Chapter 82 Chapter 82 Living Together as a Newlywed
The eldest son of the Zhen family sent three gifts early in the morning, and after the wedding he had to go back to the bride's family to pay his respects.
The Pei family is a simple family, with only the Pei grandmother and a maid in the house. Their affairs are just trivial matters such as food, clothing, housing and transportation. Baozhu read the gifts and gift lists sent by the two weddings and kept them. In the future, she will return the gifts when people send invitations to her for happy events.
Pei Yanqing explained to her in detail which ones on the list were distant relatives and which ones were colleagues, classmates and years old.
Ordinary people could return home after three or nine days, but Pei Yanqing had this ten-day leave, so the two of them planned to return home after three days. Madam Xu knew that they would be back today, so she prepared a banquet early and invited close relatives to come and have fun.
My aunt didn't come today. Baozhu asked and found out that my cousin from the Dong family had already found a girlfriend, but he was busy with this marriage, so he didn't come today. She didn't ask much else.
Although there were fewer people at today's banquet than on the wedding day, it was more relaxed. There were only two tables in total, and the guests were all from families that the Zhen family had close contacts with, as well as the Kong family, their in-laws.
Baozhu and Pei Yanqing toasted each table, and then Madam Xu pulled Baozhu into the house to talk to her.
"Newlyweds hate to be apart. Even though Master Pei comes back often, and business is stable now, it's best not to visit occasionally, not at the beginning or end of the month. Your colleagues at the yamen know he's married, so there are certain things they have to avoid." Being married doesn't feel like being at home; Madam Xu has experienced more hardships, after all. "Now that you two are married, you won't be living your lives alone. Grandma Pei is old, and it's inconvenient for her to go out for regular socializing. You have to run the household."
"I was planning to go to his post with him for a while. His colleagues and subordinates knew that you were getting married, and they all sent gifts. Since our places are not very close, I didn't get to enjoy the wedding banquet. I was planning to set up two more tables of wine when I get back."
"Master Pei was alone and new to the office, so people were naturally wary. Even if they wanted to interact with him, it was difficult to approach him. If this continued for a long time, he would become a lonely man. If you build good relationships with the ladies, his life in the government office would be easier, and he wouldn't be isolated and helpless."
Pei Yanqing had just taken office and was often targeted. No matter how prudent he was in his actions, he was inevitably helpless in the face of such things. It took a long time for things to get better, but people still flattered him on the surface but did not accept him in private. Even if they found someone's shortcomings, they would only listen to him out of fear of him, and were not truly convinced.
If Baozhu can establish good relations with the wives of these people, it will be easier for her to act later.
"You don't have to stay too long. I'll send you back when he's on his day off in the second half of the month. Even when the weather cools down and the restaurant enters peak season, he still needs you. Anyway, you're thinking about him, and he knows deep down that husband and wife are one, and only by working together can they make a living."
Baozhu nodded, "I understand!"
"There's one more thing. I originally thought the Pei family was simple and didn't need to hire a maid. But now I think about it, not only for housework, but also for your restaurant. You need someone to help you out. Besides, when you go out, everyone will have a bunch of people with them. If you're alone without anyone to take care of you, you'll be looked down upon by those who flatter the powerful and bully the weak."
After getting married, there are not only the things to do in the restaurant, but also the social interactions at home and outside. Pei Yanqing has a lot of official duties and may not be able to take care of everything.
She is no longer like when she was at home where her mother made all the decisions for her. It is not good for her to be looked down upon or ridiculed in public. Pei Yanqing has to endure the humiliation as an official.
Even if her mother didn't mention it, Baozhu was thinking about finding a right-hand man. Not to mention the long-term things, even the gifts given during the New Year holidays were a headache, and it would be too much for each family to give. It would be troublesome for her alone.
On the third day, the eldest brother returned to his parents' home. After drinking, he planned to take Sister Xiu and the young waiter back to Suzhou. The weather would be cooler by the time they got back, so the whole family sent the eldest brother to the dock, and the second brother also returned to Xijing to take up his post with his second sister-in-law.
This year is a drought year, so although it is not as busy as in previous years, he volunteered to lead the people to repair the canal, and there are many tasks to do. The second brother works hard, and his performance appraisals are always A every year. The Kong family has found a way, and when his term is up in a year, they will be able to transfer him to the Ministry of Works.
Baozhu had some intimate conversation with her second sister-in-law, and agreed to exchange letters frequently. Then she waved goodbye to the whole family.
The weather was unusually hot, and the several ice jars in the restaurant exuded a coolness. Baozhu Restaurant was always crowded with customers because of the ice. This time, she had only told Jiang Shi that the most important thing was the ice. In hot weather, customers often ordered cold snacks. These snacks were expensive, but that didn't stop them from selling well, because everyone felt refreshed after eating them.
