Chapter 1939 Shop
Xia Rui opened the box and found a pile of silver ingots inside.
At the beginning, Zhou Yin and Xia Xia and his son agreed that the fields, shops and houses he left in Shangzhou would be handed over to them for care, and all the rent would be collected by them. He would come back once a year, or once every other year to collect the rent, and also to visit his home to pay homage.
So Zhou Yin specially reduced the rent by 40% as a reward for them.
The annual rent was eighteen taels of silver. Every year Xia Xia would put in eighteen taels of silver, hoping that one day someone would come back to pay the money so that he wouldn't break his promise.
Over the past fourteen years, their family has not always had smooth sailing, but no matter what happened or how difficult the situation was, they never touched the money in the box.
In Xia Xia's words, the most important thing in life is to keep one's word.
There were now 252 taels of silver in the box. Xia Xia said with a smile, "There's still some money left. I gave it to you as compensation. I haven't been able to take good care of your parents' land these years, so how can I take the 40% that was deducted? I'll ask your aunt to go to the shop and get it. Please wait a moment, she'll be back."
Manbao smiled and nodded, not refusing. "That's a lot. It's so heavy. Aunt Rui will definitely not be able to come back so soon."
Xia Xia nodded. "Then you should sit for a while and have dinner here. It would be best if you could have dinner before leaving. You can also meet your cousins. Your cousin is studying, but unfortunately he doesn't have the talent for studying that your grandfather and father had. He has studied for many years but has not made any achievements..."
Xia Xia chattered on and on for a while and then fell asleep unknowingly.
Xia Rui was frightened when he saw this, so he reached out and touched his nose, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he felt he was breathing.
He glanced at Manbao, who nodded slightly. Xia Rui then carried the box of money out to her. He said, "Your aunt probably won't be back for a while. Please sit down and wait."
Manbao said, "Uncle Rui, you don't have to give me the 40%."
She said, "This isn't a breach of trust on your part. It's because my father and mother didn't return on time, and you took on risks you shouldn't have. If anything, it was my parents who broke their promises, even though they were forced to do so."
Xia Rui looked at Zhou Man in surprise. He didn't expect her to say that.
Manbao glanced back at the main house, took out a deed from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Xia Rui, saying, "Thanks to your care over the years, Uncle Rui doesn't have to rush to move the shop. This shop is my gift to you."
"How can this be?" If he had expected the 40% rent, this was completely beyond his expectations. Xia Rui pushed back and said, "This won't work. This shop is yours. I can't take it. If you don't feel comfortable, how about continuing to rent it to me?"
Manbao, however, forcefully pressed the money into his hand and said sternly, "Uncle Rui, I can even give my ancestral land to the clan that has never taken care of me in the slightest, so why can't I give this shop to you?"
Xia Rui opened his mouth and said with some shame: "How are these the same?"
"It's different," Manbao said with a smile, "I may not have much contact with the clan here in the future, but the tombs of my great-grandparents and grandparents are still here, and even my children will return here in the future. The only one we can rely on and be close to is Uncle Rui's branch."
Xia Rui felt both submissive and ashamed, and wanted to say something but stopped himself several times.
Manbao, however, seemed not to notice and firmly pressed the deed into his hand. He then said, "There's no need to let Uncle know about this. By the way, I'll accept this box of rent. Thank you, Uncle Rui, for taking care of my grandparents over the years."
After saying that, he bowed solemnly to Xia Rui.
Xia Rui quickly supported her and said, "No need to do this, no need to do this..."
Manbao personally carried a box of silver out of the house. Bai Shan, who was waiting outside, stepped forward to catch it, but almost dropped it on the ground.
He held his breath and asked, "What is so heavy?"
Manbao waved his hands calmly, "Money!"
Bai Shan: ...
Xia Rui, who was following behind with the house deed in his hand, came back to his senses instantly and stepped forward to help them carry it. Daji had already taken it and put it in the car. Bai Erlang, who was sitting next to the car, couldn't help but open the box and take a look.
He was amazed when he saw the white silver ingots inside, and his eyes were complicated when he looked at Zhou Man.
Before she knew it, she had become richer than them, even though he and Bai Shan were the richest when they were young.
Manbao helped Bai Shan get into the car and said to Xia Rui who was standing beside the car, "Uncle Rui, please go back. I will come to see my uncle again before I leave."
Xia Rui agreed, took a step back and watched her leave.
When they returned to the inn, Old Zhou touched the box of silver ingots and said, "You are the only great-uncle in the Xia family."
Manbao nodded, "In fact, with this much money they can almost buy a shop."
Zhou Wulang said, "Your family has more than one shop."
He said, "It has two floors and a backyard. It's no smaller than the restaurant we have in Beijing. The location is also great. Even if Shangzhou can't compare to Beijing, the price isn't much different."
After all, the location of their shop in the capital is actually average, far inferior to this shop in the center of Shangzhou. I don’t know how my uncle bought this shop back then.
Manbao didn't know either, but she didn't feel bad about giving it away. "I asked Uncle Rui to take care of the ancestral tombs here."
Old Zhou nodded. Manbao had said a few days ago that he wanted to sell the shop, so he was no longer heartbroken.
Manbao looked around and asked, "Has the rent collector not returned yet?"
Daji said: "No."
Manbao touched his chin and said, "It seems that Chief Xia didn't prepare in advance. He must be very heartbroken."
No matter how heartbroken he was, Chief Xia still handed the rent to the two guards who brought the cart. Things had come to this point and there was no need to cause more trouble because of this matter. However, he didn't understand why Zhou Man was so anxious.
Everyone was very friendly when she came yesterday, and he thought she would wait until after this year's autumn harvest to ask about the rent.
His son hesitated for a moment and then said, "She was a little unhappy when she saw her great uncles' graves yesterday. She didn't say much when she came back. Is that because of this?"
Chief Xia suddenly understood, and after a moment he sighed and said, "I see. When you have time, go to Chief Xu and tell him that Zhou Man has specifically requested this year's rent."
"Will Chief Xu blame me?"
Clan leader Xia snorted softly and said, "What can he blame? It was his idea to step back. Isn't it enough that he's been collecting rent for free all these years? And he's registered with the county magistrate this time. I'm afraid he won't cause trouble now. But who can say what will happen in the future? Just go and say that we've paid all the rent, including all the previous years. He'll understand."
Only then did his son agree.
Clan leader Xia sighed and said, "I don't know what Zhou Man's situation is like in the capital. I only heard that she's a miracle doctor. It's a pity that she refuses to change her surname..."
His son lowered his eyes. Xia and Zhou Man didn't have much affection for each other, and the Zhou family was not bad to her. Why would she change her surname?
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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