Chapter Nineteenth: The Young Man Settles Accounts

  First of all, correct the mistake. Yesterday, I indeed wrote uncle as aunt's husband due to excessive excitement upon seeing the female lead, which led to a careless mistake. It has been revised now, thank you and apologize for that.

  After playing a few rounds, Fan Xian's luck wasn't great, and he was also genuinely annoyed at having to be so affectionate with Madame Liu on the surface, so he gave up his seat and patted Fan Siyan.

  Fan Siyan looked at his father with a hint of fear, and Shi Nanbo nodded slightly. He was overjoyed in his heart, called out softly, and jumped onto the stool.

  The child usually cowers in front of his father and is forced to study after dinner, let alone being allowed to gamble. He knows that he can sit at the table today because his father is in a good mood and wants to give Fan Xian some face, so Fan Siyan's impression of this brother from Danzhou has improved a lot.

  Fan Xian went to the courtyard and strolled around, when he returned to the flower hall, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at the table, only to find that Fan Siyan had a pile of copper coins in front of him, while the other three families were almost bankrupt.

  Thinking of the scene in the carriage during the day, Fan Xian finally discovered that his seemingly somewhat unsavory younger brother was actually quite talented when it came to making money.

  He curiously stood behind Fan Sichen, carefully observing how this twelve-year-old boy was operating. After watching for a while, he couldn't help but feel a deep respect, seeing that the young boy's hands were extremely agile, and could actually use one hand to play cards, grab cards, touch cards, lay down cards, hit cards, eat cards, and win cards...while the other hand was placed on an abacus, with five chubby fingers moving the beads back and forth with a clicking sound.

  Hu is all about Fan Siyan Hu, and the method of counting money is very complicated, so the calculation of money is also done by Fan Siyan. Fan Xian watched from the side, always feeling that this kid can calculate more money, no wonder there are so many copper coins piled up in front of him.

  Liu's expression didn't change, but she secretly sighed and felt that her son's greedy appearance had been seen by Fan Xian, which would only make the other party more confident.

  She had no idea of the shock in Fan Xian's heart, because at this moment, he couldn't see any arrogance or recklessness on Fan Siyan's face, only a resolute and serious light that only an "idealist" could have.

  Fan Xian was certain that the young man in front of him would become a formidable figure if given the opportunity to develop. However, he also knew that in Qing Guo, the only way to stand out was through the imperial examination and becoming an official. Even if Fan Siyan were to inherit a title due to his family background, it was still unlikely for him to be granted a real position with his current level of knowledge. No wonder Tong Zi Jing said that Liu's attitude towards this son was one of both hatred and pain.

  Merchants in this era are still undervalued. The Ministry of Revenue is one thing, the imperial family's business is another, but private merchants are a different story altogether.

  The game ended quickly, and Nan Bei Chao Fan Jian left the seat with no expression. This kind of harmonious family gathering didn't fit his personality to begin with, but for some reason, today was a bit different from usual. He only glanced at Fan Xian when he left.

  Fan Xian read something from his father's gaze, it seemed that shaking off the guards assigned by his father during the day made him somewhat unhappy. Fan Xian smiled and didn't respond to anything, after all he was a person who disliked being followed, if so, then it would be better to clarify this point with action earlier.

  Liu looked at her son with a hint of tenderness and helplessness in her eyes, but the emotion was fleeting. She stood up politely and bid farewell to Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo before leaving with her husband. The servants in the Liu manor knew that every night before bed, Master Liu liked to drink a cup of fruit juice, which was personally made by Liu herself to help him fall asleep after a long day of working at the Ministry of Revenue.

  Fan Xian furrowed his brow, he had originally wanted to talk to his father about something, but it seemed that would have to wait. Turning around, he saw Fan Si Ran still lying on the table counting money and curiously asked: "Why haven't you put the money away yet, what are you counting?"

  Ruo Ruo had been playing cards for a while and was getting a bit tired, so she lightly exercised her wrists and smiled as she said: "He's like that, during the New Year's festival when there are guests coming over, Father will let him play for a bit. However, every time he wins some copper coins, he's not allowed to keep them. He says that a real man shouldn't be greedy for such small gains. Ruo Er doesn't dare go against Father's wishes, but each time she makes sure to remember how much she won and says that in the future she'll slowly settle accounts with us."

  Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat as he picked up on some other meaning behind the words "settle accounts". He calmed himself down and smiled, asking: "Si Cheng, I see you're skilled at calculations. Do you know what you want to do when you grow up?"

  At a young age, Fan Xian was very focused when keeping accounts, not distracted by anything else. When he heard someone ask him a question, he wouldn't even respond. Fan Ruoruo thought to herself that her brother didn't know about her younger brother's temperament and was worried that he would get upset, so she prepared to help explain things. But then she saw Fan Xian smiling all over his face, with a hint of admiration as he looked at the young boy keeping accounts by the table.

  After finishing the account, Fan Siyan seemed to have just thought of the question that Fan Xian had asked earlier. He rubbed his head, furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before saying: "Of course it's reading books and becoming an official, bringing glory to our ancestors."

  Fan Xian smiled and looked at him, asking: "Is it really like this?"

  Fan Siyan's energy was immediately drained, and he lay on the table with a weak voice: "Don't say that, Mother will hear it, and I'll get another good beating."

  "There are only us three siblings here, what's the harm in speaking your mind?" Fan Xian said with a smile.

  This sentence fell into Fan Siyan's ears, but it gave him a different feeling. He grew up in the fearful eyes of his subordinates since he was a child. Generally, the children of officials are strict with their fathers and kind with their mothers, but he was strict with both his father and mother. Later, his father let his sister take care of him, but unexpectedly, his sister was even stricter, so Fan Siyan was not unfamiliar with this feeling of being respectful to his brother, but he had never experienced the feeling of having a friendly older brother.

  At this time, when he heard the three words of true heart, Fan Siyan was a little dazed. The "brother" who was four years older than himself seemed not to be so scary after all, unlike what his mother said, but rather somewhat familiar.

  "I... I like making money."

  "Merchants are always after profit, what's good about that?" Fan Ruo Rou frowned and lectured.

  Fan Xian looked at his sister with extreme disapproval, feeling a little disappointed in his heart. He thought that this girl had been corresponding with him for many years, but she still had such an old-fashioned and stubborn idea. Being glared at by him, Ruo Ruo's heart tightened, knowing that she had misspoken, and quickly shut her mouth without saying another word.

  Fan Xian smiled and looked at Fan Siyan, saying: "Whatever it is, as long as you do well, making money is the same, I support you."

  "It's useless for you to support me." Fan Siyan sighed and said: "It's only okay if Father says so."

  "Sneakily do it." Fan Xian tempted him like a devil.

  Fan Siyan's spirit was lifted, and he immediately thought of something. He said enthusiastically: "Brother, first give me the manuscript of that book, I have a way to sell it for a high price." His tone when calling him brother was completely natural.

  Fan Xian was taken aback and said: "Is it a bit slow to make money like this?"

  "Are you short of money?" Fan Siyan looked at him with disdain. "Just trying it out."

  He found out that this kid actually dared to look down on himself, Fan Xian got angry and shouted: "If you want to take the goods, first show me a copy of your plan book!"