Okay, actually, Xingxing thought the jewelry on her head was too heavy and affected her play. The hair flower she wore often fell off because she ran too fast. If she wore a heavier silver hairpin, it would probably fall off even more often.
“Little sister, many people in the village don’t raise ducklings or puppies. Now, whenever you go out, you’re followed by either a flock of little yellow ducks or two little puppies. The children in the village are so envious of you.”
Zhou Sanfu suppressed a laugh and teased her. Ever since the family bought the little yellow duck and the puppy, this is how her little sister goes out: holding a small shovel in her hand, followed by a flock of ducks.
Xingxing walked under the big banyan tree and listened to the village elders gossip. She squatted down to dig for earthworms, while the little yellow duck chirped and ate its fill.
Sometimes she doesn't bring the ducklings, but two little puppies follow behind her, swaying and bobbing their heads, looking very cute.
Xingxing clicked her tongue and whispered, "Because they didn't find any silver, they don't have money to buy ducklings and puppies."
No, it's not that. It's just that the villagers are used to being frugal. A few days ago, many people in the village found silver, and they're saving it up because they're reluctant to spend it.
The group chattered excitedly as they finally arrived at the jewelry shop.
After browsing for a while, Zhao Guihua bought a pair of silver bracelets, a pair of silver earrings, and a silver hairpin, spending sixty taels of silver. These were all part of Zhao Guizhi's dowry.
She bought herself a silver hairpin and a silver bracelet, and for Xingxing she bought a gold lock, a pair of solid silver bracelets, and a pair of anklets.
Seeing Chen Yueru staring longingly, he bought a pair of silver bracelets for her as well and put them on her immediately.
“I will buy it for Ruru in the future, why should I make you spend money again?” Zhao Guizhi tried to refuse.
"The child is watching. It's only a matter of one or two taels of silver. We can afford it. Don't refuse." The bracelet she bought for Ruru wasn't solid. It certainly couldn't compare to Xingxing's. Xingxing was her own daughter, her family's little lucky star. Of course, she would always give the best to her own daughter.
Who doesn't have their own selfish motives? Jewelry isn't cheap, and there's not enough extra money for her to spend as she pleases.
After buying the jewelry, the group went to the cloth shop and bought some red cloth and a few feet of light-colored cotton cloth. The red cloth was for Zhao Guizhi's wedding dress, and the light-colored cotton cloth was for making two new outfits for her. She wouldn't want to look too shabby when she sold food in town.
Then Zhao Guihua selected a piece of blue cotton cloth and a piece of light-colored fine cotton cloth. The blue cotton cloth was to be used to make long robes for the five boys to wear when they went to school, and the fine cotton cloth was to be used to make clothes for Xingxing and Ruru.
The little girl has delicate skin and flesh, so she must be raised with care.
After several days of preparation, Zhao Guizhi and Chen Shunping had basically gathered all the items they needed for their wedding.
That day, Mr. Zhou and his wife, along with Zhao Guizhi and their children, arrived in town. They originally intended to rent a house, but after thinking it over, Mr. Zhou felt that buying a house would be more convenient.
Zhao Guizhi and Chen Shunping got married and are now a couple. They'll probably have their own child in less than two years, which will make the village even larger. They can't keep crowding the village together all the time.
Zhou Laoda mentioned this to the village chief, saying that his wife's sister and brother-in-law wanted to rent a house in town to take care of a group of children and do some small business on the side.
The village chief was indeed the village chief, and he had more experience than him. At that time, the village chief said earnestly, "I heard that houses in town are not expensive now. You can buy an old house with two courtyards for a hundred taels of silver. Renting a house is easy to change."
Old Zhou asked, puzzled, "What variables could there be?"
“Back in my hometown, I studied in the town for two years. There was a shop outside the private school where someone rented out a food stall. Later, the landlord saw that the person was doing well and making a lot of money, so he kicked the person out and refused to rent the shop back to him. After taking back the shop, the landlord started his own food stall business.”
Old Zhou suddenly realized what was going on and thanked the village chief profusely. He went home and discussed the matter of buying a house with his wife. Anyway, they had some extra money now, and it would be perfectly fine for them to take out a hundred or two taels to buy a house.
In fact, the village chief thought the same thing. Last time, his wife dug up 160 taels of silver, and with the 40 taels of silver they had saved at home, they could buy a house in town.
He also wanted to send his children to school in town. Although he was literate and had given his three children some basic education, it was enough for his two daughters, Qiuqiu and Chunchun, to be able to read and do math. But Dongsheng was his only son, and he naturally hoped that Dongsheng could study more and even better if he could pass the imperial examinations in the future.
His family is small, so a one-courtyard house is enough for them. His budget is between sixty and seventy taels of silver. He wants to save the rest of the money for Dongsheng's education.
Zhou Laoda considered that Xingxing and Ruru were still young, and if the house was bought far away, it would be difficult to walk back and forth. Although they had five older brothers to protect them, he was still afraid that something might happen on the way.
After much deliberation, it seemed more convenient to buy a house near the old scholar's residence. However, after inquiring for a long time, no one was willing to sell a house. All they heard was that the area was very poor, and they didn't even have enough to live in themselves, let alone have a spare house to sell to others.
They have quite a few rental properties, but unfortunately, they only want to buy a house now. They don't want the landlord to suddenly raise the price or do something else and kick them out. Just thinking about that scene gives them a headache. Buying a house is more reassuring.
"Grandma, Grandma Gu!" Xingxing called out, pointing to an old woman in front of her.
The old woman was carrying a bamboo basket, and it looked like she had just returned from grocery shopping. When she heard the sound, she turned around and was stunned for a moment before recognizing who they were.
"Oh dear, I'm getting old, I almost forgot about you after a few days. Aren't these the five boys and little girl from the Zhou family?" Madam Gu walked over with a smile.
"Hello, Grandma! What a coincidence that we've run into each other here!" Xingxing imitated an adult's greeting and chatted with Gu Wangshi.
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