Wild and unreasonable talk

  Li was eager to let her take over the lucrative business, mainly because she would soon be married and even if she held power, it would only be for a few months. Also, she could use her discord with Zhang to cut down Zhang's influence through her hands, letting them fight each other while Li reaped the benefits without taking any risk of being blamed, truly a clever plan.

  If she were just a naive girl, she would have foolishly become Li's pawn, but unfortunately, she is not. Li's plan was doomed to fail from the start. With ulterior motives, Li set this trap, but it depends on whether she is willing to fall into it.

  "This matter of procurement is too important, I'm afraid one person can't handle it. However, my third sister has been learning household management with her mother since childhood, she must have more experience than me. Why don't we let me and my third sister manage together? What do you think, sister-in-law?" Yuanyi's slender fingers tapped the account book lightly as she smiled brightly.

  Li's expression stiffened for a moment, she had thought it through countless times but never expected Yuan Yi to be willing to work with Yuan Yi, in that case, her plan was no different from falling apart. Handing it over to Yuan Yi, what difference did it make compared to handing it over to Zhang?

  She couldn't find a reason to refuse, so she reluctantly nodded and forced a smile: "Still, little sister is smiling all the way, after a while I'll go ask mother, let third sister and you be in charge of purchasing."

  Yuanyi smiled and nodded, "Very good, the sky is already late, sister will not disturb sister-in-law, first take leave." She and Li Shi exchanged a courtesy, let Su Mei hold the account book, in Li Shi's hypocritical thanks, they left.

  There were three ledgers in total, with complicated and tedious records of income and expenses for the past few months. Just flipping through them briefly was enough to make one's head spin. Yuan pressed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and she couldn't help but miss the simple and clear accounting methods of modern times. At least they wouldn't be like now, huddled under the dim, flickering candlelight, staring at dense, complex characters.

  Su Mei helped her put on a garment and said with concern, "Miss, it's getting late, you should go to bed. The account book can be looked at tomorrow, don't strain your eyes."

  She glanced at the clock again, it was already midnight. She had nothing to do all day and didn't feel sleepy, but Su Mei and Xiang Mei who were accompanying her looked tired, so she said: "I'll watch for a while, you two go to sleep first, no need to wait on me."

  She had always been a straightforward person who meant what she said, and Su Mei and Lao Mei couldn't do anything about it. After repeated reminders, they reluctantly retreated.

  Her mind was stronger than her arithmetic, and she wasn't very good at using an abacus, so she devoted herself wholeheartedly to calculation, forgetting about external things. Even when someone came to the window, she didn't know until a low coughing sound came through.

  She looked at the man in front of her with some surprise, who was showing a row of white teeth, and asked: "But after not seeing you for a few days, how did you become so dark?" Since the old master's birthday banquet, she hadn't seen him again. If it wasn't because she was preparing her dowry, she would have almost forgotten that there was such a person.

  Xiao Heng opened his fan to cover his face, revealing only a pair of sparkling peach blossom eyes. A muffled voice came from behind the fan, "Yi'er doesn't miss me at all, but I've been thinking about you day and night while I'm away, and I've become haggard. Look, I've lost weight." Yuan Yi just gave him a light glance, neither confirming nor denying his teasing. Xiao Heng suddenly felt disappointed and accused, "Yi'er, you don't care about me."

  "You're not missing any arms or legs, what's there to worry about." Yuan Yi retorted ill-temperedly, trying to shut him up. Who knows what kind of person this guy is, how he can be more nagging than a woman.

  "But... " Xiao Heng blinked his black eyes and said with a wronged tone: "Yi'er, we're getting married in September, do I need a reason to care about my future husband?"

  Yuanyi's face stiffened, staring dead at the pretentious person, twitching the corner of his mouth, saying: "You also said it was in the future."

  Xiao Heng, as usual, chatted with her casually and carelessly, left a white sandalwood carved hollow fan for her, joked that it was a token of his affection, and before Yuan Yi could refuse, he disappeared into the night like a gust of wind.