The women and their husbands ate at this table.

　　The Yan family was the first of the three families to arrive, and they were also the first to buy a house and settle down. This was simply because Liu Shu was pregnant at the time and it was not convenient for him to stay in an inn all the time. He also lost weight quickly on the way, and his originally round face lost its flesh, and his belly became frighteningly big. The elders of the Yan family said that he needed to eat more, so they bought a house and settled down early.

　　”…Don’t be afraid of being laughed at by your sister-in-law and brother Zhou Zhou. When my family came here, we brought all our assets with us, a total of 398 taels of silver. After the travel expenses, the purchase of the house, and the mule, all added up, we only have 11 taels of silver left in the family now.”

　　”We can get by now. My family can make 3700 yuan a month. We can always get by if we save a little. But I still feel uncertain.” Liu Shu said this to Brother Zhou Zhou, “Brother Zhou Zhou, can we still do business?”

　　Li Zhouzhou had already made up his mind. His family’s expenses were no less than Yan’s. He said, “Can’t we go there ourselves? It’s not possible to cook and fry like we did in the prefecture and county. Now our two families are officials. If they are found out, even though it’s my relative’s business, if the husband of an official does business himself, he will be laughed at if it gets out.”

　　”That’s right, I can imagine it.” Liu Shu sighed, “I feel like being an official husband doesn’t bring me much prestige. I can’t do this or that, and my life is tight. It’s meaningless.”

　　Li Zhouzhou smiled but didn’t say anything. Tang Rou, who had been listening, said, “There are gains and losses. It’s a bit difficult now, but if they get promoted in the future, it will be good. At least the children won’t have to worry about marriage.”

　　”Sister-in-law, you are thinking long-term.” Liu Shu said. His Dabai has just finished the confinement period, and it will take more than ten years for him to get married. It will be fine if he grows up safely. “Besides, getting married is not easy. As long as you are good-looking and well-educated, it is easy to find someone. Look at me and Jinxin. He was not rich at that time, but he still found me.”

　　Li Zhouzhou chuckled, and Tang Rou also laughed.

　　”Why are you two laughing? Am I wrong?”

　　”I’m not making fun of you.” Li Zhouzhou thought Xiaoshu’s idea was good. Before he found his husband, his marriage was awkward, but now it’s all right. However, he explained, “My sister-in-law meant that if they get promoted in the future, we can give our children more choices.”

　　Tang Rou nodded, “That’s right.” She was born into a poor family and had no choice but to marry a merchant as a concubine born. Although her husband treated her very well and loved her, Tang Rou thought that when she found a husband for Yingniang in the future, it would be better if the family background was better. It didn’t have to be as rich and powerful as her elder sister, but it couldn’t be a poor family with no achievements. It would be best if she had some achievements, a simple family with a clean family tradition, that would be the best.

　　Yingniang is lively and delicate, so she is suitable for a family with good temper and simple family relationships without concubines. Thinking of this, the Yan family is quite good. Tang Rou smiled again when she thought of this. She really came to the Yan family to attend the full moon banquet, but ended up thinking about their son.

　　”That’s true. When buying vegetables, you should choose fresh ones.” Liu Shu said with a smile.

　　The random conversations diverted the topic again. When Liu Shu remembered about his business, the meal was over. The sister-in-law took Yingniang’s hand and went to the house to see Dabai. Li Zhouzhou saw Xiaoshu coming and knew what he was going to say at a glance. He said wait a minute and gave Fubao in his arms to his husband.

　　Gu Zhao took Fubao and deliberately lowered his arms. The son in his arms was not scared at all. Instead, he started to giggle. He did not seem reluctant to leave his father’s arms. All his attention was shifted to his father playing with him.

　　”One more time? Okay, one more time.” Gu Zhao let go and did it again.

　　Fubao giggled and chattered. The father and son were playing around. The strict father saw it and said to Li Da: “Your Fubao is very brave and is not afraid at all.”

　　”That’s right, just like me,” Li Da said proudly.

　　His boy Fubao is very brave and is not afraid of anything.

　　Li Zhouzhou and Xiaoshu went to the corridor and sat down to talk. “Is it a business matter? Don’t worry, I’ve thought about it before. We still have to invite people over. We haven’t established a firm foothold in Beijing yet. Doing business without involving them is the first priority. I don’t feel comfortable hiring a stranger. Everything is difficult at the beginning, so we have to be cautious. We also need to see if there is this kind of food in Beijing and what the people in Beijing like.”

　　”I originally thought that since you have just finished your confinement, there is no need to rush and take care of yourself first.”

　　Liu Shu felt that there was nothing wrong with his body, and he could even get sick from holding it in. He added, “Since you’re hiring, I can’t help much.” There was no need for him to get involved.

　　”You were the one who thought of hosting the banquet when we were in the prefecture and county. There are other ways to do business without doing it yourself.” Li Zhouzhou told Xiaoshu the truth, “I thought it would be difficult to make braised offal in Beijing, so I raised the price a little. If it gets out that it’s my relative’s business, it will be indecent and unpleasant.”

