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Shen Yu’an had brought her mother and second aunt along with her to act as the managers in charge of arranging the house. As for Shen Dalang and the others, they were going to be treated as the labor force.
The three-story house was located on the street behind the grain store. Shen Yu’an led the group on a short detour to reach the place.
Shen Yu’an took out the key and unlocked the large lock hanging on the gate, leading everyone inside.
The courtyard was quite spacious, and Shen Yu’an hadn’t thoroughly examined it before. She walked through the various rooms with her family.
As they explored, they made arrangements. Shen Yu’an said, “Let’s clean up the main courtyard for my parents. Mr. Ji and Uncle can stay in this courtyard as well. We’ll prepare another small courtyard as guest rooms, and the remaining courtyards, we’ll fix up for ourselves.”
Song Shi and Zhao Shi carefully examined each room and discussed what items they needed to add. The items they mentioned were noted down alternately by Shen Dalang and the others.
Given their previous experience assisting Shen Yu’an in record-keeping, Shen Dalang and the rest were quite adept at handling this task.
The courtyard was adorned with rockery and stone walls, giving it an elegant and charming appearance. Even Mr. Ji commented that Shen Yu’an had gotten a great deal on this courtyard.
Mr. Ji suggested, “Since you have such a large courtyard, you should consider hiring some servants to handle the daily chores, such as cleaning and cooking.”
Shen Yu’an nodded in agreement, saying, “You’re right; we should hire a few more people. We also need to get a personal attendant for each of my brothers so they have someone to run errands for them when they’re studying.”
Everyone agreed with this plan and planned to visit the market later to look for suitable hires.
But before that, they needed to do some major shopping. Once they had the courtyard ready, Shen Rong and the others could move in directly without the need to commute.
The main courtyard’s rooms were already equipped with beds, wardrobes, and desks. The other courtyards had similar furnishings, so they only needed to buy essentials like bedding.
As they walked to the back of the courtyard, Song Shi looked puzzled at a closed small door and asked, “Is there another room behind this door?”
She then removed the latch, revealing another courtyard. Since Liang Hui and Feng San and Feng Si were in the front at the grain store, this area appeared exceptionally quiet at first glance.
Song Shi asked, “Hmm? This courtyard looks quite well-maintained, but why is it separated by this wooden door?”
After all, the other adjoining courtyards had crescent-shaped open doorways.
After taking a closer look, she felt that something was amiss; it seemed like someone lived here.
Shen Yu’an quickly stopped her mother from trying to open Liang Hui’s bedroom door and explained, “This house is connected to the grain store, and the connecting point is that small door.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Did we enter without announcing ourselves? Is that impolite?”
Shen Yu’an smiled and said, “We can let Mr. Liang know in a moment.”
“Can we see inside the store from here?”
Except for Shen Dalang, none of them had been inside yet.
While this grain store didn’t look much different from other grain stores, the fact that Shen Yu’an had invested in it as a partner piqued their curiosity. They approached quietly to take a peek.
The storefront of the grain store was connected to the courtyard by a small door, allowing them to see inside. They all lowered their voices and took a quick look.
Although Liang Hui had mentioned it, there were still quite a few customers inside the store. Everyone who came in made some purchases.
After a brief look, the Shen family members found it uninteresting and decided to go shopping instead, buying everything they needed for their upcoming arrangements.