Cao Bamei said: "After Chen Jinhong recovered from his illness that time, he fell ill again within a few days."
"I said I was going to the pier to deliver tea to your third cousin. The water at the pier made my mouth smell of mud. Then it rained and I got soaked in the rain. When I came back, I fell ill again, and even more seriously."
"Your third brother came here to borrow money from your second brother, and we discussed setting up a shop in the county town to sell some simple woodworking supplies."
"Little horse, small table, hoe handle, bucket and other things." Cao Bamei said.
"Oh?" Yang Ruoqing raised her eyebrows.
"Then did my second brother borrow money?"
"Your second brother borrowed it. He borrowed them twenty taels of silver in one go." Cao Bamei said.
Twenty taels of silver?
Yang Ruoqing was even more surprised, "How big is the shop?"
Cao Bamei said: "It's probably like the two east rooms of Grandma's old house are together."
"I took a look, and most of the front part was used as a shop. A small area was circled in the back and a bed was built. The place I rented before was vacated," she said.
Yang Ruoqing asked again about the approximate location of the shop. It was separated from her own Tianxiang Building by the fireworks alley at the back.
She calculated it in her mind and said: "That place is not a prime location in the city. It is a bit out of the way. Calculating the low price and the flow of people, the annual rent is only four taels of silver."
"As for carpentry, my third cousin has all the tools. He only needs to spend a little capital to purchase some wood, and then do some management with the yamen and the people on the street."
"After all, the cost does not exceed ten taels of silver. In this way, they can still have six taels of silver on hand as working capital."
"These are not counting the money they already have..."
"Haha, why do I feel like my second brother has become the golden hen that lays golden eggs for them?" Yang Ruoqing joked with a smile.
Cao Bamei said: "Twenty taels of silver, I won't hide it from you. In the past few years, your second brother and I have saved forty taels of money, excluding what we spent."
"Originally, we planned to go back to the village to buy a piece of land, build a new house, and move out of the old house after we had saved enough sixty taels."
"Because the eldest brother will not get married to the girl from the Li family at the end of this year, but he will get married next spring,"
"It's so bad that so many people are crowded into the old house, coming in and out through the same door."
"It's good now. I only have twenty taels left in my family. I don't know how long it will take to build a house. It's really annoying!"
"What's even more annoying is that he's not here yet!" she said.
"Where is that?" Yang Ruoqing asked.
"Could it be that my second brother lent money to third brother and his friends without telling you?" she asked.
Cao Bamei shook her head: "That's not true. All the money your second brother earns is given to me for safekeeping."
"What bothers me is that Chen Jinhong, during these days, he always uses various excuses to get your third brother to invite your second brother over for dinner."
"When I go back, I have to persuade your second brother to drink. Your second brother and I have never had children since we had Xiuxiu."
"Last time, two people saw an old Chinese doctor together. They were both taking medicine and couldn't drink. They are always like this. It's so annoying..." Cao Bamei said.
Yang Ruoqing said: "In this case, you should speak clearly to them."
Cao Bamei said: "How can you be so embarrassed to talk about this kind of thing? It's not like the problem elsewhere. When it comes to giving birth, people will laugh to death if they find out about it."
Yang Ruoqing was speechless.
But he immediately expressed understanding.
Not to mention that the bankers of this era are obscuring this aspect, but they are just leaving it in the new society of modern medical advancement.
A woman's infertility is the target of criticism in her circle of friends.
I finally worked up the courage to go to the hospital for a check-up, wearing sunglasses and a mask for fear of being bumped into by an acquaintance.
Why!
"Second brother is really generous to third brother and the others this time." Yang Ruoqing couldn't help but sigh.
"I used all the money I spent to build a new house to help them open a shop."
"If they manage the shop steadily, it won't matter. I'm afraid they won't change their minds and they will defraud you of twenty taels of silver. That's not a small sum of money!"
Yang Ruoqing said again.
Mrs. Liu lived with her four children, including food, drink, and diarrhea, and her monthly expenses were 500 cash.
The annual expenditure is six taels of silver. Including the clothes for the four seasons and visiting relatives and friends to take medicine when they are sick, the annual expenditure is nearly ten taels of silver.
Liu's consumption standard is the best in Changping Village.
In the eyes of everyone, this is a huge extravagance.
For other ordinary families of five, the annual expenses are less than three taels of silver.
Yang Yongjin lent out twenty taels at this time, which was what an ordinary farmer would have spent for six or seven years. It was not a small amount of money.
"Youdao, it's my brother who has settled the accounts. Have you written the IOU?" Yang Ruoqing asked.
Cao Bamei said: "The IOU was written, but it didn't say when it would be repaid, and there was no interest."
"I felt a little uncomfortable, so I muttered a few words to Yong Jin."
"He was a little unhappy. He said that Yongzhi and he were brothers. What interest would brothers ask for?"
"It makes me, the second sister-in-law, notorious for being stingy. If I ask more questions, I might even think that I am deliberately trying to sow discord between their brothers!"
After hearing what Cao Bamei said, Yang Ruoqing nodded in agreement.
"My second brother's temperament is exactly the same as that of my father and fifth uncle." Yang Ruoqing said.
"They would risk all their wealth for the sake of their brothers. Just look at how hard my father and fifth uncle worked to grow crops for the uncle to study, leaving the fourth uncle idle."
"So, you and my second brother, it's better not to talk about it for now," she said.
Cao Bamei nodded.
"Also, I don't know if I'm overthinking it or what," Cao Bamei said.
"I always feel that Chen Jinhong is deliberately pretending to be with your second brother." She said.
"Pretending?" Yang Ruoqing was surprised, "What is she pretending to do?"
"Pretend to be innocent?"
"Pretending to be virtuous?"
"Pretending to be ignorant and considerate?"
Yang Ruoqing asked several questions at once.
Cao Bamei said: "I quietly paid attention to it. When I looked at her alone, she was just like that. She didn't talk much and was lazy."
"But when your second brother went there, she became completely unwell."
"Wearing an apron, he bustles in and out, pouring us tea and bringing snacks to Xiu Xiu. He is kind, enthusiastic and extremely generous."
"I feel more and more that I can't learn how to coax these two men, your second brother and third brother, to their satisfaction."
Seeing Cao Bamei's depressed look, Yang Ruoqing didn't know how to comfort her.
It is difficult for an upright official to stop household affairs.
The second brother and the third brother are brothers, and Cao Bamei and Chen Jinhong are sisters-in-law. As cousins, I can't interfere too much with these delicate relationships between them.
"Then what, Qing'er, what do you think I should do?" Cao Bamei asked.
Yang Ruoqing said: "Well, the money was lent anyway, and they used it to open a shop. It's unrealistic to ask for it. It will also make the second brother unhappy and damage the relationship between you and your husband."
"As for you, don't say anything now. The only thing you have to do is to hold my second brother's heart firmly."
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