Chapter 197: True Talent Lies Within

 Chapter 197: True Talent Lies Within

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, life returned to its usual rhythm. Daohua continued with her lessons and practiced her whip skills every day, keeping herself as busy and fulfilled as ever.

Before she knew it, September had arrived.

With the arrival of September, the weather had cooled down, and visits between families became more frequent. Madam Li received many invitations, mostly for tea parties or flower-viewing gatherings.

Daohua wasn’t particularly interested in any of them. Spending time with a group of young ladies raised on strict rules of etiquette was not something she looked forward to.

Girls like Zhou Jingwan were different—they were still somewhat free-spirited because they were favored at home and hadn't been bound too much by conventions, allowing them to joke and laugh together.

However, if Daohua had to deal with other young ladies, she worried that if she spoke too loudly, or behaved in a way that was a little too unconventional, it might end up scaring someone.

"Why didn’t you go to the Wang family’s Chrysanthemum Banquet yesterday?" 

The day before the Chongyang Festival, Zhou Jingwan came to find Daohua, who was standing by the eaves, playing with a parrot. She walked over with a smile.

"Miss Zhou, you're here!"

The parrot immediately greeted her when it saw Zhou Jingwan.

Zhou Jingwan laughed. "Oh, this little thing finally remembers me."

Daohua smiled and said, "You come over so often, how could it not remember you?"

The parrot had been with Daohua for some time and had gotten used to the frequent visitors, easily recognizing them.

After placing the nuts into the food tray, Daohua led Zhou Jingwan inside while chatting. "I don’t really get along with those young ladies."

Zhou Jingwan replied, "You didn’t go, but your little half-sister made quite an impression at the Wang family’s banquet yesterday."

Daohua became interested. "Oh? What happened?"

Zhou Jingwan continued, "It was the Wang family’s Miss who proposed writing chrysanthemum poems. She even took the poems from all the young ladies and gave them to the ladies of each family for review. In the end, your half-sister won first place."

Daohua smiled but didn’t seem too concerned. "Third sister is indeed talented in poetry."

Zhou Jingwan studied Daohua’s face closely, noticing she seemed unfazed. She shook her head. "You really are big-hearted. Don’t you worry about your half-sister overshadowing you?"

Daohua shrugged. "What’s there to overshadow? Besides, each person has their strengths and weaknesses. My third sister has her talents, and I have mine. We can each shine in our own areas, and that’s perfectly fine."

Zhou Jingwan sighed. "Ah, I can’t be as open-minded as you. If my half-sister or half-brother were better than me, I’d be upset."

Daohua smiled again. She enjoyed Zhou Jingwan’s straightforwardness—her likes and dislikes were all out in the open, no need to guess what she was thinking.

"You just haven’t found something you truly enjoy doing, which is why you pay so much attention to those trivial things. If you were busy every day, you wouldn’t have time to worry about your half-sisters."

Zhou Jingwan propped her chin on her hand and looked at Daohua. "So, do you know what you enjoy doing?"

Daohua nodded with a smile. "Of course I do. I like saving money to buy farms, open shops, and grow all kinds of crops and vegetables. I want to eat whatever I want whenever I want."

"Any surplus can be sold in the shop—one, to make money; two, to share good food with others."

"By the way, remember sunflower seeds? I’ve started selling them in my shop. At first, not many people knew, so I had the staff promote them at teahouses and theaters. Now, the business is picking up."

"I’m busy every day with lessons, managing the farm and shop, practicing needlework, and getting up early to practice the whip. I hardly have time to pay attention to my half-sister."

Zhou Jingwan was amazed. "You really do so many things every day?"

Daohua nodded.

Zhou Jingwan continued, "A few times at other banquets, I heard Aunt Yan mention that you were too busy to come, and I just thought she was making excuses for you. I didn’t realize you were actually this busy."

Daohua said seriously, "You know, only when a person gets busy do they feel fulfilled. Otherwise, like you, you’ll end up thinking about all sorts of things with nothing to do."

"If I had time to compete and be jealous of my half-sister, I’d rather focus on running my shop and making more money."

Zhou Jingwan looked at her in surprise. "Why do you like saving money so much?"

Daohua raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don’t you?"

Zhou Jingwan was silent for a moment and then said, "I can't really say I like it or not, but anyway, when I need money, I just ask my mother for it."

Daohua gave her a light tap on the head. "From what you're saying, I can tell you've never experienced the hardship of lacking money."

"Let me put it this way: money is much more meaningful when you earn it yourself. Money from your parents is still their money. If they give it to you, fine, but if they don't, you won’t have anything to spend. And every time you ask them for money, don’t you have to explain why you need it?"

Zhou Jingwan nodded. "True, whenever I want to buy jewelry or some material, my mother will give me the money, but it always takes quite a bit of persuasion."

Daohua nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Spending someone else's money, even your parents', always feels inconvenient. It’s much better to have your own money—you can spend it however you want, and you feel free and confident."

Zhou Jingwan nodded thoughtfully. "What you said makes a lot of sense. When I go back, I’ll think about it and see if I should do something like you—maybe open a shop, so I don’t run out of money in the future."

Daohua smiled. "That sounds good! If you open a shop, we can share business tips and help each other out."

Afterward, Zhou Jingwan continued telling Daohua some interesting stories from other family banquets.

Before long, Ping Xiao came in with a letter, smiling. "Miss, this letter is from Fourth Young Master for you."

Daohua was surprised. "Fourth Brother wrote me a letter? Usually, it’s my older brother Yan Wenxiu who handles the correspondence with the academy and the house."

Ping Xiao laughed. "The letter was given to Madam, but Fourth Young Master specially mentioned that it was for you. Look, the envelope even has your name on it."

Daohua took the letter, noticing the words 'Yan Yi Yi respectfully' written on it. She smiled. "Fourth Brother must be craving something and wants me to send him some food." She quickly opened the letter to read it.

Soon, Daohua jumped up excitedly. "Jingwan, Fourth Brother says they’re going to the Hua Mountain racecourse to ride horses tomorrow. He’s asking if we want to join them!"

"Really?!" Zhou Jingwan was also thrilled and jumped up, eagerly peering at the letter in Daohua’s hand.

Since it was just a casual letter, with nothing secretive, Daohua handed it directly to Zhou Jingwan. "Your brother's letter should have arrived at your house by now."

After Zhou Jingwan read the letter, she handed it back to Daohua and excitedly asked, "Are you going?"

Daohua laughed. "Of course, I’m going! Getting some fresh air and riding horses sounds much more fun than going to the inner courtyard to admire flowers or drink tea. What about you? Aren’t you going?"

"Definitely going!" Zhou Jingwan nodded eagerly. "I tell you, every time I see my brother riding, I get so jealous. This will be so much fun; tomorrow we’ll be riding too!"

(End of Chapter)