The wicked sister-in-law is in charge; meals include fish and shrimp.

Chapter 375 Getting a Favor

Meanwhile, Yan Che had already arranged accommodations for Wen Zijin and Wu Yazi.

It had been a long time since he had gone back, and he was currently pestering Wen Luozhi to tell him about what had happened recently.

Upon hearing about growing greenhouse vegetables, his eyes lit up at first, but then he lowered his head again, as if remembering something.

The prices of dishes in the city have been rising higher and higher these past few days, and some of the more expensive dishes have already been removed from restaurants.

Although a slight price increase won't cause any trouble selling, the biggest headache is what to do when there are no vegetables in winter.

If the food is transported here, it won't be fresh, and the price of the dishes made from it will definitely double.

"Things are fine over there, but things aren't so easy here in the prefectural city," he sighed softly, looking somewhat troubled as he thought about it.

Wen Luozhi thought about it and realized that this was indeed a problem; she had observed this area before she arrived.

The land is available, but it's quite fragmented, so growing vegetables might be a bit difficult, but it's worth a try.

There are several villages around the city, and she will go and ask them when she has time.

"I told you, all you need to do now is focus on your studies, leave the rest to me."

"You can't let your godfather down this time."

As Wen Luozhi spoke, she quickly and precisely pulled out the book "Journey to the West" from a large stack of books. Wen Zijin glanced at Yan Che when she saw the three big characters on the cover.

So this guy was secretly reading extracurricular books? He remembered checking several times and confiscating them all back then.

Yan Che shrank his neck, clearly not expecting the book to be discovered. He had even doodled on the side of it, but Wen Luozhi had such sharp eyes that she had managed to find it.

Wen Zijin remained silent, while Yan Che chuckled guiltily twice and filled the teacups for the brother and sister.

"I get so bored reading at night, and I can't just sit there like an idiot during my breaks and occasionally take it out for a quick read."

Wen Luozhi glanced at Wen Zijin, and seeing that he didn't seem angry, she breathed a sigh of relief, but still didn't return the book.

"I'll return the book to you after you finish your exams. I have an even better one," she said to Yan Che.

She gave this book to Wen Zijin because she was worried he would get bored while reading, so it's likely that Yan Che had already finished reading it by the time it ended up in his hands.

She had also heard that Yan Che had been taking a lot of tests lately, big and small. What if he got distracted by playing around? All her previous efforts couldn't be wasted because of a novel.

Hearing that it sounded even better, Yan Che didn't ask for the book; instead, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

The teacher who taught at home also came over, and the brother and sister got up and stopped talking to him.

"Fifth Brother, just go about your usual business. I'll take care of the accommodations."

She asked around and found a few places that seemed pretty good, so she'll go check them out tomorrow.

Wen Zijin went back into the house, took out a box, and opened it to find silver notes and loose silver coins inside.

He acquired these by copying books from bookstores in his spare time. In addition, Wu Ya Zi would bind his writings together and give them to others as reference books, so he became quite wealthy.

He took out some loose silver to keep for himself and sent the rest to Wen Luozhi.

Wen Luozhi opened the box in front of him and her mouth slightly agape when she saw the silver notes of varying denominations inside.

"Fifth Brother, isn't this the pocket money Mother gave you when we came to the prefectural city?"

She flipped through the notes and found several hundred-tael silver notes underneath, which was much more than what her family had given her when she set off.

Wen Zijin patted her head and explained where the silver came from, and Wen Luozhi's eyes lit up with excitement.

She knew Wen Zijin was a learned man, but she never expected that his writings could fetch so much money.

"Then Fifth Brother can keep it for himself, and save it as a gift for Old Master Wu."

"Your sister has no shortage of money, don't you know that?"

Wen Luozhi stuffed the box back into his arms, and smiled foolishly as she thought of the gemstone mine that Helian Yue had given her.

The brother and sister chatted for a while, and finally the box was delivered to Wen Luozhi.

He Lingfei returned home carrying her things, and it was already dark. Her mother had been sitting in the yard waiting for her; if she didn't come back soon, she was going to go out and look for her.

"You debt collector! Where have you been gallivanting off to again?! Don't you know it's dangerous for a young lady to be out in the dark?!"

She launched into a tirade, but He Lingfei glanced at her impatiently, grabbed her things, and quickly went inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

She lit the oil lamp, took out the clothes the madam had sold her, and carefully put them on.

Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, she saw herself looking like a flower bud about to bloom, and her resolve strengthened.

Touching her delicate collarbone, He Lingfei thought to herself that she didn't believe Wen Zijin wouldn't be captivated by her appearance.

For several days in a row, she went out to look for people, and Wu Yazi didn't even go to see the play these past few days.

After thinking for a long time, she decided to try her luck at Yan Che's place, and she actually ran into him.

However, when she saw Wen Luozhi smiling brightly, she almost couldn't resist rushing over again.

"Yan Che, no offense, but your writing isn't even as good as mine."

"Fifth Brother, don't you think so?"

Wen Zijin held the writings that Wen Luozhi and Yan Che had compared, and chuckled indulgently:

"Lolo's writing is definitely better than his, absolutely brilliant."

After saying that, he carefully tucked the paper into his book like a treasure.

Wen Luozhi became even more smug after receiving the praise, while Yan Che angrily tried to snatch what she had written. The two chased each other at the courtyard gate, looking quite happy.

"Hmph, shameless!"

He Lingfei, who was hiding behind the wall, spat on the ground. When she saw Wen Luozhi's face, she wanted nothing more than to go up and tear it to shreds.

With the two of them there and a gatekeeper at the entrance, she naturally couldn't go looking for people as recklessly as before.

She touched the silver she had left over from yesterday, and thought that she would have to spend money to hire someone to abduct the person.

That way, even if others see her, she can clear herself of any involvement, and by the time they find the person, her good deed will have already been accomplished.

Suppressing her excitement, she quietly withdrew and took the silver to find someone.

Most people are hesitant and timid when doing things, so to prevent mistakes, she hired two thugs.

"Oh, young lady, what brings you two brothers here?"

A shifty-eyed, slovenly-dressed man grinned lewdly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and reached out to touch He Lingfei's face.

He Lingfei slapped away the groping hand and said unhappily, "I paid you to do something for me, so behave yourself."

"Just tell me, are you going to make a profit on this money or not?"

Li Meng rubbed his hands together and blew a breath into her ear, which almost made He Lingfei faint.

But remembering that she still had important things to do, she suppressed her temper and smiled.

"I certainly won't treat you unfairly, and this matter should be quite easy for you to handle."

Li Meng was secretly pleased to hear that things were easy to handle, as he was currently short of money.

"Then tell us, young lady, what is it? We brothers will definitely take care of it for you."

As he spoke, his narrow eyes leered as he looked He Lingfei up and down.