Chapter 75: Watching the Yard. If you beat your mother, you can’t beat your son.

On a quiet night, any sound in the yard can be heard into the house.

Hu Zi and his wife were lying on the kang covered with a quilt.

The two were very upset as they heard bursts of sobbing.

"What's wrong with Dad? Why did he break Mom's legs as soon as he got home?" The widow's surname was Sun. Her husband died and her in-laws were poor, so she remarried to live a better life.

Although the Qiu family is not as good as expected, at least they don't go hungry every meal.

But today, my father-in-law broke my mother-in-law's legs in front of them... It's impossible to say that she is not scared.

Hu Zi remained silent. Although he was young, he had experienced a lot and his mind was much more mature than his peers.

He knew that the relationship between his parents was not what it used to be. Later, because of his marriage, his father completely hated his mother. But in the past, his father only cursed him verbally and never killed him.

Today, Dad went to town and saw that damn girl Qiu Yun again. When he got home, he...

If you say that this matter has nothing to do with Qiu Xuan, Hu Zi will not believe it.

"Go ask mother tomorrow what happened." Hu Zi glanced at Sun and told her the matter.

"I'm not going." Sun removed the hand that was wrapped around her waist and moved to the side. "I don't dare to make Dad angry at this time. You're his son, go ask."

If only Hu Zi dared. He was afraid of his father, very afraid and hated him so much that sometimes he even thought it would be better if his father was gone.

In this way, he has the final say in this family.

But he only thought about this secretly and didn't dare to show it out.

"Forget it, let's talk about this tomorrow." Hu Zi said, and stretched out his hand again. He was afraid of the cold, and now with the warm body in his arms, he said comfortably, "Anyway, if Dad beats Mom, she won't beat us. Just sleep peacefully."

Sun: ...

-

On the last day of March, the Jinwei Restaurant was only open for half a day and closed after noon.

Qiu Xuan also gave Sanshui half a day off and allowed him to go for a walk on the street.

Sanshui took the silver and thanked him happily, then walked out of the house with a brisk pace. He was a smart man with a keen eye, and he knew that the shopkeeper was going to settle the account.

The door was closed and Qiu Xuan called everyone to the table.

She converted most of the money she earned this month into silver, which made it easier to divide it up so that no one would have to hold a large amount in their hands.

"Our restaurant has been open for a month. Let's divide the bill today, and from now on we will divide it at the end of the month." Qiu Xuan took out the exchanged silver from her purse and placed it in front of everyone.

The white silver ingots are pleasing to the eye.

"We sold a total of 65 taels this month. Our daily cost was about 1.5 taels. Not counting the rent, we made a profit of 18 taels. Of that, we gave 1.5 taels to Sanshui, leaving us with 16.5 taels."

Qiu Xuan is very good at accounting, and now that the whole family is working together to earn money, she can see the accounts even more clearly.

"So much." The grandmother's face was full of surprise. She smiled and said, "Mother has never seen so much silver and money all at once."

Not only the mother, but also Zong Anji has never seen it.

Qiu Xuan distributed the money bit by bit. Everyone worked this month, and no matter how much work they did, everyone would get some.

"Give me this much." Zong Anji looked at the three taels of silver pushed in front of him, his eyes shining, "Second sister-in-law, this is too much."

"Not much. You and I each have three taels, mother two taels, and Yueyang and Erlang one tael. Of the remaining six taels, we have to dig out another three taels for rent."

With this calculation, there is still three taels and five cents left.

The clan mother waved her hand and refused, "I am so old, I am just helping you, what do I need so much for?"

Yueyang thought the same thing. She just washed vegetables every day, so how could she collect so much?

After a few people pushed and shoved each other, they finally lowered the price by five cents.

The clan mother pushed the remaining four taels and five cents on the table to Qiu Xuan's hand and said frankly, "This restaurant was originally run by you and your wife. Please accept this money."

"That's right, sister-in-law, please accept it quickly. What you gave me and Yueyang is already a lot. The chef in the restaurant next door only makes two taels of silver a month." Zong Anji was very satisfied. This was three taels of silver. He earned three taels in a month. This was something he would never have dared to dream of before!

