11-20

Chapter 11 Spending Money (1)

Lin Mu planned to raise the price of the doll.

After witnessing the generosity of those noble men today, Lin Mu knew that a baby worth thirty cents a piece was nothing. As he put the money into the money box, he thought, it is not easy to make money from those noble men. They are Today is the first time I saw the doll I made. If I don't improve it, I may not make it again in the future.

Lin Mu took out a small paper book. It was a piece of paper he had cut and then threaded with threads. It was specially used for keeping accounts. His brother had taught him some simple words when he was a child, but there was no such thing as an older brother in a farmer's family. He also learned calligraphy, so he didn't want to keep it public, but it was more convenient for him to write his own account book.

Today, he sold fifteen dolls, used five kilograms of rags, and earned four hundred and twenty-five cents. It was almost the same as what he earned when selling shortbread cookies, but... Lin Mu remembered it and put down his hand. led, blew out the candles and went to bed.

Sigh... Lin Mu thought, shortbread cookies are hard to sell, it would be great if this business could last for a long time.

How can we do it for a long time? Lin Mu gently stroked Brother Le's slightly sleeping belly, thinking quietly in the darkness.

My thoughts fluctuated for a while.

Patterns are indispensable. The husband said today that the fabric was inferior. Indeed, all he bought were rags. If you want to do business with a wealthy family, you must choose some good materials and draw some patterns on the clothes. This is not difficult, Lin Mu thought. There is an embroidery lady whom I know well in the embroidery shop in the county. I have embroidered some handkerchiefs before and asked her to sell them. I just need to bother her to show me the clothes this time.

Lin Mu had an idea in his mind about making a living, and his mind wandered a little as he thought about it.

I don't know, what is he doing?

It's cold in Beijun, can you still stand it?

How are the medicinal materials selling?

Lin Mu frowned and pulled brother Xiao Le into his arms. He felt sorry for himself. Brother Tang Jiang was a kind person and had connections. He would definitely take good care of Shi Qing. Go to sleep, brother Xiao Le. He stood up, patted it gently, and fell into sleep himself.

As Lin Mu thought, Gu Shiqing was living a pretty good life, if it weren't for the zombie incident that made him a little anxious.

He stayed in Doctor Ge's hospital for ten days. Tang Jiang saw that he was busy, so he accepted a short-term escort mission from the escort agency. It was next door to Beifeng Mansion. Gu Shiqing told him to be careful on the road. Don't meet the living dead. Yes, Doctor Ge personally went to the escort agency to see the two brothers who were infected with the mad disease. Several people tied them to the bed so that Doctor Ge could feel their pulse. This was shocking!

Both of them have no pulse!

Gu Shiqing knew about zombies and knew that this thing had no pulse or heartbeat, so he was not surprised at all. But others didn't know this, and it frightened them so much that their faces turned pale, so Gu Shiqing pretended to be shocked.

Doctor Ge's face wrinkled up, "I have been practicing medicine for so many years, and I have never encountered such a scene. You can still walk without a pulse?"

He asked them about their eating situation, and was even more upset after knowing that they had not eaten for many days. startle!

"This! This can no longer be considered a human being!"

After Dr. Ge made this conclusion, the brothers in the surrounding escort agencies looked at each other even more. The wife of brother Qian Xing even looked pale and asked tremblingly: "Then... ...What is that..."

Doctor Ge kept his face solemn and said nothing after a while, "I'm afraid it's the living dead."

After hearing this, Mrs. Qian was frightened and fainted.

Doctor Ge didn't even mention that he gave her an injection to wake her up, but he said that the brothers in the escort agency were also more careful, for fear that something might happen during the escort trip.

The same is true for Tang Jiang. Zhi Geer is still at home alone. He is not very courageous, and because of his three older brothers and his parents who have grown old, he has a little brother like him. The family is pampered and brought up. After marrying him, the two of them The relationship has always been very good, how could he let something happen to him?

Therefore, he listened carefully to Gu Shiqing's instructions. Along the way, he saw that Gu Shiqing was also very determined, so there was no harm in listening to what he said.

Gu Shiqing didn't know what he was thinking, but seeing that he was the husband of his wife's best friend, and that he was a nice person, and the two of them got along well along the way, she said a few words to him.

Doctor Ge was still studying the ginseng sent by Gu Shiqing, and looking through medical books to see if the living dead could still be cured.

In the past ten days, Gu Shiqing had obtained all the seeds of the medicinal materials he wanted. He also copied all the useful medical books and put them in the space. He went through the medicine cabinets one by one and drew the shapes of the medicinal materials. Although he could not all Note it down, but it's also good to draw it down as a reference.

The issue of medicine is almost ready. Gu Shiqing thought that it is impossible to become a doctor all at once. Some reference books will do. In ancient times, medical conditions were poor, so we still have to pay attention to daily prevention.

What's next?

Let's not talk about where to live. Mumu's family has a house, and the village is vast and sparsely populated, which is better than Fucheng County. He plans to live in the village to ward off zombies, but the house at home still needs to be built stronger. We have to wait until we get back to Shangxi Village to talk about this.

Is there anything I can buy here? Gu Shiqing said goodbye to Doctor Ge and sat in the inn thinking about the next plan.

Now I still have a thousand taels of silver on hand, and I don't know when I will come to Beijun next time. Gu Shiqing thought that I could stock up on grain seeds, but there are similar ones in Dongjun, so it's not the main thing. Then buy some cattle and sheep. ?

Gu Shiqing's eyes suddenly lit up. Yes, the cattle and sheep in the north are pretty good. Let's go and see if there are any dairy cows. We can bring them back to boil milk for brother Xiao Le or make some dairy products. Excellent, secondly, let's see if there are any sheep or long-haired sheep, and take some back to see if the wool can be used to knit some warm clothes, and there are horses! He also thought that he had borrowed the Tangjiang Escort's carriage when he came to Beijun this time, and he still needed transportation at home. Although Hela didn't plan to go out, he just wanted to stock up on food and live at home, but in case something happened It doesn't matter if you have a carriage for anything, the fastest means of transportation in this era is the carriage.

After thinking about it, Gu Shiqing took action immediately. He first asked Doctor Ge's apprentice Zhang Baicao about the livestock market in Beifeng Mansion. Zhang Baicao had become quite familiar with him in the past few days and took the lead in person without saying a word. He went to the largest livestock market in Beifeng Mansion. Because the smell of livestock was strong, Fangshi was at the northernmost place on the outskirts of the city, so Zhang Baicao led him for almost two hours before arriving.

There is a fence surrounding the market, and a large dirt road in the middle. On both sides of the road are people selling livestock, some with sheds, and some just standing there with their livestock in the open air. The horses and cattle that Gu Shiqing wants There are all kinds of sheep and goats, but it's hard to choose. He has never been exposed to these before. He only knows how to eat slaughtered meat. How can he know how to choose?

Gu Shiqing looked around worriedly, looking quite energetic. Zhang Baicao said to him, "Don't worry, I'll guide you to find an acquaintance. He is the one who bought the horse in our medical clinic from him.

" Shi Qing cupped his hands and thanked him. It would be good to have someone to help him choose.

Zhang Baicao led him to an off-center shed and said, "Zhang Dalang, I'm bringing someone here to buy some livestock. You can help me choose."

Gu Shiqing looked over and saw Zhang Dalang coming out of the shed. Good guy! He's so big, he must be 1.9 meters tall! Gu Shiqing raised his head slightly and looked at the man who was smiling. He looked a little stupid. People really should not be judged by their appearance. Gu Shiqing complained silently.

He held his hand in greeting and explained his purpose of coming, "I want to pick some cattle and sheep. What can Dalang do?"

Zhang Dalang turned around and led four cattle and sheep, pointing at each one and introducing them, "Brother, the cattle and sheep here are all good. Look at this. These are the best cattle. They are hard-working and hard-working. They can be used for plowing the land." ," and pointed to the black and white cow next to him, "This is a cow. This thing is expensive. Rich people buy it just for milk. I don't have many here."

Not bad, Gu Shiqing secretly nodded, now the milk is there. .

Looking to the side again, Zhang Dalang continued: "These are curly sheep and long-haired sheep. The meat is fresh and tender, and the wool can be used to make clothes."

It turns out that the sheep here are called curly sheep. Gu Shiqing was satisfied. There were all the sheep, and he asked if there were any mutton sheep. Zhang Dalang brought out another mutton sheep, which looked a little smaller. Gu Shiqing understood that the mutton sheep here were smaller than the wool sheep.

So, he went to pick two more horses. They were not the strongest among the horses, but they were quite useful. Let's go to East County to talk about the donkeys. The horses from North County were mainly better, so these two were here. Among the horses, they are only considered to be of average appearance, but when it comes to Dongjun, they are considered to be top-notch.

After looking at all the livestock, Gu Shiqing said to Zhang Dalang: "Excuse me, I want one male, three females and four suckling cows, one male and one female, six long-haired sheep, and four curly sheep." , half male and half female. Let's get ten more lambs, four male and six female. Let's calculate the price."

"Why did you buy so many?" Zhang Baicao was surprised. This is a big deal. Zhang Dalang was also very excited.

Gu Shiqing laughed, "I was asked to take care of it."

Zhang Baicao didn't ask again.

Zhang Dalang led the cattle and sheep over and said, "Twenty-six livestock, plus two horses, a total of three hundred and twenty taels."

Good guy! Nearly one-third of the deposit has been lost! But he still had to bite the bullet and give it. Zhang Baicao interceded, and Gu Shiqing also proposed to send a total of people to serve the livestock to send these back. Zhang Dalang saw that he bought a lot, and finally agreed, taking the full three hundred Two days later, Gu Shiqing agreed with him to come over when it was time to leave, paid half of the deposit, and left with Zhang Baicao.

Gu Shiqing took Zhang Baicao back to the inn to treat him to dinner. He didn't know when Tang Jiang would come back. When he came back, the two of them could set off back to Shangxi Village.

He hadn't seen Mumu for more than ten days. After dinner, he lay on the kang in the room, stroking the peace charm given by Mumu. It had a navy blue background and golden silk thread. Every stitch was embroidered by Mumu himself. He kissed the peace charm, held it in his palm, raised the corners of his mouth, and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 12 Making Money (1)

Before going to bed, Lin Mu thought about asking Yunniang, the embroiderer in the county embroidery shop, to show him the fresh clothing patterns. No, when he got up early the next morning, he asked Aunt Wang to take care of Brother Xiaole and walked to Brother Zhi. His parents asked him to go with them, but he thought that he was not as pretty as Zhi Geer, so he had to trouble him to look at his clothes.

Zhi Ge'er's mother-in-law's brother helps take care of the several acres of land at home. Tang Jiang usually works as a escort and comes back to work together when the farming season is busy. He has nothing to do. He raises chickens and ducks like Lin Mu, and cleans the house. When Tang Jiang goes out, he often goes to his parents' house to eat and chat. His father, father, brother and sister-in-law are all very fond of him. There is nothing he doesn't want to do. He is usually better than The trees are still quiet.

Lin Mu was walking on the village road with Zhi Ge'er on his arm. Many village men had already gone to the fields with shovels on their shoulders. There were also aunts and husbands washing clothes by the river. It was almost April and the river water was still cold, but some were reluctant to waste time. People who burn hot water with wood have begun to use river water to wash clothes.

I saw the two of them walking towards the county. They took off their big sweater clothes and looked even more upright, especially Zhi Geer, who still looked like a little brother after being married for three years.

Aunt Liu and the people next door to Lin Mu's house murmured to each other: "What a good life. If you can wander around the county without doing any work in broad daylight, what kind of business can a brother Lin Mu do in public?"

"That's right!" Aunt Zhao from the east end of the village agreed.

She is also a talkative, and she likes to comment on the villagers with Aunt Liu.

Another Mr. Huang, who got married in the same year as Zhi Geer, said, "Lin Zhi is also the same. He is away from home all day long. He has not given birth to a baby for the Tang family for three years. I don't know how the Tang family man can bear it!"

His sister-in-law said. He curled his lips to hide the envy in his heart, "What can I do? Where are my three brothers, can you beat them?"

Lin Mu didn't know that someone was gossiping about him and Zhi Geer?

