Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 265 An Invitation (First Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Before long, it was late, and Liu Wu'er returned with the food box when Xueyan came to her door.

Hongyu warmly greeted her, and after exchanging a few words, she led Xueyan inside. Chen Siyuan was reading at the time, and upon hearing Hongyu's voice, he smiled and asked, "Why have you come?"

Xueyan glanced at Hongyu with her smiling eyes, and Hongyu said, "I'll go set the table."

After saying that, she turned and left. Only then did Xueyan come over and quietly hand her a handkerchief.

"This is—" Chen Siyuan took the handkerchief and smelled a familiar warm fragrance from afar. Upon closer inspection, he saw a short poem written in delicate handwriting. He immediately knew that it was sent by Daiyu.
Seeing that Chen Siyuan had come to his senses, Xueyan smiled and whispered, "Master Yuan, you don't know, our young lady sent me to find this handkerchief as soon as she came back today. After thinking about it for a long time, she wrote a poem and attached it... Hehe, Master Yuan is really resourceful."

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "Where would I get a solution? I'm just telling your daughter the truth."

Xueyan covered her mouth and laughed, clearly not believing it.

Chen Siyuan didn't hold it against her. He asked her about Daiyu's diet and daily life these past few days, and then called Hongyu over, giving Xueyan a box of pastries before sending Hongyu away.

There was nothing more to say that day.

............................................................

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Siyuan's birthday was approaching.

Chen Siyuan had just finished practicing his stance training early that morning and had breakfast at his thatched cottage when his maid Yunxiang came running over with a beaming smile.

Seeing that he looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't, Chen Siyuan was both amused and exasperated, and had no choice but to call him into the study to talk.

Yunxiang immediately said, "Master, you don't know, this morning the old lady asked Li Gui to give instructions, saying that if you ask Master Bao to meet guests again, just say you don't need to go. Firstly, the beating was too severe this time, and secondly, Master Bao's horoscope is unfavorable, so he has to pray to the stars and not see outsiders. It is said that he will not be allowed to leave the second gate until after August."

Chen Siyuan touched his chin and clicked his tongue. Baoyu was a good-for-nothing to begin with, and with Grandmother Jia protecting him like this, Baoyu would probably become even more unruly.

After a short while, Yunxiang continued, "And another thing... These past few days, Master has often come home late. Yesterday, Aunt Zhao finally managed to catch Master at Mengpo Studio, but somehow she started making a scene again. Aunt Zhao was shouting around that Master had been seduced by some vixen outside."

Huh? Chen Siyuan laughed immediately. At first, he thought Aunt Zhao was just talking nonsense, but after laughing and thinking about it carefully... this... is hard to say!

Because of Jia Zhu's death, Jia Zheng and Lady Wang had long lost their marital affection. Therefore, Jia Zheng secretly favored Aunt Zhao and her son, and looked down on Bao Yu. Now, though the reason is unknown, it seems Jia Zheng has also become estranged from Aunt Zhao.

With an unvirtuous wife, unfilial son, and a muddle-headed mother, Master Jia Zheng was bound to feel disheartened. Finding no solace within the family, he might have to seek comfort outside.

Chen Siyuan couldn't help but gasp inwardly; the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

He couldn't help but ask solemnly, "What time has the master been returning these past few days?"

If it were someone else, they might not remember for a moment, but Yunxiang was a know-it-all. She knew everything about the affairs of the household, so she spoke up right away: "That's hard to say. There were two times when she didn't return until after 7 p.m., and two times when she didn't return until the end of 5 p.m.... Oh, and one of the times she was drunk."

Yunxiang knew nothing about what was happening outside the mansion. Chen Siyuan secretly made up his mind and sent a servant from the new residence to secretly follow him. He wanted to see where Master Zheng went after leaving the yamen every day.

The local gossip horn hadn't heard anything else when Yunxiang suddenly added, "There's more. Just now, Yu Liu outside the Yimen Gate said that as soon as the inner city gate opened, a servant from Master Lian's side rode up on horseback. He rushed into the east courtyard in a panic, and we don't know what happened."

Could it be that latex prices have fallen?

