Chapter 188 – The Old Madam is from a Scholarly Family (part 2)

“Okay, grandma promises you that grandma won’t sell your younger sister! Where’s your mother? Is she out?” Li Su asked.

“Well, mum is out. Grandma, can I take younger sister to play in the yard?” Li Yuan asked.

“You can. Don’t go to the edge of the well! If you fall in, you won’t be able to get out!” Li Su threatened.

“Got it!” Li Yuan cheered, got off Li Su’s lap, and ran out.

Li Su began to look at the Li family home. This was the ancestral house of the Li family. Li Yu and his mother were so difficult. They would rather sell the wife and daughter than sell the house. It was a closed courtyard with three rooms. The main room was in the middle. Li Su lived east of the main room, and the study was west of the main room. The west wing was where Li Yu and Mrs. Yingniang lived. The east wing was where the kitchen and miscellaneous items were kept.

There was a well in the east of the yard, and some vegetables were growing in the west. Although there were not many things in the house, it was clean and tidy.

Li Su nodded with satisfaction. This daughter-in-law was quite diligent.

Later, when she saw the clothes placed by the well, she couldn’t help but frown.

Li Yuan, who was playing in the yard, saw it and quickly ran over. “Grandma, mother is not lazy. She is going to wash the clothes after she comes back.”

“Okay, okay. I haven’t even said anything yet. What are you in a hurry for?! Take your younger sister to play. I’ll wash the clothes!” Li Su waved her hand and sent Li Yuan away.

Li Yuan’s eyes widened. Since his father went for the provincial exam, Grandma stopped working. Now she suddenly says that she wanted to do the laundry. Has the sun risen from the west?

Li Su looked around the well. Apart from the dirty clothes, she only saw some plant ash. She blinked. Didn’t someone say that the ancients used Chinese honey locust to wash clothes? Where was the Chinese honey locust? And what was the plant ash used for?

“Grandma, we can’t afford Chinese honey locust at home. We use plant ash to wash our clothes,” Li Yuan quickly said when he heard Li Su’s mutters.

Li Su’s eyes widened. She would need to wash the clothes with grass and wood ash. Could they be washed clean? Wouldn’t it get dirty the more you wash it?! Li Su looked at the ashes with disgust and shook her head. Was there washing powder and soap in the space? It seemed not! Damn it! Why did she forget to stock up on laundry detergent and powder? She would be sure to remember it next time.

Li Su looked at the pile of dirty clothes and ashes. She was unable to start anything. She hesitated for a long time before she clapped her hands and left.

Li Yuan was relieved after seeing all this. He was just thinking, when did Grandma become so diligent?

After a while, Yingniang came back in a hurry. She closed the door quickly, and went to the main room. “Mother! Mother!”

“What’s the rush? Are you being chased by a dog?” Li Su said angrily.

Yingniang came to the door and took out a tightly wrapped ingot of silver from her chest. “Mother, I managed to pawn the bracelet. The pawnshop said that the bracelet was in good condition and the craftsmanship is average. It wasn’t made with much gold, so it was worth only twelve taels of silver. Here is twelve taels of silver, and some loose pieces of silver. It’s all here.”

Although Li Su didn’t understand the market, she didn’t know whether she made a profit or a loss. However, the pawnshop would definitely not lose money.

“Okay, you can keep it. When you go back home, get whatever you need. As for the family’s debt, I’ll find another way!” The family still owed thirty taels in debt. This was far from enough! In addition, Li Yu will return with an injury soon, so the family was in desperate need of money! Li Su thought that the protagonist could take something random and go to the pawnshop to pawn it off for thousands or tens of thousands every time. How come it was not her turn?

But Yingniang thought that Li Su’s other solution was to sell children, so she knelt down in front of Li Su. “Mother! I will find a way to make money, don’t sell Girl Ru!”

Li Su glanced at her and said angrily, “You are a talented lady, don’t kneel down! Who said that I want to sell your daughter? I said another way is to pawn off something else. This time I will go by myself!”

Li Su had just thought of an idea, but she didn’t know if it would work. As a result, her daughter-in-law gave her such a trick. This was a disappointment!

Yingniang stood up, resigned. “I’m sorry mum. I misunderstood you.”

Li Su gave her a look. “Keep the money. Don’t mess around. Go and wash the clothes!”

Although Li Su’s tone was not very good, Yingniang was happy inwardly. She didn’t dare to take the big ingot of silver, but went out with only the small ones.

Li Su shook her head, turned, then entered the bedroom. In fact, she went into the space. Because red wine could be used as a beauty treatment and to maintain a youthful appearance, she had collected a lot of red wine in the space. She also had red wine glasses.

She remembered that although this book was impractical, the time period and main social structure was probably the Song Dynasty. Historically, glasses did not appear until the Ming Dynasty, so glasses should be very valuable now!

Li Su was reluctant to drink the red wine, but she still wanted to drink it. After thinking about it, she took out a red wine glass, found a wooden box and packed it in the box. She then prepared to go out.

When Li Su passed by the yard, she saw Yingniang doing laundry. Yingniang was really washing with the plant ash. Li Su watched with interest. She then remembered something, and asked, “Which pawn shop did you go to?”

“Heng’chang’long!” Yingniang didn’t understand what her mother-in-law meant, but she replied immediately.

Li Su nodded. “Okay, I see. You stay at home and close the door. Yuan’er, don’t just focus on playing with your sister. Read more books if you have nothing to do and carefully ask your father about your homework!”