Brother Zhi has been used to being talked about since he was a child. The other boys are all ordered to do this and that by their families. Only Brother Zhi is pampered by his family. Many brothers in the village can't stand it and talk about him behind his back. Lin Mu is not like this. , so the two of them became good friends.

As for Lin Mu, the situation was much more complicated. When he was a child, his parents died, and many people said that he was pitiful. Later, his brother became a scholar and married his sister-in-law, and some people said that he was not welcomed by his sister-in-law. When his brother also left, he One person took Brother Xiao Le, and some people said he was pitiful, and said that he was stubborn and refused to send Brother Xiao Le away, so he would definitely be miserable in the future; when he finished the shortbread business, there were still people With red eyes, he made sarcastic remarks about one of his brothers doing business in public, but he ignored them. In the past, there were people who talked in front of him, but he spat back. Now that he is older and taller than the average guy, those people can only talk behind his back.

Sometimes Lin Mu couldn't understand why he liked to talk around him so much. He was just living like an ordinary villager.

The sun showed half a smile in the sky, and with the chilly wind blowing, Lin Mu and his wife also arrived at the county.

Lin Mu and Zhi Geer were waiting by the small door of the backyard of Xiufang. He had just asked an aunt who went in to clean up to deliver a message to him.

After a while, Yun Niang came out gracefully. She was a beauty and a good embroiderer. She was just in her early thirties this year.

Lin Mu smiled and handed over the two boxes of cakes he had just bought: "Sister Yun, I have something to ask you for help this time."

Yun Niang took the cakes gently: "Tell me."

Lin Mu explained to her the purpose of her visit, and Yun Niang He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and said with a smile: "What do I think it's? What's the problem? If you come over to look at the clothes, will they drive you away?"

Lin Mu was a little embarrassed, "If you don't buy it, just look at it, it's not because you're afraid The embroidery workshop won't let you

go." Yun Niang waved her hand, "It's okay, you can go and see it, I just want to say thank you."

Yun Niang nodded and went back.

Lin Mu also took Brother Zhi back to the gate and entered the embroidery workshop. Perhaps because of Yun Niang, as soon as they entered, a young man came over and asked if there was anyone named Lin Mu. Lin Mu should be, that young man was familiar with the family. He led them to an inner room with familiarity and introduced them: "Here are my husband's ready-made clothes. Please take a look. I will serve you in this room." He stood on tiptoe again and faced the forest. He whispered in his ear: "Someone is watching the man and the girl right now. If you two are watching here, tell me. When no one is around at noon, I will take you there."

Lin Mu responded with a smile and reached out to touch the little brother's hand . He turned his head, counted five cents from his wallet and stuffed it into his hand.

The little boy looked like he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and he was very lively. He smiled and stuffed a few coins into his coat pocket, and stood aside to wait.

Lin Mu turned to look at the inner room. It was a large room with a door to the west that led to other rooms. A young man was leading two husbands out. It should be a place for measuring. Lin Mu guessed. He looked to the east and north again, and there were two rows of large cabinets. Inside the cabinets were layers of clothes. There was a painting hanging in front of the cabinets, showing what the clothes looked like. To the east was the little brother's. , the one in the north belongs to the married man, but there is not much difference, but the color of the younger brother is brighter. Turning around again, there were two rows of small cabinets next to the door, with accessories hung on ropes, such as purses, hairbands, pom-poms, and the like.

Brother Zhi had already walked to the cabinet and looked carefully, beckoning Lin Mu to hurry over. Lin Mu also walked to the north cabinet, stared at the painting, and touched the material of the clothes. Yes, it was good material. Lin Mu nodded, maybe it was getting warmer. There were only one or two big sweater clothes here, and not many thick jackets. There were several thin jackets in different colors and styles, among which there was a green satin one, which felt good to the touch. It was smooth, soft, and shiny, and there was a plush edge on the cuffs and neckline. Lin Mu thought it was good, and Zhi Geer was also satisfied. Looking at the clothes underneath, there is nothing new about the pants, but they are a little different in material and color. There is a skirt that has the same fluffy edge as the jacket just now, and there is also a skirt with a larger hem than what I usually wear. It looks like a flower.

Brother Zhi whispered to Lin Mu quietly, "Mumu, I don't think it's very novel. It can't compare with the patterns I saw in Fucheng before."

Lin Mu nodded. Indeed, the clothes in the embroidery shop in the county were not as good as he imagined.

He squeezed Brother Zhi's hand and said, "Let's take a look at those later."

The two of them stayed until noon, and the little brother really led them to see men's and women's ready-made clothes. There was nothing new about men's clothes. , but the girl's was pretty good. After looking at it, Lin Mu and the two bought several feet of satin fabrics of different colors in the embroidery workshop, and some white, blue and pink plush strips that had been knitted by the embroidery workshop, but they couldn't go there. They bought the best cotton fabrics from a distant cloth store. With these things, Lin and Mu ate a bowl of mutton noodle soup at a street stall together.

"Good guy!" Brother Zhi sat at the stall and counted on his fingers, "This satin fabric is much more expensive than cotton fabric."

"Of course," Lin Mu pointed to the material at hand, "Just look at it. You'll know how bright it is."

Brother Zhi nodded, "Yes."

In the afternoon, they didn't go around for a while before returning to the village. Anyway, there would be more opportunities to sell dolls to the county.

Seeing them carrying large and small bags, Aunt Liu started talking behind her back again, but Lin Mu had no time to pay attention to her. He had to think about making dolls. Lin Mu found his accounting book and wrote and drew in it. He doesn't have any painting skills, but as long as he can understand the meaning, it will be fine.

Lin Mu frowned, as for the girl doll, use satin fabric to make a jacket with pink velvet edges, and wear a flower-like skirt underneath. This is the most cost-intensive, time-consuming, and most expensive; and then use cotton fabric. Make a long skirt and a jacket and trousers, these two are more common; for the brother doll, use blue velvet to make it, and for the boy doll, use white velvet to make a long gown, which means a scholar. Finally, add different accessories to them. For example, you can embroider a circle with gold thread to make a bracelet. You still have the gold thread from last time. Cut a piece of velvet and make it into a ball. Make a small pom-pom to hang on it. The ends of the hair are also okay.

Lin Mu made up his mind and looked satisfied. He closed the account book happily and went to Shi Qing's house to make dolls tomorrow!

The next day, Lin Mu brought the materials to Gu Shiqing's house. The scissors and other things used last time were still there, so there was no need to take them.

Brother Xiao Le also came with his nest of little rabbits. The sound of Lin Mu stepping on the sewing machine "clang, clang, clang, clang" shocked Brother Xiao Le. He stopped playing with the rabbits and just stood there. Watching Lin Mu making dolls with wide eyes.

Lin Mu first sewed the body of the little doll with rags, then cut out materials of different colors, and took them to the sewing machine one by one to make clothes according to the size of the little doll. Brother Xiao Le watched with interest.

Lin Mu looked amused and said, "Go and play. When this is done, uncle will also do it for Lele.

" "Really?" Brother Lele's eyes lit up.

"Yes, when did uncle lie to you?" Lin Mu kissed brother Xiao Le's little fleshy hand.

Brother Xiaole pursed his lips and kissed Lin Mu on the face, "Love uncle! Love uncle!"

Lin Mu also smiled, stared at the finished doll and touched it. The material was better, but it felt different. I really hope the business can be done.

Save some money, then you can think about getting married when he comes back, Lin Mu thought longingly, blushing with shame as he thought about it.

Gu Shiqing was also thinking about getting married. He had already set off from Beifeng Mansion and went to Zhang Dalang early in the morning to pay the remaining silver and take the purchased livestock with him. Zhang Dalang arranged for a man named Zhang Follow him and serve the livestock along the way. He and Tang Jiang were riding in a carriage in front, and the man behind was driving livestock. Going back was much slower than when he came, but there was nothing he could do. These animals had to take a walk and rest, so he could only be patient and take advantage of this opportunity to figure out what to stock up next.

Chapter 13 Making Money (2)

Lin Mu got up early this morning and made a doll two days ago. Today he made an appointment with Brother Zhi to go to the county.

This time the fabric was expensive, so we made fewer dolls, and there was no need to sell shortcakes. Lin Mu didn't drive the donkey cart, so he fed the donkey with fodder, wrapped the dolls in cloth and put them in a basket, and went out with a big basket on his back. .

It was still early and a bit foggy, but when Lin Mu and the two arrived at the county, there were already many people on the West Street, selling food and gadgets. It was very lively. The embroidery shop was not open yet, but that was not the case. Lin Mu paid 20 coins, which was the rent for setting up the stall for one day. He put down his backpack at the entrance of the embroidery workshop and took out a mat to place it on the ground. This mat was specially sewn by Lin Mu. It was not big and was just right for him to bring with him this time. of ten dolls.

He thought that the material used for the doll was good and it was the only one, so the price would be higher. He didn't expect how many he could sell. A few would be enough to subsidize him, so he didn't put too many cushions.

He also carried two small wooden stools, put them down, and sat with Zhi Geer one by one, watching the people coming and going and chatting while waiting for business.

The shop selling pancakes opposite was the best, and there was a queue of more than a dozen people.

Well, there are a few police officers in public uniforms eating mutton buns over there, and the aroma wafts to them.

Brother Zhi sniffed.

There were also some men in thinly dressed laborers carrying big white steamed buns and eating them while walking. They seemed to be on their way to work.

Lin Mu stared at the crowd.

Husbands and aunts also started to go out to buy. The ones over there wearing the same clothes seemed to be servants of a wealthy family.

Brother Zhi pushed Lin Mu's arm, "Why do you feel like you're here early today?"

Lin Mu nodded, yes, most of the people walking on the road now are men working or husbands going out for shopping. It seems that they want to be rich. This girl's business will have to wait a while longer.

Zhi Ge'er looked at the fresh energy and felt a little sleepy as he rubbed his eyes. Lin Mu picked up his big sweater to cover him and hugged him slightly, "Get some sleep, no one is coming." "

Just as he was talking, a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old ran over, fully dressed, and asked Lin Mu: "But who was selling dolls here a few days ago?"

"Exactly, boy, let's see if there is anything. Like it?" Lin Mu pointed at the doll and introduced it to the little brother.

"You are too slow to make dolls. After so many days, you are so little. Do you know that my young master is waiting anxiously?" The young man looked impatient and waved his hand without even looking. "Brother, I want all the dolls!"

Brother Zhi was awakened! All of them? !

Lin Mu was also a little surprised. He kept his face steady and said with a smile: "This time the doll is made of better materials than last time, and it is more expensive, fifty cents each."

The little guy muttered, "Fifty cents is nothing." He neatly took out a tael of silver and handed it to Lin Mu, "No need to look for it." He still made a profit. The young master gave him five taels of silver and asked him to find the dolls. He bought four of them for one tael of silver and looked at them. It looked good last time, I will definitely reward you when I go back! He took the four brother dolls and was about to leave. Lin Mu and Zhi Geer looked at each other. It should be said that they were from a wealthy family!

"The servants of wealthy families are so bold in taking action!" Zhi Geer sighed.

Lin Mu put the money into his pocket.

"Yuzhu! Yuzhu!" The little brother had just walked a few steps when he was stopped by a little brother of about the same age. The two of them came to the forest stall, dragging each other, and the little brother who came later had an angry look on his face. "Did you sell all my brother's dolls to him?"

Lin Mu nodded. The little brother glared at the little brother who came first, "Yuzhu! You are faster this time!"

Yuzhu chuckled, "Yuxin, how will your young master punish you?"

Yuxin curled her lips, " Our young master is the most gentle and amiable person, why would you be punished? Do you think everyone is as cruel as your young master?"

Yuzhu blushed and cursed: "A dog can't spit out ivory. !"

Yu Xin snorted and walked closer to the stall and looked at the doll lying on the mat. Lin Mu pretended not to have seen the lawsuit between the two of them just now. They both looked familiar and he didn't mind anyone's quarrels.

Yuxin pointed at the dolls, "I want four girls' dolls!"

He asked again: "Thirty cents for one, right?"

Lin Mu was about to explain, when Yuzhu came over and said, "How old is thirty cents? Why don't you listen, now it's four and a tael of silver, you can't afford it, right?"

Yu Xin couldn't believe it, "My son can't afford it, and we can't afford it even if your family can't afford it! "

As he said this, he took out two taels of silver and looked at Yuzhu with a proud smile. "Here you go!" He handed the silver to Lin Mu.