Just as he was pondering this, Miao'er suddenly came from outside, saying urgently, "Young master, the master requests your presence. Please hurry."

As they were talking, Xiangling had already invited Miao'er inside. Chen Siyuan then asked, "Sister, what is the reason for the master's urgency?"

Miao'er shook her head and frowned, saying, "The master had a terrible tantrum in the study, even smashing a pair of reward vases. The old woman only said that she saw the servant next to Master Lian talking to the master, and the master flew into a rage and kicked the servant away."

Such a temper? It seems Jia She has suffered quite a bit.

Chen Siyuan nodded, tidied himself up, and followed Miao'er to the east courtyard. After entering the black lacquered gate, he could see Jia She waiting at the door of the study with a furrowed brow.

Upon spotting Chen Siyuan, Master Jia She beckoned and said, "Brother Yuan, come here quickly!"

Chen Siyuan quickened his pace and followed Jia She into the study. Chen Siyuan bowed and said, "Uncle, I overheard something, but has something happened in Tianjin?"

Jia She slammed his fist on the table and cursed, "Lian'er is good for nothing and good for nothing! What did I tell him before I left? He only knows how to indulge in pleasure every day."

Chen Siyuan said, "This is something that even Brother Lian probably couldn't have predicted."

Jia She asked in surprise, "Market conditions? What does the market conditions have to do with anything?"

Chen Siyuan was also puzzled and said, "Is it because the price of latex has dropped, Uncle?"

"Why did it fall? It's gone up a bit again."

"That--"

Jia She cursed, "That wretched wretch! I ordered him to keep a close watch on the warehouse, but the other day he let thieves sneak into the warehouse at night and set it on fire, burning a full forty percent of the latex!"

Chen Siyuan was dumbfounded; it seemed that Jia Lian couldn't get rid of this mess even if he wanted to.

After cursing for a while, Master Jia She finally got down to business with Chen Siyuan, saying, "I called you here because I wanted to borrow some latex from you."

Chen Siyuan immediately complained, "Uncle knows the inside story of that business. To put it bluntly, I only own 20% of the shares. The real decision-makers are the inner court. To be honest, Uncle, all the latex from July has already been sold off. Where would we find any latex to lend to you?"

Jia She immediately frowned and became displeased.

Chen Siyuan stared directly into his eyes, looking completely helpless.

Jia She sighed in distress, "What should we do..."

After a moment's thought, Chen Siyuan offered a suggestion: "Uncle, do you know which families are currently engaged in the business of stockpiling latex?"

Jia She snorted coldly and said, "Besides myself, there's only Grandfather Wu and Prince Zhongshun left... Hiss!" Jia She gasped and said, "Could it be that Prince Zhongshun was the one who did this?" Before Chen Siyuan could speak, Jia She slammed his hand on the table and said, "That's it, it must be him! My family has always had a grudge against Prince Zhongshun, and last time Baoyu teased Prince Zhongshun's favorite. This is a way of taking revenge on me!"

Chen Siyuan blinked, thought for a moment... and it seemed to make sense?

He immediately said, "As the saying goes, the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. In my humble opinion, I'm afraid the other two companies can't hold on any longer, and they're worried about a sudden sell-off causing a sharp drop in prices, which is why—"

"That's it! With 40% of my inventory gone, the price of latex won't drop anytime soon, will it? You scoundrel!"

Chen Siyuan quickly advised, "The best course of action now is to minimize losses. Uncle, you should secure your profits as soon as possible."

Jia She pondered this carefully, and it was indeed so. The other two companies were taking this opportunity to sell off their shares; if he were to still hold onto them, wouldn't he be throwing the whole business away?

After a moment's thought, Jia She became impatient. He said to Chen Siyuan, "Brother Yuan is right. I will write a letter right away... no, I will go to Tianjin myself right away." After a quick calculation, he realized that if he sold the item now, he would lose at least three thousand taels of silver.

Jia She felt a pang of heartache. But he couldn't worry about anything else now. He could accept his own loss, but he couldn't let the Crown Prince suffer the same fate.