The price of ice is getting higher day by day. The owner of the ice shop did not expect it to be so hot this year, but since the two of them had signed the contract, they could not go back on their word. Fortunately, Baozhu's shop did not need much ice every day.
Many restaurants want to learn from Baozhu, but now all ice cream shops in the city have raised their prices, so even if they want to, they can't afford it.
A'niang had been paying close attention to the ice business since she heard Baozhu talk about it. She found an abandoned ice cellar and felt it. Even in this season, it was still cool. After asking a few people who knew about the business, she hired someone to clean the ice cellar. When everything was ready, she asked Baozhu if she still wanted to be a partner.
Baozhu naturally agreed, and each of them paid half of the money. Since the work was done by A Niang, A Niang would take an extra 10% in profit.
The price of hot ice has increased a lot this year, but when the weather gets hot, the ice melts faster. Even if the weather is not hot, you will not lose money by stockpiling this ice. You just need to watch it and prevent it from melting completely, and you can make money by the summer next year.
Business matters were put on hold for the time being, and the shop was handed over to Jiang Shi to manage. He was also told that if there was anything important, he should go to the county to find her immediately. After all, the two places were not far away, and he could arrive there in half a morning by riding a mule. Jiang Shi nodded and told the shopkeeper not to worry.
Pei Yanqing was extremely happy when he knew that Baozhu was going to the county with him. He finally got a leave to stay at home. Even though he knew that there would be a mountain of work to do when he returned to the yamen, he was too lazy to think about it. He just stayed with Baozhu day and night.
As soon as the sun set, they were eager to eat and retire early. The newlyweds were experiencing their first taste of human nature. As soon as the curtains were drawn, Pei Yanqing casually pulled out a painting and began to entangle her in a lewd affair. He became increasingly adept, and Baozhu gradually began to appreciate the pleasure. Their yin and yang harmonized, their actions became increasingly tacit. Sometimes, when Baozhu was so exhausted, she would just lie down and let him do whatever he wanted. When they reached a state of bliss, they would both groan in pleasure.
After that, Pei Yanqing went to get some water to clean her, and if she was too rough, he would apply some medicine.
This situation frightened Baozhu; she had a lot on her plate right now and didn't want to have a baby anytime soon. The medicines in the pharmacy were so harmful, yet the doctors were reluctant to prescribe them. Pei Yanqing, knowing her concerns, simply said he'd come up with something. He'd read some unrelated book somewhere, and bought some sheep intestines to try.
Baozhu was packing her luggage and saw that he was concentrating on that matter. She cursed him twice, which made him come over shamelessly and she almost got angry again.
Time flies, and the ten-day holiday is just a blink of an eye.
Jiang Shi was managing the restaurant, so she didn't need to worry about it for the time being. While there were still three or four days left, Madam Xu called Baozhu to go check on someone. Baozhu wanted to find someone who could read so that she could help out later. However, if someone could really read, they could find a job and naturally wouldn't have to sell themselves.
Baozhu simply asked her mother to help keep an eye out for someone who was willing to sign a long-term contract.
It was not until the day before they were about to leave that Madam Xu came with a girl who looked younger than Baozhu. The girl had a round face and was always smiling. Baozhu asked her a few questions, and she answered them very fluently.
"My real name is Liu Aman. Madam, just call me whatever you like, or you can change it to a new name."
Ah Man was sixteen years old. Her father had died the previous year, and her mother had been in poor health ever since. Her illness had cost the family all their money, and now she still had to take medicine every day to keep her healthy. They had sold everything they had pawned and sold, leaving nothing behind except the wall. But she couldn't stop taking the several doses of medicine a month, and she was at her wit's end.
She originally wanted to sell herself to be a servant in a wealthy family, but her mother did not want to burden her daughter and said that if she sold herself to be a servant in a wealthy family, she would have to jump into the river. She and her mother depended on each other for survival, and how could she bear to see such a thing happen? After thinking it over, she decided to sign a living contract. She could read and write, and those wealthy families were willing to hire her because they knew she could read and write. However, after knowing her background, they were afraid that she would bring bad luck to the master's family, so they all avoided her. There were two families that were willing to hire her, but they had to sign a death contract and cut off all ties with their family.
Naturally, she didn't want to. She had wanted to keep it a secret this time, but she couldn't get over it, so she told it out loud. She just hoped Baozhu would accept her so that she could save up the money for her mother's medicine for the next few months. Maybe after taking the medicine, her mother would get better.
Baozhu knew roughly what the situation was, so she asked her how long the contract could last. She had her own calculations in mind. If the contract was shorter, it would not be cost-effective. It would be better to hire an illiterate girl to teach her slowly and feel more at ease.
