Chapter 28 Became the subject of village gossip
After Xu Zhiyi arrived in the town, he first bought a backpack for five cents, and then bought the incense and paper for the sacrifice that Su had asked him to buy, spending another forty cents.
Old Mrs. Xu cheated her out of two taels of silver for the betrothal gift, one tael for the broken engagement, and seven taels of silver from the Gu family, so the total was ten taels of silver.
She paid Shen Wuyou three hundred coins for the medicine, and she went to the alley to buy the medicine herself, which cost her one or two hundred coins.
That was something she had found out. There was a small pharmacy in that alley that secretly sold all kinds of illicit drugs, such as the one she used to make red spots appear on her face and body, all kinds of sleeping pills, cough cough... and some aphrodisiac.
So now she only has about seven or eight hundred wen left.
Xu Zhiyi looked at the remaining silver and became worried. In the current situation, with such a water shortage, it was impossible to make money from the food business!
She could only get one bucket of water a day, which was barely enough for the family's use. There was no extra for her to use.
Just when she was feeling depressed, she looked up and saw the bookstore.
Hey, she has studied painting for five years, she can try to make money by painting!
Thinking of this, he walked into the bookstore.
"Miss, what would you like to buy?" the bookstore owner asked hurriedly when he saw Xu Zhiyi coming in.
Xu Zhiyi: "Shopkeeper, I would like to ask how much silver it costs to buy painting paper?"
Shopkeeper: "Miss, there are three prices for drawing paper. The low-quality one is 15 coins per piece, the medium-quality one is 50 coins per piece, and the high-quality one is 150 coins per piece."
Xu Zhiyi was surprised to hear the price quoted by the shopkeeper. So expensive? Or sold by the sheet?
"Shopkeeper, if you buy a painting, do you have to pay according to the size of the paper?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Miss, that's for sure. If a painting is very good but the paper is too bad, its value will drop a lot."
After hearing this, Xu Zhiyi thought for a moment and said, "Then give me five medium-quality ones! And three low-quality ones!"
"Hey, girl, do you want to buy some pens and ink?"
Xu Zhiyi: "How much is the ink?"
Shopkeeper: "There are several prices. The cheapest is 200 coins per set, and the most expensive is 2 taels of silver per set."
So expensive? Alas, I don’t know if I can make money yet, but for the sake of a gamble, I still took the cheapest set of pens and ink.
After coming out of the bookstore, Xu Zhiyi planned to visit the blacksmith shop.
"Girl, what do you want to fight?"
Xu Zhiyi: "How much silver does an iron pot cost?"
"A small pot costs two taels of silver, a large pot costs four taels and twenty coins."
After hearing the price, Xu Zhiyi felt heartbroken, but it was inconvenient not to have a pot at home, and he still had to take the pot with him when fleeing the famine.
He gritted his teeth, pointed at a small pot that looked OK, and said, "Boss, I'll take this small one!"
"Hey, two taels of silver."
Xu Zhiyi came out carrying the iron pot, and then went to the grain store to buy ten kilograms of white flour, which could be mixed with the black flour at home. This would be much better. White flour cost twenty-eight cents a kilogram. Due to the drought, the price of grain doubled, and ten kilograms cost another two hundred and eighty cents.
I have bought everything I wanted, so I have no choice but to go home!
Then it took me more than an hour to get home. Just as I put my things down, the voice of the village head was heard outside.
Xu Zhiyi: "Uncle Lizheng, what's wrong?"
The head of the village said: "I understand! I went to the government office this morning to ask about the establishment of a female household for you."
Xu Zhiyi was a little excited when he heard this: "Is there news? What will the government do?"
The head of the village sighed and said, "Alas, the government said that if you want to establish a female household, you must have a male adult."
After hearing this, Xu Zhiyi blurted out: "What do you mean? Do you want my mother to give me a brother, or do you want me to give birth to a baby?"
The head of the village said, "Well, for women in the town who have registered as female households, that's because their fathers are still alive, so the government can help them register as households as long as the head of the family agrees. But now your father passed away early, so your grandfather can make the decision, as long as he is willing to follow you to the government office and nod his head in agreement!"
