Chapter 260 Apologize and return the money!

Wei asked the father and daughter to take a seat, and personally poured tea in front of them, asking them to have a cup of hot tea to warm themselves up first.

Gu Lianshan took a sip out of courtesy, then put down the teacup and asked the mother and her two children if they had made up their minds.

"Are you planning to settle down in Bei'an City, or pack up and return to the village? It's snowing now. Whether we stay or return to the village, we need to find a place to live quickly and buy things for the winter."

"Uncle, we've already discussed this," Wei said with a smile. "We won't be returning to the village. We'll rent two houses in Bei'an City and wait until we get through the winter."

"Okay! Let Tianbao come with me, I'll take him to look for a house. Do you and Sanya have any requirements for a house? If so, tell me and I'll remember it so I can find one according to your requirements."

"I want to find a house with a separate entrance and a separate house. It doesn't have to be too big, just three or four rooms. Also, the rent can't be too expensive.

His second uncle, I won't hide it from you. I do have some money now, but you also know that my daughter and I haven't married yet.

I won't be able to rely on them as my father in the future, so I'm thinking of saving a little so that when the children get married, I can at least have some money to help them."

Wei smiled apologetically, and what she said made Gu Lianshan sigh.

Indeed, his good elder brother didn't even want Gu Tianbao as his son, so he couldn't even think about expecting him to pay for raising the child in the future.

"Okay! I've got it in mind. I'll look for it as you said."

"Oh! Thank you, second brother!" Wei thanked him repeatedly, and her words and actions made her look very humble.

Gu Lianshan nodded at her, then stood up and asked Gu Tianbao to go out with him.

Seeing this, Wei hurriedly called out to the other person, "Second brother, my sister-in-law has something else to say. Please wait a moment."

Gu Lianshan stopped and asked, "What else?"

Wei smiled at him ingratiatingly, turned around and walked to the bed, and took out a purse from under the pillow.

Holding the purse, Wei came to Gu Tang and apologized, "Four-year-old, my aunt was bewitched and greedy, so she stole your money.

Now that I have repented, I do not ask for your forgiveness, but only hope that you will accept this silver. There are twenty taels of silver in this purse, which is my return to you."

Looking at the silver handed to him, Gu Tang stared at Wei for a while, sensing no malice in her eyes, and confirmed that she was sincere.

After taking the silver, Gu Tang did not accept it all. Instead, he opened the purse, took out half of the silver bars and put them back.

"I overstated the bill when we settled the accounts that day. Besides, I know my mother wouldn't give you half. She definitely wouldn't tell you the truth.

I'll just take half of the money today, and you can take the remaining half back.

Let me be frank, my uncle is a piece of shit! You have money in your hands, and your cousin is old enough to get married. With his support, there's no need to put up with my uncle's anger!

It’s not that Gu Tang is a saint, but after traveling through time for so long, she has deeply realized one thing: life is really too difficult for women in this era!

Regardless of whether they are evil or good, life is almost the same. There are no human rights at all, and even the most basic dignity is missing. Most women are just reproductive tools and free labor in the family.

If Wei no longer has any ill will towards her from now on, she can let bygones be bygones.

If it were the Wei from the past who hadn't experienced hardships and seen through Gu Liansheng's true character, he would definitely explode after hearing this.

But now, Wei has completely seen through Gu Liansheng's character, and knows that Gu Tang said this to her because he really wants to help her.

At this moment, she felt nothing but gratitude and regret.

"Auntie, I've got this in mind! After this, I'll never trust your uncle again and will only take care of Tianbao and Sanya."

Wei didn't mention Gu Qing here. She probably knew what Gu Qing had done. In order not to anger her son and second daughter, she had to give up on Gu Qing.

Gu Tang didn't know the situation and didn't intend to ask. He just stuffed the silver into Wei's hands and asked her to keep it.

Wei refused to take it and quickly pushed it back: "This is what my aunt owes! My aunt has to pay it back!"

"Half is enough for me, and you can take the rest back. If you feel bad about it, you can give the silver to me when Tianbao becomes prosperous in the future."

Gu Tang forced the silver into his hand.

When Wei disappeared, she went to Wei's house and searched it, and found a lot of silver.

This half, after all, is not what I should have taken.

But I can't make up my mind if I don't take it, so I might as well just take half.

She didn't keep this half, and would give it to Agou next time so that he could use it for charity, which could be considered as accumulating good deeds.

Wei was still unwilling to accept the money, and in the end it was Gu Lianshan who took the initiative to settle the matter.

