The old nanny cleaned Qiao Qingran up, and the carriage was already waiting nearby.
Qiao Qingran, holding the child, said to the old nanny, "Give this girl fifty taels, and three taels in red envelope."
The old nanny was somewhat reluctant, but ultimately said nothing, handing the silver note to Jin Shanyao, Jin Shanyao unexpectedly only took fifty taels.
"The price we agreed on beforehand, no need to pay more."
Qiao Qingran was taken aback, then laughed, "My servants have been very rude; I hope you won't take offense, young lady."
Jin Shanyao hand dismissively, "If I were lying on the ground, and you touched me, Dahuang would bite you to death..."
"Dahuang, that sounds like a dog's name," the old woman's face, which had just softened, turned cold again.
Qiao Qingran stared at the Jin Shanyao with curiosity, wanting to say more, but she was too weak to stand for long.
"Thank you very much today, young lady. I will definitely express my gratitude again when we meet again."
Jin Shanyao quickly said, "No need to come tomorrow, you can do it now. I have talismans here to protect children's safety, health, and ward off evil spirits."
Twenty taels per note, you can buy five different types, that'll be exactly one hundred taels, easy to calculate."
The old nanny, unable to bear it any longer, said, "You're not only a midwife, you're a fraud! Let's go, Madam, we're not talking to her anymore!"
"Sigh... I'm not a midwife..." Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Jin Shanyao suddenly understood that some explanations were unnecessary.
She thought to herself, "A midwife it is then, after all, it's fifty taels of silver. It's just a pity I didn't sell the talisman paper; those things have low costs and bring in money quickly..."
Jin Shanyao head at a 45-degree angle, gazing at the sky. She missed her old friend so much; the friend had always appreciated her talent and had never called her a fraud.
No, she must visit Old Madam Su after Meng Anci finishes her exams to rekindle their sisterly bond.
Jin Shanyao water from the yamen (government office) to wash up quickly, and then took Meng Anzhi back to the wonton stall.
She pointed to the empty table, her eyes wide, "Uncle, where are my wontons?"
The old man said awkwardly, "I thought you weren't going to eat, so..."
"Just throw it away?" Jin Shanyao's voice suddenly rose.
The old man hurriedly waved his hand, "No, not at all..." Just as Jin Shanyao breathed a sigh of relief, he heard him say, "I gave it to the beggar..."
Jin Shanyao gasped. What difference was there between this and throwing it away? She sat down on the stool angrily and slammed her hand heavily on the table.
He shouted loudly, "Cook me two more bowls..."
The old man wanted to ask if she would pay, but seeing that the girl looked like she was not to be trifled with, he silently swallowed his words, threw a dozen or so wontons into the pot to cook, and then happily served them on the table.
"Please eat slowly, young lady."
Jin Shanyao handed Meng Anzhi a pair of chopsticks, "Eat it while it's hot, it's delicious..."
Meng Anzhi held the bowl and took a happy sip. "Auntie, don't you think it's too hard for us to eat wontons outside while Anci is eating steamed buns in the examination hall?"
"What's wrong with a boy suffering a little? Besides, if you and I don't tell anyone, who will know we ate wontons?"
The two exchanged a glance and chuckled.
The old man cooking wontons couldn't smile. He stared at the Jin Shanyao and pondered, "Give me money, or not? Give me money, or not?" He was struggling with this dilemma for the fiftieth time.
Jin Shanyao took out twenty-four copper coins and placed them on the table. "Old man, your craftsmanship is truly superb..."
The old man hurriedly wiped his forehead, quickly stuffed the coins into his apron, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Come again if you like, come again if you like..."
Good heavens, he was terrified! He thought he'd never get his money back for those two bowls of wontons!
Before long, it was dusk. The imperial examinations were over. Meng Anci dragged Shiyan through the crowd, disdainfully tossing him to Madam Shi, and then turned back to Jin Shanyao's side.
