In addition to her father, her dàgū’s youngest son Zhou Dajiang also came.

“Thank you, biǎojiě for lending us some money to help my father treat his leg.” Zhou Dajiang looked a little haggard. As soon as he saw her, he wanted to pay his respects to her but was stopped by Su Qingyu.

“We’re a family, there’s no need for this. Just be able to help.”

Then she took the two of them to the main room to sit and talk.

Wu Shi was at home and Aunt Zhou told her about it, but she didn’t come out and Su Qingyu didn’t care.

It was enough to maintain superficial harmony. She would do what she should do as a daughter-in-law, and she would also fulfill her filial duties, including Lu Bocheng’s share.

But she didn’t need to live her life according to anyone’s wishes.

After sitting down, she heard that her dàgū had received the money and had persuaded her dà gūfù to stay in Pingchuan County to treat his leg.

Su Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief and asked Zhou Dajiang: “Are you all in the county?”

The fifteen-year-old boy was already a laborer. Now that his father had fallen ill and his elder brother was gone, there was a bit more determination in the boy’s eyes.

“My third sister has taken Jin Hai back today, and I will run between the two places. After selling the land at home, I plan to find a job at another quarry so that I can pay back my cousin as soon as possible.”

Su Qingyu looked at his frail body and shook her head, “Don’t be in a hurry to pay the money back. With your body, how can you chisel stones? You may not even be able to carry a load.”

Zhou Dajiang puffed out his chest and acted as if he could do it: “I can do it. There are other jobs in the quarry that I can do.”

Father Su tried to persuade him, but the 15-year-old boy had his own ideas. He would be the mainstay of the family in the future and was eager to support the family.

Su Qingyu thought about it, looked at her biǎodì in front of her, and then she had an idea in her mind.

“I will open a shop in a few days, and I need a clerk to run around. Do you want to come to Fengting Town to help me? Before I earn enough to rent the shop, I will provide you with food and accommodation. I will give you 500 coins a month, and I will increase it depending on the situation.”

Zhou Dajiang didn’t react for a moment and just stood there in a daze.

Father Su reacted and asked, “My daughter, you want to open a shop? What kind of shop? Do your in-laws know about it? As a newlywed, do they agree that you can show your face in public?”

This matter had indeed not been told to Father Lu. But Su Qingyu still had the idea of ​​a modern independent woman. If she wanted to do something, she would do it. She didn’t care about other people’s opinions and had no intention of showing off.

“Not yet.”

When Father Lu heard this, he became anxious: “You, you kid, why didn’t you tell your in-laws about such a big thing? You are married now, not in your parents’ home, you can do whatever you want.”

Seeing that Su Qingyu didn’t listen, Father Lu became even more anxious and stood up and pulled her: “Come on, follow me to meet the in-laws.”

Su Qingyu was a little reluctant. It was not that she didn’t want to talk about it, but the shop had not yet opened and she had just rented it. She wanted to wait a few more days before talking about it. Now she was pulled up by Father Su and had to stand up.

Zhou Dajiang on the other end reacted and rushed to Su Qingyu: “Biǎojiě, I am willing, I am willing! I will be your assistant, and I don’t want that much money. I will just give you some money when you make money.”

Five hundred coins. His father worked so hard to carve stones, but he only earned one ounce a month, and that didn’t include food and lodging. Even if he went to a quarry to find work, he might not be able to earn that much money.

He could work as a shop assistant in the shop and learn how to treat people without having to do hard work in the quarry. He could also stay with his biǎojiě and no one would beat or scold him. Zhou Dajiang reacted immediately and happily ran to Su Qingyu to agree, fearing that if he spoke too slowly, Su Qingyu would change her mind.

Father Su held Su Qingyu’s hand with one hand and went to see him, and was stunned by his anxious look.

Su Qingyu also burst out laughing.

“Okay, then you can be your biǎojiě’s assistant. Biǎojiě just rented the shop today, and it will take a few days to prepare for the renovation. You can go home and pack up, and come back in a couple of days.”

“Okay, okay.” Zhou Dajiang swept away his previous melancholy, and his face became more lively.

Father Su was stunned. How could this girl rent a shop without telling anyone?

“Where did you get the money?”

“It’s the fifty taels. I was supposed to pay the rent today, but after paying it to my uncle, I have no money left. The shop owner is kind enough to defer the payment for two months, and I will pay an extra two taels in interest then. I still have ten taels in my hand now, which I will use for decoration and stocking, and it should be enough if I tighten my belt. It’s a small business.”

Father Su opened his mouth wide.

He had been digging for food all his life and had saved for several years under his stepmother’s nose to save more than 200 coins. His daughter was going to use dozens of taels to start a business?

He had never dared to think about business. How could someone with no money and no backing think about doing business?

“You, kid, how can you be so bold! What if you lose money? How are you going to live if you lose all the money your son-in-law left for you?”

“Dad, don’t worry, I know what’s going on.”

Seeing that Father Su still looked incredulous, Su Qingyu briefly told him about her plan…

Seeing that Father Su was still frowning, she comforted him, “Dad, don’t worry. It’s just a small business. The loss won’t be much. It’s just one season’s rent. And I still have 15 acres of land left by his maternal grandfather. I can earn the rent and won’t starve.”

After hearing this, Father Su was still worried. He was also worried that his in-laws would say something about her, so he took her to find Lu Shengcai with a worried look on his face.

Father Lu was very enthusiastic when he saw Father Su. He took them to the backyard of the shop and sat down to talk.

After hearing about Su Qing’s gūfù, he gave Zhou Dajiang five taels of silver. Zhou Dajiang knelt down and thanked him.

Seeing that Father Lu was in a good mood, Father Su told him about Su Qingyu’s plan to open a shop. After saying that, he looked at him anxiously, afraid that he would be angry and embarrass his daughter.

Lu Shengcai really didn’t expect Su Qingyu to have such an idea. A woman actually wanted to open a shop to do business?

For the first time, he looked at his daughter-in-law carefully.

Wu Shi had chosen the daughter-in-law, and he didn’t know her well. He also understood that the families in the town he knew didn’t want to marry their daughters to Bocheng.

He married a country girl. He was from the country himself, so he would not despise her status. He was quite satisfied with her since she married him and her cooking skills. After Bocheng left, he was even more satisfied with her because he saw that she was well-behaved.

He didn’t usually meet her. He didn’t see her much except when he was eating. A father-in-law should avoid suspicion. After Bocheng left, he wanted Wu Shi to take care of her more in the future.

Before he even asked Wu Shi, he never imagined that his daughter-in-law actually wanted to open a shop and do business!

Su Qingyu saw that Father Lu was looking at her intently, so she let him look at her and told him her thoughts. Father Lu was a little stunned after hearing this.

Su Qingyu said, “Dad, no one in this town has done this business before, and I don’t know how it will turn out in the end. But it has low costs and won’t lose much money. If the situation is not good, I will close the shop and it will not be too late to turn back. And I also want to save some money. In case Bocheng becomes successful in the future, he is alone without a family or background, and I also want to support him financially.”

Father Lu was still immersed in the business that Su Qingyu mentioned. He really couldn’t imagine that there was such a business.

He had been doing business for more than ten years, but he never thought about that area.

When he heard her talk about Bocheng again and saw that she was willing to make plans for Bocheng, he felt touched.

He looked at her and said, “Did Bocheng tell you something when he left?”

Author’s Note: When writing about the order of children in a family, in ancient Chinese literature, most of the big families are ranked by gender, but small families are not so divided, and they are ranked by age. However, small families do not divide the family, and there are many uncles and uncles and many children, which is also chaotic. When I see the third brother and third sister, I am sometimes confused. I don’t know if it is the third brother and third sister or the third among all the children. As a result, I don’t know how to deal with this problem when I write.

　
(End of this chapter)