Chapter 197

Li Qingzhi carefully explained various things to pay attention to during pregnancy.

Qian Fugui listened particularly attentively, even taking out pen and paper to jot down some notes.

After finishing, Qian Fugui sighed, “It’s a pity that there are still people watching me now, I can’t accompany her every day.”

These past few months, Lu Qingxi had been causing trouble for the Prince of Yan. The Prince of Yan was exhausted from dealing with it and temporarily couldn’t attend to him.

But he definitely couldn’t disappear suddenly. If he did, the Prince of Yan would become suspicious of him.

He had to continue pretending to be ill in the provincial capital.

“Uncle, rest assured, I will take good care of Aunt.” Li Qingzhi said, then thought of something else, “Just, if I pass the township exam, I will definitely have to go to the capital to participate in the metropolitan exam. By then… Aunt had better go with me.”

Mrs. Qian was an elderly pregnant woman, it was best not to let her out of his sight.

“Then let’s go together. Not many people have seen her, so no one should be able to recognize her. I might even go with you.” Qian Fugui said.

Many people knew him on the Prince of Yan’s side, but hardly anyone knew his wife.

Whether it was his wife or Qian Changsheng, they had both led secluded lives before and rarely interacted with others.

After talking for a long time and discussing the matter of going to the capital, they went to eat together.

During the meal, Qian Fugui’s attention was entirely on Mrs. Qian.

He had been married to Mrs. Qian for over twenty years and had even endured hardships together. Their relationship had always been good.

Now that Mrs. Qian was suddenly pregnant… he wished he could just keep her in his pocket.

“I’ll stay at home for a few more days to accompany you. If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me…” Qian Fugui looked at Mrs. Qian with concern, constantly serving her food.

Mrs. Qian gave Qian Fugui a glare, “Ah Zhi Changsheng is here!”

Both younger generations were present, why was he being so affectionate?

Qian Fugui smiled awkwardly but still kept his gaze firmly on Mrs. Qian.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi chuckled, “Aunt, you can pretend we don’t exist.”

Mrs. Qian: “…”

After the meal, Li Qingzhi bid farewell to Qian Fugui.

It wasn’t until then that Qian Fugui remembered something, “Wait, Ah Zhi, I have something to give you!”

He brought the first batch of glass he had made to Chongcheng County to give to Li Qingzhi.

Wait, did he forget to tell Li Qingzhi about the glass?

Li Qingzhi was surprised to learn from Qian Fugui that he had already made the glass.

He hadn’t expected it to be so fast. He thought it would take a year before the glass could be made.

However, when he saw what Qian Fugui gave him… it turned out to be this kind of glass!

With this kind of glass, it could only be used to make jewelry.

These glasses were not particularly beautiful or rare treasures, but making some innovative jewelry with them would definitely be popular.

Rings, bracelets, hairpins… a lot could be made. Li Qingzhi asked Qian Fugui to continue paying attention to the production of glass and strive to make mirrors as soon as possible.

Making glass was quite troublesome. It was a bit extravagant to use glass for windows at the moment, but making mirrors could be tried.

In Daqi, mirrors should sell for a high price.

Since there was a lot of glass and he was worried that Li Qingzhi wouldn’t be able to take it back, Qian Fugui found a carriage and sent Li Qingzhi back.

By the time Li Qingzhi arrived home, it was already dark. When Jin Xiaoye heard the noise and opened the door, she saw Li Qingzhi carrying two sacks.

“What’s this?” Jin Xiaoye asked curiously.

“Some small things,” Li Qingzhi said, carrying the two sacks inside.

Li Laogen saw it and followed up, “Ah Zhi, is this food?”

“No.”

Things packed in sacks wouldn’t be food… Li Laogen lost interest, but when Li Qingzhi and the others went upstairs, he sneaked into the kitchen and stole some sugar.

Just then, Chang Zhan saw it, “…” He complained that there was always too little sugar at home!

