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Wan Chunmei continued to focus on processing the large half pig.
She first set aside the pig’s feet and head to save for the New Year, then removed a small portion for daily meals, with the rest prepared to make cured meats.
Once the cured meats were done, they could be stored for several months, lasting much longer than the ice cellar.
As she continued, she also noticed a whole sheet of pigskin. Wan Chunmei planned to simmer the pigskin to make pigskin jelly, which she would mix with red dates, longan, and sesame seeds to make a special treat to send with Tan Xiaomei when she got married.
Just as Wan Chunmei finished cutting the pigskin, Tan Erqian walked in again, this time carrying a bag of red dates, peanuts, longan, sesame seeds, and another bag of malt.
“Erqian, why did you buy all these?” Wan Chunmei asked, surprised.
Tan Erqian placed the bags down, wiped his brow, and smiled. “Well, since my aunt is getting married, we need to prepare these things.”
Wan Chunmei immediately opened the bags and saw that they contained high-quality items. She couldn’t help but ask, “Erqian, where did you get all this silver to buy these things?”
Tan Erqian pulled out a silver note from his pocket and said, “Mother, this is the money we earned from selling pickled vegetables recently. We made twenty taels. Plus, there’s the fifty taels given by Lord Xu, so in total, there’s seventy taels.”
Wan Chunmei was shocked. “Seventy taels?”
Her voice was shaking with disbelief.
Tan Erqian nodded confidently. “Yes, seventy taels.”
He sat down and continued with a smile, “But I didn’t spend the silver from the pickled vegetables on these things. I spent the wages Master Bai gave me.”
Wan Chunmei, still trying to process the news, asked, “Didn’t your wages only amount to a few dozen wen?”
Tan Erqian shook his head, squinted his eyes, and smiled knowingly.
Second Aunt Liu, who was also surprised, quickly asked, “How much silver are we talking about?”
Tan Erqian smiled and replied, “Master Bai made me the deputy manager at both the herbal medicine shop and the rice mill. Each month, in addition to five taels of silver, he also gives me a share of the shop’s earnings. If I do well, I can earn at least thirty taels a month.”
“Today, I just happened to earn thirty taels, so I used it all to buy things.”
With that, he stood up and walked toward the door. “Mother, wait for me, I have more things to bring in.”
Wan Chunmei and Second Aunt Liu were left stunned.
“His Second Aunt, did you hear that right? How much did he say he earns each month?”
“Th… thirty taels…”
Even in the capital, an average person might only earn three taels a month. For someone like Tan Erqian to earn thirty taels was an astronomical amount for a poor farmer like him.
Second Aunt Liu couldn’t help but sigh, “Sister-in-law, you really didn’t pick the wrong name for Erqian. He really has a knack for making money!”
Wan Chunmei looked toward the door, her eyes full of pride and joy. “I never thought this child would turn out so successful.”
Second Aunt Liu smiled, “Sister-in-law, this is a blessing. If you had rejected him or thrown him away when he was young, you wouldn’t have such a good son now.”
Wan Chunmei’s gaze softened as she gathered the things in the room, then smiled. “Even if Erqian couldn’t earn this much, he would still be a good son.”
Second Aunt Liu nodded in agreement.
Soon, Tan Erqian returned, this time with even more items. The amount of things he had brought was so much that even Master Bai’s steward had come to help deliver them.
Second Aunt Liu noticed he still had more things, so while the dough was still rising, she decided to go out and lend him a hand.
As they walked together, Tan Erqian grinned, “Second Aunt, I bought some jewelry for Aunt Xiaomei. When we get there, take a look. If you like anything, you can pick some out. Though it’s not real gold or silver, it still looks pretty when worn.”
“Alright, thank you in advance, Second Aunt will take a look,” Second Aunt Liu said, smiling as she lifted her skirt and walked eagerly ahead.
By the carriage, a middle-aged man waved at Tan Erqian. “Erqian, there are still several rolls of fabric here. Do you need help bringing them inside?”