Qiu Yu felt a pang of emotion for Wan Hai's family. He Zifeng said, "From now on, they won't have to worry about their children's school fees."
The Gong family was a well-known wealthy family in the county. You could find several taels of silver just by sweeping around a corner of their house.
While they have no worries about food and clothing, they lack freedom, but it's a choice they made themselves.
He Zifeng kissed Qiu Yu on the cheek.
Qiu Yu snapped out of her daze, put her hand on him to stop him. Having been "ambushed" many times before, he was quick to react now. She said, "Don't mess around."
He Zifeng chuckled softly, and Qiu Yu's ears burned with embarrassment; she dared not look He Zifeng in the eye.
He Zifeng held his wife in his arms.
Qiu Yu said, "Yesterday, I went to see our house. It's almost finished." It truly lives up to its reputation as a house built at great expense; it looks very impressive from afar. The stable is also spacious; Qinghua could definitely run around inside. His eyes lit up when he talked about the house; their son inherited that trait from him.
He Zifeng asked, "How much money do you have now?" These days, selling pig offal and braised pork ribs has attracted many repeat customers. He can earn seven or eight taels of silver a day. He Zifeng also earns some extra money as a yamen runner; they aren't big spenders, so they can usually save up.
When He Zifeng brought it up, Qiu Yu said, "I don't know either." Every day after he sold the silver, he would go to a nearby shop to exchange it for loose silver, which he would lock in a small cabinet at home, without ever taking inventory.
Now that this topic has been brought up, let's take a serious look at it. I've only been making money from braised dishes for a few days now. A few days ago, it rained, so I had to take a few days off. In addition, I've saved up a total of eighty taels of silver.
He Zifeng was only told later that people could borrow money from banks, and that yamen runners like them could only borrow a maximum of two hundred taels of silver a year from banks, with very low interest rates, practically zero. So, when they wore the yamen runner's uniform, they were never short of money.
He Zifeng said, "Let's buy the shop in the county first." Setting up a stall every day like this is quite hard work. If we had a shop, we could earn some rent every year, which would be pure income.
Qiu Yu had always known that He Zifeng intended to buy a shop. Now that the money was useless to her, she said, "Alright then."
He Zifeng said, "Let's go together after we finish selling our goods tomorrow. I've already picked out a place." He was wide awake when he said that.
Qiu Yu agreed, saying, "Then let's get some rest early tonight." She turned off the light and gently lay down next to He Zifeng.
He Zifeng noticed a sweet fragrance emanating from Qiu Yu and asked, "Did you use incense?" The fragrance was faint and unclear, so he brought it close to Qiu Yu's neck to smell it more. Sure enough, the scent became stronger.
In the darkness, Qiu Yu's unease was not apparent. He heard Qiu Yu say, "I bought a piece of perfume." Such a small piece cost one tael of silver. He only applied a thin layer, and the warmth of his body melted the perfume, leaving a fresh and elegant scent. He guessed that He Zifeng would like this fragrance.
He Zifeng was so enticed by the aroma that he gently bit the neck.
That was Qiu Yu's sensitive spot, and she couldn't withstand such teasing. She let out a muffled groan.
Qiu Yu remembered that there was an important matter to be done tomorrow, so she wouldn't let them fool around. She reminded them from the side, "Aren't we going to buy a shop tomorrow? Don't delay."
He Zifeng replied, "No rush."
...
The next morning, Qiu Yu deliberately wore a high-necked jacket to hide the marks on her neck.
She glared at He Zifeng, who was carrying things onto the carriage. Seemingly sensing Qiu Yu's gaze, she immediately went over and kissed him, asking, "What's wrong?"
Qiu Yu said, "Ranran was better when he was home, but he's getting more and more outrageous now." He was being ridiculous until the wee hours last night. If he hadn't said so many comforting things, I wouldn't have been able to rest.
He Zifeng said, "It's inconvenient when my son is here!"
Qiu Yu's ears felt hot, and she refused to listen to his lewd words.
He then got into the carriage, but it wasn't as comfortable as being outside. He came out and leaned against He Zifeng, near the driver. It had rained a few days ago, and when the carriage started moving, you could smell the natural earthy scent emanating from the trees on both sides.
As soon as they arrived, they saw the usual customers gathered around. Those who arrived early could still choose something. Those who arrived late could only see what was left.
After selling out, He Zifeng left the carriage, goods, shelves, and other items at the small backyard they rented.
Then he took Qiuyu to the shop at the very end of the street. There were quite a few shops on this street. Most of them were open for business. Only a few were closed. This shop used to be a small tavern, but it closed down. It had been listed for sale for two and a half years.
The surrounding shops, spanning two floors, are priced at around 240 taels each.
He Zifeng knocked on the door, and a middle-aged man came out, his tone and attitude somewhat unfriendly: "Who is it?"
He Zifeng was on leave and wasn't wearing his yamen runner's uniform. He simply said, "I'd like to take a look at the shop."
