mtlumby2d Chapter 528 Rent Collection 2
Chapter 528 Rent Collection 2
Looking around, the couple kept the shop clean and tidy. They were diligent people. I asked with a smile, "How is business this year?"
The two were a little nervous.
The man replied cautiously, "It's... not bad... not bad. It's not great either. I can barely make a living. I can't compare to you, boss."
Zhou Guo turned around and was puzzled to see the two of them looking like they were facing a great enemy. After thinking for a while, he still couldn't figure it out. He was afraid that she was uncomfortable here, so he nodded and said, "Maybe the business will get better and better in the future. Okay, you guys go about your business. We have to go to the next place, so we won't bother you anymore."
"Ah?" The two men seemed to have not expected that they would leave as soon as they said they would, and hurriedly asked, "Why don't you sit for a while?"
Zhou Guo waved his hand, "No need, you guys go ahead and get busy."
She was still wondering as she walked along the road. She said to Zhou Su, "You said we are not a scourge or a monster. Why are you afraid of us? Just ask them. It's not like you are going to take back the shop..."
He paused here and said, "They must be afraid that I will raise the rent for them. Let me ask you, where will I raise the rent for them?"
Zhou Su looked at the white flour buns with meat on the street and couldn't move. He said to Zhou Guo, "Sister, look, steamed buns with meat, your favorite."
Zhou Guo saw that it was Roujiamo and said with a smile, "Are you hungry again? Wait a minute, after we collect the rent, we can slowly look for it and eat it on the street."
The big shop has become a grain shop.
"Li's Grain Shop."
Zhou Su said happily, "We are actually related to each other now."
Zhou Guo smiled and nodded.
The boss behind Li Ji is naturally not there, but the shopkeeper is there.
Zhou Guo did not show favoritism and also handed over two bags of snacks.
The shopkeeper accepted it with a smile, thanked her, and gave her the rent that he had prepared long ago. He then handed her a bag of peanuts and said, "Take it and eat it. It tastes delicious."
Zhou Guo also accepted it with a smile. This big shop had the best business. Since she came, there was always a constant stream of customers in the store. It seemed that selling grain was still very profitable.
After closing the shop, the two men went to the house again. The person who rented their house was a scholar. The scholar seemed to be in his thirties. This time he came to the city to rent a house because he wanted to prepare well for the next provincial examination.
Zhou Guo knocked on the door. A middle-aged woman with a slightly weathered face opened the door. When she saw her coming, she immediately smiled and said, "The boss is here. Come in and have a seat?"
The two of them went in and saw that the small yard was kept clean, which made them feel much better.
There are several children in the yard, big and small, boys and girls, and the family is quite prosperous.
There were two young women washing clothes and bedding by the well. At first glance, they looked like the daughters-in-law of the scholar, about sixteen or seventeen years old.
He is in his thirties, has a daughter-in-law, and will soon have a grandchild. He looks so young.
On second thought, Xu is not that old. Once the mourning period is over this year, she can arrange marriage for Zhou Gu and Zhou Xing next year.
They are both older.
Especially Zhou Gu, if he delays any further he will be twenty years old.
In the countryside, people this old have children running around, which means they are considered older young people. It would have been difficult to find a partner in previous years.
But things are different at home now. I guess by the beginning of next spring, the threshold of my house will be broken down by people.
With so many people around, Zhou Guo couldn't stay any longer, so he handed over the three packs of snacks in his hand. Since there were so many people in the family, he naturally bought one more pack. He smiled and said, "I brought these snacks especially for you. They're not expensive. Try them."
The woman took it and said, "Oh, how can I be so embarrassed? Look, you specially brought us some snacks. Well, please sit for a while. I'll have someone pour you a cup of tea."
Zhou Guo and Zhou Su sat down as instructed. After a while, a young lady of about eleven or twelve came up with a teapot and cups and poured a cup of hot tea for each of them.
Zhou Guo thanked him with a smile, picked up the cup and took a sip, then swallowed the tea foam in his mouth without making a sound.
The woman said generously, "Please forgive me. My family can't afford any good tea. Please just drink this. It will quench your thirst."
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "How could that be? This tea is already very good. In the early years, our family could only drink boiled water."
Zhou Su was indeed a little thirsty and drank several gulps.
The young lady saw it and smiled.
The woman smiled more sincerely. She apologized, turned around and went back into the house. After a while, she came out with a purse, handed it to Zhou Guo, and said with a smile: "If I had known that the young master would come in the next two days, I would have prepared it early."
Zhou Guo took it and saw her hands covered with calluses and cracks. People would believe that they were the hands of a woman in her sixties. How could they be the hands of a woman in her thirties?
The children's clothes were washed until they turned white. Although they were old, they were clean and tidy.
Thanks to the well in the yard, the rent here is not cheap, one string of coins a month, or twelve strings of coins a year.
The rent alone is a huge expense.
A kid about one or two years old walked over tremblingly, staring at the fragrant cakes on the table and drooling.
She waved to the little kid and reached into her purse to take out a handful of money.
Zhou Su was very perceptive. He pulled up the child's clothes and let the child hold them himself.
Zhou Guo put the money in his pocket and took out two handfuls in a row, estimating that there were more than a hundred coins.
The woman asked, "What is the boss doing?"
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just came here in a hurry and didn't prepare any gifts for the children. Just think of this money as New Year's money for them. It's not much, but it's a small token of my appreciation."
The woman sighed, "Thank you very much, Master. Your heart is just like you people. You are both very kind. You look good, and your heart is even better."
The two men said goodbye to the scholar's house and walked on the street without speaking for a while.
Zhou Guo thought about their days like this and thought that he had to count back a year. Before last year, when they had not started selling pine mushrooms, although the family had some savings at that time, they did not dare to spend it recklessly. After all, there were no other ways to make money on a daily basis. If they spent it, they were afraid that they would not be able to earn it back.
The family's meat was all brought back from the mountains by the old man, and the vegetables were all grown in their own vegetable garden. The most common items purchased on weekdays were cheap pastries and cloth, which were the ones bought when the family settled down, and later on were gifts from various shopkeepers.
I can't bear to buy anything else except books.
That is to say, after selling the pine mushrooms, they saw that there was more money at home, so they dared to spend money.
Precious fabrics, jewelry, all kinds of food and drinks, and now there are snacks in the house every day, with melon seeds, peanuts and dried fruits available at any time.
Even sea cucumbers and abalone were eaten in large quantities because of the shopkeepers' help. It was obvious that their family had only been established in the past year or so, so why did they feel pity when they saw the life of the scholar's family now? If they thought about it carefully, they might even be worse off than them.
They can still live in a courtyard that pays twelve strings of cash a year. They are really willing to spend money. Doesn't the Xu family lack money?
Suddenly, I felt that it was inappropriate to give such money. Wouldn’t people think that she looked down on them?
I shook my head and thought, since it’s been given to me, what else can I do?