stingy landlady

Chapter 92 Li Shi Goes Out (4)

The old man watched as Li's mother and her children bought pots and pans, kitchen utensils, rice, millet, sorghum, and other things.

I felt numb sitting in the carriage, and though I didn't say it aloud, I muttered to myself:

"Don't even mention the old lady, Zhao Shi is envious! I'm tempted just looking at all these things! How much money would it cost to buy so many things!"

The group discussed what to prepare for their journey home in the carriage. Li Shi muttered to herself:

"When I get home, I need to find Carpenter Xu to make a few shelves. I'm calculating that I'll need one for food boxes and one for bowls, chopsticks, and basins."

We also need to find some boards to put on the ground before placing the grain, otherwise it will get damp and moldy, and then we won't be able to eat it!

Guizhi continued:

"Mom! We need to make a wider and longer wooden table, with a bowl of stir-fried vegetables and a bowl of cooked rice on it."

We can use this rice to make mixed rice, sorghum porridge, and millet porridge. We can make two different kinds a day. You can choose whatever you want to eat!

Gui Hong added:

"Bring out some of your pickled vegetables! Everyone says they're delicious, bring them over to attract customers! And bean sprouts too, it's been a long time since I've made bean sprouts, I'm really craving some!"

Guizhi said:

"It's not cost-effective to buy beans to make bean sprouts now. With other vegetables to compete with, bean sprouts won't fetch a good price. We should wait until our own soybeans are harvested, then sprout them and sell them. We don't need to invest any capital; it's all grown on our own! That saves us a lot of money! Second sister! You need to be good at doing the math!"

The old man looked at the pots and jars in the carriage, and listened to the people still arranging to buy this and that! He couldn't help but speak up:

"Dazhu's wife! You two spend money too much! You've bought so much stuff, and it's still not enough? You want to buy more? You should save where you can! Just make do with what you have! If everything is brand new, how can you make any money?"

The carriage fell silent, with only the sounds of the horses running and the wheels turning remaining.

After a long while, Li finally agreed:

"Father is right!"

Guizhi tugged at Guihong, and seeing Li's dejected look, the two embraced Li. Li looked around, and Guizhi mouthed:

"Ignore him! I'll go outside and talk!"

He patted Li Shi on the shoulder, lifted the curtain, and sat down next to the old man.

"Grandpa! We're just starting out, we don't have anything yet. We need to buy new things!"

"Grandpa, there are many people in the family, and the utensils we use are just so-so. Since we're selling food among the bushes and people are coming and going, it needs to look clean and tidy!"

People feel safe eating it. Besides, as the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new!

Grandpa, my mom buys all these things to earn more money!

The old man realized he had been presumptuous and explained:

"Guizhi! Grandpa sees you spending too much money, and it hurts me to see you spend so much! But you have to buy these things for business purposes, so just buy whatever you need to buy!"

"Dazhu's wife! Dad's getting old, and he's prone to nagging if there's anything he doesn't like! Don't take it to heart!"

Gui Hong pushed Li Shi away and shook her head to indicate that Li Shi was not angry.

Li smiled and said:

"Dad! I don't take it to heart! Dad is right! We should save money wherever we can. Dad is doing this for our own good!"

Gui Hong chimed in:

"Grandpa, you're my dad's pillar of support! He consults you about everything! My mom isn't the kind of person who can't tell right from wrong, we all know Grandpa is the best!"

After this round of flattery, the old man felt pleased. He chuckled and said:

"You're young and inexperienced! You can't just throw money away like that! If you spend it all today, you don't know if you'll be able to earn it back tomorrow. It's the same with doing business! You always have to leave some money to get by!"

Guizhi asked:

"Grandpa! What is a 'river crossing fee'?"

"The river crossing money is for emergencies, for when we encounter difficulties. For example, if our family farms and there is a drought or flood and there is no harvest, we have to rely on the river crossing money to survive. Or if we have a headache or fever, we need to pay for medical treatment and medicine. You need money everywhere to make a living, so you have to be careful with your spending."

The old man explained patiently.

Guizhi nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, "I see, Grandpa is right. We will definitely be more careful to save money in the future."

Gui Hong chimed in, "Yes, Grandpa. We know, we won't waste money anymore. But if our business does well, we'll definitely make more money, and life will be more comfortable then."

The old man smiled with satisfaction.

"Yes, as long as you know how to be frugal and manage the business well, our family's life will definitely get better and better."

The carriage had already arrived at the grassy area while they were talking. They unloaded the things from the carriage and arranged them neatly inside.

Suddenly, the space between the grass and trees was no longer empty; it exuded the breath of life and the warmth of human warmth!

That's why it's said that having a lady of the house and not having a woman at all are completely different concepts!

Mrs. Li looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, clapped her hands, and said, "Let's go home! We'll come back tomorrow!"

After getting into the carriage, we went to the cloth shop to pick up three brand-new sets of bedding that had just been made.

The old man said:

"Buy whatever you want! Just make sure you have a plan in mind!"

Me? I don't care about anything! My only responsibility is to catch the train!

Li and her children smiled, loaded the carriage, and decided to go straight home this time, not anywhere else.

When they got home, Dazhu was worried and was waiting for them!

Hearing the sound of the carriage returning, they rushed out immediately. Jixiang and Ruyi didn't dare to go too far and stood at the door to greet them.

Big Pillar:

"Father! You must be tired after a long day! Go back and rest! I'll drive the carriage and move the bedding and other things from the house to the east end!"

The old man was a little tired. "Alright! I'll leave it to you! Let Xile go herd the horses later! I'm going inside to lie down for a bit and stretch my back!"

Guizhi had Ruyi and Jixiang stand guard at the door to prevent anyone from entering the house, while Dazhu went down into the cellar to retrieve the silver.

Guizhi whispered:

"Dad! We specially bought a few jars and brought them back, saying we'll use them for pickling vegetables. They'll be perfect for storing silver and copper coins over there!"

Guizhi saw that Li Shi and Guixiang had hidden the silver in the quilt. She asked Dazhu to help carry it to the carriage. The carriage took them all the way to the new house. Dazhu didn't need anyone's help and carried the quilt into the main room by himself.

Gui Xiang, Gui Hong, and Gui Zhi carried their bedding back to their respective rooms to settle down!

A short while later, Dazhu came in carrying a jar and said to Guizhi:

"Didn't they say you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket? Hurry up and open the cellar door. Dad, take it down!"

Guizhi quickly opened the cellar door, and a cool breeze blew in.

"Dad! It's so cold in the cellar!"

"Okay! If you're putting vegetables in it, wear more layers! I'll put the jar down and come right back up! It's fine!"

As he spoke, Dazhu descended the ladder into the cellar.

"Father! How much silver did you put in there?" Guizhi asked curiously!

"Hehe! It's those three hundred taels! I took them all! Didn't expect that, did you?"

Dazhu stared at Guizhi with her mouth agape, feeling smug about his sudden idea!

"Look! Even Guizhi, the smartest girl in our family, couldn't have guessed it! Nobody else could have guessed it either! Not even your mother knew! Haha!"