After dismissing Chen Siyuan, the master summoned the steward and busied himself in the east wing. He only entrusted Madam Xing to inform Grandmother Jia. In no time, the master hurriedly took a carriage to Tianjin.

No sooner had Jia She left than Madam Xing summoned Chen Siyuan into the main room, asking him in surprise, "What exactly happened?"

Chen Siyuan glanced around, and Madam Xing frowned and waved her hand, dismissing the maids and servants. Once only the two of them remained, Chen Siyuan shook his head with a smile and said, "That business has attracted envy, and I don't know who did it, but a fire the other night destroyed forty percent of the latex we had stockpiled."

"Ah?" Madam Xing's face changed color in shock, and she hurriedly asked, "Then, wouldn't we be at a loss?"

Chen Siyuan gave him a strange look and said, "What does it have to do with you if he suffers a loss?"

Madam Xing was taken aback, then smiled broadly and said, "Oh, so it has nothing to do with me." Madam Xing immediately relaxed and leaned back, saying leisurely, "It would be even better if something happened to him on the way."

Chen Siyuan frowned and scolded, "Why bring this up again? Without him protecting you openly, do you think I can protect you and Fourth Brother?"

Madam Xing immediately pouted and said, "I don't know why, but I feel disgusted by him now."

This woman who had cheated on her husband clearly had her heart set on him. Chen Siyuan, of course, offered another round of gentle words of comfort. Then, Madam Xing asked leisurely, "When shall we go to the Jade Emperor Temple again?"

Chen Siyuan said, "Let's avoid this place for a while... I don't know which good-for-nothing leaked the news, but now there are old women coming to manage the Jade Emperor Temple every day."

Although Madam Xing was unwilling, she knew that this matter could not be forced, so she changed the subject to Chen Siyuan giving birth to a son the day after tomorrow.

Chen Siyuan then said, "If it's up to me, we should move to the new house to hold the ceremony."

Madam Xing was immediately intrigued, while Chen Siyuan was both amused and exasperated, saying, "With so many people around, what are you thinking?"

Madam Xing immediately retorted angrily, "This won't do, that won't do. If I had known, I should have gone with you back then. Now there wouldn't be so much trouble. Fine, fine, do whatever you want. I don't care anymore."

After saying that, he got up and was about to leave in a huff. Chen Siyuan had no choice but to get up and pull Madam Xing away, and said in a low voice, "Otherwise... tonight you will go to the cave in the northwest corner of the garden."

Upon receiving confirmation, Madam Xing felt somewhat relieved, but said vaguely, "We'll talk about it later. I need to go see the old lady."

The two parted ways, with Chen Siyuan returning to the garden first. After a moment's thought, he headed towards the new residence. However, that day, Second Sister You went to Ningguo Mansion to visit Madam You, and Third Sister went to Baicaotang to do the accounts, leaving only Qingwen at home.

As soon as Chen Siyuan entered the room, Qingwen greeted him with a smile, saying, "Master, you're finally back. If you hadn't come back today, I'm afraid Third Aunt would have sent someone to look for you tonight."

"For the sake of having a child?" Chen Siyuan asked with a smile.

Qingwen also laughed and said, "That's right? Third Aunt has been studying for several months and is just waiting to show it to Master tomorrow."

Chen Siyuan said, "It was hidden so well that I didn't hear a word about it... Why don't you tell me what the gift is?"

Qingwen pursed her lips and tilted her head, saying, "I won't tell you. You can see for yourself when the time comes."

As they entered the main room, Qingwen served them lukewarm tea. Chen Siyuan took a sip and asked, "Are there any servants in the house?"

Qingwen pondered, "Jiang Wu outside is a clever fellow; he's been accompanying Third Aunt on errands for the past few months."

Chen Siyuan nodded and instructed, "Go and summon him."

Qingwen responded and turned to give instructions to the old woman. Soon the old woman brought in a young servant boy of about seventeen or eighteen.

Jiang Wu entered and bowed, saying, "Greetings, sir!"

Chen Siyuan beckoned him forward and whispered, "Do you know the Lord Zheng of the Rongguo Mansion?"

