The Thirty-Eighth Chapter: It's Impossible to Measure the Sea with a Bushel (Middle)

  Hugging the wooden box with bottles, he silently ran to a small alley near the street and boarded a horse carriage waiting by the roadside.

  Shen Jing, who was sitting in the car and had left earlier, took over the box from Shen Mo. The two of them first looked at each other and smiled, then burst out laughing together.

  The silent laughter was still restrained, but Shen Jing directly laughed to the floor and exclaimed: "I've never played like this in my life... They must think we're fools."

  "Actually, I usually talk like that too."

  "When others think you're capable, that's when you're wise beyond your years." Shen Jing got up and said: "If they think you're not capable, then you become a 'head idiot'." The last sentence was in Shaoxing dialect, meaning fool. As he said this, he suddenly became tense again and said: "Hey, we won't really become head idiots, will we?"

  "You are someone I don't know." Shen Mo said very firmly: "But I am absolutely not a reincarnated person."

  "Are you a reincarnated person?" Shen Jing laughed and asked, "May I ask this big brother, where did your family live in their previous life, are they also from Shaoxing?"

  He shook his head silently, smiled lightly and said: "I don't remember." Then he changed the subject, but in his heart, he thought of Cui Hu's sentence: "Where is the hometown at sunset? The smoke on the river makes people sad."

  The carriage had just quieted down when the curtain was suddenly lifted, and the coachman stuck his head in to say: "Young masters, the gambling house has raised our stakes."

  "How much?" Shen Jing suddenly became spirited.

  "Shan Yin pays seven to one, our county pays six to one." The cart driver clicked his tongue and said: "Since no one dared to challenge Shan Yin's Qingteng, there hasn't been such a high odds."

  "Alright, let's head back." Shen Jing nodded and said. The coachman then retracted his head and urged the horses on.

  "Who is Shan Yin Qing Tong?" Shen Mo asked strangely: "Is this person very powerful?" He cursed in his heart: 'How can you not even know this?'

  "Xu Wenqing?" Shen Jing looked at him as if he were an animal, and exclaimed in surprise: "Not to mention Shaoxing City, but the whole of Zhejiang Province is also well-known."

  "Oh, it's him." Shen Mo nodded silently and smiled: "I misheard." In order not to be taken as a 'second-generation rich', he planned to quietly ask around later.

  "We've indeed given them a high compensation, but the higher the number, the more elusive our hopes become. If we can't win, isn't it just a waste of money?"

  "Never mind, just have faith in me."

  Shen Jing's face changed from cloudy to sunny, and finally gritted his teeth: "Alright, I'll go place the bet now!"

  "Not for now." Shen Mo pulled him back and said, "Let's wait two more days, the compensation should be even higher then."

  His judgment was correct. In the next two days, the crystal bottle with a round belly and a long neck became a hot topic among the people of Shaoxing City, and everyone came up with plans to design a gold-plated scheme inside the bottle.

  Compared to the common people who can only talk about it, those wealthy merchants and officials can actually take action and see if they can really do it... Wang Lao Hu's bottle is indeed from across the ocean, but it's not as rare as he said, at least several big households in Shaoxing City have a few.

  In the east of the city, in the Yin family's large courtyard, on a beautifully decorated pavilion in the back garden, Hua Ping'er was holding a bottle and standing behind her mistress, softly and gently saying: "Miss, think of a way, there's nothing in this world that can stump you."

  Miss Yin wore a pale yellow blouse, sitting properly in front of the desk, but still looked slender and elegant. Her long black hair was tied back with a silver ribbon, revealing a neck as smooth as jade.

  She was seriously flipping through an account book, and upon hearing this, she didn't even lift her head, saying: "I told you yesterday, I also have no way." Her voice was neither fast nor slow, like a spring breeze brushing against the face, without any hint of anger.

  "Isn't there still a way today?" Hua Ping asked persistently.

  "If I could come up with a solution just by sleeping, I wouldn't have to worry about family matters all day." Miss Yin scolded with a smile: "You little girl, making things difficult for your sister because of your lover, you really deserve to be beaten."

  "Where is..." The painting screen suddenly blushed and said: "Others are scholars, how can they look at a little maid like you?"

  "I think he's not even worthy of our family's painting screen." Miss Yin finally moved her gaze away from the account book, gently grasping the small hand of the painting screen: "Our family's painting screen has a good heart, is clever and beautiful, whoever marries you will be very fortunate!" She said with a light smile: "Tell that stinky little boy, if he can't even pass the imperial examination, don't think about having ideas about our family's painting screen."

  "Miss, you're teasing me again..." The screen's body twisted into a knot, and she said in a spoiled tone: "I'm still young."

  "Alright, I won't say anything more." Miss Yin released her hand and gazed out the window at the flowering tree. She stretched her waist elegantly, a pose that left even the painting screen stunned, thinking: "Miss is much prettier than me." Then she heard Miss Yin say softly: "This vase has too small an opening, the iron tongs can't fit inside; it's also too thin and fragile, can't withstand being tapped with a metal rod, either way it won't do."

  Jian Hua's expression turned gloomy, and Miss Yin comforted him in a soft voice: "Our family doesn't have a gold and silver shop, we're really not experts in these things. Maybe they'll invite a master craftsman who can solve this problem."

  "But he's just a poor young man, where can he go to find skilled craftsmen?" Hua Ping said with a worried expression.

  "You can rest assured." Miss Yin said with a determined smile: "I heard that Zhang County Magistrate has been carrying a bottle around for the past two days, and it's clear that Master Know-County is going to help out."

  "Really?" The painter's screen finally ignited a glimmer of hope, excitedly asking: "They must be able to solve it, right?"

  Miss Yin thought for a moment and nodded her head, of course with more comforting elements.

  Magistrate Li was indeed going to help, which had nothing to do with his being a traditionalist, but purely for his own sake - because the Prefect's term of office was about to be 'nine years full'... The Ming Dynasty implemented a performance appraisal method for officials: 'three-year initial examination, six-year re-examination, and nine-year full examination'. Generally, if one completed nine years without errors, they would be promoted by one level. If they received an excellent evaluation, they would be promoted by two levels. Of course, if they were not good at dealing with people and got a poor evaluation, they would be demoted instead.

  Anyway, the governor is about to move his nest. According to convention, he will recommend a suitable candidate at the end of his job transfer report, although the final decision still rests with the imperial court. However, the current situation is special, as long as you have good connections, **you can get the final appointment without leaving ten**.

  Hearing the words of Magistrate He, I was preparing to choose one to go up between him and Lü Zhongyuan...