On the 16th day of the first lunar month, Zheng Ren returned to the academy and asked a broker to help him look for houses. His reputation was well known, and when he said he wanted to rent a house, all the families with scholars came to help. There were also those who were willing to let him live in their houses for free, hoping that he could give some advice to their children and nephews from time to time.
Zheng Ren didn't want to owe people a favor, so he just told the broker not to bargain down and never let the landlord suffer a loss.
In just five days, the broker selected several houses for him to choose. It happened that Zheng Ren was on leave, so he took Zheng Xiu and her brother to the town to look for houses.
After looking at three or four places, Zheng Xiu was very satisfied with a large house with two entrances. Not only was the place spacious, but it was also close to Qingzhu Academy, so her father could come back at noon to have lunch and rest for a while. Moreover, the house was newly built with green bricks and large tiles. There was a well in the yard, as well as a very sturdy jujube tree and a grape trellis. Although it didn't look very good in winter, it must be a different scene in other seasons.
However, such a good house, located in such a good location, must be expensive. Zheng Xiu was a little hesitant for a while, but Zheng Ren didn't care as much as she did, so he just asked the middleman to find the owner of the house.
The owner said that it would only cost half a tael of silver a month, and there was no annual payment. Zheng Ren could pay whatever was convenient for him. His son was studying at Qingzhu Academy. Originally, this courtyard was purchased for his son to live in. Later, his son felt that this place was too close to the main street and too noisy to study. His family bought a better one, so this house was left idle. His family was not short of money. The furniture in this house was all new. Originally, it was not rented out. When he heard that Zheng Ren wanted to rent it, he was eager to rent it out.
Zheng Ren was not willing to pay more, so of course he had to raise the price. The landlord refused to accept it no matter what. Finally, after much negotiation, they settled on a monthly rent of one or two taels of silver.
One or two taels of silver was not a small amount for a village family, but Zheng Xiu knew that her family had definitely gotten a great bargain!
Zheng Ren felt embarrassed to use the furniture in the house for free, so he paid another eighty taels of silver to buy all of them. Of course, this was also a friendly price. The furniture was originally prepared for his son, so naturally he chose good materials and hired skilled craftsmen to make them.
But the owner of the house was obviously the happiest. Zheng Ren was living in his yard. Apart from other things, if his son didn't understand something in a certain subject, he would come to ask two or three times a month, and Zheng Ren would definitely teach him. Compared with money, his son's future was naturally the most important thing.
Zheng Ren also paid the middleman a generous reward, and all three parties were very happy.
After choosing the house, moving was put on the agenda.
Moving at that time was not as convenient as packing furniture and calling a moving company. Everything at home had to be packed carefully, and an auspicious day had to be chosen. When arriving at the new house, firecrackers had to be set off, and guests had to be invited to dinner.
Just packing furniture was enough to keep Zheng Xiu busy. Although the furniture in the house in the town was complete, many of the things that were used at home could not be thrown away. In addition, the family had a lot of oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, rice and flour, which had to be moved as well.
Zheng Ren wanted to help, but firstly, the academy had just started classes after the Chinese New Year and he was very busy. Secondly, although he was gifted in studying, he was not very proficient in other things. He could not carry anything on his shoulders, nor could he lift anything with his hands. He could not even pack a package tightly. He was simply making things worse.
Fortunately, Xue Zhi was still very useful. He heard that Zheng Xiu wanted to move some daily necessities and clothes to the town first, so he hired an ox cart to go to Zheng's house and help with the moving and carrying. Soon, the ox cart was full.
Zheng Xiu could not go with him in the ox cart, so she asked Zheng Yu to lead the way and gave the key to Xue Zhi, so that they could transport the things over.
The 25th day of the first lunar month is suitable for marriage, groundbreaking, and moving.
The Zheng family hired two ox carts, one for people and one for moving things, and moved to the town.
