After transmigrating,The Female Supporting Character Became Darling of The Five

Chapter 128: Mountains of gold and silver as a backer

           These are all excuses. How is Miss Su delicate? Is carrying a full bucket of water in one hand considered delicate?
　　Isn't the young master's implication obvious? Fengying understood it all. It was not easy for the young master to have a girl he liked, so they had to protect her well.
　　If even a hair were missing, they wouldn't be able to report to the young master.
　　"Understood, Boss. Please advise me further in the future." The subordinate took back the paper and pen, crossed out the extra words, and re-copied a copy.
　　For example: Today is New Year's Eve, nothing major has happened, everything is the same as before, Miss Su got up in the morning, and with the young masters of the Su family, posted couplets, hung lanterns, smiled, happy and carefree, and didn't worry.
　　"Remember, although you're guarding them in secret, you mustn't disturb the Su family's lives. Simply finish your task and leave." When the subordinate left, Fengying also specifically instructed.
　　Although it is secretly protecting, you can't be like a voyeur. The young master only told them to report the Su family's situation as needed, not to record every trivial details. However, life in the Su family courtyard is too dull, and there is really nothing good to record. Except for the incident of the Zhao family a few days ago, it has been successfully resolved.
　　That night, Su's mother gave all the children New Year's money. This is the first time they have received New Year's money since they grew up. Although it is only a dozen coins, it was never customary in the Su family.
　　Even the oldest Su Jing had never received one.
　　"Thanks to Wanwan, I received the New Year's money for the first time. I am giving this New Year's money to Wanwan. I wish our Wanwan will have this day every year and be happy every year."
　　Su Jing got the New Year's money and turned around to give it to Su Wan, and added some more in it, making it heavy.
　　Su Jing copied books and saved a few taels of silver, and gave it all to her.
　　The brothers discussed it and added their own private money to it, and each of them collected two taels to give to Su Wan as New Year's money.
　　Su Mu just said a simple sentence, "Good luck at the end of the year, and good health every year." Su Chen said that the third brother is not as knowledgeable as the eldest brother, and he just hopes Wanwan will be happy and worry-free.
　　The fourth brother Su Yun said the most, and almost said all the beautiful words he knew.

　　Su Yi was still so gentle. When he gave the New Year's money to Su Wan, he only said:
　　"When Fifth Brother makes money in the future, he'll buy Wan Wan lots of rouge jewelry."
　　This was also the first time to spend the New Year with his own sister, so of course they had to have a sense of ceremony.
　　Su Wan felt the heavy love of her brothers and put all the New Year's money into her pocket.

        To be honest, she had never been as happy and satisfied as she was now, even when she was selling soap and Shaqima to earn money.

         After the New Year, the sheep milk soap business would have to resume, but as for the Shaqima business, Su Wan still hadn’t figured out the best approach. Opening a pastry shop focused only on Shaqima wouldn’t work; there weren’t enough product varieties to compete with other shops.

         The only option was to sell the Shaqima recipe. Their Shaqima was already famous in Qinghe County, and once the news was released after the New Year, plenty of people would likely come forward wanting to buy the recipe. At that point, they could compare offers from different shops and sell to the highest bidder.

            Once the money was in hand, she’d need to think of new ways to earn income. Earning money early was wise; the more she saved, the better. If something happened in the future, having mountains of gold and silver as a backup would prevent hardship.

          The tenth day of the first lunar month soon arrived, the day Su Jing was set to leave home. Everyone accompanied him to the village entrance, where he would take Lao Hongtou’s ox cart to the county. From there, he’d join a convoy heading to Xiangzhou Prefecture, where he’d meet up with the caravan. Jiang Yu’s people were embedded in the caravan to secretly escort him all the way to Kyoto, where he would stay in a small courtyard under his own name.

          The Su family had never asked him to repay their kindness, but he felt compelled to do so. They had saved his life, and he intended to protect them for life. Of course, Su Wan was one of his main reasons for this devotion. Jiang Yu, far away in Zhongzhou, constantly thought about him, and now all he wanted was a message delivered by carrier pigeon from Xiangzhou.

          “A-Jing, once you arrive in Dongdu, you must write home to let us know you’re safe, and continue to write often. You’ll be away for over a year, and your family will miss you. Please remember,” his mother urged him, her hands lingering as she adjusted his clothes. As any loving mother would, she was reluctant to let her son go on such a long journey.

          “Mom, I’ll miss you all too, even in Kyoto. Don’t worry, I’ve found a place to stay—it’s a courtyard owned by A-Yu, so you can rest easy. Just wait for my good news. I’ll take the imperial examination for you, and no matter what, I’ll come back to see you.”

           “Brother, be confident! Make it into the top three and come back to show us.” Su Wan was certain that Su Jing would place at least third; it was part of the original story’s design, so even in the worst case, he was destined to succeed. She had even encouraged him to study flood control measures thoroughly, so as long as nothing unexpected happened, his success was almost guaranteed.

"Wan Wan, your brother shouldn’t be too confident. I’m worried that if I fail the exam, people might laugh at me," Su Jing said with a smile.

Su Wan was nearly in tears; her brother was truly too modest.

"Big Brother, you’ll definitely succeed! I wish you great success in the imperial examination and a bright future ahead!" Su Wan saluted him earnestly, her lovely expression genuinely charming.

Father Su looked at his graceful, well-mannered daughter with pride. "It seems that we truly owe the Gu family a debt of gratitude. Without them, how could our family have such an educated and well-behaved daughter?"

Su Wan blushed at his praise. If she hadn’t come into the family, her fate would likely have been much harder at this point.

Mother Su gave Su Jing a hundred taels in silver notes along with some loose change, and everyone watched him depart.

With the matter of her eldest brother resolved, Su Wan turned her attention to her second and third brothers. In the original story, her second brother would soon meet a miracle doctor who would eventually take him on as an apprentice, traveling the country to learn and observe. With his talent, he would master the craft within a few years.

Her third brother was set to join the army in the latter half of the year, after a border conflict. After that, only her fourth and fifth brothers would be left at home. Once the New Year festivities ended, her fourth brother would recover and head to the provincial capital to start an apprenticeship, which would last about six months.

The New Year flew by, and on the fifteenth day, Zhao Xiyun was carried into the Qi family in a sedan chair. Although this marriage made her the official wife, her entrance was more modest than that of a concubine. If not for the substantial dowry from the Zhao family, she would have had little hope upon entering the Qi family.

Zhao Tongde had fallen ill before the New Year and was now gravely ill. Without the will to recover, he likely didn’t have much time left.

After the New Year, the Su family became busy building a new house. Father Su invited close friends from the Zhao and Chen families, as well as other friendly families in the village, to help. Su Chen and Su Mu pitched in at home, and with Father Su, there were ten people altogether.

When Jiang Sheng heard about the Su family’s plans, he volunteered to help, saying he didn’t want any wages and only asked for lunch. He considered it a way to repay the Su family for their protection of him and Jiao Xing.

Father Su arranged for an auspicious day to begin construction. Since they planned to build a blue brick wall and add a few more blue brick houses, they needed to order a specific amount of blue bricks and blue stone tiles from the county’s brick kiln.

From placing the order, burning ceremonial paper, to collecting the finished bricks, the entire process would take around half a month. After calculating the amount needed, they estimated the cost for the blue bricks and blue tiles to be about 18 taels of silvers.