Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Two chapters merged into one

Feng Sheng also decided to buy the house directly. He fell in love with it as soon as he saw it. It was near Jinliang Bridge in the west of Bianjing City. The three-story house without a garden cost a total of 5,000 strings of cash.

He told Rong Niang only after he had finished shopping. He also wanted to create a surprise for her, so he had the carriage take Rong Niang here before telling her.

When Rong Niang saw the house, she was delighted at first, but then she was frightened: "How much did we borrow on credit?"

"It's not much, don't worry." Feng Sheng was full of confidence at this time.

He is 33 years old this year, and of course he hopes to have his own family. The first payment is his savings and rewards from his years as a doctor, a total of 1,500 strings of cash, and the other 3,000 strings of cash is what he has to pay back in the future.

Seeing that Rong Niang still disagreed, he said, "Don't worry, I haven't taken out all my money. I still have some medicine. I'll find a place to sell it tomorrow. We will definitely have no worries about food and clothing."

After that, he gave her a 100-guan note, and Rong Niang accepted it. However, she still felt uneasy, and she just said, "We owe so much money, so we have to save money in the future."

I heard that if you can’t pay back the loan, your house will be taken back, which will not be worth it.

This is a big gamble.

Although Feng Sheng earns a lot, he has to support the whole family by himself. This is different from Jinniang. Jinniang lives in her own house and has more than enough money for a month's living expenses, so the money Feng Sheng can save is not as much as imagined.

Rong Niang thought that her husband must have been provoked by Jin Niang. Just as she was thinking, she heard Feng Sheng introduce: "Look, this house is all paved with wooden floors. Even in winter, your feet won't get cold when you step on the floor. Look, there are two courtyards in the front, one for Lin Ge'er and one for Guan Ge'er. We have nothing else to ask for."

After saying that, he looked at Rong Niang and thought to himself that even though I am like this now, I have never despised her, so I can be considered a person with a conscience.

Compared to Feng Sheng's immediate action, the three houses were all in disbelief.

"Doing embroidery really makes this much money? I thought it was just a joke." Yingniang originally thought that she made a lot of money, while Jinniang was poor and fat, but she didn't expect that she really...

Third Aunt frowned: "Could it be that she is getting married and the man bought it?"

The two of them made all kinds of guesses and suspicions, and even didn't even say hello when they met Luo Yu'e.

Even Luo Yu'e was speechless and asked Jinniang: "What's wrong with them?"

"Speaking of which, we are quite broad-minded. We were not jealous of her family buying a house or something. But they were so upset when I bought one." This is why Jinniang sometimes doesn't bother to argue with them. These people are too shallow.

Wei Xiong said, "Do we really need to hire those builders to build a house? I heard that builders make a lot of money. How about your mother and I help you, so that you don't make too much money from it."

Jinniang waved her hand and said, "This was recommended to me by someone who lives in the manor. You know, I have to go to Wenxiuyuan every day to work. You and my mother don't really know how to build a house. You can't coordinate the wood, stone, tile, and various workers. I found a back-mounted craftsman. If anything goes wrong, I can just find him. Otherwise, I have to coordinate with more than a dozen people. He can still guarantee the construction period. What's wrong with that?"

If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If there is no profit, who would work with you? As long as it is within a reasonable range, Jinniang won't think there is anything wrong.

The back-mounted craftsman's surname was Gong, and he was also known as Gongtou. They had already drawn the blueprint. Gongtou asked her, "Look at how beautiful the carvings on the steps are. And many people's eaves have protruding eaves like this..."

These are considered additional items for decoration. Jinniang certainly disagrees. She smiled and said, "Just build it normally. I don't want these fancy things."

The hard decoration should be simple, but the soft decoration should be more attentive.

But she requested, “I want to dig a well near the east wing.”

"That would cost at least a dozen strings of coins. Isn't there one at the entrance of your alley?" said Gongtou.

Jinniang smiled and said, "It's not cheap for so many people to have only one well for water. It's better to dig a well at home and have your own water. Besides, isn't it said that the water there is good?"

Gongtou smiled and said yes. He then said something else: "Pepper is added to the lime used to plaster the walls. This will make the house warmer. Do you want it?"

