Tian Xiu looked at the three of them approaching, her eyes filled with envy. They looked very well-matched standing together.
Gao Yuan had just seen off a guest when he saw Qiu Yan and the others. He lost his balance and almost fell.
It turns out that Miss Qiu Yan has found someone she likes.
Soon, Qiu Ling'er returned from school. When she saw Gu Qian, she was surprised and asked him where he had been these past few days and why it had taken him so long to come over.
Gu Qian gave a vague laugh, only saying that he was a guard in charge of a certain area and it was inconvenient for him to come and go.
When Gu Qian returned this time, he noticed that Gu Xiaoran had gained weight and was noticeably heavier when he picked her up.
Qiu Ling'er has also gained a lot of weight, but Qiu Yan, although her complexion is good, has not gained much weight.
"What are we having for dinner?" Qiu Ling'er rubbed her tummy. Every time she came home from school, the first thing she did was eat.
Gu Qian hadn't eaten properly at noon and was exhausted from his journey, so he was quite hungry.
"Dinner has been prepared for you for a while now." Qiu Yumei cooked rice porridge, made meat buns, stewed pheasant and potatoes, and stir-fried other side dishes.
When there were fewer guests, everyone started serving the dishes, and men and women ate at separate tables.
"Yan Yan, you're not eating enough. You're too thin, you should eat more." Gu Qian placed a steamed bun in Qiu Yan's hand and went to another table.
Qiu Yan took the meat bun and looked at her aunt's expression, feeling that the weather was even hotter than usual today.
Gu Qian diligently served everyone food, his manner both attentive and warm. Qiu Yumei was very curious.
"Gu Qian, what do you do outside?"
All she knew was that Gu Qian was Li Zheng's eldest apprentice. Seeing that he was skilled, came and went in a hurry, and didn't lack money, she suspected he was in the business of escorting goods.
"I joined the army at a young age."
"A soldier, huh?" Qiu Yumei deeply admired those soldiers. Before, whenever she mentioned her older brother, she would be filled with pride.
But her mindset changed after her older brother passed away.
At this moment, although her expression remained unchanged, her inner thoughts were in turmoil.
Gu Qian is quite good, but on the battlefield, swords have no eyes, and she doesn't want Qiu Yan to live in constant fear.
At the other table, Zhu Silang and his group all glanced at Gu Qian, their eyes full of admiration.
If it weren't for the general guarding the area, they would have long since become a pile of floating corpses.
Qiu Yumei's meat buns tasted delicious, and even Gu Xiaoran ate two in one sitting. Qiu Yan and Qiu Yumei were afraid that he would eat too much, so they stopped him from eating any more, otherwise, the little rascal would have eaten another one.
After dinner, Gu Qian took his two children for a stroll in front of the shop.
With Gu Qian taking care of the two children, Qiu Yan looked at the account book and started fiddling with the abacus.
The wonton shop has been open for a month now and has earned nearly one hundred taels of silver.
Now that it's mid-month, Qiu Yan is distributing the first month's wages to the shop's workers according to the schedule.
Tian Xiu took the copper coins, counted them over and over, and happily went home.
When Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming went to find Qiu Dayu, his family disagreed because Qiu Dayu was unruly and had accumulated gambling debts everywhere.
However, when they went to work in other places, they were poor and had no guarantors, so no one was willing to hire them unless they sold themselves to someone else.
In fact, Qiu Dayu also ruined himself by gambling heavily after listening to the slander of the gambling den, turning himself into a rat that everyone wanted to kill.
Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming's parents almost severed ties with them in an attempt to sever their connection with Qiu Dayu.
Now that they can earn money, they can go home and report back to their families.
The Zhu family of three had only been here a short time and hadn't received their wages yet, but they were already content with having food and lodging.
After the workers dispersed, Qiu Yumei said to Qiu Yan:
"Xiaoyan, this morning a waiter who claimed to be from Shuangxilou came looking for you, wanting to discuss some things with you."
"Looking for me? This Shuangxi Tower is trying to poach people from me." Qiu Yan found it somewhat amusing that these people were actually looking for her.
"I never expected Shuangxi Tower to take a liking to a young lady like you. You are much better than your uncle."
Qiu Yumei felt that this matter would be a good thing for anyone, since Zhao San had been working outside for many years and was still just an accountant.
And then there's her; if it weren't for Xiaoyan, she would have been out of work long ago.
"Auntie, what did you say?" Qiu Yan asked.
"Auntie knows that you've always had a good relationship with the young manager of Xingyuelou, so you can't go to Shuangxilou."
Finally, Qiu Yumei added, "Xiaoyan, we can't be the kind of people who break their promises."
"Don't worry, Aunt. Even if I don't go to Xingyue Tower, I will never go to Shuangxi Tower. I don't respect the people there."
As Qiu Yan spoke, she put the thirty taels of silver aside and deposited it into the public account, keeping some money for herself. She planned to use the rest of the money to buy some land.
She couldn't match the five taels of silver. She guessed that her aunt must have paid for the food with her own money when they bought the ingredients.
Qiu Yan gave her aunt ten taels of silver.
"Auntie, this is your wages for this month."
"Xiaoyan, don't give it to your aunt yet. Take this money to pay off your debts first." Qiu Yumei knew that there were still two months of installments to pay.
Qiu Yan is no longer worried about repaying her debts.
“Auntie, don’t rush to refuse. This money is for your hard work. We will also hand over the management of this shop to you. I will give you a share next month, and the money will only be more.”
Qiu Yan had finally met a good aunt, and of course she had to take care of her as family.
"There's hope for the future." Qiu Yumei could hardly believe it; she used to earn less than one or two taels of silver a month.
It's only been one month, and Qiu Yan has already given her so much money; she feels it's too much.
Thinking of Gu Qian's military service, she expressed her true feelings, "Xiao Yan, your aunt wants you to find a reliable and dependable person to settle down with."
"Auntie, I'm still young, I'm not thinking about marriage right now." Qiu Yan was so smart, she saw through her aunt's thoughts back then.
Qiu Yumei said a few more comforting words and then left.
Since the Zhu family of three moved here, she has been going home every day, as she has two children at home who need her care.
The reason I lived here before was to keep Qiu Yan company.
After Auntie returned home, the courtyard was filled with laughter and chatter. The two children were chasing each other, while the Zhu couple watched over them from the yard, as long as they didn't get hurt.
When Qiu Yan couldn't find Gu Qian, she went into the room and saw him fast asleep on the bed.
Qiu Yan knew he was tired, so she didn't disturb him and stayed at an inn with the two children that night.
There were originally three small houses in the backyard, and the Zhu family of three occupied two of them, which was not enough for them to live in.
The next morning, Gu Qian got up but couldn't find Qiu Yan. After asking Cao Shi, he learned that she had taken her two children to stay at an inn. So he went to the real estate agency to inquire about any large houses for sale.
As a result, they returned disappointed.
When he returned to the wonton shop, Qiu Yan was already having dinner with her two children.
Qiu Yan had been busy for a long time and hadn't been back to the village for many days. Today, she handed over the business and her younger sister to her aunt.
The private school wasn't far; it was just around the corner from the backyard, and my aunt could pick me up and drop me off in no time.
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