Chapter 38 Handing Over Salary

Chapter 38 Handing Over Salary

The flower-viewing banquet was quite interesting, and there was a lot to talk about. Besides, since Pei Wu went to the Hanlin Academy, he sometimes didn't come back until late at night. It was rare to catch him not going to work today, so Jiang Ru wanted to keep him company and talk to him as much as possible.

As she spoke, she couldn't help but complain: "You're so kind of you, staying at the Prime Minister's residence all day, why didn't you call me back sooner?"

She even blamed Pei Wu, who was unusually good-tempered at the time. No matter what she said, Pei Wu would just agree.

As the moon rose high in the sky and all was quiet, Pei Wu raised his hand to adjust the lamp oil and reminded Jiang Ru, who was already yawning uncontrollably, "You should go to sleep."

It was indeed very late, but Jiang Ru was still reluctant to leave, feeling that she hadn't had enough: "You're always so busy."

It sounded like a sarcastic remark, but it took root and sprouted in Pei Wu's heart. Pei Wu looked at Jiang Ru's back and whispered, "I'll try to come back earlier in the future."

He spoke so softly that he thought Jiang Ru wouldn't hear him, but as Jiang Ru reached the door, she suddenly turned back and said, "I didn't say you weren't. You have to work, and there's nothing we can do about it."

The tasks at the Hanlin Academy were not particularly complicated, but they were not easy either. Occasionally, Pei Wu would have to work the night shift, so sometimes he wouldn't be able to see Jiang Ru all day.

Even his days off are only one day off every ten days. Although he gets holidays from time to time, it's currently the middle of the year, and he hasn't been able to enjoy any holidays since it's neither a festival nor the New Year. That's why Jiang Ru thinks he's too busy.

Jiang Ru pondered, "Perhaps, once you get promoted, you won't be so busy anymore?"

After all, the hard work is done by the people below.

Pei Wu gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth: "Perhaps."

This might just be their guess, after all, Pei Wu has only just entered the court and his promotion is still a long way off.

It can't be said to be a long way off. In his previous life, Pei Wu climbed to the position of regent in just three years, so nothing is impossible.

Jiang Ru thought for a moment and then said, "It's better not to climb too high. It's lonely at the top. Just be a minor official below the fourth rank."

Jiang Ru thought, "Don't be belittled, and don't climb too high."

However, she underestimated the concept of officials below the fourth rank. Pei Wu was on duty in the capital, and upon entering the court, he was already a sixth-rank official, which meant that his future could not be just a minor official.

Pei Wu was well aware of this fact, but he didn't remind Jiang Ru. He just smiled and said, "Anyone below the fourth rank is considered a minor official?"

"I guess so," Jiang Ru pondered. "After all, officials below the fourth rank are not allowed to attend court."

"I understand." Pei Wu stood up. "It's time to go back to sleep."

It was already the end of May. Since arriving in Bianjing, they had spent a winter and then a spring.

Now that summer has arrived, the night wind is hot, and the summer moon casts layers of clear light into the room. Her hair flutters in the breeze. Jiang Ru looks up at the high-hanging moon, with stars scattered in the black night sky. Jiang Ru says irritably, "I know, I'm going to sleep."

It's only 11 PM now, but people in ancient times went to sleep so early that Jiang Ru could only go with the flow, since there was no one to chat with her once night fell.

A few days later, Jiang Ru had all the necessary materials ready, and her beverage business could officially get on track.

Due to storage and habitual limitations, the people of Daxia rarely consume dairy products. However, yogurt is not very rare in Daxia, at least it is not completely unavailable.

Jiang Ru and Xia Xia made some innovations by adding yogurt to several drinks. If the results are good, they can try more.

After several busy days, the beverage shop was preparing to open, and Jiang Ru also found some people to promote it, offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal for the grand opening.

The money from the previous land rental is all with her, so even if the initial investment is large, it can support her for a period of time.

The day before the opening, Jiang Ru stopped by the tailor shop. She had several clothes made there before and could finally pick them up.

Their clothes hadn't been changed much; they were still wearing the same few old outfits from Jinzhou, which were rather shabby. The clothes she wore to the flower-viewing banquet were bought for her by Pei Wuxin after they arrived in Bianjing.

There were too many clothes, and the three of them barely managed to carry them home together. Jiang Ru distributed the clothes to the others, and the rest were for her and Pei Wu.

Jiang Ru put her clothes away and sat in the courtyard to wait for Pei Wu.

Today was lucky; Pei Wusan returned early, before the sun had fully set.

After they finished dinner, Pei Wu took the initiative to ask Jiang Ru, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

During the meal, Jiang Ru kept glancing at her, and anyone could tell that she had something on her mind.

When Pei Wu asked this, she widened her eyes in surprise: "How did you know?"

Pei Wu replied cooperatively, "Shouldn't I know?"

Jiang Ru nodded.

So Pei Wu changed his words: "I've finished my meal, it's time for me to go to my study."

Jiang Ru then smiled and said, "Wait a minute, I'll show you something."

Pei Wu pretended not to know anything, but when Jiang Ru took out several sets of clothes, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "You made clothes for me?"

He really hadn't expected it to be about this. He thought Jiang Ru was going to talk to him about the beverage shop, since Jiang Ru had been talking about that shop every day for the past few days.

Jiang Ru had also promised Pei Wu that once the beverage shop opened, she would personally make beverages for him. Pei Wu subconsciously assumed that this was what she meant.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ru made clothes for him.

Pei Wu gently touched the fabric of the clothes. The cloth was of fine quality, and the clothes made from it would be excellent. Pei Wu withdrew his hand and asked Jiang Ru, "Have you made yourself a few outfits?"