　　Li Zhouzhou didn’t think so, but he always had to think more and consider his husband’s face.

　　My husband said before that the businesses behind some high-ranking officials are all done by their family slaves or their wives’ families. This shows that people in official circles can actually see clearly that there are differences between one business and another. Selling pens, ink, paper, and inkstones and selling books have an elegant and noble flavor, but if you sell offal that outsiders have never tasted, it will not sound good when it is mentioned or spread.

　　”What’s the stew?”

　　”I’m thinking of braised duck.” Li Zhouzhou decided on this plan first. “Braised spare ribs are also OK, but it’s not convenient to scoop it with a spoonful of soup. It’s better to sell braised duck neatly.”

　　Liu Shu nodded and said, “Brother Zhou Zhou, I will listen to you and do whatever you say.”

　　”It will probably take until next year to open the shop, so there’s no rush. By the way, do you have any reliable relatives on your mother’s side?”

　　Willow first shook his head, then nodded, and told the truth: “My family is similar to other families in the village. When we were young, we were poor and we would quarrel over food. My eldest brother, second brother, and youngest brother all started their own families. Even though we ate from the same pot, they all had their own calculations. My sisters-in-law would never suffer any loss. Only my youngest sister is good. She is diligent and efficient. When I look at her, it’s like I was in the past. She doesn’t have a firecracker temper like me, and she is always bullied at home.”

　　Therefore, Liu Shu treated his brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and nieces equally. He did not pity any of them. If he dared to provoke one of them and gave him some benefits, the others would be furious. So he simply did not allow anyone to get close to him. Anyway, before he married into the Yan family and Yan Jinxin became successful, he watched the family live their life as usual, and many people starved to death due to stuttering.

　　I just feel a little pity and sympathy for this little sister.

　　”But she is a girl, and it is not easy to bring her here from Beijing, which is so far away. Even if we bring her here, it would be difficult for her to show her face in public when doing business as she is not married.” Liu Shu sighed.

　　He wanted to help but didn’t know how.

　　Li Zhouzhou: “How old is she?”

　　”She is ten years younger than me, and now she is fifteen. Before I came to Beijing, my mother said she wanted to find a good match for my younger sister, and wanted to ask me for money as a dowry. I gave her a piece of red cloth, and gave her one or two taels of silver when I left.”

　　Liu Shu speaks roughly, and is sometimes so straightforward that he is careless and doesn’t hold back his words, but he has his own standards in his heart. That’s why his mother was reluctant to marry off his younger sister too early, and wanted her to keep her at home to work for two or three years before sending her off. He was the same at the time.

　　It wasn’t until I got older that my family started to get worried.

　　He could only choose the old and poor ones, who didn’t even have a proper wedding dress when they got married. Liu Shu didn’t feel sorry for anyone except this little sister, who looked so much like him and was even more honest than him.

　　He was lucky to marry into the Yan family. The Yan family was poor at that time. Although Yan Jinxin looked fierce and didn’t look like a scholar, and couldn’t speak, he was a good person and didn’t do anything stupid. He didn’t divorce him even after he became an official, and even took care of him when he was pregnant with Dabai.

　　But you can’t just rely on luck. What if you’re not lucky?

　　So when Liu Shu was going to Beijing, he gave his younger sister one or two taels of silver and told her not to tell anyone, not even her mother, and not to spend the money on buying candies for her nephews and nieces. No one would die if they missed a meal of candy. Although the money is small, you can hold it in your hand.

　　My little sister was confused and I don’t know if she understood what I said.

　　Now that Zhou Zhou wanted to find someone to come over to work, even if Liu Shu wanted to ask her sister to come over, he knew it wouldn’t work. As a married man, he was a member of the Yan family, so it was not appropriate for him to ask too much about his mother’s family.

　　”Brother Zhou Zhou, let’s look for it from your side. My side is not suitable.”

　　Li Zhouzhou nodded and said, “I know. Don’t be idle during this period. If you are bored, learn some calligraphy. Don’t say you are tired and make excuses to put it off like you did in the prefecture and county before.”

　　Li Zhouzhou had told Xiaoshu about learning calligraphy when they were in the prefecture and county. When Liushu heard about learning calligraphy, he agreed at first, but after only two days of learning, he felt overwhelmed. His husband was too fierce and strict, and he wanted to beat him with a stick. So he made excuses, saying that he was tired from a day’s work and that he was not cut out for it, so he didn’t want to waste the man’s reading time.

　　Unexpectedly, I managed to avoid it temporarily, but I couldn’t avoid it this time.

　　Willow looked miserable, “Not learning? I still like to work.”

　　”No, you have to learn to read the account book, and also learn simple names and surnames.” Li Zhouzhou said with a smile: “I know you can do it. Anyway, you have nothing to do. If you learn it and read it out loud, you can also influence Dabai.”