Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 182 Good Luck
There was a gentle breeze and drizzle all night until the rooster crowed and the east became bright.

Behind the yard, by the river bank, under the willow tree, Chen Xuan slowly and leisurely relaxed his body to practice the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises.

The air is fresh in the morning after the rain, and it looks like good weather will follow.

The steps by the river were modified according to Chen Xuan's requirements. The redundant parts were discarded on the original basis. The area remained unchanged, but the space was larger. Stone guardrails were installed, and there were stone tables and stone benches on the side.

The stonemason's craftsmanship is good, and flowers, birds, and mountains and rivers are carved on the stone. Although it is not a kind of delicate carving, it looks simple and elegant.

Xiao Miao, who came before dawn, sat on the stone bench, holding his chin with both hands, looking at the flowing water in front of him, and glancing at Chen Xuan from time to time.

She was waiting for the vendors who were selling fresh vegetables in boats along the river. They were all vegetable farmers from the countryside who got up early in the dark. The vegetables were fresh and cheap. Although they had to pay for the vegetables, she had been poor since childhood and still wanted to save as much as possible.

On the other side of the river, Mrs. Rong still gets up early to wash clothes. It seems that there are endless dirty clothes to wash at home, and it is like this every day.

The fact is that most of the people living along the river are like this. You can see young girls and wives washing clothes and vegetables everywhere. If you observe carefully, you will see the same people every day.

After separating from Zhuo Erniu yesterday, Chen Xuan wandered around Mo City until dark before returning. He didn't get any extra inspiration on how to make money, but he did notice two good places that could be used as his private space in the future.

One is a blacksmith shop that has closed down and is about to be sold, and the other is an abandoned house.

Chen Xuan guessed that the blacksmith shop was for sale because a large number of blacksmiths in Mocheng had disappeared some time ago. As for the abandoned house, he asked around and found out that it used to be the house of a constable, but the constable had died in the line of duty many years ago. The house had been abandoned and looked like a haunted house. No one had taken it over until now, and even beggars were unwilling to go there.

Chen Xuan temporarily regarded those two places as backup options and had not yet decided. Firstly, he was short of money and he still owed Wu Sanniang three thousand taels of silver. Secondly, there were still many places in the huge Mo City that he had not seen, and there might be more suitable ones in the future.

Most of the time, life is so plain, without so much swordplay and intrigue, just like the clear account book that makes people feel annoyed just by reading it.

Mrs. Rong on the other side of the river did not greet him like she did in previous times. Chen Xuan saw that her face looked a little gloomy. It was not the irritable expression caused by the things she encountered, but the low mood caused by some sad things she had experienced.

Chen Xuan was still quite good at reading other people's expressions. Without touching on other people's sad memories, he greeted them in a joking tone, "Mrs. Rong, I'm doing the laundry. You look so bad. Did Brother Rong make you angry again?"

Xiao Miao, chin in hand, looked at him with a flicker of boredom. "What?" "Does Uncle Rong across the street often make Aunt Rong angry?"

"Good morning, Brother Chen," Mrs. Rong forced a smile and continued, "My wife is so annoying that she can't even get a fart out of me. If she makes me angry, it would be fine and the house would be more lively. But I don't know where she went for a stroll so early in the morning."

"Then what are you...?"

Mrs. Rong rubbed her clothes irritably, shook her head and sighed, "Alas, something happened in Wenxiang Pavilion yesterday. An old man went out for fun and ordered a young lady. As a result, he was old and happy. Not long after, he kicked his legs and died. His family came and insisted that the young lady was responsible and wanted her to die. Then the young lady couldn't stand the anger. I guess she was thinking about her tragic fate, so she secretly hanged herself in the middle of the night. What a good girl, only seventeen years old, as beautiful as a flower, but she died in such an ugly way, with her tongue sticking out so long. What a sin!"

Chen Xuan really didn't know about this. He went in another direction yesterday.

