After waiting for a while and finding that no one had come, he seemed to have an awl under his buttocks, unable to sit still. He wanted to get up and look around, but was also eyeing the snacks and fruits on the table, calculating whether to eat a couple more pieces. His body twisted and turned, extremely restless.
Ye Hongsheng’s face had darkened to the color of a wok bottom.
He looked at his mother with an accusing gaze.
Old Madam Ye’s face flushed red, and she mumbled that when she had met him earlier, he had seemed quite good, not like this. But she also knew it wasn’t appropriate to speak aloud now.
She looked sheepishly at Ye Yaming.
Ye Yaming beckoned to Zan’er. When he came over, she whispered, “Ask him to leave. Give him fifteen taels of silver so he can rent a place and start a small business.”
With these fifteen taels, Wang Fusheng could move out from his brother and sister-in-law’s place, use it as capital to start a small business, or use it as a betrothal gift to marry a wife. As she spoke, she gestured to Bai Rui, who took fifteen taels in banknotes from her bosom and handed them to Zan’er. Zan’er took the banknotes and left.
Soon after, Zan’er’s figure appeared outside the window.
He said, “Young Master Wang, my young miss is busy and truly cannot spare the time to come over. We’ve troubled you to come here, and we sincerely apologize.”
He handed over the banknote, “This is fifteen taels. My young miss says you can use this silver to rent a place and start a small business.”
Wang Fusheng was stunned for a moment, stood up, and seemed at a loss.
“This… this…” he looked at the banknote and then at Zan’er, “Did your young miss not find me suitable?”
Zan’er had been in the room earlier and had observed all the masters’ expressions. Although the masters hadn’t explicitly said anything, he understood what they meant, especially since the young miss was giving these fifteen taels of silver, which, besides preventing Wang Fusheng from speaking recklessly outside, was also a way of expressing apology.
But he hadn’t expected Wang Fusheng to ask so bluntly.
He was troubled for a moment, then said, “This matter… we’ll discuss it later, hehe, we’ll discuss it later.”
Wang Fusheng looked at the banknote in Zan’er’s hand, seeming to struggle for a moment, then finally made up his mind, reached out to take the banknote, and said, “Please thank your young miss for me. Tell her not to worry, I absolutely won’t speak carelessly outside.”
Zan’er breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Then shall I see you out?”
Wang Fusheng nodded, carefully folded the banknote and put it in his bosom, then followed Zan’er out.
After they had gone far, before Old Madam Ye could explain to Ye Hongsheng, Ye Yaming spoke first, “Grandmother, thank you. This Wang Fusheng is indeed not bad.”
“Ah?” Old Madam Ye was stunned.
Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng also looked at Ye Yaming in surprise.
Had the fifteen taels just now not been a rejection, but an indication that she liked him and wanted him to establish himself before marriage?
“Wang Fusheng was born in such a family and hasn’t received much education. His every gesture is petty, and he lacks confidence in his speech and actions, so naturally he’s timid. This is all normal.”
“If we let him come to the Ye family to be a master for a period, and give him several dozen or a hundred taels of silver to spend each month, within a year, he would be very different.”
Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng both looked at Ye Yaming with complex expressions.
Several dozen or a hundred taels? They didn’t even have that much.
Was their granddaughter (daughter) planning to raise a kept man with large amounts of money?
The others also had various expressions.
Ye Yaming continued, “And after a year, what he will become, whether he will still have his current simplicity, whether he will become domineering towards the household servants, whether he will become corpulent, whether he will no longer be satisfied with just having enough to eat and wear but will have higher demands. Whether he will learn to flirt with maids due to daily idleness, whether he will demand to participate in business—these are all unpredictable matters.”
She smiled, “Not only can we not predict, but I think even Wang Fusheng himself cannot predict.”
These words of Ye Yaming’s were not only spoken for the three elders to hear; she was also organizing her thoughts.
She had been thinking wrong before.
At that time, she had only considered what kind of marriage would be most beneficial to herself without considering specific candidates and specific matters. She thought that by selecting carefully and taking three years, she would surely find a suitable person.
But today, Wang Fusheng had made her completely face reality.
Old Madam Ye had spent so much time and effort, and had finally selected Wang Fusheng, who was already the best among a hundred candidates. So even if more time was spent later, those selected would be nothing more than second or third Wang Fushengs.
Those willing to become sons-in-law in a merchant family all had these characteristics: poor, living at the bottom of society, illiterate, uncultured, shallow in knowledge, and petty. As for living habits, there was even less to say—not brushing teeth and not bathing regularly were the norm.
This couldn’t be blamed on them. Anyone living in such conditions would be the same.
Even if there were one or two outstanding individuals, they could rise on their own and make a career for themselves. How could they possibly be willing to come to the Ye family as a son-in-law?
In her previous life, she hadn’t approved of so many elites and had died alone. In this life, to have to submit to such a person, how could she be willing?
Additionally, people change. Why do so many wealthy people look down on the nouveau riche? It’s because poor people who suddenly become rich haven’t adjusted their thinking and behavioral habits, and their mentality becomes unstable.
When food and clothing become trivial issues, if Wang Fusheng were to see that men outside could have three wives and four concubines, could all accomplish great things, would he also have such thoughts? If his desires couldn’t be satisfied, would his psychology become distorted?
It wasn’t that Ye Yaming was being too pessimistic in her thinking, always imagining the worst scenarios. It was because in her past life, she had seen too many examples of girls in second-generation circles being deceived by phoenix men who eventually brought disaster into their homes.
Men always felt they were superior to women, and male overconfidence was common.
The three elders were silent.
They were all people with life experience and knew that Ye Yaming had hit the mark.
For instance, when the Song family mother and son were being helped by them, they were grateful to the point of tears. But later, as Song Yifeng progressed in the imperial examinations, his mentality underwent a huge change.
And the changes in Wang Fusheng, they could all anticipate.
“Then what should we do?” Ye Hongsheng asked the soul-searching question.
Given how much the old master and old madam valued Ye Yaming, he believed that Wang Fusheng was carefully selected by the two elders.
Even with such careful selection, this was the kind of person they ended up with. Not to mention whether he was worthy or not—to put it bluntly, Wang Fusheng’s conditions and qualities in various aspects were not even as good as the Ye family’s household-born servants.
Ye Yaming sighed deeply, “I’m only fifteen, there’s no rush. Let’s see what happens.”
Ye Hongsheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Ming’er, we don’t have to bring in a son-in-law through marriage.”
Everyone looked at him.
Ye Hongsheng continued, “To let you marry such a person, it pains my heart. Not all scholars are like Song Yifeng. If you’re willing to marry out, it’s not difficult to choose a scholar. We don’t have to select a Juren; a Xiucai would be fine too. After all, we don’t expect him to rise to prominence or bring any benefits to the Ye family. As long as he’s a decent person and treats you well, that’s enough.”