vstars Chapter 308 A Feast Without Good Feast, Meeting at the Inn
Chapter 308 A Feast Without Good Feast, Meeting at the Inn
Seeing her husband's expression, Jiang Xiwen then continued the conversation.
“Mother, the Fourth Prince heard that our Linhai County had beautiful scenery while he was inspecting the river, so he came to visit it.”
Linhai County is not large. My husband has already arranged for Master Yun to be our guide. Presumably, the Fourth Prince will return home after touring all of Linhai.
The Fourth Prince didn't suggest that you, my husband, accompany him. We'll just do our duty as hosts; there's no need for us to try to curry favor.
Mother Dong never intended for her son and daughter-in-law to be eager to please her. This world belongs to the emperor, and ingratiating oneself with a prince for no reason might not indirectly please the emperor.
Throughout history, royal families have never been so lenient with family ties. It was considered good enough if brothers didn't turn against each other and fathers and sons didn't fight.
They are from a humble family and shouldn't have gotten involved in such complicated disputes.
"That's good, that's good. They are important people, and we can't afford to offend them. Of course, we don't need to fawn over them."
"Ah Jin, you passed the imperial examination through proper channels, and we, as county magistrates, have done our jobs ethically. As long as we observe the proper etiquette, everything will be fine."
"Mother, don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything. You should focus on perfecting your chicken soup and dried shrimp wontons. Wenniang is right. If you open a wonton shop, the business will definitely be booming."
Most of the Dong family's businesses were located in Xinghe Prefecture. In order to accompany their son and daughter-in-law to their post in Linhai County, the Dong family entrusted part of their businesses in Xinghe Prefecture to their relatives for safekeeping, while the rest were directly transferred out and converted into cash.
The Dong family's business shrank considerably. Now that they've left Xinghe Prefecture, they can only receive a portion of the profits, since those in the clan who look after the business can't be left out.
If the benefits are too small, even members of the same clan will inevitably not put in their best effort. Only when the business belongs to everyone can they truly devote themselves wholeheartedly.
Half of the businesses and shops were transferred out, and the remaining portion had to be shared with the clan. After Dong Jin became an official, the Dong family's income suddenly decreased sharply.
The young couple felt guilty and kept thinking about starting a new business in Linhai County.
The previous method of fertilizing was contributed by Jiang Xiwen free of charge, and Dong Jin also felt indebted to his wife.
In Linhai County, a food shop can be registered under the wife's name.
When Dong Jin said this, Dong's mother didn't object at all; on the contrary, she wholeheartedly agreed.
The Dong family used all of their daughter-in-law's dowry recipes. Although the Dong family did not use them for profit, they were used by the county government, which is why the county magistrate was surnamed Dong.
Madam Dong is the most reasonable person in the world, so why would she object at this time?
"Sure, of course! Not only the wonton shop, but also the grocery store and rice shop that we opened later, all registered under Wen Niang's name!"
Since you are husband and wife, and officials cannot own too much private property, wouldn't it be perfect to register it under Wenniang's name?
How many more years do your father and I have left to live? After we pass away, everything in the Dong family will be yours!
"Mother! You mustn't say that!"
Jiang Xiwen almost covered her mother-in-law's mouth, and her own lips were pouting high.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything. I'll take good care of my health and in the future, I'll raise a few more grandchildren so that they can keep Yuan-ge company."
Mrs. Dong smiled and said, "Oh dear, everyone says to treat your daughter-in-law like your own daughter. I feel like I haven't done enough."
But her daughter-in-law truly treated her like her mother, and she could feel it. This couldn't be faked; even if one could fake it for a while, one couldn't fake it forever.
I used to treat my daughter-in-law differently because of her "life-saving grace," but after living with her for several years, I realized what a rare treasure I had found.
Mother Dong returned to her own courtyard, and the young couple no longer worried. There's always a way out, and things will work themselves out.
No matter how worried they are now, there's nothing they can do; they can't just use a big stick to drive people away.
Besides buying a few young servants and dressing them in clothes that didn't conform to regulations, they didn't do anything else excessive.
If they were to come forward and make it clear, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing? It's one thing for the Fourth Prince to be shameless, but his brother-in-law still has a sense of shame!
The two put the matter aside for the time being, but a few days later, after visiting several places, the Fourth Prince sent word that he wanted to see Dong Jin and his wife.
Dong Jin was filled with unease, wondering what the Fourth Prince was up to, even though he knew that the one being coveted wasn't his wife...
Even my brother-in-law won't do!
Knowing it might be a trap, Dong Jin and Jiang Xiwen still had no choice but to go.
Jiang Xiwen deliberately changed her appearance to make her features look less like Ming Fei's; in reality, she only resembled her younger brother by about 50 or 60 percent.
The younger brother resembles the mother more, while she and her second sister resemble the father more.
Dong Jin also saw through his wife's thoughts, and felt a little relieved. He then had someone choose a gaudy dress for Jiang Xiwen to change into.
"My dear wife, there's no other way. It's better to be safe than sorry. Those were just our guesses. To be on the safe side, you should wear this rose-red outfit!"
Jiang Xiwen was very curious about where her husband had found the clothes. It wasn't that she disliked them, but she was used to neat and simple clothes, and she really couldn't accept these colorful ones.
"Do I really have to wear this? Or should I borrow one from my mother?"
"Yes, put them on. They'll be safer!"
Jiang Xiwen thought her makeup was already quite good, but she didn't expect her husband to put on an even more intense look.
The inn had been simply renovated; although it was well-maintained, it didn't appear overly extravagant.
Dong Jin couldn't understand this fourth prince anymore. If he was going to bully others and put on airs, he should have asked his family to hand over the county government office.
But no, for the first two days, his family was even prepared to move, until Master Yun started to find people to clean up the inn, and only then was he completely relieved.
It's impossible for him to take the initiative to invite the prince; there's no law that requires a county magistrate to give up his residence to a prince, even though many of his colleagues would do the same.
Linhai County Inn
"After several days of visits, it is clear that Magistrate Dong has governed Linhai County effectively, which is truly admirable."
Dong Jin quickly stood up to respond, expressing his humility and saying that he was overpraising him.
The Fourth Prince then glanced at Jiang Xiwen as if by chance, "I've heard that Madam Dong is exceptionally intelligent, and that method of fertilizing is her own creation; it's truly ingenious."
Jiang Xiwen, dressed in colorful clothes, curtsied and said, "Your Highness is too kind. How could I possibly know anything about fertilizer? My husband is in charge of everything, and I'm just helping out. I'm not worthy of being mentioned."
The Fourth Prince stared at Jiang Xiwen, who had just stood up, for a long time before asking, seemingly casually, "Does Madam Dong usually dress like this?"