The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 524 - 513: Don’t Worry (Extra - for the donation from ’Xiao Jia’)

Chapter 524: Chapter 513: Don’t Worry (Extra Chapter for the donation from ’Xiao Jia’)

"If my eldest brother made money outside and didn’t bring it home, but went straight to buying liquor and meat, when he got back, I bet he wouldn’t even be able to enter the door, not to mention what my dad would say, my sisters-in-law wouldn’t let them off the hook either."

Yang Heshu seemed to be deep in thought and after taking a sip of tea, he smiled and asked, "Have those three laborers in your family taken wives yet?"

The children were stupefied and shook their heads in unison, "We don’t know."

Yang Heshu then smiled and said, "Go back and ask, you’re the manor owners after all, even though it’s just a little manor, you should still care about whether your laborers have wives."

The three of them nodded, somewhat bewildered.

Yang Heshu went with them to take a glance at the store Manbao had bought. Before even reaching it, he narrowed his eyes, "This is a good spot. How did you manage to buy it?"

"I knew the previous owner, so he sold it to me."

Yang Heshu pondered for a moment and then said, "This seems to have belonged to the Shi Family."

"Yes, yes, it was Eldest Master Shi who sold it to me."

Yang Heshu smiled at her, "You seem to know quite a few people."

Manbao smiled sheepishly, "The county isn’t that big, and I’ve come here a lot, so naturally, I got to know people. Do you know him as well?"

Yang Heshu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, standing across the street from Zhou Family’s store, bustling with activity, and smiled, "As you said, the county isn’t that big. I’ve been here for almost two years, of course I know him. The Shi Family isn’t exactly obscure."

Yang Heshu’s smile faded slightly, "The Shi Family has fallen on hard times~~"

Bai Shanbao glanced at Manbao and then turned to him, asking, "Is it because of gambling?"

Yang Heshu nodded slightly and walked toward the store, saying, "Last autumn, the Shi Family’s old master passed away, and Shi Xiaoen began selling land and shops, it’s said he owed people a large sum of money."

Manbao felt quite unhappy and asked with a heavy heart, "Sir, why does the county allow gambling houses to exist?"

Yang Heshu looked down at Manbao, who was looking earnestly at him with eyes clear as glass. He averted his gaze and said indifferently, "The court doesn’t prohibit gambling, and even His Majesty enjoys cockfighting."

Manbao’s eyes widened in shock, "The Emperor gambles too? Isn’t he afraid of gambling away his entire fortune?"

Manbao immediately realized what she said was out of line and frowned, "Can the Emperor even gamble away his entire fortune?"

"It’s rather unlikely," Bai Shanbao said, "If he runs out of money, he can just ask us for it."

Manbao’s face soured, and Yang Heshu couldn’t help but chuckle as he patted her head, "You’re still young, you don’t have to worry about such things for now."

But Bai Shanbao, with a stern face, said, "When we grow up, we won’t have to worry about such things either."

Zhou Dalang had spotted County Magistrate Yang and hurried out to greet him, "County Magistrate, what brings you here?"

Yang Heshu revealed a smiling face and approached warmly, "I heard Manbao bought a shop in town, so I came to take a look."

The people of the Zhou Family welcomed Yang Heshu’s visit very much.

Of course, they were going to conduct business in the county, so it was natural to build a good relationship with the County Magistrate—who wouldn’t want a backer?

Zhou Dalang brought out some chairs found in the shop for them to sit, and Yang Heshu waved off the gesture with a smile. He walked around the main lobby on the ground floor and smiled, "This shop looks quite nice, when do you plan to open for business?"

Zhou Dalang replied, "We need a few more tables and chairs, some kitchen equipment as well, and it might take several days, so we’re thinking of opening after the third day of the New Year."

Yang Heshu nodded, "Good, send me an invitation on that day, and I’ll come to congratulate you."

Zhou Dalang was overjoyed and agreed repeatedly.

But Zhou ErLang and Zhou SiLang hadn’t come back yet, and it wasn’t until they had cleaned up inside and out and were about to close the shop and go home that the two returned, reeking of alcohol.

Zhou ErLang pulled out a document for them to see and laughed, "It’s all recorded, Four and I saw it with our own eyes."

Zhou Dalang asked, "Did it cost much?"

"It didn’t cost much," Zhou SiLang laughed, "We just spent a little over a hundred wen to treat him to a good meal."

Zhou Dalang then felt relieved and stowed the document and the deed away.

Curious, Manbao leaned in to take a look, but Zhou Dalang patted her on the head and said, "You’d better hurry home, your parents must be worried by now."

Manbao didn’t care anymore, the shop wasn’t hers anyway. Her eldest brother and sister-in-law would certainly take good care of it. She just looked forward to coming to town to eat something delicious when she had time, or asking her eldest brother to bring something back for her.

Manbao climbed into the ox cart and sat next to Bai Shanbao, discussing with him the matter of finding matches for the laborers, "I think we can’t let them find wives on their own anymore, it’s been two years and they still haven’t found anyone. I think we need to arrange some matchmaking for them."

"Wasn’t it you who said that they didn’t have money and that no one would marry them?"

"But it’s been two years, haven’t they saved up any money?" Manbao glared, "Just the other day we handed out big red envelopes for the New Year."

Bai Shanbao thought about it too, mainly because he found Yang Heshu’s suggestion odd and wanted to check it out himself. Why was the County Magistrate advising them to pay attention to the laborers’ marital affairs?

It turned out that when they got home and just broached the subject, Manor Head Bai bent over and said, "I was just about to discuss this with the young masters, the three laborers are all planning to get married."

Manbao spat out the water she was drinking and Bai Shanbao’s eyes widened, "All three of them are getting married?"

"Yes," Manor Head Bai said with a helpless gesture, "They informed me just the other night that they’re ready to get married and wanted to report it to the masters."

Manbao was flabbergasted, "It’s almost New Year, and they’re telling us now, will there even be time for a banquet? And what about the betrothal gifts, the house furniture, and all that?"

Manor Head Bai laughed, "Miss Man, they are marrying widows who have been married before, two of them even have children. They come from poor families, so they don’t care for all those formalities; there’s nothing like betrothal gifts or dowries. They’re bringing their bedding, planning to have a meal together, and then calling it a marriage."

Manbao and Bai Shanbao gaped in astonishment, having never seen anyone get married like this before. It took them a moment to come back to their senses before stammering, "They don’t even have a wedding ceremony or a feast?"

Manor Head Bai nodded, "I went there today, they’ve put up the ’Xi’ characters they cut out themselves on their windows and doors and plan to consider it a marriage after having a meal together when the brides arrive tomorrow."

"Fortunately, they already have houses, so they can live there once they’re married. But with more people in the manor, it’s up to you young masters to decide if we should hire them all or not."

Manbao asked, "Do they have land?"

Manor Head Bai shook his head with a laugh, "They are women, and they can’t take their husband’s land with them when they remarry, so how could they have land? However, two of them come with children, but the kids are still young. Even if they could inherit their father’s Yongye Fields, the Village they originally lived in took care of the cultivation..."

"Oh, they aren’t from Qili Village," Manbao recalled, scratching her head before looking at Bai Shanbao, "Let’s just keep them all here. Weren’t you complaining that the vegetables they grow are always cared for half-heartedly, and that the chickens aren’t raised well?"

"Of course, it’s not good," Bai Shanbao grumbled, "We’re raising over a hundred chickens, but we’re only getting a few more eggs than at your place. Fine, let’s keep them. We’ll give them the same wages as the other workers and tell them to do a good job. If they do, we’ll give them a raise next year."

Manor Head Bai immediately bowed and agreed.