My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 42

Chapter 42: Middleman

Seeing him asleep, Song Changxu sighed and reached out to pat his head.

When he woke up the next day, Xu Zhizhou rubbed his eyes. Song Changxu was already gone from the bed. He went to wash up first.

The family had bought some eggs. Xu Zhizhou saw that the carrying pole on the ground was gone and guessed that Song Changxu had gone to fetch water.

He simply fried an egg, then chopped some scallions and garlic, and a bowl of egg noodles was ready.

When Song Changxu came back from fetching water, he had run into some neighbors at the well. Song Changxu didn’t go out often, so the aunties and uncles asked which family he was from.

“We live in the small courtyard over there.”

With that, everyone had an impression. “It’s the family that has a stall.”

Song Changxu agreed.

After Song Changxu had left with the water, they whispered.

“I didn’t expect this couple to be so good-looking. Look at Little Xu’s husband, he has such a good temperament. I was stunned for a moment when I saw him. I thought he was some rich young master.”

The neighbors chatted and gossiped as they fetched water, their spirits lifting a little. Which family had started a new business, which couple had had a fight, it had been noisy all night. There were also those who had gone to the docks to carry sandbags and had broken their legs. Speaking of this, everyone sighed.

When Song Changxu returned home, Xu Zhizhou called him to eat noodles.

After the two of them had finished, Song Changxu handed the eight taels of silver he had hidden to Xu Zhizhou with a heavy heart. “This is the money I’ve hidden.”

Xu Zhizhou snorted coldly and pushed it away. “You can keep it. You’re right. When we’re in the county town, people will occasionally ask you to attend some banquet. You should have some money on you, and also for buying paper and ink.”

Hearing this, Song Changxu was actually a little touched.

“I was just angry that you didn’t trust me. I didn’t say that you shouldn’t have any money on you.”

After being angered to tears by Song Changxu last night, Xu Zhizhou had also thought about it. In the future, the two of them would be living together. It wouldn’t be appropriate if Song Changxu didn’t have any silver on him, but he was just angry.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhizhou reluctantly forgave him.

“If you make me the husband of an official, I won’t be angry anymore,” he said, his heart still set on being the husband of an official.

Song Changxu’s myriad emotions turned into a softness in his heart. Hearing Xu Zhizhou’s last sentence, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

“I will.”

Xu Zhizhou looked away. “I’ll be watching you.”

This was Song Changxu’s first time being married. He didn’t really know how to get along with someone of the same sex. There would always be some friction in their personalities. Song Changxu felt a sense of sorrow. He had hidden money, but he wouldn’t dare to hide so much in the future.

After speaking, Xu Zhizhou went to get busy with the Bobo Chicken. Song Changxu helped with the seasoning, and the atmosphere between the two of them improved.

“You go and study.”

Song Changxu still insisted on setting up the stall before he went back to study. After reading for a while, he would copy a storybook.

No, I have to earn more money.

Song Changxu remembered that in the original novel, there was a disaster with the silk this year. In the sixth month, the price of silk would rise. Good silk could be sold for a good price, and he could earn the difference.

After he had sorted out his thoughts, his mind was clear. Being a middleman could still earn a lot of money, especially since he knew the plot of the original novel.

He had eight taels of silver in his hand. He would leave one tael for daily expenses, and he could try his luck at the market with the remaining seven.

After copying for a while, Song Changxu went to the market to look for people selling silk. There were a few scattered people selling it.

He compared the prices and found an old man. “Is your price here eight copper coins a catty?”

The old man nodded. “Our family’s silk is fine and smooth. It’s top-grade. If you don’t believe me, you can feel it, young master. I never lie. You can see for yourself, which family has such cheap and good silk as mine.”

“How much is this basket of silk?”

The old man was startled. He said, “Let me weigh it.”

After weighing the basket of silk, it cost eight qian of silver. It was cheap now. In the sixth month, the price would rise to twelve copper coins a catty.

This was the early harvest of silk, which had not been damaged. In the sixth month, the silk would be flooded.

“Old man, how much more silk do you have at home? I’ll take another six taels of silver worth.”

Old Man Qian was shocked and delighted. He said, “Young master, this is our early harvest of silk. There’s still some that was planted late and hasn’t been harvested yet. Our family can’t handle six taels of silver, but our village can.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you with this. If you can collect all the silk, you can come and find me in Mijiang Lane. I’m in the small courtyard inside. I’ll give you another one qian of silver for your trouble then.”