Jiang Wu said, "Reporting to Master, I accompanied Miss Chunxi on an errand in Ningrong Street and saw her from afar twice."

"That's good, then you do it this way, and that way..."

Chen Siyuan had given instructions, and after carefully observing Jiang Wu, he saw that Jiang Wu remained expressionless. Upon hearing the order, he hurriedly replied, "Don't worry, sir, I will go to the Ministry of Works to keep watch at noon."

"Go ahead, and you'll be well rewarded after you've accomplished your mission."

Jiang Wu bowed in agreement and then turned and left.

Qingwen, who was listening nearby, was quite surprised and came over to say, "Why are you staring at Master Zheng like that?"

Chen Siyuan pulled Qingwen to sit down beside him and said, "You have no idea what has happened these past few days."

Then she recounted Baoyu's actions and the various changes in the Rongguo Mansion, which deeply moved Qingwen. Jin Chuan had almost died, and Baoyu had run away... Not only that, but because of her secret possession of the "Huizhen Ji" (a historical record), Meiren was also expelled.

Qingwen frowned and sighed, "Now I should thank Aunt Lai... If it weren't for her, I'm afraid I would have been the one kicked out this time."

Feeling pity for Qingwen, Chen Siyuan put his arm around her and said, "It's all in the past, why do you still think about it?"

Qingwen smiled and shook her head. She had lived in the Rongguo Mansion for many years, and now that things had changed, how could she not think about it?

Suddenly, she heard Granny Qu's voice stopping Luan'er outside. Qingwen quickly broke free and then suddenly realized, "That's right, I got the news yesterday that Aunt Zhen will probably arrive in the capital in late May. If Master goes back later, I'm thinking of giving the letter to Sister Xiangling."

Chen Siyuan was about to agree when he caught a glimpse of a round figure running in through the door. Turning his head, he realized it was Luan'er.

Chen Siyuan was taken aback and asked, "How come Luan'er has gotten fatter again?"

Qingwen frowned and said with distress, "She only eats fatty meat, so of course she's gotten fat! I've told her several times, but she won't listen. What will we do if she gets any fatter?"

Granny Naqu caught up with Luan'er and smiled, "Being able to eat is a blessing, Master. Look, Luan'er has such a blessed look now, doesn't she look like a little girl in a New Year's painting?"

Chen Siyuan burst into laughter and said, "Good, good, good. We won't need to buy New Year pictures for the New Year. We can just hang Luan'er on the door."

Luan'er was immediately terrified. She turned around and ran while shouting, "Bad man! Master is a bad man!"

Startled, Granny Qu quickly covered Luan'er's mouth, saying, "Don't you dare say anything out of line, or your sister will pinch you."

They walked away as they spoke.

Qingwen gritted her teeth, and seeing Chen Siyuan's smile grow even wider, she scolded him, "It's all your fault... If Luan'er hadn't seen it, how could this have happened..."

Chen Siyuan scratched his head, embarrassed, and said, "I'll be more careful next time... Don't worry, the kid will forget in a few days."

Qingwen added, "Even if it's not for any other reason, Master still needs to take care of his health. The whole family depends on Master for their livelihood."

Chen Siyuan agreed with a grin and was about to pull Qingwen away when a maidservant outside suddenly said, "Third Aunt is back!"

Qingwen quickly stepped aside, and then saw a fiery red figure gracefully enter. She then nestled into Chen Siyuan's arms like a fledgling swallow returning to its nest: "Brother..."

Chen Siyuan felt a fragrant breeze on his face, and a smile instantly appeared on his face. He reached out and stroked the third sister's waist, then scolded, "You went to Widow Dou's place again? Your clothes are all soaked."

Sister You smiled and said, "Just this once, you don't need to go again." After a pause, seeing the searching look in Chen Siyuan's eyes, she said, "Brother will know in a couple of days anyway, why ask again now?"

"Okay, then I won't ask."

Qingwen smiled and quietly withdrew. Only the two of them remained inside. After exchanging a few private words, Chen Siyuan said, "I came today to discuss with my sister what the arrangements should be for the day after tomorrow."

Sister You said, "If you ask me, brother, you don't need to ask me. Just do whatever you want to do."