Jin Shanyao down, cupped his little face in her hands, and smiled, "Are you tired?"
Meng Anci, a small man, was filled with helplessness. There were so many people at the entrance of the examination hall, and his aunt didn't even know how to restrain herself. He blushed, pressed his lips to his mouth, and hummed in agreement.
He then took her hand and hurried back.
As soon as the three entered Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the waiter said, "Miss Jin, room number one in the 'Heavenly' tier has become available. Would you like to move there?"
"I won't change it. Prepare three basins of bathwater for me, make a sweet and sour fish, braised pork ribs, and a large cold salad, and bring them to my room. Oh, and extra rice."
"Alright... I'll go prepare it right away."
When the hot water was served, Jin Shanyao tossed in a few ginkgo leaves and infused it with Spiritual Power to relieve Meng Anci's fatigue.
The little guy was shy and pushed her away before she could take off her clothes. Unable to chase the cats and dogs away, Meng Anci had no choice but to strip naked in front of them and plop down in the basin of water.
The warm water felt comforting on his skin, but Meng Anci always felt like there was a pair of eyes watching him.
He turned around abruptly and stared at Dahuang, " Dahuang, don't look at me like that."
Dahuang ignored them. Their mission was simply to keep an eye on these two ancestral beings so that nothing would happen to them. Once they successfully completed their mission, Big Yellow would be free.
It got up and stood near the water basin again, startling Meng Anci so much that he covered his private parts. " Dahuang, you've gone too far!"
Dahuang snorted lightly, "We're both males, what you have, I don't have too? This is pointless."
Meanwhile, in another room.
Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao each soaking in the bathtub, their faces covered with Poria cocos and Angelica dahurica powder, their white faces revealing only their eyes and mouths.
" Anzhi, how long should this be applied?"
With a ginkgo leaf stuck to her eyes, Meng Anzhi said lazily, "Fifteen minutes... Oops, I forgot to put on my hand cream..." She stood up, and the ginkgo leaf from her eyes fell into the water, swirling around twice.
She picked up the white porcelain bowl beside her. "Auntie, give me your hand."
Jin Shanyao her head, thinking, "What's so great about applying this to an old tree bark?"
"Maybe I should just forget about it; it won't help my hands whether I apply it or not."
Meng Anzhi pulled her over without saying a word, "That won't do. The lady at the rouge shop said that hands are a woman's second face..."
Looking at her hands covered in white paint, Jin Shanyao sighed inwardly. Back when she was still a tree, she didn't even take a bath, let alone apply a face mask.
It all depends on the rain; now it's constantly flooded, the tree roots are practically shriveled up...
After applying the Jin Shanyao, Meng Anzhi then applied it to her own hands.
Finally, I lay happily in the bathtub, enjoying my bath time. "We're either on the mountain or out making medical calls every day; my face is several shades darker now."
She didn't feel anything Jin Shanyao... She'd been sunbathing since she was little, and the longer she basked in the sun, the faster she grew; she never felt she was dark-skinned!
After the three of them took a shower and had a nice dinner, they finally lay down to rest.
The scenery outside the window remained the same; the Jade Terrace House was gone, but the Spring-Filled Pavilion had been opened, and Qingzhou Prefecture did not cease its operations for anyone.
The following day, Meng Anci entered the examination hall again, carrying his book basket.
Today's exam is on policy essays, Meng Anci failed on this very topic last time, so as soon as I received the exam paper, I immediately looked at the questions.
A Tentative Approach to Educating Farmers
To put it bluntly, it was a test of Meng Anci's knowledge of the soil he chose for farming, the cost of seeds and tools, and the labor he hired. This question was practically hitting the nail on the head for Meng Anci.
Besides studying, he spent the rest of the year dealing with Lush Mountain, personally handling everything from planting to harvesting medicinal herbs, with his aunt teaching him each step step by step.
Meng Anci organized his thoughts, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the poem in one go.