"No need. I feel like even if I add pepper, it won't keep you warm."

We don't want any gimmicks or anything like that.

Gongtou talked about the floor again. Wooden flooring was too expensive, so Jinniang chose more affordable five-inch thick blue bricks to pave the floor, and then use lime to fill the joints.

Jinniang was very patient in dealing with all kinds of materials. She raised objections to every questionable item. Even Gongtou didn't dare to be careless. He originally thought that Wei Xiong was the one in charge of the family, but he never expected that this girl was the one in charge of everything.

Not only can she read and count, but she can also draw, and she understands things very quickly, she is also very practical, and most importantly, she is very quick to pay.

The down payment for buying bricks to lay the foundation was thirty strings of cash, and he was paid it without even a meal. The money was paid promptly, so of course things were done quickly.

After Gong Tou left, Jinniang was talking to Luo Yu'e: "When the house over there is ready, we will move there and rent out this house. Although this place is considered a slum, we can at least rent out three strings of cash a month, which will also be an income in the future."

"Me, are we going over too?" Luo Yu'e and Wei Xiong were both surprised. After all, this was Jinniang's dowry. They and their spouses originally thought that Jinniang was just joking when she asked them to go over.

Jinniang scratched her head and said, "No, you two and your brother live on the first floor, and I live on the second floor. It's just that your room is not as big as mine. I will ask the carpenter to make cabinets for you and your brother together, but you have to buy the bed and desk separately."

Luo Yu'e couldn't help but ask: "How about we move our bed over here?"

"Let's buy a new one and put this one here. We've been sleeping on it for several years. Even if you hire someone to carry it over there, it will cost several hundred coins." Jinniang said with a smile.

She is like this. She makes everything clear in advance so that her parents can get along with her better. If she is so vague, they will argue over money later.

Several people had new visions of their new home. Jinniang came over with her mother every evening to take a look. Coming over during the day seemed like supervising the work, which made the craftsmen uncomfortable. Besides, you may not understand everything they do.

Of course, she couldn't stop sewing, especially since the house needed money. It was not convenient for her to do private work in the Wenxiuyuan during the day, so she lit candles and went out to embroider at night.

This month, Jinxiu Pavilion gave her an unprecedented 35 strings of cash. Jinniang was very happy. The shopkeeper also said, "That lady likes your embroidery very much and bought all your old goods."

But Jinniang knew that this was an exception, and there were not many people like this. At the same time, the money would not be available until next month. This was the case with Jinxiu Pavilion, and they would usually hold back half of the money.

Thinking about it this way, she felt that it was the right decision to buy a house in Tianshui Lane. She should open her own shop. Otherwise, she would not be able to display many things in the small space given by Jinxiu Pavilion, and it would be too far to come from Tianshui Lane in the future.

She should be able to earn more with her skills!

Around the Qingming Festival, the Wenxiu Yuan was busy making clothes, and Jinniang was carefully drawing patterns in preparation for opening her own shop. She didn't want to open a traditional embroidery shop, so she naturally had some ideas in mind.

But the servant outside came running in and whispered, "Wei Xiutou, Wu Shizhao wants you to make a jacket for his wife. I want to ask if you are free?"

"Wu Shizhao?" Jinniang thought of the skinny old man.

Although the salaries of officials in the Song Dynasty were very generous, it was heard that Wu Shizhao's family was very poor, because he and his wife had been ill for a long time, and his son was very young and was also said to be in poor health.

The attendant nodded: "Yes."

Jinniang thought back to the last time when he was embroidering her hair, Wu Shizhao had something to do at home and found the painting and gave it to her, so she agreed. The place where Wu Shizhao lived was not much better than the Choushui Lane. It was an old alley with sewage at the door. Jinniang regretted that she should have worn those black cloth shoes. Her pair of satin shoes was wasted.

After finally finding Wu Shizhao's house, she couldn't help but knock on the door. There was no other way. If she made clothes at the Wenxiu Courtyard and sent them over, it would not be good if someone saw them.

An old servant opened the door and led Jinniang and her daughter in. Mrs. Wu's hair was gray. The weather had warmed up, and she was still wearing an old coat with a blackened silver hairpin in her hair. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief, coughed a few times, and asked the servant to bring tea.