Zhu's illness had not yet fully recovered, and Mrs. Zheng was worried about Zheng Rong, so she did not go with them. Instead, she and Old Man Zheng decided to wait until the end of the first month of the lunar year before moving.
Zheng Ren was a low-key person, and he did not publicize the move. But even so, many villagers came to help on the day of the move. However, Zheng Xiu had packed everything, and she also asked Xue Zhi to deliver some things, so there was nothing that needed help from outsiders.
At noon on the day they went to the town, the family invited guests to dinner.
Zheng Ren invited several colleagues from the academy to his home for dinner, but many students also heard about it and came to give gifts to congratulate Zheng Ren on his relocation. The gifts were not expensive, mostly some food and daily necessities, but the thought was precious. Zheng Ren wanted to invite them to dinner, but they all declined.
Zheng Xiu was busy all morning, and she had to clean the dust in several rooms when she arrived at the new house. She didn't have much energy at noon, so she fried two dishes and heated the stove. The rest was prepared by her father at the restaurant.
Xue Zhi was also invited. Zheng Xiu heard that her father arranged Xue Zhi to eat at a table with scholars, and she was a little worried that Xue Zhi would not be used to it. Unexpectedly, they became familiar with each other in a short time. She could hear their laughter in the bedroom.
Those gentlemen also brought their families with them, but perhaps considering that Zheng Ren's family did not have a mistress, they were afraid that it would be inconvenient for Zheng Xiu, a little girl, to bring children with them, so they only brought their wives. Zheng Xiu then set up another table in the house to eat with them. The two boys, Zheng Yu and Xue Shao, were brought to the front by the adults. Before the meal, Zheng Xiu repeatedly warned them not to be naughty.
Zheng Xiu was not very familiar with the wives of the other gentlemen, but those ladies were very friendly. They held her hands very affectionately and asked her what she usually did at home and whether she studied. After a while of chatting, they became familiar with each other.
It was obvious that the food in Zheng Xiu's house was bought from outside, and these ladies did not complain about anything. Instead, they praised the two home-cooked dishes cooked by Zheng Xiu again and again, wishing they could praise them to the fullest. They also said that they would bring their daughter to learn from her someday.
In the past few years that Zheng Xiu had traveled through time, she had mostly stayed at home to take care of her younger brother, do some housework, or occasionally practice calligraphy, and rarely interacted with others. Unexpectedly, after moving, the house became lively.
The meal lasted until the afternoon. After the banquet in front ended, the ladies in the back followed their men back home. Zheng Yu was reluctant to leave Xue Shao, and Xue Zhi had drunk too much, so Zheng Ren let them stay. Anyway, there are many empty rooms in the house, and you can just clean up any one and live there.
Zheng Xiu tidied the table quickly, and piled up the dishes to be washed, preparing to wash them together in the evening, and then she could finally take a break.
Zheng Ren also felt sorry for her, and said, "I thought about hiring someone to help the family. Your grandpa and grandma will also live with you in the future, and you will have to take care of everything at home, and I'm afraid you will be exhausted. If you want, dad can buy two maids."
Zheng Xiu didn't want a maid to serve her, as she always felt it was weird, so she said, "Just hire someone who can help with the stove and cleaning. There's no need for anything else."
Zheng Xiu talked to her father for a while, then went back to the room to rest, and slept until dark.
Zheng Ren drank wine at noon and went to sleep. The two children were the only ones at home who were very active. They played around in the town in the afternoon and returned home after dark.
There was still a lot of food left from lunch. Zheng Xiu quickly heated it up and then heated up the rice, and then they could eat.
But Xue Zhi was still not awake, and Xue Shao went to call him but he could not move.
Zheng Xiu left some food on the stove for her, and the family had dinner first.
After dinner, Zheng Ren took the two children to bathe in the new clean room, and Zheng Xiu rolled up her sleeves and washed the dishes.
Xue Zhi finally woke up because he was thirsty.
