Although Moju didn't fare much in cleverness, she won in terms of loyalty.
When she felt Mama Shen's action was highly unusual, she immediately told
Yuxi.
Yuxi could roughly guess what Mama Shen was up to. So, she told Moju,
"Whatever Mama Shen asks you to do in the future, you just do it. Then, tell
me in private." She used to think it didn't matter if she let Mama Shen be around her, but now she hated it. This kind of life, in which she was always under the surveillance of others without any freedom, made her very uncomfortable. So, she had to find a way to get rid of Mama Shen without offending the Old Lady.
Meanwhile, having honed his skills as a steward for many years, Steward Xiang had been very cautious. Once he got the orders from Qiu Shi, he did not go directly to the shop, but he first went to find out what happened to the shop owner. This inquiry, indeed, revealed something.
Yuxi felt it was unthinkable when she heard that Steward Xiang had been offered the price of two thousand six hundred taels[1] for the shop. "This can't be." They were given the cost of four thousand, while
Steward Xiang had been offered two thousand and six hundred taels[1]? She felt that this was somewhat abnormal.
Steward Xiang said, "Miss, don't you know, the shop owner has offended the yamen people, so common people don't dare to buy the shop from him because of that." Influential
people looked down on the shops in that area, and people with little money
had their own sources. Once they knew that the shop owners had offended the
yamen, they were unlikely to buy the shop to avoid being the replacement for the
yamen to
vent their anger.
Yuxi was a bit worried as she inquired, "Who did the landlord offend? If the
crime isn't small, we shouldn't buy his shop." She didn't want to cause any trouble.
Steward Xiang said while smiling, "It's not a big deal. The store is ours. The other party is afraid to change his mind. Miss, if this shop didn't have this incident, it would have cost three to four thousand taels[1] of silver. The price we offered is not low either." Just because ordinary people
didn't dare to buy this shop did not mean that the State Residence did not
dare to buy it.
Yuxi felt relief, "It has been hard for the steward."
However, Steward Xiang was very calculating, "Fourth Miss, I heard that you bought this shop to open a grocery store. If Miss doesn't have the right one yet, I have one person I want to suggest."
The person recommended by Xiangyang was his brother-in-law, surnamed Meng, who was fifteen years old this year.
Yuxi had no problem with his age, and the grocery store she would run was not going to be big either. As long as the other party was competent and could manage the store well, she would accept that person. "Since Steward Xiang recommends him,
he must have his own strength. However, my grocery store will not be big, so
I'm afraid his talent will be wasted there."
Steward Xiang said with a smile, "He had been learning in a silk and satin shop at a very young age. Also, since Mama Fang will be by his side, teaching
him, this makes me dare to open my mouth recommending him."
Naturally, Yuxi was willing to give Steward Xiang some face.
When Steward Xiang left, Yuxi asked Hongshan to give him twenty taels[1] of silver. "You've been working hard for the past two days. Take this money to
buy some wine."
After receiving the reward, Steward Xiang went out of the State Residence.
When he got home, he told his wife, Meng Shi, to tell her family about
it.
Meng Shi was somewhat not at ease. The grocery shop would not be huge, and with her younger brother's ability, he would not achieve much from working there!
Xiangyang argued, "Why are your views so shallow, staring only at the three melons and two dates[2]? The grocery store may be small, but did you forget that Fourth Miss is currently studying with Teacher Song? Do you think her future will be worse?
If Third Brother follows her now after Fourth Miss fully develops, do you
still think she can't reuse him?" Now, he could manage a silk shop. Apart from his own ability, his mother was his Master's confidant. Otherwise, he would not be able to get his current position.
Meng Shi was still somewhat worried. "Third Younger Brother is already fifteen years old, and he will reach marriage age in the future. This job will not be enough. Will his marriage have to be delayed by that time?" Fourth Miss would be fully developed for at least another ten years. If her younger
brother had to work in the grocery shop for another ten years, it would be the
same as delaying her brother's marriage.
In response, Xiangyang could only tell her the truth, "As long as your Third
Brother does a good job, once he gets Fourth Miss's attention, there will be no
problem for her to find him a wife." Seeing Meng Shi's bewildered face, he continued, "Fourth Miss is very intelligent, but she has a
shallow background, so it is not convenient for her to act in residence. Fourth Miss will surely pull him under her wings if Third Brother does well.
Don't you remember the two personal maids of Fourth Miss who will reach the
age of marriage in two years?" If you wanted to win the people's hearts,
betrothing the maids around you was the best way to do it.
Meng Shi's eyes lit up. Unfortunately, she seldom went to the inner courtyard, so she had no impression of the two maids, Moju and Motao.
Xiangyang poured cold water on her, "If Third Brother can't get into her eyes,
everything is in vain." This meant asking Meng Shi to persuade her younger brother properly.
That evening, Yuxi got the deed of the shop. Holding this deed, she felt delighted. This was her property. She also had her own property, which made her feel good.
It was also Yuxi's good luck. A few days later, after their talk, Qiu Shi
found out that the Lu family of Marquis Zhongyong's residence was going to
sell land linked to a mountain forest that met Yuxi's
requirements.
Qiu Shi told Yuxi, "The hamlet is not far from the capital. It's about two hours walk. I think you can buy it."
Yuxi asked doubtfully, "Eldest Aunt, why do the Lu family sell such a good
property?" The land property could be passed to future generations and would generally not be sold.
Since Qiu Shi was planning to buy this land, she undoubtedly had made precise inquiries on it. She replied, "The Lu family has set up a business line with the Li family, the imperial merchant, so the Lu are planning to do business with them. It is said that it's a huge business operation that requires a lot of capital, so the Lu family is planning to sell some industries to be converted to cash. This is also a good opportunity for us."
