On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 459 Picking up the bargains

Li Yan shook his head: "I haven't heard any news from there either."

After saying that, seeing Xiao Xiao's unhappy face, he continued, "Also in the clothing shops, most of the embroiderers came from charity halls."

"The Emperor mentioned this to me before. He said that the Empress and the Emperor said that if you work hard at the charity hall, you will be given the clothing store as a reward."

Xiao Xiao was delighted when she heard this and asked quickly, "Is the clothing store big?"

It is very difficult to buy a shop in the city now.

Among them, some were owned by noble families, and some were owned by merchants. Even if ordinary families had shops, they were either in poor locations or had strong backing.

Just like Xiao Xiao's parents' family, at the instigation of Xiao Xiao, they bought three shops with backyards. The house that could be used as a warehouse was used as a shop to sell seafood. Now the house price has tripled.

There is also Xiao Xiao’s seafood restaurant, which is also doing pretty good business now.

Even if someone coveted the Xiao family's big shop, when they knew that the three daughters of the Xiao family were all married better than the other, even if they had the idea of ​​robbing and murdering, they could only think about it in their hearts and would never dare to put it into action.

Xiao Xiao also wanted to find two more shops. She had not spent much money in the past two years. Even the silver she used to buy the mountain was a reward from the Queen Mother.

Adding the income from the Haiweilou and the two farms, as well as some of the money left from the reward from the Empress, she now has nearly ten thousand taels of silver in her hands.

This is really not a small amount of money. Even when Xiao Zhou got married, she had a ten-mile long red dowry. Now it is only more than one thousand taels of private silver in cash.

Of course, Xiao Zhou had many relatives and many social engagements, such as her aunt's birthday, her great-aunt's birthday, or the birth of a child or the marriage of her peers.

When Xiao Zhou got married, relatives and friends came to add to her dowry.

When Xiao Zhou gave birth to a child, others came to congratulate her.

These favors must be repaid.

Xiao Xiao knew what Xiao Zhou's dowry was for. Whether it was cloth or jewelry, it could be given away anyway.

She even suspected that it was possible for a piece of cloth to pass through several households and then return to the original gift giver.

But Xiao Xiao didn't have many contacts, so she had more money left over.

She would not deduct the money from the charity, nor did she add much into it.

The main reason was that they had previously extorted a sum of money from the Gu family, and the Queen Mother also donated a sum of money and some rice. The rest of the ladies, seeing that the Queen Mother took the lead, also followed suit and donated a lot of rice and flour.

Therefore, up to now, the charity not only has not suffered a loss, but has even had some surplus.

Xiao Xiao wanted to spend the money she had. She originally thought it would be more appropriate to buy a shop, but she didn't expect that she couldn't find a suitable shop.

Who would have thought that there is a ready-made shop now?

Unfortunately, Xiao Xiao had never been to a clothing shop before, so she didn't know how big it was.

Li Yan had been busy with Gu's family affairs these days, and he actually went to take a look: "The clothing store is a two-story shop with five rooms, and there is a large yard in the back with more than ten rooms and two warehouses."

"There are still sixty-eight embroiderers who left the charity hall, and more than ten who were purchased."

"Now the steward has been taken away for questioning. It will probably take a few days for the decree to arrive."

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but ask, "Will the rest of the people be scared?"

Those embroiderers are all her own people, so of course she wants them all to be well.

Otherwise, if she gets scared and falls ill, it will be her brother-in-law's Huichuntang that will suffer.

"Don't worry, I have someone guarding outside and comforting them." He was afraid that Xiao Xiao would rush him, and he only hated himself for being quick-witted, so he explained to her: "For such a matter, without an imperial decree, it is not good for us to intervene, otherwise it will appear that we are concerned about the Gu family's property."

He was also afraid of being suspected by others, thinking that they had been targeting the Gu family for a long time.

Although this is the truth, sometimes you still have to be a little hypocritical.

Xiao Xiao also understood: "I am not in a hurry. It is unexpected wealth. I am lucky to get it."

She had no ambition and thought that as long as she had enough money, she would just focus on doing business instead of thinking about buying a shop.

That is to say, it was in the days when we just escaped that we started to run around in the snack shop and soap beans in order to settle down.

Now I can get a garment shop for free, which is a great bargain.

Fortunately, the imperial edict came down the next day, and the deeds to the clothing shop, the purchased embroiderer, and all the fabrics were given to Xiao Xiao.

The reason given was that she shared the Empress's worries and worked hard after taking over the charity.

Ever since the masters of the Gu family were sent to the Ministry of Justice, many people have been eyeing the Gu family's assets.

Especially since this garment shop is in a good location and has a large area, plus there are so many embroiderers, to build such a business, one would need at least 50,000 taels of silver.

Now it was given to Xiao Xiao for free, and many people were jealous.

After receiving the order, Xiao Xiao hurriedly asked Mother Hu and Mother Yan to bring the guards over. This was to both calm people's hearts and to show their power, lest any restless people take the opportunity to cause trouble.

When Li Yan came back in the evening, Xiao Xiao asked him about the brothel: "Who will be handed over to that place?"

But she was afraid that he would misunderstand her: "I am not greedy, I don't want a brothel, I am just a little worried about those girls."

"That place is under the control of the Imperial Clan Court," Li Yan explained to her, "a place of fireworks, not only does it bring in a lot of income, but it is also convenient for gathering information. The Emperor will not grant it to his subjects."

"I've also heard that if they don't want to stay in a brothel, they will be given some money to find their own way out."

"Those who are willing to stay can keep some for themselves when they earn money in the future."

Xiao Xiao was very relieved: "At least they have a choice."

It was not until the eighth day of February that Xiao Xiao finished her double confinement period and was finally able to go out.

The Queen Mother also counted the days and ordered them to bring their children into the palace.

The Queen's belly was already showing, and seeing that they were in good spirits, she smiled and joked, "I haven't seen you for more than two months, you have become rounder."

Xiao Zhou touched her double chin and said a little depressedly: "I have lost a lot of weight. It's a good thing that my sister didn't see me a month ago."

Looking at Da Zhou again, he saw that she was still thin despite her belly showing signs of pregnancy, so he tactfully advised her, "Sister, you need to eat more. The child is more important at this time."

She mistakenly thought that her elder sister was dieting to maintain her figure.

When Da Zhou heard her sister's stupid words, she wanted to roll her eyes: "The palace affairs are complicated. Even if I want to rest and take care of my baby, I don't have the opportunity."

She is not a concubine who serves men for her beauty. Does she need to ignore her children for the sake of her body?
After that, he asked someone to bring the two children to him and said, "Look at my niece and nephew."

Both children were wrapped in thin red swaddling clothes. They were round, fair and tender, and looked really cute.

Especially Mrs. Zhou, although she is only 28 years old, she is considered an older mother here. She was the type who thought she would never give birth.

Even though she is pregnant now, she still loves babies.

After seeing it, I was very satisfied: "Both children are well raised."