Zhao Guihua was at a loss for words to explain the complicated situation to Xingxing. She tried to find the right words, "Auntie's in-laws have all gone to live in heaven, so they won't come to pick her up. She will still live with us from now on."
"Why can my aunt's in-laws go to heaven?" Xingxing asked with a curious look on her face, asking questions whenever she didn't understand.
Zhao Guihua was having a real headache. Her daughter kept asking questions, and they were all difficult to answer. If any of Brother Fu had asked her those questions, she would have yelled at him and sent him packing.
But she couldn't bear to say a harsh word to her daughter, so she could only bite the bullet and say, "Because someone took them away. Everyone is different. Some people are destined to go to heaven early, while others will go when they are very old..."
Xingxing seemed to understand but not quite, and wanted to ask more, but seeing her mother frowning and looking very troubled, she thought that she might have gotten up too early today and was too tired, so Xingxing decided not to bother her mother for now and would continue to ask tomorrow after her mother had rested.
Zhao Guihua: Daughter, please forgive your mother, I'm exhausted.
In the past few days, Old Man Zhou and Old Woman Zhou have come over again to make trouble, insisting that Old Man Zhou lead the ox to plow the Zhou family's land, resorting to crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself.
They said that Zhou Laosan and his wife had suffered a great calamity and were no longer able to do heavy work. Some time ago, Laosi's wife was bitten by a cobra, and they almost spent all the public funds on doctors.
They also said that since Old Master Zhou had unearthed so much silver, he should give half of it to his parents.
"Stop wailing. There's no room for negotiation. I'll give you three taels of silver at most. Take it or leave it. I have five sons to send to school in town. It'll cost a lot."
You two are my parents, so I naturally have to take care of you. However, it's impossible for me to support my three younger brothers and their wives. Even if we hadn't separated our households long ago, I still wouldn't be able to support them now.
"Dafu and his brothers will be getting married in a few years, and our house isn't big enough for them. I need to build a few more houses. Any extra money will be saved for their education and marriage. If you still consider me your son, please don't make things difficult for me anymore."
Only the village chief and his wife knew about the house purchase in town; no one else in the village knew, and Zhou Laoda, the owner of the old house, would certainly not tell them.
Old Man Zhou and Old Woman Zhou knew that their eldest son was no longer the obedient and docile son he used to be. If they continued to make a fuss, they probably wouldn't even give him three taels of silver. So, the two old people wisely took the three taels of silver and left.
However, Zhou Laoda still agreed to help the Zhou family plow the land. If he didn't help, he was afraid that the villagers would talk about him. After all, Zhang Cui was missing an arm, Zhou Laosi was missing two fingers, and Zhong Mailian had been bedridden since being bitten by a snake and was still unable to get out of bed.
After the house in town was renovated, the quintuplets, Xingxing, and Ruru were going to study at the old scholar's place in town. Zhao Guizhi and Chen Shunping also moved to town by oxcart.
The furniture is all new, costing a total of fifteen taels of silver. The house renovation cost thirty taels of silver, and tomorrow we have to pay tuition and buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. We've spent quite a bit of money these days.
"This fifty taels is a loan for you to use for your business, and this ten taels is for Dafu and Xingxing to eat, and they'll need to buy things occasionally." Zhao Guihua gave Zhao Guizhi sixty taels at once.
Zhao Guizhi tried to shove the ten taels of silver back, refusing to accept it, saying, "There's no need for another ten taels of silver. The children can eat here with me, so please don't give me any more money."
"This is a year's allowance for food and other expenses. Ten taels isn't much. You have to take care of so many people all by yourself, and you don't even get paid. You also have to buy groceries and cook for them. It's so tiring. You have to keep this money, or I'll get angry." Zhao Guihua's attitude was firm.
Zhao Guizhi wasn't one to mince words. Since her own sister had said so, she readily accepted. "Alright then, you can leave the children to me from now on. Just stay home and take good care of the land. Come over and stay whenever you have time, so everyone won't miss you."
"Don't worry, I'll come over after I finish transplanting the rice seedlings." It's not easy for her older sister to run the stall by herself, so Zhao Guihua thought she would come over and help out whenever she had time.
They had already familiarized themselves with the town's situation. Besides the market, the only place suitable for selling food was the dock. However, the market was quite far from their house, while the dock was very close, about a quarter of an hour's walk from their house.
So Zhao Guizhi decided to set up a stall at the dock and push a cart there. The cart was made with the help of a furniture maker. Her sister was very thoughtful, as this way they wouldn't have to carry baskets and it would be much easier.
For now, they mainly sell pancakes and steamed buns.
Although Zhao Guizhi is a skilled cook and confident that her food will taste delicious, she has never sold anything outside before, so she is somewhat unsure of herself.
"Don't panic. I won't go back today. I'll go with you to set up the stall tomorrow to give you courage." Although there were women in the Great Jin Dynasty who went out to work as street vendors, they were a minority. It's normal for Zhao Guizhi to be nervous.
Since the children weren't starting school until the day after tomorrow, they started clamoring to go sell pancakes and steamed buns together.
Having decided to help set up the stall tomorrow, Zhao Guihua said, "I've already prepared the tuition for the teacher, so I might as well go over now and hand it in, so I don't forget about it when I'm busy tomorrow."
Twenty-one catties of cured meat, two bolts of cloth, seven catties of wine, and some celery, lotus seeds, red dates, longan, and red beans, plus one tael of silver for each student, totaling seven taels of silver.
When the gifts were delivered, both Master Gu and Madam Gu were very satisfied. The gifts weren't too many, but they were still generous. The fact that all seven children were brought together showed that the Zhou family, as elders, valued their children highly.
Two young girls were also sent over. Looking at Xingxing and Ruru, Master Gu felt that the two little girls were particularly adorable. Although they were dressed simply, they had the appearance of a wealthy family. At first glance, one might mistake them for young ladies from a rich family.
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