What kind of habit was this of Li Laogen’s? His niece wouldn’t sneak sugar to eat!

Li Qingzhi carried both sacks upstairs and placed them in his and Jin Xiaoye’s room.

Jin Xiaoye tried to lift one of the sacks but couldn’t.

How did Li Qingzhi manage to carry them up so effortlessly, one in each hand, without changing his expression?

Were men’s muscles really that strong? “What’s this?” Jin Xiaoye asked again.

“See for yourself,” Li Qingzhi smiled.

Jin Xiaoye opened the sack and saw some glass containing impurities, not very pure.

In modern times, such things were worthless, but this was Daqi!

Jin Xiaoye’s first reaction was, “So many gemstones?”

Li Qingzhi laughed, “These can’t be considered gemstones, but they can also be made into jewelry. Xiaoye, find some craftsmen to polish these glasses into jewelry. You will definitely earn a lot of money. I can also draw some designs for you.”

Li Qingzhi took pen and paper, started drawing innovative jewelry designs, and told Jin Xiaoye about the origin of the glass.

These beautiful glasses were actually made like porcelain? Jin Xiaoye took out a piece of green glass and found it more and more beautiful.

Such things would also look good embedded in hats and shoes.

“Xiaoye, if possible, try to turn all these glasses into jewelry within three months,” Li Qingzhi looked at Jin Xiaoye, “Xiaoye, three months later, come with me to the capital.”

He believed that passing the township exam would be no problem for him, and after passing it, he would have to go to the capital to take the metropolitan exam.

Most township exam takers who went to the capital for the metropolitan exam wouldn’t bring their families. Generally, they would bring their families back to their hometowns after passing and taking office.

Li Qingzhi had initially planned to do the same.

But then he thought…

He wanted to see the situation in the capital. He planned to go to the capital after finishing the township exam, probably leaving at the end of September. The metropolitan exam would be in February next year, followed by the palace exam and some other matters… If Jin Xiaoye and the others didn’t go, he would be separated from them for half a year.

It wasn’t half a month, it was half a year!

It would be fine if the family couldn’t go to Beijing together because they had no money, but if they had money… Li Qingzhi felt that there was no need to put himself in such a difficult position, and he could also let Jin Xiaoye and the others see the world.

As for Chongcheng County, Fang Jinniang can manage the Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop, Chang Zhan can take care of Jueweizhai, and Chongcheng Primary School is also simple and can be managed by Qian Changsheng.

“Is it bad if I go with you?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

Li Qingzhi said: “My aunt is going too. She’s going, so why aren’t you going?”

Mrs. Qian is pregnant at an advanced age, so he has to watch her, otherwise he won’t be able to rest assured. Unfortunately, the child that Mrs. Qian is pregnant with should be due in about the same time as Fang Jinniang, which is January next year.

The imperial examination will begin in early February, and he must stay in the capital at that time.

For safety reasons, it would be better for Mrs. Qian to follow him to the capital as soon as possible and then give birth there.

He is going to bring Mrs. Qian with him, so why not bring Jin Xiaoye too?

He did set up a big stall in Chongcheng County, but he is no longer short of manpower, so he doesn’t need to keep an eye on the stall all the time.

As for the capital city… after he passes the imperial examination, he will embark on a completely new path, and he will have to plan carefully at that time.

Li Qingzhi told Jin Xiaoye about Mrs. Qian’s situation, and Jin Xiaoye said, “Okay, I’ll go!”

That’s the capital city! She has always wanted to go and see it.

Jin Xiaoye was very excited when she thought about going to Beijing. She couldn’t help asking Li Qingzhi all kinds of questions: “Ah Qing, what is Beijing like?”

“I haven’t been there, so I’m not sure, but according to what Chang Duan and Shopkeeper Wu said, the capital is similar to the provincial capital, except for the style of the houses, and the management there is stricter.”

“Ah Qing, how are we going?”

