Zi Qing couldn't help but ask, pulling Zi Fu along: "Big brother, if I were to sell the mahjong gameplay and style to the Wen family, how much silver would be a suitable price?"

  Zi Fu looked at her for a long time, rubbed Zi Qing's hair and said: "How did your brain grow? What can you think of to exchange silver? However, what you said is also right. It will be passed on sooner or later. Why not secretly earn some money? But why did you think of the Wen family?"

  "Big brother, among the people I know, only Wen's family has some power, others I don't know at all. If we randomly find someone, who knows if they're reliable or not? Besides, our family and Wen's family have been dealing with each other for many years, their mouths are very tight, I don't want outsiders to know that it was leaked from our family, in case we get into unnecessary trouble."

  "What you said makes some sense. I heard from Zi Yu that you've been in contact with the young servant of the Wen family, and Mother said it seems like you're partnering up to do some business together. What's going on? Why have you never told me about this?"

  "Big brother, I just let her sell some embroidery, he's doing business with foreigners in Guangzhou and they offer a higher price. Don't listen to Zi Yu's nonsense, she's so young, what does she know?"

  "Qing'er, you're not young anymore. That kid is an outsider after all. Big brother is worried about you. If you need silver, you can tell mother. Besides, you don't go out much, what's the use of having so much silver?"

  "Big brother, who would complain about having too much silver? Don't worry, I have it all figured out in my mind. At most, I promise you that from now on, I'll reduce my interactions with them. However, this matter is still something I want to see through, after all, I've put so much thought into it. You also know that I don't often go out, especially not alone. Just help me think about it, roughly how much silver can we sell?"

  "Hmm. Big brother, think about it, big brother has never done business before, at least you should be able to get 500 taels. There are many idle rich ladies and young misses in wealthy families, just right for entertainment. You use red wood to make them, one pair for two silver coins is the minimum. Or you can also cooperate with them, ask for a 20% stake or something."

  "Brother, I know. I'm too lazy to deal with them, it's better to settle things once and for all. Brother, there's also a card game that Westerners play, Lin Kangping has mentioned it before, next time ask a Westerner to bring some back."

  Zi Fu had just calmed down after hearing the previous sentence, but then he heard the next one and furrowed his brow to ask: "Didn't you promise me it was the last time? Why are you speaking without keeping your word again?"

  The child blushed and stuck out his tongue, saying "I misspoke, big brother," then ran off.

  On the twenty-eighth day of the first month, Zhou Zhanggui came to fetch the dishes himself and said that his master was at home today and could meet Zi Qing. Zi Qing told Shen Shi about it, but Shen Shi was a bit uneasy and wanted to go with her personally. However, there was also Zi Yu at home, and she couldn't leave Zi Yu alone in the house. Taking Zi Yu along would be inconvenient, so after some thought, Shen Shi said: "Why don't you go next time, and have your father accompany you?"

  Ziying felt a bit embarrassed, the master of a wealthy family was not so free to make an appointment, who knows when they would have to wait until next time, besides, Ziying wanted to use this silver for investment. Seeing that Ziying was not pleased, Shen Shi thought for a moment and said: "Why don't we send Ziyu to your father's school, and I'll accompany you on this trip."

  "Never mind, I'll see Miss Zi Qing home myself. We've known each other for years, surely you trust me?"

  Ziying repeatedly assured that after finishing business, he would return home. Only then did the Shen family let him go, and Ziying brought mahjong to follow Zhou Zhanggui onto the carriage.

  This time, I went to the Wen family's house. Ziqing was still in awe of such a luxurious mansion for the first time, but having seen many on TV and visited the Forbidden City before, it wasn't that surprising. Ziqing mainly focused her attention on the structure of the house and the layout of the garden. The houses of rich people are just large in area. Walking through the corridor, everything in sight was flowers and grass. The main building was a traditional Jiangnan-style architecture, slightly taller than ordinary houses, with several layers, and a large courtyard in the center. There was a pond with rain flower stones and golden fish, as well as a few water lilies. The hall had a row of intricately carved high-back chairs, simple yet thick, seemingly made of nanmu wood, inlaid with cloud-patterned stone, clearly not an ordinary product.

  Zi Qing stopped sizing up the room as she saw the maidservants flitting about, but she didn't pay much attention to the furnishings in the room. She also didn't notice the astonished glances from others. What Zi Qing didn't know was that today was a special arrangement made by Old Man Wen to bring her to the Wen household. Otherwise, with his status, how could he have let Zi Qing, a village girl, easily enter the Wen household's main gate? Firstly, Madame Wen wanted to meet Zi Qing out of curiosity and see what kind of country bumpkin had captivated her precious son's eyes. Secondly, she wanted to let Zi Qing experience true wealth and grandeur, then retreat in defeat. In their minds, they always thought it was Zi Qing who had entwined herself around Wen San, after all, there were many examples like this, and the maidservants at home were always daydreaming about climbing into the master's bed. How could a country bumpkin have seen much of the world? Wouldn't she be blinded by wealth and luxury early on? Only they never thought that Zi Qing had no interest in the Wen household whatsoever.