Song Changxu and Old Man Qian exchanged names.

The farmer was honest and hadn’t thought of asking Song Changxu for a proof. It was Song Changxu who had gone to the government to write a contract.

Otherwise, it would be hard to sort things out in the future.

After making things clear and setting a date, Song Changxu went back to the courtyard to continue reading and writing.

He saw Xu Zhizhou selling herbal tea. In the summer, he could buy more mint to sell mint tea.

At night, Song Changxu and Feng Xin’ou ran into each other. Both of them were going to help their husbands move things.

“It’s time for a day off,” Xu Zhizhou said generously.

They had to earn money, but they also had to balance work and rest. It was just right that the county school was on holiday, and his husband was at home. He told Jiang Zhuo that they would set up their stall again the day after tomorrow.

Back at home, Xu Zhizhou said, “Today, a restaurant owner came to our stall and asked if we would sell our recipe. He said he would pay fifty taels.”

“That’s too little. I’m not selling.”

Song Changxu said, “Zhizhou, do you want to sell mint tea in the summer?”

Xu Zhizhou nodded. “Mint tea is suitable for the summer. I’ll go and look for some tomorrow.”

Song Changxu suddenly came over and patted Xu Zhizhou’s shoulder. “Zhizhou, I also want to borrow some money from you.”

So that’s what he was waiting for.

Xu Zhizhou thought that the recipe for the Bobo Chicken was still Song Changxu’s. He nodded. “How much do you want?”

“Ten taels.”

He wanted to hoard more silk to sell for a good price in the future.

Xu Zhizhou was shocked. He looked at Song Changxu suspiciously. “What are you going to do with so much money?”

Song Changxu told Xu Zhizhou about his plan to buy silk.

“Is it reliable? You haven’t been cheated, have you?” Xu Zhizhou looked at Song Changxu with pity.

Song Changxu: “?”

“I’m sure. Although other things might change, the weather won’t change much.”

Xu Zhizhou was still not at ease. “I’ll give you five taels.”

Song Changxu: “Give me ten taels. If we make a profit, it’s sixty-forty. If we lose, I owe you ten taels, and I’ll pay you back later.”

“Fifty,” Xu Zhizhou said subconsciously.

Song Changxu gritted his teeth. “Deal.”

Xu Zhizhou came back to his senses. “Aiya, no…”

Song Changxu: “A promise is a promise.”

Xu Zhizhou hung his head in dejection. “Alright.”

He got up to get his money. He first had Song Changxu go outside. “I’m going to get the money. No one can see.”

After getting the money, Xu Zhizhou handed a silver ingot to Song Changxu. Song Changxu took it, but Xu Zhizhou didn’t let go. Song Changxu smiled. “Zhizhou, I promise this is a profitable business.”

Xu Zhizhou let go.

He had to be a mature middleman. After getting the money, a large stone was lifted from Song Changxu’s heart.

Two days later, Old Man Qian brought the silk. They exchanged money for goods. There was a small storage room in the courtyard, which was full of silk. The neighbors saw that their family had bought so much silk and started to mutter.

“Are they going to do a silk business?”

“No way. I think their skewer business is already busy enough. They don’t have the extra manpower to do a silk business. Aren’t they afraid of losing money if they can’t sell so much silk?”

Song Changxu knew that he would be talked about after being seen, but he didn’t care. He even happily wrote an essay about wealth when he got back.

When Xu Zhizhou went to set up his stall, he was asked about Song Changxu buying silk. He could only be perfunctory.

He was also a bit unsure in his heart. His husband had said it so confidently, so it should be feasible.

The mint tea he had been making recently was very popular. Xu Zhizhou had even bought a few pots of mint to grow himself.

Eating some spicy and refreshing Bobo Chicken with rice and a bowl of mint tea was much more comfortable than a meal at a restaurant.

A meal at a restaurant cost a few taels of silver. For that much money, you could have both meat and vegetable Bobo Chicken, as well as tea, which was much more worth it.

Xu Zhizhou was generous with his ingredients, and the food was oily. If you were thick-skinned, you could even ask Boss Xu to pour some sauce on your rice, which was also delicious after a stir.

