"Please speak." Hearing that there were conditions, Xu Genshan felt a little more at ease.
"Please follow me, both of you." Manager Ji gestured for them to come to the back.
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Then he used the key to open the locked door. Pushing the door open, he found rows and rows of shelves inside, piled high with books.
"This..." Just looking at the books piled up in this room, it's almost the size of a bookstore.
Fu Man'er followed Liu Fang and sniffed her nose. Hmm, it smelled really musty.
Not only her, but Liu Fang and Xu Genshan also smelled it, and when the door was opened, they could even see dust flying everywhere inside.
Manager Ji raised his hand and fanned himself, only then realizing that the unpleasant smell had moved further away.
“Brother Xu, this noodle shop used to be my father’s bookstore. Later, my father got old, and I was only half-baked, so I took all the books and put them in this house and turned it into a noodle shop.”
As he spoke, Manager Ji pushed the door open to let some fresh air into the room. It had been more than half a year since he had last opened the room.
“These books all belong to my father, and I don’t know what to do with them right now, so I’d like to temporarily empty this room to store them.”
Manager Ji explained his conditions: shops like his were mostly used for business in the front and for living in the back.
He has now occupied the house in the backyard, so only the shop in the front is available. He just got the idea to sell the shop today, but he doesn't know if it's feasible.
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"Does Manager Ji mean that this house will not be sold together with the shop?" Xu Genshan was a little unsure of Manager Ji's meaning.
"No, no, no." Manager Ji quickly waved his hand. "That's not what I meant. This house will also be sold, but I need to leave it for a while. I'll put these books here first."
"How long do we need to stay?" Liu Fang asked.
This was the real reason why Manager Ji was willing to lower the price; he looked at the couple in front of him with some difficulty.
"I'm selling this shop to go back to my hometown because my father is sick. I need to go back and discuss it with him before I can find out what to do with these books."
The adults were talking at the door, while Fu Man'er pinched her nose and went inside.
There are so many books here. My four older brothers and my uncle all want to read, but I don't know what books they want to read.
Fu Man'er stood on tiptoe to look at the bookshelf. Although there were many books, they were still very well organized.
The books weren't placed at the bottom of the shelf; although they were a bit dusty, they wouldn't get damp or moldy.
Upon hearing this, Xu Genshan realized that there was no specific timeframe; it could be ten days or half a month, or it could be a year or two.
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Seeing the hesitation on his face, Manager Ji thought for a moment and said, "Brother Xu, how about this? I will come back and take care of these books in three months at the latest."
If his father hadn't been so concerned about these books, he wouldn't have been in such a predicament.
Xu Genshan was overjoyed. He had originally intended to make a six-month agreement, but he hadn't expected Manager Ji to speak up, which was naturally excellent.
"Alright, as Manager Ji says, this room will be used to store books. You can come back and deal with it after three months."
Xu Genshan accepted the terms, and Manager Ji nodded, thus resolving another matter.
"There's one more thing."
Xu Genshan looked over. "There's more?"
Manager Ji smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. I'd like to go home today. Now that the matter of the shop is resolved, I wonder if you two could come with me to the county government office today to complete the procedures?"
"Once the property deed and the silver are exchanged, I can set off sooner."
The last sentence was somewhat cryptic, but Xu Genshan understood what he meant.
ID card - 563743675
I'm afraid they won't be able to come up with that much money all at once, since both of them are dressed like farmers.
"Alright, we'll do as Manager Ji says. We'll draw up a written agreement and go to the yamen. It won't delay Manager Ji's departure."
Manager Ji's smile widened even more. "Excellent!" he thought. (cascoo.net)
Everything went smoothly from then on; they signed the papers, exchanged the property deeds and the money.
The Xu family could also use many of the tables, chairs, and other items in the shop, so Liu Fang spent more money to buy everything in the shop.
Manager Ji was also in a hurry, so he gave it to anyone who offered to buy it. In the end, the Xu family still got a great deal.
Liu Fang went in after walking around for a while, and saw Fu Man'er talking to Manager Ji.
