Chapter 73: His Face Turned Very Pale
Seeing so many people coming, Gu Lianshan didn't say anything. The people around him said that except for his wife and son, the rest of the guys didn't have to pay.
Since you don’t have to pay, just accept everyone who comes. The more the better.
"Hurry up! Meet Master Gu! Master Gu is kind-hearted and is willing to employ you. This is a great favor!"
Aunt Ding stepped aside and asked her daughter-in-law and sons to bow and express their gratitude.
"Thank you very much, Master Gu..."
Aunt Ding's wife and sons were even more cowardly than Aunt Ding. They didn't even dare to raise their heads.
Gu Lianshan also felt uncomfortable. This was the first time in decades that he was respected by so many people.
He didn't dare to say more. He forced himself to nod and led his people back.
…
When Gu Lianshan led a group of people in, Gu Tang in the yard was stunned for a moment.
There are too many people!
She took a quick glance and knew there were about ten people!
Her father has always been very stingy, why is he so generous this time?
"These people are the aunt's daughters-in-law and sons. The boys behind are the aunt's grandchildren. They came together to help clean up."
Gu Lianshan winked at his daughter, signaling her to take over first and talk about it later.
Before Gu Tang could speak, the anxious Aunt Ding on the side spoke first to explain: "Hello young lady, I, I just told Master Gu that you only need to give copper coins to my wife and sons, not to the boys, because they are here to help. Oh! I don't need to give it to you either. It's a great thing for you to be so shameless to do this job, so don't be greedy."
As she spoke, Aunt Ding smiled cautiously and tried to please others, which was very sad to see.
Gu Tang was a person who would only respond to soft words and not to harsh words. She had no temper at all when an old man in his fifties looked at her in a flattering manner.
I just smiled and replied: "If that's what you said, then I'm going to take advantage of you today. So many people came to help, just in time to liven up my unpopular yard!"
Seeing that Gu Tang was so easy-going and liked to joke around, Aunt Ding breathed a sigh of relief and started to smile as well.
After some jokes, they started to assign tasks.
The men were responsible for fetching water, while the women were responsible for cleaning the house.
But there is only a water tank in the kitchen here, no wooden barrels, wooden basins or other items.
There were also no rags or other items needed to clean the house.
Just when Gu Tang was in a dilemma, Aunt Ding said that she had one at home, and then she asked her son and daughter-in-law to go back and get it without any explanation.
Gu Tang kept it in mind, and when the final bill was settled, he would just give a few more coppers.
There is no well in the yard, so if you want to get water, you can only go to the westernmost part of the alley. There is a well there, which was dug by the people in the alley together a few years ago.
People in the entire alley rely on that well for their daily water.
Soon, Aunt Ding's sons brought buckets of water, and Aunt Ding's daughters-in-law took the rags at home, soaked them in water, and began to scrub carefully.
They cleaned every corner and even crawled under the bed to clean it carefully.
The courtyard is paved with blue bricks, and the floor of the house is also paved with blue bricks.
The joints between the bricks have been specially polished, so they are not perfectly fitted, but almost as good.
Gu Tang was amazed every time he saw this craftsmanship. If this were the 21st century, the master who laid this floor would definitely be a master in the decoration industry!
After a casual stroll and a few glances, I found that none of the Ding family members were lazy at work. And the boys, who were said to be helping out, actually did as much work as an adult.
Each of them took a rag and scrubbed the house bit by bit, carefully and tightly, afraid of missing anything.
After taking a look around, Gu Tang was very satisfied.
Now that someone was cleaning the yard, she had time to do other things.
After finding her father, Gu Tang took out a silver coin and handed it to him, asking him to buy locks: "The locks in this yard are all from the Zhao family. I'm worried. Go buy five or six new locks. You don't need to change the locks for other rooms. Just change the locks for the main door, the back door, and the door in the shop in front."
This was an important matter, so Gu Lianshan took the silver and went to buy it immediately.
"Why are you panicking?" Gu Tang stopped him and said, "There is one more thing. You can do it too."
"Which one?"
"We don't have a well in our yard. From now on, everyone who drinks or uses water has to run to the alley behind to fetch water. It's OK if there are few people, but if there are many people, we have to queue up, which is really too cumbersome!
I thought, why don't we just ask someone to dig a well in this yard, and then we can just use the water for our own use, wouldn't that be convenient?"
Gu Lianshan was shocked: "Girl, do you know how much money it costs to dig a well?"
"How much?" Gu Tang looked curious. She really didn't know.
"Five taels of silver as a starting point!" Gu Lianshan held up five fingers. "If water comes out in three days, that's five taels of silver. If water doesn't come out in three days, I'll add one tael for each additional day!"
Well, this price is indeed not cheap.
But no matter how expensive it is, you have to fight!
Gu Tang painted a rosy picture for her father: "I have already bought the yard with two hundred taels of silver, and you still care about the money for the well with a few taels of silver? Don't think about how much money you spend, think about how much we can do with this well."
Gu Lianshan glanced at her and said nothing.
In recent days, he found that his daughter's mouth was getting more and more talkative!
"Didn't I say before that I make incense and you can learn to buy it. But I must have a place to make incense, right? Our place is definitely not suitable. After all the calculations, only this yard is the most suitable."
Well...it's true, if you fart at home, your whole family may be able to hear it, let alone making incense.
“Water is needed to make incense, and once you are covered in incense, your whole body will smell fragrant. When you go out to fetch water, people will ask you, what will you say?
We have to say that we sell incense, not that we make it. We don’t burn incense every day, so how can there be such a strong fragrance?”
Is water needed to make incense?
Will your body be scented?
Gu Lianshan looked confused. He didn't know how to make incense, so he could only follow what his daughter said.
Now that his daughter has said she wants to dig a well for water, can he still refuse?
So, this well must be dug?
Seeing that her father had softened his stance, Gu Tang said, "Making incense is a big deal. If there is a lack of water, it might not go smoothly. If that happens, your business might fail!"
That won’t do!
Gu Lianshan's expression changed immediately: "Dad, I'll go get someone to come over and dig a well!"
Gu Tang laughed and said, "Don't worry. Go buy the lock first. After that, go to the street and look for well diggers. Pick a skilled well digger and ask him to come to your house and see where to dig the well in the yard."
"Right! We can't be impatient about this. We have to pick a well digger with good skills. Dad heard from others that the location of the well is also very particular. It can't be dug randomly. The well digger must find the location himself."
Having said that, the man turned around and walked out in a hurry.
He kept muttering to himself that he wanted to pick a few more well diggers, have them come and take a look, and pick out the best one.
After seeing her father off, Gu Tang breathed a sigh of relief.
First change the door lock, then dig a well. There is no rush for the rest, just take your time.
She waved to Gu Ping'an who was standing beside her and asked him to move a stool over so that she could take a rest.
The original owner's body had not recovered yet. After walking around for so long, he was now exhausted.
Gu Ping'an put the stool in a sheltered place on the veranda. Seeing that she looked tired, he said with some concern, "Do you want to ask a doctor to come? You haven't taken any medicine in the past two days, and your face has turned very pale."
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