Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 190 New arrival

Meng Jiuhe acted as if he didn't exist, completely ignoring him, and continued talking to Zhang Xuyang about their situation over the past few days.

Shen Siheng didn't hesitate to continue: "The end of the year is not far away now, let's celebrate the New Year first. After spring comes and it gets warmer, we can go for a spring outing. By the way, have you chosen an academy yet? Do you want me to explain it to you in detail?"

Meng Jiu and the other two stopped, still somewhat reluctant. They looked at each other and nodded.

Seeing that Meng Jiuhe remained silent, Zhang Xuyang shook his head and stepped forward, offering a friendly smile: "Young Master Shen, look how cold it is. How about we go over there and have a bowl of tea to warm our hands?"

Shen Siheng looked at him warily: "Why should I have tea with you? What kind of bad trick are you up to? You don't look like a kind person at all."

After saying that, he moved a little closer to Meng Jiuhe.

Zhang Xuyang rolled his eyes a few times, but he couldn't scold the kid. He just smiled more and looked very eager.

“Young Master Shen, you’ve misunderstood. Just now, Sister Xu told us to take good care of you. I was just thinking that we’re new here and not familiar with the area, so I asked you to show us around.”

Shen Siheng scrutinized him from head to toe, and after a moment he snorted a few times: "I knew you were up to no good. You wanted me to take you out for a stroll and be your free guide. Let me tell you, don't even think about it. You think I'm bored? Don't try to get something for nothing."

Zhang Xuyang held his breath in his chest but couldn't exhale. Finally, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before speaking: "Young Master Shen, you really misunderstand. Brother Meng and I are classmates and friends. We both came to the county town to study. Since Young Master Shen knows more, why don't you explain it to us in detail?"

Shen Siheng glanced at him with disdain, hummed a few times, and looked unwilling.

Meng Jiuhe had to respond even if he didn't want to, as Zhang Xuyang had already nudged him with his elbow several times, so he could only give a few perfunctory replies.

Meng Jiuhe then forced a smile, his voice somewhat stiff: "Young Master Shen, you just mentioned that there are not only county schools but also two academies in this county town. What's the story behind that? Could you tell us about it?"

After saying that, he turned his head away somewhat awkwardly.

Upon hearing this, Shen Siheng immediately beamed with joy: "Excellent, excellent! There's a teahouse up ahead that I'd like to invite you for tea. The dim sum there is absolutely superb. I've personally tried to recruit the chef several times, but I haven't been able to. The dim sum made by our restaurant's chef doesn't suit our taste, and our customers have complained about it many times. I once tried to offer more money to poach the chef, but he refused."

After saying that, he looked somewhat defeated.

Zhang Xuyang thought to himself: With your shamelessness, you'll eventually get rejected. Sure enough, there's always someone who can subdue another. That saying is absolutely true. But he didn't say it aloud.

The three headed towards a teahouse not far away. Along the way, Shen Siheng chattered incessantly, while Meng Jiuhe frowned and tried to hold back his chatter.

Xu Chaoyan finally managed to send the door god out and sat down to rest for a while.

Zhang Yueniang also came over to help her tidy up the house. Since they hadn't brought much with them when they came, the rest of the things were brought over in a truck later. There were still many things to put away. With the end of the year approaching, they also had to prepare New Year's goods. Thinking about it, these days have been quite busy.

At this moment, Zhang Yueniang came over with a basin of water and greeted her: "Sister Xu, I've come to help you clean up. Have you taken care of things at home these days? Has that bastard come to cause you any more trouble lately?"

"No, we've been busy calculating the wages of those craftsmen and tidying up the house recently, so we came over. He doesn't have the guts."

After Xu Chaoyan finished eating, Meng Jiuxia helped her clean up the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen. Now she was thinking about how to earn some money as the end of the year approached.

When Meng Jiuhe goes to study at the academy after spring, the tuition fee that year will definitely be quite high. The county is not as good as the town. Although they are not worried about food and clothing now, they have to plan ahead. There will be expenses for the prefectural school and going to the capital in the future.

She had already inspected the courtyard and specially reserved a side room so that the two families could make tofu together. She would make some dried tofu and blood tofu to sell first, and then consider doing other businesses later.

Xu Chaoyan took the wooden basin from her and put it down: "Sister, don't rush to do these things, take a rest first. You've been in the county town for a while now, have you observed how the tofu business is? And which street is the most lively? How is the foot traffic?"

Zhang Yueniang sat down on a stool and chatted with her. They had been here for some time now, and usually they would tidy up the yard and then go to the street to stroll around and check out the prices of various goods.

When they came before, Xu Chaoyan told them to wander around the streets and take a look, to investigate the market first, and then make a decision later.

Zhang Yueniang lowered her head, looking ashamed: "To be honest, I'm not as bright as you, Xu. I've only chatted with the aunties at the market a few times these past few days. Prices in this county are indeed very high. I don't know how we're going to survive in the future, and there's also the tuition fee for Xuyang."

After he finished speaking, he looked distressed.

Xu Chaoyan then remembered that the Zhang family had a large number of members and made a living by selling tofu.

Zhang Xuyang's tuition fees for a year, along with household expenses and the cost of medicine for his elderly parents, are indeed a bit overwhelming.

She quickly offered some words of comfort: "Sister, don't worry. The end of the year is approaching. Let's make some dried tofu and blood tofu to try selling first, and then we'll make more plans after spring."

She was thinking of setting up a snack stall at the college gate to see if she could make a living. The college in this county town had a much larger population than the students in their town, and their economic situation was also better. Selling snacks or small dishes at the college gate should be feasible.

However, she still needs to investigate further; the county is not as convenient as a town, so it's best to be cautious.

Meng Jiu and the others stayed outside for about an hour before returning.

When Xu Chaoyan saw him return empty-handed, she asked with some confusion, "Didn't I give you money? I told you to go out and see if there were any suitable books, and you could buy some to help you pass the time."

Zhang Xuyang spoke up at this moment: "Hey, I just advised Brother Meng to buy that book and read it slowly. I saw that he really liked it. I tried to persuade him several times, but it was no use. He thought it was too expensive. The shopkeeper said that only his shop had that book."

After saying that, he looked regretful.

Xu Chaoyan also looked disapproving: "Husband, didn't I tell you to buy whatever you like and not to worry about money? Why did you come back empty-handed? By the way, what did Young Master Shen say to you? Did you invite him for tea and some pastries? You two are not very talkative, but Young Master Shen seems like a chatterbox. He is quite familiar with this city since he was born and raised here. It wouldn't hurt for you to befriend him. He seems like a very simple-minded person."

When Zhang Xuyang heard her say that Shen Siheng was simple-minded, he became unhappy: "Hey girl, don't say that kid is simple-minded. I told you that kid is cunning and wicked. I just snatched a box of books from him today, and he's been holding a grudge ever since. He's always going against me and arguing with me. But that kid does talk a lot. He keeps chattering in my ear and is very noisy. Brother Meng couldn't stand him being so noisy, so he dragged me away."

Seeing that Xu Chaoyan was unhappy, Meng Jiuhe explained, "My lady, those books do seem too expensive. You and my little sister work hard to earn money. I just asked at the bookstore and they said that you can get twenty coins for copying a book. I have a good memory, so next time I will bring them back and copy them, which is the same as reading them once."

Xu Chaoyan looked at his face, which seemed to say, "Praise me!" and wanted to give him a flick on the forehead. "Is this guy stupid?"

She looked at him with a disappointed expression, and finally waved her hand helplessly: "Fine, whatever makes you happy."