Seeing this step-out bed, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but sigh at the amazing craftsmanship in ancient times. The step-out bed was made entirely of handmade wood and was extremely beautiful. It was carved with complex patterns and was exquisite and simple. Next to the step-out bed was a large vertical cabinet where she could store her clothes.
Next to the vertical cabinet was a wooden washstand where she could place her washbasin and foot basin.
The dressing table was placed on the other side of the bed. On the dressing table were a carved dressing box and a bronze mirror.
The room was not too big, but it was twice as big as the room she lived in in Guihua Lane. The furniture was arranged just right. Her bedding was already spread out on the bed, so she could go to sleep after washing up.
Ning Jieer smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, do you like it? This is the furniture that Fourth Brother and I picked out for you."
Xu Qinyu turned around and hugged Ning Jie'er. "I like it very much. Thank you, Ning Jie'er."
Ning Jie'er's cheeks flushed, and she pulled her fourth sister-in-law to see her room.
Her room is similar to Xu Qinyu's.
The furniture in other people's rooms was also complete, but they were all ordinary bunk beds. Xu Qinyu felt a little embarrassed. The family was not short of money now, so it would have been fine if the furniture had been the same.
But she didn't worry about it for long. When she made money in the future, she would buy a bigger house and some better-looking furniture.
The family settled down in the new house.
Xu Qinyu also went to bed after washing up.
You know what, sleeping in a big room is more comfortable. The bed is heavy, so it doesn’t creak when you sleep on it.
The next morning, Xu Qinyu woke up at the hour of Yin as usual.
As soon as I turned around, I saw Mo Yu lying under the corridor of the bed, sleeping on her belly.
A few days ago, she told Moyu and Baiyu that her family had bought a new house and that they would be living there in a few days. She didn't bring the two dogs over to see it, but they actually came back on their own.
Seeing that Mo Yu was still sleeping, Xu Qinyu pulled over her clothes and put them on.
It's almost summer. It starts to get a little hot at noon, but it's still a little cool when you get up in the morning.
She put on a thin shirt and a long skirt, then went to the dressing table and tied her hair into a bun in front of the bronze mirror.
Before she went to Guihua Lane, she didn't even buy a bronze mirror. She would sit on a wooden stool and tie her hair into a bun as soon as she got up in the morning. Now that she had a bronze mirror, she realized that her bun was quite ugly. But she really didn't know how to tie a bun, and she had a lot of hair. In order to make it easier to cook, she tied two buns on one side of her head and inserted a wooden hairpin.
After inserting the wooden hairpin, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but touch the two ugly buns.
Never mind. In the past, when cooking in restaurants, I had to wrap my hair with a cloth, otherwise some hair might fall into the food.
After leaving the room, Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen to boil water.
Walking along the corridor and looking at the empty patio, Xu Qinyu planned to take some time to buy some seedlings of flowers and plants and plant them. There was no need to move the grape trellis on the other side of Guihua Lane. She could buy a few more grape seedlings and plant them on the wall in the back row. She could then plant some flowers and plants in the front patio.
When she walked into the kitchen, Xu Qinyu discovered that there was a light inside. It was her fourth brother.
Xu Qinyu went in and said, "Fourth brother, you woke up so early."
"If you can't sleep, get up." Pei Weixuan looked at Yu Niang deeply.
In a few days, he will leave again.
Xu Qinyu actually hoped that Fourth Brother would rest more, but Fourth Brother’s schedule has always been like this.
"I've boiled some water. Yu Niang can bring the basin over to wash up."
Pei Weixuan had already boiled hot water on the stove.
Xu Qinyu nodded and went back to the room to get the basin. The kitchen in the new house was much larger than the one in the sweet-scented osmanthus house, and several people could move around in the kitchen. Xu Qinyu poured hot water into the basin and added some cold water from the water tank. She washed her face with a towel and then rinsed her mouth.
After she finished washing up, it was time for her to go to the restaurant.
"Fourth brother, I'll go to the restaurant first. Remember to come over for breakfast later."
Pei Weixuan nodded and said, "I'll take you there."
Xu Qinyu thought about it and didn't refuse.
Pei Weixuan drove the donkey cart to take Yu Niang to the restaurant.
Xu Qinyu was still nagging him on the way, "Fourth brother, isn't my bun really ugly?"
