Chapter 291: Chapter 291
Li Xingmao and Chai Eying came to the North Courtyard Main House to see Prince Luling and his wife.
"You’re back? Did you have a good time with your brother and sister-in-law?" Princess Consort Luling, holding Guoguo, asked them with a smile.
"Not bad," Chai Eying smiled and said, "Brother and sister-in-law asked us to bring some things back. The food has been sent to the kitchen. They also sent some other items, sister-in-law said, hoping father and mother would not mind."
"Your sister-in-law is a thoughtful person, the things she sends are naturally good, how could we mind?" Princess Consort Luling laughed and said.
The gifts, except for the hair accessories for the three daughters which they took for themselves, were all moved to Princess Consort Luling’s room.
The items were prepared according to village customs, but they were more valuable than typical village gifts.
This showed Sister-in-law Chai’s thoughtfulness.
Guoguo saw Chai Eying, her eyes lit up and she stretched out her hands, shouting, "Mom, mom, hug, hug."
Chai Eying smiled and took her into her arms.
"This child smiles as soon as she sees you. I’ve been holding her all day and she hasn’t bothered to smile," Princess Consort Luling said with a smile.
Guoguo glanced at Princess Consort Luling and huffed.
This made everyone burst into laughter.
Li Lixing had been at the Li Family for five days, and he couldn’t delay any longer.
Chai Eying worked day and night without rest to draw illustrations for Li Lixing.
Li Xingmao felt sorry for her, telling her to just draw a few pages casually and not to be too serious.
Chai Eying said, "How can that do? If Li Lixing takes it home and his parents see it, won’t they say I was dismissive of the child?"
Li Xingmao held her hand, "I feel bad for your hard work, sitting from morning till night can be exhausting."
Chai Eying laughed and said, "It’s not like I’m drawing every day, I’ll finish a few more pages tonight and then call it a day." Dıscover more novels at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
After drawing for a day and two nights, Chai Eying created two picture books for Li Lixing, each with twenty pages.
Each page was in color.
On each page, there were at least three small animals, each one drawn lively and interestingly.
Li Lixing was delighted with the picture books and couldn’t put them down.
As Li Lixing prepared to return to the county, Princess Consort Luling called Second Young Master and Third Young Master Li Xing’an to pack Li Lixing’s luggage.
In the carriage, besides Li Lixing’s change of clothes, there were also gifts he recently received and the return gifts from Princess Consort Luling to the County Magistrate’s Wife.
Li Lixing’s parents sent a wedding gift to Li Xingmao, which was expensive, and the Li Family couldn’t afford a gift of the same value, so they gifted fine wine brewed by nearby families.
Li Xing’an said that the wines he drank in the county weren’t as good as those brewed by the villagers.
Princess Consort Luling remembered this and packed four large jars of wine, asking Li Xing’an to place them in the carriage.
Additionally, there was a pair of fine ginseng picked by Li Yuzhu.
Early the next morning, just as the sky was getting light, the Li Family opened the gates.
Escorting Li Lixing back were still Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an.
Li Xing’an drove the carriage, flanked by two government officials.
Just as the carriage started on the small path in front of the house, Mu Yuanxiu came riding his mule.
He shouted loudly, "Are you going to the county? Let’s go together!"
Li Xing’an heard the voice and grumbled with a dark face, "Tagalong!"
But Li Lixing was happy to greet Mu Yuanxiu, "Mu Yuanxiu? Are you also going to the county? Come, let’s go together."
Dissatisfied with Mu Yuanxiu’s slow mule, he called for Mu Yuanxiu to sit inside the carriage.
Mu Yuanxiu smiled slightly, "Sure."
He tied his mule to the back of the carriage and got in.
Li Xing’an was envious and said to Mu Yuanxiu, "Mu Yuanxiu, you’ve come at a good time, let’s take turns driving the carriage."
He couldn’t let himself be the only one suffering under the sun!
Mu Yuanxiu should also get a taste of the sun.
"Third Brother Li, you sit inside, I’ll drive the carriage." Mu Yuanxiu lifted the curtain and took the driver’s seat.
Li Xing’an was pleased, "Good, good, good." He appreciated the tact.
Thus, the two took turns driving the carriage, and it wasn’t too exhausting.
By mid-morning, the carriage entered the county town.
The summer sun was hot, and there were few people on the streets.
The carriage moved quickly, and while everyone chatted, they found themselves at Li Lixing’s doorstep.
A government official got off the horse first and went forward to knock on the door.
Soon, the door was opened.
The Gatekeeper saw that Li Lixing had returned and happily said, "Young Master, you’re back?" He also saw the guests who had come before and smiled, "Third Young Master Li, Young Master Mu, Miss Li."