Li Yuan and his younger sister were happily playing with ants. When they heard Li Su’s words, they rushed over with a smile. “I know. Grandma, do you want to go out?”

“Mm. Obediently practice calligraphy at home. Grandma will come back and bring you back something delicious.” Li Su pinched her grandson’s face. She then looked at Li Ru, who was standing not far away while looking at her obediently.

Li Yuan was a lively and cheerful child. His appearance and temperament were similar to Li Yu. He was also a boy, so he had always been loved by the original owner and her son. Compared with Li Yuan, Li Ru was a little timid and didn’t like to talk much. Even if there was no difference between men and women, the original owner and her son loved Li Yuan more than Li Ru. Children who cried and made trouble had candy to eat. It had been like this since ancient times.

Li Su had the intention to change things, but she was afraid that it would be too late. It might cause Yingniang and Li Ru to panic, so she had to take it slowly!

“Yuan’er, teach your younger sister how to read and write. Our family is a scholarly family, and if the girl doesn’t know one big character, then she will be laughed at!” Li Su said.

Yingniang looked terrified. Just as she was about to speak, Li Yuan spoke first. “Grandma, I understand. I will teach my younger sister.”

Li Su nodded in satisfaction, then went out.

Yingniang looked at her son with a sullen face. “Girls should learn some needlework. What is the point of recognising characters?!”

Li Yuan looked at his own mother helplessly. Fortunately, he knew what his mother was the most afraid of. “Mother, grandma has spoken. Do you dare not listen to grandma?”

Yingniang suddenly stopped talking.

Li Yuan then took his younger sister to wash her hands, then brought the sand table and started teaching his younger sister to read.

Yingniang shook her head helplessly and squatted down to continue the laundry.

Holding the long box, Li Su walked down the street according to the original owner’s memory. Not long after, she saw the pawnshop, Heng’chang’long. Li Su walked over without looking around.

She remembered that there was also a pawnshop that had always been in competition with Heng’chang’long, right? What was it called? Yong’an’dang!

Where was Yong’an’dang? Xining West Street!

Li Su found Yong’an’dang and went in. When the man saw her, he was very enthusiastic. “Hey, how come the old lady is free today? Come in quickly. Have some tea!”

“I’m here to pawn things. Where’s your shopkeeper?” Li Su asked.

“Does the old lady want to pawn something? This way, please,” the guy said with a smile.

“What does the old lady want to pawn?” A man with a hooked nose and white beard came out. He was the chief shopkeeper and rarely attended in person. Usually, the second shopkeeper was responsible for the reception. He heard from his buddy that it was Scholar Li’s mother who came to pawn things, so he came in person.

“Everyone is from the village, and the shopkeeper knows our family’s situation. I won’t say anything else. This is from when my father was a businessman in his early years. He rescued a merchant from the Western Regions. The man gave my father a glass of wine to repay his kindness,” Li Su said. She saw a trace of disappointment flash in the shopkeeper’s eyes. Li Su continued. “The wine is secondary, and the most important thing is the receptacle used to hold the wine. It is invaluable and is my family’s heirloom. If it wasn’t for my family facing some hard times at home, I wouldn’t take it out.”

A hint of curiosity flashed in the eyes of the shopkeeper. Indeed, although wine was rare, it could not be called precious. The shopkeeper was very curious about this priceless wine vessel.

Li Su cleared her throat, and the shopkeeper understood. “Old lady, please come this way.” He led Li Su into the back room and closed the door.

Li Su took out the red wine glass when she saw that there was only herself and the big shopkeeper left in the room. The big shopkeeper’s eyes were bright! “Is there such a crystal clear cup in the world? It’s a miracle!”

The big shopkeeper swallowed his saliva. “Old lady, do you really intend on pawning this glass cup?” To be honest, he definitely wanted it. The prince was worried about his empress mother’s birthday gift. This was a rare treasure, so the lord would be happy if he presented it to his lord. At that time, he would receive a great benefit, and he might even be able to transfer to the head business in the capital!

“Of course!” It was just a red wine glass and it was worthless. There were several more in Li Su’s space. Outwardly, though, Li Su pretended to be difficult. “Things are dead, people are alive!”

“Old lady said it well. Since it has come to this, I will not treat old lady’s people badly.” The big shopkeeper hesitated again and again. This glass was invaluable. It was an exaggeration, but they couldn’t lose money when they ran a pawnshop. But, if he gave less, it would be inappropriate. What should he do?

“Then how does eighty thousand taels sound?!” The big shopkeeper gritted his teeth and stomped his feet.

Li Su took a deep breath. Damn, the gold bracelet she bought for tens of thousands of yuan was worth a dozen taels, but a red wine glass that cost tens of yuan was worth 80,000 taels!

The shopkeeper saw that Li Su did not speak. He thought that she was not satisfied with the price, and hurriedly said, “Old lady, this is already the highest price within the range I can decide. If you want more, I need to ask for instructions from above. However, this will take a lot of time.” He knew that anyone who came to the pawnshop would definitely need money urgently.

“I will! But I have a condition. You, the shopkeeper, are not allowed to reveal to anyone who pawned the wine glass to you, or tell anyone how much money I was compensated for this item!” Li Su decided. Damn, after this mission was over, she must buy a few more red wine glasses to put in the space. No, she should buy a box!

The shopkeeper swore to God that he would not reveal to anyone Li Su’s identity and how much the item was worth.

Li Su was relieved. The ancients were still in awe of ghosts and gods. If the shopkeeper could make such an oath, it should not be leaked.