After reading the post Luo Fengming brought her, she pondered for a moment and had a general idea of what was going on.
Xu Yan was sensible enough to know that the invitation should be sent to the Luo family.
----2018/3/8 2:08:43|51764876----
40. Chapter Forty
There was no news coming back from Linchuan, and Luo Cuiwei didn't bother to inquire about it, focusing instead on handling matters at home.
In this way, Luo Cuiwei and Luo Fengming spent nearly ten days, working until mid-March, and finally managed to settle the Luo family's affairs for the whole year.
Because they abandoned the trade route from Songyuan to the north this year, the Luo family lost a significant source of profit. The two siblings then discussed that Luo Fengming would personally go south, firstly to collect the rent owed by the tenant farmers in the south last year, and secondly to see if they could find new trade routes and opportunities in the south.
On this day, Luo Cuizhen was on holiday at the academy. After returning home and having lunch with her older brother and sister, she saw them heading to the study again, so she reluctantly followed them closely.
"Sister, I know where I went wrong," Luo Cuizhen said bitterly, clutching Luo Cuiwei's clothes at the back. "Really, I've figured it out. Please let me explain."
Luo Fengming glanced at his sister sympathetically, cleared his throat, and didn't dare to speak up.
He didn't know what had happened between his younger sister and older sister, only that things had become very strange between the two sisters ever since they returned from Quanshan in February.
"Let go," Luo Cuiwei swatted her hand away, pulled her light gauze robe tighter around her, "You two come in."
In fact, Luo Cuiwei had always been close to her younger brother and sister. Originally, the matter was not a big deal, and after so many days, her anger towards Luo Cuizhen had subsided, and she was finally able to talk to her calmly.
The three of them entered the study together. Luo Cuiwei sat lazily in the chair behind the desk, half-closing her eyes as she looked at her younger brother and sister sitting side by side opposite her.
Luo Cuizhen honestly recounted what happened on her last day in Quanshan, how worried her elder sister would lose the family headship order because of her marriage, and how she went to ask Xu Yan to persuade her elder sister. She explained everything clearly.
“I was really worried about you back then, afraid you'd get hurt,” Luo Cuizhen said hastily with a smile, tears welling up in her eyes again. “I was afraid you'd think I was too young and immature, and that you wouldn't listen to what I said, so I went to find you…”
She didn't dare mention Xu Yan's name anymore.
Luo Cuiwei nodded calmly, but before she could speak, Luo Fengming lightly slapped his sister on the back of the head.
"You're so stupid! Why are you dragging outsiders into our family affairs? Besides, back then, my sister was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and she was able to take on the responsibility in a crisis and single-handedly keep our family in check; while Xu Yan is just stuck in the small pond of the Xu family, and after all these years, he's barely holding onto his position as a successor! With these two comparisons, do you still think my sister's brain isn't as sharp as his?"
Luo Fengming only officially began to get involved in the family business the year Luo Huai was injured.
In other words, Luo Cuiwei was the one who brought him into the business world, so his respect and trust for her was almost blind.
Luo Cuizhen was embarrassed by the scolding, her round face turned bright red, but surprisingly she didn't talk back.
“I believe you meant well and were worried about me,” Luo Cuiwei tapped the table with her knuckles, looked into her sister’s eyes, and spoke in a calm and dignified tone, not at all like she was talking to a child. “So I didn’t really intend to hold it against you for going to Xu Yan to help persuade me.”
Luo Cuizhen's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.
“Your mother always hoped that you would study hard, take the imperial examinations, and pursue a career in government. She didn’t want you to get involved in the family business, so there are many things that no one has told you,” Luo Cuiwei said with a soft laugh. “When I temporarily took over as head of the family, it was truly temporary. The successor to this position should have been chosen from among Aunt Bibo, Luo Fengming, and you.”
She and Luo Huai had reached a consensus on this matter a long time ago.
She had followed Luo Huai around the country since she was a child, and Luo Huai always indulged and went along with her in everything, which fostered her arrogant, willful and domineering side.
After all, in a merchant family, harmony is the ultimate goal for making money. Her domineering nature makes it too easy for her to offend people, and she is not the best candidate to take charge.
If Luo Huai's injury hadn't happened so suddenly, Luo Fengming was still young, Luo Cuizhen was still a child, and Luo Bibo hadn't been so engrossed in woodblock printing that he couldn't get up to speed with the Luo family's business in a short time, this family's business would have had absolutely nothing to do with Luo Cuiwei.
“I was originally just a transitional figure connecting the past and the future, so there is nothing I will lose. Luo Cuizhen, you are overthinking it.”
Luo Cuizhen had been completely unaware of this matter before, so she could only listen blankly, unable to utter a single word.
Although Luo Fengming knew about this, things were different now. He felt that after these past few years, his sister's personality had become much more tactful and restrained than before. If she were to take charge of the household, she would be able to win people's respect.
So he blurted out, "But my sister has been like this all these years..."
"That was all forced upon me by circumstances. I wasn't entirely willing, nor was I as adept as others might think. Haven't you seen me waiting for you to grow up?" Luo Cui smiled and waved her hand, interrupting him.
“I’ve never had your good temper when dealing with outsiders. I’ve long been impatient with many of their annoyances, so it’s only natural that you should take on those burdens.”
She then looked at Luo Cuizhen, "Actually, what really made me angry back then wasn't that you went to Xu Yan to persuade me, but that you said you were worried that if I chose the wrong person and lost the family head's order, I would have nothing in the future."
Luo Cuizhen was rubbing her teary eyes when Luo Fengming slapped the back of her head again, this time harder than before.
She glared angrily at her brother, only to find his gaze even fiercer than hers: "Whether you married into the family or not, whether you chose the wrong person or not, whether you hold the family head's authority or not, you are still the eldest daughter of the Luo family! Even though you don't hold the family head's authority now, you still receive dividends from the family every year, just like Aunt Bibo! The land deeds to this mansion all belong to you, sister. She can come back whenever she wants, and she can kick you out to beg for food whenever she wants!"
The eldest daughter of the Luo family will never be penniless, because she can always go home.
“Aunt Bibo clearly has no intention of taking over the family business. If you don’t make any big mistakes, the future head of the family will definitely be one of you two.” Luo Cuiwei pointed at her younger siblings with her index finger, her smile sly.
"On the day you and His Highness went to the Imperial Clan Court to submit the marriage certificate, Father summoned me for a talk." Luo Fengming nodded solemnly.
"Father said that no matter who is in charge in the future, the Luo family in Jingxi must be your source of strength. You can marry whoever you like; if you don't like them in the future, you can divorce and remarry, or go home and live a leisurely life, it's all up to you."
Luo Cuizhen, looking bewildered, hurriedly nodded vigorously in agreement.
“We, the merchants’ community, don’t make empty promises,” Luo Cuiwei said, raising her chin slightly and smiling brightly. “You two will write me a written agreement.”
This is why Luo Cuiwei is never afraid of trouble.
It was also because she acted impulsively and agreed to Yun Lie's request so hastily.
Because she knew very well how much her father loved her.
This allowed her to face her own feelings without the hesitation that ordinary, helpless young ladies in their boudoirs usually do.
She can like someone freely, boldly, even recklessly, without reservation, and she's not afraid even if she's unlucky and makes a mistake.