pampering wife

Chapter 20

After returning home, Mrs. Xu took Qingmei sister and brother to Chongrenfang, after a little inquiry, they easily found the gate of He Zimo's house.He Zilian opened the door and saw them, and after being stunned for a moment, she cheerfully called out: "Mother, come and see, who is here!" Saying hello to Mrs. Xu, and also to Xu Huaiyuan, she pulled Touching Qingmei's hand to ask for warmth, the circles of her eyes gradually turned red.

Qingmei was still in a joyful mood at first, seeing her like this, her nose was sour and her eyes watery for some reason, but she couldn't help being happy in her heart, she held He Zilian's hand tightly, and went inside to say hello to Mrs. He.

Once again, the two families moved successively, and both moved to the capital again. They lamented the magic of fate.After reminiscing about the old days, Mrs. He took them to inquire, and finally rented a courtyard diagonally opposite the He family. The distance between the two families was no more than a hundred steps.

Mrs. He also briefly introduced several neighbors to them. The family on the left is named Li, the couple with three children, and they are also renting.The family on the right is in business, and spent money to buy the courtyard, which is quite interestingly decorated.

Qingmei had already lamented the high prices in the capital when she was staying and eating yesterday, but now she was not so surprised when she heard the high rent of the courtyard——

The yard in Wancheng is located on the bustling Chang'an Avenue. There are shops in the front for business, a huge wine cellar in the backyard, and a living room and kitchen. The monthly rent is six taels of silver.Now the yard is not too close to the market. There are only a few small shops nearby, which only sell common snacks and fruits. There are three rooms in the yard, the kitchen is smaller than before, and the rent is five taels of silver!
After Qingmei paid the rent and sent He Zilian and her daughter away, Mrs. Xu sighed in the room: "At this price, our little savings can't bear the toss. Fortunately, we don't have to live here for too long."

"Mother, don't worry." Qingmei calculated the accounts cleverly, "Five taels per month, 60 taels a year. Find a college in Huaiyuan to study, two taels a month is enough, right? In addition to daily expenses, Even if the three of us live for a whole year, it’s only about 100 taels of silver. When we open a tavern and do a good job in business, won’t we just turn over?”

"It's not that easy, let alone go to Gu's mansion in October." Although Xu denied it, she felt relieved——

Plum Tavern has not been open in Wancheng for a short time. After saving for a few years, they still have more than 1000 taels of silver with them, which is not a lot. They want to open a tavern. But it will not be stretched.

Qingmei felt excited, and continued: "At this price, buying a shop may cost a lot. If I rent a shop facing the street, I'm afraid it will cost fifteen or six taels of silver per month, and if I hire two people to help, it will cost more than 200 taels a year. Two. Add in the money to buy wine jars and fruit..."

Mrs. Xu was listening, and interrupted her with a smile: "Be quiet, you have the idea of ​​opening a tavern before you meet Mrs. Gu? We just arrived in the capital, so let's settle down first."

"I understand." Qing Mei rubbed against Xu's side, "After a while, I'll go to various taverns in the capital to see how they sell wine, shall I? When we open the tavern later, I'll have an idea." She The eyeballs rolled around, but I was still a little worried after all, "I'm just afraid that my aunt won't allow me to open a tavern."

Although there is no distinction between scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen in Qi State, Mrs. Gu is in a high position. Regardless of whether her wedding dates counted or not, she would not like her to greet all kinds of guests in public, would she?

Although Qingmei didn't like Mrs. Gu, she was her mother's older sister after all. Xu said that the two sisters had a very close relationship back then, and Mrs. Gu treated Xu Zhu very well, so Qingmei couldn't easily disobey her wishes.At that time, even if Qingmei couldn't let go of her beloved and insisted on opening a tavern, she would probably have to hide in the backyard to make wine, and the business of paving the shop would have to be entrusted to others.

But if you can make wine, you will be very satisfied.Qingmei was apprehensive and looking forward to it.

Knowing her wish, Mrs. Xu could only comfort her: "Madam Gu is not an unreasonable person. She knew before that we opened a tavern, but she never said anything against it, so she doesn't mind too much."

After a while, He Zilian's mother and daughter came over and asked someone to bring some daily necessities over. They worked all afternoon, tidying up the courtyard, and took a rest in the courtyard after eating together.

Because Qingmei and the other three arrived in the capital for the first time, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was just a few days away, the three of them inevitably had to go to the streets to buy some odds and ends for spares, and got to know the neighbors around them.After a night's rest to regain her energy, Qing Mei couldn't wait to propose to visit the taverns in the capital.

Mrs. Xu laughed that she was in a hurry, but she was worried about letting Qingmei go alone, so she asked Xu Huaiyuan to accompany her. The siblings looked at the market in the tavern in the capital, and wandered around to buy something they wanted.

There are no less than hundreds of places selling liquor in the capital, and the siblings left Chongrenfang, which is Wuhe Street, which is the closest to their residence.This street is sandwiched between Chongrenfang and Tongyinfang. Because there are many merchants and foreign travelers from the northern region living in Tongyinfang, this street is also very lively. In addition to the common rice wine, there are also traditional wines from the northern region. There are no less than a dozen kinds of spirits and fine wines that come.

Qingmei tasted the ones she was interested in slowly, closed her eyes to savor the taste carefully, and felt someone pat her on the shoulder lightly when she was enjoying herself.

Opening his eyes in amazement, he saw an old man in his sixties, with a simple and exquisite wine gourd hanging from his waist, and a gray beard growing on his chin, squinting and smiling at her.Standing beside him was a tall girl, about 16 years old, looking at her with a smile.

The wine gourd is very familiar, and the old man's face... Qingmei smiled in surprise, and greeted sweetly: "Grandpa Wu!" Unexpectedly, I would meet this old alcoholic in the capital!
(End of this chapter)