Chapter 32 Renting a House
When Mrs. Qian saw Zhang Yunniang and the children behind Gu Mingda, she immediately took Zhang Yunniang's hand and said enthusiastically, "Are you Mr. Gu's wife, Yunniang? I have heard Mr. Gu mention you many times. Your children are all well-behaved."
The family was pulled into the yard by Mrs. Qian.
"The best houses are reserved for you. I've left two rooms for you. Are they enough?" asked Mrs. Qian.
Gu Mingda nodded and said, "Thank you, mother-in-law. I trouble you every time I come here."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qian immediately waved her hands and said, "Brother Gu, you are too polite. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't be able to live the good life I have today."
Mrs. Qian asked again, "Although I have cleaned the house once, please see if there is anything missing. I will clean it up now."
Gu Mingda didn't even look at the cleaning of the room, and said directly: "Grandma Qian, why should I worry about the room you prepared?"
Mrs. Qian smiled even more deeply and left on the pretext of being busy with something. But not long after, she attentively brought them a pot of hot water.
Gu Mingda accompanied Zhang Yunniang to pack the large luggage bag. They did not let the children sit idle, but asked them to pack their own things to take out.
The children had few things, so after they had tidied them up, Gu Yan took out a book to read. Gu Zhao and Niu Niu were young, so they wandered around the yard.
"Have you ever helped this Mrs. Qian? She has been so kind to our family." Zhang Yunniang asked her husband softly.
The room was spotlessly clean, and the quilt in the room was warm and fluffy, without a trace of moisture, obviously having been dried in the sun in advance. If you were staying in a hotel, it would be difficult to find such a good house, and most importantly, the rent was considered low.
"The first year I came to the capital to take the college entrance examination, she worked as a helper in the guesthouse. After I failed the exam, I heard someone crying in the middle of the night. After asking around, I learned that my pain of failing the exam was nothing compared to hers."
Facing his wife's puzzled look, Gu Mingda continued to explain, "Grandma Qian's husband's family is relatively wealthy, with two shops and this house. Unfortunately, after marriage, they gave birth to a son who is not very smart. Her husband passed away early, and a scoundrel in the family directly occupied the house and shop in the name of taking care of her, and drove them out."
Although Gu Mingda said it tactfully, Zhang Yunniang also heard it and said that her son was "not smart" and was most likely a fool.
Gu Mingda continued to explain: "I helped her write the complaint, and I also found a way to hold that scoundrel responsible, so that she could get the house back. I also helped her find an orphan in the clan to adopt as her grandson, so that she could fix up the house and rent it out cheaply to students taking the imperial examinations."
Granny Qian also had two shops and was not short of money. She rented her house to the students at a low price because if these scholars did well in the exams in the future, they could accumulate some donations to bless her family.
Niu Niu and her brother, who were playing in the yard, had already started playing hide-and-seek.
While Niu Niu had her eyes closed, Gu Zhao ran into the corridor at the back and hid in a corner.
When Niu Niu opened her eyes, she could not see any trace of Gu Zhao around her.
Niuniu searched the whole yard but couldn't find her little brother. After hesitating for a while, she shouted, "Third brother, I'm coming to the back to find you."
When Gu Zhao heard his sister's voice, he huddled in a corner, covering his mouth and laughing.
Niu Niu ran while shouting.
Hearing his sister's footsteps entering the corridor, Gu Zhao couldn't help but become nervous, and pricked up his ears to listen to how far his sister was from him.
"Brother? Brother, are you hiding behind the tree?" Niu Niu asked.
No one answered.
The place where Gu Zhao was hiding was a blind spot. Niu Niu tilted her head and looked around but couldn't find him. She saw that the corridor had reached the end, and if she walked any further she would reach the next courtyard.
Niu Niu heard from the adults that this house has a good location, all the rooms have been rented out, and there are people living in other courtyards.
Niuniu stood at the moon gate, hesitating for a moment, but did not go in. Instead, she turned around and shouted to the corridor: "Brother, where are you hiding? Niuniu can't find you. Niuniu gives up."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Zhao did not appear, but a woman with a harsh face and who looked to be in her forties came out from behind the Moon Gate.
The woman grabbed Niuniu by the collar and asked angrily, "Whose child are you? Who taught you to make so much noise here? Do you know that it will affect other people's studies?"
Niuniu immediately struggled and said, "I didn't enter your yard..."
The woman looked at Niuniu with disgust and said, "Will it not have any impact if he doesn't enter the yard? You naughty girl, be quiet. If my son fails to pass the exam this time, I will beat you to death!"
After the woman finished speaking, she let go of Niu Niu and threw her to the ground.
Gu Zhao rushed out as soon as he heard the argument, and just ran over to catch Niu Niu, preventing his sister from falling to the ground.
After steadying Niuniu, Gu Zhao rushed towards the woman's stomach like a small cannonball, knocking her off balance: "Don't bully my sister, you big bad guy!"
The woman leaned against the moon door and managed to stand firm. She was so angry that her eyebrows were raised. She scolded: "You little bastard, you have no manners at all. I will teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!"
After the woman finished speaking, she was about to attack Gu Zhao.
But Gu Zhao was not the kind of child who would stand there stupidly and get beaten. He grabbed Niuniu's hand and ran back, shouting as he ran: "The old hag is beating people, the old hag is beating people!"
The woman didn't expect that such a big child could be so vicious, and she cursed: "Stop, I'll tear your mouth!"
When Gu Zhao heard this, he stopped, turned around and made a face at her, then continued running towards his house.
Gu Mingda and Zhang Yuniang walked out of the house the moment they heard their son's voice.
When Gu Zhao saw his parents, he immediately pulled Niuniu to hide behind his parents as if he had someone to back him up. He raised his head and started to complain: "Dad, Mom, this old woman pushed Niuniu and wanted to hit me. Fortunately, I ran fast!"
When Gu Mingda heard this, his eyes suddenly darkened.
"It was obviously you, little brat, who hit me first, and you dare to complain first!" the woman cursed.
When Gu Mingda heard this, he did not refute it on the spot, but asked Niuniu: "Niuniu, can you tell Dad what happened?"
Niu Niu spoke clearly and quickly explained the whole story.
After listening to the two children's accounts, Gu Mingda confirmed that there was basically no discrepancy between what they said, so he naturally believed his own children.
He immediately said with a sullen face, "Auntie, it seems unreasonable for you, an old man, to bully a child."
(End of this chapter)
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