Chapter 490: Accumulation of Money
Xu Qingye shook his head and said, "It's okay to be farther away, just get up 25 minutes earlier."
Ordinary people live in the South City. It is lively and convenient for buying and selling things. It is quieter than the area near the North City.
Song Yuntang took his arm.
"In that case, there's no need for us to look at the other two places. Why don't we go to Yunshang Lane while it's still early? Let's decide on the courtyard earlier and have someone tidy it up. When the time comes, we can buy everything we need. Then, when you have your day off, you can move in."
Before coming to the capital, Jiang Surao gave her three thousand taels, and it was enough for her to collect more than four thousand taels.
Xu Qingye held her hand which was around his arm.
"Seven thousand nine hundred taels is not a small amount. According to my current salary, it is far from enough."
Song Yuntang winked at Qin Ju, asking him to prepare the carriage, then took Xu Qingye's arm and walked towards the cradle.
"More than two years ago, I had nothing. You gave me thirty taels of gold as capital to start a business. After that, we got married. You were responsible for studying for the imperial examinations and I was responsible for managing the family business. If I hadn't had your support, I wouldn't have had such an easy time these years. Our family business has a share for me and a share for you."
She looked at Xu Qingye.
"Besides, the salaries of officials are limited. From now on, you use your power to support this family, and I will be responsible for taking care of household affairs. Isn't this how ordinary couples support each other?"
Xu Qingye pursed his lips and smiled, then raised his hand to smooth the hair around her ear.
"Tang'er is right."
Song Yuntang bent down and picked up the child in the cradle.
"But buying a large yard does have its concerns. If your colleagues knew about it, would they become jealous and isolate you behind your back and make things difficult for you?"
Xu Qingye took the child from her.
"Just don't let them know. When we move into the new house, we can invite a few acquaintances. Anyway, we will leave the capital in half a year. When we come back, we will no longer be in the Imperial Academy."
"That's right." Song Yuntang looked at his son in his arms, "I think Hao Ting is also a member of the family, so why not bring him over to see him?"
The main reason is that the child is still young and unfamiliar with the place. She is worried about leaving him alone in the yard, fearing that something might happen.
Xu Qingye naturally understood her concerns.
"good."
…
After more than two quarters of an hour, the carriage arrived at Yunshang Lane.
Xu Qingye got off the carriage first, then held the child in one hand and helped Song Yuntang down from the carriage with the other hand.
Lan Xin got off the carriage on the road. After waiting for a while in front of the yard, they saw Lan Xin coming with a steward holding the key.
"Sorry to have kept you two waiting."
Song Yuntang smiled politely, "No problem."
Seeing that the two masters were going to tour the courtyard, Xia Ning took Hao Ting from Xu Qingye and followed them.
After the steward opened the gate, what came into view was an exquisite screen wall with lifelike carvings on it, which were obviously made by skilled craftsmen.
Around the screen wall is a small garden with a bridge and flowing water. However, because no one takes care of it, a lot of fallen leaves have accumulated in the stream, and the flowers and plants have withered.
If you want to live here, you have to replant the trees.
At the end of the garden is the main hall for receiving guests. On the right side, against the courtyard wall, there is a circular flower hall covered with vines, but the climbing plants have died.
Behind the main hall and flower hall is the main courtyard.
On the left side of the main hall are two side-by-side moon-shaped gates, and beyond the moon-shaped gates are two courtyards of the same size.
There is an alley leading to the backyard between the Yuedongmen courtyard and the main courtyard.
The kitchen, servants' quarters, stables, utility room, woodshed and so on were all placed in the back house.
The space is large, and can accommodate both my husband's and my own families.
The layout of the yard is also very good. After it is tidied up and renovated, it should be more comfortable to live in.
Since the child entered the yard, he has been looking around while biting his little hands.
After seeing the yard, Song Yuntang was very satisfied. He pulled Xu Qingye aside to discuss for a few words, and negotiated the price with the manager of the pawnshop. Finally, he bought the yard for 7,500 taels.
The next step is to clean, buy furniture, and arrange flowers and plants.
The next day, after Xu Qingye went to the Hanlin Academy, Song Yuntang simply asked four servants, together with Xu's husband, Zhiruo, Lanxin and Li Ma to move to the newly purchased courtyard.
First clean up the back room, make the beds and put the pots and pans in place, and then they can live there.
It’s better than running back and forth every day.
Jinshu, Xia Ning, Xu and Nanny Wang are currently staying in the west wing. Xu Qingye is also accompanied by Guiping, who is more than enough to take care of the daily life of the three of them.
Ever since Lu Xingyan took the medicine recommended by Song Yuntang and bought by He's company, he has not had any symptoms for ten consecutive days.
After Jason Lu took office in the Hanlin Academy, He also inquired about the affairs of the academy.
It is not only inconvenient for a family of four to rent a yard, but it also costs more than twenty taels of silver a year, which is not cost-effective in the long run.
The courtyard in the south city was relatively cheap. He thought that Lu Jingnian's situation had stabilized, so she discussed it with him. During her day off, she went to the temple to sign a loan agreement and borrowed two hundred taels of incense money. With the remaining money she had, she collected five or six hundred taels and went to the south city to buy a small courtyard.
Because the yard was small and there was nothing to clean up, on the day they bought the yard, they took Lu Jingnian to clean up and came back at twilight hour. The next day, Lu Jingnian went to the Hanlin Academy, so He and Xie Yingwei canceled the rent and prepared to move in with their two children.
Before leaving, she came to the west wing to say hello to Song Yuntang.
"Sister-in-law, how is the yard you bought going?"
Song Yuntang was teasing his son. When he heard He's voice, he quickly responded, "The yard has been tidied up. We have been buying things these past two days. We can move in the day before the Moon Festival. How about my sister-in-law?"
He's face showed joy.
"We are moving today, and our yard is definitely not as big as yours. The small yard we bought was ready in less than a day, unlike yours, who has been busy for almost half a month."
Song Yuntang was comforted.
“No matter how big or small, a family that is well-organized is better than anything else.”
He smiled and said, "My sister-in-law is right."
Song Yuntang looked towards the east wing.
"Brother Lu is not here, and my sister-in-law is moving alone. Can you help me?"
He nodded, "It should be no problem. I have Xingyan to help me. One more day here means one more day of rent. We just bought a yard, so we have to spend money sparingly. Anyway, we have nothing else to do today. We can finish moving by making a few more trips."
The family borrowed a total of 200 taels of money from the temple. Two years later, they had to pay back 392 taels of money, including principal and interest, to the temple.
When you borrow money from a temple, the principal is called merit and the interest is called blessings.
Now it seems that he is indeed blessed with great fortune.
The official's annual salary was 120 taels of silver plus 45 hu of rice, leaving him with some money left over for food, drink and social expenses.
Even if all his salary was saved, it would only be two hundred and forty taels after two years.
Now I have to worry about where to raise the other 150 taels. Maybe I will have to borrow from colleagues, or ask my parents-in-law to find someone in my hometown to collect some money, and then pay them back when I receive my salary in the future.
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