Chapter 293: Think It Through
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Most young girls long for love, Gong Prince’s consort could understand.
She couldn’t bear to scold her daughter for it either.
“You like Han Chi?” The Gong Prince Consort asked.
Li Mi was silent for a moment, “1 have something to say to him.”
She had seen other young masters before.
Intentionally or unintentionally, she didn’t even want to talk to those young masters.
All of them were acting like lackeys. It was really boring.
Han Chi was different. He was smart, knowledgeable, quick-witted, and eloquent.
She had never seen such a person before.
“You’re fifteen and turning sixteen this year. He looks two or three years younger than you. By the time he gets married at sixteen, you’ll already be nineteen. You’re the princess of the prince’s family, but he… His father is not even his biological father. Even though he has a bright future ahead of him, his official position is very low. Although his family had a small fortune, it might not have anything to do with him. You’ll marry a lowly man…”
“Can you bear to accompany him to the top from the bottom?”
“Will you be able to ignore other people’s opinions?”
Li Mi was silent.
She wanted to say that she could do it, but she herself doesn’t know.
The Gong Prince’s consort continued, “One more thing, does he have feelings for you?”
“You will be the eldest daughter-in-law when you marry into Heng Manor. You will not only have to take care of your husband and raise your children, but you will also have to take care of the household. And you’re not good at any of these.”
“Most importantly, no matter how much you pay, you have to be prepared for nothing in return.”
“The Heng family has a true young master, understand?”
Li Mi still didn’t quite understand.
The Gong Prince’s consort couldn’t help but sigh.
When she married the King of Qin, she had married into a high position. Her mother and brother had almost emptied their family’s wealth to allow her to marry in a dignified manner. Later, she returned the favor, allowing her family to slowly recover from the financial hit.
However, if her daughter married Han Chi, it would mean she married to a low family.
It would be fine if Han Chi could stand up for himself and marry a lowly woman, but she was afraid that Han Chi would be a useless person who could not be supported.
“Mother.”
The Gong Prince’s consort sighed slightly, “Although heroes don’t ask where they come from, you are older than him. This will be a huge loss for you. If he doesn’t have you in his heart and is forced to marry you, or rather, just for you to leave your identity…”
“What are you going to do?”
Li Mi was stunned.
For a moment, she could not utter any word.
After all, she was still young, and it was also her first time falling in love, so she was still ignorant about all the rational parts of a relationship.
She had never thought about her future.
With her background, why would she need to think about it? The only thing she would need to do in the future was to be obedient.
“Think about it.”
“I can promise you that if he is devoted to you, I will not object to your feelings. However, if it’s your wishful thinking, I won’t allow you to humiliate yourself. Do you understand what I mean?”
Li Mi nodded.
She couldn’t do something like this.
The Gong Prince’s consort rubbed Li Mi’s head, “You have excellent judgment. If you nurture that child well, he will gain a name for himself in the future.”
“It’s just that you’re also very outstanding, not inferior to anyone else. A good girl must learn to cherish herself, whether it was her reputation or herself.”
Li Mi nodded vigorously.
Even though she felt attracted to Han Chi, it wasn’t to the point that she wouldn’t be willing to marry anybody else.
Her mother agreed with her judgment.
However, she now also knew that there were many things to consider. She could not marry him just because she liked him.
If Han Chi also liked her…
“Mother, what if 1 fight for it?” Li Mi whispered.
“Don’t be hasty. Let him see your excellence and let him take the initiative.”
Li Mi was puzzled.
“Whether in terms of love or anything in life, if something is easy to get or achieve, it won’t be cherished. You have to remember that a girl has to have self-respect and self-love.”
Li Mi nodded again.
The Gong Prince’s consort looked at her silly daughter and felt very regretful.
She had taught her son to be particularly sly and see through the ways of the world, but she had taught her daughter to be too naive.
Most importantly, Heng Yi was too close to Zhang Huiguang…
However, she was more afraid that her daughter would be used for marriage.
Compared to the Gong Prince’s consort’s worries, the Heng residence was getting more and more lively.
After drinking a few cups of yellow soup, the men dared to say anything. When they talked about those dirty things, each of them was more excited than the other.
Heng Yi sat on the side and watched coldly, not saying a word.
Zhang Huiguang patted Heng Yi’s shoulder, “Have you been to a brothel?”
Heng Yi shook his head.
“I’ll change to a Japanese official and invite you to broaden your horizons.”
Heng Yi looked at Zhang Huiguang, “Thank you for your kindness, but I won’t go-”
He refused without hesitation.
Zhang Huiguang wasn’t angry. He felt that Heng Yi hadn’t been there before. If he had, he wouldn’t have refused.
These people left Heng Manor after dinner.
Han Qiao had already finished washing up and was lying on the bed, playing with Ah-Yao.
Heng Yi came back a little drunk. He wanted to see his wife and children first, but then he remembered that he reeked of alcohol, so he went to the bathroom to wash up.
When he came back after washing up, he sat by the bed and looked at his wife and son who had fallen asleep.
Heng Yi smiled.
He picked up a towel and slowly dried his hair.
His eyes were only filled with gentleness.
After moving into the new house, the things in the manor were also moved over on the 26th. Some things needed to be placed by themselves.
There were some that they didn’t like that they had to put away or give to the servants.
Heng Yi returned to work on the twenty-seventh day.
Han Qiao was not idle either. Seeing that the New Year was approaching and the weather was getting cold, she had to make bacon and sausages.
Every morning, she would go to the manor and teach the people she recruited to make dried tofu.
“It’s not difficult to make dried tofu. It’s just a thin layer. After pressing it with a very heavy stone overnight to squeeze out the excess water, it’s placed in water with soy sauce and boiled slightly to let the dried tofu have some color.”
She didn’t need to teach them how to make bean sprouts. It wasn’t a particularly difficult task, but no one had ever made dried tofu before. They needed Han Qiao to demonstrate.
But it was also a simple job.
Therefore, the ten or so people who were paid to learn how to make dried tofu learned it in one go.
They didn’t feel like they were at a disadvantage because Han Qiao had even taught them how to make fermented beancurd.
The tofu ball was also taught from the beginning of fermentation, step by step.
“Now it’s time to mix the ingredients.”
Some people liked to eat spicy food, while others liked them plain.
However, the spicy recipe also needed wine yeast, so it could not be made for the time being. It could only be made with non-spicy spices.
Han Qiao taught them carefully, and the ten of them also learned seriously.
After all, the tuition fee was only two taels of silver. They would have to rely on this to make a living in the future.
Han Qiao even taught them how to use dried tofu to cook.
She taught them how to make tofu more delicious.
Tofu skin rolls, tofu skin poached eggs, tofu skin soup.
These were all bonuses.
But it was worth it to learn.
“Don’t be hasty. You’ll be learning for a month. After a month, before you leave, you have to do it seriously again.” After Han Qiao finished speaking, she went to teach the people who came to learn how to make sausages and bacon.
There were fifteen people who learned how to make sausages and bacon.
Two taels of silver for a month. Of course, she had to help with the work these days, but she would take care of the meals.
It was hard to say who was taking advantage of whom, but everyone felt that it was worth it.
She also told them what she knew, what ordinary people could learn, and how they could earn money to make a living.
“Madam, they have arrived.”
Han Qiao looked at them and smiled, “Sit down.”
“Let’s start today.”
“The first step to making salted meat is to choose pork. Don’t be too lenient because if it’s too wide and thick, the salt won’t go in and it’ll easily spoil.”
“It’s the same for making bacon..”
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