I didn’t feel it before I looked in the bronze mirror, but now that I can see it clearly, it’s lingering in my mind.
Pei Weixuan thought about her bun, lowered his eyes, raised his lips and said, "Not ugly." Yu Niang was born pretty, and even if her bun was not tied well, it did not affect her cute and innocent appearance at all.
But it seems that the women on Yu Niang's side don't usually wear their hair in a bun like this, otherwise it would have been almost two years and her hair would still be tied in that style.
Xu Qinyu was deflated. She could hear the lightness in her fourth brother's voice.
There were very few pedestrians on the road in the early morning. After Pei Weixuan sent the people to the restaurant, he left the donkey cart there so that Cheng Ge'er could use it to buy vegetables during the day.
Pei Weixuan knew that he could not help much by staying in the restaurant, so he went back.
It was breakfast time when he went to the restaurant again. When he arrived, he found that there was a queue.
He hadn't come to the restaurant to eat in the past two days, so this was the first time he saw how good the restaurant's business was.
Pei Weixuan entered the restaurant and someone behind him shouted, "Hey, why aren't you queuing?"
Seeing this, Lin hurried over and said, "Don't worry, everyone. This is the husband of our boss."
Even if Pei Weixuan had breakfast in the restaurant, he would not occupy the space in the front hall.
After entering the hall, Pei Weixuan was about to go to the backyard of the kitchen when he caught a glimpse of someone. He turned around and saw that the four people sitting under the window were Huo Ye, Datou, Chen He, and another handsome boy of about seventeen or eighteen.
Huo Ye touched the tip of his nose.
His Highness was a handsome man with tall height and long legs, and it was extremely difficult to ignore him. So when Pei Weixuan entered the hall, Huo Ye saw him at a glance, but he was too embarrassed to say hello. He even shrank his neck, hoping that the Fourth Prince would not discover him.
In the end, the Fourth Prince still discovered him.
But this was not a good time to reminisce about the past, so Pei Weixuan just glanced at them and went in.
Datou's shrunken neck finally straightened out, and he whispered, "Boss, you won't say anything about us, will you?"
Datou and Chen He were both part of the group of pirates that Huo Ye and his black-armored guards had rescued.
The young man next to Huo Ye immediately said, "The boss will definitely not say anything about us, it's just that the food my sister-in-law cooks is so delicious."
After they returned from the sea, they first went back to the island to process the crops and asked Chen Yi to arrange for the island residents to start planting. After the crops were arranged, Huo Ye couldn't wait to run back to Yuanbao Town. He was caught by Datou, who asked him what he was doing. Huo Ye did not hide it. He thought that he had been thinking about the food made by the princess before. After finally returning from the sea, he must go and have a good meal. He also said, "I heard from His Highness that the princess opened a restaurant, so I plan to stay in Yuanbao Town for a few days."
Although Huo Ye called him His Highness, Pei Weixuan was now a king, and Xu Qinyu was the princess.
As for the humiliating title of 'Shu Wang' given to the Fourth Prince by the New Emperor and Governor Fu, the Fourth Prince would not feel humiliated at all, and would not have any feelings. They also had no feelings at all, they just thought that the New Emperor and Empress Dowager Fu were arrogant and stupid.
When Datou heard this, he wanted to go too.
Chen He thought about it and since he had nothing to do recently, he wanted to try what the food that Huo Ye had been thinking about for more than a year tasted like.
Seeing that they were going, Huo Jiang wanted to go too.
Huo Jiang is also a member of the Black Armor Guards. He is an orphan picked up by Huo Ye. He followed Huo Ye into the Black Armor Guards at the age of ten. Huo Ye has been teaching him kung fu personally. He was not brought along when Huo Ye went out to sea last time, but this time he followed wherever Huo Ye went.
So it became a foursome.
Huo Ye and his companions had arrived in Yuanbao Town the night before yesterday. Knowing that His Highness would stay at home for a few more days, they did not bother the Fourth Prince. They did not even bother asking around. They just knew that there was a Xuji Restaurant on West Street that was doing very good business. They also heard about the generous act of the owner of Xuji who prepared food for the victims during the diarrhea epidemic.
In short, in the eyes of the people in Yuanbao Town, Miss Xu is a young lady who cooks delicious food and is a very kind and good person. She can make money and manage the household, and she is good in every way.
