Therefore, before leaving Sanliu Village, Li Qiao also gave her an extra ten taels of silver as food expenses for Tao Shu and the others, and asked her and Tao Tao's family to supervise each other. If one party did not spend all the money on Tao Shu and the others, then this would There was no food money anymore, and they had to continue as before. They used their own food to support Tao Shu and the other three.
But after Tao Tao's family and Lai Dongmei learned about the high wages of the Li family, the more they thought about it, the more unhappy they became, so they ran to give advice to Li Shu and Li Liang Wang Guihua.
"Brother Zhu, what do you think?" Li Qiao turned over and lay on his side looking at Tao Zhu.
Tao Zhu pursed his lips. Now Tao Shu is almost a fool. He has to be guarded by someone for daily meals, clothing, etc. Old Tao is lame and can't live without people.
Mrs. Tao, on the other hand, can't do much work and feels tired even doing housework.
It's really hard for Tao Tao's family and Lai Dongmei to take care of these three people.
He said: "You are an official now, and I don't bother to argue with them. Why don't you give them a salary of ten taels of silver a month?"
"So many?" Li Qiao frowned.
"How about giving them five taels at the beginning and depending on their performance. If they perform well, then increase them to ten taels."
Li Qiao could not be generous to those who had bullied Tao Zhu.
Tao Zhu smiled when he heard this: "Okay."
He didn't care about fifty taels.
But Li Qiao's "stingy" attitude, which was rare in several years, made him happier the more he thought about it. He reached out and grabbed Li Qiao's hand: "Hug me."
Hearing this, Li Qiao immediately hugged him, but avoided his stomach.
Tao Zhu felt the familiar temperature on his body and spoke slowly: "Speaking of it, our house seems to be too small. If Baiyou and Brother Dazhong want to live here, they won't be able to live in it."
He and Li Qiao, Li Ershan and Li Xia lived in the main courtyard, Zheng Qianqian and Li Dashan lived in the front yard, and Chef Zhao, the cook given by the seventh prince, and Dr. Chen, the doctor of the palace, lived in the backyard.
If the Li family comes, there will be no place to live, and we can't let our family stay in an inn.
"Buy a house." Li Qiao also realized this problem and said immediately.
If the house is not enough to live in, then buy it.
However, his current official position is too small. Even if Sheng Hong promotes him for compiling books, it is impossible for him to jump several levels in a row. Therefore, don't think about the big house for the time being. It is too high-profile.
It’s better to buy a new house near here, as relatives and friends are here and it’s lively.
Li Qiao and Tao Zhu were both resolute people. They said they wanted to buy a house and started researching it the next day.
Baiyou also wants to buy a house.
He and Li Dazhong were going to celebrate the New Year in Shengjing, so they definitely couldn't stay in an inn.
So, when Li Qiao was at work, Tao Zhu, Bai You, Li Dazhong, Chen Hua and others would watch the houses nearby.
Although Tao Zhu was pregnant, he still had to exercise. Walking around the neighborhood and taking a walk would count as exercise.
Bai You's stomach was still silent, but he wasn't anxious. He hadn't spent enough time with Li Dazhong yet.
His father left early. Before he got married, he lived a very depressed life in the Bai family. After getting married, he suffered a lot.
Now that he finally felt the joy of being a husband, he didn't want to have children.
He was not short of money, so he quickly fell in love with a two-entry house. He paid the money and went through the formalities on the same day, and he and Li Dazhong moved in on the third day.
He came to Beijing this time just for fun with Li Dazhong.
However, Tao Zhu was pregnant and had provoked the British government, so she could not move around at will.
Let's go to Shen Hua. He has received an order from Sheng Hong again, asking him to draw next year's spring and summer clothes. Shen Hua has a bitter look on his face every day, and he doesn't have time to play with him often.
Now Baiyou has the feeling that everyone has serious things to do but he has nothing to do. He can't just stay in bed with Li Dazhong every day like he did in Sanliu Village.
After entering the twelfth lunar month, Tao Zhu was six months pregnant and his belly was getting bigger. Li Qiao didn't let him go out. He could only walk in the yard, and he was not allowed to pick himself up from get off work.
Because at the end of last month, Dr. Chen told Tao Zhu some big news after diagnosing Tao Zhu's pulse every day.
After many days of observation by Dr. Chen, he was finally convinced that Tao Zhu was pregnant with twins.
twin!
This shocked Li Qiao. He was already frightened when he gave birth to a baby. Now tell him they are twins?
This made him regard Tao Zhu as a fragile treasure, and he would not let Tao Zhu do anything, such as settling accounts and going to the shop.
He only needed to eat well and drink well and walk around the yard every day, and Li Xia accompanied him throughout the whole process, making sure that there was someone around Tao Zhu at all times.
As a result, there will not be enough manpower in the shop.
Baiyou thought about it for many days and decided that he and Li Dazhong would take the lead.
Ever since they got married, they haven't done anything serious. This kind of life has become boring after a long time.
Since Li Qiao and Tao Zhu are short of manpower, they should take over.
Moreover, he knew that the Li family was short of people. He abducted Li Qiao's second cousin, Li Dazhong, and he was actually a little embarrassed.
Baiyou's decision surprised everyone, but it didn't look like he was joking, so Li Qiao asked him and Li Dazhong to try it.
As a result, both he and Li Dazhong did very well.
Whether it was snacks or duck condiments, the two got started quickly.
With the addition of Baiyou and Li Dazhong, both shops are running as usual.