  Without desires, one is strong. Therefore, Zi Qing was very calm when she saw the people from the Wen family. After greeting them respectfully, Zi Qing opened the small wooden box in her hand and asked Old Man Wen to find three people to come over, saying that she would teach them a new game. Completely ignoring the fact that the old master and mistress of the Wen family were looking at her with a critical eye.

  "Isn't this dominoes? How come there are so many tiles?" asked Mr. Wen.

  "Of course it's not dominoes, if it were dominoes I wouldn't have come to find you. This is called mahjong, it's played by four people at a table, with more tiles than dominoes, but more interesting than dominoes. It evolved from dominoes. We also learned about this game through coincidence and luck, and thought we could use it to make some money. Sir, I still have that request, I hope outsiders won't know it came from my family."

  Then Zi Qing, Mr. Wen and his wife, as well as a woman who looked like Mrs. Wen, sat down at the table. Zi Qing spoke up, taking out a few copper coins, saying: "The stakes can be big or small, I'll just make it interesting."

  After playing for two rounds, Zi Qing saw that everyone had learned it and asked: "Master Dong, can this business still be done?"

  "I'm considering it, but I'd like to know your thoughts first."

  "For many years, the Wen family has been kind to us. I'm a straightforward person, one price, one thousand two silver coins. You can make the mahjong more exquisite, such as using ivory or jade, which will make it look high-end. Rich ladies like your wife won't mind this small amount of money. In Beijing, provincial cities, and Anzhou City, invite a few familiar ladies to play together, it's a great way to socialize and kill time, why not? I'm afraid that when the time comes, wealthy families in the city will be searching everywhere for this mahjong, and it will spread quickly. Of course, I won't publicize it on my end." Zi Qing said.

  Mr. Wen thought for about ten minutes, and seemed to ask casually: "A clever woman like you, I don't know who will be lucky enough to get her in the future? How old are you this year? Madam, why not take a look around you to see if there's a suitable family?"

  "Zi Qing is only thirteen years old this year, and she has already thanked the master and mistress. However, the people the mistress knows are all from wealthy and noble families, so how can I, a country girl, be on the same level as them? It would be embarrassing for me to be rejected by their family. My mother often tells me that there is a certain reason why people should find their own position in life, and that things that don't suit you will not last long or bring happiness even if you force it." Zi Qing was clever and guessed the meaning behind the Wen family's words, so she intentionally said this to test them.

  As expected, Mr. Wen and his wife exchanged a smile when they heard this, both of them delighted. Mr. Wen said: "I didn't expect your mother to be so old-fashioned, I just casually mentioned it, but she gave me a long-winded speech. Wife, it seems we'd better not bother with this anymore, since they don't appreciate it."

  "Zi Qing has been too reckless, thank you, Master and Mistress."

  "Alright, we can't let you come all the way for nothing. The deal is still on, but as for the contract, I think we can skip it, don't you? Don't you trust us?"

  "It's not a matter of whether you believe it or not, but the rules can't be easily changed." Under Zi Qing's insistence, they wrote down that neither party was allowed to reveal the origin of Mahjong.

  Zi Qing signed the contract, and Madame Wen took out a silver note worth 1,000 taels from the inner chamber. Zi Qing packed up the mahjong set and left with it. Madame Wen was somewhat displeased and said: "It's not easy for us to get into the mood, and now you're taking this away, we'll have to wait several more days before we can play again?"

  Zi Qing quickly took out the paper with the pre-written number of cards, patterns and rules, saying: "My brothers at home worked hard to make this by themselves, it's really rough, putting it here is not suitable for you, I believe that now if Master gives an order, tonight you can play with it."

  Zi Qing bid farewell and left, while Zhou Zhuang was still waiting outside. Zi Qing didn't know that after she left, Wen Lao Ye said to his wife: "You've seen her, I told you before, she's a straightforward person, it's just a pity that her family background is not good enough. To make her a concubine would be a waste, and looking at her, she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be willing to be a concubine either. In the future, our household will be difficult to manage peacefully. Moreover, I think even if we wanted to make her a concubine, she might not be willing herself. There are few intelligent and strong-willed people who would be willing to become a concubine. I think this matter is probably just San Er's one-sided wish, let's not mention it again."

  "You wouldn't have said it, but you really can't tell that you're a country girl. This whole demeanor, this outfit, the way you speak, and this elegant temperament, this face and skin tone are all upper-class. I think being a concubine isn't bad either, only afraid that as you said, you're not willing to be one."

  "You didn't see her previous poor appearance, the first time I saw her was wearing a coarse cloth dress, with a rural bun hairstyle, but also had clear eyebrows and eyes, not timid when she saw me, those eyes were black and bright, showing cleverness, immediately attracted me, I thought it was very interesting."

  "Is this mahjong worth a thousand taels? Or did you intentionally give too much?"

  "Don't worry, I never do business at a loss. This deal will make our family a fortune. I was worried she'd ask for shares, but instead she asked for 1,000 silver coins. With her intelligence, she probably doesn't want to get too entangled with us either."

  Ziying returned home and didn't tell the Shens about the specific amount, mainly because she was afraid they would be scared off. Moreover, if the Shens knew there were so many silver taels, they would definitely take them back and not let Ziying keep them as her own private stash.