Settling Accounts

On the carriage ride home, Jian Xilu asked, "Nannan, why do you carry snacks around with you?"

She had watched Jian Ruonan take out a butterfly pastry and slip it into her mouth when no one was looking. Moments later, she had produced a biscuit from somewhere.

That little mouth of hers had never stopped moving.

Jian Ruonan had just accepted a gold bracelet from her sister, so of course she had to share anything good she had. She quickly handed a piece over. "This mung bean cake is delicious! It's crumbly and melts in your mouth."

She had taken it from the Duke of Pingguo Residence earlier. Apparently, the pastries had been bestowed by the emperor.

[My sister looks like an immortal untouched by the smoke and dust of the mortal world, but even she gets cravings.]

Jian Xilu: "..."

"You have it, Nannan. I don't want any. I was just curious where you were hiding the snacks."

Jian Ruonan had hidden the snacks in the storage space the system had given her. Everything she had won from her card draws was in there, too. She certainly couldn't tell her sister that, so she held up the pouch her mother had prepared for her. "In my pouch."

Jian Xilu glanced at it and said nothing.

Nan Nan was so mysterious. She had so many secrets.

They hadn't spent much time together, but she already adored this little sister. "What pastries do you like? I'll make them for you."

Jian Ruonan smiled shyly. "Thank you, Sister. I'll love anything you make."

[Is my own sister an immortal? She's so beautiful, dignified, and virtuous, and she can even make pastries!!!]

[Sister, let's snuggle!]

Jian Xilu: "..."

After spending the day out, Jian Ruonan had the maids help her into bed as soon as she got home.

They changed her into light clothes, wiped her face, washed her hands, and undid her hair. All she had to do throughout the process was hold out her hands and cooperate. It was pure bliss.

Once she lay down, the maids lowered the bed curtains and withdrew.

Jian Ruonan opened her eyes and called the system.

[Quick, time to draw cards!!]

Thirty points had appeared out of nowhere, and she would itch all over if she didn't spend them.

Thirty points would buy fifteen draws. Adding the ten draws on credit, she could draw twenty-five times now.

As usual, before drawing, she sang the socialist red song "Good Fortune Comes" to drive away all the lurking demons and monsters.

Amid the cheerful melody, multicolored neon lights lit up, and the prize wheel began to spin.

[Good fortune comes, may good fortune come your way, good fortune brings joy and love... Aaaah, I won! I won toilet paper!!]

With the blessing of her socialist red song, Jian Ruonan won toilet paper right away. Lying in bed, she was so overjoyed that she wanted to pound the mattress.

But the moment she received the toilet paper, she felt a little dissatisfied.

[That's it?]

Was this tiny amount all the toilet paper she had spent so much to win?

She had expected at least a whole multipack, but instead, it was just one thin packet.

The system explained: [It wouldn't be good for modern items to appear in ancient times, so we only provide small packets.]

*[...]*

The system: [Don't litter with the plastic packaging.]

[Why?]

The system: [We're afraid it might affect future archaeological studies.]

Plastic wouldn't biodegrade. The greatest concern was that, years later, future generations might discover plastic in Jian Ruonan's tomb, potentially blowing the entire archaeological world apart.

[Useless as you are, you do take the long view.]

The system: [...]

Although the packet of toilet paper was tiny, having some was better than having none. At worst, she could draw a few more times.

The twenty-five draws were soon finished. Her luck was good this time: she won three packets of toilet paper, one packet of sanitary pads, and quite a few medicines, including a box of "Multiple-Birth Pills."

[What are the Multiple-Birth Pills for?]

The system: [These are amazing. Used with a potent aphrodisiac, they let you conceive multiple babies in one go. An indispensable tool to keep at home when pursuing the Fourth Prince.]

[...Multiple babies? Do you think I'm not dying fast enough?]

A multiple pregnancy in an ancient era short on doctors and medicine? This useless system really was useless.

Was this system here to help her ascend to heaven sooner?

[Besides, the Fourth Prince can't even stand up. Are you sure a potent aphrodisiac would work on him?]

The system: [...]

[Useless!]

After drawing her cards, Jian Ruonan entered a state of post-indulgence clarity and began taking stock of her spoils.

Stingy though the system was, any single item it provided would be revolutionary in Great Xia.

Potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes, for instance. Not only did they yield plentiful harvests per mu, but potatoes and sweet potatoes could also grow in sandy soil. They had short growing cycles and yielded dozens of times as much per mu as rice or wheat.

Then there was cotton. If it became widespread, fewer people would freeze to death in winter, and it could also be made into soft, light quilts and cushions.

Jian Ruonan had also spotted seeds for modern hybrid rice on the wheel.