In the summer, their business actually got better and better.

Some of the small restaurants, seeing that the Bobo Chicken business was good, took note and had their assistants buy a portion to try.

Boss Wang was hooked after one bite. It was even better with rice. Eaten alone, it was a bit salty and spicy, and after a while, it was dry. A sip of mint tea was very refreshing in the summer.

“This small stall has something. If they can do it, we can too, and our prices can be even lower.”

Boss Wang did as he said. His restaurant had few customers. Seeing an opportunity, he was also desperate.

At first, the name “Bobo Chicken” did attract a lot of customers, and their meat skewers were one copper coin cheaper.

But not long after, there were only a few scattered customers, and the rest had all gone to Xu Zhizhou’s.

Boss Wang stood at the door and saw how busy Xu Zhizhou and Jiang Zhuo were at their stall. He sighed deeply. “Our prices are cheaper, and we’re a proper restaurant, much better than their mobile stall. Why did they all leave?”

The assistant said as he wiped the table, “Boss, is it that our taste is not authentic enough? I see that many people have imitated their family’s, but the taste is not right. I heard that some people from the restaurants even wanted to buy the recipe, but they didn’t agree.”

Boss Wang looked at the last customer leaving the restaurant with a sad expression. He said, “Now is the time to make money. Only a fool would sell.”

Their small restaurant was still lukewarm. After Xu Zhizhou and Jiang Zhuo had been busy for a while, they finally had a break. Xu Zhizhou brought over two bowls of mint tea.

Jiang Zhuo wiped the sweat from his face and felt much cooler after drinking it.

With many customers, they had to prepare more ingredients in the morning. They were busy in the morning and afternoon. In the evening, there were more customers for dinner, and they usually had to wait until after dinner to close their stall and go back.

Feng Xin’ou could also cook a simple meal for Jiang Zhuo. As for eating Bobo Chicken, Xu Zhizhou and Jiang Zhuo were a bit tired of it.

After closing their stall and returning home, the two ge’ers were very fulfilled.

Xu Zhizhou had Song Changxu add firewood. He had bought a loofah and a century egg and made a century egg and loofah soup.

They moved the table to the courtyard to eat in the breeze.

After the two of them had finished eating and had cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, they thought of going to see the night market.

Song Changxu said, “Then let’s go and have a look.”

Xu Zhizhou nodded happily. He immediately ran back to his room to change into a light blue set of clothes, applied some fragrant powder, looked at himself in the bronze mirror, and hung a sachet on his waist.

He came out and called out, “Husband, you should go and change too.”

Song Changxu didn’t understand, but he still listened to Xu Zhizhou. He changed into a long robe and went out with him.

Now, many people on the street recognized Xu Zhizhou and called out his name, asking who the person next to him was.

Xu Zhizhou would always say it was his husband.

“You don’t come out often. You’re studying at the county school.”

“Is he a xiucai husband?”

Song Changxu smiled, and Xu Zhizhou agreed with a smile.

Seeing some snacks, Song Changxu bought some for them to eat together.

Looking at the county town here, Xu Zhizhou went to see the moat. There were lanterns hanging by the river.

Song Changxu was used to these things. He just glanced at them casually. Xu Zhizhou’s eyes sparkled as he looked at them.

The people who came out at night were all in groups. There were young couples, families of three, and two friends together.

Song Changxu ate a piece of fried tofu and was then patted on the shoulder.

He looked up.

“Brother Song, it really is you,” Cheng Maoxue smiled. Next to him were Xie Feng and Luo Shuang. The three of them were always inseparable.

Xu Zhizhou had gone to buy a small wooden carving. It was a very cute little rabbit. When he came over, he saw Song Changxu talking with three scholars.

Seeing him, Song Changxu pulled him over. “This is my husband, Xu Zhizhou. These are my friends from the county school, Cheng Maoxue, Xie Feng, and Luo Shuang.”

After they had greeted each other, besides Xie Feng, Cheng Maoxue and Luo Shuang did not know that Song Changxu was already married. But at this age, it was normal to be married.

In the Ningxing Dynasty, men could marry and have children at seventeen or eighteen, while ge’ers and women could marry at sixteen.

Xie Feng and the others were not yet married. After all, they were still young, and their families were also thinking of choosing a family with a good background after the imperial examination, and then wait for the right price.