When he woke up, he found that the place where he slept was very unfamiliar. It took him a while to adapt before he remembered that this was the new home of the Zheng family. He got off the kang in the dark and put on his shoes, then followed the light to the stove room.
Suddenly, a living person appeared behind him, and Zheng Xiu was shocked. When she saw clearly that the person coming was Xue Zhi, she stroked her chest and took a long breath, "Xue the Hunter scared me to death."
Xue Zhi smiled embarrassedly, "I woke up and was thirsty, so I groped here following the light and scared you."
Zheng Xiu wiped her hands on her apron and said, "There's tea in the main room. I'll make you some hot tea to sober you up."
Then she picked up a pot of hot water from the stove and led him to the main room.
Xue Zhi drank too much and slept all afternoon. Just when he felt a headache, he saw her delicate hands lift the lid of the teapot and pour some hot water into it. Then she lifted the teapot with one hand and shook it gently. With the other hand, she took the upside-down teacup on the table and poured the warm tea out...
Her fingers were slender and white, shining under the light, like a piece of beautiful jade with excellent carving.
Xue Zhi only took a glance and felt his throat tighten and his heart beat like a drum. He quickly looked away and dared not look any more.
Zheng Xiu poured him tea, then went to bring the food that was smelling hot in the pot on the stove. Xue Zhi buried his head in eating. She returned to the stove and continued to wash the dishes.
Xue Zhi didn't know what happened to him. He just felt his heart beating so fast that it wanted to jump from his chest to his throat. It was not until Zheng Xiu left that he gradually calmed down. He had just woken up from drinking and had no appetite. He ate a bowl of rice with the dishes and put it down.
This was Zheng Renye, and the two children finished washing up. Xue Zhi stood up and said goodbye.
Zheng Yu was reluctant to leave Xue Shao. In a few days, after the first month of the year, he would start school, and the two of them would not be able to play together all the time.
But Xue Zhi wanted to go back, and Xue Shao naturally had to follow his father. Zheng Ren thought that his daughter was tired after a day's work. If he let the guests stay, he would have to trouble her, so he didn't keep her for long.
Seeing that the food on the table was not touched, Zheng Xiu took a few steamed buns wrapped in gauze and asked Xue Shao to put them in his pocket and took them back.
That night, Xue Zhi was not sleepy because he had slept all afternoon.
Thinking of the strange restlessness in his body before, he let Xue Shao go to sleep and went to the yard to practice boxing.
After boxing again and again, Xue Zhi felt much better and sweated. He took off his shirt and washed it directly with well water.
When he returned to the house, he also felt a little hungry. Just as he was about to find some dry food to eat, he saw a few steamed buns brought back from Zheng's house on the table.
The steamed buns still looked very fresh, white, soft and plump.
Xue Zhi suddenly thought of Zheng Xiu -
I wonder if the person who can steam such a steamed bun has the same body as this white steamed bun?
Although Zheng Xiu has just turned sixteen, she has developed very well. Her chest is plump, her waist is slender, and even wearing a winter skirt, she can outline a beautiful figure.
Xue Zhi quickly drove away this strange thought in his mind. How could he have such unreasonable thoughts when someone has done a favor to his family? ! Who has he become? !
Well, let's continue boxing.
Xue Shao got up in the middle of the night to urinate and saw his father still practicing in the yard. That fierce Jing'er seemed to be picking on someone.
Zheng Xiu said she didn't want a maid to serve her, so Zheng Ren didn't force her. The next day, he asked a middleman to hire a middle-aged woman with a fair face. Zheng
Xiu saw that although her clothes were patched, she was neat and tidy and had a friendly smile, so she kept her.
The middle-aged woman's surname was Qian, and everyone called her Aunt Qian. Her family was in the town. The man in the family was a blacksmith. They had four sons and a daughter, all of whom had already started their own families. Now that the grandchildren in the family have grown up, they don't need to be watched all the time, so Aunt Qian wants to do some chores to help supplement the family income.
