Li Zhihao opposed his niece travelling to such a distant place, worried that his little niece wouldn’t endure the hardships of the long journey, and he felt that the regions beyond the border would be dangerous!
Her elder sisters also opposed the idea, their voices filled with objection.
The old housekeeper, of course, would oppose as well; he would personally transport the supplies outside the border, and even if they were robbed, resulting in death and injury, they couldn’t implicate the young lady.
Ye Shiqi was very persistent in convincing the old housekeeper, and she reassured her sisters and Li Zhihao that she had skills that would prevent others from discovering her.
Moreover, with her going outside the border, it was possible that things would go more smoothly.
And since she was disguising herself as a boy, having one more little boy in the convoy and no other women should mean there wouldn’t be any issues.
Many things needed to be done, even if fearful.
The old housekeeper had no idea what skills the young lady possessed.
Li Zhihao and her sisters were aware, and although they were worried about Ye Shiqi travelling to such a far place for a long time,
since they couldn’t persuade her, they could only agree, hoping that Ye Shiqi and the others would finish their business quickly and return from beyond the border soon.
According to the boss’s words, for the horse carriage and convoy to go outside the border, even at the fastest pace, it would take a month, and they needed to take advantage of the current hot weather, when it wasn’t cold beyond the border and there would be no heavy snow blocking the roads.
Furthermore, the round trip would take two months, and if they stayed a month outside the border, then the whole trip would take three months to return.
By the time they returned here in three months, this place would have already entered autumn and winter.
Although Li Zhihao and Ye Shiqi’s sisters were worried, they also believed that with Ye Shiqi’s magic-like abilities, she could indeed protect the convoy.
This time, there were too many items. If Ye Shiqi did not travel with them, then the convoy would need to transport many goods, and there wouldn’t be enough horse carriages to do so.
The larger the convoy, the bigger the target, and the greater the risk.
They all understood this principle; only the old housekeeper was still in the dark.
He thought that the limited resources on the surface were sent by the Heir of Marquis Yongbo and Prince Thirteen.
He had also heard that the Ye Family’s sisters had prepared some goods. Why were there so few items on the surface?
The old housekeeper wanted to ask Li Zhihao privately if some goods had been transferred to other warehouses.
At this moment, the old housekeeper was completely unaware of the items hidden in Ye Shiqi’s space, which were a hundred times more than what appeared on the surface, including food.
He also didn’t know the patriotism of this young girl, how, for the Old General and his soldiers, she was willing to give up wealth.
The old housekeeper, at this point, was unaware of many things and was puzzled as to how Li Zhihao, as the Young Uncle, would agree to let a young girl travel so far. If she really had to go, it would be more suitable to send an older lady.
Although the old housekeeper thought so, he then remembered that the eldest daughter was already betrothed, and the other daughters were also about to be, so it was indeed inappropriate for them to travel with the men of the convoy. Find the newest release on novelꜰire.net
Among the many daughters, perhaps only the youngest was more convenient to travel.
Being so young, she would tire much more, and she might not endure such a lengthy journey.
This old frame of the housekeeper certainly couldn’t compete with those young people anymore.
After a month of traveling, those young people would be as exhausted as dogs.
This wasn’t just physical fatigue, but the mental strain of constantly guarding against thieves.
And there was always the danger of being robbed and killed!
The old housekeeper expressed his concerns to them, but they were still insistent on their helpless decision.
Ye Shiqi was also adamant about going.
The old housekeeper, helpless under the circumstances, could only send the four maids serving Ye Shiqi to disguise themselves as men and accompany the young lady on her journey.
Ye Shiqi told the old housekeeper to rest for two days first and to prepare the luggage, advising that there was no need to rush the departure.
The housekeeper also mentioned that her future son-in-law and their teacher would return tomorrow and pay a visit.
Zhong Xingwang, who had returned with the housekeeper, was there this time to escort his sister and brother-in-law back, and of course, they couldn’t go directly to the Ye Residence.
First, they sent the brother-in-law, sister, and nephews to a house they hadn’t lived in for several years.
This was a house the couple had once rented, which later Madam Zhao had helped purchase. Although they had returned to their parental home over the years, they had always been hosted by their family there.
Now that they had come back to the Capital City, of course, staying at their parental home wasn’t an option. The small house had been cleaned in advance.
Though the house was not large, it could accommodate the family and the workers by their side. As for whether they would buy a bigger house to live in later on, that was a matter to settle after they had settled down.
Mr. Mo, since his first unsuccessful attempt at the imperial examination, had taken the exams in the ensuing years, but perhaps due to bad luck, could only qualify as a scholar and never attained the rank of an exam graduate.
Having grown accustomed to teaching, he now planned to make a living from it to support his family.
His father-in-law, on the other hand, wanted him to work as an accountant, an idea Zhong Xingwang also thought was good. He too had failed to pass the imperial exam and had chosen to help with the family business.
Mr. Mo felt that working for his father-in-law might be taking a shortcut and seemed somewhat inappropriate!
Zhong Xingwang told his brother-in-law that if he didn’t wish to work as an accountant for his own family, he could come to help at the Ye family’s side.
He had already asked Li Zhihao, who said they were indeed short of hands here.
They were preparing to visit together tomorrow to finalize the job matters.
Zhong Xingwang, of course, also did this with the intent to see more of his fiancée.
Ye Shiqi heard from the housekeeper that Tang Shunyan had also sent many gifts for her and her elder sisters.
Opening the gifts, there were fabrics and jewelry.
It seemed he had considered allowing them to make clothes with the styles they liked, using the finest fabric available.
During the summer, residents of wealthy families wore silk, the coolness of which made even long-sleeved garments bearable, unlike other fabrics that could be stifling.
Ye Shiqi examined the fabrics and chose lake blue and green to have her sisters craft two sets of men’s clothes for her within these two days.
Ye Shiqi’s request saw her sisters, of course, prepare even more luggage and clothes for her, to ensure she had enough to change into during her journey.
The three elder sisters worked together to ready the female and male clothes, as well as undergarments, shoes, and socks, all for her.
Seeing her sisters’ care and affection, Ye Shiqi kept all their kindness in her heart.
Given the long journey ahead, it was indeed necessary to prepare more luggage, especially since she had the space to store it.
Not knowing the size of her grandparents, she could only bring the fabric from here and present it to them later.
Shoes, socks, warm belts, and head scarves were all prepared as a token of thoughtfulness for the elderly.
Ye Shiqi also intended to specially concoct some skincare products, like a cream for preventing chapped hands, for her relatives.
With all this preparation, two days indeed seemed hardly enough.
The next day, Zhong Xingwang, along with his sister and brother-in-law, came for a visit, bringing along their little nephews.
Under the leadership of their young uncle, Mr. Mo and his wife, with their children, arrived at such a large house, struck by the unpredictability of life’s fortunes, marveling at how they, as former farmer folk, had come to own such a vast dwelling.