Jinniang's face showed no strange expression, and she said with a smile: "Madam Wu, I am an embroiderer from the Wenxiuyuan. The jacket that Wu Shizhao asked me to make is already ready. Please try it on. If it is too big, I will help you to make it."

"Ahem, thank you for your help." said Old Madam Wu.

Jinniang did not do it in vain. This jacket was not embroidered much anyway, just sewn a little, so she charged 500 coins symbolically, so she just smiled and said, "No trouble, no trouble, our Wenxiu Academy would like to thank Mr. Wu for the painting for us."

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wu was very talkative. Although her family was poor, she was not the kind of person who complained continuously. She looked at the dress and immediately said, "He is a stubborn person. It's hard for him to ask for help for me. I only have cotton clothes and thin clothes at home. The jackets are not stored properly, and they itch when I wear them. I think your craftsmanship is really good. It's so fine that you can stitch so finely in just two or three days. Miss Wei, don't think I am flattering you. My family is from Wuzhong. When the situation in the boudoir was good, my family even hired a special needleworker. You are much better than them."

"You are too kind." Jinniang blushed, and then asked curiously: "I see Madam has been coughing, I wonder what's wrong with her?"

Madam Wu waved her hand and said, "I originally had an eldest son. When he was 20 years old and about to get married, he went out to climb a mountain and fell off a cliff. Then when I was 40 years old, I gave birth to my youngest son. He caught a cold when he was born, so he always coughs."

What she said resonated with Luo Yu'e, who also had a young son, so she said: "I was almost 30 when I gave birth to my youngest son. During the confinement period, my waist felt cold and it still hurts now."

The two ladies talked about their own family matters. When Jinniang heard that Wu Shizhao was personally teaching his son to read, she immediately realized that this was an opportunity. Those who can pass the entrance exam to the Hanlin Academy of Painting are not ordinary people. A few pointers from the Hanlin Academy are enough for ordinary people to benefit from.

"Madam Wu, my brother is about the same age as your son. Excuse me, is Wu Shizhao still accepting disciples?" Jinniang looked at Madam Wu with a smile.

Luo Yu'e, who had been talking nearby, glanced at her daughter. She really couldn't even imagine letting the Hanlin master teach her son.

Mrs. Wu said, "I don't care about these."

"Madam Wu, my brother has been in elementary school for four years. He has an honest and gentle personality. It's just that people in my family have limited education. If it weren't for your kindness, I wouldn't dare to ask for it. It's not that I have to ask you to accept it, but let the old master take a look at my brother. If he is pleasing to the eye, that's fine. If not, we won't force him." After saying this, she didn't mention the matter of wages at all.

Old Madam Wu seemed to agree with great difficulty, and Jinniang casually mentioned that she had bought a mansion and was very busy, and would ask her parents to come over when the time came.

After leaving Wu Shizhao's house, Luo Yu'e was puzzled: "Those scholars look down on merchants. I wonder if Wu Shizhao will accept your brother?"

"Mom, did we lose anything?" Jinniang asked back.

Luo Yu'e was stunned. That was right. Even if the Wu family did not accept her son, his son would still go to school.

However, she asked, "You haven't received your wages yet?"

"Yes, since you didn't pay me, this must be a promising thing. You and dad should prepare the gift of becoming my apprentice." Jinniang said with a smile.

Just like between a man and a woman, if they are interested in each other, they will be attracted to each other. If they are not, the other person would have given you the wages just now. But she also warned her parents: "If Wu Shizhao accepts my brother, then my brother will have a chance to take the entrance exam to Luming Academy. But we should not let this news out."

Things are accomplished through secrecy, and are ruined through disclosure.

Just like when she bought the house, she got the deed secretly before telling anyone about it. Whatever she wants to do, she has to do it quietly and then make a splash after it's done.

Madam Wu told Wu Shizhao why Jinniang came. She said, "Since she is a female official of the Wenxiuyuan, she is an imperial embroiderer. She must be an ambitious girl who can buy a house in Bianjing by herself. I want her brother to come and keep Shaoer company, so that the family can be more lively."