Lin Mu: ...Why do you feel that selling dolls today relies on the grudges of these two guys?

Brother Zhi tugged at Lin Mu's sleeve, "Just take it when I give it to you."

Oh! Lin Mu came to his senses and took the money.

Brother Yuxin complained again: "Don't you have a shop? I've been here every day these days, and I'm tired of looking at it! I'm afraid someone will beat me to it!"

Yuzhu raised the doll in his hand, "I still beat him to it! Let's go!"

Yu Xin: Fortunately, I didn't grab the brother's doll, so I can go back to work if I can buy the girl's doll.

"Let's go, let's go." He said, pulling Yuzhu along with him.

Lin Mu was stunned. Do you still want to snatch his doll?

"Please wait a moment, little brother." Lin Mu stopped the two of them with a smile, "When you said grabbing, do you mean there are other people who want to buy my doll?"

"Yes." Yu Xin turned her head. Come on, eyes wide open, "You don't know that someone wants to buy your doll, right?"

Yuzhu should be the same, and with his fingers, there are girls from the Qian family, young masters from the Zhao family, young masters from the Wang family, there are many in the county All the young ladies in the family want this doll, and their own young master also wants it. Unfortunately, only one young master among the young ladies he has good friends with has it, but his young master is so greedy that he comes to keep an eye on it every day. , but looking at these two stupid people, they don't even know? I don't know how this doll caught the eye of so many young men and young ladies?

Lin Mu... Lin Mu really didn't know. He was worried that the price of the doll would be too high and he wouldn't be able to sell it? Who knew these gentlemen and young ladies didn't care about this?

He walked up to the two little brothers and asked, "I would like to ask you two to think about it. Did the young master at home say that I am not satisfied with this doll?"

Lin Mu wanted to ask them what they thought, so that he could try to improve it in the next step.

Yuxin stuffed a piece of pastry into her mouth, "No, our young master wants it very much!" He chewed the pastry and patted his head, "Oh! Our young master thinks you don't make enough, and you don't have a shop. Buy it." It's not convenient to get up."

He pointed at the doll in his hand and said disgustedly: "It's just a doll like this, and it's not wrapped properly. We have to find something else to pack it when we give it away."

Huh? Lin Mu never thought that his doll would be given away.

Yuzhu also echoed: "That's right! Our young master likes red the most, and you don't even have any red dolls!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Lin Mu... Lin Mu really didn't expect them to have so many ideas, so he could only smile: "Thank you both. If you still want to come and buy, I will be here these mornings!"

The two little brothers nodded and left with the baby.

Yu Xin returned to Sun's house and ran to their young master's house happily, "Young Master! I bought a doll!"

Mr. Sun had just gotten up and was dressing up, instructing the little brother who was serving him to do it on his head. After tying the hair tie, he got excited and stood up, ignoring his loose hair, "Come and take a look at it!"

He took the doll, and as expected he couldn't put it down and stroked them one by one, "It's really well done." He praised. , and then showed it to the boys, "Look, is it the same as the clothes we wore? It looks more similar than the last time!"

The boys behind him naturally echoed in admiration.

Mr. Sun was even more happy after hearing this. He had a round face and round eyes, but he was just a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old. He smiled so hard that his eyes were crooked, "I rewarded him with ten taels of silver. Yu Xin did a good job. "

Yu Xin couldn't help but thank her, and said aggrievedly: "It's a pity that I only bought the girl's doll this time, and the four brothers' dolls were taken over by Yuzhu!"

Mr. Sun suppressed his smile and said lightly. : "He always likes to be the first in everything. It's good that you can grab it from him!"

Yuxin claimed the credit, "The younger one has already persuaded the doll seller to open a shop. The young master will have as many dolls as he wants in the future. !"

"Hahaha!" Mr. Sun couldn't help but laugh. Looking at Yu Xin's confused look, he pointed at him and said to the other boys, "You idiot, if you open a shop, everyone can buy it." , I hope he just sells it for a small amount like this!"

The other brothers then persuaded Young Master Sun to forgive Yu Xin for doing bad things out of good intentions. Young Master Sun was not upset, he just talked and laughed, and carried the baby to the young master he had made friends with. Looked.

Lin Mu's other two boys' dolls were also sold out. Through the performance of those two boys, he really had a sense of the popularity of his dolls.

No, I went shopping for fabrics with Brother Zhi again. This time I bought more generously than last time. Last time I only estimated that I bought about a dozen dolls, but this time I bought dozens, bringing fabrics with me. Returned to the village with Zhi Geer.

Lin Mu started to get busy again. After finishing home work in the afternoon and evening, he made time to make dolls. He also made dolls for a while when he got up in the morning. Guessing that it was almost time, he asked Brother Zhi to go to the county with him. A few days later, they were here. News of the doll sale spread, and now there are boys and girls waiting there before they arrive.

After they were ready to be sold, Lin Mu discussed with Zhi Geer that he would not go to the county in the morning, but only Zhi Geer would go there, and he would stay at home to make dolls. There was no other way, as what he was making now was not enough to sell! He thought about giving Zhi Ge'er ten cents for each doll he sold, but Zhi Ge'er refused and told Lin Mu that he didn't regard him as a friend. Lin Mu just wanted to do this first and give Brother Zhi a big red envelope in a few days. Now he can make five or six a day, but demand still exceeds supply.

At this time, what the young man said about opening a shop came to Lin Mu's mind. Lin Mu thought, how about renting a shop and opening it for a few months to see how it goes?

Chapter 14 Meeting

Lin Mu is planning to open a shop. The baby is fifty cents a piece. Now he can earn several hundred cents a day according to the rules. Originally, he did not have the capital to open a shop. After all, not to mention buying a shop, even renting a shop would cost a lot of rent. But he couldn't bear the looseness of the boys and girls from the wealthy families. Fifty cents was nothing to them. Many of them gave away half a tael or a tael. Lin Mu actually saved less than ten cents. Two silver coins.

At noon, he discussed this matter with Zhi Ge'er who came back from the county. Zhi Ge'er immediately agreed, "Okay, that's great, Mu Mu. If you don't have enough money, tell me and I'll give it to you!"

Lin Mu had no plans. He borrowed money from Brother Zhi, rented a small shop and opened it for a few months, and it was enough that he lost all the money he had. What he wanted to do was to form a partnership with Brother Zhi.

"I have money, but I also want you to contribute some money to join the gang. How about it?" Lin Mu said to Zhi Geer expectantly.

"Join the gang? How is that possible?" Brother Zhi waved his hands anxiously, "I'm not good at embroidery. You're the one making the dolls. If I join the gang, doesn't it mean that I'm taking advantage of you?"

"That's not the case," Lin Mu pulled him. Brother Zhi sat on the stool and patted his back comfortingly.

"Think about it, even if I open a shop, I will still make dolls in the village." Gu Shiqing had asked him not to show his sewing machine in front of others. He was afraid that he would not be able to tell the truth when he met someone who knew how to do it. Lin Mu naturally agreed, so It is not easy to move the sewing machine to the county.

"I'm not busy hiring people at the beginning. I just want you to look after the shop."

"Yes, of course I will watch over you. You can just make dolls with peace of mind."

"Yes, but opening a shop is not just a short period of time. " It's going to be a long time," Lin Mu said deliberately, "If you don't join the team, then I will take advantage of you?"

"I don't mean that!" Zhi Geer said anxiously.

Lin Mu hurriedly appeased him and persuaded Brother Zhi. The two agreed that 70% of the investment would be counted as joining the team, and they would invest half of the investment in opening the shop. Lin Mu's hard work in making the doll would only count as 40%.

Not only that, Lin Mu also discussed with Zhi Geer how to improve the way of making dolls. He thought about it in the past few days and figured out some tricks.

He had already memorized the fixed dimensions of the doll's clothes, and made a pattern for each one. Zhi Geer's embroidery was average, but it was no problem to cut it according to the pattern. He planned to let Zhi Geer cut the fabric according to the pattern. Then use a darning machine to sew clothes so you can make more in a day.

Also, the little body of the doll can also be given to Zhi Geer. He will leave one side open as shown, let Zhi Geer stuff the rags in, and then sew it up himself, and it will be just right.

Lin Mu told his idea to Zhi Geer, who was persuaded by him and was unhappy about joining the gang. He was very happy when he heard this. He was not good at embroidery on his own, and now he was very happy to be able to help Mumu.

Having settled the matter, the two of them went to the county with money in hand the next day. They came here often during this period. The two of them were almost familiar with each other on West Street. They found a dental shop on West Street and explained their purpose of coming. , and immediately one of the middlemen laughed, "It's a coincidence that you two are here, there is a similar house, I will take you there right now!"

Lin Mu took Zhi Geer and followed the middleman to see, he thought He and Zhi Ge'er don't need a big place to sell dolls. After all, the dolls don't take up much space. A small frontage is enough. There is no need for people to live in the back. They both have to go back to the village to live at night. He also If you want to go to Gu Shiqing's house, you can't let Zhi Geer live alone in the county at night. He thought it would be difficult to find such a small shop.

Just as they were thinking about it, the middle-aged man pointed it out to them, "Here we are, this is it."

Lin Mu saw that it was indeed a small shop, with two small food shops next to it. The shop had only two doors in front, just as he requested. , the door is dusty to the touch, and it looks like it hasn't been taken care of for a long time. It doesn't matter, just wipe it.

The lock hanging on the door was quite big. The man took out a bunch of keys and fumbled for a long time before opening the door. He said sheepishly: "No one has been interested in this shop for a long time. I've been waiting for a long time."

Lin Mu nodded and pulled Zhi Zhi. When my brother walked in, he could see the bottom at a glance. It was long and square, and it was really not big. It was not as big as a side room in his house, but it didn't look cramped either. The shop faces the street, and the sun shines in from the outside. It is very bright. There is a table and four benches in the shop. There is also a large cabinet and a small cabinet standing at the door. Lin Mu opens the cabinet door. The wood is all good, not rotten, and can still be used. Put something. He already has an idea in his mind. When the time comes, a small cabinet will stand at the door, and people will stand behind the cabinet to welcome guests. In the large cabinet, dolls will be placed on the upper two shelves for everyone to look at, and inventory will be placed in places below that cannot be seen. .

Lin Mu was satisfied, this was just right for them. He looked at Brother Zhi, who nodded and seemed satisfied, so he asked the man how much money he earned per month.

The middleman was also honest and said, "I won't hide it from you two. This shop is really difficult to rent. Look at this street. There is no one to live behind such a big shop. Who is willing to rent it?"

"You two are sincere. If you want to rent, just consider one tael of silver a month. "

One tael of silver?" Renting a shop on West Street for a tael of silver is really not expensive. Lin Mu knew that if he wanted to open a shop on West Street in a good location, he would probably not be able to find anything else but this one for a tael of silver.

Brother Zhi also thinks it's okay, after all, he sometimes meets generous brothers and girls who buy dolls and give them to them with just a tael of silver.

Lin Mu then asked him how many months the rent would be, and the man said that the rent would start from three months, and the money would be paid together. Lin Mu also agreed. He thought he would spend more money renting the shop today, but he actually brought a lot.

The three of them signed the deed immediately. Lin Mu handed the middleman three taels of silver and one hundred and fifty as middle fee. He accepted it with a smile. Lin Mu asked him to find someone to clean the place and put some paint on the big cabinet. Big Suo, he also agreed, and even offered to make a plaque for their shop to hang up. Of course Lin Mu and the two agreed, and they were also going to do it. However, they thought about the name of the shop for a long time, and finally Lin Mu made the decision, "Let's call it the Lin Family." Shop! It just so happens that both of us are named Lin." The two looked at each other and smiled.

Lin Mu and Zhi Geer went to buy another batch of fabrics, and then took care of the people who often came to buy at the entrance of the embroidery shop. After three days, they went to Lin's shop on West Street, pointed to them, and then returned to the village.

Those boys and girls are naturally happy. They have opened a shop and can go directly to buy something if they want. It is more convenient than waiting around here.

Lin Mu and Brother Zhi returned to the village to work harder. Even Brother Xiaole knew that they were busy with business and came to help.

