The next morning, Tao Wanniang gleaned something from Bai Yumei's relaxed expression, but she didn't intend to reveal it.
There were quite a few chickens and ducks missing from the coop; the two sons must have taken them out to sell.
The vegetable garden was already rotting in the ground, looking very unsightly. It seemed like there was nothing left to do here.
"Aunt Tao, the door is open, so we'll just come in." Xiao Lu brought his supervisor to visit.
"Come in." Tao Wanniang had just finished inspecting the vegetable garden and wasn't going to do anything about it. Seeing Xiao Lu and the steward, she led them into the living room. "You're here to discuss the rent for the house, right?"
"Yes, Xiao Lu said that the old lady wants to rent out this house, and that it's no longer haunted, right?" the manager said with a smile. He had misjudged this deal.
“It’s not haunted. This house does have some interesting features, but it’s definitely not haunted. We have a house in the capital, and we’ll be living there most of the time, so we’ll have to rent out this house,” Tao Wanniang said. “You can pay the market price.”
The steward and Xiao Lu looked at Tao Wan Niang in surprise. When they first came, this family were refugees fleeing famine. They never expected that in just a few months, they would have houses in both Shanhai Prefecture and the capital.
"Based on its market value, this house could be rented for 200 coins a month. But Sister Tao, you said there's something special about this house, could you please explain it first?"
Tao Wanniang shook her head. She planned to block the passage. The well in the backyard blocked the passage, but water could be dug out again. "It's just that the well in the backyard doesn't produce water, so it can be used to hide people. I want to find someone to dig that well deeper. Once it's reopened, there won't be any more rumors of it being haunted."
"Could it be that someone was hiding in that well before?" The steward and Xiao Lu both looked surprised.
Tao Wanniang smiled and did not deny it.
“Since you’re already here, here are some chickens and ducks. Take as many as you like,” Tao Wanniang said. “Then I’ll sign a contract to entrust this house to Xiao Lu for rent.”
The manager immediately agreed and praised Xiao Lu for being capable. Who would have thought that the woman the brokers had previously ignored was now their biggest customer?
The two sides discussed some details for a while, and finally, Tao Wanniang wrote her name on the contract with the brokerage firm, thus handing over the house to the brokerage firm.
"The rent will be temporarily managed by your brokerage firm. We're in the capital, so it's inconvenient for us to come here. We'll probably come back once or twice a year from now on," Tao Wanniang said in the end.
"Alright, alright, Sister Tao, you trust our brokerage firm and Xiao Lu, and we won't let you down." The manager said cheerfully. The rent of two hundred coins was the requirement here, but they could list it for two hundred and fifty coins, so they could make a profit.
After discussing the details with Xiao Lu and the steward, Tao Wanniang finally allowed each of them to take a chicken and a duck. Looking at the few chickens and ducks left, she had some ideas.
Making braised duck or chicken would be a good idea too; once it's done well, it can be stored for a long time.
Around noon, the two brothers returned, bringing back the chickens and ducks they had taken out. They both looked quite happy. Others sold a chicken for seventy coins, but they sold it for sixty coins. In the end, they sold four chickens and three ducks, earning four hundred and ninety coins. The two brothers split the earnings, so they didn't lose out.
"Since we can't sell them, let's keep them. Go buy these things, then kill the rest of the chickens and ducks. I'm going to make them into braised meat," Tao Wanniang instructed her two sons.
"Mother, buying so much sauce and so many spices, how much money will that cost..." Ling Dapeng said with difficulty when he saw the list given to him by Tao Wan's mother.
Tao Wanniang glanced at her youngest son, who only took in but never gave out; was he a Pixiu?
“Mother, I’ll go!” Ling Dahu said voluntarily. He had received a hundred taels of silver more from their father than his younger brother, so he should contribute more.
“Okay, Dapeng, you slaughter all these chickens and ducks. I need to go out after lunch,” Tao Wanniang instructed. After her sons left, she called Bai Yumei over and told her her plans.
"Big sister, are you planning to have someone seal up the well passage?" Bai Yumei immediately understood Tao Wanniang's plan. "And what about blocking up the Taihu stone area as well?"
“That’s right. I don’t know why this passage was built, but since this house will be rented out in the future, it’s better to block it up just in case. Yu Mei, do you know where we can find this kind of craftsman?”
“I don’t know, but I can ask Brother Asheng. Maybe someone among his neighbors can do this job,” Bai Yumei said after thinking for a moment.
"Then let's go over there. Will you go or should I?" Tao Wanniang said deliberately.
"I'll go, elder sister. I went to see Brother Asheng last night." Bai Yumei thought for a moment and then told Tao Wanniang.
"Oh? You ran out in the middle of the night?" Tao Wanniang pretended not to know.
Bai Yumei smiled shyly and said, "I have some things stuck in my heart, and I just can't sleep. Eldest sister, I don't want anything to do with Brother Asheng, but as I said, we're in the capital. If we meet in the capital in the future, we can help each other out."
Bai Yumei spoke frankly, and Tao Wanniang wouldn't discourage her. She simply nodded and said, "Alright, I'll trouble you to make the trip after lunch."
"Okay, I'll go talk to them," Bai Yumei readily agreed.
Behind the kitchen, Ling Dapeng had already slaughtered all the chickens and ducks. In the kitchen, Wang Hongyu boiled a large pot of water, preparing to pluck the feathers from all the chickens and ducks. Zhou Xiaoyun was also very busy taking care of the three children.
Taking advantage of Tao Wan's mother's absence, Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't help but ask Wang Hongyu, "Sister-in-law, why do you think Mother came back this time? It can't be for these chickens and ducks, can it?"
“I don’t know either, but we’re enjoying our meal quite a bit,” Wang Hongyu said with a smile. “We had nothing to do in the capital, and now that we’re in Shanhai Prefecture, we have several copper coins.”
“That’s still not as much as what you got from Dad,” Zhou Xiaoyun muttered. “Sister-in-law, you’ll have to help me and Dapeng in the future, I…” As Zhou Xiaoyun spoke, she suddenly felt nauseous and covered her mouth to dry heave.
Both Wang Hongyu and Zhou Xiaoyun, who had been through similar experiences, were taken aback by this sight.
"Xiaoyun, you're not pregnant again, are you?" Wang Hongyu asked with a mixture of curiosity and surprise.
"I don't know, but the smell of blood outside makes me nauseous." Zhou Xiaoyun shook her head, then touched her stomach. Was she pregnant again?
"That's good news! When did you get your period last time?" Wang Hongyu asked in a low voice.
"Sister-in-law, life was tough before, and my period was irregular. I... I didn't pay attention!" Zhou Xiaoyun felt a mix of joy and confusion. If she really was pregnant, she would have to take good care of herself.
"After lunch, we'll go see a doctor. Now that life is better, we need to take good care of ourselves and try to have another big, healthy boy," Wang Hongyu said happily.
"Hmm, it would be even better if it were a daughter, so we could have a son and a daughter," Zhou Xiaoyun said hopefully. Yes, life is better now.
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