stingy landlady

Chapter 86 Buying Land in Town (1)

Guizhi glanced at Old Man Zhou and understood that he was worried Zhou Qiong would be excluded. After all, several more people had suddenly joined the household. And there might be even more people coming in the future!

If Zhou Qiong continues to follow Madam Zhou, it will be even more difficult for her to integrate into the main family when Madam Zhou gives birth in a few months.

Guizhi nodded in agreement. Old Zhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Guizhi brought three maids home to help make dumplings, and Li was overjoyed! Suddenly there were more people to help! The house was filled with chattering voices again!

Guizhi discussed with Li:

"Mom! You have to bring them out for breakfast! Last time, my fifth uncle suggested that we make some boxed lunches to sell! He said that just selling dumplings is too monotonous!"

I guess my fifth uncle got tired of eating dumplings every day! Haha!

Li glared at Guizhi.

"You! You dare to talk nonsense about anyone! If your grandma heard this, she'd kill you! Your fifth uncle is your grandparents' darling!"

Guizhi stuck out her tongue.

"Hehe! Mother, I was just saying that."

In the past, our family was small and we were too busy to manage everything! I didn't want my second aunt and fourth aunt to get involved, so I didn't tell you or Dad about it.

Now that there are more of us, Mom, what do you think?

Li nodded.

"We can't let them get involved. If your grandma and the others meddle in everything, how can we possibly have a good outcome? Humph!"

Gui Xiang was a little worried:

"Third Sister, it's a good thing that your business is booming! I'm just worried that someone might get jealous and try to steal your business!"

Gui Hong thought for a moment and said:

"Mom! I think we should hurry up and buy the land where we sell dumplings every day. Then we can build a shed so it won't be exposed to the wind or rain."

What do you think? "

Guizhi's eyes lit up.

"Second Sister's idea is great! We should have Father go find Officer Wu and the others who measured the land for us last time and ask them!"

Gui Hong goes out every day, and has become much more sensible, she said:

"Hmm! We need to get Dad to say something nice. We won't make a fuss or shout loudly! We'll only go when it's mealtime, so we definitely won't disturb the students studying at the academy!"

If I don't say it this way, I'm afraid the teachers at Xing'an Academy will have something to say!

Li said anxiously:

"You'd better hurry up if you want to buy land! Or you can send your dad today! If someone else gets there first, you won't have anywhere to sell dumplings in the future!"

When it came to her own business, Li said again:

"Let him go when your father gets back! I'll prepare the money for him first! How much do you estimate it will cost?"

Guizhidao:

"Mom! The land in town is different from the land in our village! It's much more expensive than ours! Whether we can even buy it is another matter!"

Guizhi thought to herself, if we really can't buy it, we'll have to ask Xu Hong to come up with a solution!

When Dazhu returned and heard about the plan to buy the land in front of Xing'an College, he agreed. He told Li to prepare more money, and after dinner, he, Guizhi, and Guihong rode in the carriage driven by the old man to town.

Upon arriving in town, Guizhi and Dazhu went together to greet Manager Qu.

"Manager Qu!"

"Uncle Shopkeeper!"

"Oh! Guizhi is here!"

"Dazhu! You're a rare guest indeed! It's been so long!"

Dazhu cupped his hands and said:

"Hehe, Manager Qu! There have been a lot going on at home, these kids must have been a lot of trouble for you these past few days!"

Guizhi casually placed a small basket of rare mushrooms she had received yesterday on the shopkeeper's table.

Manager Qu was even more delighted.

"No trouble at all! You see, Guizhi never comes to see me empty-handed; she always brings something with her!"

Dazhu! Your daughters are very well-mannered! Really excellent! They all have great eyesight!

Dazhu laughed along, "You flatter me! That's all they're good for!"

"Uncle Shopkeeper! My father wants to buy the land in front of Xing'an Academy, the place where we sell dumplings every day. Who do you think we should contact?"

Guizhi inquired with Manager Qu!

Manager Qu pondered for a long time:

"That piece of land is unclaimed. You can go directly to the yamen (government office) and find the yamen runner in charge of surveying the land!"

The only problem is that the headmaster of the academy is a bit difficult to talk to, and besides, doing business there is too out of the way! The academy needs to be quiet and doesn't want any noise, so it was deliberately built in a remote location for the sake of peace and quiet!

"Aren't you going to lose money buying land there? It'll be difficult to sell it later!"

Dazhu thought for a moment and said:

"We just set up a tent and go there around mealtimes. It's for convenience, in case of rain or snow!"

"If we don't buy the land and just start building, I'm afraid people will cause trouble!"

"That's true! Let's go to the government office and ask. If it's not worth it, let's just sell it like this for now! If it costs ten or eight taels, it's fine, it'll be easier to resell later!"

Manager Qu looked at the precious mushrooms and said to Guizhi:

"Guizhi! These rare mushrooms are truly precious! You're so generous in giving them to me! If you collect too many, send them over here too!"

As you know, the wild vegetables you deliver every day aren't just sold at my restaurant! Business is booming in our whole county!

He then said to Dazhu:

"Your Guizhi is our restaurant's lucky charm! Ever since we met Guizhi, our business has been booming!"

Dazhu chuckled and said:

"Manager Qu has been very kind to our family! He never bullies the children and even gives us swill to feed the pigs! We are so grateful to you!"

"The shopkeeper is busy now, we won't bother you any longer! Guizhi, let's go!"

"Goodbye, Uncle Shopkeeper!"

"Okay! Dazhu! Just let me know if anything comes up. Guizhi! The master will be coming in a few days; he says he wants to give you a thank-you gift!"

Guizhi whispered:

"Uncle shopkeeper! I didn't do anything, why should I get a thank-you gift?"

Manager Qu laughed heartily, patted Guizhi's head, and said:

"Thanks for your clever mind! It's made our boss some money!"

Guizhi also mysteriously said to Manager Qu:

"In a few days, I'll have some new vegetables coming into season!"

Shopkeeper Qu's eyes lit up. "Can we pick the cucumbers and green beans now?"

"Hmm! Uncle Shopkeeper is so smart! Let's wait another two or three days and let it grow a little longer."

Yesterday I went into the cucumber patch, and some of them were this long!

The cassia branch stretched out its hand to measure, and it was about half a foot long!

The shopkeeper was happy.

"Osmanthus twigs! These are more than half a month earlier than usual! Send over all the twigs you have! Don't steal any! The price is negotiable!"

Let's sell it at a high price first, and then eat more when it's cheaper! Hehe! Guizhi's got a good head on her sleeve!

"Uncle Manager! Our restaurant is constantly introducing new dishes, so business is sure to boom!"

"Thank you for your kind words, Guizhi! Wait a moment, Uncle has prepared another set of writing materials and calligraphy practice books for you. I wonder how your calligraphy is progressing? The employer said he wanted to check it last time!"

As the shopkeeper spoke, he took out a box that had been prepared beforehand. After opening and checking that everything was in order, he handed it to Guizhi, who was ashamed!

"Uncle Shopkeeper! I've been too busy and haven't practiced many characters. You'll have to put in a good word for me!"

"Then you'd better pray for good luck!" Manager Qu said deliberately, putting on airs.

"Uncle Shopkeeper! I'll practice my calligraphy as soon as I get back!" Guizhi promised!

Shopkeeper Qu smiled:

"Your employer is doing this for your own good! You're still young and don't understand the importance of handwriting. No matter what happens in the future, developing good handwriting is essential!"