Chapter 97
Gu Xinxin emphasized again in her heart that she must buy a carriage. She had said it several times, but she just hadn't bought it. If she kept delaying, she would probably have to wait for a long time for the carriage.
Cheng Shansong paused and did not refute Gu Xinxin's kindness. Sometimes, blindly rejecting other people's kindness is also a form of alienation, which makes people feel uncomfortable.
Since Gu Daniu was not in the inn, Cheng Shansong did not leave immediately, but stayed in the inn lobby to chat with Gu Xinxin - of course he couldn't go upstairs, as it would ruin Gu Xinxin's reputation. Which girl from a good family would be alone in a room with a man?
When Gu Daniu came back, he didn't find it strange to see Cheng Shansong there, because Cheng Shansong had previously agreed to form a partnership with Gu Xinxin. Maybe the two of them had some business matters.
After all, he was an adult and an elder, so he didn't make a fuss. He waited until Cheng Shansong said goodbye, then quickly took out the package he was carrying and said, "Xinxin, look at the deerskin boots I bought."
He slammed his boots in front of Gu Xinxin, and Gu Xinxin had to look even if she didn't want to.
The deerskin boots weren't the same color as the deer's skin, but had been treated with a layer of black felt-like fabric on the outside. Gu Daniu showed them off to Gu Xinxin, "They say they're made of sheepskin, but I don't know how they're made. They keep you warm and dustproof, and you can take them off and wash them, which is super convenient. Inside is cashmere."
Deerskin isn't as warm as sheepskin, but it's waterproof and won't leak through even in the snow. A layer of deerskin topped with cashmere is truly warm; in winter, it's like wearing two small stoves on your feet.
Gu Xinxin asked: "How much?"
Gu Daniu held out his hand: "Twenty taels of silver."
Gu Xinxin was a little surprised. It was like spending 20,000 RMB on a pair of boots. But after thinking about it, it didn't seem unreasonable. Luxury goods cost the same price. Nowadays, people still spend 50,000 RMB on a pair of slippers.
At least these deerskin boots are made of real deerskin and real cashmere.
She looked calm and said, "It's pretty good. How did you buy it when you didn't have enough money?"
"I have my own money with me, but Xinxin, we agreed before that you were going to buy me these boots, so the missing money..." Gu Daniu asked. Gu Xinxin's mouth twitched, "I'll make up for it. Cheng Shansong just said that the fish shop has chosen a location. Let's go check it out."
She took out the purse and gave it to Gu Daniu, but Gu Daniu didn't even look at it. Anyway, his daughter was very generous and would definitely not give him any less money.
The father and daughter left the inn again and went to see the shop according to the address given by Cheng Shansong.
When we got there, we found that this fish restaurant had chosen a really good location, at the intersection, with unobstructed access on three sides. From any direction, we could see the high-hanging sign of the fish restaurant and the wine flags fluttering outside - this was one of the reasons why Gu Xinxin wanted to find a strong thigh to hold on to.
In those days, it was impossible to sell wine privately. You had to apply to the court and then buy it from a special winery - and you could only open a winery with the court's permission.
For ordinary people, unless they make some rice wine at home, buying and selling it is illegal.
Just like tea and salt, these things are not accessible to ordinary businessmen.
But it’s different for Mr. Chen. If he wants to open a fish restaurant, he must have wine. Look at the wine flag above, doesn’t it say it’s there?
The entire fish restaurant is three stories high. The first floor is the lobby, which has many round tables to accommodate as many people as possible. The second and third floors are private rooms, but the second and third floors are different. The second floor is an ordinary private room, while the third floor is a more luxurious one, with soft beds for resting.
Because the fish restaurant is still under renovation, the counter, the kitchen, and the calligraphy and paintings on the wall all need to be readjusted, so there are no customers at the moment, only workers working inside.
Gu Xinxin just stood at the door and looked around for a while. Someone came out and greeted her: "It's still a month before it opens. Come and try it out. I heard there are many new and unique ways to eat it."
Gu Xinxin smiled and accepted the offer: "Okay, then I will definitely come and try it then."
No one was dissatisfied with her clothes and kicked her out, so she certainly couldn't just deal with it casually.
Gu Daniu was very excited. As he walked back, he kept muttering, "A shop that big, the land alone must have cost so much. Add in the restaurant above, it must have cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, right? If we can afford such a big restaurant someday, then I won't have to drive the ox cart back and forth all day. I can just sit inside and count the money."
Gu Xinxin poured cold water on him: "Do you understand how to count? Can you still count more than a hundred?"
Gu Daniu glared at her, his eyes like a cow's, but cow eyes are usually very gentle, but Gu Daniu's eyes were not gentle. Gu Xinxin was flexible: "Okay, if you want to be the shopkeeper, why don't you try counting money in the workshop first?"
Gu Daniu turned his head away from her. He was just kidding. Although he couldn't lose his momentum, he was really not good at counting money.
Gu Xinxin looked at the sky and said, "It's still early, shall we go check on the carriage?"
Gu Daniu's eyes lit up: "Are you really going to buy it?"
Gu Xinxin nodded. She had promised it before, so she had to buy it now.
