Seeing him with his head hanging low, Yang Chuxia initially wanted to mock him a little, but then thought better of it.
She consoled, "Son, donât be discouraged. Youâre already quite amazing compared to other kids your age. Youâve done really well."
Yangyang chimed in from the side, "Oh mother, you just want to say that brother is already more capable than I am, right? Why pretend weâre the same? Weâre the same age, after all."
Hearing this, Yang Chuxia shot a quick glance over, scaring him so much that he hid behind Ye Ziâan, "Oh my, Dad, Motherâs gaze is really sharp."
Ye Ziâan reached out and tapped the little head on his shoulder, "You and your slick tongue!"
"But Mom, just now you said I was stupid!" Lele argued with Yang Chuxia without any reservation, "Youâve called me stupid several times."
"Ahem..." That was awkward, Yang Chuxia didnât expect that the shop belonged to her son, nor did she expect him to be even more impressive. "Oh son, I didnât know that shop was yours. If I knew, I definitely wouldnât have said that."
"..." Lele thought, youâd better have not said that at all.
"Uncle Ye Er, quickly have someone close the shop, just say that todayâs stock is sold out, and by the way, ask how many were sold today and see how much silver I missed out on."
"Yes!" Ye Er also didnât understand much about business, he just did whatever Lele told him to do.
"Son, how much inventory do you have in total?" Yang Chuxiaâs eyes sparkled as she asked.
"About a few thousand sheets." At this moment, Lele was incredibly impressed with his mother, realizing that she truly had a knack for business, so he answered without holding back.
"How much did you buy them for each?" Yang Chuxia asked.
"Sheep leather is cheap, a few taels of silver, there are many people raising them in that northwest corner, and I hear that over there, the pastures have been bountiful in recent years, livestock thriving, and every year there are plenty left unsold, so theyâre cheap. The fox pelts are wild, a bit more expensive at twenty taels, but there arenât many of those."
Yang Chuxia was surprised by how cheap they were, but even so, she calculated that even if cheap, thousands would cost quite a lot of silver.
"Come here, son!" Yang Chuxia beckoned to Lele.
When Lele came up to her, Yang Chuxia held him tightly, "Hehe, son, tell me what role you took on this time?"
Lele realized he was in trouble, his secret was out!
"Hehe, donât pretend you didnât do anything," Yang Chuxia said, "The northeast is close so I wonât mention it, but the northwest is quite far, it must take months to bring goods from there to the Capital City. I just feel this plan started even earlier than when you traded herbs. Combining both deals, one piece of jade wouldnât cover the cost. Come, tell your mother where the moneyâs coming from?"
"Mother, donât you trust me?" Lele didnât want to say, so he planned to play the sympathy card.
"Hehe, son, donât act so wronged." Yang Chuxia patted his head, "I just want to check if your money comes from a legitimate source. Now, spill it!"
Knowing that he couldnât avoid confession, Lele glanced over at Ye Ziâan, hoping heâd plead on his behalf, but his father didnât even acknowledge him.
"Alright, Iâll tell!" Lele raised his hand in surrender, "I mortgaged that estate in my name at the bank, and also sold a few black pearls."
"..."
For a long time, Yang Chuxia didnât speak, but Lele noticed his motherâs face turning green.
The estate near Funan Prefecture City that Lele mortgaged was known to Yang Chuxia. Last year, for the childrenâs birthday, she gifted an estate to both kids. As for the black pearls, when he was alone in the Capital City back then, the family sent him several pearls. Since he didnât use them, and Yang Chuxia didnât take them back, she had forgotten he still had them until he mentioned it now.