They are old, but have to raise such a young child. Shao'er is not talkative on weekdays, so it would be better if there was a child to accompany him. Although the Wei family is a merchant family, it can be seen that Wei Jinniang is very polite and has a tenacious character. The most important point is that the Wei family is well-off and the master can even receive a pension.

A few days later, Wu Shizhao examined Yang Ge'er and said that he was honest and steady, and a good material for studying, so he was willing to accept him. Wei Xiong and Luo Yu'e took out the twenty strings of cash that they had saved for more than half a year as a gift. Jinniang took out the best silk from her box, cut it into several feet long, and selected two handkerchiefs. Luo Yu'e also brought over ten boxes of homemade soup buns.

Before, when he was with Gou Xiucai, Yang Ge'er could only recognize a few words. But with the guidance of Wu Shizhao, the responsible and knowledgeable old Hanlin, Yang Ge'er's changes were very obvious.

Firstly, his crooked handwriting turned into neat official script, and secondly, his reading became more methodical.

Originally, Jinniang wanted her brother to be an accountant or a small manager of a money shop in the future. After all, only those who have truly studied know the hardships of scholars. The imperial examination is more difficult than the college entrance examination, and it is a difficult single-plank bridge to cross. Although the Song Dynasty now implements the anonymous examination system, the custom of submitting papers is becoming more and more popular. For a small merchant family like theirs, the chance of producing a Jinshi is almost lower than the chance of winning the lottery.

Although Wu Shizhao's family was poor, he was knowledgeable and honest. He even tested his younger brother several times and found that he was indeed well-behaved and a good student before accepting him as his disciple.

Naturally, my parents were very happy about this matter and felt more motivated when working.

By May, the foundation was laid and the outline of the house was almost complete.

Jinniang and Luo Yu'e came more frequently, while Wei Xiong came less frequently because he had things to do at home. Unexpectedly, the group had already begun to take shape.

"Jinniang, why are there three doorways here?" Wei Xiong asked.

Jinniang explained: "All three rooms here are connected to make an embroidery shop. The middle is for the counter, the east is for the embroidery frame, and the west is for guests to rest and have tea."

They walked in from outside and saw an area several feet wide, with a shed covering the east side and a groove, and a toilet built on the west side with a door prepared. Wei Xiong walked in and took a look, then came out embarrassedly.

Jinniang covered her mouth and laughed: "I want to build two toilets. One will be placed here, so that it will be convenient for guests to go to the toilet. The other will be placed on the west side of our small building, so that we don't have to mix with them."

The moon gate in the middle has been built with a wall. Jinniang pointed to a vacant lot behind the moon gate and said, "I specifically asked them to leave it empty for planting peach blossoms. In this way, when you look from the center hall of our main entrance, you can see the peach blossoms in full bloom, and our small building will be set off among them, which is very beautiful. And my second-floor terrace will also be decorated with flowers, but who knows that we are using the most ordinary blue lime."

Jinniang paid less attention to hard decoration and more attention to soft decoration. She had decorated a house in her previous life.

By noon, everyone was tired after shopping, so Jinniang went to Daxiangguo Temple and bought a lot of cheap vases, bamboo curtains, bamboo baskets, and many exquisite bamboo items. They were cheap and elegant, and were said to be all shipped from Zhejiang.

Luo Yu'e pulled Jinniang's clothes and said, "Look, when you were shopping just now, a housekeeper from a wealthy family was also shopping..."

"Of course not. Things outside are not expensive, but they are very expensive when you bring them into the inner house. We were born in the market, in the streets, and we have to haggle over every penny. But the women in the inner house, the servants are their eyes and ears. Which cook doesn't steal? When I was at Zhou's house, I saw that they bought flowers and trees for hundreds of taels. But the trees outside, such as crabapples, are only a few dozen coins a pot. I don't know how many people have enriched themselves." Jinniang calculated.

Near the Daxiangguo Temple, her mother invited them to go to Shaozhuyuan for dinner and barbecue, and the family of four almost had to hold on to the wall to get out.

When I got home, my third aunt came over and said that Yingniang had given birth to a daughter a few days ago, and invited everyone to come over for the third day bath.