Xu Zhiyi frowned when she heard that. The chances of asking old man Xu to go to the government office and get her consent to set up a daughter household were zero. Besides, she broke off the marriage because she didn't want to have anything to do with the Xu family.
The head of the village thought for a moment and said, "This is not the only option. There is another option. The government said that we can recruit a son-in-law. In this way, he will also be considered a male in the family."
What? Recruiting a son-in-law? The problem is that there are less than 20 days left before the famine! Where can she find a suitable son-in-law?
Xu Zhiyi: "Ahem...recruiting a son-in-law? Uncle Lizheng, with my conditions, can I recruit a son-in-law?"
When the head of the village heard this, he thought of his wife, who was the most well-informed, and suggested: "Well, your aunt is well-informed, and she can help you ask if there is anyone suitable. Maybe your aunt can really find one for you."
Xu Zhiyi: “…………”
Alas, does she have another choice? No, it is impossible for Su Shi to give birth to another brother. If she wants to give birth to a baby, she must find a husband first!
Therefore, we still have to find a son-in-law, then all the problems will be solved!
The village head saw that Xu Zhiyi didn't respond and thought she was shy and agreed!
Then as soon as he got home, he told his wife what happened!
Unexpectedly, her wife turned around and asked around in the village. Now, everyone in the village knew that Xu Zhiyi was going to marry a son-in-law, and she had even changed her name to Xu Zhiyi.
"Hey, have you heard? Daya is looking for a son-in-law."
"I'm not called Daya anymore! I changed my name to Xu Zhiyi, Zhi means know and Yi means meaning"
"Xu Zhiyi? Oh, that sounds pretty nice. Not to mention, this person even got a good name after leaving the Xu family."
"What names are you talking about? They are looking for a son-in-law. Do you have any relatives or nephews to introduce?"
"Bah, go away, what good boy wants to marry someone else? Even if he wants to marry someone else, he has to marry someone from a wealthy family! To marry someone from a thatched cottage? Who has a shit in his brain to marry someone like that?"
"Haha, look at what you said, maybe Xu Daya... oh, now her name is Xu Zhiyi, can really find a live-in son-in-law."
Song happened to pass by the gossip point, listened to it all, and then ran home in a hurry.
"Mom, it's a big deal!"
Old Mrs. Xu, who was sitting in the yard, looked at the hurried Song and glared at them: "You are going to die! Don't be so startled all the time. Sooner or later, I will be scared to death by you."
Hearing this, Song stamped her feet anxiously: "Mother, guess what I heard the villagers say?"
Old Lady Xu: "Humph, I can guess everything. You must have been very wealthy! Is there any need to be so poor?"
Song: "Oh, everyone in the village is saying that Daya is looking for a son-in-law."
As a result, Mrs. Xu's reaction was indifferent: "Oh"
Song: "Mom, aren't you anxious?"
Old Lady Xu: "It's just Daya who is looking for a son-in-law, not Su's son-in-law, why should I be anxious?"
Song: "Mom, didn't you say that if the mother and daughter were fine, you would have someone come back to do the housework?"
If Su's mother and daughter don't come back, she and Li will take turns doing all the work in the future. She doesn't want to keep going like this.
Hearing this, Old Lady Xu was so disappointed: "You are so stupid! If Daya takes a son-in-law, then she and her daughter will be fine. If he comes back to the Xu family, won't he have one more person to serve?"
After hearing this, Song's eyes lit up and she gave Old Lady Xu a thumbs up: "Mom, you still think long-term."
Old Mrs. Xu then remembered something and slapped her thigh and said, "Alas, if that's the case, Daya won't have to get married, and the betrothal gifts will be gone, right? No, it's not worth it. Last time, the betrothal gift was six taels of silver."
"Song, call Li and keep an eye on the village. If anyone wants to come, you two can go out and cause trouble on purpose."
Song heard this and said indifferently: "Mother, there is no need. No one in the village thinks that Daya can find a son-in-law. With her current conditions, only a fool would come to her."
Old Mrs. Xu: "That's good. Daya is still worth six taels of silver."
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