Huo Ye also thought that Miss Xu was very good. She was pushed forward by her own family to be a substitute princess, but not only did she not give up, she was also willing to cook to feed the Fourth Prince's family. He felt that if the princess did not have such cooking skills, the Fourth Prince's family would have had a hard time making ends meet when they first came to the southwest.
The next morning, they came to Xu Ji Restaurant.
They arrived not too late, at the normal breakfast time. They were a little surprised to find a queue outside the restaurant.
After waiting for a long time for them to go in, they found out that the shopkeeper was the former queen, which made Huo Ye almost not want to eat breakfast.
Fortunately, the queen didn't know them and was very gentle. She asked them what they wanted to eat and whether it was their first time in the southwest. Their accent didn't sound like they were from the southwest.
Huo Ye just told his registered place and didn't dare say anything else. He ordered two servings of each breakfast and hurried back to his seat.
He was a black-armored guard and the eldest prince's man, but the black-armored guards were similar to secret guards. Only the late emperor knew of their existence, and not even the Empress Dowager Fu, the other concubines in the harem, knew about them.
When breakfast was served, Huo Ye first tried a crystal shrimp dumpling. It was fresh and smooth, with chewy and sweet shrimp meat. The whole thing had a fresh and sweet taste.
Huo Ye took a breath. This was even more delicious than the biscuits and dried meat that His Highness brought last time.
He began to eat without saying anything else.
Seeing this, the other three also tried the crystal shrimp dumplings first, and then became like Huo Ye, saying nothing and just buried their heads in eating.
Chen He was the most polite eater, but seeing the three people eating so fast, he could only eat faster and faster. If he ate any slower, he would be hungry soon.
After finishing these baskets of breakfast, Huo Ye still felt a little unsatisfied and wanted to order two more of each item, but the waiter said they were all gone, leaving only fish porridge and fried noodles.
Fortunately, there was fish porridge and fried noodles, so the four of them were full.
When it was time for dinner, the four of them continued to eat. This time, they came quite early because they knew there would be a queue.
It's hot now, so fewer people eat mutton hotpot, but occasionally some people still eat it.
The four of them ordered the mutton hotpot first, planning to order a few other signature dishes tomorrow, and they also thought that it would take several days before they set off to other state capitals.
They brought back a lot of glass jewelry and glass handicrafts from the country of Erlai, and planned to go to the wealthy provincial capital to sell these glass first, so that they would have money to set up a glass workshop. Then the money would make money, and they would have money to support the army.
They enjoyed the mutton hotpot last night very much and planned to have it again today.
And so, I came early again this morning.
The four of them saw His Highness go to the backyard and continued eating.
This time they were more experienced than yesterday and ordered a full table.
It was Datou and Chen He who paid for the meal, and all the money on Huo Ye was taken away by His Highness.
When His Highness entered the room, Huo Ye said, "Eat, don't worry about the boss."
When they call His Highness outside, they are actually calling him "Boss".
When Pei Weixuan went to the kitchen, Xu Qinyu had already saved out all the breakfast he wanted to eat. She didn't ask Pei Weixuan to deliver the other breakfasts for the family today, but asked Cheng Ge'er to deliver them directly in a donkey cart.
After breakfast, when Pei Weixuan came out, Huo Ye and the others had already left. He did not return to the house, but went to the pharmacy. He bought a lot of medicinal herbs and planned to go back and make some hand ointment.
Yu Niang cooks, and even though she doesn't get frostbite in winter, you can still see some marks on her hands. These are the marks of cracking after contact with cold water in winter. Although the cracks will heal in spring, there will still be marks.
So he planned to buy some medicinal herbs and make some hand cream, which would be much better than rouge and powder.
After buying the medicinal herbs, Pei Weixuan passed by a jewelry shop. He paused and went into the shop to pick out a hairpin.
He picked out an ordinary silver hairpin, which was made entirely of silver. The head of the hairpin was carved into the shape of a crabapple flower. It was very unique and a very everyday style, and it was nice to wear on a daily basis.
Pei Weixuan knew that the glass hairpin he gave to Yu Niang could not be taken out now, so he wanted to buy her a more everyday hairpin that she could wear to Xu Ji on a daily basis.