"Just listen to my daughter! She doesn't lack money right now, but you're different. When you live in Bei'an City, you'll need money everywhere. Give her half of this money, and you keep the other half."

Wei now listened to Gu Lianshan very much. Seeing that he had spoken, she could not delay any longer and kept bowing to the father and daughter to express her gratitude.

Gu Tang was a younger generation. No matter what happened between her and Wei, she should not accept Wei's courtesy at this time. Therefore, she hid behind her father.

Gu Lianshan and Wei were of the same generation, and since Wei was the one he saved, he did not move and accepted Wei's gift with peace of mind.

After receiving the gift, Gu Lianshan took Gu Tang and Gu Tianbao and left the house.

Before leaving, Gu Tianbao worriedly told Gu Lian to take good care of Wei, and kept muttering to himself for a long time until Gu Lianshan called him from outside, and then he left, looking back every few steps.

After leaving the inn, the three of them went to a small teahouse.

When he saw the owner of the teahouse, Gu Tang suddenly remembered that this was the owner Qian they had found when they bought the yard last time.

"Dad, it's just renting a house. Do I need to find a real estate agent?" Gu Tang was very puzzled. She had never found a real estate agent when she rented a house before.

"It's safer to find a broker. Besides, Bei'an City is so big and we're not familiar with it. If we rely on ourselves to find it, how long will it take?"

That's right. Finding a pawnbroker does save time and effort, but... you have to pay the pawnbroker a sum of money.

Gu Tang did not hide it from Gu Tianbao and told him about it. If he was willing to pay the fee, he could go in and find a broker.

If they are unwilling to go out, then they can just walk and ask in every alley, and they will find it sooner or later.

Gu Tianbao’s idea is the same as Gu Lianshan’s. If spending a little money can save a lot of trouble, then just spend it!

"It's okay, just do as Second Uncle says and find a house as soon as possible so that my mother and I can move in sooner."

Fine! Since you're willing to spend the money, let's go to the teahouse and find a pharmacist.

Qian, the owner of the teahouse, had a good memory. When he saw Gu Lianshan, he was still a little unsure, but when Gu Tang came in, he suddenly remembered.

"Hey there! Isn't this Mr. Gu and Miss Gu? What's the wind blowing today? It actually blew you two here!"

The shopkeeper smiled ingratiatingly, and while talking, he invited people to sit inside and called on the waiter to serve tea.

Gu Lianshan picked up a table at random and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, the waiter came over with a tray and served tea.

The tea sold in the teahouse is different from the tea that customers like Gu Lianshan drink. The latter is obviously better than the former.

After drinking a cup of hot tea, I felt warm all over.

Gu Lianshan wiped his mouth and looked at the shopkeeper with a curious expression: "It's been so long? I'm surprised that Shopkeeper Qian still remembers me."

"That's right..." Shopkeeper Qian glanced at Gu Tang calmly and said with a smile, "Others may not remember it, but you and I will never forget it!"

"As expected of a businessman, you have a great tongue!" Gu Lianshan praised with a smile, then changed the subject and pointed at Gu Tianbao.

He said, "Stop joking. I'm here to talk to you today. This is my nephew, my dear nephew! He wants to rent a small courtyard.

It doesn't have to be too nice, just three or four rooms will do, and the rent should be cheap, and the neighbors should be honest people, not the kind who steal, cheat, or get into fights."

"Oh! You've found the right person!" Shopkeeper Qian was surprised and slapped his thigh.

He approached Gu Lianshan and whispered, "To be honest, recently, because there have been rumors everywhere about a snowstorm this year, many people who rent houses in the city have returned to their hometowns, leaving a lot of yards vacant. I have quite a few yards that meet your requirements. I'll take you to see them later."

"In that case, let's not wait any longer. Let's go now while the snow isn't too heavy. The sooner we see, the sooner we can make a reservation!"

Gu Lianshan was anxious and wanted to get this done quickly.

When business comes to the door, Manager Qian is more concerned than Gu Lianshan. When he heard this, he immediately nodded and asked the boy to go to the backyard to harness the cart.

Not long after, Manager Qian got on his own ox cart, leading the way and taking Gu Lianshan to see the house.

If you want to find a house with the cheapest rent in Bei'an City, it's only on West Street.

Shopkeeper Qian led them to West Street.

The housing density on West Street is higher than that in other blocks, and both the houses and yards are incomparable to those in other blocks.

Especially the courtyards rented out by the owner are mostly separated from the original courtyard by walls and are very narrow.

The first courtyard that Manager Qian took Gu Lianshan and the others to see looked like this.

There are three southern rooms separated from the main courtyard. The courtyard is long and narrow, and a simple shack is built against the west wall, which is drafty on three sides.

Manager Qian pointed to the shack and said, "We can build two stoves down there and use it as a kitchen. In the summer, we can cook in this shack without getting too hot!"

Yes, it’s not hot to cook in the summer, but it’s winter now!

Cooking outside in the middle of winter, by the time the food is cooked, you're almost frozen to death!

Gu Tang secretly rolled her eyes, and while the shopkeeper Qian was still praising everywhere, she took the opportunity to pull off her father's clothes and asked her father to ask the price first, not to say whether it was good or bad, and to look at a few more stores later.

Compare prices from different properties, including the size of the yard, the quality of the house, and most importantly, the monthly rent.

This is not a yard for his own family, so it is not easy for Gu Lianshan to make the final decision.

He winked at Gu Tianbao and whispered, "How's it going? Did you like it?"

"Uncle," Gu Tianbao said softly, "I really don't know anything about renting a house! You have the final say."

This is the truth. Gu Tianbao really knows nothing about this matter.

Okay, then let’s listen to his daughter and ask how much the rent is first.

"Manager Qian, stop praising me. Tell me, how much rent do you have to pay for this yard every month?"

"I won't cheat you. Not many people are renting houses in winter right now, especially this year. The number of people renting houses has dropped by half! If you like this yard, it's 100 copper coins a month, and you can move in today!"

One hundred copper coins a month? That's not expensive.

"Are there any more? I want to see a few more. You have to let us choose, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! There are five or six small courtyards on this side of West Street alone. I'll take you to see them."

After coming out of the courtyard, several people climbed onto the ox cart and walked towards the next courtyard.

Following Manager Qian, Gu Lianshan and his party visited five small courtyards in a row.

Each courtyard is similar in size, with three south-facing rooms, plus the kitchen built in the courtyard, which can barely be considered four rooms.

The same goes for the courtyard, which is completely separated from the main courtyard. Not only is it small, but it is also extremely soundproof.

The monthly rent ranges from one hundred to one hundred and fifty copper coins, which is not expensive.

After looking around, it was almost the end, so Manager Qian took them to see the last one.

"The rent for the courtyard downstairs is a bit higher. It has three rooms in the north and two in the east. The courtyard is quite nice, more than twice as spacious.

Later, you can plant some vegetables in the yard and raise some chickens and ducks. In short, you can do whatever you want with it, and the owner won’t ask any questions.”

Shopkeeper Qian praised all the way, which aroused everyone's curiosity.

Not long after, two ox carts stopped at the entrance of an alley, one in front of the other.

The courtyard they wanted to see was at the entrance of this alley.

After jumping off the ox cart, Manager Qian took out the key to open the gate and talked about the owner of the courtyard.

"The owner doesn't live here. The whole family lives on East Street and can't come here often. Even when renting the house, they entrust us, the agents, and are too lazy to take care of this matter."

After opening the gate, Manager Qian invited the three people in and asked them to take a good look at the yard.

This yard is indeed as Manager Qian had described it before, with three rooms in the north and two rooms in the east. The yard is spacious and can be used to grow vegetables or raise chickens and ducks.

Manager Qian opened all the rooms and let them in to take a look.

"The house is also very spacious, and the owner's family originally lived here.

After entering the house, Gu Tang measured it with her feet and found that it was smaller than the house in her courtyard, but more spacious than the houses in the village.

"How is it?" Gu Lianshan approached Gu Tang and Gu Tianbao and asked them in a low voice.

Gu Tang didn't say whether it was good or not, but asked Gu Tianbao: "What do you think of this place compared to the previous ones? Do you like this place better, or do you like the previous ones better?"

"Of course I like it here." Gu Tianbao replied without thinking.

After hearing this, Gu Tang looked at her father and said, "Did you hear me? Go and ask how much the rent is. If you can accept it, then it's settled."

"Yes, yes, second uncle, please go and ask." This was Gu Tianbao's first time renting a house, and he felt a little timid and didn't dare to talk to Manager Qian.

"Okay! I'll go ask!"

Manager Qian was standing in the corridor and did not come in to interrupt their conversation.

Those in their line of work know that whether buying or renting a house, the family always has to discuss it.

At times like this, he has to be more tactful and not get too close to people.