"We’ve brought quite a lot back, find some people to carry them inside," Li Lixing said to the Gatekeeper.
"Alright, I got it." The Gatekeeper called over two servants and two government officials to help move the things.
Li Xing’an and the others’ luggage was moved to the original house.
Mu Yuanxiu’s mule was led to the stable by the Gatekeeper as expected.
Li Lixing led Li Yuzhu and the other two to the back courtyard.
The County Magistrate’s Wife had already received the message from the servant that her son was back.
She asked the maid to help her sit up from bed.
Li Lixing rushed into the bedroom, seeing the County Magistrate’s Wife, he happily shouted, "Mother."
He almost pounced at the bedside.
Li Yuzhu followed in quickly and checked the County Magistrate’s Wife’s health at the first moment.
The result was pleasing; the County Magistrate’s Wife’s illness hadn’t worsened and she had recovered well, looking much better than a few days ago.
"Such a little monkey, you’ve gotten quite a tan." The County Magistrate’s Wife affectionately touched Li Lixing’s face.
"It’s not my fault, blame the sun for being too bright, blame the village for being too fun," Li Lixing said with a smile.
Li Yuzhu spoke about the check-up results, "Madam’s body has recovered better than expected."
The County Magistrate’s Wife was even happier, "You’ve had a tiring journey in the carriage, go change clothes and rest, I’ll have someone arrange lunch."
Nanny Aunt Tian took Li Yuzhu to rest.
While walking, Aunt Tian asked, "Miss, did you bring the mosquito repellent this time?"
Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Yes." She had left many mosquito repellents from last time in the house, stored in a box, since she planned to return anyway, she didn’t take them back, and brought some more this time.
Aunt Tian smiled and said, "Many people have been asking me, wanting to buy Miss’s mosquito repellent."
Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Let them come and buy then, there’s plenty."
"Alright, I’ll go tell them now." Aunt Tian said with a smile.
While Li Yuzhu washed her face and changed clothes, waiting for lunch, Aunt Tian indeed brought three people over.
The three people bought quite a lot, some bought ten boxes, some bought eight boxes.
Upon inquiry, it turned out they weren’t just buying for themselves, but for others too.
Li Yuzhu stuck to the old price, selling for fifty wen per box.
Just in this short period, she earned over a thousand wen.
Li Yuzhu envisioned a plan, since she couldn’t rent a shop in the county, she’d consign them instead.
Selling them wholesale to medicine shops saved her time and spared her the shop rent.
Since mosquito repellent is a kind of herbal medicine, it can be sold together with medicine pills in the pharmacy.
After having lunch and supervising the County Magistrate’s Wife taking medicine, Li Yuzhu pulled Li Lixing out the door.
They sat in the carriage, with a government official driving.
Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu, fearing Li Lixing might lose Li Yuzhu, followed along.
Li Yuzhu looked at the two guardians and found it amusing.
She handed each of them a cloth bag, "You came just in time, help carry the things, okay?"
Li Xing’an weighed it, "What’s this?" The bag was a bit heavy.
"Mosquito repellent," Li Yuzhu replied.
Mu Yuanxiu opened his cloth bag to look inside, revealing small bottles, "These are medicine pills?"
Li Yuzhu nodded, "Yes, I’m taking them to the pharmacy to see if there’s interest."
Li Xing’an furrowed his brows, "Third sister, we’re strangers in this county, will the pharmacy accept your things?"
He knew that businesspeople were all cunning, unwilling to help others do business casually.
Li Yuzhu patted Li Lixing’s shoulder and smiled, "Isn’t he a familiar face? With his introduction, the shopkeepers in this town might give some face?"
Li Lixing felt affirmed, proudly sticking out his chest, "Yes, in this county, I’m your familiar face."
Mu Yuanxiu packed the cloth bag, "Li Lixing, if you help Yu Zhu find a cooperative shop, I’ll treat you to a meal."
Li Xing’an also said, "Yes, I’ll treat you to a meal too."
Li Lixing always felt like a useless person in the Li Family, being recognized by three people for the first time made him extremely delighted.
"It’s a deal then, if I find the shop, you all treat me to a meal," he glanced at the three.
"Deal," Mu Yuanxiu nodded.
Li Xing’an also said, "A gentleman’s word is his bond."
Li Yuzhu also smiled, "I’ll be the witness."
Li Lixing was happy, if he successfully accomplished one thing, everyone wouldn’t say he was useless anymore.
He lifted the curtain to look outside, spotting a pharmacy, he immediately shouted to the government official, "Stop, stop, stop, quick, stop the carriage, there, let’s check out that shop."
He took the lead in getting off the carriage.
Following that, Li Yuzhu, Li Xing’an, and Mu Yuanxiu also got off the carriage.