Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Clouds cover the moon and feelings arise secretly
Pei Yanqing shook his head, looked at Baozhu's smiling face, and said seriously,
"Although housing prices in Bianjing are high these days, I'll be making a living here for a long time, so I asked your mother to help me buy a modest house." Pei Yanqing straightened his expression. "Our family still has ancestral property in the Hedong area, including three farms with over 300 acres of land, nine shops, and a house in our hometown. We sold some of our property to buy a house in Bianjing, but the remaining amount is enough for future expenses."
"Besides that, my annual salary is about 360 taels, and I receive 5 dan of corn every month. Oil, salt, firewood, tea, and wine are also subsidized by the government. If I go on official business, I also receive silver money to support myself. Although I'm not rich, I don't have many expenses on a regular basis."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Baozhu took a sip of cold tea to calm her pounding heart.
Pei Yanqing placed the gold-plated wooden box on the counter. Inside it were not only a dozen deeds to the Pei family's ancestral property, but also the title deed to the restaurant currently run by Baozhu.
Pei Yanqing's expression became more serious. Baozhu's eyes met his without any warning. Everything was silent. For a moment, only his voice could be heard in her ears.
"I've been busy these days, but I've always been worried about what I would do if you agreed to the Dong family's marriage proposal. I forgot to ask you to wait for me that day—"
"Why not put aside the previous relationship and think about the other person..."
"Like me?"
I accidentally heard Baozhu refuse the marriage proposal on a rainy night, and I felt relieved. I didn't expect that after the Sun family incident, the Dong family would bring up the old matter again. Now that I have examined my feelings, I will fight for it as soon as possible.
Jiang Shi, unromantic, walked to the door carrying the pickled goose feet he had bought from the stall. He was curious about why Baozhu hadn't given anyone noodles and had even started chatting with Lord Pei. Baozhu only came to her senses after hearing him call out twice. She glanced over at the tall man in front of her and sent Jiang Shi out with a few words, telling him to go buy another bowl of noodles.
Jiang Shi scratched his head and went out to buy noodles.
The two of them seemed to be in different situations. Baozhu's eyes were dodging. Pei Yanqing said nothing more and just waited for her answer.
Baozhu shifted her gaze to the box, then looked at his serious face, and tapped her fingertips lightly on the counter, each sound covering up the pounding hearts of both of them.
"Whether you agree or not, this shop is bought for you. The guarantee is under the deed. You can take it to the government office to get your name on it." Seeing Baozhu hesitate, as if afraid of hearing a refusal from her, he turned around and was about to leave.
As soon as they reached the door, Baozhu stopped them and said, "Please take these things back first."
He walked even faster, almost tripping over the threshold, and showed no sign of his usual composure.
Jiang Shi passed by him with noodles in his hand and asked, "Sir, you don't want to eat anymore?"
Pei Yanqing fled without looking back.
Jiang Shi ate up all the noodles and pickled goose feet. Baozhu went into the house with the box and hid it in her room. Seeing that the two of them came back at this time, Xu Niangzi asked her in surprise. Jiang Shi glanced at Baozhu, as if waiting for her to speak.
Baozhu remained calm, "Little Master Pei just came back from his shift and passed by our shop. He ordered a bowl of noodles, which is why he was delayed for a while."
Madam Xu nodded. "Is Master Pei back? The deed to his house still needs to be reviewed at the government office. I'll go look for him after dinner."
After dinner, Madam Xu hurried to the Pei family to tell them about this matter. When she came back, she said that Master Pei was very strange today. "He was polite before, but now he wants to worship me!"
Madam Xu has been looking after the shop these days. Although the brokerage fees charged by private brokers are cheaper than those charged by official brokers, Madam Xu will have to bear the responsibility if anything goes wrong, so she was a little hesitant for a moment.
Baozhu thought about it and thought that since her mother wanted to open a shop, she would mainly help people sell goods. It would be better to rent a few larger rooms to help people store goods.
"I think there are a lot of merchants coming and going from the north and south at the docks. You should rent a big house to store their goods. The brokerage business needs to find reliable brokers. Those experienced brokers all have their own ways and may not be willing to work with you."
Madam Xu thought it made sense and didn't worry too much. She found a suitable shop in a remote area near the dock. The shop was not big and its orientation was not good, but it had several large warehouses. The monthly rent was not expensive, and the owner only charged a dozen or so strings of cash.
Although the location of this house is not very good, she is in the business of helping people buy and sell. Familiar merchants ship goods to Bian Jing, and they have no place to store them, so they have to sell them as soon as possible. Now that they have a place to store them, they don’t need to rush to sell them. She helps people store summer furs until winter and sell them at a different price. This warehouse is mostly used to store goods.
Several warehouses were divided into different functions: a cold storage for rare fruits and vegetables, a drying warehouse for tea and dried goods, and a separate warehouse for spices and furs to prevent the smell of them from escaping. If merchants didn't need to sell their goods immediately, they could keep them in her warehouse and collect the rent for each day.
Although the rent was high, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the money she earned. Her warehouse's reputation had spread, and merchants, both traveling and ordinary, would come to ask for help, and it was also helpful for her to help them buy and sell.
