Chapter 109

A martial arts school does not need to be located on the street, as long as it is spacious enough for people to practice.

This end of Qingshan Lane is located in a quiet area of ​​Siyang City. It has a wide terrain and is not as congested as the downtown area. It is easier to rent a spacious shop, and the rent is not as high as in the downtown area.

Zhang Fangyuan quickly picked out a location that was not far from their house, only a quarter of an hour's walk away, making it convenient for them to take care of each other in the future.

The shop was a single-story building with a spacious yard. Xu He went over to look around and thought that since the place was big, he could carve out a room at one end to make a bedroom for the newlyweds.

This is what he and Zhang Fangyuan considered. Although living in the martial arts hall is a bit inconvenient and the place is a bit small, it may not be as comfortable as living in the big house in the village, but now there are only two of them, Zhuang Qi and Xiao Mao. After coming to the city, they will not live under the same roof with their elders. They have just got married and have no children, so it is more than enough for the two of them to live there.

When the martial arts school becomes profitable in the future, the couple can save money and buy a property in the city.

Xu He had previously asked Zhang Fangyuan's opinion whether he should take out some money to help them get married and buy a small house in the city so that they could live outside the martial arts hall. Zhang Fangyuan felt that helping the couple to open a martial arts hall was already a great favor. If he arranged everything for the couple, it might dampen their passion for struggle.

Zhuang Qi is a man of few skills. Although he is willing to be a son-in-law for Xiao Mao, it does not mean that he has no blood and self-respect. They have to teach him how to run a martial arts school and provide him with a house, which makes him feel stressed and he has to bear too many favors and is inferior to others.

Only if you live a hard life at the beginning can you realize how hard it is to achieve wealth and prosperity. To be honest, this is much better than when they were just a couple.

Now that the location of the martial arts gym had been chosen, Zhang Fangyuan posted a notice in the downtown area to spread the news and arranged the time for the recruitment to be after Xiaomao got married. By then, the time would be just right, making it convenient for Zhuang Qi to select people.

After they finished their busy work, Xiaomao's good days were about to arrive.

"Today's class ends here, Ruijin and Ruili. Your father came to ask for leave this afternoon, so you will have two days off. Although it is a holiday, you must review the words you have learned these days. The teacher will test you when you come back. When you have learned most of the words, the teacher will teach you how to write them as soon as possible."

Little Li, who was crouching over the low table and secretly playing with his pen, pricked up his ears when he heard Luo Yan's words. He blinked his eyes and immediately followed his brother's words and said in a pretentious manner, "I will follow the teacher's instructions."

Luo Yan nodded, holding the teacup and walked out of the classroom.

"When I return to the village, I'll bring you something fun. What does Xiaoxing want?"

Ruili was so happy that he almost jumped for joy because he could have a holiday before the usual rest time. After Luo Yan left, the little guy didn't even clean up the table and ran to Luo Yuxing.

Ruili was happy about the holiday, but Luo Yuxing lowered his eyelids slightly. If little Li and his brother didn't come to class, the house would be very lonely.

"Don't be upset, I'll be back soon."

Little Li rubbed Luo Yuxing's soft face.

"The weather is getting hot. Grandfather said that the lotus flowers outside the city bloom early. If there is a lotus pond in the village, Xiaoli brother, bring back two lotus flowers."

"No problem. I promise to pick the most beautiful ones for you. There are many fish ponds in our village, so there must be people raising lotus. Even if not, I will ask Dad to ride Xiao Hei to other villages to pick them."

Ruili added: "But lotus flowers alone are too thin. I will bring you mulberries and big watermelons from the village..."

Ruijin folded a small corner of the Thousand Character Classic he was learning today as a mark, carefully closed the book, and personally put it in his bookcase so that he could review it when he returned home.

Seeing that Xiaoli didn't clean up his desk at Luo Yuxing's place, with messy things all over the table, and he was talking to Luo Yuxing like a big frog, he sighed helplessly and turned to help the little boy clean up his things.