Yuxi was unfamiliar with the outside market, so she asked, "What's the background of this Li family? They will let the Lu family sell their land?" If
it weren't sure that the Li family would make a lot of money, the Lu family
would never sell these inheritable properties.
Qiu Shi said, "Madam Li is Minister Song's illegitimate younger sister." So to
speak, the Li family's backers were Song Guifei and the Song family.
Yuxi's heart was somewhat a little cold. The Song family could still sit at ease as they enjoyed riches and honour after committing such evil deeds.
While those soldiers and civilians who died unjustly all had been killed in vain.
Qiu Shi didn't know what Yuxi was thinking, so she told her in detail about
the situation of the said land production, "There are 460 mu[3] paddy fields in that hamlet, of which 230 mu[3] are the best paddy fields, 160 mu[3] are the middle paddy fields, 70 mu[3] are lower paddy fields, and more than 680 mu[3] are the mountain forests."
Yuxi was immediately pulled back out of her thought and asked, "How much is
the asking price?"
Qiu Shi replied, "The asking price is eight thousand taels[1]."
Yuxi frowned as she asked, "Eldest Aunt, isn't the price too high?" More than six hundred mu[3] of mountain forest was worth less than one thousand taels[1], equivalent to 14.05 taels[1] per mu[3] of paddy field. It was a good deal if it was all excellent paddy fields, but only about half were good paddy fields, so eight thousand taels[1] for her was too high.
Qiu Shi smiled and replied, "They want this price for a reason. They planted a lot of firs in that mountain forest a few years ago, and they will be able to sell them in a few years. Also, there are quite a few red jujubes,
chestnuts and other fruit trees planted on the mountain, which is not a bad
offer for us."
Yuxi still felt that the price was too high. Who knew how many Chinese firs were there and when they could be sold? Furthermore, how many red jujubes,
chestnuts and other fruit trees had been planted? There were too many uncertain factors.
Qiu Shi was not anxious; rather, she supported Yuxi carefully by saying, "Yuxi,
these eight thousand taels[1] of silver include this season's rice harvest, which should be able to sell at the price of four to five hundred taels[1]. Besides, the hamlet is close to the capital city, and many people want to buy it, so the price is this high. The other reason is because of its good location. If the Lu is not in urgent need of money, they will not
be willing to sell it."
Yuxi thought it over in her mind and asked, "Does aunt think it's a good deal
to buy this hamlet?"
Qiu Shi nodded. "It is a little expensive, but this hamlet is close to the capital city and the river, and with the price of eight thousand taels[1], it is worth buying. If you don't purchase it this time, finding something that suits your heart next time will be challenging. "
Yuxi thought of her past. If she had such a place outside the capital, she would have nowhere to go and eventually be burned to death in the wild. In case she fell into the same situation as in her previous life, she at least had a place to stay. Thinking of this, she immediately said, "Then I'll buy
it!"
Qiu Shi thought that Yuxi only had seven thousand taels[1] of silver. She was ready to help her make up the difference.
When Yuxi heard this, she immediately refused, "Eldest Aunt, I haven't touched the profit of the baozi[4] shop for last year! With that
profit, I can make up to eight thousand taels[1]." Besides, she received several hundred taels[1] of gifts during the New Year Festival. As for the two thousand taels[1] of silver tickets in her hand, Yuxi did not want to use them for the time being.
She would save it for urgent use.
Qiu Shi was not reluctant either. She told Yuxi about another matter, "Don't you want to buy a maid with great strength? I have already found her for you.
The girl is only six years old but has a lot of strength." Finding someone with strength, no family background, who was still innocent and at a good age was difficult. It took her more than half a year to find that type of maid.
Yuxi's eyes lit up at once. "Where?"
Qiu Shi smiled. "She just entered the residence today. I'll let her learn the rules first for the first few days. She will be sent to your yard when she has completely learnt
them."
Yuxi knew this was normal, and she didn't want to be treated special, either.
So, she said, "Eldest Aunt, when we have bought the hamlet, I want to have a
chance to see it myself." This was her property alone. She felt not at ease if she didn't set her eyes on it.
Qiu Shi smiled and said, "It's not a problem. You can go when you have a
holiday. The place is not far away either. Go early, and you can come back in
the evening. "It was typical that one wanted to look at one's industry. It was not something surprising.
Yuxi was looking forward to that day.
Qiu Shi's work efficiency was very high. On that same day, Yuxi got the title deed for the land property with the mountain forest. She held the title deed like the apple of her eye and put it together with the store title deeds.
From now on, she was the owner of both land and real estate.
After Moju knew about this, she asked doubtfully, "Miss, did you really buy
the farmland?" In the past, Mama Fang always worried about money. Suddenly, her Miss had bought shops and one farmland. She felt the world had changed so much that she couldn't keep up with the pace!
Yuxi smiled and said, "Now that I have shops and land property, I can provide
you with a thick dowry later."
Moju stamped her foot and shyly said, "Miss now knows how to tease this
handmaiden." After that, she ran out with a red face.
Yuxi's face was beaming with joy. Moju and Motao did not marry well in her previous life. She would not let them make the same mistake
again in this life.
Footnotes Full List
- unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤 (old)
- Northern spoken language, a metaphor for something insignificant, or a limited amount of money. In this case, it means something insignificant.
- unit of area equal to one-fifteenth of a hectare
- steamed stuffed bun
Noob Translator's Musing
Hmm... I'm thinking of changing the meaning of zhuangzhi to hamlet. I
feel it sounds much more appropriate as a hamlet over a village.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi