After buying the house and shop, the young couple became increasingly busy in the following days. The first thing they considered was how to decorate and repair the two shops in the county.
The east courtyard in the county town is a standard two-entry house, with various configurations such as a gatehouse, front yard, hanging flower door, and wing room. These are generally the places reserved for the servants of large families. One look at the Lu family’s original residence. His family background should be quite good.
But although the Chu family is living a good life now, they won't have to move to the county and have to be served by groups of servants. The monthly wages are two yuan. If there are suddenly many people in the family, maybe they will. Not adaptable, so these concierges and other places are a big waste to the Chu family.
"Our family may not be able to use nearly 30% of the area in front of the hanging flower door. It's a pity to leave it empty. I'm thinking about opening up the gatehouse and building it into a shop. It would be nice to have two warehouses in the small front yard."
Chu Yi was a little confused when he heard his wife's plan: "Build another shop?"
"Well, I think this way we can have two shops in the east and west courtyards. The shop area required for paper money trading is not large, so the renovated shop in the east courtyard will be enough. The larger shop in the west courtyard will be used in the future. We can do some side business, even if we don’t do it, renting it out will be an income.”
In fact, Shen Luzhu's original idea was to turn the shop in the west courtyard into a coffin shop. She knew that Chu Yi liked carpentry and making coffins, but not everyone liked to turn their hobby into a job. She wanted to If Chu Yi wanted to do it in the future, then he could do it. If he didn't want to do what she said, it would be possible to rent it out or do something else. Then he changed the words he said.
Chu Yi nodded: "Sure, that place is empty and it's good to make use of it. Anyway, the house in the inner courtyard needs to be renovated. It's convenient to renovate it together. There is no need to make major changes to the west courtyard. The Lu family used to do it." It’s just been changed, there’s no need for the one-entry-two-entry thing, the inner courtyard of the shop and the house are big enough, it just needs to be repaired.”
"How about opening a door in the wall between the east and west courtyards. It will be easier to enter and exit the house in the future. If it is rented out in the future, we can just lock it. It won't take much trouble."
"Okay, listen to A-Zhu."
Ten days is neither short nor long. It is just enough for the young couple to plan the changes that need to be made in the two houses. Once the ten days are up, Chu Yi goes to the county again and checks out the two houses. When I was in the house, I just put on my own heart lock, which Chu Yi asked the blacksmith in the village to make a few days ago.
Then I started to inquire about the construction teams near the county seat. Although it was the cold winter and no outdoor masonry work could be done, the changes to several houses in the east courtyard of the Chu family were not small, so I wanted to take advantage of the new year to hire someone to renovate my house. The houses where people live are in good repair.
But in the winter months, there were no construction teams looking for work in the market for a long time. Chu Yi searched for two days but still made no progress. Finally, he asked Ding An to find a man who was willing to take over the work. The Chu family's new Construction on the house finally started. .
After that, Chu Yi began to travel between the county town and the mountain village, busy supervising the work, and also purchasing some furniture and items needed for the new house. He was busy for nearly a month, and it was not until the twelfth lunar month that several rooms in the east courtyard were repaired. .
Things in the county here have just come to an end, and the business of the paper money shop has begun to get busy again. During the twelfth lunar month, every household has to worship ancestors. The sales volume of paper money has always been the best among the four festivals. The young couple purchased a house. The shop was renovated and renovated, which cost a lot of money. At this time, the business started again and worked even harder.
Around the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the processing of copper coins and burning paper in various ingot workshops stopped. However, as the New Year approached, the business in the shop became more and more prosperous. Not only the Shen family and Chu Ping, but also Jiang Juan and Zhao Cheng also came from time to time. came to help.
At noon that day, after having lunch at Chu's house, Jiang Juan and her brother were left by the young couple to rest in the west wing. Taking advantage of their leisure time, Jiang Juan took out a cloth bag from her arms and handed it to Shen Luzhu who delivered the quilt himself.
"Cousin, keep this."
Shen Luzhu subconsciously stretched out his hand, but as soon as he took it, he felt that the cloth bag seemed to be particularly heavy on his hand. When he opened it, he saw ten pieces of broken silver: "Cousin, what are you doing?"
After saying that, Shen Luzhu took Jiang Juan's hand and tried to return the cloth bag to her.
Jiang Juan desperately put her hands behind her back and refused to take them back at all: "Sister-in-law, these are ten taels of silver that you lent me to treat Xiaobao's medical treatment. I will return them to you today."
Shen Luzhu's face was full of disapproval: "Didn't I agree before that you don't need to pay back this money? Why is it here again today?"
Speaking of the ten taels of silver, this was not the first time Jiang Juan tried to return it to Shen Luzhu, but every time she was taught a lesson and given back. Now Jiang Juan said she would not take it back.
"Cousin, please listen to what I have to say first. Can we talk about the money after I finish?"
Shen Luzhu couldn't help but feel a little amused when he saw Jiang Juan, who was almost retreating to the door in order to distance herself from him, but still holding her hands behind her back: "Okay, please stop retreating. If you retreat any further, you may have to go out."
Jiang Juan then returned to the kang and sat down, and talked about her thoughts with Shen Luzhu: "Cousin, after we talked about Brother Ding that time, I thought a lot about it. I still haven’t been able to figure it out for such a long time..."