"I don't think you want to bring anything to Brother Xiaoxing. It's obvious that you are just greedy and you are using Brother Xiaoxing's name."

"Brother will eat it anyway." Ruili's eyes curved: "We can eat together then."

Ruijin knew it was pointless to argue with a greedy guy, so he cleaned up the table and handed his and Xiaoli's bookcases to his companion. He was ready to go home, but after taking a look at the two children who were still clinging to each other, he asked, "Xiaoxing, do you want to come with us?"

Every afternoon when the school was closed, Xiao Xing would be allowed to go to Zhang's house to play with Xiao Li, but today was not an ordinary holiday: "I have to have a banquet with my grandfather tonight, so I can't go today."

Ruijin nodded.

"Then I'm going home~"

Little Li gave Luo Yuxing a kiss, then jumped and followed behind Rui Jin, who stood with his back straight.

Luo Yuxing looked at the two brothers and waved his hand.

"You're leaving school so early today?"

Xu He went to the market to choose a gift for Xiaomao's wedding. Although he could ask the servants to make it, he still thought about the time when Xiaomao dug wild vegetables with him and spoke for him when they first got married. He thought about picking and buying it himself out of friendship.

I was coming back with half a car full of things I bought, and I ran into two kids returning home at the gate.

"The teacher said that Daddy asked for leave."

"Uncle hugged you two a lot, and now that we are getting married, I have to ask for leave for you two to go back for the banquet."

"Great, let's have a feast, let's have a feast!"

Little Li jumped happily at Xu He's feet.

Xu He held one in each hand and brought the two kids back to the house.

In the past, Ruili didn't like to get up early during school hours and always stayed in bed. Even after his brother had dressed neatly, the little guy would not get up until he was urged many times.

His eyes are always blurry, he keeps shaking his head, and his food is sticky.

Because she was not going to go to school that day and was going to a banquet, she suddenly felt better. Seeing that her brother had not yet gotten up, she kicked him on the butt.

Xiao Li loves the hustle and bustle the most. He had a very deep impression of Xiao E's wedding. Now Xiao Mao is also getting married. He hasn't been back to the village for a long time and misses it so much that he can't wait to fly back.

The elder brother's preferences were exactly the opposite of those of Little Li. He had never liked crowds since he was a child. Now he had to go back to watch the ceremony, so he stuck his butt out and wanted to sleep a little longer. But Little Li tossed and turned beside him, and even put his feet into his back, sticking to his skin.

It wasn't cold in the summer, but little carp was moving around so much that his feet were sweaty and uncomfortable to press against his back. Knowing that he wouldn't get any sleep, he had to get up with little carp, who was as energetic as a chicken.

There was a long way to go for the family to return, and the route was along the official road to the city, so they did not bring any servants with them. There were originally four or five people, but his sixth uncle also heard the news and came up to go back to the village with them.

It was originally quiet, but it became lively again when his sixth uncle came.

He took Zhang Fangyuan by the hand and asked him about the martial arts school in the city, then about his new house. His words were full of regret that they had not been in close contact before.

Zhang Fangyuan knew that his sixth uncle was trying to find some job. In the past, he must have been unhappy and didn't bother to care. However, as he built up his business, he paid more and more attention to the clan and was willing to support his uncles and brothers in the clan.

His fourth uncle Zhang Shicheng also said that he had become more stable.

He has worked hard in the past few years and has had good luck. He has made it all the way to where he is today. In the past, when he was young and unruly, he would ignore anyone who was not on good terms with him, no matter how close they were to him.

But the more he built up his family business, the more he realized that those wealthy families that remained standing were definitely not supported by one person in the entire clan and flourished alone. Although they could enjoy temporary wealth and honor in this way, it would not last long and would be difficult to maintain.

Although he had this intention, he couldn't think of what business his sixth uncle could do with his abilities, so he thought there was no suitable one. He could either put him in a martial arts school to do something, or find some other job with the help of his connections.

His sixth uncle felt that things were promising and was very happy. He talked even more along the way and he kept talking nonstop. Even the usually noisy little brother Li was bothered by his great uncle.