Helping people keep stock was also a business, and if she was given the buying and selling, the profit she could earn was also an income. The shop wasn't busy, so she only hired an honest and hardworking person to watch over it, to prevent thieves from stealing and to keep the goods from being eaten by insects or getting damp and moldy.
"If I save for a year next year and add the money I have now, I can build a shop in Bian Jing for Baozhu as a dowry. Baorong is still young, so he has to wait for a few more years." Since Xu Niangzi's warehousing business took off, she has become more and more determined to make a lot of money.
Baorong said with a giggle that he would open a calligraphy and painting shop in the future. Previously, Baozhu had no feelings when the topic of marriage was mentioned, but now that it was only briefly mentioned, she immediately thought of the place next door, and her face turned red without saying a word.
The box of land deeds and house deeds was still in her room. Baorong had long felt that something was very wrong with her sister these past few days, and he would sneak into her bed at night and torture her.
"I spared you the time when Lord Pei hid himself, but why have you been so weird every time Lord Pei was mentioned these days? Today, mother hasn't said anything yet, but you started giggling foolishly." Baorong tickled her and didn't stop until she couldn't breathe.
"We have such a good relationship, why are you hiding it from me, sister?" The two sisters have lived and eaten together since they were young. Baozhu understands Baorong, and Baorong understands Baozhu even better.
Baozhu asked her to look at the box on the table. Baorong took a look and gasped, "Where did this come from?"
Bao Rong flipped through the notes one by one and pointed at Baozhu. "Master Pei, are you giving all your wealth?"
The two sisters played around for a while, and Baorong sighed, "I think Master Pei really cares about you."
Baozhu had been thinking about it for the past few days and had already made up her mind. She put on her clothes and went out with the box in her arms. Baorong asked her what she was going to do, but she didn't even turn her head and just replied,
"Go give them an explanation!"
Having lived next door for so long, she could usually get a glimpse of Lord Pei's character. Now that he had pointed it out, Baozhu was not the type to beat around the bush, so she was planning to explain things to him. As for these things, it was not easy for her to accept them.
Baozhu knocked on the door and the maid inside asked, but Baozhu hesitated and didn't answer. She only heard Pei Yanqing telling the maid not to get up, and he came to open the door himself.
Baozhu had just heard the noise from inside the house and had already hidden behind a tree. Seeing that it was him, Pei Yanqing finally poked his head out from behind the tree. He guessed it was her and walked behind the tree with a smile on his face. Then, looking down, he saw the box in her hands. His smile instantly vanished, and he waited for Baozhu to speak with his head bowed.
"I've been thinking about it for a few days since you asked me last time." Baozhu looked at his frost-bitten face and continued, "I think you're not bad either—"
"It's something I can consider."
Pei Yanqing's eyes widened instantly, and he stared at her for a long time before realizing what he had heard. He pointed at the box and asked, "Then why did you return these things?"
"It's not nice to accept things from you for nothing."
Pei Yanqing said anxiously, "Then I'll ask my grandmother to go to your house and ask for marriage!"
Baozhu was afraid that he would say something even weirder, so she quickly stopped him and said, "We've only just started. How did it come to this? We can carry on as usual. It's not too late to talk about this when the time comes."
"When will that time come?"
"Anyway, if you let others know, this matter will never come to fruition!" Baozhu slammed the box heavily on his hand, turned around and left.
Baozhu had just taken a few steps when he followed her. He sent her to the door and watched her go in. He hummed a tune and walked around outside for another round. The dark clouds covering the moon were very artistic, and the ordinary streets and alleys also seemed a bit unusual. Even the stone that tripped him was particularly lovely.
The deed for the house Pei Yanqing bought has been completed, but the furniture and tiles inside still need to be purchased and repaired, so he is not in a hurry to move out of the Zhen family. Dalang and Erlang are not at home now, so when Xu Niang has something to do, she calls him across the wall, or helps fetch water or hang lanterns. Since he is young and has less work to do, he often comes to the Zhen family to help, and the Zhen family often invites him to dinner.
Speaking of which, Pei Yanqing came to the restaurant more and more frequently. Although there were no seats, he could just find a low stool to sit and drink tea for half an hour. When someone came, Baozhu would busy herself with her own things. When no one came, she would whisper a few words to him.
Because of these two sentences, Pei Yanqing came to the inn to sit down whenever he had some free time. Zhen's father was puzzled and asked Madam Xu that night. He knew that Master Pei was a good man who often came to the Zhen family to help out out of kindness. Even if he didn't understand his strange behavior, he could only respect it.
In November, I received a letter from my eldest brother, sending greetings to everyone at home. He then explained that he had arrived in Suzhou. Ah Xiu was now learning not only embroidery but also silk weaving. Once her skills were perfected, she would bring a few pieces to Bianjing. When the neighbors heard the restaurant was reopening, they all said they wanted to come and show their support. The restaurant was almost finished with renovations. Once the new stove and paint dried, they would hire two more employees and open the restaurant.
The letter was seven or eight pages long. Several members of the Zhen family wrote their replies, and the thick stack filled an envelope and was sent out.
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