"Put this one here, put that color there." Brother Xiaole held the clothes in his little fleshy hands and put them into categories. Pants were put together, jackets were put together, and they were separated according to color.

Seeing that Brother Zhi was happy, he put down the scissors and stepped forward to hug and kiss him, "Lele is so smart!"

Brother Zhi stretched out his hand to scratch his head and puffed up his chest without being ashamed at all, "Lele! Amazing!" " He stretched out his thumb and shook it, and then saw Zhi Geer holding a pair of big scissors that was bigger than his face. He also shook his thumb at Zhi Geer, "Pretty uncle, you're awesome!" If that wasn't enough, he ran to Lin Mu. Go, he was now accustomed to the sound of the sewing machine, and continued: "Mumu! The most powerful!"

Lin Mu smiled softly and stretched out his hand to rub his little fleshy face.

Three days passed in a flash. Today was the first day that Lin's shop was open. It was the first time for the two of them to open a shop, so they didn't bring Brother Xiaole to the county. Lin Mu made twenty dolls this time. The difference from before was that the clothes of these dolls were not sewn on the body, but could be changed. The twenty dolls only had the most common clothes nowadays. He himself The nice-looking new ones that I thought about were all made separately and put aside. I made ten jackets of different colors. The ones with plush edges were particularly popular. I also made a few more pieces, as well as some skirts. He even made a plush hat for the coat, a small one that looks even cuter on the little doll.

It was still early when Lin Mu arrived. They opened the shop and it was indeed tidy. The cabinets were moved as they said. They put the dolls in the big cabinet. Lin Mu went to the door of the shop and set off a bunch of small firecrackers. They didn't want to make any publicity. , it's enough to just listen to it.

Next, it's just a matter of standing and waiting for customers to come to your door!

Fortunately, they didn't wait long before the guests came. Lin Mu introduced them to his newly made doll clothes with a smile. When he heard that he could change the clothes for the baby by himself, the boys and girls became even more interested. One by one Pick what they want.

The familiar Yuzhu also came, and he was still so generous. He pointed directly at the dolls on the cabinet and said: This, that, these dolls are wearing clothes, no matter whether they are tops or bottoms, I will wear one. They have different colors. Want one. Lin Mu agreed happily .

It was good to open his own business and meet such generous customers. He also gave Yuzhu a plush hat and handed it to Yuzhu with a smile on his face, "I bought more than ten taels of silver." We will give you a little hat. "

Yuzhu held the little hat carefully and looked around with a proud expression. Hum, only their young master has it!

On the first day Lin Mu opened the shop, Gu Shiqing also arrived. He and Tang Jiang returned the carriage to the escort agency and paid After collecting some money, they went back to Shangxi Village together. They had no choice but to go back and settle down as there were some livestock behind them.

As they walked through the West Street in a swaggering way, Tang Jiang pointed at Lin's shop with sharp eyes, "Look at that?" "

Gu Shiqing turned his head and took a closer look, Mumu?

He and Tang Jiang looked at each other suspiciously and approached the Lin's shop.

Gu Shiqing looked at the person greeting customers at the door of the shop. Isn't this Mumu? He is there What to sell?

He stared at the dolls in the cabinets and the little clothes in the hands of the boys at the door.

A bold guess slowly came to his mind. Gu

Shiqing was stunned

! He felt a line of sight coming towards him, and he was stunned when he saw it.

What was behind him ? What did the author want to say ? Say: Thank you for reading, little angels!

Chapter 15 Hands

Gu Shiqing looked at Lin Mu and stared at him with wide eyes. He smiled, walked to the front of the shop, and followed the queue. Tang Jiang also reached out to greet Zhi Geer, who pushed Lin Mu and ran out to pull him to the street. edge.

Lin Mu came back to his senses, avoided Gu Shiqing's smiling eyes, changed into a small piece of clothing and gave it to the little brother, and he took it away.

The few people in front also made their purchases and left. There were so many people and noisy crowds just now, but all of them were gone and only the two of them were left.

The noisy sound disappeared, and Lin Mu felt that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet for some reason.

Gu Shiqing has been looking at the forest trees carefully. After walking for so many days, the trees are still so beautiful, and their smiling eyes seem to suck him in.

Perhaps because he was busy making a living these days, Lin Mu was not haggard at all, but looked even more energetic.

Gu Shiqing felt a little sad because my wife didn't think about me at all.

Lin Mu was also looking at Gu Shiqing, looking at... He seemed to have lost weight. He must be tired from running all the way. Why didn't he say anything and just stared at people, which was so embarrassing.

Lin Mu pursed his lips and prepared to speak.

Gu Shiqing leaned forward, holding the cabinet with one hand, "Mumu, I'm back."

Lin Mu: "Ah...ah? Oh."

Seeing Lin Mu stuttering a little, Gu Shiqing had a smile in his eyes. Deeper, "This is your shop, don't you want me to come in and take a look?"

Lin Mu moved the small cabinet and said, "Come in."

Gu Shiqing walked in and glanced around. It was a small shop with nothing but Lin Mu's decorations. The small doll and small clothes on the big cabinet attracted his attention. He got closer and took a closer look. It was such a cute doll. It was not like the Barbie doll he thought at first. The headdress and clothes of the doll had the characteristics of this era. My wife is so skillful with her hands and has a good mind.

Lin Mu watched Gu Shiqing stare at the doll he had made, and two blushes crept onto his cheeks. He unconsciously said in a voice: "I made it with a sewing machine... don't laugh at me.

" How could it be?" Gu Shiqing turned around and looked into Lin Mu's eyes sincerely, "Mumu, you did a great job. I'm very happy that the sewing machine comes in handy."

Lin Mu looked at the sincerity in Gu Shiqing's eyes. He raised his head and smiled.

"You...did you buy those cows and sheep?" Lin Mu thought of the scene he saw just now, where many cows and sheep were walking on the street.

He looked outside the shop and saw that Brother Zhi and Tang Jiang were talking with their livestock in a remote place to the west.

"Yes, I bought it. I made money by selling ginseng. I thought the livestock in the north were good, so I bought some." Gu Shiqing nodded and said deliberately: "Mumu, you don't think I'm spending money sloppily, right? ?"

He raised his hand again and joked, "I'll give you all the money when I get back tonight, and I swear I won't spend it if Mu Mu doesn't agree."

How can this person say such a thing? Lin Mu was ashamed and angry, so he reached out and patted Gu Shiqing's arm.

Gu Shiqing had quick eyes and quick hands. He grabbed Lin Mu's hand when he was about to take it away, wrapping his two hands around Lin Mu's. Lin Mu's skin color was not as fair as many brothers, but he folded his hands with Gu Shiqing's and said Unparalleled harmony.

Gu Shiqing moved his fingers. His wife's hand was not that slippery, but it felt warm and pliable, which was perfect for holding hands with him.

As for Lin Mu, Lin Mu froze when his hand was grabbed, as if he had stopped thinking. He came to his senses only when Gu Shiqing's hand touched him, and pulled his hand back to pull it back.

Gu Shiqing refused, holding his hand tightly and watching his movements with a smile.

Humph, Lin Mu glanced at Gu Shiqing.

Gu Shiqing finally begged for mercy, let go of his hand, and said with a smile: "Mumu, don't be angry, don't be angry!"

Lin Mu was not angry, he just felt that Gu Shiqing was getting bolder. Standing outside the door politely, who knew he was like this now? However, the corners of his mouth still revealed the joy in his heart.

He said to Gu Shiqing: "Go back to the village quickly. Go back and have a rest. There are still so many cattle and sheep to arrange."

When Gu Shiqing came back, he touched his wife's hand. It was already a big surprise, and it wasn't what his wife said. That's it, he promised immediately, "I'll go back right away. You'll be fine. I'll pick you up in the county after packing up."

"No," Lin Mu refused. Looking at the inventory in the store, he had sold a lot just now. He estimated that today He didn't sell it all day, "You don't have to come, just go back and rest. When it's almost done, Lin Zhi and I will go back together."

"Okay." Gu Shiqing responded, forget it if his wife doesn't want to, and he won't force it.

Gu Shiqing left the shop and walked towards Tang Jiang. The three of them exchanged a few words. Gu Shiqing and Tang Jiang took the livestock and walked away. Brother Zhi also came back, smiling so much that his two little pear dimples were exposed. Come, he is very happy to have Tang Jiang back.

"Mumu, why don't you go back with us? I can just keep an eye on the shop. I should be busy with the rest."

Lin Mu shook his head, "No, it's the first day the shop is open today. Let's guard it together. " Well, you will be watching alone from now on."

Brother Zhi stopped talking. People came here and there to buy dolls. When no one was around, Lin Mu cut fabrics with him and chatted. It's almost noon.

Lin Mu asked Zhi Ge'er to watch in the shop. He went to the nearby restaurant and bought two bowls of braised pork noodles. He poured the toppings on them thickly and put two poached eggs on them. Zhi Ge'er could smell the aroma before he even entered the shop. .

"Let me see, what did you buy?" Zhi Ge'er poked his head out from behind the cabinet.

Lin Muduan went in, half-closed the door, and the two of them ate the noodles happily.

Gu Shiqing and Tang Jiang also returned to the village. He took Tang Jiang and the livestock to his home. On the way, the villagers looked at them and sighed.

"Young boy, you must have made a fortune outside. These cattle, sheep and horses are worth a lot of money!"

"No!"

Someone else stopped Gu Shiqing and asked him how much money he made and where he made it. Gu Shiqing smiled and shrugged it off.

Gradually, when some people saw him like this, they stopped asking, but there were always whispers behind his back.

Gu Shiqing didn't care. He opened the lock on the door and entered the yard. The yard was clean and tidy, and it didn't look like it had been unoccupied for so many days. Gu Shiqing knew that Lin Mu must have been watching the cleaning, and he felt happy, but because there were still people It's only superficially stable, let's settle down the livestock first.

He asked Tang Jiang to go back first. If Tang Jiang was willing to stay and help him, he agreed.

Gu Shiqing and Zhang Hanzi, who had followed him all the way to take care of the livestock, discussed letting him stay and take care of them for a few more days, just in case the livestock were not acclimatized for a while, and he also had to worry about how to build sheepfolds, cowsheds, etc. here. The man asked him to help, and he promised to give Zhang Hanzi a few more taels of silver. Of course Zhang Hanzi agreed.

So, the three of them settled down the livestock. Gu Shiqing's yard was originally stacked with firewood and processed at the same time. The trees did not change, so the three of them moved the firewood in the yard to the house. down the porch.

Gu Shiqing wanted to separate the sheep and put them one by one, but there was no time to do it now, so he decided to build a big one and put them together first. Whether they were building sheep pens or cowsheds, they all needed wood now, so they asked Zhang Hanzi to wait in the yard with the livestock while he and Tang Jiang went up the mountain to chop wood.

The cattle, sheep and horses were a little restless when they came to this unfamiliar yard. Zhang Hanzi was experienced and quickly calmed down. He watched the two of them go up the mountain. Gu Shiqing let his guys in the kitchen do whatever they wanted, and he was not polite. He steamed some big cornmeal buns, took a piece of bacon and mixed some green onions to make fried pork slices, and then went out again. I picked some wild vegetables near the yard, blanched them and made a soup.

When Gu Shiqing and Tang Jiang came back from the mountain for the first time, the food was ready. The three of them ate together. Gu Shiqing thanked Zhang Hanzi, "Thank you, otherwise we would still be hungry."

Zhang Hanzi was also simple. , biting the steamed bun, "Master, please don't say that, I want to eat too, and I want to thank you for taking care of me."

The three of them laughed together. After eating, Zhang Hanzi went to clear away the dishes and asked them to go up the mountain quickly. It was already afternoon when they were chopping wood, and they still had to build a shed, so there was no time to waste.

Gu Shiqing and Tang Jiang went up and down the mountain several times. Finally, Zhang Hanzi saw that the wood was almost done and asked them not to go any further. While they were going back and forth, he had already chipped a lot of wood. So, Gu Shiqing followed Zhang Hanzi and learned to build a cowshed. He had never built a cowshed before, but he learned it by watching it with his eyes and doing it with his hands. He should be able to do it by himself next time. It's a lot of trouble to make it look beautiful. It's a bit small, but just a square place with a water tank and a place to tie the cattle will be enough. The roof of the shed will not be built today, and it doesn't look like it will rain. The sheepfold and the barn are similar. The time limit is limited, so just find a similar place to separate the animals. The main thing is that the wood blocking them must be strong to prevent them from running away.

