Chapter 142
141, Share Equally (1 update)
Xie Zhinuan chuckled.
Her tea, fragrant? Hardly.
It was just homemade Kuding Tea by the villagers, deemed good only because the well water used to make it was mixed with water from the Spiritual Spring.
“If you find it tasty, drink more of it, and take some with you when you go back!”
“No need!” Yuan Liuwang shook his head.
Hesitating, he took out a red cloth package and handed it to Xie Zhinuan, “These earrings I bought for you this time, made of gold!”
“…” Xie Zhinuan smiled faintly but didn’t reach out to take them.
“I’ve said before, I don’t want anything, no matter what it is, no matter how precious, any gift from you, I will not accept. In business, let’s keep to business. You helped me sell goods, the silver that is due to me, I will take with pride without hesitation. As for such gifts, keep them for your future wife!” Xie Zhinuan declined.
“What if it were a gift to a friend? Would you not accept it then?” Yuan Liuwang asked urgently.
“The friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water. Some gifts may be accepted, others must be refused, Brother Liuwang, since I call you ‘brother’, our relationship should have its boundaries!” Xie Zhinuan said firmly.
Her gaze on Yuan Liuwang was unwaveringly resolute.
“If you continue like this, I will not even let you set foot in my house in the future!”
“…” Yuan Liuwang felt a tightness in his heart under Xie Zhinuan’s gaze and was inexplicably frightened.
Stammering, he said, “Don’t be angry, and don’t say such merciless things, then, I’ll just put it away!”
He put away the red cloth package, feeling a bit disheartened.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴονǤᴑ.сօ
“Don’t send me things anymore, I really will keep you out of my door!”She was not saying this in jest.
Earrings, necklaces, jade pendants, bracelets-how could a man give these to a woman alone? The implication was too obvious, too provocative to the imagination.
This was unlike at Yuanji in the county town, where several chefs had pooled together silver to buy her a gift.
That silver bracelet, she had accepted with a clear conscience, with pride.
Accepting Yuan Liuwang’s gifts, what would that mean?
Besides stirring up idle gossip, and bringing about people’s discussions, it felt wrong to her, utterly meaningless.
“I’ve noted that down!”
Yuan Liuwang spoke in a hurt tone and then asked Xie Zhinuan about what to pay attention to when buying cloth. Upon hearing his question, Xie Zhinuan seriously explained to him how to buy the cloth, acquire old clothes, and how to wash and starch them after the purchase.
“But how can you thoroughly clean old clothes? Some have stains on them,” Yuan Liuwang couldn’t help asking.
“Boil a big pot of rice water, wash and rinse the clothes, wring them out, dilute the rice water with boiling water, soak the garments in need of starching in the rice water for a while, then wash them clean and hang them up to dry!”
As Xie Zhinuan spoke, she added, “Using rice rinsing water works too, the same principle!”
“There’s actually a kind of grass that can be used for starching clothes, but I’m not sure if it grows in these mountains!”
If they could find this grass, buying old clothes and starching them before reselling could certainly earn a good profit.
“What does that grass look like, do you know, Zhinuan? Why don’t you take someone to look for this grass in the mountains? I’ll handle buying the old clothes. When we make silver from it, we’ll split the profits evenly. Moreover, I think you’re definitely better than me at business!” Yuan Liuwang earnestly proposed.
“Just like that, you’re willing to give half the profits to me, and it doesn’t bother you?” Xie Zhinuan raised an eyebrow and asked.
She was thinking as well.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If there’s a chance to make silver, naturally, she should try to make more.
“It doesn’t bother me. If we can’t find that grass, I might not be able to make this silver anyway!”
Xie Zhinuan knew that Yuan Liuwang meant what he said.
If they couldn’t find the grass with strong stain-removing properties, even if they bought old clothes at a low price, they wouldn’t be able to sell them for much.
Chapter 143