Li Qiao was too lazy to worry about the shop anymore, just do what you like. He was worried every day now. Brother Zhu was pregnant with twins. He was too worried.
Every day after work, he ran home as soon as possible, and also invited many doctors to come back, asking these doctors to diagnose Tao Zhu's pulse and give relevant advice on raising a baby and waiting for delivery.
Tao Zhu felt that he was a little too nervous.
Since she became pregnant, Tao Zhu had to eat and drink as much as she should, but he didn't experience morning sickness, edema, or many common pregnancy discomforts.
The baby in the belly is so well-behaved, so it shouldn’t be a big problem during delivery, right?
But this kind of thing must not be left to chance. He strictly followed the doctor's instructions and did whatever the doctor told him.
With him and Li Qiao so prepared, the days slipped by day by day, and the end of the year soon came.
It’s time to celebrate the New Year again.
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The author has something to say:
Well, I decided that one of the twins would be a boy, and the gender of the other one was determined by drawing lots... The triplets were too hard, and I couldn't bear to have Tao Zhu suffer this, and I couldn't bear to have him give birth again... QAQ
Chapter 126 Chinese New Year. The whole story is a running account, with no main plot and can be skipped. Li Xia gets engaged
Da Sheng has very strict attendance requirements for officials on weekdays, but during a big festival like the Chinese New Year, the Sheng family father and son are still very humane.
Considering that some officials who are far away have to return to their hometowns, after entering the twelfth lunar month, officials who want to return to their hometowns can ask for leave.
Officials who do not ask for leave will have a holiday on the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month if there are no major events in the government at that time, and will not start working until after the Lantern Festival.
Li Qiao originally wanted to ask for leave.
However, Tao Zhu felt that he was in great health and there was no need for Li Qiao to give up his business to accompany him. In addition, Li Qiao was about to finish compiling his first reference book on water conservancy, so at Tao Zhu's insistence, Li Qiao I stayed in the Hanlin Academy until the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month before officially taking a break.
After the holiday, Li Qiao wanted to focus on Tao Zhu twelve hours a day, but now that he was an official, he could no longer care about human relationships as he did when he was studying.
During the first Chinese New Year after becoming an official, Li Qiao had to prepare New Year gifts for his colleagues. There was no housekeeper or elders at home, so Li Qiao had to prepare the gifts by himself.
Li Qiao has been an official for half a year and doesn't know many people. He still has to stand outside the Tai Chi Hall when he goes to court. In addition, he has hugged Sheng Hong's thigh early and does not need to rely on anyone else. Therefore, , the New Year gift he prepared was very simple, just the food from his shop.
On the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Qiao stood in the yard and looked at the exquisite food boxes all over the yard. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became.
In fact, after Laba, people started sending New Year gifts to his home.
However, the gift-givers at that time were all businessmen, some were neighbors on the left and right sides of his shop, and some were strangers to him at all.
They knew each other and the New Year's gift was not expensive. Tao Zhu accepted it and prepared a gift in return.
Anyone you don’t know will not be accepted.
Later, officials were on holiday. In the past few days, his family received New Year's gifts from colleagues in the Hanlin Academy. These New Year's gifts included mountain treasures and leather, which are common New Year gifts nowadays.
They are not expensive, some are worth more than ten taels of silver, and some are worth dozens of taels.
Although the salary of Dasheng officials is high, there are many favors during a big festival like the New Year. If the gift is too expensive, then based on the salary of everyone in the Hanlin Academy, it is impossible to afford it.
Since the gifts given by his colleagues were not expensive, Li Qiao naturally couldn't give too expensive gifts. The New Year's gift he and Tao Zhu prepared was an eight-inch cream cake, duck products, vermicelli, and puffs.
Each item is individually packed into a three-story large food box. Considering how popular these foods are in Shengjing, their family's New Year's gift is totally worth it.
Because Sheng Hong priced the eight-inch cream cake at twenty taels of silver.
He originally thought that he was already very merciless in doing business, but Sheng Hong was even more ruthless, charging sky-high prices just because this was a fresh food.
But the rich people in Shengjing didn't care about this little money at all, and they snatched up a hundred cream cakes every day in minutes.
Some runners who are slow or unlucky have never tasted cream cake.
Therefore, the annual gift he prepared is really good.
"Okay, let Li Dao and the others drive the ox cart and set off."
After Li Qiao finished admiring it, he began to assign tasks to Li Dao, Li Jian, Li Gong and Li Nu.
He bought five more bullock carts and put them in the yard where Li Dao, Guofu Minan and others lived, which was enough for these people.
Today I will give gifts to my colleagues first, and tomorrow I will prepare new year gifts for Mr. Zhao Youzhi and the Seventh Prince.
Of course, because these two people have high status and are relatively close to him, the portions of various foods should be increased.
I’ll prepare it for relatives and friends the day after tomorrow.
With all these important matters arranged, Li Qiao looked at Tao Zhu beside him.
Tao Zhu's belly was already very obvious. Now he felt mixed emotions when he saw Tao Zhu's belly. Pregnancy is really a magical thing. It can stretch a person's belly to such a big size...
"Let's go back to the room, it's cold outside."
Li Qiao said, carefully holding Tao Zhu's waist with one hand, and grabbing Tao Zhu's hand through the cloak with the other.
The two of them stood in the yard for more than half an hour, but Tao Zhu was wearing a thick cloak, and his head and hands were hidden in the cloak, so his hands were warm at this time. Li Qiao was just wearing a normal cotton coat and stood in the yard. After such a long time, my hands are already a little cold.
The two people walked along the corridor and slowly returned to the main courtyard.