So, the next day, Cheng Shansong, who was waiting at the gate of the provincial school, saw two carriages, one was the mule cart that Gu Xinxin and her friends had used before, and the other was the newly purchased horse carriage.
The mule cart was still driven by Gu Daniu, while the horse carriage was driven by a young man.
Gu Xinxin smiled and said, "It's one or two taels of silver cheaper to buy it in the prefectural capital than in the county town. They can help deliver it to your home. Anyway, there will be people delivering goods to the prefectural capital, so it's a good opportunity to send them here as well."
Of course, money had to be paid. For each trip the young man made, Gu Xinxin gave him thirty copper coins.
But even so, it is much cheaper than buying it in the county town.
Otherwise, Gu Xinxin is not stupid, why would she pay such a large sum of money for nothing?
Gu Daniu had heard from Gu Xinxin a long time ago that she wanted to give Cheng Shansong a ride. Of course, he didn't know about the agreement between his daughter and Cheng Shansong, and thought it was a business cooperation. Now the two families are a bit pretentious and are interacting with each other.
At this moment, he greeted with a smile: "Brother Shan, hurry up and get on the carriage. This carriage is good, stable and spacious."
Cheng Shansong hurriedly got on the carriage - as he said before, since they were both unmarried, it would be inappropriate for him and Gu Xinxin to travel in the same carriage.
The journey back was also fast, after all, both of them were in a hurry. After entering the town, Cheng Shansong said goodbye first.
Gu Xinxin went all the way back to the Gu family before saying to Gu Daniu, "Maybe a matchmaker will come in the next few days. It's from the Cheng family... Dean Cheng's family, and the name he mentioned is Cheng Shansong. You should accept it."
Gu Daniu's eyes widened again: "Cheng Shansong? When did you fall in love with him? What's going on? How did you know that his family would send a matchmaker? Did you two agree on this privately? All along the way..."
His mind raced, but after a long time he couldn't recall any private contact between Gu Xinxin and Cheng Shansong. The two of them were talking and greeting each other right under his nose.
After a moment, he asked again, "You're attracted to Cheng Shansong? What's so good about Cheng Shansong? He's not as good as the youngest son of the He family. Although he's a concubine's son, he's handsome and his family is rich. What does the Cheng family have? Even if Dean Cheng is a scholar, he hasn't passed the imperial examination in how many years?"
He frowned and pursed his lips, and after a moment he said, "No, no, the Cheng family's marriage cannot compare to the He family's."
Gu Xinxin paused before saying, "Scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans. The He family is a business family, while the Cheng family is a scholarly family. I think Cheng Shansong has great potential. If he takes the imperial examination, he will definitely have a great talent. The He family...will be like this in this life."
Gu Daniu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Gu Xinxin waved her hand: "I have my own considerations. Don't worry, even if I get married, this workshop will still stay here."
She pondered for a moment and said, "You will be in charge of it then. Just show me the account book once a month."
Gu Daniu frowned: "What about the money earned?"
"Fifty percent goes to Xiangrong, twenty percent is given to you, and thirty percent is mine." Gu Xinxin knew that it was impossible for her to take Datou away. Gu Daniu, the entire Gu family, and even the entire Xiaokaner Village would not allow it.
For a married woman, taking away a dowry is already a sign of goodness from her family. If she wants to take away the family property, she is just dreaming.
But she couldn't agree to leave it entirely to Gu Daniu.
Gu Xiangrong is young, and if you give all the money to him, he won't be able to take care of it. He still has to study. It would be better to take out 20% of the profits and let Gu Daniu be a donkey pulling the mill.
As long as Gu Daniu can agree, then Gu Chen, Old Lady Gu, and Gu Wenshu will no longer be a problem.
Gu Daniu frowned. "Twenty percent is too little. Besides, what did Xiang Rong do? How could he get so much? He has to spend money on studying all day. Besides, he's just a kid. With so much money, aren't you afraid he'll learn bad things?"
Gu Xinxin pondered for a moment, and felt that what he said made some sense. Some thugs specifically targeted children from wealthy families - this included but was not limited to kidnapping and extortion, and deliberately seducing them into doing bad things.
"If you hadn't told me, who would have known that Xiang Rong would get 50%? You're the one who's in charge of it on the surface," Gu Xinxin said, waving her hand. "Besides, the money won't be handed over to him. I'll keep it for him first and give it to him after he gets married. 20% isn't a small amount. Aren't the things in the workshop and the work procedures all decided by me? If you're not satisfied, then I might as well marry off the workshop along with you."
Gu Xinxin was very firm: "Besides, the workshop doesn't have many things now, and we will add more in the future. We may earn hundreds of taels of silver a month. You can get a hundred taels a month. Do you still think it's not enough?"
Gu Daniu didn't believe it: "Can I really get a hundred taels?"
Gu Xinxin stretched out her hand: "I guarantee I can do it in five years. If I can't, I will compensate you with one thousand taels of silver."
Gu Daniu smacked his lips. A thousand taels was enough to buy a house. He said coldly, "Then it's a deal. If you can't do it in five years, you have to pay me a thousand taels!"
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