Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 57 Opening

Upon hearing Xie Yuyan's words, Yang Qin dared not utter any other words and could only nod.

He wasn't deliberately avoiding studying; it's just that... the teacher has been a bit too strict these days, assigning more homework than usual, and anyone who doesn't do well is punished by having to write "Exhortation to Study".

He also said that he had wasted his time and would definitely regret it when he reached his age.

Not only him, but his fellow students all wished they could hide away for a few days. Besides, he really wanted to help his family.

The reason why the gentleman became like this is all because of that "tabloid" that his sister-in-law mentioned.

Even Yang Qin did not expect that when he mentioned the "tabloid" to his teacher, his teacher would be so interested. Before Liu the lawyer could come to his door, he went to the bookstore to find Liu the lawyer himself. When he learned that Liu the lawyer had come to Yong'an Lane, he simply followed him.

Then... he only exchanged a few words with lawyer Liu, but talked with his sister-in-law for two hours.

Yang Qin still remembers the questions and answers between her husband and sister-in-law.

"What does my wife think should be written in the tabloids?"

"Anything related to the common people, anything they want to see and like to see, can be included. Information collected from various channels, publicly available gazettes, adjudicated cases, as well as poems, articles..."

"How is that different from the official gazette?"

“Firstly, the imperial gazette is difficult for even scholars to fully understand unless they are high-ranking officials in the court. Secondly, how can news from the streets of Daming Prefecture be included in it? Furthermore, how can ordinary people know about disasters and banditry in various places? If people know these things earlier, they can make arrangements and deal with them sooner. More such information will naturally benefit the people.”

"Furthermore, scholars can find a place to express their aspirations and thoughts, which cannot be written in the official gazette."

Mr. Tong looked surprised upon hearing this, and after a moment he said, "This tabloid's idea really came from lawyer Liu?"

Xie Yuyan shook his head: "It was my idea. I asked Qin Ge'er to tell the master that there was some deception involved, so please forgive him and don't blame Qin Ge'er. Qin Ge'er didn't know the truth."

Yang Qin only found out then that he had been deceived by his sister-in-law. However, he was also worried for her, as her husband had a bad temper and might storm off in a huff.

However, his sister-in-law said some things afterward, and he felt that he understood them, but not quite.

"If you want to achieve your goal, you don't care what method you use. If you start telling the truth, I'm afraid it will be quite difficult to see you, sir."

"If you want me to treat you with sincerity, then we need to have the opportunity to sit together, don't we? Aren't many people the same? Before they step onto the stage, they may have grand ideas in their minds, but who can they share them with?"

"Sir, are you right?"

Yang Qin saw with his own eyes that the gentleman stood there in a daze, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses.

My sister-in-law asked my husband to help her edit the first small newspaper in Daming Prefecture, and he readily agreed.

When he left the Yang family, the teacher instructed him: "Learn well from your sister-in-law."

From then on, many scholars would gather in the teacher's courtyard. Sometimes they would clap and laugh, and sometimes they would argue fiercely, but as soon as the teacher said a few words, all those noises would disappear.

It was only then that Yang Qin realized that his teacher was even more formidable than he had imagined.

Unfortunately, the tabloid is still not completely finished, and the teacher is becoming increasingly anxious. They have to be extra careful when they go to school, for fear of upsetting the teacher.

Yang Qin loved reading, but he also wanted to find some work to do to avoid his teacher, but his sister-in-law refused.

“Sister-in-law,” Yang Qin suddenly remembered, “can those tabloids make money?”

Xie Yuyan shook his head: "No, it will only result in a loss of money."

Yang Qin's eyes widened: "Then..."

"Right now we don't have enough money, so we're losing less. But when we have enough money in the future, we'll lose even more."

Yang Qin stood there, frozen.

Xie Yuyan raised her eyes: "What?"

Yang Qin took a deep breath: "If that's the case, why does sister-in-law still do all this? Why don't we just not do it..." Xie Yuyan raised her eyes, her expression indifferent: "It's better to lose more money right now."

The more money is lost, the more people buy it, and the more copies are printed. Once everyone accepts the tabloid, the price of each copy will naturally increase, and then it won't keep losing money.

However, she said she would lose money later because she planned to invest more in the tabloid, which would be difficult to recoup for a long time.

But she knew in her heart that tabloids would be the most useful tool in the business she was preparing to engage in.

……

He couldn't sleep all night. One dream was that the third branch of the family had become rich, with chests and chests of gold and silver being carried in. The next dream was that she was groveling and begging Xie Yuyan for help, as if Xie Yuyan knew about everything she had done in the clan...

In her desperation, she almost burst into tears, but it was this struggle that woke her from the nightmare. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the master beside her was gone.

After putting on her clothes, He found Yang Mingjing in the study outside.

Yang Mingjing was flipping through the papers in front of him; they were all cases reported by Yong'anfang in recent days.

That lawyer Liu seemed to have been living in Yong'an Ward. He would arrive at the Yang family's house early every morning and leave late at night. He had already written seven or eight petitions and submitted them to the yamen. He thought that was about it, but who knew that the number of people not only did not decrease, but actually increased. There were even people from other wards mixed in with them. The Yang family kept hot water in the kitchen every day to take care of these people.

What's worse, Fang Fangzheng would still ask Yang Mingjing about those cases, and the Xie family would secretly warn him to keep an eye on Xie Yuyan. Every day, Yang Mingjing would fall asleep exhausted, only to wake up to a mountain of work pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Is the master also troubled by the business dealings of the third branch? The shops that Madam Xie set up are opening today," Madam He said. "I wonder how it will turn out."

Of course, Madam He hoped that the shop owned by the third branch of the family would fail, so that she could use it as an excuse to return to managing the household affairs.

Yang Mingjing raised his head after a moment, his reddened eyes filled with confusion: "Is it today?"

Madam He opened her eyes wide. Her husband had actually forgotten such an important matter.

Yang Mingjing waved his hand, his expression showing only exhaustion: "Let me know when you get the news."

He wanted to say something, but swallowed her words back, because Yang Mingjing had already buried his head in the pile of papers. He took a deep breath. She felt that this was Xie's purpose: to tie the master down with these trivial matters, leaving her isolated and helpless.

Before dawn, Madam He couldn't sleep. She looked at the steward beside her and said, "Go to the market now and come back to inform me as soon as you get the news."

The steward hurriedly withdrew.

The door opened, and a gust of cold wind swept in. He shivered violently, and her head started to ache again. This winter seemed unusually cold.

……

The gates of An'yifang slowly opened.

Many residents gathered behind the door and cheered when they heard the sound.

Once the gates of the neighborhood are opened, they will not be closed again tonight. They are witnessing a scene they have never seen before. Although they do not yet know how much impact the gates will have on them in the future, the "change" is something to be happy about.

The market is open, and many shops are opening today. Whether you buy anything or not, you should still join in the fun.

The sound of gongs rang out at that very moment.

"Everyone come and see our newly opened 'Dongfulai' shop."

“Our ‘Qibao Society’ has some good items again.”

The shouts were mixed together, making it impossible to tell what was being said, but the crowd instinctively moved closer to the source of the sound.

Standing at the door, Zheng watched the crowd jostling and pushing, but no one looked in their direction.

As expected, no one came to ask.

Zheng took a deep breath: "Ignore it, just keep boiling water." No matter if anyone comes or not, their stove fire must not go out.

(End of this chapter)