Despite this, the three of them still worked hard for a long time, and it was only when the sky turned slightly dark that they finished their work. The yard has been divided into places at this time. The plot of land on the left near the door is a piece of land. Two horses are eating food inside. They also bought some food from Beijun this time. After all, they have to eat on the road. Those food Just put it on the right side of the door first. Then there are the sheepfold and cowshed, which occupy a lot of space on both sides of the yard. There is a long aisle from the door to the main room for people to walk around.

The place is so big, so we can only make do with it, Gu Shiqing thought.

The three of them were very tired. Tang Jiang went back. Gu Shiqing went to the kitchen and made fried pork and steamed steamed buns, which he and Zhang Hanzi ate. He went to fetch water to heat it up, and the two of them took a shower to relieve their fatigue.

Where is Zhang Hanzi sleeping? Gu Shiqing is worried. There is only a side room in his house. Zhang Hanzi doesn't care. He is willing to sleep on the ground. But with people running all the way, he can't let him sleep on the ground. What did Gu Shiqing persuade Zhang Hanzi to do? The man slept in his bed.

As for him, whether he sleeps on the street tonight depends on whether his wife is soft-hearted or not.

Gu Shiqing thought happily as she walked to Lin Mu's house.

Chapter 16 Staying Overnight

The forest trees were almost resting. He walked back with Brother Zhi in the evening and brought Brother Xiaole back from Aunt Wang's house. He was very tired today, and it was nothing to go back and forth to the county. However, it was the first day that the shop opened, and he felt nervous. Later, when he saw Gu Shiqing coming back, he felt excited again. The two were mixed, and he felt deeply tired. . After dinner, he put Brother Le to bed. He thought that he would get up early the next day to make dolls and see how the livestock arrangements at Gu Shiqing's house were going, so he washed and tidied up and prepared to go to bed.

At this time, I heard a gentle knock on the door. It was silent, but it was heard very clearly in the night.

Lin Mu put on a big sweater and quietly came out of the side room. He turned to the kitchen and took a long wooden stick that he had chopped down before he could light the fire. He and Xiao Le were at home. It was night again, and everything was quiet. He couldn't help but be on guard.

Just as he was about to approach the door, he heard a voice outside, "It's me, Mumu."

Lin Mu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this familiar voice, put down the stick, and stepped forward to open the door.

"Why are you here?" Outside the door was Gu Shiqing, wearing a cotton jacket and trousers, with the wolfskin coat he made on his body, and holding a square cloth pillow in his hand.

Gu Shiqing said pitifully: "Mumu, my house is small, and the beds are all used by the people who came to take care of the livestock. I have no place to sleep."

Lin Mu was shocked, he didn't want to sleep here, right? But we haven't gotten married yet, so this... isn't good.

"Can't you squeeze in with him?"

"No," Gu Shiqing said aggrievedly, "He's a livestock dealer. He's tall. He and I can't sleep without being squeezed out of bed."

Lin Mu hesitated and didn't say anything. Voice.

Gu Shiqing looked at the confusion in his eyes and continued: "I'm so tired on this journey. I can't sleep well. Mumu, just have mercy on me. If you don't take me in, I'll have to sleep on the street tonight." "

Lin Mu looked at Gu Shiqing's nose, which was blown red by the wind outside. Gu Shiqing seemed to know what he was looking at and sniffed deliberately. He couldn't help but relent, or let him sleep for a while. night? Anyway, the two of them are engaged. It's not easy to live in the house, so it's okay if he comes to stay for one night.

Lin Mu thought about it and turned around and walked towards the west side room without greeting Gu Shiqing and not allowing him to come in.

Gu Shiqing compared it in his mind, the plan works!

He walked into the door of Lin Mu's house, turned around and locked the door gently, trying not to make any noise. His wife was soft-hearted and agreed to take him in, but he had to take her in as soon as he saw fit, and he couldn't make his wife angry.

Following Lin Mu, he walked into the west room. The room was a little larger than his, and the furnishings were not complicated. The wardrobe stood against the wall, and the bed was against the opposite wall. Then there was a rectangular table and a stool in the corner of the room.

Lin Mu was rummaging for something in the closet and took out a quilt. He turned around and saw Gu Shiqing coming in. He didn't say anything. Gu Shiqing slept obediently, knowing that his wife was still a little uncomfortable, so he quickly stepped forward to help spread the quilt on it. On the bed, Lin Mu took out another day's sheets and laid them out. Finally, he hugged a quilt and closed the cabinet door.

"You can sleep here and leave quietly tomorrow morning, being careful not to be seen." Lin Mu instructed.

"Okay!" Gu Shiqing nodded obediently.

Lin Mu handed the quilt to Gu Shiqing, who hugged her. Gu Shiqing hugged her and looked at Lin Mu walking out. He quickly put the quilt on the bed and pulled Lin Mu's sleeves, "Mumu, I have something else to do." You said it."

Lin Mu turned his head and looked at Gu Shiqing's sincere look, and the awkwardness disappeared.

Gu Shiqing pulled Lin Mu to sit on the edge of the bed, and he sat on the stool facing Lin Mu.

It was so close that his knees almost touched each other, and Lin Mu moved a little uncomfortably.

Seeing that his wife was uncomfortable, Gu Shiqing quickly dragged the stool back a little.

Gu Shiqing said, "Mumu, I went to sell ginseng this time and got a thousand taels of silver."

"A thousand taels?!" Lin Mu covered his mouth with his hand in surprise.

"Yes," Gu Shiqing said with a bit of embarrassment, "But I spent another three hundred taels to buy those livestock."

He was afraid that Lin Mu would be angry, so he quickly said: "Everything I bought is useful, I thought The horse can pull the cart, so you can go to the county faster in the future; I bought two kinds of cows, one can cultivate the land, and the other can produce milk. You and Le Geer will drink it every day from now on, which is good for your health; The sheep can be kept and eaten in the cold weather, and the wool can be collected to make clothes."

He looked like he wanted to praise him. What else could Lin Mu say, but he could only say that it was difficult for him and he was thoughtful, "Thank you, it's just too much. It's a waste of money."

Lin Mudan knew that Gu Shiqing spent money lavishly, but he didn't expect him to be so generous. It was for him and Brother Xiaole. He was touched, but he also felt a little sorry for him. He worked so hard. Searching for medicinal materials cost so much in one go.

Gu Shiqing was very happy to be thanked by his wife, "No need to thank me, we are a family, Mumu, you are my...husband, I should consider you and the children."

Gu Shiqing almost blurted out Wife, luckily I held it in.

He said seriously again: "Mumu, there is one more thing I want to tell you."

That's right, Gu Shiqing decided to tell Lin Mu about the zombies. Firstly, he would be mentally prepared in advance, and he could be more vigilant in daily life; secondly, Gu Shiqing decided to tell Lin Mu about the zombies. When he comes, he plans to repair the house and buy things. These matters must be discussed with Lin Mu.

Seeing his solemn look, Lin Mu felt a little nervous and moved closer, "What's the matter?"

Gu Shiqing tried his best to speak calmly and not put too much pressure on his wife, "This time when I went to Beijun, I met someone suffering from 'madness'. ', this kind of patient will become pale and confused, and... he will bite people. "

" Are you okay?" Lin Mu was nervous.

"Of course I'm fine," Gu Shiqing reassured, "But the trouble is that if a sick person bites someone, it may make the person bitten sick as well, and the doctor can't cure it yet."

"Mumu, I I'm telling you this because I want you to be careful when doing business in the county. It's already available in Beijun, and we can't say when it will be available here as well."

"Yeah!" Lin Mu nodded. "Don't worry, I always be careful. I also told my brother Zhi."

"Also, I'm going to build a house."

"Build a house?"

"Yes, I want to build a bigger one and get married. I promised you that I would definitely live here later, but I think there is not enough room for so many livestock at home now, and if more people here get sick, I can live there at that time, and I have cattle and sheep at home. , you can also take the chickens and raise them, I will leave a piece of land to grow vegetables, we can close the door, it is safe and cheap."

He took everything into consideration. He didn't know what the "crazy disease" was, but he saw it with his own eyes. Yes, it would be really difficult to make such a careful plan, but it would cost a lot of money to build a house, so Lin Mu was a little worried.

Gu Shiqing was still staring at him, waiting for a response. Lin Mu considered it and said, "You have a plan. I believe you. It's just to build a house..."

"I've also made some money these days. You can use it. "Lin Mu said that he was about to stand up and go to the side room over there to get the silver.

Gu Shiqing hurriedly pulled him to sit down, "You don't have to worry about the money to build the house, I still have it."

His wife just trusted him, so how could she still worry about the money?

He was afraid that Lin Mu would be unhappy, so he added: "Don't worry, if it's not enough, I'll ask you to get it. I know our wood business is doing well."

Lin Mu was a little shy, "It's just a small shop."

Gu Shiqing also said Silently, he looked at Lin Mu quietly, until he felt a little restless. Under the dim candlelight, Lin Mu's face was dancing with a warm yellow color. Gu Shiqing slowly leaned down and saw the faint down on his face. , I felt a little itchy for some reason, and when he was about to touch him, Lin Mu seemed to notice something, and ducked to the side and pushed him away, "I...I'm leaving, you have a good rest!" After saying that, without looking at him, San He walked out of the house in two steps.

Only then did Gu Shiqing come back to his senses. Just now...

Lin Mu almost slipped out of the house. In the silence of the night, he felt his own pounding heartbeat echoing in his ears. Did he hear it just now?

As the cold wind blew outside, Lin Mu's heart slowly calmed down. He opened the door to the side room and saw Brother Xiaole sleeping soundly on the bed. He patted his face with his hands and said, "Don't think about it anymore. There is still something to do when you wake up tomorrow morning." Woolen cloth.

After taking off his shoes and getting on the bed, Lin Mu also fell asleep with Brother Xiao Le in his arms.

When he woke up the next morning, Lin Mu went to the side room and saw that Gu Shiqing had left.

"You still keep what you say."

He's gone, yes. I told him last night to leave quietly in the morning so as not to disturb anyone.

Lin Mu turned around and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. When he was washing just now, he was thinking about what to make for him in the morning.

After the chickens were fed and the yard was swept, he put the hay he was going to take to Gu Shiqing's house for the livestock into big baskets. He heard the shouts of villagers outside going to the fields. Amidst the chatter, it was time to go to Gu Shiqing's house to make dolls as usual. The sales of dolls and small clothes were pretty good yesterday, so they must work harder today. Lin Mu stood in the yard, a little lazily moving.

I'm about to run into him again. Last night...

Lin Mu couldn't bear to think about it, and a blush crept up his face when he thought about it.

Brother Xiaole is waiting in the yard. Why doesn't uncle move? Didn't you say last night that you were going to Uncle Gu's house today?

He pulled Lin Mu's sleeves and looked at the confusion in Brother Xiaole's eyes. Lin Mu still moved on, even if he wanted to hide, he still had to go.

Lin Mu put a big backpack on his back, held brother Xiao Le's little hand, locked the door, and walked towards Gu Shiqing's house.

Unknowingly, he slowed down along the way. Brother Xiao Le asked, "Uncle, what happened to you today?"

His innocent question made Lin Mu feel even more embarrassed, and he walked quickly with Brother Xiao Le, and stood at the door. Stand forward and knock on the door.

The door opened, revealing a tall man.

"Where is Gu Shiqing?" Lin Mu was stunned.

Chapter 17 Choosing a Place

Where did Gu Shiqing go?

Lin Mu looked at the man who opened the door and felt confused.

When Zhang Hanzi got up in the morning to feed the livestock, Gu Shiqing happened to sneak out of Lin Mu's house. When he returned home, he and Zhang Hanzi ate two cornmeal buns and drank a bowl of multigrain porridge. He guessed that Lin Mu would come and asked Zhang Hanzi went to the county without any collision.

So Zhang Hanzi told him that Gu Shiqing had gone to the county.

Gu Shiqing went to the county to find laborers to build a house. He was not married yet. Staying at his wife's house for one night was fun, but staying at his wife's house every day was not enough.

