Chapter 88: Extra Story 9

Chapter 88 Extra 9

After the rice in the fields was harvested, the Yan family finally began moving into the city. Yan Shichang and his sons' carpentry tools had already been moved into the city ahead of time, and what was left was the clothing, bedding, pots, pans, and bowls for each branch of the family.

Several mule carts from the transport service arrived, and by the time they reached Tingyu Lane, Yan Fengan and Wen Xi were already waiting at the mouth of the alley, holding Peng'er between them.

Entering the alley and walking further in, the third house on the right from the entrance was the Yan family's new residence, just a stone's throw from both the private school and Wen Xi's home. Though not in the same courtyard, they could still share meals together as they did in the village.

The two-courtyard compound was quite large. He Jin and Li Wan, each holding a baby, took a tour of the house and were both very satisfied with it.

Yan Shichang had already rented out the family's fields. The Yan family's land had been carefully tended for years and always produced good harvests. Once word got around, several households in the village came to inquire.

After deliberation, Yan Shichang rented the fields to Aunt Li's family and Shunzi's family.

The lease was initially signed for three years, with the rent being thirty percent of the harvest, more in good years and less in bad. Since they were all neighbors, the Yan family wouldn't nickel-and-dime them.

The family might come back someday, so as long as the land was worked and not left to go to waste, that was all that mattered.

To avoid any other disputes, Yan Shichang still signed separate contracts with each family and invited the village head and several other neighbors to serve as witnesses.

The day before leaving, Yan Shichang took one last walk through the fields. Having farmed for decades, he couldn't help feeling a pang of reluctance at handing it over to others.

But he understood the principle that people aim high, just as water flows low. He and Chen Lanfang had slaved away to support their youngest son's education—wasn't this the day they'd been waiting for?

Aunt Li's son and Shunzi were both hardworking and honest men. The land would never go fallow in their hands.

If city life truly didn't suit them, they could always come back and farm again.

All the other animals could be taken into the city, except for the old yellow ox. The ox had been with the Yan family for over a decade—it plowed, pulled the cart, and hauled grain—it did it all.

It was like a silent old companion of the household; with it around, Yan Shichang and the others had saved no end of effort.

Now that the whole family was moving to the city, the ox couldn't be brought along, and no one had the heart to just sell it off. Yan Shichang gave the old ox a pat on the head and finally led it over to Aunt Li's place.

"I'm leaving the ox and the fields in your care. You've got to take good care of it—it can plow and pull a cart. Give it extra water when it's hot out, and put down more dry straw in its stall when it's cold. It's a gentle, obedient thing, so don't you dare lay a whip on it."

Country folks set great store by animals like oxen. Aunt Li's son took the rope: "Don't worry, Uncle Yan. This ox won't want for anything with us."

Yan Shichang said, "You'd better keep your word. I'll be coming back every so often to check on it."

With that, he reached out and patted the ox's back. The old ox nuzzled its head against his hand, as if answering him. Yan Shichang sighed, turned, and followed the mule cart into the city.

Folks used to farm work couldn't sit still in the city either. After settling in and resting a couple of days, Yan Shichang took his two sons to look for a shop in town.

Though the shops on the main street had heavy foot traffic, the rent was steep—a shop no bigger than the palm of your hand cost fifteen taels of silver a year. Hearing that, Yan Shichang didn't even bother to haggle and walked straight out.

At dinner, Yan Fuqiu casually griped about it at the table. Wen Xi heard and said, "Since it's a carpentry shop, there's no need to rent a prime spot on the main drag. Tomorrow I'll have Aqiu take you to the broker's, and have them show you around."

The city brokers were old hands at the game. Hearing that Yan Shichang was looking for a shop for woodworking, they promptly led them to a quieter street. Though not as wide or bustling as the main street, the shops on both sides were all craft workshops—blacksmiths, tailors, lantern shops, and the like. Anybody wanting furniture made would come to this street first.

The broker showed them a shop with a "shop in front, workshop in back" setup. The front reception area wasn't very large, but the workshop in the back was spacious—plenty of room for a big worktable and a planing bench, plus storage for various woods. There was also a back door in the workshop that led straight out to the street behind.

Yan Shichang nodded in satisfaction: "This place is great—easy to unload materials and move big pieces in and out. How much is the rent?"

The broker said, "It's normally eight taels a year, but since you're family of Yan Juren, six taels will do."

Shops on this street weren't easy to rent out anyway, so leaving it empty was a waste—might as well do someone a favor.

The price was nearly half of what the main street shops charged. The three of them talked it over briefly and rented the place on the spot. Yan Wangchun went out to a general store and bought cleaning supplies.

Once the shop was cleaned up, they rested a day at home, then moved all their woodworking tools over.

A small carpentry shop didn't need to copy others with a fancy sign. Yan Shichang planed a smooth board himself, sized to fit the door, and had Yan Fengan write "Yan Family Woodworking" on it.

With Yan Fengan and Wen Xi helping to get the word out, though the woodworking shop hadn't landed any big orders yet, small jobs kept trickling in steadily.

Ever since Peng'er came along, Wen Xi had gradually cut back on his embroidery work. He still took orders from a few regular customers during holidays, but he rarely did the stitching himself anymore.

Now that his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law had moved to the city and there were folks to help watch the kids, his ambitions stirred again.

