Qin sighed and smiled, "Mother was so anxious she forgot how much greater a blessing it is to have no children. Oh, when I heard the news, it felt like needles stabbing my heart. He was a good, hard-to-find child, so loyal and righteous. Your grandmother cried too, saying it was a pity to lose such a good...good young man."
She didn't feel comfortable saying "good grandson-in-law", so she changed it to "good young man".
When they heard that Zhao Wu was not dead, the whole family was happy again.
Xu Lanyin asked, "My grandfather was so willing to let you come to the provincial capital to celebrate the New Year?"
Qin said, "When your grandfather heard that Lord Min had found a good teacher, he wished Lan Zhou could fly over." She added, "I'm determined this time. I'm coming regardless of whether he agrees or not. Your grandmother was worried you wouldn't understand, so she asked me to try to persuade you."
Xu Lanzhou said, "Sister, Lord Min was just normal to us when we were in Nanping County, but why is he so nice to us now that he's in Ningzhou Prefecture? Master even said that after I pass the rank of Wu Xiucai, he'll go to the temple and light a perpetual lamp for Lord Min."
Xu Lanyin was not in a position to elaborate, so she simply said, "How could a person suddenly change? There must be a reason."
Qin Shi did think that it was the Fujian households who had helped arrange it, but she couldn't say it out loud. Now that she knew her daughter's ability and thoughts, she no longer worried that she would be bewitched by some man to become a concubine.
Xu Lanzhou then told them about the Nanping County snack shop, which had made a lot of money and had also distributed dividends. Before they left, he gave them 20 taels of silver as a filial gift and the clothes and shoes made by Qin Shi.
He also specifically told the old couple that the eldest wife's life was very good now, so they should not use the money to help them buy land, but keep it for themselves...
At the end of the next morning, Xu Lanting and Zhao Xingchen, who had gotten up late, had just finished breakfast when Min Jia arrived with a few servants. They brought a lot of daily necessities, even a few pairs of dolls and their little houses, making it clear that they were going to stay in their house for a long time.
Mother Liu smiled and said, "Sister got up at the beginning of the morning hour today and was anxious to come here."
Min Jia bowed to Qin and called out, "Xu, grandma, grandma."
Qin narrowed her eyes and smiled, saying, "Oh, my sister is really capable. She can talk so much."
With so many people, we had to make some distribution.
Xu Lanting moved into his own room, Zhao Xingchen temporarily slept with Qin, and Min Jia slept with Xu Lanyin. Madam Liu and her two maids slept in the side room, and the two male servants slept in the guest room at the back of the outer courtyard.
In order to encourage the little girl, Xu Lanyin said nicely, "Jiaer has made great progress these days, so Aunt Xu will reward you by letting you sleep with Aunt Xu."
After hearing this, Min Jia laughed out loud and looked at Zhao Xingchen proudly.
Zhao Xingchen pouted, but didn't have the nerve to say that she didn't want to sleep with her grandma.
Butler Hao also arrived, and he came to take Xu Lanzhou to his teacher's house. Except for New Year's Eve and the first and second days of the first lunar month, Xu Lanzhou would go to his teacher's house every day to study for three hours, until the nineteenth day of the first lunar month.
That gentleman was the instructor at Ningzhou Academy, and classes began on the 20th of the first lunar month. Although his teaching days were brief, the finishing touch was immensely beneficial. Since Xu Lanzhou hadn't been enjoying a good year, Xu Lanyin had prepared a number of wonderful gifts for him to take with him.
Xu Lanyin discussed with Qin what New Year's goods to buy, as well as what New Year's gifts to give to the Minhu family, the Min Tongpan family, and the Hu family. She drew up a list and asked Ding Gu and Yang Zhong to go to the street to buy them.
She gave all the 200 taels of silver that Fujian had used to buy the small screen to Qin Shi, and kept the remaining 800 taels for herself. The teahouse was running out of money, and her private savings were already running low. Although she had a lot of jewelry, it was difficult to liquidate it immediately.
Aunt Yang took the peanuts Qin had brought from Nanping and the Xu family snacks to her neighbors, giving each family a pound of fried peanuts and a few snacks. No matter where you live, it's important to maintain good relations with your neighbors.
When she came back, she was followed by three children aged six or seven, who played with Xu Lanting and others in the yard.
Xu Lanyin also wants Min Jia to spend more time with children of the same age, which can cultivate her self-confidence and communication skills.
At night, Min Jia was first helped to bed by Liu Mama. When Xu Lanyin finished her work and went to bed, she saw Min Jia was still awake in the quilt, looking at her with bright eyes.
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "It's so late, why haven't you slept yet?"
Min Jia smiled and said, "I'm so happy that I can't sleep."
Xu Lanyin pinched her little nose, kissed her again, and said with a smile, "Go to bed, it's very late."
As soon as she lay down, Min Jia crawled out of his own quilt and into Xu Lanyin's quilt, hanging on her with all four legs.
Afraid that Xu Lanyin would chase him away, Min Jia closed his eyes and said, "I—fell asleep." Then he deliberately made a soft snoring sound.
Xu Lanyin laughed out loud. This child was already very casual and normal with her and her family. With a little more guidance, she could get along and communicate well with others, and if she could speak clearly, she would become a normal and likable child.
Xu Lanyin felt a sense of accomplishment.
The next day, Xu Lanyin took her two children to the department store to shop.
The mall was bustling with people, so they went straight to Xu's Bakery. From then on, the main store in the provincial capital was called Xu's Bakery, the small shop here was called Xu's Bakery, and the shop in Nanping County was called Xu's Bakery Shop.
There were four tables in the room, all of which were full of people. Hot tea, fruit juice and other drinks and snacks were placed on the tables. There was also a line of people queuing at the window to buy snacks.
The chess master came into the room and greeted Li. Li quickly brought out a small table and asked someone to bring out a few stools to treat the children to fruit juice and snacks.
Li whispered to Xu Lanyin, "The mall will be closed on the 28th and reopen on the 5th. It's just in time for me to go home for the New Year and come back on the 4th."
Xu Lanyin felt sorry for Li and said, "You can never make enough money. Sister-in-law, please take a few more days to rest and come back on the tenth day."
Mrs. Li shook her head and smiled, "Who would complain about having too much money? I still want to get back to work on time."
Xu Lanyin said, "We spent a lot of money on decorating and buying things for this place and the Xu's Pastry Shop on North Street, so we won't be sharing the profits from the past two months. In addition to giving you one tael of silver as a monthly salary, I'll give you ten taels of silver as a bonus at the end of the year, and the other two will each get one tael of silver. Before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, you'll be paid three times your wages for each day you work."
Li thanked him. She had worked in the shop in Nanping County for over nine months this year, and the shop had paid her well. This year's hard work had been well worth it. Besides the dividends from the eldest wife, the couple had earned several dozen taels of silver.
While eating snacks, I unexpectedly ran into Mrs. Min and her grandmother Shen, who were shopping for New Year's goods in person. Tired of shopping, they came over to rest and have something to eat.
Xu Lanyin asked someone to bring out two more brocade stools and asked with a smile, "Where are Madam Min, Grandma Min, and Sister Nan?"
Madam Min smiled and said, "Miss Nan has gone to the capital. I heard that the old lady is not in good health, so my master asked her to go to the old lady to pay her respects."
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