The original owner's husband was said to have been killed by bandits on his way to another place to discuss business.
Not long after, the patriarch of the Gao family, missing his only son, went up the mountain in the middle of the night to visit his son's grave. As a result, he was found dead in front of his son's grave at dawn.
Shen Qing always felt that there was something fishy about the deaths of the Gao family father and son, but she didn't have time to investigate right now.
She needs to earn money first, survive first, and then figure out the story of the Gao family father and son, as well as the secrets of this house.
Thinking of this, she comforted Gao Liu: "Live well, be happy. Your son will be happy watching from heaven. Besides, he's happy in heaven, so why come back to the mortal world to suffer? Look at me, I'm always thinking about paying off my debts, I can't eat or sleep well, what's there to be happy about in living like this?"
After thinking for a long time, Gao Liu sighed deeply before bending down to blow out the candle.
Shen Qing asked Chunju to serve her while she sat down to rest.
“Now it’s just the two of us left in the Gao family. If we work together, we can pay off the debts and save this house. At the very least, we can still offer incense to the master and young master on holidays, right? If this house is gone, we won’t even have a place to burn incense for them.”
Gao Liu nodded with tears in her eyes.
Seeing this, Shen Qing knew that the old woman had come to terms with things.
She returned to her room feeling relieved.
The next morning, we went to Grandpa Gao's house first.
Grandpa Gao's house was less than a mile away from the Gao family's residence, but his house was much more impressive than the Gao family's. He was indeed the richest.
Shen Qing and Chunju were led into the hall by a servant and met Master Gao and Madam Gao.
Shen Qing explained his purpose and presented the agreement.
Grandpa Gao glanced at it a few times, but didn't mention the money at all. Instead, he asked, "I sent someone to Yongzhou to inquire about this Mr. Chen you mentioned yesterday, but I couldn't find him."
Shen Qing was taken aback.
I really didn't expect him to be in such a hurry, sending people to verify it overnight.
Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, she simply explained: "I probably drank too much last night and didn't speak clearly. His surname is Cheng, not Chen."
"Cheng what?"
"...Cheng Zhiwen."
Grandpa Gao clapped his hands and said happily, "That's right! The Cheng family of Yongzhou is renowned! I know about the Cheng family of Yongzhou!"
Shen Qing nodded with an awkward smile, hoping that the topic of Cheng Zhiwen would end there.
Fortunately, Madam Gao mentioned it at this time: "They say that people who have experienced great changes are more likely to become enlightened. Look at my niece-in-law, sir. She used to stay at home all the time, but now she has to come out and show her face in order to support the family."
These words made Shen Qing feel a little uncomfortable.
While seemingly praising her for being insightful, he actually pitied her for not having a man to protect her and having to venture out into the world on her own.
However, it is true that she is now completely alone and can only rely on herself.
None of Gao's relatives, including Gao Liu, could be trusted. When the original owner was arrested and taken to the county government, none of them showed up.
It's not easy for them to lend her 10,000 taels right now.
Thinking of the money, Shen Qing composed himself and smiled at Grandpa Gao: "Uncle, how about you give me this 10,000 taels of silver today? Once I have all the silver, I'll start buying materials. Let's make this rayon as soon as possible and earn some money sooner."
Grandpa Gao waved his hand, "Don't rush for the money. I thought about it last night, and I'm still worried that you'll lose this business."
Shen Qing: "..."
After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath and said patiently, "Uncle, my family is in business in Yongzhou. After marrying into the Gao family, I have been learning business from them for more than half a year. Now there are even foreign merchants willing to buy my fabrics. The sales channels have been found. Now all that's left is to finish making the fabrics."
Seeing that Grandpa Gao was still unmoved, she added, "Besides, if you give me ten thousand taels today, you won't lose out. If I haven't made any money in two years, I'll pay you back with interest."
Grandpa Gao's shrewd eyes darted over her: "You haven't even made any money on this business, where are you going to get the money to pay me back with interest?"
Shen Qing gritted his teeth: "If all else fails, I'll sell the house. That should give me enough money to pay you all back, right?"
Grandpa Gao then smiled and rubbed his hands together: "Alright! It's settled then!"
He took a silver note from his sleeve and handed it over.
Shen Qing accepted it with both hands and breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not easy.
After leaving Grandpa Gao's house, Shen Qing and Chunju headed straight for Third Master Gao's residence.
Despite the wind and snow along the way, she felt her heart, which had been frozen for a month, finally feel a trace of warmth.
She clutched her purse tightly.
This 10,000 taels of silver is a good start.
She believed that she would definitely be able to turn danger into safety this time and survive well in ancient times!
Before Master Gao got up, the servant arranged for Shen Qing and Chunju to sit in the hall.
Shen Qing looked around.
Although the house was not as large as the Gao family's, the items displayed inside were clearly of considerable value.
Even the third master of the Gao family, who drinks soup with them, is richer than the Gao family.
But Shen Qing knew that this man's ten thousand taels would not be easy to obtain.
She waited patiently.
After waiting for an hour, Master Gao finally arrived late.
It's probably a deliberate delay.
As Shen Qing expected, he didn't even glance at her. After entering the hall, he sat down in the main seat and started drinking tea and scolding the servants, making Shen Qing wait for another half an hour.
Shen Qing needed his help, so she patiently waited it out with him.
Throughout history, asking people for money has never been easy. Those who interrogate you like Grandpa Gao are relatively easy to deal with.
Shen Qing didn't care about any of that; she was willing to go all out to get the money.
“I can give you ten thousand taels,” Master Gao said slowly, sizing up Shen Qing through the tea smoke, “but I have one condition.”
Shen Qing had been waiting for this moment, and immediately sat up straight: "What are the conditions?"
“You have to adopt my grandson and raise him as your son so that he can inherit the business of the second wife in the future.”
Shen Qing thought to himself: This Gao Laosan really never forgets to take advantage of the second wife's childless offspring.
However, she was unwilling to adopt someone else's child as her heir.
If she finds someone she loves here in the future and has her own child, her property will naturally be left to her child. Having an adopted son makes things complicated.
Even if she doesn't have children in the future and it doesn't matter who inherits her property, it's not appropriate for her to adopt a child to raise right now, as she's busy earning money to pay off debts.
If they don't agree, Gao Laosan won't be able to come up with the money.
He made it clear that he wanted to use 10,000 taels of silver to exchange for the opportunity to exploit the childless second wife.
After pondering for a while, Shen Qing said, "It's fine. Anyway, I have no children and do need an heir. Your grandson is also a member of the Gao family, so it would be perfect for him to be adopted into our family."
Upon hearing this, Gao Laosan showed no joy on his face: "But I heard from your mother that you were against adoption before, but now you've agreed. Aren't you just after my money?"
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