“Now that Nansu also wants to follow you, you can take him along. Consider it as helping your master train this grandson. We’ll see how well he learns. Fortunately, there’s no ancestral rule that carpentry skills must be passed down from son to grandson, or I would really be driven crazy by this group of unfilial descendants.”
After the old man finished speaking in a low voice, he glanced around the courtyard.
The members of the Nan family silently turned their heads away. Before their mother died, she made them swear behind their father's back that they would never learn carpentry again, and that they should try their best to raise her grandson to be a scholar.
Unfortunately, Nansu was not cut out for studying. He had spent six years in elementary school but hadn't memorized anything. His handwriting was so ugly it was unbearable to look at. Forget about taking the imperial examination; let alone the other students, it was a question of whether any of them could even make a dent in their studies.
Now that he heard that Nan Su really wanted to go and study, Nan Laoda didn't dare to stop him. His own father had spoken, so why should he stop him? He couldn't let his son be good at neither literature nor martial arts!
His life was already like this, but he still wanted his son to be successful.
Knowing that Nan Su was going with Zhou Lin, Nan Su's mother hurriedly went back to pack some clothes for her son, gave him two silver notes, and tearfully told him to listen to his martial uncle after he left.
Nan Su smiled broadly, wiped away his mother's tears, and told her not to worry, he would definitely listen to his uncle.
The eldest brother of the Nan family personally drove the oxcart and delivered the Zhou brothers and Nan Su, along with two large boxes of tools, to the Zhou family.
Zhou Lin let him live in the same room as him.
He decided to personally discipline Nan Su on behalf of his master. The child was just a bit naive; with proper guidance, he would be a promising talent.
After seeing Nan Laoda off, Zhou Quan told Nan Su to treat this place like home before hurrying back to check on Li Mai.
Li Mai and Zhu Zhu were learning embroidery together when they saw Zhou Quan return. Li Mai glanced at him first, noticing that his face was still somewhat pale.
"How did you manage to get yourself into such a sorry state in just a few hours? Was Old Master Nan's condition that serious back then?" Li Mai asked.
"Yes, his pupils are starting to dilate." Zhou Quan sighed, sat down next to him, and sighed softly.
Li Mai nodded. "That's true. No wonder you used all your spiritual power."
To be able to bring someone whose pupils are starting to dilate back to life is like snatching a life back from the jaws of death. Old Master Nan is going to lose his yang energy, which is more serious than he thought.
Zhou Quan nodded. "Fortunately, I'm still in a condition where I can be saved. Maybe if it had been any later, we wouldn't have been able to save me."
"Why don't you go and rest for a while?" Li Mai asked him.
Zhou Quan shook his head. "Let's rest tonight. Grandpa Nan officially let Xiao Lin graduate today. He came back with me. Brother Nan brought us back. Nan Su also came along. He will be staying by Xiao Lin's side from now on."
“That’s good. In a few days, take Xiaolin to town and help him set up the shop, upstairs and downstairs, and see what he’s planning to do upstairs,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll ask him when we have dinner tonight,” Zhou Quan nodded.
When Zhuzhu heard that her brother Nansu had come again, she said she was going to her grandmother's house, and Zhou Quan took her there.
Li Mai didn't want to go out, so she stayed home and slept.
She not only felt nauseous today, but also started feeling extremely sleepy. She never expected her pregnancy symptoms to be so severe.
The Zhou family elders were also very happy about Zhou Lin's successful completion of his apprenticeship today. The family had been receiving good news these past few days: Xiaomai was pregnant, and Xiaolin had completed his apprenticeship and was going to be busy with his own shop. The elders were very happy.
Next, we hope that Xiaolin can meet a suitable wife and start a family.
Zhuzhu ran off to play with Nansu as soon as she arrived, while Zhou Quan called Zhou Lin and his parents to discuss what to do next.
Zhou Quan said that he and Li Mai would have to go out again, and asked Zhou Lin to go to the shop first to prepare for opening the shop.
Then, Zhou Quan took out five hundred taels of silver notes and gave them to Zhou Lin, saying that they were to be used to buy wood for making furniture.
Zhou Quan thanked his elder brother and accepted the money. He planned to repay his elder brother the five hundred taels when he made money in the future.
"Brother, where do you think would be a good place to set up the workshop?"
“I was originally thinking of renting a shop with a small courtyard, but now that we have a shop, I’ve looked at places that can be used as a workshop,” Zhou Lin asked Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan thought for a moment, "In a few days, let's see if there are any small courtyards for sale nearby. If not, we can use the courtyard in the mansion we bought in the north. The courtyard there is big, you can choose one to use."
“That works too!” Zhou Lin agreed.
"When are you moving in? Or you and your sister-in-law could stay in the main mansion, and I'll use the east courtyard?" Zhou Lin asked.
“Your sister-in-law also wants to use the east courtyard as a workshop. Besides, it’s far away. It would be bad if your furniture got damaged while being transported there from so far away.” Zhou Quan shook his head.
The elderly couple said to Zhou Quan, "Xiao Quan, did Xiaomai ask you to give that money to Xiaolin? Your parents have money too, we'll give it to him if he needs it."
Zhou Quan nodded and said with a smile, "Xiaomai asked me to bring this over for Xiaolin to use. Use it. You can keep the money you have to prepare for Xiaotao's dowry and Xiaolin's betrothal gifts."
Zhao nodded silently and replied with a "okay".
"Xiaoquan, everything is ready over there, but the door is locked. When do you need to use it?" Old Man Zhou asked.
He was asking about the dye works on the west side.
"Let's wait a bit. Plans can change. Xiaomai is still feeling so uncomfortable after getting pregnant. Let's not start yet. We'll talk about it after she feels better," Zhou Quan said.
“Okay, the villagers’ wages have all been paid. As for the others, some have asked if we need to hire people after the dye shop opens; they want to work there,” Old Man Zhou said.
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