After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 934 Discussion
While the three generations of the Hai family were discussing the school that Xie, Cao and Lu were planning to open, the parties involved, Xie Wenzai, Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian, were also discussing the matter in the side room where Xie and Lu lived.

Cao Gengyun decided not to go home tonight and stayed overnight with his two old friends to discuss the preparations for the school and exchange recent news.

Because his sons and daughters-in-law reminded him to go home early before he went out today, he sent Cao Yong back to report the news so that his family would not worry. But he did not expect that after Cao Yong reported the news, he was sent back again. His son thought that Cao Yong was bought for him and should stay by his side to serve him. Even if he did not have anything for Cao Yong to do, the latter should stay near him so that he could call him to run errands at any time. Cao Gengyun had no choice but to say hello to Cui Bo, the housekeeper of the Hai family, and let Wang Xiaoqing take Cao Yong downstairs to eat, wash and stay overnight.

Wang Xiaoqing was now arranged to live in the south room of the west wing, sharing a room with Qiu Baisheng and Ma Suozhu. There was a large kang in the room that took up half of the room, which was more than enough for three people. Cao Yong temporarily shared the room with them, and the conditions were better than when he was at Cao's house.

After arranging Cao Yong, Cao Gengyun returned to the wing room to meet his old friends. He climbed onto the kang and took off his outer coat, sighing, "In the past, I had no one to follow me. I could go wherever I wanted and stay at anyone's house. I could just find a boy on the street to run errands and pass messages, and no one would bother me. Now that I have Cao Yong, I am tied up. I want to send him back home and ask the children at home to serve him, but my son and daughter-in-law said that this man was bought specially for me and should serve me wholeheartedly. They are very filial, and I can't refuse them. It's really troublesome!"

Xie Wenzai and Lu Bainian looked at each other and couldn't help laughing: "Are you showing off that you have filial children and grandchildren, and are deliberately trying to poke the hearts of two lonely people like us?"

Cao Gengyun hurriedly said, "Unfair! When did I have such thoughts? I just complained because I was annoyed by the younger generations' meddling. Besides, when did you become lonely? Old Xie, you have cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and a whole family of relatives. Old Lu, you also have a wife, sons and grandchildren, but we just stopped communicating with each other a long time ago. How could I hurt your feelings?!"

Xie and Lu smiled at each other and put the joke aside. Lu Bainian showed a half-smile: "Don't be annoying. After all, your children and grandchildren have been separated from you for a long time. They may not know whether you really have no grudges in your heart. They specially arranged someone to serve you, which is also a way of being attentive and careful. Once you have resentment towards them, they will immediately know and rush to resolve it in time. Otherwise, they have finally coaxed you to go home. What if you stay here for one night and feel that the Hai family is more comfortable than your own home and refuse to go back? They have invested so much in you, and they will never want to end up with nothing."

Cao Gengyun couldn't help sighing when he talked about this: "I also think that living here is more comfortable than living at home. The key is that I'm used to it. I don't need to be extra careful when I speak or act, for fear of saying something wrong and making the children cry. Although I was well taken care of at home and became a real old man, we have been separated for more than 30 years after all. We are very unfamiliar with each other, but I have to pretend to be close. I feel really awkward. They want to honor me with the best things, but they are short of money. I really can't bear to see my daughter-in-law used as a dowry, my granddaughter lacking new clothes, and my grandsons even have to write a piece of paper from front to back when writing an article, and the ink has to be mixed with water. But if I say that I want to give them money to support them, I'm afraid they will be embarrassed..."

Cao Gengyun had savings. It was fine during the exile, but after being pardoned, several of his old friends helped Hai Xiya do business in Guazhou, selling wine, spices and gems, and saved some private money. After returning to Chang'an, he resumed contact with local literati and poets. On weekdays, he wrote poems and articles for others, painted paintings, and Xie Wenzai offered advice to the Zhenguogong Mansion, which earned him a lot of money. Later, he accepted students, and the students paid a lot of tuition fees, and he always gave them gifts during festivals. In addition to paying the rent of the house by themselves, the three of them were subsidized by the Hai family for their daily food, clothing, housing and transportation. The expenses were not large, and they were mainly used to buy new books and stationery, or to socialize with friends and give gifts. After saving for nearly ten years, everyone had saved at least a few hundred taels.

Cao Gengyun had lived at home for more than 20 days. He was very clear about the financial situation of his children and grandchildren. He was afraid that he had more money in his pocket than his son, but he couldn't say it out loud, for fear of hurting the children's self-esteem. Xie Wenzai and Lu Bainian listened silently, without any intention of interrupting. It would be fine if Cao Gengyun would be soft-hearted in front of his grandchildren. They watched the Cao family's filial respect for Cao Gengyun mixed with many selfish motives. In fact, they had a lot of dissatisfaction in their hearts, but they couldn't say it in front of their friends, also for fear of hurting his self-esteem.

Xie Wenzai changed the subject: "If we want to run a school in the future, where do you think it would be best to rent a house? And how big should it be?"

Lu Bainian hesitated. "Although the three of us have some money, it doesn't add up to more than one thousand. If we use it all to run a school, I'm afraid it will be very difficult. Besides, it's still unknown whether there are students in the capital who will recognize our reputation and be willing to come and learn from us. When we just start, we should save money, right? Let's rent a small courtyard with two entrances and try it out. We will live in the backyard and use the front yard as the school. When we have more students in the future and there is not enough space, it won't be too late to find a new location and move to it."

Cao Gengyun felt that some money should not be saved too much: "If the school has just become famous, we have to move to another place, what will happen to the students who come to study after hearing the news? Since we want to run a school, it is better not to move around. We should find a place that is more permanent, preferably one that can be used safely for ten or twenty years."

Lu Bainian paused and said, "Although what you said makes sense, it's hard to find a place like this. Brother Hai also said that we should find a yard nearby so that we can take care of each other if something happens. But this place is close to Zhengyangmen Street, the house price is not cheap, and the landlord may be of great importance. If he wants to raise the rent, or take back the house for other purposes, we may be helpless..."

Cao Gengyun said disapprovingly: "We can always find a place. If this place is not suitable, we can just look for one further away. Brother Hai wants us to live closer so that his family can continue to take care of us, but we can also live on our own. We are so old now, and we have people to take care of us. Can't we live without the Hai family? Brother Hai has done so much for us over the years. I feel embarrassed to continue staying in his house and have him and his wife worry about my retirement..."

He glanced at Xie Wenzai and said, "Old Xie is Brother Hai's cousin, so that's fine, but you and I are both outsiders."

"Why are you saying these things? Who has treated you as outsiders all these years?" Xie Wenzai retorted, "If my cousin hears this, he will definitely be mad at you!"

Cao Gengyun smiled and changed the subject: "Let's continue discussing the school. I think it's easy to find a place, and a house in a remote area might be more spacious. The most important thing right now is whether we can recruit students. Otherwise, if no one comes to study, the school will be empty, and the three of us will be laughed at by our old friends!"