Chapter 6 Betting

Hey, this is the long-awaited chapter. I apologize for late update, really, I believe I'm suffering for phone addiction (I cant help but binge-reading novel or comics online ). I'll try to get better, I promise !

Full disclaimer this work is not mine. And should the author ask me to take it down, please contact me and I will take it down.

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Gu Yun ate half a bowl of white porridge, a few bites of fried vegetables, and half a salted duck egg at night. After eating, she rinsed her mouth with water soaked with peach blossom-scented dew. The windows were opened for ventilation in the house to prevent any smell remaining.

Chunyu brought over the fashionable patterns from the cloth shop, two pieces of dark-grained ribbed fabrics, suitable for the elderly at home, and the remaining ones were prepared for young ladies in different colors. Most of the colors are bright colors like goose yellow, tender green, and cherry pink.

The colors are slightly different because the dyes used by each manufacturer are slightly different, but you can't tell without looking carefully. The weave of the cloth has a twill and plain weave, and the material is very strong. There is no peculiar smell. If we really want to find out the reason for the poor business, it can only be that there are too many clothes shops in Shengjing, and they all sell this kind of material. The prices are mostly about the same and squeezed by so many cloth shops,  it will be difficult for businesses to compete.

Gu Yun sighed. If she wants to do well in business, she must be like the Chen family in the south of the city and sell the materials at a high price and others are vying to grab them. Or she can be like the Xu family in the east of the city and sell them cheap. The more you sell the more you earn.

If you are in the middle, it is difficult to run a thriving business.

But the skills of the dyeing shop workers are there. If you can dye the material with beautiful patterns, you should dyed it long ago. Why bother to wait to this day? Price reduction is also an option. There is no way out, and the money is just waiting around. If you lose money again, you'll really lose it.

Gu Yun rubbed the center of her eyebrows. Pei Shu only knew how to drink and gamble, and never thought about how he earned the huge amount of money he spent.

While thinking suddenly the study door was pushed open, and the fragrance slowly drifted in. Gu Yun looked up and saw Pei Shu standing at the door.

Pei Shu was holding an oil paper bag in his left hand and an oil paper bag in his right hand. Qing Yun was holding a wooden box behind him. She looked like she was hesitating to speak.

Pei Shu explained, "I just came back, so I didn't bother you. I walked around the street in the afternoon and smelled the delicious smell of roast chicken and braised chicken, so I bought some"

"Qingyun said you've eaten, you might as well eat some more. " Pei Shu turned to Qingyun and said, "Go to the small kitchen and bring two bowls of porridge. Then chop some chili peppers, squeeze the oil, add some vinegar, and put them in a small plate."

Pei Shu spoke so fast that Gu Yun didn't have time to speak. She put down the cloth sample and said, "I just ate it and I don't want to eat now. You can go to the front hall to eat it. "

It's okay to eat something light in the study. The aroma of the roasted chicken is almost wafting to the main courtyard, and soon all the books will be stained with the smell of roasted chicken. He went to wander on the street all afternoon, but I still knew how to bring roasted chicken for me. The chicken smells delicious, but if you eat too much at night, you will get fat, so Gu Yun doesn't dare to eat it.

Pei Shu said, "Madam, please accompany me to the main hall to eat."

She only drinks some porridge, She is already thin but still looking at these old account books.

Gu Yun didn't move, Pei Shu went over, holding the oil paper bag, and waved it in front of her eyes, "You know, it's better than the chef in the house. They are quite delicious, only cost one tael each, but they don’t taste good when they are cold. "

After all, it was his intention, Gu Yun thought, just take a bite and be done with it. Going to the main hall, Pei Shu opened the oil paper bag, revealing the brightly colored roast chicken and the braised trotters. The trotter was cut into pieces.

The roasted chicken had to be torn into pieces by oneself. The people in the small kitchen brought the porridge and stir-fried vegetables, as well as the chili oil that Pei Shu asked for, and then left. In the past few days, the two of them had eaten without being served and only had people watching over them outside the hall.

Gu Yun was calculating in his mind. One tael of roast chicken and one tael of silver for the trotters. Qingyun said that he also bought a box of snacks. The box was from Wuxiangju and cost six yuan a box. It cost three taels of silver, and he spent five taels in one afternoon.

She didn't know how he would spend the rest of his days.

Gu Yun was worried and angry, and saw Pei Shu giving her a piece of meat, and tore a chicken drumstick for her, and then very naturally, he pushed the dipping sauce floating with orange-red chili oil to her side, with a sincere look, "Have a taste."

Gu Yun sighed and said, "Husband, please eat quickly while it's still hot. "

She gave Pei Shu a piece of meat, with a hint of sadness between her brows.

Gu Yun ate absent-mindedly, worrying about the things in the cloth shop and worrying about Pei Shu's lavish spending. She would definitely not be like Mrs. Xu, Pei Shu reached out to her and she gave it to him, but she was afraid that Pei Shu would take loans. After all, they had to go to the Duke's Mansion to demand the debt.

Gu Yun's eyes widened when the meat came into her mouth. Unexpectedly, she didn't feel tired at all when eating the fat, and because it is dipped in chili oil and balsamic vinegar, it is tempting to eat with rice, and the roast chicken tastes good. Originally, the chicken legs were thick and hard to taste, but this roast chicken is delicious and not bad at all, so she can eat it.

Gu Jun was very restrained. She had eaten half a bowl of porridge, so she shouldn't eat too much at night. She couldn't bear to finish it, so she ate very slowly. Pei Shu gave her two bites of meat from time to time, giving her the thin one and eating the fat one. He went to the street it's not just for fun, but Gu Yun probably doesn't believe this.

There is no need to worry about food and clothing in the Duke's mansion. Even if he does nothing, he can guarantee that he will have enough food and clothing in the next life.

If he doesn't gamble or drink, the Ying Duke can burn incense and worship Buddha, be a carefree heir, go shopping every day, and grow old safely and smoothly.

But Pei Shu doesn’t want to.

The heir status is very good, no one can stop him from doing what he wants to do, only Gu Yun is the one who gets along with him day and night. But he had never seen her before, so nothing he did would make her suspicious.

Moreover, in his memory, Mrs. Xu was not a fuel-efficient lamp. He was originally raised by the Xu family, so the Duke did not doubt it at all.

He had to keep his position as the heir.

In the afternoon, he walked around two streets. There were all kinds of things sold on the street. Men and women were busy. There were also gambling houses and taverns. The smell of wine spread far away.

Pei Shu bought a roast chicken and braised hooves. , which made Huzi at a loss. Today, Shizi really doesn’t go to the gambling house anymore, not just for fun.

Pei Shu told Huzi that he would never go to the gambling house again.

Gu Yun didn’t know about all this.

When she was given another piece of meat by Pei Shu, Gu Yun stopped eating. Seeing Pei Shu eat half a chicken and two bowls of porridge, she advised, "Husband, you have accumulated food at night, so you shouldn't eat too much."

Pei Shu said: "I'm not afraid. "

He didn't take a carriage when he went out. After walking for two streets, his legs were almost broken and his stomach was full of hunger. This was not enough. Besides, the food at Pingyang Houfu at noon was average, and the small kitchen prepared porridge and side dishes at night. Pei Shu said, "You should also eat more. What time is it? Don't be hungry at night." 

Gu Yun wouldn't say anything even if she was hungry. She waited quietly for Pei Shu to finish eating, then rinsed her mouth and went to the study. Unexpectedly, Pei Shu also followed. Pei Shu found a place to sit and said, "You are busy, don't worry about me."

Gu Yun went with him, but after flipping through less than two pages of the ledger, Pei Shu asked, "Where did we get the money to cook in the small kitchen in our yard?"

Gu Yun said helplessly: "...the small kitchens in each courtyard have a monthly limit of 10 taels. "

Ten taels of silver is a lot. A pound of rice costs fifteen cents. Even the price of fragrant rice and stem rice is only several times higher. Zhuangzi delivers meat and vegetables every day, so these ten taels of silver are used to buy some things that the master wants to eat that are not available.

Ten taels of silver are enough for an ordinary family to live for several years, but Pei Shu can pick up everything and use it.

Pei Shu nodded, "Then I will decide what to eat in the future, okay?"

Gu Yun said: "Listen to Husband. "

Pei Shu called the cook from the small kitchen over.

Late at night, Gu Yun was flipping through the ledger and then listening to Pei Shu announcing the names of the dishes.

Why don't three meals a day have the same thing? All the light stir-fry dishes are gone. In the morning There are seven or eight kinds of porridge, such as preserved egg and lean meat porridge, beef offal porridge, one sweet and one salty every morning.

The snacks include rice rolls, bean-paste buns, fried cakes, noodles, and scallion noodles. When the cook asked how to make rice rolls and noodles, Pei Shu also told them one by one.

The lunch meal is more sumptuous. There are more than ten ways to prepare fish, such as pickled fish, boiled fish, grilled fish, paper-wrapped fish... Chicken, mutton, and pork each have their own way of being eaten, such as fried beef, hot pot, small skewers, etc. Gu Yun, who is used to eating light and less salt, swallowed her saliva from time to time.

She couldn't stay in this study any longer.

On the other hand, the two cooks in the small kitchen had shining eyes, "Shizi, we'll go back and think carefully tonight, and we will definitely live up to the trust of Shizi and Madam."

"Stew a pot of soup every day, chicken soup, pigeon soup, etc., give it to me in the afternoon and in the evening send it to Madam in the study. Zhuangzi will pick out whatever is presented to her from the menu, and practice the few things first, don't put everything on the table." Pei Shu waved them off.

Then he said to Gu Yun: "Eating like this is still within the rule of ten taels of silver."

As long as it does not exceed the rule, let him do it. Gu Yun said: "Husband if you have nothing to do, go back to the house to rest first. I will stay for a while. "

"What are you reading?" It was really hard for Pei Shu to look after Gu Yun. She was so young and she was still reading with a candlelight so late at night.

Gu Yun pursed her lower lip and replied: "shop account book." He

asked so many questions about what she was doing, but he didn't understand. Gu Yun lowered her head. The shop's business was not good. In fact, she can do nothing and no one will say anything, but she wants to do a good job.

People who only know how to spend money don't know how hard it is to make money. Pei Shu can't even recognize the Chinese characters, let alone manage accounts.

Pei Shu brought over two sample fabrics, which were not as good-looking as those on Gu Yun. The dyeing technique was complicated and Pei Shu did not understand it, but he knew chemistry.

Although Pei Shu specializes in agriculture and water conservation, he has read many other books. He does not play games and reads books to relieve his boredom when he is tired.

For others, it is difficult to learn one subject well, but for him, he knows everything.

"Is business not good? I don't think this color is as good-looking as the one on you."

Gu Yun looked down at the skirt. It was a lotus color and had tie-dyed green patterns, which looked like peach branches in early spring. Because of the tie-dyeing technique, for each piece, the colors look all different.

Gu Yun said: "This is the material from the Chen family's Yun Yi Workshop. One piece costs fifty taels." 

"Their cloth workshop invited the best embroiderer in Shu, and the material must be better."

The Pei family's business is not good, so I can only say this.

Although Gu Jun was good at female craftsmanship, she could not let herself, the wife of an heir, set up the embroidery frame and embroider with the embroidery lady of the cloth shop.

Pei Shu: "Why doesn't our cloth shop sell materials of this color?" 

Gu Yun gave him a helpless look and said, "Do you think it's because we don't want to? Who would pass on their own dye recipes?" She had never been exposed to it before.

To get past this, you can only learn by looking at it now. The Pei family's dye recipe contains plant sap and stones. Dozens of them are mixed together to produce a bright color that will not fade over the years.

Lotus roots and spring green are all the hard work of the masters day and night.

If you want to dye a pattern, you need to cut out the board, engrave the desired pattern, and then fix the cloth. If you want to dye it, you need to cover it with soybean flour powder for different colors, and then put it into the dyeing vat after it dries.

After several times, you can get the desired pattern.

Everyone knows the techniques of dyeing cloth, but if you want to make good materials and sell them at a high price, you need to look first at the pattern and secondly at the color.

Pei Shu said: "I'm idle anyway, why don't you let me give it a try."

Gu Yun looked at him suspiciously, Pei Shu coughed, "I'm already married, I should take care of things, and I can't leave you alone to work hard."

"Your words are enough," Gu Yun continued to read the account book.

Just do what you want, don't make things worse for her.

She thought that if she didn't learn the stereotypes from her old master, she had outstanding painting skills, and tried painting patterns, then the materials would be easier to sell.

After all, the flower paper she made was easy to sell.

Pei Shu grinds his teeth, "Why don't you believe that I can dye this color?"

Gu Yun said: "Husband, do you know how many steps are involved in dyeing cloth, how many times do you need to dye it, how many times do you wash it, how many times do you dry it? What? You dare to boast about dyeing even if you don't know."

"I don't know, but you don't know either." Pei Shu put the two pieces of fabric back, "We might as well make a bet, if I can make dye with your clothes color, then you lose."

"This is a bet..."

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TLnote: I'll try to update weekly, and as this was a MTL translation, I apologize in advance if there was a mistake. Oh, and consider buying me a Ko-fi so I'll be more motivated *winkwink