Song Changxu and Xu Zhizhou were both good-looking and a good match.

After wandering around for a while, they went back to their respective homes.

Xu Zhizhou nudged Song Changxu with his elbow and asked, “You’ve made friends so quickly.”

Song Changxu nodded.

Back at home, Song Changxu said, “Should we make a pushcart? It would be much easier to set up and pack up the stall.”

Xu Zhizhou was soaking his feet. He tilted his head curiously. “What pushcart?”

Song Changxu thought for a moment and drew a rough sketch. When Xu Zhizhou saw the four wheels at the bottom, his eyes lit up.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Then they would go and find a carpenter to make a pushcart. That way, the two wooden buckets could be put in, and it would be easy to push.

Song Changxu thought for a moment and drew another picture. “Leave some space at the bottom here. We can put the tables there, and the bowls and chopsticks can also be put in.”

Xu Zhizhou nodded.

“You’re so amazing, husband.”

Meeting Xu Zhizhou’s admiring gaze, Song Changxu was secretly pleased. He said modestly, “It’s a small matter.”

The next day, Xu Zhizhou first continued to set up his stall. Then, after noon, when there were fewer customers, he first handed the stall over to Jiang Zhuo and then took the drawing Song Changxu had made to find a carpenter.

The carpenter nodded. “This can be made, but it will take five days.”

Xu Zhizhou nodded happily and paid the carpenter a deposit.

He was even more motivated when he returned to the stall.

He found that Song Changxu’s mind had become very sharp after he had started studying. He could now recognize a few characters on the signs on the street. At night, he would learn a few characters with him, and now he was seeing results.

He would read the characters on the signs. If there was a character he didn’t recognize, he would skip it. He felt a sense of accomplishment when he read.

If he learned a few more characters, he would be a learned ge’er.

.

The five-day holiday at the county school passed in a flash. Song Changxu went to the county school.

Teacher Zhou was about to come and give them a lesson. The relaxation of the holiday was gone. Song Changxu grabbed his brush and started to take notes, and soon he had written a lot. His notes were very abstract, and only he himself could understand them.

The teacher spoke very quickly, so Song Changxu wrote in shorthand, with only a few keywords.

Besides studying at the county school, Xie Feng’s family had also hired a private tutor for him. The tutor was responsible for answering any questions he had about his studies when he returned home.

He had basically no problems after class. Song Changxu would ask a few questions, and so would Feng Xin’ou.

It had been a month since they had come to the county school. Feng Xin’ou was a bit stressed. He looked at Song Changxu’s serious expression, but he felt a bit depressed.

He said, “Brother Song, how can you integrate into them so calmly?”

Hearing this, Song Changxu knew that Feng Xin’ou might be having some mental problems. He said, “Brother Feng, we’re going to be with them for about a year. It’s not about integrating, but about having contact with them. If our personalities are compatible, we can build new relationships and get to know more people.”

“You can also get to know more people, Brother Feng.”

Feng Xin’ou nodded thoughtfully. “I understand what you mean, Brother Song.”

After this, Feng Xin’ou became more friendly to his classmates and would also participate in some conversations, unlike before when he was out of place in the classroom.

Scholars had a kind of innocent romance in their bones. Besides, they were all xiucai, and they were considered to be good at studying in Jinhe County. Who knew if someone they knew would pass the provincial examination this time? In short, it was a good thing to build more connections.

In the afternoon, it was horsemanship class again. Song Changxu looked at the tall horse in front of him, swung himself onto it, and walked slowly.

Besides Song Changxu and Feng Xin’ou, there were a few other scholars who also didn’t like horsemanship class. They were all just going through the motions.

“What’s the fun in riding a horse? We’ll all be taking carriages in the future.”

“That’s right. I’m not riding a horse,” a few scholars echoed.

Song Changxu still insisted on riding for a while. What if it could be useful?

Their life in the county town was gradually getting on track. On the other side, in Qishan Village, ever since Song Changxu and Xu Zhizhou had left, the Song family’s house had been quiet for many days. Even the usually lively Xu Cheng was a bit listless.

He used to be a little afraid of his uncle. Now that his uncle and his new uncle-in-law were gone, he missed them a little.

***

Author’s Note:

Little Song: Earn more money and open a shop.

Little Xu: Be a cultured ge’er. [Pats head]