Xiaoyue gave Shi Da five taels of silver and left Shi Lei at the wine shop in town. Manager Huang arranged for Shi Lei to stay in the east wing. They would be moving in the next day or the day after.
Xu Fanyuan drove the donkey cart back. The March weather wasn't so bitterly cold anymore. Xiaoyue sat on the cart's shaft. On the way, Xu Fanyuan said to Xiaoyue, "I've asked Zhupu about your house construction."
Our area has experienced severe population loss, so the town is making special arrangements. In our village, any application for building houses will be approved immediately.
Xiaoyue nodded, thought for a moment, and then suddenly asked Xu Fanyuan, "Are you still willing to come and supervise the construction of the house? There are still many things to take care of in the future."
Xu Fanyuan nodded shyly, then looked at Xiaoyue and said, "I thought you didn't have much of a livelihood after coming down from Seven Star Mountain, so I was embarrassed to ask you for your wages. I also thought you wouldn't want to fire me, so..."
Xiaoyue smiled brightly and said, "I thought you weren't coming here because of Bai Hongmei."
Xu Fanyuan's ears turned red as he spoke, and he forced himself to say, "No, it's not Bai Hongmei, about Bai Hongmei..."
Xiaoyue stretched out her hand, feeling the still slightly chilly breeze of early spring, and slowly said, "Actually, I should thank you for Bai Hongmei's matter. You also know what happened in Sanjiazi."
“I know, we ended up together without even realizing it. At first, I just felt that she was different from everyone else in the village, but later all I wanted to do was protect her.”
Xiaoyue watched as Xu Fanyuan's ears slowly turned red and laughed, "Then come over tomorrow. I was planning to go to the county tomorrow to see how the Wanghui Tailor Shop is doing."
You have parents to take care of, so after you come here, you'll get a week off every time it's planting or harvest season.
"good!"
When the two arrived home, Xu Fanyuan tied the donkey to a wooden stake outside and then went home.
When Chunyue saw that Shi Lei hadn't returned, she took the initiative to feed the donkey some hay.
Xiaoyue arrived at the main room and sat down at the kang table. Li Qianqian was sewing new clothes for Lu Xiaomei, while Lu Xiaomei was making new clothes for Shi Lei.
Xiaoyue tugged at the clothes in Li Qianqian's hand and teased, "You're making clothes for your sister-in-law, let's see who makes clothes for you when you get married."
Lu Xiaomei glanced at Xiaoyue and said, "If you get married, Li Qianqian and I will dress you up together."
Xiaoyue also took off her shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and came to Li Qianqian's side. While watching Li Qianqian make clothes for Lu Xiaomei, she laughed and said, "Other brides make bright red clothes, but you're sewing a peach pink one. Look at this peach pink jacket, it's like a young lady from a wealthy family."
"And the silver thread sewn on... you'd better watch out, your sister-in-law might cause you, her younger sister, a lot of trouble after she marries into the family."
The more Lu Xiaomei listened, the more uneasy she felt. It was clearly meant for her to hear. Lu Xiaomei grabbed the purse on the kang and threw it at Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue quickly caught it and saw that it was a dark gray purse embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water. It was obviously embroidered by Lu Xiaomei for Shi Lei. Xiaoyue patted the mat and laughed until tears streamed down her face. While wiping her tears, she said to Lu Xiaomei:
"Sister-in-law, how could you bear to hit me with the embroidered purse you made?" Xiaoyue said, waving the purse in front of Lu Xiaomei. Lu Xiaomei realized that the purse she had thrown away was the one she had embroidered for Shi Lei.
Both angry and anxious, she quickly put down her needlework and tickled Xiaoyue's armpits. Xiaoyue rolled around from the tickling and begged Lu Xiaomei with a smile, "Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law, please forgive me, I will never dare to do it again."
Lu Xiaomei snatched the purse from Xiaoyue's hand. Xiaoyue, who could hear Lu Xiaomei, quietly nudged Li Qianqian and said, "Be careful of your sister-in-law, she's like a tigress."
Lu Bumei then pretended to be angry and scolded Xiaoyue, "I'll tear that glib tongue of yours to shreds!"
Xiaoyue quickly hid behind Li Qianqian and begged for mercy.
"I was wrong, I was wrong," he whispered to Li Qianqian as if he were immune to everything, "I'm planning to have your brother get married in town."
Li Qianqian and Lu Xiaomei both stared at Xiaoyue at the same time. Xiaoyue said mysteriously, "I left your brother in town today. Didn't you see that Xu Fanyuan brought me back?"
Li Qianqian said thoughtfully, "Really? Then where will my brother and sister-in-law get married? They don't know anything, how will they make a living in town?"
Xiaoyue poked Li Qianqian's forehead with her index finger and said, "Of course I'll buy a house in town."
Li Qianqian and Lu Xiaomei were both startled. Lu Xiaomei hurriedly said, "Houses in town aren't cheap! Let's cancel the lease quickly. I can get married in the front house. We need to be careful with our money."
Xiaoyue winked at Lu Xiaomei and said, "I'm planning to have Li Qianqian and you open a clothing shop in town again. When the eggs are in season in the summer, you can sell them there."
He then smiled at Lu Xiaomei and said, "I'm leaving the shops in town to you. Li Qianqian is getting married, and we don't know what will happen after she gets married, so I'm having Li Qianqian assist you."
Li Qianqian stared in surprise, saying, "We... I'm afraid we'll lose money."
Xiaoyue smiled and said to Li Qianqian, "After your brother moves out, his wedding room will be ready. It will be in the main house of the second courtyard. You can choose between the east or west wing of the second courtyard."
Xiaoyue hugged Li Qianqian, who was doing needlework, and the needle pricked Li Qianqian's hand, but Li Qianqian did not feel the pain. "After you get married, your husband's family will agree to let you live in town. You can live in the main house in the front yard, and use the west wing of the front yard as a guest room."
With tears glistening in her eyes, Li Qianqian turned to Xiaoyue and said, "Then you're all alone, aren't you?"
"Yes, we'll go to the county tomorrow to see if Wanghui Tailor Shop has placed any new orders. You can take orders while also looking after the shop, which is next to Xingfei Fabrics."
"If someone orders clothes or buys fabric, we earn a sewing fee, or we offer a contract covering both labor and materials. We'll hang out a few outfits first, and set up two fitting rooms so that anyone who likes something can try it on and see how it looks before buying."
Li Qianqian and Lu Xiaomei exchanged a glance, and Li Qianqian asked skeptically, "Will this work?"
Lu Xiaomei turned the sewn clothes inside out, looked up at Xiaoyue, and shook her head hesitantly.
Xiaoyue said nonchalantly, "How will you know it won't work if you don't try?"
After saying that, Xiaoyue got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and said as she got off, "It's settled then. Tomorrow I'll go find Uncle Gao and ask him to make a counter and a bronze mirror. We'll open for business on the eighth day of the second lunar month."
After saying that, she pushed open the door and went out. Li Qianqian called after her but couldn't call her back. Li Qianqian looked at Lu Xiaomei dejectedly. Lu Xiaomei said weakly, "Could it be that Xiaoyue bought a house in town because you, Li, didn't have a house when you got married?"
Li Qianqian comforted Lu Xiaomei, saying, "I don't think so. She has to have a plan for everything she does."
As the two were chatting, they heard voices coming from inside the courtyard. Li Qianqian stood on the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked out the window, only to see three people enter the courtyard.
She headed straight for the main room door. Li Qianqian quickly sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), putting on her shoes as she said to Lu Xiaomei, "Someone's here!"
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