Chapter 99 Settling Down

“You’ve come to the right person with an empty house. I have an old friend who has a house to sell. I can help you ask around.” He had made quite a bit of money from the building blocks that Song Yushu had suggested, so he was quite friendly to Song Yushu.

As they were talking, a guest came in from outside.

"Grandpa Liu, do you still have any building blocks? My young master wants to buy other styles."

"You're too early. The new style won't be ready for another two days," Old Master Liu said, treating the stewards from wealthy families no differently than ordinary people.

"Just leave one for my young master and send it to the Qi residence. This is the deposit," the man said, seemingly used to his temperament, and didn't insist. He took out the money and gave him the deposit.

Song Yushu knew that Old Master Liu's confidence stemmed from his craftsmanship. After he had accumulated enough building blocks to sell, others tried to imitate him, but their craftsmanship was not as good as Old Master Liu's. Their products were crude and of poor quality, and could only be sold cheaply. Naturally, they did not have the same fame as Old Master Liu.

Song Yushu had only mentioned it briefly, but Old Master Liu had already made the building blocks, and they were even an upgraded version. Even Song Yushu thought that these building blocks were no worse than the ones she had seen in her previous life. They came in a variety of styles, with simple ones selling for 200 coins a set and elaborate ones selling for half a tael or more. The city was never short of wealthy people who came to buy them.

Selling building blocks naturally involves marketing them as educational toys. Throughout history, parents have always had the same strong desire for their children to succeed. Regardless of whether they are actually useful, as long as the message is positive, they are happy to spend their money.

Seeing that Old Master Liu still had a lot of work to do, Song Yushu took his leave and returned to the restaurant with Zhou Chengzhu.

The next day, Old Master Liu acted as a go-between, arranging for the friend who wanted to sell the house to meet with Song Yushu.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My surname is Shi. Since you know Old Man Liu, you can call me Uncle Shi." Uncle Shi was a very amiable person. He was able to become friends with Old Man Liu, who had such a bad temper, for many years. He was not a person who liked to hold grudges.

Song Yushu followed him to the house that was going to be sold. The location was good, just two streets away from Biqiao Street, the most bustling street in the prefectural city.

However, properties in good locations are expensive, and this house is no exception.

"This persimmon tree in front of the door was planted by my grandfather when he was young. There is also a well in the yard, and four rooms inside," Uncle Shi opened the door and showed Song Yushu around, introducing the house.

Song Yushu noticed that the house and courtyard were not large, but the layout was quite nice. There was a stone table under the persimmon tree, and some flowers and plants were planted in the corner of the wall. However, they were neglected and the branches and leaves had withered and turned yellow.

"To be honest, if my business wasn't in such a mess, I really wouldn't want to sell this house. Since you know Old Man Liu, I won't ask for more. Six hundred taels, and this house is yours," Uncle Shi said, seeing that Song Yushu seemed satisfied.

Song Yushu knew that this was already the lowest price he could offer, after all, it was a house in the prefectural city, and the location was quite good.

However, Song Yushu still hadn't decided on the house. After all, she needed to keep some money for business in the prefectural city, and spending such a large sum of money to buy a house would be too much of a burden for her.

When Uncle Shi saw that she had not chosen this house, he did not try to persuade her otherwise, and even recommended a broker to her.

After this experience, Song Yushu realized that she might not be able to stay in the prefectural city for long. If Zhou Chengyu passed the imperial examination and became a Juren or Jinshi, she would probably have to move again. It would be better to rent a house instead.

The mother and daughter spent several days looking at houses in the city before finally deciding on a place to rent.

Song Yushu rented a house for fifty taels a year. The house had four rooms and a small courtyard, and it was a quiet place.

After cleaning for two or three days, Song Yushu moved his things in and settled in. Only then did he realize that he hadn't written a letter to Xue Huai'an. He had to quickly find someone to write two letters back to Wei's mother and Xue Huai'an to let them know that he was safe.

After staying in the new house for two days, Song Yushu and Zhou Chengzhu began looking for a shop to rent.

There are many restaurants in the prefectural city, so the competition is fierce. Song Yushu had only been there a short time, and after taking Zhou Chengzhu to various restaurants and taverns to investigate, she found that it was not easy for them to gain a foothold in the prefectural city.

There were two or three restaurants on the bustling streets, but Song Yushu didn't dare to flock to the bustling streets as soon as he arrived. Instead, he set his sights on the streets near Zhou Chengyu Academy.

The academy Zhou Chengyu was newly enrolled in was located in a somewhat remote area, but it had an excellent reputation. The nearby streets were mostly lined with bookstores, and there were also a few restaurants, though they were a bit far apart.

Song Yushu knew that shops near the academy were naturally in high demand. Fortunately, she hadn't bought a house, so she still had a lot of money on hand. She gritted her teeth and spent 150 taels to rent a shop that was only one street away from the academy.

Before even starting to make money, a lot of money had already been spent, which made Song Yushu feel a sense of urgency. After Xiong Erni arrived in the prefectural city, he began to rush to renovate the rented shop.

The shop's name remained unchanged, but the decor became more elegant, since the main target audience was the students of the academy, and it had to cater to the tastes of scholars.

Even the menu had to be carefully crafted with auspicious meanings, which was no easy task for Song Yushu.

While Song Yushu was busy opening his new shop, Zhou Chengyu in the academy was also adapting to his new environment.

After only a few days at the academy, he felt a great sense of disparity. He was fourteen years old, and passing the imperial examination at this age was considered a "young talent" in the county. However, in the prefectural city, there were several other people of his age who had also passed the imperial examination, and there was even a thirteen-year-old who was the top scholar.

The intensity of teaching has increased significantly. Zhou Chengyu used to have Master Xue's help to organize his thoughts occasionally, but now he has to keep up with the pace all by himself, which is quite difficult.

Moreover, the city of Fucheng was full of wealthy young men, and they were somewhat hostile towards Zhou Chengyu, a classmate from a small county. At first, Zhou Chengyu didn't think much of it, but after hearing them laugh at him behind his back and plan to make fun of him several times, he realized how malicious they were.

"What good upbringing could someone from such a poor, remote place have? They spend all day buried in books and don't even greet us when they see us. They're so arrogant!"

"If someone were exceptionally talented, like Senior Brother Shen, that would be fine. But unfortunately, his ranking isn't high either, and he even struggles to understand the teacher's lectures!"

As Zhou Chengyu listened to his classmates, who usually dressed in fine clothes and always looked down on him, making disparaging remarks about him while he was away from school, he felt a little sad, but he did not act impulsively.

Seeing him walk in, the group didn't stop; instead, they talked even more enthusiastically, as if afraid Zhou Chengyu wouldn't hear them.

"He's just putting on an act. He doesn't dare to say a word when we say that," one of them said, adding another sarcastic remark when Zhou Chengyu showed no reaction.