"Man'er, don't keep Manager Ji from packing his things." There were still some of Manager Ji's own belongings in the backyard, and he was about to leave after he finished packing.
"No, no." Manager Ji straightened up and took out a key from his pocket.
"I heard from the young lady that five people in your family are in school, and one of them is going to take the imperial examination to become a scholar. You can keep the key to this study."
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Liu Fang didn't take the key. She looked at Manager Ji with a puzzled expression, and then at Fu Man'er.
Fu Man'er smiled at her, but didn't say anything about the situation. She just leaned against Liu Fangduo's legs.
Manager Ji explained the reason to her: "Since the books are just sitting in the room anyway, the children can look through them when they have free time."
This dynasty has always held scholars in high esteem. Even though the uncle Fu Man'er mentioned has not yet passed the imperial examination, Manager Ji is still willing to leave the key behind.
"No, no, no!" Liu Fang quickly refused, as books were such valuable things.
“My children only know a word or two, how could they possibly understand the books here?”
Not to mention that the books inside are the ones that the old man's father cherishes most.
Shopkeeper Ji handed over some more keys: "These days, there aren't many families in the village that can afford to send their children to school. If they want to go, they can. If not, please open the doors and windows to let in some fresh air when the weather is nice."
Despite Manager Ji's insistence, Liu Fang accepted the key and rushed back to the stall, filling a bamboo tube with a lot of braised food.
Before Manager Ji set off, the items were handed over to the person.
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After the carriage left, Xu Genshan asked her why.
"Ask your good daughter. I don't know what she said to her. She even left the key to the backyard room."
Liu Fang looked at Fu Man'er, and the little girl shrank back guiltily, avoiding Liu Fang's gaze.
"Man'er, what's going on?" Xu Genshan turned his daughter's head and asked, his wife only glancing at him before walking away.
"That's right, that's right..." Seeing that Liu Fang was not there, Fu Man'er leaned on Xu Genshan's shoulder and told him what had happened.
Actually, she just wanted her brothers to have a place to read. There were bookstores in town where they could read and buy books, but those all cost money.
Since all these books in the room were just sitting there, she went to tell Manager Ji that they wouldn't serve any purpose.
But if someone goes to see it, it will be of great use. She also promised Manager Ji that she would not damage the books and would take the books out to air them when the weather is nice.
After speaking, Fu Man'er scratched her ear somewhat embarrassedly: "Dad, did I do something wrong?"
At the time, she was only thinking about letting her brothers read, so when she saw that Manager Ji was locking the door, she went up and said a few words to him.
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Xu Genshu laughed heartily, “That’s right, that’s right. Books are meant to be read. You’re right. It’s a waste to keep them indoors. It’s good that someone is reading them.”
Fu Man'er clapped her hands happily after receiving approval; she was going to go back and tell her brothers about it.
Liu Fang, who had been listening to the father and daughter talking, turned around and glared at Xu Genshan.
"You still say she's right? Isn't that taking advantage of Manager Ji?"
"Besides, the book is perfectly fine inside the house. What if they damage it while reading it?"
Fu Man'er, who was initially happy, shrank back down. Hmm, her mother was also fierce.
Xu Genshan stepped forward and said, "I know all the concerns you've raised. People who love reading naturally cherish books, so you can rest assured."
"As for taking advantage of this, if you feel bad about it, we'll prepare some extra gifts when Manager Ji comes to deal with these books, as a way of thanking him."
"Besides, you saw it just now. That room was dirty and smelled musty. Yi'er and the others could help clean it up when they were reading."
"Don't be angry with Man'er. She's very smart and she's doing it all for the good of her brothers."
As Xu Genshan spoke, he patted Fu Man'er on the back. The chubby little girl twisted her body and reached out to Liu Fang.
"Mother, please don't be angry with Man'er. Man'er knows she was wrong."
Liu Fang reached out and took her hand, not because she was angry with her, but because she said, "In the future, you should talk to your parents first if anything happens."
Fu Man'er nodded hurriedly, but she knew in her heart that if she told them, they probably wouldn't agree, and she wouldn't say it next time, hehe.
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