The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

As the days passed, Brother Chen was about to end.

Mr. Yang was very confident in Chen Ge'er and believed that if nothing unexpected happened, Chen Ge'er would definitely be the first in this county examination.

Xia Mianwan didn't have too many requirements for Chen Ge'er, but Chen Ge'er always had a serious face ever since Xia Shizheng came.

This little baby-like thing with a serious face is really unique... cute.

Xia Mianwan touched Chen Ge'er's head and asked, "Chen Ge'er, what's wrong? Why are you always so miserable? It's better for children to be carefree..."

Chen Ge'er grabbed Xia Mianwan's hand and said seriously, "Mother, I will grow up quickly and protect you."

Xia Mianwan was stunned for a moment, then a gentle smile filled the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, "Chen'er, be good, you don't have to rush to grow up, mother will be able to protect herself and you."

Brother Chen didn't say anything, just pursed his lips.

Since returning from the mountains, Chen Ge'er probably knew about his biological father. He didn't have any thoughts about his biological father. Since he had never raised him, he didn't consider him a biological father.

But…some of the things the Xia family said to him left a mark in his heart. If the Zheng family wanted to deal with his mother, or if the Zheng family wanted him and Yu Jie'er to return to their ancestral home, he thought about it for several nights and felt that he had no way out. Later, he understood that only with absolute strength could he protect the people he wanted to protect.

So, Chen Ge'er made up his mind to study hard and become a person that others would avoid.

Xia Mianwan saw that Chen Ge'er was unwilling to talk, so she didn't know what to say. She had never raised a child before, so she didn't know what children of this age would think. However, she felt that it was not a bad thing to have a goal and study, so she just let him be.

When Chen Ge'er went to take the Tongsheng examination, he was the youngest child in the entire examination room. Xia Mianwan sent Chen Ge'er into the examination room, and Chen Ge'er turned around and waved.

Xia Mianwan suddenly felt that her son had grown up.

……

After Chen Ge'er finished the exam, the results were indeed very good. Chen Ge'er was the first in this exam.

Mr. Yang was delighted and praised Chen Ge'er for being his most proud little disciple.

Although Chen Ge'er won the first place, he was not particularly happy. He nodded and continued to study.

Xia Mianwan looked at Chen Ge'er's serious face and thought of his cute appearance before. She felt a little disappointed...

Oops, I hope I won't develop a facial paralysis...

Chen Lingyi did well in the exam this time. When the results came out, he was ranked in the top three. He happily continued his studies with Chen Ge'er.

Some time passed, and Zhou Chengze was about to take the exam. Mrs. Zhou was always restless, so Xia Mianwan asked her to take a rest and come to the workshop after Zhou Chengze finished the exam.

……

After the wild grapes on the mountain ripened, Xia Mianwan's workshop officially began to operate.

For the first batch of wild grape picking, Xia Mianwan did not hire outsiders, but instead hired the children from Xiaowu's family to help pick the wild grapes. There were patches of wild grapes in the back hills of the valley, and the children all came from the mountains and were more familiar with the mountains.

As for the brewing of the first batch of wine, Xia Mianwan made inquiries from many sources and selected thirty women with average family backgrounds but decent character and signed contracts to work in different steps.

After the wild grapes were delivered to the workshop in donkey carts, "Xia Ji Winery" was officially opened.

It took about twenty days to successfully brew the first batch of wine. After the first batch of wine was ready, Xia Mianwan was the first to deliver it to Yang Mansion.

The Yang family held a grand poetry festival, and Mr. Yang invited many famous local talents to write poetry and taste wine.

Since the purpose was to taste wine and write poetry, it certainly couldn’t just be called wine. Xia Mianwan named this first batch of wine “Gu Meng”.

What was unexpected was that due to the frequent emergence of good poems in this poetry meeting, "Gu Meng" became an instant hit, even more popular than Xia Mianwan had expected. For a time, "Gu Meng" was in short supply in Yanzhou City, and all the scholars in Yanzhou were proud to drink the first batch of "Gu Meng".

Because of the brilliance of this "Gu Meng", and Zhou Chengze's achievement of first place in the provincial examination, he praised the "Gu Meng" highly. For a time, the reputation of "Gu Meng" became even greater, and many wine shops had asked when the second batch of "Gu Meng" would be brewed.

The wind of "old dreams" slowly blew towards the capital.

This was the second storybook that Xia Mianwan gave to Madam Yang. The name of the storybook was "Old Dream". It told the story of a talented man and a beautiful woman who met and became soulmates for the first time. However, after passing the imperial examination, the talented man was temporarily lost in this decadent life. When they met again, the beautiful woman had become someone else's wife, and the past events seemed like an old dream.

This time, Madam Yang still asked someone to find the Mahayana Opera Troupe, and the Fourth Master Hua performed with all his heart. The last scene was the Fourth Master Hua holding up the "Old Dream" wine and sighing about the passing years.

The performance of "Gu Meng" directly made the Mahayana Troupe the top troupe in the capital. "Gu Meng" attracted a lot of ladies and the "Gu Meng" wine also became famous in the capital.

At this time, Xia Mianwan picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Xia Shizheng.

During this period, no one from the Xia family came to visit Xia Mianwan. In addition to taking care of her son's wedding, Mrs. Xia was also kept at home by Xia Shizheng.

In this era, it is impossible for Xia Mianwan to completely break away from the Xia family, otherwise, the charge of being unfilial would be enough to get Xia Mianwan into trouble.

Xia Mianwan didn't care about her reputation in this era, but she still cared about the reputation of Yu Jie'er and Chen Ge'er. Even though they were cheap children, she had raised them for a few years and lived with them for a few years, and her feelings for them gradually deepened.

When doing a deal, since the other party has shown sincerity, you should also express your sincerity. Otherwise, if you push the other person into a corner, it will end up doing worse.

The Xia family has its own sales channels in Beijing. Xia Mianwan plans to give all the sales rights of "Gu Meng" in Beijing to Xia Shizheng, but it is only the sales rights in Beijing.

When Xia Shizheng received Xia Mianwan's letter, "Gu Meng" was at its most popular in the capital.

When Xia Shizheng saw the content of the letter, he stood up excitedly. This "old dream" turned out to be the wine made by Xia Mianwan!

At that time, Xia Mianwan told him that if he wanted to make a comeback, he didn't have to rely on the Zheng family's power. He thought it was just a casual talk, but he didn't expect... there was actually another way!

Xia Shizheng hurriedly called the housekeeper and prepared to go to Yanzhou personally to transport a batch of "old dreams" back.