The next day, after completing the paperwork for transferring the shop, Zhou Laoda and his group were not in a hurry to go back. Instead, they went to the brokerage first. In the afternoon, Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua were going back to the village. The tavern still needed to be cleaned up, so they naturally had to buy people back first so that someone could help with the work.
Many of the people working in the brokerage firm were refugees who had fled from the war and were selling themselves. Since Chen Shunping was at home and didn't come along, the task of selecting people fell to Zhao Guizhi.
The family that was ultimately chosen was the one that had been sold off by the master. The man was around thirty-five years old, the woman was in her early thirties, and they had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son was sixteen, the youngest son was fourteen, and the youngest daughter was twelve.
This family used to work on a merchant's estate in the county. Later, when refugees attacked the county town, the merchant fled and left behind several people from the estate in Lishan County. However, a few days ago, the merchant came back and sold the estate in the county.
Because the merchants moved to other prefectures and acquired other estates and servants, the estates and people in Lishan County were sold together. However, since the new owners had their own servants, they sold off the people from the original estates.
Zhao Guizhi asked the man and woman some questions and saw that they were both honest people. She was somewhat tempted, but she also cautiously asked the two sons and daughter some questions to make sure that the family was law-abiding.
So they decided to buy them.
It cost fifteen taels for five people, which was a bit pricey.
The refugees were cheaper, but Zhao Guizhi asked them a few questions and then looked down on them. Those people had encountered too many things on their escape route and were cunning. Although the slave traders had trained them, their manners were still not as good as those of that family.
Zhao Guihua didn't understand these things, but as long as her sister said it was good, that was fine. She only needed to pay the money, since she would just hand the person over to her sister to use anyway.
Fortunately, the two courtyards we bought had a total of ten rooms. After the quintuplets each had their own room, Xingxing had hers, Chen Shunping, Zhao Guizhi, and Ruru had theirs, and Zhou Lao Er's family had theirs, there was one room left. We let this family squeeze in for now.
On the way back, Zhao Guizhi and Zhao Guihua were in the carriage, and the former mentioned Zhou Lao Er's family.
“I already talked to your second uncle and his wife a few days ago about transferring the stall to them, and they both agreed. I’m thinking of going back to discuss it with them and asking them to move out and rent another place. That room will be available for Mo Tianzhu’s family.”
Mo Tianzhu is the name of the middle-aged man who was just bought.
Zhao Guihua thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
Zhao Guizhi held her hand and said softly, "It's not that I want to drive them away, it's just that I think Zhou Lao Er is doing alright now. Although Da Fa can't get out of bed yet, his condition is stable. As long as he takes his medicine on time, he'll be fine. Although their family is having a tough time, they can still manage."
"If we transfer the stall back to them, they won't be too bad off. It won't be long before things improve. My only worry is that Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi will cause trouble. If we live together, we'll easily get harassed."
"Sister, I know. I'll talk to my husband about it later, and he'll agree."
Zhao Guizhi was relieved. "Okay, let me know when you've finished discussing it, and I'll go talk to Zhou Lao Er and Chen Cao Cao."
After all, they had always thought that the house was rented by Zhao Guizhi and Chen Shunping.
After returning, they arranged for Mo Tianzhu's family to stay in the empty room and let them clean and tidy it up themselves. There was a slightly worn bed in the room, and someone would definitely have to sleep on the floor at night.
"Once you've cleaned the house, come and get the mats and blankets from me. I'll also give you a table and a few chairs. Just make do with this for a few days." After giving these instructions, Zhao Guizhi left them alone.
Zhou Lao Er was carrying sacks at the dock, and Chen Cao Cao was selling food at the dock. Neither of them had returned, and Zhao Guizhi wasn't in a hurry to talk to them about moving out.
Zhao Guihua called Zhou Laoda into the house to talk about Zhou Laoer moving out. Zhou Laoda said he had no objection. Letting his younger brother's family move out would indeed save a lot of trouble, otherwise there would be some entanglement with the Zhou family.
After settling things in town, Zhou Laoda and his wife drove their oxcart back home. This time, Xingxing didn't return to the village; she was going back to the private school to study.
"Ruru, let me take you to see the little maid my mother bought for me. She'll comb my hair every day from now on, so I won't have to comb my own hair anymore." Xingxing took Ruru's hand and walked towards the room where Mo Tianzhu and the others lived.
At this moment, Mo Tianzhu's family was cleaning the house. Actually, there wasn't much to tidy up. They had no other belongings except for a change of clothes, and there was no other furniture in the house except for a bed.
After quickly cleaning up, the group was at a loss for what to do and stood there in a daze.
"Hey, what's your name?" Xingxing asked Mo Tianzhu's daughter.
The little girl was very shy. She glanced at the stars and then lowered her head to stare at the tips of her straw sandals, but did not reply.
"You silly child, Miss is asking you a question, what are you standing there for? Answer her quickly!" Zhong Miao poked her daughter's forehead.
"My name is Mo Baolu."
"Don't run away?" Xingxing blinked her innocent big eyes, finding the name rather strange.
“It’s not that I’m running away. My surname is Mo, and my given name is Baolu.” This time, the little girl spoke very clearly, word by word.
Xingxing tilted her head and thought for a moment, indicating that she understood. "Baolu, how about you become my hair comber from now on? You'll get to eat meat if you follow me."
Mo Baolu looked at her mother, unsure how to answer. Her mother paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "We'll do whatever the master and mistress tell us to do."
"Who are your master and mistress?" Xingxing asked curiously.
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