Third Sister You had a clear idea in her mind: rather than having to grovel before the new mistress and follow the rules in the future, it would be better to be carefree and at ease outside. Second Sister You, on the other hand, had other ideas. These days, she often sent her maid Xia Zhu to inquire about the situation in the Rongguo Mansion.

Miss Lin had already been betrothed to a second wife, and Sister You had also gotten a general idea of ​​who the future new grandmother would be.

Chen Siyuan then said, "It's a bit uncomfortable to always celebrate birthdays in the garden. Why don't we hold it in the new house this year?"

Sister You smiled and agreed, saying, "The Hundred Herbs Hall just recently distributed profits, so we don't need much. I think two or three hundred taels of silver will be enough to make it look decent."

Chen Siyuan nodded in agreement and said, "Then I'll go back to the Rongguo Mansion later to let my aunt and the others know."

The two were somewhat intimate, and then had lunch together. It wasn't until the afternoon that Chen Siyuan returned to the Grand View Garden.

Going to the new house to celebrate the birthday is easy for Chen Siyuan, Baochai, and Xing Xiuyan, but for Daiyu, the three sisters, and Xiangyun, the old lady's approval is needed before anything can be done.

Chen Siyuan first went to see Madam Xing and spoke with her, and then went to see Sister Feng.

Sister Feng was a straightforward person, and immediately agreed: "It's just saying a few words for you, what's the big deal? I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a moment's rest. Last time, I had a chance to relax and watch a show during the Ping An Festival, but who knew it would be like this again... It's good that we're going to Brother Yuan's new house this time. You'll have to let me choose a few more shows."

Chen Siyuan smiled and agreed, then added, "Qiaojie is not young anymore, so why don't you bring your second sister-in-law along too?"

"That's great, it saves the eldest sister from bothering us all the time."

With the matter settled, Chen Siyuan took his leave and returned to his thatched cottage in Qingtang to await a reply. After a moment's thought, Fengjie found Ping'er and instructed her, "Go and visit various places to inquire about the girls' feelings. I will only be able to mention it to the old lady after you send me your reply."

Ping'er agreed and soon entered the Grand View Garden. She first went to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, then Zhuijin Tower, Qiushuang Studio, Nuanxiang Pavilion, Hengwu Garden, and even Li Wan's Daoxiang Village.

Daiyu and Chen Siyuan's marriage was arranged long ago, and Baochai still had to keep it a little secret, because both of them said they would go with everyone else. If everyone else went, they would go too. Xiangyun, Tanchun, and Xichun, the three little ones, were all together and were overjoyed to hear this. Little Xichun chattered on and on with Xiangyun.
Xing Xiuyan didn't hide anything and readily agreed; the second young lady thought for a moment and could only shake her head and refuse—after all, she was still unmarried and there had been rumors circulating recently, so how could she go with everyone to the Chen family's new house?
To Ping'er's surprise, Li Wan also said she wanted to take Lan Ge'er along to offer her congratulations.

Ping'er returned to Feng Jie's courtyard and relayed the messages from each of the women to Feng Jie. She then asked in surprise, "I wonder what the eldest mistress is thinking?"

Sister Feng laughed and said, "The last time my sister-in-law's brother came, there was no one at home to receive him, but Brother Yuan answered all the questions. After that, he became a secretary in the Prince of Yanping's mansion. Do you think he got the connections? My sister-in-law owes Brother Yuan a favor, so of course she has to go and offer her congratulations."

Ping'er smiled and said, "I see. Grandma is very thoughtful."

Sister Feng chuckled and hummed twice, took a short nap, and then headed to Rongqing Hall for dinner.

Upon arriving at Rongqing Hall, Fengjie saw that Madam Xing, Madam Wang, and Aunt Xue were all there, and they were talking about things in Tianjin.

The old lady said with a stern face, "Everything was fine just a few days ago, how did this happen?"

Madam Xing glanced at Feng Jie and said with a smile, "How would I know anything about what's going on outside? Even if I asked the master, he wouldn't say. But Lian'er manages the business in Tianjin, so perhaps she suddenly disappeared this time?"

