129 Banquet

When Li Yu heard this, she also felt that it was true. The people in the Imperial court had not been thinking for the commoners. In the end, the commoners, who had been forced into a corner by this disaster, could only take the risk.

Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and smiled. “That’s why you have to learn more about farming. You have to be an official in the future too! If you can’t even differentiate between wheat seedlings and leeks, how can you work for the people?”

“Yu’er, it’s fine as long as I have you.” Zhou Jia hugged Li Yu and pecked her red lips. He smiled like a cat stealing fish.

Li Yu tapped Zhou Jia’s forehead and bared her teeth at him. “Xiao Xi, you’re a lecher.”

Zhou Jia hugged Li Yu and smiled proudly. “Little Yu’er, you’re my wife. I’m only interested in you.”

Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia’s glowing eyes and hurriedly pushed him away. “It’s late. We still have a banquet tomorrow morning. Go back and rest.”

Zhou Jia nodded reluctantly. “Yes! You should rest too!”

Li Yu sent Zhou Jia to the door and watched him go home before closing the courtyard door to rest.

The next day, Town Mayor Zhu, a few squires, and the villagers came to town. Even Old Hu received the news from somewhere and came to the village to congratulate them.

When Old Hu saw the handsome Zhou Jia, he nodded to himself. As expected of Miss Li’s fiancé, they were really a match made in heaven.

The Zhou and Li families and the villagers who were helping out in the village finally ended the banquet after a busy day. Zhou Jia sent off the last guests and the villagers to sit in the courtyard and chat.

The old village chief said happily to Zhou Jia, “Mr. Zhou, when are you leaving for the capital to participate in the Spring Quarter Examination?”

Everyone looked at Zhou Jia hopefully, thinking that a scholar was about to appear in Phoenix Village.

“I want to make sufficient preparations before going to the capital. Besides, the world hasn’t been very peaceful in the past two years. Let’s wait for the next Spring Quarter Examination!” Zhou Jia said to the old village chief.

“Is the drought in Qingzhou not over yet?”

“Not yet!…” Zhou Jia told everyone what he had heard in Tongzhou.

Everyone was relieved when they heard that. They thanked Li Yu and Zhou Jia. “Mr. Zhou, Xiaoyu, fortunately, we followed the two of you out back then and managed to lead a good life here. Our days are much better than when we were in West Mountain Village.”

They both smiled politely. “You can’t say that. That’s all your decision.”

Everyone exchanged pleasantries before bidding farewell and returning home to rest.

When Butcher He reached home, he said to Madam Huang, “Mr. Zhou is now a Top Scorer. I think we should agree to Xiaoyu and Ruyi’s marriage! Good citizens can’t even compare to the servants of officials. Besides, Xiaoyu and Mr. Zhou are kind and won’t mistreat our Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu will be the wife of a butler if she marries Ruyi.”

Madam Huang looked at Butcher He stubbornly. “But when I think of our daughter marrying Xiaoyu’s servant, I feel uncomfortable. Back then…”

Butcher He slammed the table in anger. “Back then, you looked down on her! Look at her ability. Even a man can’t compare to her. Let me ask you, is your dignity more important than your child’s life? Why are you so stupid?”

Seeing that Butcher He was really angry, Madam Huang said, “Can you let me think about it?”

Butcher He stood up and looked at Madam Huang. “Hmph! I’ll give you a few days. You better think carefully. Otherwise, I’ll ask someone to propose marriage.”

After the rapeseed and winter wheat were planted, the weather became colder. Li Yu and Zhou Jia began to busy themselves with hiring people to make wool products.

After the wholesale business was added to the shop, all the villagers were involved in the production. Even the men took over the work of making cloth shells and washing the wool. The women in the village still could not catch up with the speed of rushing the goods.

Li Yu renovated the alley next to the Zhou family’s house into a processing site and gathered the women and girls from Hu Village. After the unified training, she handed over simple items like wool pants, scarves, and socks to them. She brought Zhaodi and the others and began to try making some female bags to sell.

The women and girls in Hu Village cherished this opportunity to earn money. The men in the village took care of all the work at home so that their wives and daughters could work and earn money in the Li family without worry.

Shopkeeper Su’s wool was sent to Phoenix Village every few days, and the goods were constantly transported away. The business was so popular that many people were jealous. In addition, Zhou Jia was the new Top Scorer, and he was handsome and tall. Many people were tempted, and the invitation cards were sent to Phoenix Village.

Before the Winter Solstice Festival, Zhou Jia received another invitation from Tongzhou. Zhou Jia took the invitation and found the workshop. He looked at the new bags that Li Yu was making. Some of the bags looked like semicircles, some were not much bigger than the palm of his hand, there were two carrying bags with thin round handles, and some were embroidered with a rabbit that looked a little like a puppy. It had curved eyes and was even wrapped in a red scarf. It looked interesting no matter how one looked at it.

Some of the fabric was cut into the shape of flowers and sewn onto the bags. Li Yu looked up and saw Zhou Jia standing in front of her with a smile. He smiled and said, “You’re here! Has Ji Xiang bought the fabric I wanted?”

” We bought it back.” Zhou Jia pointed at the bag on the table. “Is this your new bag? It looks so unique.”

Li Yu picked one up and held it in her hand. “Does it look good?”

“They’re beautiful. Those ladies will definitely like them.”

Only then did Li Yu say to Zhaodi, “Cousin, do these according to the drawings I drew for you. Zhou Jia and I will take a look at the fabric.”

Zhaodi glanced at the two of them and pursed her lips in a smile. “Go ahead, Cousin! I’ll do it well.”

Zhou Jia held Li Yu’s hand and said with a smile, “Ji Xiang brought back a letter and said that he has already signed a contract with the cloth merchant. In the future, these coarse cloth, fine cloth, and jacquard fabric will be cheaper by one to two hundred copper coins.”

“That can save us a lot of money.” Li Yu smiled.

The two of them chatted until they reached the storeroom. Li Yu saw the fabric and was very satisfied with the colors. She sent a few to the workshop and handed them to Zhaodi before returning home.

Zhou Jia took out an invitation. “This is an invitation from Governor Xia of the Tongzhou Prefecture. He invited me to his house to attend a banquet and admire the chrysanthemums. Although the governor is only a ninth-grade official, I’m afraid he’ll find trouble with us if I don’t go.”

Li Yu looked at him and smiled. “Don’t tell me he wants to snag you as his son-in-law?”

Zhou Jia pulled Li Yu. “Yu’er, come with me! He can’t snatch me away when he sees that I have a wife!”

Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia’s arrogant expression and patted him. She smiled and said, “Not this time. It’s about to snow and the wheat has to cover the soil. The workshop is also busy. Let’s go together in the future. Go to Tongzhou and bring a few winter clothes for Ah Qing and some gifts for Shen Wu. If anything really happens, we’ll be more informed.”

Zhou Jia could only agree. “Alright, I’ll go pack up and set off. Don’t tire yourself out at home. It’s not safe to go up the mountain so cut down on your trips.”

Li Yu sent Zhou Jia off. She looked at the sky and felt that the weather this year was even colder than last year. She was secretly worried.

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