Zheng Xiu was impressed by her clear and logical speech and felt that she was worth a job, so she kept her and paid her three silver coins a month.
From then on, Aunt Qian worked for the Zheng family. She arrived at the Zheng family at dawn every day and went back at dusk.
However, the Zheng family's workload was not heavy at the moment. It was just that the house was spacious and several unoccupied rooms needed to be cleaned every day. As the employer, the Zheng family was not the kind of people who would be picky, so Aunt Qian knew that she had found a good job and worked harder every day.
At the end of the month, Old Man Zheng and Old Lady Zheng moved to the town. Zheng Ren personally hired a bullock cart to pick them up. The two elders did not bring much with them, just some clothes, shoes and socks. A cart was used to pick them up with their belongings.
Zhu's illness had almost recovered, and she wanted to go to the town with the two elders to see them, but Zheng Ren refused without giving any explanation. The family had finally moved to a new home and changed the environment, and he didn't want Zhu to ruin this good mood.
He disagreed, and Zhu couldn't say anything, so she could only watch him pick up the people.
Old Mrs. Zheng was still worried about the family, and before leaving, she reminded Zhu to take more care of the two children in the future and never be careless like before.
Zhu was happy to finally send the two elders away. Although Zheng Ren didn't let her go, she didn't want to go, and life at home would be happy in the future, so she smiled and agreed to everything.
Arriving at the new house of the Zheng family, Mrs. Zheng was amazed, "I have never lived in such a good house in my life. Big brother, how much does this house cost per month?"
Zheng Ren did not tell his worried mother the specific price, but only said, "It was rented cheaply from a student's family, and it didn't cost much."
Mrs. Zheng was relieved and happily put away the gifts she brought.
Zheng Xiu was busy early in the morning and prepared a table of dishes. However, with Aunt Qian as her right-hand man, she was responsible for handling the ingredients, and Zheng Xiu only had to be responsible for cooking. It was not hard to cook a meal. After
grandpa and grandma came, the family gathered together for lunch at noon.
After the meal, Old Lady Zheng wanted to help clean up the dishes, but Zheng Xiu stopped her and said, "Grandma, I'm here. Aunt Qian is helping at home, so you don't have to do anything. You and Grandpa have been busy all morning, so go and take a rest."
Old Lady Zheng has lived for most of her life, and she has never said that there is a time when she doesn't have to move after a meal. Before the family was divided, Zheng Ren's original wife was weak and couldn't do much work, and Zhu was lazy and often found excuses to avoid being lazy, so most of the housework was done by her alone. After the family was divided, she lived with Old Man Zheng and his wife, and the housework was reduced by half, but she still did it. Even when the second wife came back to live together after the family was divided, Zhu couldn't change her lazy nature.
Suddenly, she was free. Old Mrs. Zheng was still a little uncomfortable. She stood by for a while and watched Zheng Xiu and Aunt Qian clean the table and wash the dishes in an orderly manner. She turned around and went back to the house when she realized that she didn't need to help.
Old man Zheng had been looking for a doctor for Zhu in the first month of the year and had never recovered since he went to the town to find Zheng Quan. He had been sitting in the car for half a day and he was not feeling well. After dinner, he went to the kang to rest.
As soon as Mrs. Zheng came in, Mr. Zheng asked, "Are you done?"
Mrs. Zheng shook her head, "Xiu girl wouldn't let me do anything, and asked me to come back and rest." Mr. Zheng couldn't help
but laugh when he heard that, "Are you not happy that your granddaughter is so filial?"
"Of course I am happy, but you know what, I'm used to doing the work, and I'm not used to the relief for a while."
"You, you're not willing to come with me. Otherwise, in the village, how can you rest after eating?" As Mr. Zheng was talking, he felt his legs swell up again, and he couldn't help but frown.
The two have been married for many years, and Mrs. Zheng knew from his expression that he had pain in his legs, so she sat down next to him and massaged his legs.
