Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 93

The attendant quickly opened the door and respectfully invited Ying Su inside.

Wang Ba sat at the gambling table. When he saw her, he immediately beckoned,

“Sis, come over here.”

Ying Su walked toward him, but her gaze fell on the man seated on the opposite side of the table. That man also lifted his head, meeting her eyes. He smiled faintly and said,

“Miss Shen, we meet again.”

His voice was gentle and clear. Dressed in a white silk robe embroidered with crescent moons, the man’s refined brows and delicate features were highlighted all the more. Even sitting in a gambling den, his natural grace remained unshaken.

A flicker flashed deep in Ying Su’s eyes. So it was the Bai family’s Second Young Master! She hadn’t expected Wang Ba to be acquainted with him.

She gave him a slight nod in return.

Wang Ba laughed. “I almost forgot, you already know Second Young Master Bai!”

A chair was immediately set up for Ying Su beside Wang Ba. As soon as she sat down, he said, “Sis, you’ve come at just the right time. Second Young Master Bai somehow learned of your glass mirror business and wants a share. So, the two of us set up a wager. I’ve already promised him, if he wins, he will join our venture. I made this decision on my own… you don’t mind, do you?”

“I don’t mind,” Ying Su replied with a faint smile, though her brows tightened slightly. How had Bai Chuyu gotten the news? Still, having him involved might actually do more good than harm. Although it would split the profits, she stood to gain far more in return.

The Bai family’s businesses spanned the entire country. With their backing, glass would be far easier to sell. And with their influence, even if others grew envious, none would dare make trouble. They could practically secure a monopoly.

Ying Su turned her attention calmly to the table. The game was a simple dice, betting on high or low, with one round to decide the outcome.

Wang Ba had roamed gambling houses for years, even earning the title of “Master Gambler.” Few dared challenge him in dice, whether it was in shaking or listening, he almost never lost.

As for Bai Chuyu, though Ying Su hadn’t had much contact with him, his past actions revealed him to be shrewd and calculating, never fighting battles without certainty. For him to voluntarily agree to a wager with Wang Ba suggested his gambling skill must rival Wang Ba’s own.

As Wang Ba shook the dice, he chuckled, “Sis, don’t underestimate Second Young Master Bai. He may not be addicted to gambling, but his luck is frighteningly good. A few years back, I gambled against him once.”

Ying Su tilted her head. “And did Big Brother lose to him?”

Wang Ba grinned. “Not exactly, we tied!”

Knowing Wang Ba’s nature, he would never go easy in a gamble. But Bai Chuyu was different, cautious, unpredictable, and inscrutable beneath that gentle demeanor. It was entirely possible he had deliberately let the match end in a tie.

Ying Su couldn’t help but think this way. In her previous life, she had seen too many noble sons: outwardly refined and gentle, but inwardly vile. The more harmless they appeared, the more dangerous they could be.

“High or low?” Wang Ba asked.

Bai Chuyu smiled warmly. “Low.”

“Haha, good! Second Young Master Bai, please!” Wang Ba gestured, holding the dice cup.

Bai Chuyu smiled, reached out, and placed his long, slender, pale fingers around the black dice cup. The contrast made his hands look even more striking.

“Please,” he said.

Wang Ba’s dice-shaking was flashy, though not as quick as Ying Su’s, it was still dazzling to the eye.

By contrast, Bai Chuyu’s was deceptively simple. He merely picked up the cup, gave it a light shake, and set it neatly back down.

Wang Ba’s expression shifted slightly, and he, too, pressed his cup onto the table.

“Shall we open?” Wang Ba’s face bore uncharacteristic seriousness.

Bai Chuyu smiled mildly. “Open.”

Wang Ba nodded. “Alright, just as agreed, one round decides it. I won’t cheat!”

He counted to three, and both revealed their dice simultaneously. A collective gasp spread through the onlookers.

“A tower of ones… both of them?” someone whispered.

“I lost,” Wang Ba said, cupping his fists. “I gamble, I accept the loss.”

On the table, Bai Chuyu’s dice showed a perfect “tower of ones” all three dice with a single pip. Wang Ba’s, however, was one short: two dice with a single pip, the third also one pip, but together totaling two, still lower than Bai Chuyu’s flawless set.

“Thank you for letting me win,” Bai Chuyu said politely, though without modesty.

Though defeated, Wang Ba didn’t feel humiliated. He had simply not expected Bai Chuyu to hide such depth. Not only did he dominate in the business world, but even in gambling he possessed skill.

With the wager settled, it was time for the real matter, glass.

Ying Su brought out the glass and mirror she had prepared, placing them on the table. “This,” she said, “is a mirror. You can try it yourself. Its clarity far surpasses bronze mirrors. And this here is glass. It can be used in many ways, the most common is for windows, to replace paper panes that tear with a poke. It can also be set in doors.”

Wang Ba picked up the mirror and gasped in amazement as he looked at his reflection.

“Good heavens! So clear! So this is what I really look like? You can see every single hair in my beard! And my head, so shiny!”

Bai Chuyu lifted the glass, studying it carefully. “This seems somewhat similar to glazed ware?”

Ying Su nodded. “Yes, but the materials are common and the process simple, easy to melt, with very low cost. Glazed ware, by contrast, is extremely expensive and complicated to produce. Glass may not be as colorful, but its transparency is beautiful in its own way. It can also be engraved with patterns, frosted for opacity, and designed in any shape for doors and windows.

“There’s also sunproof glass. When sunlight passes through it, it won’t heat the room. That’s called coated glass, made by applying a thin film on the surface. With it, outsiders can’t see inside. It makes rooms attractive, keeps out prying eyes, and unlike paper windows, it can’t be torn with a single poke of the finger.”

She spoke fluently, with confidence. Bai Chuyu watched her intently, nodding. “Very practical.”

Who would have thought that a village-born woman could speak with such knowledge? She described everything with such assurance, as if she had used them herself.

Of course, Bai Chuyu assumed she must have gotten the recipe from some obscure text or traveling scholar. After all, glass was unheard of in all of Great Qing.