When you get to County North Street, there is a stone bridge called Qinghe Bridge. What flows underneath is the Qinghe River. The Qinghe River is not particularly wide, so large ships cannot pass it, but small boats and medium-sized cargo ships can still pass it. There is a dock not far from the bridge. Many laborers are coming and going with goods on their backs, making a lot of noise. There are also many unemployed laborers waiting there in twos and threes by the bridge.

Gu Shiqing walked around and settled on his target, a dark-skinned man. On an April day, everyone else was still wearing jackets, but he was the only one wearing thin clothes.

He stepped forward and asked, "What kind of work can I do?"

The man was sitting, but when he saw someone coming, he stood up with a smile, showing his big white teeth, "Sir, I know everything, masonry, bricklaying, beam installation, moving The stuff is also very powerful!" He said and patted his chest.

"Okay, how long will it take to build a small house for one person to live in?" Gu Shiqing roughly gestured to the size, "It's mud, it can be lived in for a while."

"Yeah," the man said cheerfully, "There are four of us together. It only takes two days to build it. "

Two days?" That's pretty fast.

Gu Shiqing asked again: "How do you calculate the wages? Does it include materials?"

"If it doesn't include materials, it's thirty cents per person per day. If it does, you have to go and check it out to roughly calculate it."

"Okay, then go find someone . , I'll take you to see it," Gu Shiqing also said happily. He had to build a new house anyway, so he would only live in this house for a short period of time and do whatever he wanted with it.

After listening to Gu Shiqing's words, the man asked him to wait for a while, then walked into the crowd to find someone.

Not long after, three people came behind the man.

Gu Shiqing took a quick glance and found that they were all upright and did not look like lazy people. He nodded and motioned for them to follow.

Gu Shiqing's absence at home reduced Lin Mu's nervousness. He took Brother Xiaole for a walk around the yard of Gu Shiqing's house and took a closer look at the cattle and sheep he bought. They were all in good spirits and had been selected well. Brother Xiao Le was so happy that he wanted to get into the fence and touch the fluffy sheep, but Lin Mu stopped him because he was worried about safety.

When Gu Shiqing came back, Lin Mu was standing at the door with Brother Xiao Le looking up at the horses in the stall. When he saw Gu Shiqing walking in with four people, Brother Xiao Le reacted first and slipped over to hug him. Gu Shiqing's cotton trouser legs, "Uncle Gu, you haven't been home for a long time. Lele often comes to see you but you are not here."

Gu Shiqing knelt down, picked up Brother Xiaole and shook him gently, and said with a smile: "Then Uncle Gu will visit you every day from now on, okay?"

"Okay!" Brother Xiaole responded loudly.

Gu Shiqing turned to look at Lin Mu, "I'll take them to talk first."

"Yes." Lin Mu looked at Gu Shiqing's usual appearance and nodded.

He knew that Gu Shiqing had something to do, so he didn't bother him. Brother Xiaole held Gu Shiqing's arm and wouldn't let go. Gu Shiqing was quite willing, so Lin Mu had to run into the house and use a sewing machine to make dolls.

Gu Shiqing carried Brother Xiao Le and led four men to the side house. "Build it a little smaller than this one, just build it over there." He pointed to a piece of land on the east side of the yard next to the side house, "Look at the place. If it's not enough, I'll have to move the sheep again."

The man frowned, "That's enough, but you have to live next to the sheepfold." There is already a smell in the air. If the window is open to the sheep. Next to the circle, that smell...

Of course Gu Shiqing could smell the smell in the air, but he didn't plan to stay there for long.

"It's okay, just build it like this, you guys estimate the price."

The owner said so, what can the person they hired say?

The man turned to discuss with his three companions, "For one tael of silver and three hundred wen, we can finish the construction in two days. We pack the materials and bring our own dry food. All we need is a sip of water."

"Okay." Gu Shi Qing didn't negotiate the price. What's the deal with more than one tael of silver? These labors are not easy either.

He took out a tael of silver from his wallet and handed it to the man, "I'll give it to you after you cover the remaining three hundred coins."

The man took the silver and went to work with his companions.

Gu Shiqing carried Brother Xiaole into the side room.

Lin Mu was making dolls with a sewing machine when a shadow fell and he looked up.

Gu Shiqing said: "How about it, it's suitable for use."

"It's good, thanks to this, otherwise the shop wouldn't be able to open. It would be too slow for one person."

"Have you ever thought about hiring someone to help? ?" Gu Shiqing pulled Lin Mu to stand up and picked up a newly made small piece of clothing. "The dolls you make should all be about the same size. Then you can cut the clothes in different sizes. Isn't it faster for you to sew them directly? If you have more people, you can also teach others to learn this, and your burden will be lighter."

Lin Mu frowned, "It is indeed easier to hire people, but you may not be able to sell so much at once."

Gu Shi . Qing muttered, "Well, I looked at the price yesterday, and ordinary people really can't afford it."

"What if the materials are worse and sold cheaper? You can do it after calculation."

Lin Mu smiled helplessly, "In the beginning This is what we do, but we can only make a few a day, so they are more expensive."

"Then..." Gu Shiqing suddenly thought that he still had a sewing machine in his space, so he could hire someone to do it. In the past, many clothing brands also had high-end and affordable lines. Mumu and others can make high-end lines and sell them specifically to wealthy families. They can also hire people to make affordable lines. It won't be that complicated, so that ordinary people can afford them in large quantities. .

He told Lin Mu about this idea, and Lin Mu thought about it. What he said made sense. They wanted to sell it more expensively because they made less work, but, "Can you really buy another sewing machine?"

"Of course, don't worry about the money. The blacksmith and I are familiar with each other." Gu Shiqing lied a little. For the sake of his wife's career development, Mumu is working hard on business now, although the zombie thing is It was like a time bomb, but seeing Mumu's serious look, he really couldn't bear to persuade him not to do it and stay at home. Anyway, there was no sign of zombies when he went to the county yesterday, so he should give his full support to his wife in her career!

Lin Mu got Gu Shiqing's approval and felt that this was indeed possible. He was planning to discuss it with Brother Zhi when he came back in the evening and see if he should hire two aunts or husbands from the village to give it a try.

Gu Shiqing saw that Lin Mu had made up his mind, so he didn't say much. He told Lin Mu and went out, telling him not to go back to cook at noon. There was a man working today, so he would prepare some food. Lin Mu nodded.

Seeing his wife's concentration, Gu Shiqing still carried brother Xiaole out. He planned to build a new house. Buying land was the first priority. He had to choose an open space in the village first. His wife was busy with her career, so he let him take care of the children. Bar. Thinking about it, he touched Brother Xiao Le on the arm and said, "Uncle, can I take you for a walk?"

"Okay!" Brother Xiao Le smiled and said, "Lele come down and walk by yourself."

Gu Shiqing put him down and held his little fleshy hand and wandered around the village.

Although Brother Xiao Le is five years old, he has never walked around the village carefully like this. He has been everywhere and it is still fresh.

Gu Shiqing was also choosing the location carefully.

The entire site of Shangxi Village is irregular. There is a small river in the south of the village and it is convenient to get water. Therefore, many people live in the south. They are crowded and there is no open space. This is definitely not possible. If there are zombies and there are so many people in the south, the danger will be greatly increased. The east end of the village is close to the official road, which is also the entrance to the village, and there are a lot of people there. This is not feasible. If any zombies come from outside, building a strong house will be too conspicuous. His current mud-tile house is close to the west mountain. It is convenient to go up the mountain, but if there are any wild beasts or mutant animals, they will definitely be the first to be attacked.

After thinking about it, he took a fancy to a piece of land in the northwest of the village. The northwest of the village is not close to the river or the entrance of the village, and it is also a bit far from the center of the village. Therefore, many villagers do not want to live here because they find it uncomfortable. convenient. But Gu Shiqing didn't mind it. He thought the land was good, with few people and open land. The house could be built bigger. Otherwise, where would the cattle and sheep be raised? Although it was not as close to Xishan as it is now, it was not too far.

Satisfied, he took his children and walked carefully on the land twice, roughly estimating how much space was needed, and then looked at a few houses not far away. Fortunately, if the house was built like this, it would be the same as other houses. It's still several meters apart. Yes, he just doesn't want to get too close to his neighbor.

When I got home, I brought Lin Mu over to have a look and tell him my thoughts in detail.

Lin Mu also agreed, "Yes, if there is some 'crazy disease' here, it would be better to stay away from others."

"There are many people in the south of the village, and there are a lot of gossips. Aunt Liu like me over there makes people unhappy. Fortunately, Aunt Wang has a good family."

"That's right... although it's far away from people here," Lin Mu pointed out the shortcomings of living here hesitantly, "That family seems to have a lot of things. I sometimes hear Aunt Liu at home. Arguing with his aunt. "

Huh?" Gu Shiqing was a little unhappy because of his quarrelsome neighbors.

Lin Mu then said, "How about we settle here, and we can have less contact with his family."

Well, that's all that can be done, but Gu Shiqing originally only planned to live his own small life, and if the neighborhood is not harmonious, it will be a problem. Let's talk again.

After figuring this out, he asked Lin Mu to go back to his home first, and then he went back and quietly used the space to bring the sewing machine to Lin Mu's house, and put it in the side room where he lived, so that Lin Mu could make dolls at his home in the afternoon.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Lin Mu urged Gu Shiqing to prepare some vegetables. He scooped two bowls of rice and steamed them on the pot, preparing to eat later.

Chapter 18 Buying Land

Of course he had to listen to what his wife said. Gu Shiqing immediately went to the official road at the entrance of the village. The official road leading to the county passed through the entrance of Shangxi Village. On the road, pedestrians and traders sometimes needed to have a cup of tea and a meal. There were several small shops at the entrance of their village. This is what the stall does.

It was noon, and there were people sitting and eating at the stall. Gu Shiqing went to the stove in front and asked the stall owner for a few dishes that could be prepared freshly. He chose a bowl of braised pork elbow with soy sauce and a bowl of fried eggs with green onions. After a while, , Gu Shiqing came out with two big thick bowls. The meat was piled high and trembling as he moved around. The egg yolk was clear and exuded with the fragrance of oil, making people unable to help but salivate at the sight of it. He specially asked the stall owner to make more portions, so that his wife and children would still eat it! I borrowed this bowl from the stall owner. It is in Shangxi Village nearby. They are still willing to bring it over after eating.

Gu Shiqing carried the bowl and walked all the way to Lin Mu's house. On the road, many villagers were returning home from the fields. Looking at the fishy meat in the bowl, some people became sour. "Young boy Qing is living a good life. It's so shameless to eat so well."

Gu Shiqing smiled politely, and seeing that the man was still trying to get started, he hurriedly hid aside and quickened his pace to reach Lin Mu's house.

Lin Mu was serving rice, and there was grass leaf soup boiling in the pot. He thought that Gu Shiqing must also be buying meat and fish, so he washed a handful of grass leaves and cooked the soup.

"Mumu, bring two bowls and put some vegetables for you and Lele to eat." Gu Shiqing entered the kitchen, looked at Xiao Le who was standing aside waiting to eat, and put the bowls in the kitchen to eat. On the table, touch Brother Xiaole's head.

Brother Xiaole was watching eagerly.

Lin Mu quickly took a bowl to pick up the vegetables, and then said to Gu Shiqing: "There is grass leaf soup in the pot, can you take some back?"

Gu Shiqing nodded, okay, he has eaten grass leaves, they are the wild vegetables here, the taste is It feels a bit like chicken Feicai from the past, quite refreshing. My wife was so considerate and saved him from having to go back and cook.

Lin Mu saw that it was difficult for him to hold the bowl with both hands, so he poured the grass leaf soup into an earthen pot and let him carry it.

"Raise your arm," Lin Mu looked up at Gu Shiqing, "That's okay."

"Well," he looked at the top of Lin Mu's head a little absentmindedly. The aroma wafted up, and a strand of broken hair on Lin Mu came from behind When they fell to his forehead, Gu Shiqing couldn't help but stretched out his hand and gently pulled them behind Lin Mu's ears.

Lin Mu was lowering his head to close the lid of the earthenware pot when he suddenly felt a warm touch on his ear. He was startled and the lid hit the earthenware jar. The earthenware jar shook a few times and almost spilled the soup. He raised his head and looked at Gu Shiqing. As expected, the culprit said cautiously: "Mumu, I'm afraid your hair is blocking your vision. I didn't mean it."