Qiu Xuan met everyone's gaze and had no choice but to accept the money.

Qiu Xuan: "Well, I'll save this money for now. It will be useful if we run into trouble in the future."

"Pooh, pooh, pooh." The clan mother spitted three times and laughed angrily, "Let's not say such unlucky words."

What do you mean by "something happened"? That's not a good thing to say! You can't say it!

Qiu Xuan nodded and quickly spat three times.

-

In the blink of an eye, it was April and the weather was getting warmer day by day.

Qiu Xuan stayed in the kitchen every day and sweated a lot, but there was no separate room for bathing in this courtyard, so if she wanted to bathe, she had to do it in the room.

The room is too small to fit the barrel...

"I'll go to the broker later to see if there's anything suitable." Zong Xiao wiped her hair with a cloth, his movements were gentle for fear of hurting her.

Qiu Xuan thought for a moment and asked, "Did you tell my third brother and the others about renting the yard a few days ago?"

Zong Xiao: "I told you, my third brother said we should save some more money, so there's no rush."

Zong Anji and his wife did not have much money. They had emptied their family savings in order to open the shop. Now the few taels of silver they had were only enough to rent the shop for one or two months.

But the better and cleaner yards around here are rented all year round, and they really can't afford it.

Qiu Xuan forgot this.

"Then let's take a look. If we've chosen one and then move out, this room will be free for them."

"I'll do as you say."

Qiu Xuan and Zong Xiao are both men of action. Now that they have made up their minds, they don't want to delay any further.

In addition, Qiu Xuan also wanted to choose by herself, so she simply gave herself half a day off.

After dinner that day, the two of them found a broker to take them to see the yard.

Qiu Xuan is very goal-oriented. She requires the house to be sunny and well-ventilated, preferably with furniture inside, and there must be a well in the yard.

The broker felt this was a big deal. He smiled and agreed, "Manager Qiu has a good eye. We do have several courtyards like this, and they're all in good locations. I just don't know where you'd like to view them from."

"It's closer to the restaurant." Qiu Xuan thought that it would be convenient to do anything if it was close.

"It just so happens that I have the key with me today. There is indeed a good courtyard in this area." The broker did not ask Qiu Xuan about her desired price. After all, in his eyes, she was the owner of a Tianjin-style restaurant. How could she be short of money!

If he wanted to introduce her, he should introduce her to the best and most expensive ones! That way he could make a lot of money!

The small courtyard was indeed not far from the Jinwei Restaurant. The three of them arrived there in a cup of tea. What was called a small courtyard was actually a house with three entrances.

Qiu Xuan pointed at the two stone lions that opened the door and looked at the broker with a puzzled expression, "Which yard is this? How much is the rent for this place?"

"Yes, this is the best courtyard in our area." The broker stepped forward and unlocked the door. He turned to the two of them and said, "Come in and take a look first. We can talk about other things after you've taken a look."

Even if she looked at it, she couldn't afford it. Qiu Yu could smell the scent of money emanating from this courtyard from the moment she stood in front of the door...

But since I'm here, it's good to broaden my horizons.

Qiu Xuan followed in quickly. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw the entrance hall, and further ahead was the corridor.

The layouts of the three courtyards are similar, but the owner of this courtyard should be a wealthy person. The courtyard is clean everywhere, and there are not even two cracks on the wooden frame.

"Why rent out this yard?" Qiu Yu was genuinely curious. Why didn't he live in such a nice yard himself? If he rented it out, who knew who would mess it up and make it dirty...

"The owner of this courtyard has moved to the provincial capital," the broker explained. "It's going to be expensive if it's sold. A few people came in to ask about it, but none of them bought it. The owner figured it's going to be empty anyway, so they might as well rent it out."

When Qiu Xuan heard this, she originally wanted to ask how much money it would cost to buy it, but now she didn't even ask.

I can't afford it anyway...

"How much does it cost to rent this yard per month?" Zong Xiao asked, looking at the bright courtyard in the middle.