Running an embroidery shop out of the house was a bit inconvenient. To really make a go of it, he needed his own shop.

These past few days, after Peng'er and Shitou were asleep, he and He Jin would leave the kids with Chen Lanfang and Li Wan and head out to look at a few shops.

Yan Shichang thought main street shops were wasted on a carpentry workshop, but for Wen Xi, they were just right.

His embroidered goods were everyday items, and the more foot traffic an area had, the more he could sell each day.

After checking out three or four places, Wen Xi and He Jin both zeroed in on the empty shop next to the silk and satin store.

The two noted the shop's location and went to the broker's to ask around.

Hearing their description, the broker laughed: "You've got a sharp eye, Master Yan's Husband! This shop used to be a clothing store selling ready-made garments. The original owner moved to the prefectural capital with his son and asked us to sublet or sell it. We only put up the notice yesterday, and counting you, three parties have already come asking."

This wasn't the broker blowing smoke—prime shops in busy areas were always in demand, so it wasn't surprising that many came to ask.

Wen Xi asked him, "Is the shop still available?"

"Yes, it is. The previous parties thought the price was too high and said they'd go home and think it over."

"How much?"

The broker quoted the price: "If you want it, the yearly rent would be at least twenty taels."

He Jin sucked in a breath—that meant they'd be shelling out twenty taels a year in rent without doing anything, right? That was pretty steep.

Wen Xi also thought the rent was a bit much. He asked again, "What if I wanted to buy the shop outright?"

"If you buy it outright, you'd pay one hundred twenty taels in one go."

Earlier, Yan Fengan had bought two houses from Master Lu and the others for only a hundred taels total. A little shop like this was asking a hundred twenty taels.

The old Wen Xi would have been scared off by that hundred twenty taels.

Having lived in the city for a while, he knew shops cost more than houses. A hundred twenty taels was no small sum, but for him and Yan Fengan, it was just a year's income.

Given his current skill and reputation, Wen Xi was confident he could earn back the shop's price in a year all by himself.

Though he'd made up his mind to buy the shop, it was still a big chunk of money, so he had to go home and talk it over with Yan Fengan.

He said to the broker, "I need to go home and talk it over with my husband. I'll give you an answer tomorrow. If anyone else comes asking..."

The broker had done business with them many times before and didn't need Wen Xi to spell it out: "Since Master Yan's Husband likes it, we won't rent it out to anyone until you get back to us."

Wen Xi nodded. When Yan Fengan came home from teaching, he latched onto him, all clingy.

Yan Fengan put an arm around him and said with a grin, "As they say, when someone's suddenly sweet, they want something. Come on, what do you need from me?"

Wen Xi huffed and gave his arm a pinch: "Then when you're all lovey-dovey with me on normal days, what favor are you after?"

"Just joking, why are you getting upset?" Yan Fengan laughed and leaned over to give him a kiss, then asked on his own, "How did the shop viewing go?"

Wen Xi then recounted the day's events to him. After listening, Yan Fengan thought for a moment and said, "I have an impression of that shop you mentioned. The location is quite good, and one hundred twenty taels isn't really too expensive. If you like it, I'll go with you to the broker's tomorrow to settle it."

Wen Xi smiled brightly and said, "Great, Scholar Yan has a silver tongue, just the person to help me haggle the price down."

"Your husband wouldn't dare disobey your orders. Tomorrow I'll pull out all the stops to haggle for you."

Wen Xi's smile grew even wider as he added, "What if they don't give you that face?"

"If they don't, then they don't. Worst case, I'll cover that twenty taels from my own stash."

"You've got a secret stash? How come I never knew? Where'd you hide it? Let me find it." Wen Xi knew he was joking, so he deliberately pinched and tickled him all over.

Yan Fengan wasn't one to be trifled with either, and retaliated by tickling his ticklish spots several times.

The young couple happily horsed around for a while before calming down.

The next day, Yan Fengan brought the silver and went with Wen Xi to the broker's.

The broker had already given Wen Xi a low price out of respect for Yan Fengan, so there was no way they'd knock off another twenty taels. In the end, both sides each gave a little ground and closed the deal at one hundred ten taels.

After signing the contract with the broker and heading to the county office to pay the deed tax and get the official stamp, within just three days, the shop was now fully Wen Xi's own property.

Although the shop was in hand, the embroidery workshop couldn't start business right away. Embroidery goods were different from porcelain, fabric, and other items—they had to be displayed individually so customers could see and touch them. The display cases left by the previous clothing shop weren't suitable, so new display racks would need to be made.

Yan Shichang and the others hadn't expected that the first big order they received after opening the carpentry workshop would come from their own kin.

Now that everyone had their own trade, they couldn't just not charge like they used to. For starters, Wen Xi had to cover the material costs himself.

Ordering display racks was just the first step. The most important thing for opening an embroidery workshop was stocking up—besides finished samples, various fabrics and embroidery threads also needed to be prepared.

Wen Xi already had plenty of fabric in his embroidery shop, so that wasn't a problem. However, he had few finished pieces on hand, so he needed to order another batch of embroidery from other embroiderers before opening.

Between making his own goods and taking orders from other couples, he was going to be quite busy this New Year holiday.

"Author's Note"

Our goal is to grow bigger and stronger [rainbow fart], hoping to finish the next chapter [shy]