“By boat. We’ll find a caravan to follow when the time comes and take our time on the boat.”

“Ah Qing, what about Dad?”

“Let him come with us to avoid being manipulated while staying here.”

…

Li Qingzhi answered Jin Xiaoye’s various questions seriously.

Since he had already decided to take Jin Xiaoye and Li Damao and Li Ermao to the capital, he naturally wouldn’t leave Li Laogen behind.

Li Laogen was the kind of person who wouldn’t cause trouble if left alone. If he went to the capital with them… based on Li Qingzhi’s understanding of him, Li Laogen would probably hide away like a quail and wouldn’t cause any trouble.

They stayed up very late that night, but Jin Xiaoye woke up early the next morning.

“Manager Wu went to the capital and isn’t at home, but he should be back soon. When he comes back, I’ll ask him what we need to bring to the capital,” Jin Xiaoye calculated, “We definitely need some good clothes for the capital. I’ll have the embroiderer make them for us. I’ll also find someone to make the glass into jewelry as soon as possible. I’ve heard that things are expensive in the capital, so it’s better to bring more things to sell there…”

“Xiaoye, you’re thinking really thoughtfully. I’ll be busy with the township exam next, so I’ll need your help with these things,” Li Qingzhi said with a smile.

“I’ll make sure everything is taken care of,” Jin Xiaoye said happily.

Li Qingzhi liked her enthusiastic and hopeful attitude towards the future and kissed her on the cheek.

When the two of them went downstairs, Chang Zhan was making breakfast with his apprentices.

With two apprentices now, cooking was much easier for him. For example, this morning, he had the apprentices buy a few pounds of pork and made pork and bean dumplings for breakfast.

Seeing Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye coming down, he asked, “Mr. Li, Shopkeeper Jin, how many dumplings do you want to eat?”

The dumplings Chang Zhan made were quite large. Ten would be enough for Jin Xiaoye, and as for Li Qingzhi… he wanted thirty.

“I’ll make them right away,” Chang Zhan smiled and started making dumplings for Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye.

While they were eating, Qian Changsheng arrived.

Li Qingzhi invited Qian Changsheng to eat dumplings, and as they ate, he said, “Changsheng, I’ll be busy with the township exam next. I’ll have to ask you to take care of the school. You’re careful and good with the children. I believe you’ll be able to manage the school well…”

Li Qingzhi praised Qian Changsheng, who had originally been worried about whether he could manage the school well. Now, he felt confident: “Brother Li, rest assured, I’ll definitely take care of the school.”

Li Qingzhi looked grateful. “Changsheng, I’m lucky to have you.”

Hearing Li Qingzhi’s words, Qian Changsheng felt full of energy.

Li Qingzhi was his benefactor, and he trusted him so much… He couldn’t let Li Qingzhi down!

With renewed vigor, Qian Changsheng finished eating the dumplings and went to the school.

Seeing him like this, Li Qingzhi smiled.

Young people were easily motivated. But for Qian Changsheng, managing a school was also good experience.

Since he was planning to leave, Li Qingzhi decided to completely let go of the school affairs.

Anyway, he had prepared the textbooks and rules, and the school shouldn’t have any problems.

As for Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop… Jin Xiaoye also had to start letting go.

Feeling good about planning for the future, Li Qingzhi continued, while on the other hand, Mrs. Qian was worrying.

She had been to the school and Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop recently, and even told people her age, dressing up in an old-fashioned way…

In such a situation, she suddenly became pregnant… She didn’t know how others would view her.

After the surprise, Mrs. Qian couldn’t help but feel conflicted, then glared fiercely at Qian Fugui.

Qian Fugui didn’t know why Mrs. Qian was glaring at him. “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with me? Tell me, I’ll change it immediately.”

Mrs. Qian didn’t say anything, just glared at him again.

Qian Fugui said, “Do you like glaring at me? Then glare at me a few more times.”

Mrs. Qian: “…”