"Let's unite, learn more skills, work hard to make money, and march towards a better future together!"
After hearing this, the on - looking crowd couldn't help shouting and cheering. There was thunderous applause from the audience.
Yes, they had actually seen that the people trained by Zhaoyu Academy could make money.
Who didn't want to make money?
From now on, the girls in their families could also be a source of labor. Wouldn't the family income double?
No!
Look at the shops of Mistress Cheng. Which one wasn't making a fortune?
As long as the little girls entered her academy and then worked in her shops after graduation, the family income might more than double...
The people were extremely excited. Everyone's face was flushed, shining with the light of money!
Xiao Jingnan was very satisfied.
From now on, no one would doubt Li Wanming's ability anymore, and no one would dare to say that girls were less capable than men.
What was even better was that after his impassioned speech, Chen Jinde couldn't hide even if he wanted to.
Tomorrow, the news of the fiasco of the Imperial Academy would spread throughout the capital. The people's discussions would be thrown in his face, and he wouldn't even be able to be a coward.