After paying the money for the hairpin, Pei Weixuan went to buy a few grape seedlings and some seedlings of flowers and plants, and had them delivered directly to the house in Laixi Lane. Two days ago, Yu Niang had whispered to him that the area around the patio and corridor was empty and he should plant something.
After returning, Pei Weixuan planted the grape seedlings and went directly outside the town to cut some bamboo and built a wooden frame for the grape seedlings to climb on.
The rack only occupies one side of the patio. He plans to build a smaller wooden pavilion in the other half. When resting on weekdays, Yu Niang can move a rattan chair over to the wooden pavilion to lie down and rest. Flowers and plants can be planted around, under the grape rack, and near the corridor. He planted them in order according to their growth and types. He bought those flowers and plants that are relatively easy to grow and can survive by watering them every day.
After finishing all these, Pei Weixuan instructed Ning Jie'er, "Ning Jie'er, when you are at home on weekdays, you can just water these flowers and plants in the morning and they will survive."
"Fourth brother, I won't do it, don't worry." Ning Jieer promised her fourth brother.
As for the wooden pavilion, Pei Weixuan planned to work on it tomorrow. He could build it himself, and it would only take two or three days to complete a wooden pavilion.
After Xu Qinyu finished cooking the last table of dishes in the evening, she planned to go back. When she went out, Yuan and the other three were washing dishes by the well in the backyard and chatting.
Yuan asked Lin quietly, "Sister Lin, did that man surnamed Luo really come looking for you again?"
Lin nodded.
It turned out that Lin was a little absent-minded while working in the afternoon, so Yuan asked her what was wrong.
Lin had worked in the restaurant for a year and had developed a very good relationship with Yuan and Chen. She would consult them whenever she had any problems.
When Yuan asked, Lin didn't hide it and whispered to Yuan, "Old Luo was beaten silly by Old Luo!"
Yuan was shocked when she heard this, "This is too cruel."
Even they had heard about what happened to the Luo family a few days ago, and they could only say that they deserved it.
But no one expected that there would be a sequel to this matter.
After saying this, Yuan asked, "What about the Luo family now? Old Mrs. Luo was beaten stupid, and her son and her husband have to spare someone to take care of her. They're broke, so will they target you again?"
Yuan's worry is not without reason. The Lin family's younger sister now earns one or two taels of silver a month, and the eldest girl earns about the same. Including the red envelope, it is at least forty taels of silver a year. It would be disastrous if the Luo family knew about it.
Even if the Luo family still thought that Lin only had 800 coins a month, and now the Luo family was in this state, and Old Lady Luo was beaten stupidly, Luo Dagen might want Lin to go back to take care of Old Lady Luo and them, and also give them the money that Sister Lin earned on a daily basis, killing two birds with one stone!
Lin nodded, "Sister Yuan, you really guessed it right."
Just as they said this, guests from the evening meal started arriving one after another, and the two of them had no time to chat. They had been busy until now. There were only a few tables of guests in front, so they stayed in the backyard to wash dishes before they started chatting again.
Lin said, "He came to see me last night."
Last night, after the restaurant closed, she and Da Niu and Er Niu returned to the house they rented on North Street and ran into Luo Dagen standing at the gate of the yard.
When she saw Luo Dagen, Lin didn't give him a good look. Even Da Niu and Er Niu protected Lin and glared at their biological father.
Ever since the birth of the eldest and second daughter, the two girls have never felt the love of their father, so they have no feelings for their biological father. No matter what kind of affection it is, it must be mutual. No one party can give their feelings alone, and the other party ignores or even tramples on them. The feelings will still exist, but they will slowly be exhausted, even if it is family affection.
When Luo Dagen saw Lin, he felt a little regretful.
Lin had a pretty face when she was a girl, but she worked so hard in the Luo family for ten years that she was exhausted and naturally lost her good looks. Now that she has left the Luo family, she eats and drinks well, has gained weight and become fairer. Lin was not yet thirty years old and was still young. With such care, her appearance has returned to its pretty face.
Luo Dagen naturally regretted it, and he stammered, "Wife, I know I was wrong. Come back with me, I will never marry another woman. If you can't give birth to a son, we won't have one, and I won't think of selling the eldest and second daughters. I will work hard, and we will raise the eldest and second daughters, and find sons-in-law for them in the future. And wife, you don't have to pay back the rest of the money you owe me. Besides, mother has been beaten stupid by father, and there is really no one at home to take care of her. Wife, the family really needs you."