Jiang Ru nodded: "Of course I did it."

Pei Wu then asked, "Let me see."

He didn't care about his own clothes, but only cared about Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Take a look at yours first."

Since she had enough fabric, she made as many as possible so that she would have more clothes to change into later.

She also knew that Pei Wu liked plain colors, so she made two sets of clothes for him: cyan, lake blue, and black, and even made a pair of boots.

The clothes were heavy, and Jiang Ru couldn't hold them up any longer, so she shoved them at Pei Wu: "Go change and see if they fit. If they don't, you'll have to take them to be altered."

Pei Wu had no choice but to listen to her and turned around to go back to his room to change his clothes.

All the clothes suited him perfectly. Pei Wu was a natural clothes hanger; he would look handsome even in a burlap sack. Of course, clothes make the man, and the new clothes made him look even more dignified.

Jiang Ru circled him a few times, quite pleased with her masterpiece, and praised him, "A handsome young man."

Pei Wu remained calm and composed: "Now that you've seen it, may I see yours?"

No one dislikes new clothes, and Jiang Ru was no exception. Coincidentally, she also had Pei Wu, who understood her very well. Jiang Ru smiled and said, "Wait for me to change and show you."

The clothing of women in the Great Xia Dynasty was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The upper body was mostly a jacket, while the skirts had many more patterns, such as pleated skirts and multi-layered skirts. The skirts were decorated with embroidered patterns. Jiang Ru's skirt was embroidered with orchid patterns, and the orchids would appear and disappear as she walked, blooming in clusters.

Jiang Ru changed her clothes and, as if showing them off to Pei Wu, lifted her skirt: "Does it look good?"

Pei Wu said, "It looks good."

He noticed that Jiang Ru's clothes were brightly colored, but none of them were pink, which Jiang Ru liked, so he asked her, "Why didn't you make pink ones? But we don't have pink fabric."

Before Jiang Ru could answer, he continued, "If you don't have any, I'll give you some money, then you can go..."

Jiang Ru raised her hand to stop him: "Just because you like something doesn't mean you have to wear pink all the time. Don't you think it's monotonous to only wear pink? Imagine if I opened my closet and it was full of pink clothes, wouldn't that be strange?"

It wasn't surprising, but it did sound somewhat reasonable. Pei Wu knew he had said the wrong thing, so he wisely kept quiet: "I was wrong."

“Take a look,” Jiang Ru said with a smile. “Otherwise, if you say this to a girl you like in the future, she might think you’re a straight man.”

Pei Wu had never heard of the term "straight man" before, but judging from Jiang Ru's reaction, it must not be a good term. He couldn't think of a way to refute Jiang Ru's words, so he chose to agree with her: "You look good in any color."

With just one sentence, Jiang Ru beamed with joy. She said happily, "You've made great progress. From now on, you should praise me like this."

Pei Wu nodded solemnly.

Then he told Jiang Ru to wait where she was, and went back to his room to bring out a box.

In front of Jiang Ru, Pei Wu opened the box, which was filled with silver.

The silver was too much to carry in one hand, so Pei Wu handed the box to Jiang Ru. Twenty strings of cash, equivalent to twenty taels of silver, were all in this box.

Jiang Ru was taken aback by his actions: "What is this?"

Pei Wu replied, "Monthly salary."

Jiang Ru was surprised: "Your monthly salary seems to be quite high."

That's a lot, twenty taels. If you're frugal, it'll last you for several years.

After Jiang Ru looked at it, she sighed and told Pei Wu, "You should keep this silver safe. You'll need it later. But you probably won't be able to spend such a large amount of silver. Keep it safe for now, and I'll give you some copper coins."

After all, copper coins are more practical, while silver is usually only used in specific situations.

Even though Jiang Ru had said that, Pei Wu still didn't take the money back, but instead handed it forward again: "Here you go."

Jiang Ru was truly confused this time: "Why are you giving this to me?"

She had completely forgotten about it, so Pei Wu patiently reminded her: "I said before that the salary is for you. You're worried about losing money running the beverage shop, so I'll give you my salary too, then you won't be worried about losing money."

That's what they said, but when Pei Wu suddenly pulled out the money, Jiang Ru was still a little stunned. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the money, and was hesitant to accept it: "Really for me?"

Pei Wu nodded: "Here you go."

Jiang Ru: "If you give it to me, what will you use it for?"

Pei Wu: "I saved up some money in Jinzhou before, which is enough."

His move left Jiang Ru in a dilemma, unsure whether to accept or not. In reality, she wasn't that short of money; she had enough to last her several months.

Jiang Ru silently reached out and pushed the money back: "Why don't you keep it for now, and I'll ask you for it later if I need money?"

Pei Wu frowned: "Why did you ask me for it later? Can't I give it to you now?"

It's possible, but the problem is... Jiang Ru doesn't dare to accept it!

Jiang Ru forced a smile: "This is not the same thing."

Pei Wu: "How can they not be the same thing?"

Jiang Ru had never seen anyone so extravagant, giving away twenty taels of silver so readily. Even close brothers keep their accounts straight, let alone the fact that they weren't even blood brothers.

Jiang Ru thought for a moment and tried to explain to Pei Wu in simple terms: "You shouldn't trust others too much. If I take all your salary in the future, you won't have a penny left. So you should take it back first..."

Before she could finish speaking, Pei Wu placed the box on the table and said nonchalantly, "You're my cousin, you wouldn't run off with my salary. Even if you did, it would be because you needed the money, and I won't blame you."

-----------------------

Author's Note: I'm a little late, but I should mention that there might not be a second update tonight. Let's see if I can finish writing it!