Feng Jie was secretly annoyed, and then Madam Wang said, "Old Madam also knows that although Lian'er is usually very capable, she is only in charge of the general affairs. The actual work is still handled by the managers. I think it must be that the manager was drunk and made a mistake, otherwise how could the storeroom have been flooded?"

Grandmother Jia nodded and said, "That's exactly right... If you ask me, no matter how well you treat your subordinates, you still have to get the job done properly. How can you ruin your job by drinking yourself?"

The women sighed for a moment, and since Jia She had not explained the situation in detail, they soon started talking about other things.

After saying a few words, Madam Xing continued, "Old Madam, there is something that's right now... The day after tomorrow is the day Yuan-ge'er's birthday, and the child doesn't want to trouble the household, so he insists on going to the new house to host a banquet for everyone."

Grandmother Jia smiled calmly and said, "That's good... Baoyu, that little monkey, can't move around now. If the house is bustling with activity, he might not be able to stay still."

Madam Xing choked for a moment, inwardly despising Baoyu, then smiled and said, "Since it's a banquet, we should invite guests. Yuan-ge'er said that this isn't a big celebration, so we'll just invite our close brothers and sisters."

Grandmother Jia responded with a sound of agreement, her face remaining expressionless. In her heart, she naturally disliked Chen Siyuan. Firstly, he had taken Daiyu away, and secondly, he had devised a plan to help the eldest and second branches of the family to gang up on her. With these two things happening at the same time, Grandmother Jia wished she could kick Chen Siyuan out immediately.

But the old lady was shrewd and knew that Chen Siyuan was no longer the same person he used to be; in fact, he might even surpass the Jia family in influence in the future. Since that was the case, she thought it best to play dumb this once and for all, and at least maintain a good relationship... just in case she needed his help someday.
Although Sister Feng disliked Madam Xing, she still smiled and said, "Grandma, you don't know, Brother Ziyuan told me about it this afternoon. Last time, with all the welcoming and sending off of guests at the Ping'an Festival, I didn't get a moment's peace. This time, I'm going to watch the play properly. I can't control whether others go or not, but I'm taking my eldest daughter with me."

Grandmother Jia immediately laughed and said, "If you go, won't this house be in complete chaos?"

"What can a day or two cause?" Sister Feng said with a smile. "I sent Ping'er to ask her earlier. Besides the Second Miss, even the Eldest Sister-in-law said she wanted to join in the fun."

Grandmother Jia secretly admired Chen Siyuan's good relationships with others. Thinking that Tan Chun and Xi Chun were still young, and that Li Wan and Feng Jie were also with them, she smiled and nodded, saying, "In that case, they can all go. There is only one thing: Feng Jie must be taken good care of."

Sister Feng immediately retorted, "I was just about to take a rest when the old lady sent me on another errand!"

Aunt Xue laughed and said, "The capable are always given more work. You're the only one in the family who can keep the daughters-in-law in check, so of course you have to do more work."

With a few words and a laugh, the matter was settled.

After leaving Rongqing Hall, Sister Feng thought for a moment and then simply moved towards Qingtang Thatched Cottage.

When they arrived at the courtyard gate, Hongyu and Wu'er were enjoying the cool shade under the trees. Upon seeing Fengjie, Hongyu quickly got up to greet her.

When Fengjie saw Hongyu, she felt a sense of kinship and couldn't help but pull her hand and scold her, "If I had known you were such a thoughtful person, I should have married you and kept you by my side. Now I wouldn't be so busy that I'm running around like crazy."

Hongyu laughed and said, "Second Madam is teasing me again... Who doesn't know that Sister Ping'er is the most considerate?"

Sister Feng laughed and said, "She's a little too considerate." She paused, then asked, "Is Brother Yuan here?"

"Master is reading right now, Second Mistress, please come in." Hongyu ushered Fengjie in and called out from afar, "Master, Second Mistress is here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure stood up from behind the study window. Chen Siyuan put down his book, cupped his hands in greeting to Sister Feng, and hurried over to greet her.