"Old man, why don't we ask the eldest brother to find a doctor to see you later."
Old Mrs. Zheng didn't take it seriously. "I've been seeing doctors for many years. All they said was that I was tired when I was young and had a root of the disease. It can't be cured, and I can only rest. I was tired a few days ago, and I'll be fine after two days of rest."
Zheng Xiu in the other room finished her work on the stove and saw that there were a few very fresh cucumbers in the cave goods sent by the teacher of Qingzhu Academy. She washed a few of them, cut them into small pieces, put them on a plate, and sent them to Old Man Zheng and Old Mrs. Zheng to taste.
This cucumber is not a rare thing in modern times, but in winter at this time, ordinary people can't eat it often.
Old Mrs. Zheng was reluctant to eat it, so she said, "Just give it to your grandpa, grandma doesn't like it. You siblings can share the rest later."
"We have more at home. It's juicy and good for the stomach. I prepared it especially for grandpa." As Zheng Xiu spoke, she noticed that Old Mrs. Zheng was massaging Old Man Zheng's legs, and couldn't help asking, "Grandpa, are you feeling uncomfortable in your legs?"
Old Man Zheng smiled and said, "It's an old problem for many years. It will be fine after a rest."
"Then I'll go get a basin of hot water for Grandpa to soak his feet."
Old Man Zheng hurriedly said, "You're not needed. You've been busy all morning. Go and take a rest."
Zheng Xiu had already lifted the curtain and went out, and soon came back with a new wooden basin. There was warm water in the basin. Zheng Xiu went back to the main room and brought in some hot water.
Zheng Xiu tested the water temperature, and Mrs. Zheng helped old man Zheng take off his socks.
After his feet were put into the warm water, old man Zheng let out a comfortable sigh.
Zheng Xiu took a small stool and sat down opposite him, helped to roll up his trouser legs, and massaged his calves with her hands. Although she had never learned this, she was a massage enthusiast in her previous life and went for foot massage every now and then. After being massaged so many times, she also mastered some tricks.
After a few massages, the tense muscles in old man Zheng's calves slowly relaxed. Zheng Xiu was going to massage his feet again.
Old Man Zheng raised two sons, and no one had ever washed his feet in his life. After she massaged his calves, he refused to let her touch them, saying, "Grandpa's feet are dirty, don't dirty your hands."
Zheng Xiu smiled and said, "Grandpa has washed them, how can they be dirty?" Then she put a dry towel on her knees, pulled Old Lady Zheng's feet to her knees, and followed her memory of her past life to massage the acupuncture points on his feet.
Old Man Zheng was not used to it at first, but later he could only sigh with comfort.
Old Lady Zheng watched very seriously and said, "Xiu girl is really skillful. You teach grandma. When grandma learns it, she won't need you anymore."
"Grandma and I will live together in the future. If you want a foot massage, just call me directly." Then she started to teach Old Lady Zheng.
The massage lasted for half an hour. Zheng Xiu kept an eye on the water temperature and poured some hot water into the wooden basin after a while.
Old man Zheng fell asleep soon after the massage.
Old Lady Zheng was also happy to see that. The old man hadn't had a good sleep for several days because of sore legs and feet. Now he fell asleep directly, which obviously made him feel very comfortable.
In the evening, Zheng Ren talked to the two elders. Old Mrs. Zheng then told the story of how Zheng Xiu had massaged old man Zheng’s legs and feet in the afternoon, and both of the elders were full of praise for Zheng Xiu.
Zheng Ren was naturally happy to hear them praising his daughter. He was worried that the elders would not be used to it when they first moved in, but he did not expect that in just one afternoon, his daughter had gotten along so well with them.
After speaking, Zheng Ren was about to go back to the house, and then he saw Zheng Xiu talking to Zheng Yu in the main hall. The two siblings were talking about something, but they were talking and laughing together. He turned on his tiptoes and went to the main hall.
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