Lin Mu looked at his pitiful look and couldn't say anything. Gu Shi Qingmo left holding the earthen pot and the bowl.

Lin Mu took Brother Xiao Le, who had been waiting impatiently, to sit on a stool and eat together. It had been a long time since he had stewed elbows with soy sauce. Brother Xiao Le's eyes narrowed as he ate, and Lin Mu was also satisfied with the meal.

Gu Shiqing went back with these vegetables. The four working men had brought dry food themselves, but now they were happy to see that the owner had given them these meaty dishes, and they worked harder in the afternoon.

After eating, Gu Shiqing returned the bowl to the stall owner and went up to Xishan with a set of hunting tools. He plans to buy land in the village and give something to the village chief to make it easier to deal with. The farmers don't give anything valuable. He plans to shoot two pheasants, which is good.

Although he didn't hunt during the break, his skills were still intact and he caught two pheasants weighing about five or six kilograms in about half an hour.

After tying the pheasants with a rope and going down the mountain, he returned and put a set of tools home. Gu Shiqing carried the pheasants and walked towards the village chief's house. He didn't kill the two pheasants. Should he kill them or raise them when they were brought to the village chief's house? You can eat it any more.

Knocking on the door of the village chief's house, the person who opened the door was Lin Dashan, the village chief's eldest son.

As soon as he saw Gu Shiqing, Lin Dashan's eyes were glued to the thing in his hand, "Give it to my dad." He said, reaching out to pick it up. His dad was the village chief, and he was used to people giving things to him in the village. .

Seeing him like this, Gu Shiqing let go and handed the pheasant to him. Looking at the blue brick house in front of him, Gu Shiqing wondered. The Lin family was considered wealthy in the village, so why was the son of the village chief so short-sighted?

Seeing that he didn't move, Lin Dashan pushed him and said, "My father is in the main room."

Gu Shiqing walked in and saw that the old village chief's family was having dinner.

Seeing that he was here, the old village chief put down his chopsticks and asked him to sit down, "Young boy Qing, I heard someone said that you have made a fortune recently."

"It's just a small fortune, why should I ask for your help just for this? "Yeah." Gu Shiqing said with a smile, he did make a fortune and made some money, and he didn't hide it, otherwise where would he get the money to build a house? Now that I have concealed it, I will no longer be able to conceal it when the house is completed.

"Oh? What can I use my old bones for?"

"It's not a strange thing, it's just that I made some money and wanted to find someone to grant a piece of land to build a house again."

"Oh, this is the matter . Son." The old village chief understood that it was common for people in the village to have some money to build houses and buy land. From what those people said, he thought that this young boy had made a lot of money, but he was just a country boy.

At this time, Lin Dashan also opened the door and came in, pointing at Gu Shiqing, "Dad, of the two pheasants he sent me, can I kill one of the two pheasants and make chicken soup for dinner?"

"Hey! You kid even took someone else's pheasant." The village chief looked at his son with a fake frown, then waved his hand, "Go ahead, go ahead."

He turned around and scolded Gu Shiqing, "You kid, why are you so polite?" The smile on his face could not be concealed, and Gu Shiqing could tell at a glance that he felt good about sending the pheasant, but he was just being polite.

So he handed over his hands and said, "I have to ask the village chief to pay more attention to buying land."

The old village chief chuckled, "It's easy to talk about."

After a while, the old village chief put the rice in the bowl. After he finished picking it, he wiped his mouth and stood up, "Let's go, show me which piece of land you picked."

He thought in his heart, this young boy couldn't have picked some good land, that would be terrible. No, there are some pieces of land that he wants to allocate for his son to live in when the family is divided.

Gu Shiqing led the old village chief to the northwest piece of land he had chosen and pointed to him, "Is this the piece you chose?"

The old village chief looked at the piece of land in surprise. The location of this place It's not good, and the people are not prosperous. The only advantage is that with fewer people, the land can be drawn larger.

"Yes, it's right here. Do you think you can approve it, village chief? How much money do I have to pay?"

"Yes, it can be approved." Anyway, not many people are willing to take this piece of land, so if it's bigger, it'll be approved. This young boy is okay, but his vision is too bad. It seems that he got rich outside because he was just lucky, and he doesn't have much real ability.

"Little Qing, you go to my house and ask Dashan to call the third uncle from the east end of the village here, and then ask him to bring the measuring tape to measure the land."

Gu Shiqing agreed.

After a while, Lin Dashan came over with an old man with gray hair and a tape measure in his hand.

The old village chief said with a smile: "Third uncle, the young boy wants to buy land, please come and take a look." After saying that, he took the tape measure from Lin Dashan's hand and started to measure.

The third uncle is an old man in the village, older than the village elder. The purchase of land is a big deal in the village, and it is a rule to invite such an old man to bear witness.

The third uncle had seen many such things and said nothing, so he nodded and signaled to the village chief that it was okay.

The old village chief bent down to do a lot of work, but this was the responsibility and honor of the village chief, and he would not be happy to let someone else measure him.

After measuring it, he calculated for a long time and said, "Young man Qing, this land is about ten square meters, and the silver will cost one hundred taels. Are you sure?"

Gu Shiqing nodded. He had roughly calculated it, and it was indeed ten square meters. One square meter is one hundred square meters, and ten square meters is one thousand square meters. The measurement units here are different from before.

Seeing him like this, the old village chief had nothing to say, so they went back to the village chief's house to draw up the land deed. The third uncle also followed, but Lin Dashan muttered, "What a guy! Buy such a big piece of land."

The four of them went to the village chief. At home, the old village chief wrote the land deed according to the rules. Gu Shiqing handed over the money and had his fingerprints pressed. The old village chief and his third uncle also each had their red thumbprints pressed, and said, "The land deed needs to be taken to the Yamen and printed in a booklet. I won't go with you, let Dashan accompany you."

Lin Dashan often did this, so he took Gu Shiqing to the Yamen to register. Now that it was done, Gu Shiqing came out of the Yamen. Looking at the thin piece of paper, I sighed in my heart, that 500 square meters of land is mine! It's time to start building a house! Seeing that it was getting late today, he went back to the village first and drew out the design in the evening. He had to think carefully about how to build it.

In the evening, Lin Mu also invited Zhi Geer to his home and told him about the hiring matter that he had discussed with Gu Shiqing in the morning.

Brother Zhi nodded, "Mumu, I don't understand business, but I think you are right. I will just follow you anyway. I will do whatever you ask me to do."

Lin Mu smiled and patted him, "This is a partnership between the two of us. You can have some snacks!"

Then, the two of them discussed who to hire to do it. Lin Mu thought that Aunt Wang was close to his home, and she was a good person. There were many people in the family, so he could draw him. If the manpower is here to do the work, why not let Aunt Wang cut the patterns? It's just that learning to sew machine shouldn't be publicized. It's best to choose someone from the family. Zhi Ge'er asked his sister-in-law to learn it. There are three sisters-in-law in his family. Lin Mu has dealt with the three sisters-in-law in Zhi Ge'er's family. They are all A refreshing woman is good to Zhi Geer, he can trust her.

The two of them had agreed on the matter, and their hearts became even more excited. They both had smiles on their faces, as if they had seen their small shop turn into a big one.

Lin Mu sent Brother Zhi back, and when he came back, he met Gu Shiqing at the door of his house. Gu Shiqing continued to stay overnight. After all, the house at home hadn't been built yet. However, Lin Mu, thinking about the embarrassing incident last night, only opened the door to the side room for him, and left without going in.

Gu Shiqing wondered, my wife seemed to be frightened. Am I too impatient?

Chapter 19 Planning

Hey, I still want to get married as soon as possible. It's been more than a month since the engagement. Gu Shiqing thought, the custom in Shangxi Village is that the marriage must be one month after the engagement. They have exceeded it now, so they should be able to get married, but not Do you know what Mumu thinks?

Gu Shiqing stepped into the space. He had better draw the design drawing first. He would have to find someone to build the house tomorrow. He rummaged through the things stored in the space and finally found a piece of white paper and a pen.

Gu Shiqing left the space, sat on the bed, and thought about it with a pen and paper. For a thousand square meters, you need to plan carefully.

He recorded the rough data of the land. It was a rectangular piece of land, about forty meters long and twenty-five meters wide.

Gu Shiqing thought, a wall must be built outside. Let's build a circle of earth wall first, three meters high, which can also block the prying eyes of outsiders. However, there are no glass fragments on the wall here, so it seems that the only way is to cut it. The bamboo has been sharpened and erected on the wall. Some traps can be dug inside the wall and some short shrubs can be planted. This will provide an extra layer of insurance even if someone climbs in.

The following is the division of areas in the home. Gu Shiqing bit his pen and wrote and drew on the paper. He planned to plan the space inside according to function. Build another fence, but this time it will be built with blue bricks, which is stronger and safer. It will be about 20 meters long and 15 meters wide, 300 square meters, and it will be used as a place for him to live with his wife and children in the future. All livestock and other things were thrown between the two walls to keep out the smell.

Gu Shiqing looked at the two rectangles on the paper. The gate was opened on the south side. Wanzi was still arranged next to the outer gate so that it would be convenient to travel. Then the large area from the outer gate to the inner gate was used to grow food, even if there were There is a place to grow food, but there is still a piece of land outside, otherwise he will not be able to explain why he will be stuck at home. The two long aisles between the outer wall and the inner wall are also about 100 square meters, and are used to raise chickens and sheep respectively. There are a lot of sheep at home, but Mumu doesn't have many chickens, so he has to remember to buy more. Come back some. Finally, there is a piece of land in the north. He does not plan to leave a door on the outer wall of the north. Instead, he can leave a door on the inner wall. This is more convenient. He can raise cattle and grow some vegetables in the corners of both sides. As for the middle piece, he plans to build several A house is used as a storage room. He has planned the house and puts it on the agenda to go shopping. Part of it is hidden in the space and the other part is stored in the storage room at home.

The outside area was finally planned. Gu Shiqing breathed a sigh of relief. It was a bit funny to think about it. Their house was almost turned into a breeding farm.

However, how to take care of such a large place and so many things? It can't be just him and Mumu, right? Isn't that exhausting?

But if he was really worried about hiring someone, what would he do if he didn't hire someone? Is it possible to buy someone and sign a slave contract like the people here? Gu Shiqing felt a little uncomfortable. He hadn't figured out what to do yet. Forget it, let's build the house first and then look at it.

Gu Shiqing picked up the pen and began to plan the inner wall. The main room was needed. He and Mumu had a room, Xiaole had a room, as well as a study, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bathroom. These two were well provided. After that, we need to add a small storage room and guest room, and leave some open space. In this way, the size of 300 square meters can be fully utilized.

He looked at the pictures he had drawn again. He was not a professional designer, and he did not have the conditions to do professional design here. He just wanted to try his best to make his wife and children live a better life.

Gu Shiqing threw the pen and paper into the space, took off his shoes and went to bed. He would have to draw again on the paper here tomorrow. He didn't know if the remaining money would be enough to build a house. If not, he would have to find a way to sell some space. medicinal herbs grown there. He had already planted the seeds he asked for from Doctor Ge of Beijun, and only planted half of the land in the space. After so many days, he had collected part of the medicinal materials and stored them in the space. If they didn't work, he would have to sell them first. However, unlike what he originally thought, these medicinal materials can be harvested more than once. After the first batch of medicinal materials was collected, he did not have time to worry about the next thing that day. He planned to do it in a few days, but he found that the first batch of medicinal materials was harvested more than once. A batch of harvested medicinal plants began to grow again, which was a big surprise for him! If he could plant them once and then continue to grow them, the pressure on him to reserve seeds would be greatly reduced. Unfortunately, the second batch of medicinal materials is still growing, so he can't judge yet and can only continue to observe.

After thinking about it, Gu Shiqing fell asleep.

When he got up the next morning, Lin Mu went to the side room to see that just like yesterday, Gu Shiqing had left. He closed the door and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. He was taking the steamed buns off the stove when there was a knock on the door. , went to open the door and saw that it was Brother Zhi and his second sister-in-law.

