In the evening, Xiaoxiao sat at her desk, writing and calculating. She had been busy for two months, and there were many accounts to review before she could go and settle them with Da Jin Tui.
"Yang Ming, I need to go to Yuelai Restaurant tomorrow to settle accounts with the boss. Are you coming?"
Xiaoxiao just asked casually, as she had grown accustomed to including Yang Ming in everything she did.
"..." Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao had spent a peaceful month together, but the inevitable was bound to happen—he needed to tell Chu Lian that he couldn’t be in love with his wife.
"You don’t want to go?" Xiaoxiao noticed Yang Ming hadn’t responded. Was something wrong?
Upon hearing Yang Ming’s answer, Xiaoxiao continued with her accounting, feeling sore in her shoulders, neck, and wrists. She occasionally moved her neck and massaged her shoulders with her hands.
Yang Ming watched her sympathetically; she was too tired. "Do you have any plans for next year?"
"What plans?" Was he asking about whether she would stay or not? Did he want to divorce again?
"Oh, don’t worry. Except for Hehua, who has issues with me, I won’t stop you from being with other women!"
"..." Could his wife be less sensitive? He clearly wasn’t asking about that. "I was asking if you plan to continue working with Yuelai Restaurant next year or if you have other plans?"
"Oh, next year I plan to focus on farming. We can discuss the cooperation in the fall."
His wife wants to farm? He was surprised; his wife’s delicate appearance didn’t seem to fit farming, but she had already accomplished so many things nobody else could, so she surely could do this too.
"But actually, I still want to open a little shop and sell things! Maybe sell underwear and stuff!"
Xiaoxiao started fantasizing again. Selling food wasn’t her strength, but managing what she was currently doing was already pretty impressive!
"..." Remembering the underwear she made for him, which was indeed comfortable, easy to wear, and convenient, he wondered if people would be embarrassed to buy such things. But since she liked the idea, he thought about keeping an eye out for a shop space for her!
The next day, the two of them went to Yuelai Restaurant together.
"Oh, you’ve arrived. And who is this?" he asked upon seeing Yang Ming.
"This is my husband, Yang Ming!"
Yang Ming decided he wanted to go out with his wife more often, because every time she introduced him, he got to hear her say, "This is my husband!"
"Hello, Shopkeeper Wang!" Yang Ming immediately greeted him. Although he was friends with Chu Lian, he had never been to Yuelai Restaurant with him before because he couldn’t afford it and didn’t want his friend to pay for him.
"Uncle Wang, is the Young Master around?"
"The Young Master has gone back to his main family home for the New Year. He might not return for two months!"
"..." Two months? That long! Now what? How could they get the money?
"However, he instructed me to settle your account."
"Great! Then, Uncle Wang, please have a look at the ledger!" Da Jin Tui was really considerate— he didn’t forget to have her account settled even though he was away!
Shopkeeper Wang took the ledger and carefully checked it. He didn’t expect her accounts to be so detailed, although Xiaoxiao just did them as a cash account.
"The Young Master said the pickled vegetables are all done, and we can settle the full account now. We’ll come and pick up the rest when it’s time."
After calculating, they received a total of six hundred silver taels, which was more than Yang Ming had expected from their share of the profits.
The two of them took the silver note and left Yuelai Restaurant.
"Yang Ming, let’s go!"
"To exchange the silver note, of course. I love the real gold and silver!"