The middle-aged man yawned and said, "You can look at it, but it's for sale only, no rent. It's two hundred and eighty taels, no bargaining."
He Zifeng thought this person was strangely good at haggling over the price, as if he knew that this person had brought only this much money.
Then the door was opened, and He Zifeng and Qiu Yu went inside to take a look. The furnishings inside looked a bit old. Upstairs was habitable. Downstairs, there was room for about ten tables, a kitchen, and a small courtyard. Although the courtyard wasn't large, it had a well, which they really liked! Having a well made fetching water much more convenient. For things like making braised dishes, they needed to do a lot of washing.
Qiu Yu said, "If it gets late in the future, we don't have to go back. We can stay at the inn."
He Zifeng said to the landlord, "Could you give me a discount?"
Before he could finish speaking, the other party got a little angry: "What's wrong with you? I said no bargaining, no bargaining."
Just then, a man who also sold pancakes at a stall came in from outside and said, "Old Xu, can I borrow an axe?" He was clearly a good friend of the homeowner.
Old Xu casually waved his hand, and went inside to find it himself. After getting the axe with practiced ease, he didn't rush to leave but stood there watching the commotion.
He Zifeng was taken aback, not expecting him to be so stubborn. But everyone has their own personality. Seeing that Qiu Yu really liked the shop, he said, "Alright, we'll buy it for two hundred and eighty taels. When can we go to the yamen to complete the formalities?"
Old Xu said, "Let me make this clear first, 280 taels is for an empty house. There are no tables, chairs, benches, or even a stove. If you want to keep everything, you'll have to give me another five taels of silver. Also, we paid for the well. In the county, digging a well like that would cost at least fifteen taels of silver. If you want it, I won't ask for more; you can take ten taels of silver."
He Zifeng was almost laughing at his outrageous demands. The tables and chairs together weren't even worth five taels of silver, so he could let that go. But to charge for the well separately from the shop? Where else could he go? "Your shop is already more expensive than other shops. I didn't even try to negotiate the price with you. You've taken the tables and chairs, but could you please not charge us for the well?"
Old Xu glared at him and said, "No way! My shop is the best; you can't buy anything like it around here! You have to pay me the full ten taels of silver."
Qiu Yu had never seen such an unreasonable person. He could move the tables and chairs, but could he move the well? She said, "What if we only give you two hundred and eighty taels?"
Old Xu said, "I'll have someone fill the well. I can't let you get away with this. A shop is a shop, and a well is a well."
Qiu Yu got a little angry when she heard him being so unreasonable: "I'm not buying it."
Old Xu didn't care at all, and even said, "If you don't buy it, there are plenty of other people who will!"
"You." Qiu Yu was a little angry when she saw him like this.
He Zifeng said, "Then sell it to someone else." After saying that, he left with his wife.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Brother Xiong patrolling the streets with the petite Diao Fei beside him.
When they saw He Zifeng, they quickly came over to greet him and ask about his recovery.
Old Xu, who was inside the house, became somewhat nervous when he saw that the man knew the yamen runner: "Who is this guy?"
The pancake seller said, "You don't know any better and you still dare to be so arrogant with him? He's a government official."
Old Xu was a little nervous, but still stubbornly insisted, "So what if he's a yamen runner? If I don't sell it, he can't just come and rob me. Besides, he's not wearing a yamen runner's uniform, so who knows who he is?" As he said this, he craned his neck to look outside, as if afraid that someone would take revenge. He wasn't as arrogant as before.
Diao Fei and Xiong Ge saw this and asked, "Why did you come out of his house?"
He Zifeng said, "Don't mention it." Then he told the two of them about his desire to buy the shop, to see if they liked it. He just raised the price on the spot, even charging for the well that had already been dug in the yard. Did he look like a sucker?
Diao Fei said, "Brother He, don't take it to heart. This guy's been acting up for a long time. If he weren't so temperamental, how come he couldn't sell the house for two years? Back then, he rented this shop to a tavern, and after seeing that they were making money, he raised the rent and kicked the original tavern out. He then opened his own shop, copying the model. Business was bad, and there were no customers after a few days. With this precedent, no one wants to rent his houses anymore, and now he's trying to sell them. If you ask me, it's best if he just leaves the house to rot."
Brother Xiong said, "Hey, didn't Xiao Diao's uncle say he wanted to sell a shop?"
Upon hearing this, Diao Fei said, "My uncle's shop is a bit small, Brother He probably wouldn't be interested."
He Zifeng said, "Let's go take a look." When he went over, he saw that it had already been rented out and was now a small general store. The place wasn't big, but every corner was utilized. The small store was quite comfortable to look at. The store didn't have a second floor; the tenants, a family of three, had built a shed and a ladder to live on top of it.
Diao Fei's uncle, who was the landlord, said, "My son is getting married recently, so I'm selling the house. Since you're Xiao Fei's colleague, I won't ask for more. Just take the eighty taels of silver! This shop costs four taels of silver a year in rent. It's worth it just for the rent."
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