After seeing everything, the broker didn't believe they wouldn't be tempted. He stretched out his fingers and gestured, "Fifteen taels."

Qiu Yan:...

"It's too expensive. Is there anything cheaper?" Qiu Xuan stopped and didn't plan to look inside anymore.

Seeing that he failed to sell the product, the broker had no choice but to return with the two of them.

"There's another one on the next street that's much smaller and cheaper."

When she heard that it was much cheaper, Qiu Xuan thought it would at least be less than five taels.

Although five taels was a lot, she could afford to rent a yard like that forever.

Qiu Xuan: "Then let's take a look there."

The two walked for another incense stick of time and finally arrived at the second courtyard. Looking at the same stone lions as before, Qiu Xuan felt a severe headache.

This time she didn't even go in. She stood in front of the door and asked, "Is this yard cheaper than the one just now?"

The broker smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Qiu, this place only costs fourteen taels a month! Isn't it much cheaper?"

Qiu Xuan felt that the broker was pretending to be confused. A discount of one or two taels was not really a bargain.

She waved her hand and didn't continue shopping. She asked, "Can you find something bigger and more spacious, only one or two taels a month?"

"One or two??" Now it was the broker's turn to be surprised.

This is the owner of a Tianjin restaurant. He earns at least dozens of taels a month. How could he look at such a cheap courtyard?

Of course, the broker didn't know how much Qiu Xuan earned exactly, that was just his guess, but he felt that since Jinwei Restaurant was so popular, it must be a lot.

"Yes, it's one ounce. If there's something cheaper than that, that would be even better."

The broker said with a wry smile, "Shopkeeper Qiu, you're really kidding me. How can such a spacious, bright, and well-located courtyard be so cheap?"

Qiu Xuan didn't believe him. "The shops around here are selling three taels of silver a month. How could this courtyard be selling less than one tael?"

Yaren:...

Of course there are, but if I introduce her to such a cheap one, the broker will not make any money.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Qiu Xuan immediately pretended to leave: "If you don't have it, then forget it."

Qiu Xuan felt that this broker treated her as a victim.

"Don't go, Shopkeeper Qiu." The broker blocked his way and continued with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes, of course there are some. I just want to recommend some good ones. This is a good courtyard that suits your status."

This sounds strange.

Qiu Xuan frowned slightly, "You think too highly of us. We are from a poor family and we only make a living by selling stir-fried vegetables. How can we afford to live in such a nice courtyard?"

Qiu Xuan said these words on purpose because she didn't want any broker to think that she made money.

Seeing that she had said so much, the agent stopped talking about your yard. If he continued, the agent was afraid that they would not look at any yards in a short time.

A few of them took a break here, and when they were tired again they continued to stroll around.

Finally, I found a courtyard I liked, but it happened to be very close to the brothel, just across an alley.

Zong Xiao refused on the spot.

"This... I've seen everything there is to see. The price is right here, and this is the only one left in town with a large yard. If you don't mind the distance, there's another one in the nearby village."

"In the village?" Qiu Xuan was about to give up, but she perked up again after hearing this.

The dealer was also tired. He leaned against a tree and took three gulps of water. "It's said to be in the village, but it's actually quite far away. The yard is quite spacious, and the price is cheap."

"Then why didn't you take us there just now?"

"...That's not right, we're almost out of town."

Originally, Qiu Xuan really wanted to rent a house close to the shop, but after shopping around today, she found that all the ones she liked were expensive and the cheap ones were not suitable.

Instead of doing this, you might as well choose the point that is most important to you, such as spaciousness.

Qiu Xuan: "How does that courtyard compare to the one we just visited? If it's similar, I'd give it a look. But if it's not as spacious as this, forget it."

"If you can rent it out for a few taels of silver near the village, that's naturally the best." The broker was tired. He didn't want to accompany them for so long and still not get this deal. "That courtyard is good in every way, but it's too remote. Even the wealthier families don't like it."

Qiu Xuan agreed with him and nodded, "That's perfect. We're not rich either, so we can take a look."

Yaren: ....

After saying that, the three of them regained their spirits, but this time the yard was far away, so they didn't walk over.