She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 113 - 112 Can’t We Just Be Content With Being Moderately Wealthy?

Chapter 113: Chapter 112 Can’t We Just Be Content With Being Moderately Wealthy?

As soon as the Liang family servants left, business at the Qi family’s casual snack shop unexpectedly boomed.

The first two groups of diners, out of curiosity, also asked about the earlier situation.

Qi Younian excused it by saying a young lady from a wealthy family admired their snack shop and had come early in the morning when there were no other customers to savour the soups and snacks. Because of her noble status, and fearing an unknowing person might bump into her, the fanfare was somewhat bigger, and so he glossed over the incident.

Although early in the morning they had nearly faced a challenge, the Qi family members were not only undisturbed but in fact felt relaxed and in high spirits.

Even Ye Xinyan, who had always been reluctant to rely on Jinrong due to her runaway status, felt especially triumphant today for having firmly slapped the faces of those who sought advantage, thinking of herself as an ordinary salaried worker.

Besides, this was not something she had asked for, it was His Highness Prince Yu’s high moral standards... no, using high moral standards here seems a bit inappropriate, it should be integrity. It was just His Highness Prince Yu’s integrity in not tolerating the presence of evil forces in his territory and strengthening its management.

Ye Xinyan discovered that thinking in this way, she almost owed no favors to Jinrong. As the sovereign of this land, upholding his father’s rule and serving the people, shouldn’t all that be his duty?

From sunrise, the snack shop was bustling with people, and whether it was really due to Miss Liang’s influence or not, the day’s business was unprecedentedly good.

Ye Xinyan privately joked with Nanny Jin, "Miss Liang is so beautiful and holds such a lofty status, yet she was able to stoop to our little snack shop, naturally because the food we make is authentic. Those who admire the Liang family and Miss Liang would naturally want to experience the dining environment and mood of Miss Liang, while incidentally giving our little shop a boost."

Nanny Jin scolded with a laugh, "You child, how can you speak so about a young lady? Although she said this, Nanny Jin was also happy that the Sixth Prince was willing to come forward to protect them.

The business was so prosperous that day that they closed half a shichen late at the You Hour, only sending away the last wave of customers before locking up.

As he closed the shutters, Qi Younian looked thoughtfully at the doorway and said with some sentiment, "Going back and forth between two places every day for this little business really isn’t an easy matter."

Ye Xinyan listened and felt very surprised. It seemed from her grandfather’s tone that he had some peculiar reflections and thoughts. Only, it was unclear whether these thoughts were about commuting between Clear Water Village and Qingyuan County, or about the snack shop business.

Qi Younian had wandered in foreign lands for decades, and after returning, although he found the family and village affairs somewhat troublesome, he was always reluctant to leave Clear Water Village. These days, running the snack shop meant daily commutes between the county and the countryside, which was truly inconvenient.

But now the situation was different, inevitably involved with Jinrong’s demands, and residing in the countryside had become a necessity. Could it be that at this critical juncture, the old man had some realizations and was actually willing to move to the county town?

There were many things to take care of when closing up, and there was no spare time to discuss these matters. It was only after they returned home for dinner that Ye Xinyan got her answer.

At the dinner table, Qi Younian served the little one a chopstick-full of egg, and seemed to casually say to Ye Xinyan, "Considering autumn is upon us, our house likely won’t withstand the winter. We need to plan properly."

"Indeed, while it’s not yet the busy farming season, let’s find time to hire someone to properly fix up the house," Ye Xinyan nodded in agreement.

Qi Younian shook his head and said, "That’s not what I mean. The old house is too outdated, it only has an inner and an outer room, and is too small. We won’t repair it; let’s build a new house next to this one on the empty land. These past days, the little shop has made some silver, so we can build three large main rooms, and then add three more on the east side, enclosing a good courtyard."

Ye Xinyan was a bit confused. Didn’t Grandpa just complain that running back and forth between two places wasn’t feasible? Why, after getting home, did it turn into building a new house and settling down in Clear Water Village?