That's right, after Brother Zhi discussed the shop with Lin Mu at Lin Mu's house yesterday, he went back to his parents' house in the evening and told his sisters-in-law that there was nothing wrong with Brother Zhi's family, and he was willing to help his brother for free, not to mention that there were After getting the money, we finally discussed it and decided that the second sister-in-law should come. The eldest sister-in-law has to take care of the family affairs, and the second sister-in-law is the best at embroidery. Everyone unanimously recommended her, and the younger sister-in-law was not angry at all. They are all part of the family. Whoever goes is happy.

Everyone called Zhi Ge'er's second sister-in-law Liniang. She had a round face and looked no older than Zhi Ge'er when she smiled.

Lin Mu welcomed them into the main room and said to Zhi Geer: "You guys sit down for a while and I will bring breakfast. Have you eaten?"

Zhi Geer waved his hand and said, "We have eaten. You can take Lele to eat." "

Lin Mu turned around and went to the side room to pick up Brother Xiao Le from the bed. Brother Xiao Le consciously dressed and washed. He went to the kitchen and carried the bowl into the main room. Brother Zhi was chatting with his sister-in-law when he saw Lin Mu. He came in and said: "You eat first, and I will take my sister-in-law to see the doll you made first? Tell her how big to cut it, I know how to do it, and then you will teach her how to use the sewing machine?"

Lin Mu nodded, Zhi Ge Er took Liniang to the side room. Now two sewing machines were placed in the two side rooms. Brother Zhi went to teach Liniang, and Liniang fell in love with the doll they made at first glance, "It's so beautiful? Can I make it so beautiful?"

"Of course, sister-in-law, you are better at embroidery than me, so why not follow Mumu ?" , I can definitely do it."

With that, Brother Zhi started to teach her.

Not long after, Lin Mu and Brother Xiaole also finished eating and came into the side room, "Zhizhi, you can go, sister-in-law, I will teach you."

"Yes." Brother Zhi nodded, put down the scissors in his hand, and looked at the sky outside. He has to go to the county.

Lin Mu took out the newly made doll and put it in Zhi Geer's backpack and carried it, "Thank you for your hard work!"

"It's okay." Zhi Geer left.

Lin Mu took a stool and sat next to the sewing machine and began to teach Liniang.

Chapter 20 Holding Hands

Liniang was already good at embroidery, and with Lin Mu's careful demonstration, she quickly learned how to use the sewing machine. Lin Mu asked her to try to do it by herself, and Liniang agreed.

Gu Shiqing went back quietly in the morning. Not long after, the laborers came to do the work. Gu Shiqing looked at their results yesterday. The four walls had been built with solid materials and skilled workmanship. They had to cut corners, and the four of them didn't leave until it was almost dark yesterday. Gu Shiqing asked the leading man, "Can you build a house made of mud and tiles, but can you build a house made of blue bricks?"

"Of course you can, but it's not green bricks. " The brick house will take longer."

"That's okay," Gu Shiqing said again, "What if I draw it and let you build the house according to it?"

The man scratched his head and looked a little embarrassed . , "We brothers can only build. As for the appearance of your painting, it is up to our captain to see if it will work. We all listen to him."

Captain, it turns out that they work as a team?

Gu Shiqing asked this man to take him to the county to find their captain, chatting with him on the way.

"We brothers are all from Wangjiacun. We come out to do this work together. The captain is the one who leads us, and he is also from Wangjiacun."

"The captain is great! He can draw pictures. If he can get a big job, he will Take us to work together. If there is no work, we will go out and find odd jobs ourselves. "

"Then you work for me now, where is your captain?" Gu Shiqing asked again.

Wang Hanzi looked a little sad, "Our captain is not in good health and can't do this. He can only draw pictures."

"Boss, give this job to our labor team. Our captain can draw the appearance of a house. Do you think so?" He can get you whatever you want, and the brothers in our team are all honest men who are willing to work," Wang Hanzi pleaded.

Gu Shiqing smiled and said nothing. Wang Hanzi's tone showed admiration for the captain. He was probably not a sneaky person, but he still wanted to see him in person.

After meeting Captain Wang, Gu Shiqing understood why Hanzi Wang said he was in poor health, but Captain Wang was actually a lame man!

No wonder he said he couldn't do hard work, it turned out to be the case.

Captain Wang is wearing a blue shorts, but his temperament is different from that of Mr. Wang. He looks like a scholar.

Gu Shiqing walked up to talk to him, and then he realized that Captain Wang's name had the Chinese character "Xi" in his name, and he had indeed read a book before. However, on the way to the exam, I ran into a bandit and broke my leg. Now I couldn't read anymore. I wanted to go back to the county to teach, but I happened to meet a man who came out to work as a laborer from Wangjia Village and was killed by someone else. The people in the village were so overcrowded that there was no work to do, so he stepped forward and led these men to form a rope. He also took advantage of his extensive reading of poetry and calligraphy and painting to draw a design, which happened to be in the favor of some wealthy businessmen from near and far in the county. The Wang family The village labor team gradually gained momentum.

Gu Shiqing felt a hint of admiration in his heart. From a worldly perspective, it would be inappropriate for scholars to mix with these hard workers. However, this Wang Xi has bright eyes and is not depressed about the past. He is a practical person. He made a judgment in his mind.

Sure enough, when he told Wang Xi his thoughts, Wang Xi was greatly impressed by his idea of ​​renovating bathrooms and toilets, "Brother Gu is such a wonderful idea. I have built so many yards and houses for many wealthy families, but there are no houses." I feel so ashamed when I think of this." Wang Xi sighed.

"It's just a little more careful thinking. It's not as good as Captain Wang." Gu Shiqing also complimented.

Wang Xi also asked if these two drawings could be left to him, so that they could be made like this for other people's houses in the future. This time, Gu Shiqing's house would only charge for the materials, and he would pay for the labor himself. Gu Shiqing readily agreed.

After the two of them read the drawings, Gu Shiqing took Wang Xi to the land in Shangxi Village to have a look at it. Wang Xi had a clear idea after reading it, and said that construction would start tomorrow. He would bring the materials and team members there. The laborers came together, Gu Shiqing nodded.

After sending Wang Xi away, Gu Shiqing came to Lin Mu's house.

He knocked on the door.

The door opened and it was Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang was cutting materials in the yard. Lin Mu just went to her and asked her to help. Aunt Wang immediately agreed. She just wanted to cut clothing materials, and she had money and it was at the door of her house. How could such a good thing happen? As he agreed, he put down the dishes and chopsticks in his hands and came over.

Gu Shiqing smiled at her, and Aunt Wang called into the house, "Brother Mu, boy Qing is here!"

Lin Mu walked out with brother Xiao Le who was in his room, and Gu Shiqing stepped forward and touched her. Brother Xiao Le's head said, "Uncle Gu and your younger uncle have something to talk about. Would you like your younger uncle to come over?"

"Yes!" Brother Xiao Le took Lin Mu's hand and raised it to Gu Shiqing, "Let's go, I agree."

Gu Shiqing was just joking with the child, but he didn't know that Xiao Le would let him hold Lin Mu's hand. He wanted to hold Lin Mu's hand but was afraid of Lin Mu's anger.

Lin Mu lowered his head slightly, trying to cover up the shyness on his face, but Gu Shiqing's hand stretched out and touched his hand, causing him to be slightly startled. He raised his head and looked at Gu Shiqing's smiling eyes and slightly dodged hand. Stopped.

When Gu Shiqing saw that Lin Mu had stopped moving, his heart skipped a beat. He grabbed Lin Mu's hand and walked out, grinning from the corners of his mouth to the base of his ears.

What a joyful spring breeze.

Gu Shiqing wrapped Lin Mu's hand in his own and rubbed it slightly. Lin Mu patted his sleeve from behind and said, "Let's go quickly."

His voice was small and trembling.

Gu Shiqing held Lin Mu's hand all the way. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and he was in a good mood. As he walked, he actually walked across half of the village to the land he just bought.

Oops! I originally planned to call my wife outside the door to talk when I saw someone in the yard. Who knew she had come so far?

Gu Shiqing turned to look at Lin Mu, a little afraid that he would be angry.

Lin Mu didn't think about getting angry at all. His hand was held in front of him, so he just followed behind. His palms were sweating unconsciously. He just felt a little sticky, and his brain was almost turned into a paste. I know I've come this far.

Gu Shiqing put down Lin Mu's hand with some sarcasm, and carefully looked at Lin Mu's expression. Lin Mu lowered his head slightly, his face was rosy, he felt happy, his wife was still shy!

However, after holding hands for so long, he was too embarrassed to tease the trees anymore.

The two stood opposite each other, both in a daze.

The breeze blew for a while, and the expressions of the two gradually calmed down.

"You..."

"You..."

Lin Mu raised his head and said at the same time as Gu Shiqing.

"You say it first," Gu Shiqing said.

Lin Mu paused.

"Why did you come to me?" Lin Mu asked.

Gu Shiqing's bad thoughts arose again, "What's wrong, can't I come and see my husband?"

"Okay," Lin Mu whispered, "I... we... haven't gotten married yet."

"What do you say, Mu Mu? When will we get married?" Gu Shiqing asked, leaning closer.

Lin Mu looked up at his aggressive gaze, lowered his head unconsciously, and whispered, "It's up to you."

Gu Shiqing felt happy, did Mu Mu agree? He originally thought that given his wife's shyness, she wouldn't let him go so easily.

He took a deep look at Lin Mu, coughed, and said softly: "Mumu, we are ready to build the house. Can you take Brother Xiaole to come with you tomorrow morning?"

"Tomorrow?" "Gu Shiqing said the business matter relieved Lin Mu's shyness and nervousness. He raised his head and said, "What do you need me to do?"

Gu Shiqing thought for a while, maybe there was really something for Mu Mu to do, and he almost didn't. Forgot.

"We should need some aunts to help with cooking. I'll ask how many people come tomorrow and see how many aunts we can find."

"Okay." Lin Mu agreed.

"Then... let's go?" Gu Shiqing asked tentatively.

Lin Mu nodded, and the two of them returned the same way, but this time they didn't hold hands. Gu Shiqing was a little regretful, but he cheered up after thinking that after getting married, he could hold hands as much as he wanted.

After all, Mumu was from here, and it was normal for him to be shy about physical contact before getting married. On this point, he respected Mumu's ideas and the customs here, but sometimes he couldn't help but look at his wife in front of him.

Gu Shiqing was hesitating here, but he didn't know that Lin Mu was also confused in his heart.

Why is he more behaved than before?

Is it difficult to hold my hand?

After thinking about it, he arrived at Lin Mu's house. Gu Shiqing watched Lin Mu enter the courtyard and left.

The next morning, Gu Shiqing got up early, and Wang Xi asked them to bring everything. Instead, he got up and had nothing to do, so he followed Zhang Hanzi to feed cattle and sheep.

Lin Mu also got up early with Brother Xiaole. Brother Zhi came here to dress up the dolls for sale. Hearing about this, he also wanted to see it, but he was worried about the store. Lin Mu advised him, "The store is late." It's okay for half an hour, so you can go and see it together without delay." Brother Zhi also agreed, went back and put down his backpack, and went to find Lin Mu.

The three of them went to the new house together. On the way, some men, husbands, and aunts came to see the excitement. Just now, a dozen people from the labor team had arrived. When walking in the village, some villagers asked, and they found out that it was the young boy who built the house. Building a house in the village is a big deal and rare, so why don't you hurry up and take a look.

From a distance, Lin Mu saw many villagers surrounding the new house. He did not see Gu Shiqing, but Gu Shiqing had already seen the three of them.

After pushing aside the crowd, Gu Shiqing came to Lin Mu, "Here we come!"

"Yes." Lin Mu agreed.

Gu Shiqing knelt down and opened his arms towards Brother Xiao Le, who rushed towards him, "Uncle Gu!"

"Hey!" Gu Shiqing agreed and stood up with Brother Xiao Le in his arms, and then led Lin Mu The two of them said, "Let's go."

The four of them came to the innermost part of the crowd. Wang Xi was leading the laborers to unload the materials. When he saw Gu Shiqing coming, he pointed to the laborers coming from a distance and said to Gu Shiqing: " It's almost done, we can start when they arrive."

Gu Shiqing nodded, took the shovel handed over by Wang Xi, and took Lin Mu and the others aside to wait for the start.