An Jing just smiled and said, "Youbao, the busy farming season is over, and we now have some spare time, so we’re planning to go to the Capital the day after tomorrow for a visit. It will probably take us a month and a half to return."
Wang Youbao immediately looked at them with admiration: "You two really know how to live it up. I would like to go out and have some fun too, but alas, I’m just a hard-working soul who can’t leave the tavern unattended. Otherwise, I might have gone with you to the Capital the day after tomorrow for some fun."
After a pause, Wang Youbao asked, "About the Silver Coin the tavern is supposed to give you next month, should I wait to give it to you until you come back, or...?"
In recent months, the tavern had been netting over twenty thousand taels a month, split fifty-fifty: over ten thousand taels for him, and over ten thousand taels for them.
An Jing was also straightforward: "You don’t need to wait for us to come back, just give it directly to Meng Lanqing, the Store Manager of our family’s rice shop."
"All right," Wang Youbao didn’t ask any further. He had heard about An’s Rice Shop purchasing a large amount of grain last month and it seemed that his two friends wanted to expand An’s Rice Shop.
Last month, as soon as the early rice harvested by the farmers had dried, Meng Lanqing immediately started buying it up. Just purchasing the grain had cost a total of thirty thousand taels, and they had even opened another rice shop.
Since the two rice shops couldn’t accommodate all the grain, with three shops now, they could store the surplus in the warehouse of the third shop.
At present, An Jing and Xiao Changyi had only a few dozen taels of silver on hand, with the rest given to Meng Lanqing to manage the rice shops and store the grain.
It was fortunate that Qian Wei Tavern was making money; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy and store so much grain.
After hesitating for a moment, An Jing still said, "Youbao, during our trip to the Imperial Capital, we might meet Wuyu. Would you like to write her a letter? We could bring it to her."
Upon hearing this, Wang Youbao immediately shook his head: "That wouldn’t be proper. Your apprentice is still a young lady, and I, a man, shouldn’t write letters to her. If word got out, it could ruin her reputation."
An Jing gave him a sidelong glance: "Then why do you still wear the Jade Pendant she gave you?"
Wang Youbao was silent for a moment before saying, "Wasn’t it you who said your apprentice isn’t as harmless as she looks? That’s why I wear this jade, to always be aware of it and avoid losing it, which would cause trouble."
An Jing: "..." He really was a blockhead...
Upon leaving Wang Youbao’s house, An Jing said to Xiao Changyi, "Husband, if you were as obtuse as Youbao, I would surely be infuriated to death by you."
Xiao Changyi, expressionless, replied, "Don’t compare me to him. He’s not right for you; only I am suitable for you."
An Jing immediately laughed: "Husband, is it really okay for you to surprise me with your sweetness out of the blue ?"
"How could I not?! I love it! Absolutely love it!" An Jing happily hugged his left arm, "Haha, husband, I really won’t need to eat sugar in the future~"
Xiao Changyi looked at her, his usually cold eyes filled with warmth. He leaned down, affectionately nuzzled her forehead, then he mounted his horse, and afterward, he reached out his hand to her.
An Jing immediately placed her hand on his, and with a pull, she was lifted onto the horse, sitting in front of him.
They spurred the horse and began their journey back.
Before going to the Capital, An Jing still planned to pay another visit to Shi Xiaolan.
But, as soon as she and Xiao Changyi stepped into An Village, a village matron approached them and said, "Are you looking for Xiao Lan? But didn’t she just leave to see you? That’s what she told me. Didn’t you meet her on the road? I saw her carrying Niuniu."
Niuniu was the infant daughter Shi Xiaolan had just given birth to.