During the busy period at the bookstore, Song Anhao walked briskly, as if he had wind - fire wheels under his feet.
Seeing him in a hurry, even having to eat breakfast on the go, Song Qiming couldn't help asking, "Is the bookstore very busy recently?"
Song Shixue smiled with a wonton in her mouth.
"He calculates how much silver he has earned from the new orders in front of me every night. He's having so much fun that he doesn't want to leave."
Song Qiming put down his chopsticks.
Although he had no objections to Song Jinzhao's decision to train Song Anhao in business, he couldn't help but worry.
"He liked shiny gemstones and beads when he was a child. Later, he liked anything valuable and wouldn't let go of them."
"Is he a bit too obsessed with making money?"
Song Jinzhao looked at Song Qiming with a smile. "Who in the world doesn't like gold and silver treasures? When the government yamen was short of money, you couldn't eat or sleep well. Now do you think merchants have a strong smell of money?"
The distressed look on Song Qiming's face disappeared in an instant, and he shook his head like a rattle.
"Of course not. I just think Anhao is young and his mind is not yet settled. If he values money too much and incurs a loss one day, he will be extremely sad."
His eldest sister did small business to support herself and her two younger siblings, and even the money for his own schooling was earned from setting up a stall. How could he say that doing business was bad?
Swallowing the wonton in her mouth, Song Shixue guessed, "Brother, are you worried because Anhao hasn't gone to the academy for half a month?"
Caught out, Song Qiming averted their gazes and blinked.
"I just think that even if he doesn't take the imperial examinations, he should read more books."
"He has spent too little time on reading these days."
Song Jinzhao said, "Don't you assign him homework every day and check it on time?"
Song Qiming shook his head dejectedly and sighed.
"Although he has completed the homework on time and made progress, it's not as significant as before."
Song Shixue complained, "It's because you have too high requirements. I think his work is quite good. The academy has a monthly small exam. How about waiting for the results of this exam to come out and then seeing?"
"He finally managed to build up the bookstore. If you ask him to focus on his studies now, he will definitely be reluctant."
Song Jinzhao nodded in agreement. "Let's do it like this." She had confidence in Song Anhao.
Seeing that both of them said so, Song Qiming had no choice but to give up.
When he picked up his official hat and went out, Song Shixue lowered her voice and tilted her head towards Song Jinzhao.
"Brother really wants Anhao to take the imperial examinations in his heart, so he has such high requirements for him."
The maid handed over a warm handkerchief.
While wiping her hands, Song Jinzhao said, "It doesn't matter what he wants. This child is naturally fond of doing business and making money."
"However, knowledge is never enough. It's okay for Qiming to be strict."
Song Shixue blinked and happily went out to the medical clinic.
Half an hour later, Song Jinzhao rode a horse and appeared at the entrance of the coal mine. Qingshuang rushed over to greet her.
As Song Jinzhao walked towards the workshop, she asked, "How many warehouses have been filled?"
Qingshuang replied, "The second warehouse will be filled today."
As she walked into the workshop, the temperature suddenly rose.
It had started to blow the autumn wind outside, but inside, with hundreds of earthen kilns burning together, the temperature was so high that people would sweat. Any strong man pulled out at random was sweating profusely.
After randomly inspecting an earthen kiln, Song Jinzhao came to the warehouse where the smokeless coal was stored.
The guard at the door opened the iron gate with a key. Looking up, the coal inside was piled up higher than a mountain.
"With two warehouses of coal, the people in Suining Prefecture can use it for one winter. How long will it take for the newly dug earthen kilns to be completed?"
"Two hundred have already been dug, and the rest will be all completed in three days." Qingshuang said in an unhurried tone.
With the tight schedule, she personally inquired about the progress of all the work at the coal mine twice a day and knew everything clearly.
Song Jinzhao stopped and looked at her. "Issue the recruitment notice for the second round in advance so that the people in the surrounding counties of Suining City will also know about it."