He had no choice but to come to Lin.
A few days ago, my mother was beaten into a state by my father. He carried her into the house and went back to his own room to sleep.
The next day, I went into the house to see my mother, and found her still lying on the ground motionless. I thought she had been beaten to death by my father, and I was shocked. But I found that my mother's eyeballs could still move, but her face and mouth were crooked, her body could not move, and her legs were still broken.
Luo Dagen went to call Old Man Luo.
Old Man Luo didn't expect that Old Lady Luo was so weak, so he had to go to the doctor for treatment.
After examining her, the doctor helped to reconnect Mrs. Luo's broken leg and fixed it with two wooden boards before telling the father and son what Mrs. Luo's condition was.
The general meaning is that his legs are broken and he has become stupid, and he needs someone to take care of him for eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in the future.
Now the father and son were completely dumbfounded. One of them had to sell goods, and the other had to help transport goods. How could they have time to take care of Old Lady Luo? There was not even a woman at home. They could not even have a hot meal when they returned home. All the money in the house had been taken away. Luo Dagen had no money left to marry a new wife, so he thought of Lin.
He felt that he had accepted his fate and would no longer beat or scold Lin, nor would he think of selling his daughters. He would be nicer to the three of them in the future and even did not plan to take a concubine. He would just let his two daughters find husbands-in-law. This way, he and his mother would have hot meals to eat when they returned home, and his mother would have someone to take care of her. He thought that since he had been so accommodating, Lin should agree immediately.
After hearing this, Lin was immediately disgusted and cursed, "Luo Dagen, what are you dreaming about? We divorced a long time ago and even signed a letter of marital separation. Don't try to disgust me. You are my mother. Whoever beat you up should take care of you. It's none of my business!"
She is no longer the Lin who was bullied by others.
Luo Dagen didn't expect Lin to dare to speak to him like that. He was so angry that he raised his hand and wanted to hit him.
Seeing him raise his hand, Lin sneered, "Try to touch me, and I'll report you to the authorities. I'm not your family member now, and hitting me isn't a family matter. Let's see how the county magistrate punishes you."
After leaving the Luo family, she was no longer afraid of anything, and no one could bully her with family matters.
Luo Dagen was indeed scared. He was furious and said, "You still owe me more than twenty taels of silver. Pay it back to me in one go tomorrow, or you will have to go home with me."
He thought that Lin's monthly salary was 800 taels of silver, and she definitely couldn't come up with the remaining 20 taels of silver, so he dragged Lin's mother, daughter and three others back, and even the county magistrate couldn't do anything about it.
Of course Lin could afford more than twenty taels. During the Chinese New Year, she and Da Niu received a red envelope of twenty taels. In the past few months, her and Da Niu's wages had increased to one tael of silver. Da Niu could save all of her one tael of silver every month. She also paid five hundred coins to the Luo family every month, and she could save another three hundred coins from the remaining five hundred coins. The three of them, mother and daughter, already had thirty taels of silver.
After Luo Dagen left, Da Niu and Er Niu were both very angry.
The big girl said directly, "Mom, when he comes tomorrow, we will return the remaining silver to him and see what other reasons he dares to harass us."
Lin nodded and planned to tell Luo Dagen that it was Xu Xiaodong's who lent it to her.
So Lin was planning to tell Mr. Xu about it today.
After hearing the whole story, Yuan was furious and patted the water in the wooden basin. "The Luo family is really shameless. Don't be afraid, Sister Lin. I will go back with you tonight. I will stay with you and your daughter for the next few nights. Let's see if Luo Dagen dares to come to our house again."
Lin said, "Big Girl and I have saved thirty taels of silver, and we still owe Luo Dagen twenty-three taels of silver. We have enough silver on us to pay him back, but we have to tell Miss Xu that we borrowed this money from her."
After paying the remaining money, she would no longer have any connection with the Luo family. She was also an independent person and was not afraid of Luo Dagen at all.
Xu Qinyu happened to hear this and said, "Okay, Auntie, tell the Luo family that you borrowed the money from me and return the remaining money to them so that they don't have to use the money as an excuse to harass you. After you pay the money back, if he dares to continue to harass you, I will report him to the police."
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