Zhao Yuefang gently stroked her belly, her eyes unfocused.
actually....
She is pregnant.
The parents didn't know.
She had already gone several days past her scheduled change of clothes.
Coupled with her recent fatigue and the fact that this was her first pregnancy, she was suddenly overwhelmed with maternal love. She felt that if she told her parents about it, the baby would definitely be forced to be aborted.
Marrying a rich man would inevitably expose her affair, and the simple-minded man in front of her would be perfect for being the father of her child.
"Okay, I'll have Mother come tomorrow. You wait for me, Yuefang, wait for me."
Luo Bai excitedly ran home before he could finish speaking.
It was already dark when he tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face.
My knees are all scraped up.
But as if he felt no pain, he continued running home.
His legs became limping.
"What an idiot."
Zhao Yuefang muttered a complaint under her breath and closed the door.
She took out one tael of the two taels of silver in her hand and hid it at her waist.
Then they sat in the main room drinking sweet soup.
She told her parents and grandparents what had just happened when they returned.
However, the two taels of silver were concealed and reduced to one tael.
For the same amount of money, they could gain their daughter's greater loyalty, so of course they agreed. Otherwise, what would be the point of forcing their daughter to marry into a wealthy family in town if she later hated them and refused to help them?
It's better to please your daughter.
There are always a few left over.
After returning home, Luo Bai pestered his mother for a long time before she finally agreed to the matter.
They talked themselves hoarse.
After all, who would want their son to marry a woman who has been married before? It's not like they're not going to give a dowry. In Cui Si Niu's opinion, two taels of silver could find a young, hardworking, and capable virgin. Why marry someone who has been married before?
But she couldn't go against her son's wishes.
She had no choice but to agree.
So, bypassing his two older brothers, Luo Bai was the first to arrange a marriage.
It was a sunny and breezy morning.
Yan Xia removed the word "limited edition" and sold out the last of the persimmons in the shop in just three days. She closed the shop, used up all the persimmons, and would have to wait until next year. Of course, she also made a fortune. She then spent six hundred taels of silver to buy the two rooms on either side of her shop.
Of course, each family received an extra twenty taels.
These two businesses also sell food; one sells dried fruit, and the other sells roasted nuts and seeds.
Because Yan Xia's business was so good, their shop was declining day by day.
It's strange, but the things they sell are completely unrelated to what Yan Xia sells, so they have no impact on her at all.
But that's just the way it is.
After Yan Xia bought the shop, she closed it for several days. She then expanded the shop, combining three rooms into one.
The backyard naturally became much more spacious.
There was an additional well, four bedrooms, a kitchen, a latrine, two storage rooms, and a jujube tree.
The signboard of Yan's Pastry Shop has been replaced with a larger and longer one.
It was carved from a piece of wood cut from a century-old tree. It was cut into three parts: one part was used as a signboard, and the other two parts were made into wooden tables placed in the shop for customers to rest and eat, just like a modern coffee shop.
The benches were naturally made from the leftover wood from this century-old tree.
Working overtime to avoid disrupting the shop's business, Yan Xia hired workers at three times the price to build the shop, including wooden tables and benches, and sealing the signboard with oil for corrosion prevention.
It cost nearly 50 taels of silver to combine and renovate these three shops together.
It has been completely renovated inside and out.
It looks several levels higher.
It is no longer the isolated place it once was.
There's no need to stand in line on the street; the shop can accommodate dozens of people without feeling crowded.
She also hung a painting on each of the three sides of the shop, which she bought from a stall. The seller was a scholar who lived in poverty.
Upon entering the shop, directly opposite is a bar-like counter, five meters long. Jin Fu stands behind the counter, with a cabinet extending from top to bottom behind him, displaying various beautiful bowls, flowers, and stones.
There is an arched window on the north side, and when you open it, you can see the stream and willows outside.
In spring and summer, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.
The beams overhead had all been freshly painted, and the shop was supported by two large round logs in the middle, with flowers, plants, birds, and animals carved on the logs, making them exceptionally lifelike.
It doesn't look like a pastry shop; it looks more like an antique and calligraphy shop.
Of course, we have to ignore the overpowering aroma.
There was an extra door leading from the shop to the backyard.
One door is on the left, and the other is on the right.
Each of them had a new curtain hanging on it.
It was a dark blue color, embroidered with different patterns in colorful thread. It was ridiculously expensive, but Yan Xia gritted her teeth and bought it just to show off.
This color is not only dirt-resistant, but it also makes the shop look mysterious after it's hung up, making people want to explore the backyard.
However, two wooden plaques were hung on each door.
The sign above reads, "Please stop here, sir/madam."
A lot happened during the shop's renovation.
For example, Cui Siniu's family in the same village had three sons, all of whom got married at the same time.
The lively scene kept the villagers talking for three days.
Let's go back to mid-October.
The eldest son of the Luo family, Luo Wan, is engaged to an old maid in the village, and Luo Qian is also engaged to an old maid in Zhao Family Village.
The two old maids were either ugly or walked with a limp.
But they all have one thing in common: the bride price is only one or two taels.
The brothers held onto the extra money tightly.
There was nothing Cui Siniu could do.
The two brothers pestered her for three days before she finally gave in.
However, with nearly half a month until the wedding, Zhao Yuefang couldn't wait any longer. She had secretly consulted a doctor in town, who confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, a full month along.
If we wait until half a month to get married, the baby will be born in August, which doesn't make sense.
She found a pretext to get Luo Bai to sneak to her house late at night. He came in through the backyard, and she opened the door for him.
Then the two of them made love in her room.
Because she was worried about the child's safety, she moved very gently, which made Luo Bai think she was shy, and he became even more excited.
Before dawn, she chased Luo Bai away before she could finally relax and fall asleep peacefully.
Unaware of the situation, Luo Lubai's steps were unsteady when he returned home. He thought Zhao Yuefang was so fond of him that she couldn't wait for their wedding day.
Soon, the wedding day arrived, which was at the end of October.
To save money, Cui Si Niu deliberately arranged for her three sons to get married on the same day. Naturally, she would receive three sets of wedding gifts, but they only needed to eat one meal.
This made all the relatives who came to attend look miserable.
Cui Siniu acted as if she couldn't see it.
"Hey, how come her family suddenly became rich? They're getting wives for their three sons. How much money must that have cost?"
"How much could it cost? One is a second marriage, one is a cripple, and there's an ugly girl. You can't find a normal person among these three. Look at them, which one is presentable? I guess it only cost three or four taels in total. Everyone has three or four taels. Si Niu is such a stingy woman, she deserves to save this much money."
"You're so mean, it's hilarious. Shh, she's coming over, let's stop."
Two close older women were quietly gossiping.
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