At present, even top-grade fields only yielded around 130 jin of rice per mu, whereas modern rice could yield a thousand jin per mu.

How many people could that feed!

Jian Ruonan thought it over. Her whole family was doomed to be cannon fodder, and she had no idea how many more days they could enjoy their good fortune. She might as well start a grain business.

But she had no fields, so even if she wanted to farm, she had no way to do it.

A slacker took everything at a leisurely pace. She wasn't in a hurry and could wait for an opportunity.

When Jian Ruonan woke from her afternoon nap, she suddenly found herself with a hundred mu of top-grade farmland and two shops.

Jian Ruonan: "..."

Min was teaching Xilu how to read account books in the hall. Xilu would soon be married, so Min had given her several shops and some farmland as her dowry. She was guiding her step by step through checking accounts and dealing with estate overseers and managers.

Feeling that she owed Jian Ruonan, Min had prepared a share for her based on Jian Xilu's allocation. Hers was even slightly more generous.

Jian Ruonan was ten already, and who knew what she had learned back at the Farm Estate? A young lady of the Marquis's Estate had to be literate. She needed to study the Four Books for Women and embroidery, and tutors would have to be hired to teach her the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Min opened a register and let Jian Ruonan choose her own teachers. "Nan Nan, what would you like to learn first?"

Jian Ruonan: !! What? She had to go to school?!

[Mother, I can't endure the suffering of studying!!]

Min: "..."

[Why does a young lady of the Marquis's Estate have to learn so many things?!]

[Can't you just let me eat and drink in peace for the rest of my life?!]

"Mother, do I absolutely have to study?" Jian Ruonan blinked, putting on a young, innocent expression.

[Mother, have you forgotten? I know medicine!!!]

[Having one skill to fall back on should be enough, right?]

Min: "..."

"The others can wait for now, but you must study the Four Books for Women."

Jian Ruonan asked, "What are the Four Books for Women?"

Min explained that the Four Books for Women consisted of "Admonitions for Women," "Domestic Lessons," "Analects for Women," and "Brief Record of Models for Women." Essentially, they taught women to be humble, submissive, and filial, and to become virtuous wives and good mothers. They were saturated with teachings about male superiority and female inferiority.

Jian Ruonan: "..."

As a woman from the modern world, how could she possibly stomach studying those?

[What the fuck? If I have to study those, I'd rather die!]

Min: "..."

Was Nannan really so unyielding?

Why had she mentioned that young master of the Wang Family again? Just who was he?!

Once a daughter grew up, there was no keeping her at home. She would have her husband ask around later.

She compromised. "How about we learn to manage things first?"

Jian Ruonan breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure, Mother. I can calculate accounts quickly and accurately, without even using an abacus."

Jian Xilu smiled. "Such bold words, little sister."

Jian Ruonan might have been a little lazy and a little greedy, but she had previously been a bona fide top student. She knew her multiplication tables by heart.

"How about this, Mother? Find a managing nanny to compete against me. If I win..." Jian Ruonan's eyes darted slyly. "I won't have to study the Four Books for Women."

Min asked, "And if you lose?"

Jian Ruonan replied, "If I lose, I'll study whatever you want me to."

Min smiled. "All right."

The hall was full of managing nannies. Min asked, "Which of you would like to compete against the Fifth Miss?"

The managing nannies exchanged glances, but none stepped forward.

Min continued, "Whoever beats the Fifth Miss will receive five taels of silver."

As soon as she finished speaking, several nannies began stirring eagerly.

"Madam, this old servant would like to try." The nanny who spoke was surnamed Zhou. Her husband was the shopkeeper at one of Min's grain and oil shops. Nanny Zhou was literate and exceptionally skilled with an abacus. Min always liked to call her in for year-end accounting and the like.

Min hesitated.

Nanny Zhou was too capable. She feared Nannan would lose so badly that she would be embarrassed and her confidence would suffer.

Zang Chun noticed Min's concern and teased, "Let's choose another nanny. Nanny Zhou is an abacus wizard. Who in this household can outcalculate her? She's picking on the Fifth Miss because she's only just returned!"

Nanny Zhou smiled. "This old servant wouldn't dare. I simply covet that five-tael reward. How about I give the Fifth Miss a head start of half an incense stick?"

Jian Ruonan said, "No head start needed."

However fast an abacus was, could it be faster than mental arithmetic?

Jian Ruonan wasn't afraid in the slightest.

Seeing how certain she was, Min remained doubtful but still took out an account book for the two of them to work on.

Before the contest began, Jian Ruonan opened the account book. "Mother, first tell me how to read this."

Min: "..."

She couldn't even read an account book, yet she was clamoring for a contest?

What a worry she was!