The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 518 - 507: Reason (Happy Qixi Festival?)

Chapter 518: Chapter 507: Reason (Happy Qixi Festival?)

"Wasn’t the money put up by Eldest himself?"

"Indeed, but wasn’t it your mother and I who divided the money to everyone? The wool is still ultimately coming off of me and your mother!" Old Zhou was not foolish and said, "Your mother has already mentioned that once we gather the winter wheat at the beginning of the year and our grain stocks replenish, we’ll divide money again. Where am I supposed to find so much money for you to buy a shop?"

"Dad, if we buy a shop, we can do business or rent it out to collect rent."

"What kind of business can our family do?"

Zhou SiLang immediately said, "Eldest sister-in-law can sell food."

"Manbao just said she’d give your eldest sister-in-law to us, for which we don’t need to spend money on our end."

"..." Zhou SiLang, "Then we can still sell groceries."

"Didn’t we talk about this last year? Second Brother already said it’s better to sell the vegetables and such at a stand. Are you really going to spend over a hundred taels of silver just to buy a shop to sell groceries? Don’t you think that’s a terrible loss?" Old Zhou said, "Do you know how long it used to take our family to save up a hundred taels?"

"But our family’s situation is not the same as before. Even if we don’t run a shop, we can still rent it out."

"Two, how much does a shop in the county town cost per month?"

"It varies, depending on the location and size. For a good spot, two or three taels a month is possible; for a less desirable spot, you can rent it for around one tael or so."

"You see, Manbao, calculate for your Fourth Brother how much rent a two-tael shop can fetch in a year?"

"Twenty-four taels."

Old Zhou slapped his thigh, "So I’m saying there is really no need to buy that shop. Isn’t it just wasting money? Those meals don’t make much money, just a few pennies at a time. How many people would need to dine each day to earn back those hundred-plus taels?"

Zhou SiLang found himself at a loss for words. He always felt there was something off about his father’s accounting, but couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

Manbao also felt something was amiss. She thought about it and said, "Dad, a shop can be passed down just like land. Even if we just rent it out, the rent will pay for itself in seven or eight years."

"But if you invest your money, our family’s foundation is still thin. What if something urgent comes up and we need money?"

"Then we’ll sell it," Zhou SiLang said. "A shop in a good location won’t be hard to sell."

Old Zhou laughed, "So how about the location of Eldest Master Shi’s shop?"

"Good!"

Old Zhou, "Good, how much did you say his shop was worth before?"

Zhou SiLang, "...One hundred and eighty taels wouldn’t be a problem, and with a good buyer, maybe even two hundred taels is possible."

"So you see, he’s now selling it for only one hundred and twenty taels. Why?" Old Zhou said, slapping his thigh, "Because he urgently needs the money. What does ’urgently needing money’ mean? It means he’s despised for his urgency."

Old Zhou said, "With our family’s thin foundation and so many mouths to feed, to speak bluntly, what if we spend our entire savings on a shop today, and tomorrow something happens that requires emergency funds? If you try to sell it, will you be able to get the same price as before?"

Zhou SiLang was silent.

Old Zhou continued, "You all want to buy a shop, which is fine. We already have plenty of land for our family, including the little ones, to farm on. We don’t need to buy more land. But we need to wait until our family has saved up enough. When spending one or two hundred taels won’t touch our safety net, I will definitely buy it."

Still, Old Zhou couldn’t help but mutter, "What do we even need to buy a shop for..."

Ms.Qian cast a glance at him and then said to Zhou SiLang, "Listen to your father."

Zhou SiLang could only sigh, then asked, "Can Manbao still buy her own shop?"

Old Zhou actually wanted to object, but after a moment’s thought, he retracted his opposition and instead asked Manbao, "What did you go into the city for today?"

"To have some tasty food."

"How much money did it cost?"

"Not much, just over a hundred wen."

This hundred or so wen was actually spent by four people together.

Old Zhou was quite heartbroken and immediately said, "Buy it, if Manbao wants to buy, then buy."

Go ahead and buy it, after all, a daughter’s money won’t make it into my hands anyway. It’s better to buy a shop or land than to keep it and throw it around for fun.