Luo Yu'e smiled and said, "Okay, we will definitely go there when we have time."

"How can you say that? All of my family members will definitely go there." Third aunt was eager for the second branch to give up some of its wealth, especially since their business had been bad recently. Seeing others buying or building houses, she naturally felt uncomfortable.

She continued to talk incoherently, wishing that the second house would send the golden Buddha and jade Guanyin to her. She kept referring to her mother's family. Even Wei Xiong couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Let's talk about it in a few days. It's so late, why don't you go back?"

Only then did the third aunt turn up her nose and go back.

When she returned, she saw her uncle dressed neatly and asked hurriedly, "Where are you going?"

Uncle San sighed, "Since Yingniang has given birth to a child, we, as her family, have to pay the lion's share. I plan to go to the gambling house. You know that business has been getting worse since the beginning of this year. I'm going to try my luck."

She thought her husband had won a lot of money in gambling last year, and Third Aunt was unwilling to pay from her own hands, so she smiled and said, "Then you go early and come back early, I will leave the door open for you."

Uncle San shook the money bag in his hand, ready to do a big job.

…

The next day, Jinniang went to Wenxiuyuan, but she didn't expect to see Zou Yue'e coming over.

"Jinniang, you were on leave yesterday, so you might not have known that Cheng Ya came to see you. He said he wanted to discuss re-signing the contract, but he didn't tell us. We forgot that our contract expired at the end of last year."

Jinniang nodded: "Thank you for telling me, I will go to see him at noon."

Zou Yue'e smiled and said, "That's good."

But she didn't expect that the contract that Cheng Ya asked her to sign was still two guan. She didn't understand: "Are you sure? Why is it still two guan now?"

Cheng Yaren's eyes flashed: "This is the request of the Wenxiu Academy. We can't do anything about it."

"But I'm the head embroiderer now. If you say that, and if the Wenxiu Academy really only gives me two strings of coins in the future, wouldn't I be unable to express my pain in silence?" Jinniang didn't believe what she said. No matter how nice the words were, they would change.

Cheng Yaren and Jinniang were old acquaintances, and he was not a bad person, so seeing Jinniang being so smart, he kindly reminded her, "There are so many people watching your position as the embroidery head. You are just taking over temporarily. I won't say anything else."

This is a first-class reminder. If you do not agree to sign a contract of two strings of coins for one month, you will be considered a person without a contract and you will have to leave.

In short, the space for the embroidered head no longer belongs to you.

Somehow, when Cheng Yaren said this, Jinniang felt relieved: "Alas, all good things must come to an end. If that's the case, then I won't sign. Anyway, I don't have a contract with Wenxiuyuan. I'll tell Du Xiutou about it."

Originally, she wanted to open her own shop after the house was built, but she was still hesitating about the job at Wenxiu Yuan, as she was worried about both. In this way, she could give up the job at Wenxiu Yuan.

Cheng Ya often dealt with government officials. The last time Jinniang bought a house and hired Gongtou as the back-installer, he was his brother-in-law, so he said, "Although you haven't finished the work this month, I'll give you the wages."

"Yeah." Jinniang breathed a sigh of relief.

Things are so unpredictable, fortunately I have already thought of a solution.

Zou Yue'e had of course signed a contract for two strings of cash. She was very surprised to hear that Jinniang was leaving. Jinniang knew that Zou Yue'e was a person who did not like to change. She had not even gone to an embroidery building like Jinxiu Pavilion to find work. She had been working here without any effort. So, she smiled and said, "I didn't expect that the separation would come so soon. Take care of yourself in the future."

Fortunately, she almost learned the essence in Wenxiu Academy.

Zou Yue'e didn't expect that she would leave so decisively, and she was very stunned. If she left here and didn't get married, how would she live in the future?

Jinniang went back with her bag on her back. When she saw her parents at the door, they both looked very unhappy. She was still thinking, "Haven't you told them yet that she had terminated her contract with Wenxiu Yuan?" Could it be that the Chengya people said that?

Just as she was about to speak, she heard her father say, "Jinniang, your third uncle was gambling in Xingqingfang yesterday. He was chased by soldiers and fell off the wall and died."

Jinniang was stunned.