Seeing Ye Xinyan’s confusion, Qi Younian smiled and explained, "You accepted His Highness Prince Yu’s task to manage a cattle farm, which naturally has to be in the countryside. Is there a better place than the north side of our yard? With the cattle farm here, we naturally have to live here too."

Ye Xinyan held her forehead in despair, "My brain must be broken; I almost forgot about this matter."

Qi Younian continued, "I was thinking, I’ll first take a few people and start building our house. Then, with these hands, we’ll continue to build cattle pens, stalls..."

"No, no, Grandpa," Ye Xinyan hurriedly interrupted Qi Younian, "Didn’t we agree that you would only handle the family business and mind the shop from now on, and not do the mason’s work anymore? We should hire people to build the house, why should you lead the work?"

Qi Younian pondered for a while before speaking solemnly, "Our little eatery, operated in this way, who knows when it will become big. We commoners, if we want a stable status, must have a decent industry at the least. Otherwise, sooner or later, we will be at the mercy of others’ scheming and have no recourse."

Qi Younian, seeing Ye Xinyan about to speak, raised his hand to stop her and said, "The cattle farm belongs to Sixth Master Rong and Lord Jiang. Moreover, raising livestock is not so simple; whether it can be established is still uncertain. Lord Jiang is just serving here; after three years, he will be transferred, and Sixth Master Rong is even less likely to stay in this small county for long. Now, while we have the protection of Sixth Master Rong, we should first accumulate wealth. With wealth, using Sixth Master Rong’s influence, we can cultivate our own foundational relations. You’re young and do not understand Grandpa’s line of work, but if I do it well, we can establish ourselves very quickly."

Ye Xinyan was well aware of the prowess of construction companies and contractors, but in this era, building houses was done without modern machinery, relying entirely on manual labor. And Grandpa, being of advanced age, was really not suited to leading such work.

"Grandpa, I was thinking, we should first get Sixth Master’s cattle farm up and running. Although I can’t guarantee that I will be able to develop beef cattle breeding into something very big, producing enough milk is still possible. Once we have enough milk, we can not only make more desserts but also learn from the nomadic herdsmen beyond the Great Wall and turn the milk into ingredients like butter and cheese. This kind of business is enough for our family to establish a comfortable life. We don’t need to do a large business; a modest and secure life will not incite envy from others," she said.

Ye Xinyan truly did not plan to thrive in this era. Having lived at the bottom of this era for over half a year, she understood more deeply the respected status and the overwhelming power of a First-Rank Duke at the court, as well as the rigid fate awaiting high-born women who lost their virtue like the original host — it was practically a dead end, certainly something she couldn’t let others learn about her current situation.

Remaining low-profile, hidden among the common people, and living a life of modest wealth suited Ye Xinyan best.

Of course, that was her personal opinion. She had experienced the various comforts, conveniences, and bustle of a world a thousand years later, but the deathly performance targets and endless overtime also followed her like insidious parasites, leaving her nearly breathless from the pursuit.

Yet, if she had to choose again, she would still prefer to return to the era of her birth, where, despite the backbreaking labour that almost made people regret being born, there were more safeguards, and not left utterly without recourse.

So for the moment, it would be better to live a life unnoticed as a prosperously modest family. And fortunately or unfortunately, as soon as she arrived in this era, she had escaped the perilous environment of aristocratic struggle akin to robbing a bank; the wife of the heir apparent of the Duke’s Mansion, the original host’s mother, remained caught in that risk-fraught atmosphere.

Qi Younian, apparently, did not share Ye Xinyan’s thoughts; he shook his head and said, "Our family comes from too low a background. Even a modest business will incur envy. Grandpa’s past, coupled with today’s incident with Young Miss of the Liang Family forcing us to close shop, is enough to show that without sufficient influence, one cannot engage in profitable business. Otherwise, it only invites disaster."