Shen Luzhu patted Jiang Juan's hand: "This kind of thing cannot be done in a hurry."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Juan shook her head: "So, I went to see Brother Ding the day before yesterday."
"Did you go to the county alone?"
Jiang Juan nodded heavily: "Don't worry, cousin, I'm back well."
"Next time something like this happens again, come to our house to drive the bullock cart. It's better to ask your cousin or Jiang Quan to take you there than to do it yourself!"
"Why don't you ask me first, cousin, what am I doing with Brother Ding?"
After Jiang Juan finished speaking, without waiting for Shen Luzhu to ask herself, she took a deep breath and continued: "I asked Brother Ding, did he still think so now when he said he wanted to marry me?"
"What did Brother Ding say?"
"Brother Ding said that he has always thought this way and has never changed. So I told him that there are many things about me that are not worthy of him. I don't want to waste his time. He should find someone who is. His girl."
Seeing Jiang Juan like this, Shen Luzhu felt unspeakably distressed: "Cousin..."
"But cousin, Brother Ding said that he didn't want a wife because he happened to meet me later, but because he met me, so if it wasn't for me, there would be no such thing as a wife. No delay!"
For some reason, Shen Luzhu seemed to instantly understand the meaning of what Jiang Juan said to her. Jiang Juan liked Ding An, but maybe it was because of her temperament, or maybe Wang Tiecheng's incident had caused too much of a blow to her. , she has a very low self-esteem, so low that she doesn't want to believe that Ding An treats her sincerely, so she repeatedly rejects him on the grounds that she is not worthy of him.
Shen Luzhu only hoped that Ding An's answer would make Jiang Juan face him seriously.
"Cousin, I actually have a crush on Brother Ding, but I don't dare to respond at all. I don't believe that Brother Ding will like me. I even think that maybe Brother Ding is doing it for Yaya, because Yaya needs a girl. Mom, so Brother Ding needs a wife, and he happened to meet me. I obviously feel that I am not worthy of Brother Ding, but I don’t want Brother Ding to consider me for such a reason, so I told Brother Ding , I don’t want to delay him. But Brother Ding said no, so I...cousin, am I despicable?"
Shen Luzhu hugged Jiang Juan gently, patted her back and comforted her, "How could it be? You're just a little timid and a little scared."
Jiang Juan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, raised her head from Shen Luzhu's arms, and said firmly: "Even if it's despicable, I admit it! Cousin, I don't want to miss Brother Ding, I want to give it a try, I want to Become a girl worthy of Brother Ding.
So cousin, you must accept this money and regard it as the first step for me to change. Cousin is not allowed to stop me. I have to rely on myself in the future, just like my cousin, I don’t want to always hide behind everyone. "
"Okay! Then cousin, I wish you will become what you want as soon as possible."
Shen Luzhu originally had many things to say to Jiang Juan. He wanted to say that she was very good, wanted to tell her that she did not have to feel inferior, and wanted to tell her that she should have faith even if it was not Ding An, even if there was no other person.
As a man, she can still live a good life, so there is no need to be entangled or anxious, whether she is timid or determined, as long as she is her.
But facing Jiang Juan today, she didn't know where to start with these words. It was always a good thing to want to become better, even if it was for the so-called "deservation". Shen Luzhu believed that one day, she would understand , I was born to please myself, not to be trapped by others.
The Chu family's paper money shop was still busy until the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, when the business stopped. On the twenty-eighth day, the market and shops in the town were still open, and the whole family drove the ox cart to the town to buy things. Got some new year goods.
Candies, candied fruits, pastries, dried fruits, various delicacies, as well as window grilles with blessing characters, couplets and firecrackers, etc. The Chu family is always busy during the New Year. They can buy all kinds of New Year's goods, such as wine, so that the family can have a prosperous New Year. I have finally finished the work in the shop and workshop, but I have to be busy to celebrate the New Year without stopping.
Unlike other families in the village, the Chu family’s new clothes for the New Year were replaced by ready-made clothes from shops in the town after Shen Luzhu married in. Firstly, the materials were good and the workmanship was fine. Secondly, it saved the whole family the need to make new clothes. The skill of clothing.
After being married for more than four years, the young couple have now become parents. Chu Li has also grown from an eight-year-old child to a young man, and Chu Xiuxiu has also matured into a big girl. But in front of the young couple, it seems that He is still like a child. Every time he goes to the town to go to the market, the happiest thing is that his sister-in-law chooses clothes for him.
After the New Year, Chu Xiuxiu will be sixteen years old. In ancient times, men and women got married early, especially for women in the village. At this age, in other people's homes, marriages should have been arranged long ago. Some of them wish they had already made an engagement, and what's more? I'm afraid they are all preparing for marriage.
However, no one in the Chu family was worried about this matter at all. Shen Luzhu regarded Chu Xiuxiu as his biological sister. He always thought that she was only a teenager and had not seen a bigger and better world, so he couldn't bear her premature death. Being held back by firewood, rice, oil and salt.
Uncle Chu is not in a hurry. He only has this daughter, so he naturally wants to stay with her for a few more years.
Chu Xiuxiu herself is even less anxious. She still has many words that she has not yet learned to write, and she has not read many books. How can a married woman stay with her cousin-in-law when she is married? Reading and literacy are fun.
