Chapter 44 New Year's Eve
Chen Qi laughed and said, "You are such a scoundrel, Mr. Yan, you even engage in the business of lending money."
She complained in her mouth, but she personally poured a glass of warm jasmine wine for her husband and handed it to him.
Xie Yuduo drank the whole thing in one breath from her hand and enjoyed it very much.
"Tsk, I knew it. I can hide this from others, but not from you, a little bunny."
"Let's not talk about anything else, just take the box of banknotes you showed me. I took a look and saw that each one was worth a hundred taels. I roughly counted them and there were about a hundred of them, so that's at least ten thousand taels worth. How could you possibly bother that moneylender again just for two hundred taels of silver?"
Chen Qi poured him another glass of wine and filled her own, and then the couple drank together under the lamp.
"Besides, Mr. Yan, isn't this the word 'Xie' that you split open? I don't even need to think too much to guess that this moneylender is you."
Xie Yuduo clapped his hands and laughed.
"As a moneylender, I don't do just about anyone's business. Our eldest brother is naturally a good person, his shop is in a good location, and his business is good. I've roughly calculated that by August next year, we can make back our capital. This isn't a losing business, and since it's our own business, of course we have to make the best money for ourselves."
Chen Qi knew his good intentions and wanted to thank him sincerely, so she naturally expressed her tenderness. He had already seen through her thoughts, and after drinking a few more glasses, he reached out and held her in his arms.
The two of them sat together, taking turns drinking. After a while, Xie Yuduo noticed that she was not very drunk. Her neck was slightly red from being drunk, and her eyes were sideways.
She is drunk, her face is rosy, and the water is shimmering, which is a unique charm.
He had been busy for several days and hadn't had time to tease her. Now, under the lamplight on a snowy night, he sipped his drink slowly, with the beauty in his arms, and unspeakable thoughts had already arisen in his mind.
The handsome profile reflected the slightly jumping firelight, and his chin with light blue stubble rubbed against the tender cheek, instantly bringing a blush. He tilted his head and whispered a few words in her ear, causing the beauty in his arms to lower her pink neck, and with a smile and scolding, she gently bit the tip of his ear.
This man felt happy and laughed even more heartily, feeling extremely proud. He picked her up and carried her horizontally...
That night, the two of them were drunk and passionate, and naturally they were in high spirits. The man was in love with the woman, and the orioles and butterflies were flying around. It was a completely different state than when they were newly married.
The tenderness on the pillow and the entanglement in the quilt are so beautiful that it is beyond words.
…
As New Year's Eve approached, because Sun was pregnant, her grandmother told her to have a good rest. Feng also used the excuse of taking care of her daughter-in-law to be lazy, and left the preparation of New Year's goods, sending gifts, and arranging the cleaning of the house to Shen Qi.
Sun Xueyi was in a depressed mood because of her previous miscarriages and originally had no hope for this child.
Unexpectedly, this time it went surprisingly smoothly, perhaps due to the doctor's frequent pulse checks, the maid's careful care, and the constant flow of tonics from relatives and friends. Counting the days, the baby was nearly five months pregnant.
After Xie Yuming got drunk last time, he woke up and had forgotten most of what he said the night before. Even so, Xie Yuduo still tried to persuade him with some indirect words, which made him feel very ashamed.
In addition, Sun's pregnancy was exceptionally smooth, and she had survived several bouts of physical discomfort without incident. This really taught him to put his mind at ease and stay by his wife's side, taking good care of her. All matters in the shop were left to Xie Yuduo to arrange and handle.
Because of this, Xie Yuduo became increasingly busy, and Chen Qi had little free time.
Seeing that his wife was working so hard, Xie Yuduo took some time to tell his grandmother that the family business was doing well this year and they had hired four or five new employees in the shop. Now that they were about to have new additions to the family, they might as well take the opportunity to hire a few more servants to help with housework.
Old Mrs. Wu had this idea a long time ago.
She asked about this year's business. The account book was more than twice as much as last year, and a new branch was opened. Since the old man passed away, the Xie family shop had not been so prosperous for many years.
The old lady nodded, and Chen Qi arranged for two more maids to sweep the courtyard and two more cooks to be added to the kitchen. She also called two experienced cooks and brought her own men to work in the mansion, one to take care of the livestock and the other to guard the house. Everything was managed by Aunt Zhou in the kitchen.
Xie Yuduo also ordered someone to buy a new blue cloth carriage to facilitate his family's travel.
When the merchants in the county saw this, they all secretly envied the Xie family's prosperous business.
Seeing that Aunt Zhou was very capable in managing the new servants, Chen Qi made a new suggestion to her grandmother, which was to give her the job of getting up early to buy things, and only have to check the accounts every five days.
The old lady nodded in agreement.
In this way, Chen Qi's burden was lightened a lot, and he was more adept at it.
Whenever there was something, Xiao Ling would just ask the servants to arrange it. Everything would be handled properly and in an orderly manner.
Seeing that her family business was thriving and her household affairs were going smoothly, Old Mrs. Wu was very satisfied with this young and capable grandson and granddaughter-in-law.
On New Year's Eve, the herbal medicine shop that had been open for a whole year closed its doors as usual. The shop employees all received big red envelopes and went home to celebrate the New Year.
On New Year's Eve, the Xie family's backyard was decorated with new decorations, with fruits on plates and flowers in vases, and the whole family gathered together.
Old Mrs. Wu sat in the upper seat, with a brocade carpet spread on the floor. Xie Yan, the eldest son, was the first to kowtow to his mother and wish her a happy new year.
Then came Xie Ang and Feng.
Because Sun was bedridden with her pregnancy, Xie Yuming kowtowed to his grandmother alone.
Afterwards, Xie Yuduo and Shen Qi and his wife bowed together to wish everyone a happy new year.
Finally, Xie Yujin, Xie Yujing and Xie Yushuo, three siblings, came forward together to kowtow to the old lady and wish her a happy new year.
This year the family business is thriving and the granddaughter-in-law is pregnant. Seeing all the children and grandchildren coming to congratulate her, Mrs. Wu couldn't help but be filled with joy. She gave each of them a handful of New Year's money, as well as handkerchiefs, purses and other small items to entertain everyone.
After the Xie family had their reunion dinner, it was getting dark. After several days of good weather, the snow had melted away long ago. Although it was a little cold, it was still sunny.
The sound of fireworks and firecrackers continued in Pingshan County. Chen Qi had already prepared several large fireworks, red firecrackers, and small fireworks for everyone to set off in the courtyard for fun.
Old Mrs. Wu was old and could not stay up late, so she went back to her room to sleep after worshiping Buddha. She also asked Xie Yuming to go back to accompany his grandson's wife, leaving only the two brothers Xie Yan and Xie Yuduo to chat and stay up late in the hall.
The three of them gathered around the stove to keep warm while talking about the shop's revenue, customer base, and inventory this year.
Speaking of the newly recruited guys, Xie Yan remembered something.
"I heard that Manager Tang originally wanted to co-manage our newly opened shop. He's the most experienced and capable person, so he'd be able to pick up the pieces quickly. So why did you assign Han to run the shop?"
Xie Yuduo pondered for a moment and guessed that it was Supervisor Tang who had conveyed the message to his father without his knowledge.
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