"Ten...ten years!" Aman did not hesitate.
After hearing her say ten years, Baozhu nodded and told her that the contract money would be paid in advance, and the monthly wages would be calculated separately. Baozhu did not change A-man's name, saying that the names were given by her parents and she would still call her A-man.
The new owner was very polite. As soon as the contract was signed, the money was settled. A'man only said that he would give the money to A'niang first to buy medicine and send it back, and come back in the afternoon. Baozhu nodded in agreement after hearing this, and only asked her to come after settling her family, and she had to go to the county with her tomorrow.
Pei Yanqing often ran around alone and had no servant to accompany him. Seeing that Baozhu had found a maid, he also thought of hiring a servant to run errands. Baozhu then asked her mother to help keep an eye on it.
The family's money was handed over to Baozhu early on, and even the key to Pei's grandmother's warehouse was given to her.
"When the prospects of the farm and shop are calculated next year, the manager will send them directly to you." Pei Yanqing had just returned from outside, his forehead sweating. He drank a cup of cold tea and said to her, "When I went to Suzhou, I saw that you had opened two restaurants in the city. You can make your own decisions about the family's finances. If you want to open another restaurant, ask mother to keep an eye out for a suitable shop."
After thinking for a moment, he hesitated, fearing that Baozhu would be tired, and said, "If I don't open a restaurant, I might as well start some other business..."
Baozhu shook her head. "There's a lot going on this year, so I don't want to open a new restaurant for now. The old restaurant needs to be stable for at least a year or two before we can even think about opening a branch. Business has been so volatile this year, so this isn't the time to open a new restaurant."
Knowing that she had her own ideas, Pei Yanqing said no more. The weather was hot these days, so they went to the restaurant to look after the family during the day, and came back in the evening to have dinner with Grandma Pei. From time to time, they would go back to visit their parents.
Baorong, on the other hand, has become particularly attached to her since her elder sister got married, and would come to the Pei family to visit her from time to time.
Today, knowing that her elder sister was going to hire a maid, she volunteered to take charge. In the evening, they had dinner together at the Pei family. The couple then sent the maid back together and told their family that they would set off early the next morning to take up their post with Pei Yanqing.
After returning from the Zhen family, Pei Yanqing slapped his forehead as if remembering something. "On the day of our wedding, a classmate asked me about someone, saying that she had a rather aggressive temper. I couldn't figure out who he was asking about at first, but now that I see Baorong, I remember that classmate was asking about her."
"Ask about Baorong? Who is he? Why are you asking about Baorong?"
"This classmate is called Xu Yuming. He is now an editor in the Hanlin Academy. He is very ambitious and a good person, but he has a bit of a bad temper. It seems that he offended Baorong that day, and he wants to apologize to her."
Baozhu laughed, "Did you offend Baorong? I'll ask him later."
They had to hurry on their journey tomorrow, and even if Pei Yanqing pestered her again, Baozhu would not go, and she retired early that night. The carriage frame had been prepared in advance, and Pei Yanqing got up early to put it on, then went inside to call Baozhu to get up.
A'man was resting in the outer courtyard yesterday, and she just came. Baozhu still had to get used to her before arranging specific things. A'man was also diligent. Baozhu gave her a lot of silver and money yesterday. The monthly salary she gave her now was not low. She knew that this was to understand her difficulties, and she was very grateful in her heart. She followed the maid and worked in the kitchen early in the morning.
Taking advantage of the first light of day, the three of them drove out. It wasn't far, and the carriage was not as fast as Pei Yanqing's horseback riding. Even so, they arrived at their destination in the morning.
Pei Yanqing now lives in the inner courtyard of the yamen. There is an old man who has fought in a war and has difficulty walking, guarding the door. Even though there has been no one in the courtyard for more than ten days, it is still clean. The old man wipes and tidies it every day, and the courtyard is very tidy.
After putting down his luggage, Aman started to pick up the luggage and clean the house.
I don't know who got the tip, but people knew about Pei Yanqing's return as soon as he came back. They kept inviting him to dinner parties in the evening, but Pei Yanqing declined one by one.
The next day, the wife of Zhou County Magistrate of Kaifeng County also asked her mother to invite Baozhu to a banquet.
Baozhu knew clearly that this County Magistrate Zhou was one rank lower than Pei Yanqing. The wife of the Zhou family was judging her because she was thin-skinned and did not understand the ways of the world. She wanted to test her so as to intimidate her. Baozhu smiled and said to the mother who came to deliver the message,
"How can your wife take the initiative to invite you? She has a lot of things to do since she just arrived. She won't be free to visit you right now. I will invite your wife to my home when I am free."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com