I was not free until I reached the village.

The wedding banquet is tomorrow, but the house is already bustling with activity. Food and wine have been prepared in advance, and the house is decorated with lanterns and red silks, making it look very festive.

Little Li ran into the yard excitedly. He hadn't been home for a long time and kept shouting that his home had become so beautiful. Everyone was amused by him.

Xiaomao's wedding was especially lively at home, with almost all of the Zhang clan's relatives present. Those who had declined to come in previous years were probably not invited this year.

What surprised Zhang Fangyuan the most was that his two cousins ​​from his uncle's family also came back.

The brothers had a few drinks the night before.

"Brother Eldest and Second Cousins, you returned at a good time. Did you come back specially because you got the good news?"

"How can I get news from home when I'm out shipping goods? I usually don't get the news until after the event is over."

Zhang Fangyuan's eldest cousin Zhang Xiaotian said, "Last year's disaster made the people in other counties very poor. This year, it's hard to sell the goods. We've been losing money all the way, so we just sold the goods at a low price and brought them back."

Previously, they made some money by carrying the goods from Zhang Fangyuan's Linglong shop, but in the past two years, toothbrush shops have become very popular in other counties, and these peddlers can no longer make much money by carrying the goods.

Zhang Fangyuan knew that business had been bad in the past two years: "Last year, natural disasters blocked the trade routes. Many merchants who used to come to Siyang did not come. The successive disasters have closed many shops in the city. Business this year is not as good as the previous two years."

This can be seen from the account flow of the shop on hand, but fortunately, the basic situation has been stabilized in the past two years, and although the profit is not much, it can still roll on.

Their family was still lucky. After all, the charcoal fire brought in a considerable income. Compared with the merchants who were slandered, they still had money to invest in new business.

The post-disaster recession and sluggish business were a good thing, but it was also a good deal as the new shops to rent were affordable and there were many locations to choose from.

Zhang Xiaoxuan originally wanted to say something, but after hearing what Zhang Fangyuan said, he swallowed his words and glanced at his elder brother Zhang Xiaotian.

Zhang Fangyuan took a sip of wine, glanced at the eyes of the two brothers, and lowered his eyes to hide the smile in their eyes.

"Fangyuan is very promising now. Dad and Fourth Uncle had a discussion a while ago and said they wanted to nominate you to be the clan leader."

"There was no clan leader in our grandfather's generation. Why did you think of this again?" Zhang Fangyuan was a little surprised.

"At that time, all the factions were similar. No one was outstanding or capable, and no one was willing to submit to anyone else, so it was difficult to recommend someone."

Zhang Xiaotian said: "Generally, the oldest ones speak first, and the others listen. My father and fourth uncle said that they are old now, and they rely on our generation for everything."

"You are the most promising one in our generation. I thought I would take this opportunity to bring up this matter when Xiaomao gets married and all the relatives are here."

Zhang Fangyuan knew from the attitude of the relatives who came back to attend the wedding banquet that if this matter was raised, most of them would have no objection. This was just asking his opinion in advance. As long as he nodded, his uncle would speak.

This is a double-edged sword, with both good and bad sides.

If he became the clan leader, he would certainly have to manage the entire Zhang family. Although the Zhang family members were not very large, there were still dozens of people when counted together. It would be very tiring to manage them, and he would have to deal with a lot of trivial matters, including the development and life and death of the clan members.

But the benefits are also obvious. The patriarch has power and everyone has to listen to him and respect him. With the patriarch as the chief, the clan is more united and it is easier to gain a foothold and establish prestige in the local area.

The households in the nearby villages have been scattered over the years. There are families with big surnames in the village, but there are only a handful of them that are truly managed by a clan leader, and those few that are there are almost all landlords.

Precisely because of this benchmark, retail investors with many big names naturally want to get closer.

Zhang Fangyuan raised his head and glanced at Xu He who was coaxing the child, and their eyes met: "As long as everyone is willing, then I can also be thick-skinned and agree."