Old Zhou asked, "Is the purchase for family use?"

Manbao shook her head, "It’s not for us, this is a present for my eldest sister-in-law. I want to open an eatery for her in the county town, Dad, you must not take her shop."

"I won’t take it, I won’t take it, I couldn’t care less about taking it, I don’t even know how to run an eatery." Old Zhou stood up, hands behind his back, then said to Junior Ms. Qian, whose eyes were red, "The family compound belongs to the eldest, you don’t know how to keep the books. Later, let Datou and Daya keep the books for you. After deducting the costs, fifty percent of the earnings must be contributed to the family."

Junior Ms.Qian quickly agreed, "I understand, Dad."

Old Zhou, satisfied, ambled out the door, "Alright, I won’t interfere with the rest. You youngsters sort it out among yourselves."

After Old Zhou left, Ms.Qian also stood up and said with a smile, "Manbao, let your Second Brother and Fourth Brother accompany you tomorrow, they are more knowledgeable in these external affairs than you.

With that, she too went back into her room.

Once the two elders departed, Junior Ms.Qian immediately hugged Manbao tightly, her face mixed with tears and laughter, and in a hushed voice said, "You little thing, how did you think to give such a gift to your sister-in-law?"

Manbao proudly puffed up her chest and said, "Eldest sister-in-law, I still want to give you so much more in the future."

Ms.Feng couldn’t help but feel jealous, "Little Auntie, we’ve been kind to you too, don’t you think about giving us anything?"

Manbao became troubled and said with a pained heart, "A shop is so expensive, Second Sister-in-law, if you really want one, it’s better to have Second Son and Erya buy it for you, otherwise, you’ll have to wait a long time for me..."

Ms.Feng was amused and poked her forehead, "You little ungrateful thing, after all the egg soup that I’ve made for you."

Manbao’s entire face turned bitter.

Second Son laughed heartily and said, "Mom, Little Auntie doesn’t like drinking egg soup, and you don’t make it as delicious as Eldest Aunt. Maybe that’s the reason Little Auntie isn’t buying for you, hahaha..."

Zhou ErLang looked at his son with sympathy.

Ms.Feng exploded with anger, rolled up her sleeves, and set about hitting him, "You haven’t stopped eating the food I cook, you never complained when eating, and now you have complaints..."

Junior Ms.Qian also broke into a smile, stroked Manbao’s head and said, "The shop is for your sister-in-law to manage, not for her to own. Tomorrow take the family’s household register and put it in your name, it can be your dowry when you get married."

Manbao shook her head, whispering, "I don’t want it, Eldest sister-in-law, if I want a shop in the future, I’ll buy one myself. This one is for you. I’ve told you before, I’d buy you a big house to live in. When I have money later on, I will buy that for you too. This time, I’m buying you a shop first."

Junior Ms.Qian couldn’t help whispering, "You should buy for Mom and Dad first."

Manbao waved her hand dismissively, "There’s no rush for Mom and Dad. They’re going to live with me later on, so naturally, when I buy my own place, they’ll have one too."

Zhou Dalang: "...Manbao, I’m the eldest son, Mom and Dad are going to live with me."

Manbao quickly responded, "I know, I know, Eldest Brother, you will definitely live with us. Otherwise, how would I eat the meals Eldest Sister-in-law cooks?"

Zhou ErLang immediately put his arm around Zhou Sanlang’s shoulder and said, "Third Brother, let’s go. Our youngest sister has basically forgotten about us."

Zhou Sanlang also got up, sighing heavily, "Let’s go, let’s all go, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, we’re all leaving."

Zhou Liulang: "I’m not going anywhere. Eldest Sister-in-law, once your shop is open, I’ll come help. Can you also sell stuffed buns? And maybe braised pork at noon and stuffed tofu for dinner..."

As he spoke, he started salivating.

Manbao also swallowed hard, rushing to add, "And stewed chicken. The freshly made braised fish is also delicious."

Zhou ErLang turned to Ms.Feng and said, "See why Manbao didn’t buy you a shop?"

Ms.Feng: ...