The two met in the hall. Chen Siyuan greeted him and they sat down. Then Feng Jie said, "The old lady has agreed. Besides the second young lady, Tan Ya, Si Ya, Yun Ya, Bao Ya, and Lin Ya will all go. Oh, and my sister-in-law also said she's taking Lan Ge to join in the fun."

"That's great." Chen Siyuan replied with a smile, then added, "I suppose the old lady is doing this because of my second sister-in-law's reputation."

Sister Feng flicked her handkerchief and laughed, "Brother Yuan, please don't make fun of me. How could I possibly have the face to do this? It was the First Madam who brought it up first. I was just chiming in from the sidelines."

After exchanging a few casual words, Sister Feng glanced at Chen Siyuan and said thoughtfully, "Brother Yuan... I won't hide it from you, I also have something to ask of you this time."

"Oh? Second sister-in-law, there's no need for such formalities. If I can help, I certainly will."

“Yes, Brother Yuan will definitely be able to help,” Sister Feng said thoughtfully.

Upon hearing this, Chen Siyuan realized that Sister Feng's visit was still about the workshop. Sister Feng hadn't been idle these past few days, sending Laiwang to make inquiries everywhere. She had clearly decided that from now on, the workshop would only produce latex shoe soles. Firstly, they were thicker and more durable than cloth soles, and secondly, they were more bouncy and less tiring to walk in.

Setting up a latex workshop would probably cost around one or two thousand taels of silver, but Sister Feng had never run a workshop before and was completely clueless. Naturally, she was eyeing Chen Siyuan, the instigator. If Chen Siyuan was involved, she wouldn't lose money no matter what.

Chen Siyuan pondered to himself that the latex business was booming, with workshops springing up everywhere like mushrooms after rain, leading to hoarding and speculation... His workshop, which he had set up to make samples, was now useless. Apart from the craftsman who had run away, the remaining workshops were behaving themselves, and with Jia Yun overseeing them these days, they had all learned quite a bit of the craft.

There's no use keeping them; it's better to give them to Sister Feng as a favor.

So Chen Siyuan said, "What you say makes sense, Second Sister-in-law... How about this, I still have some contracted servants in my workshop who have learned some skills. Why don't we transfer them all to Second Sister-in-law's name? Also, I don't plan to keep the workshop outside the city. Since Second Sister-in-law has asked for it, I think..."

"Wait a minute!" Sister Feng said, both amused and exasperated. "I was thinking of partnering with Brother Yuan, but he wants to transfer the workshop to me instead. Fine, fine, I'll just be honest. Without Brother Yuan's involvement... I really can't feel at ease with this business." She paused, then added, "Brother Yuan doesn't need to come often. Just a little guidance on things related to the latex business will be enough."

Chen Siyuan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright, then let's do as Second Sister-in-law says and work together to handle it."

Sister Feng was overjoyed and quickly got up, picked up a teacup, and toasted Chen Siyuan with tea instead of wine. As for how the two families would divide the profits, that would have to wait until after Chen Siyuan had his son and Sister Feng had inspected the workshop herself.

With the matter settled, Sister Feng was about to take her leave when a servant woman suddenly came looking for her. She called out from afar, "Is Second Mistress here? This is terrible! Third Miss, along with her maids and servants, beat up Old Madam Ye!"

"Huh?" Sister Feng was quite surprised.

Chen Siyuan was startled at first, then thought to himself, "Has Tan Chun finally come to her senses?"
"Brother Yuan——"

Before Sister Feng could finish speaking, Chen Siyuan said, "Third Sister is always reasonable. For someone to provoke Third Sister into hitting someone, I suppose Old Madam Ye must have done something wrong."

Hongyu chimed in, "Old Ye's mother is Mingyan's mother. These past two days, because Mingyan was kicked out, she's been saying some strange things to everyone."

So she's Mingyan's mother, then there's no mistake. Mingyan was driven away ultimately because of Aunt Zhao and her son. Old Ye's mother, out of hatred for her son, foolishly provoked Tan Chun, and that's how she got herself into trouble?

Chen Siyuan was still a little worried, and said, "Why don't I go and take a look with my second sister-in-law?"

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)