Similar things happen too many times, but ordinary people don’t encounter them on a daily basis.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan sighed and said, "Such a large place as Wenxiang Pavilion is not being managed?"

"Of course I care, of course I care, but I can't handle the whole family throwing a tantrum. The officials are all worried. After all, someone has died, and the young lady is also very angry. The boss can just step in to settle it. Why would she hang herself? Anyway, since the young lady hanged herself, the matter will be over, alas."

Chen Xuan felt a little regretful for saying this. It was supposed to be the beginning of a beautiful day, but after hearing this, he felt a little unhappy.

Mrs. Rong on the other side couldn't stop talking and continued, "I was chatting with that young lady yesterday. She said that she would save money for a few more years to redeem herself, set up a small stall to make a living, and never marry. After all, her body is dirty, so there is no need to find a man to be bullied by. But if she does this, everything will be gone..."

She muttered for a while, and when she saw that Chen Xuan didn't respond, she stopped. When she had almost finished washing the clothes, she stood up and said, "Brother Chen, you are busy. I will go back first. Your movements are really beautiful, twisting and turning."

Chen Xuan: “…”

Your emotions come and go so quickly that it's hard to be prepared.

And the way you said it, people who didn't know would think I was seducing young girls and wives by the river.

Not to mention, there were indeed some young girls and wives along both sides of the river who were secretly looking over here.

Chen Xuan saw Xiao Miao covering her mouth from the corner of his eye. He shook his head and said, "Laugh if you want to."

"Hehe, I won't laugh at the boss. Aunt Rong is just like that. She has no bad intentions. But the boss is really pretty. She will definitely be able to please many ladies in the future," Xiao Miao said happily. She didn't understand the human tragedies that Aunt Rong had talked about before.

You still say you didn't laugh?
When the vegetable seller came, Xiao Miao immediately went up to ask the price. After a short conversation, he bought half a basket of fresh vegetables still covered with dew.

When she was about to go to the kitchen to cook with the basket of vegetables, she suddenly said with a sad look: "Boss, after this meal is ready, I will leave at noon. I can't cook for you in the future. Thank you for your care during this period. Xiao Miao remembers it." As she said that, she bowed to Chen Xuan seriously to express her gratitude.

"Well, make something sumptuous, as a farewell dinner. Follow the master and learn well from him in the future. Come and play when you are free," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

The decoration of the house is nearing its end. All good things must come to an end, and everyone has his or her own life. Chen Xuan can only hope from the bottom of his heart that she will get better in the future, but he can't bring himself to say the words of chicken soup that the hard times will always pass and things will get better in the future.

She smiled and went to cook. She was happy just knowing that she could come back in the future. However, she didn't know how she would have so much free time to come back after she left...

After a few rounds of health-preserving exercises, the sun rose and Chen Xuan finished. From the other side of the river came the voice of Mrs. Rong, who looked at them with some envy and said, "Brother Chen, your house is really beautiful. When my family has money, I want to build it like that. It's just too expensive. I don't know how many years it will take to save up for it."

The work has been going on for so long here that she has already found out the price. Saying this is just an unrealistic idea in her mind.

"That's easy, Mrs. Rong. When the boys in your family grow up and become successful, they won't be able to live in a big house, let alone a house like this. Okay, Mrs. Rong, you go ahead and do your work," Chen Xuan turned around, smiled, and went back to the house.

"Borrowing Your Good Words"

You naturally have to say different things to different people. Xiao Miao is already pitiful enough, there's no need to give her chicken soup. But Mrs. Rong is different. She has several children, so she really has that opportunity...

After the meal, several craftsmen led Chen Xuan to do the final acceptance work. After confirming that everything was correct, they would settle the payment.

During the process, their apprentices took the initiative to help clean up the house inside and out, and also put some discarded scraps into the woodshed.

By the time everything was done it was already noon.

After paying the craftsmen their wages, Gao Jingming had less than fifty taels left.

Although it still seems like a lot, the subsequent furniture and decorations will require a large amount of expenses, so it is barely enough. Fortunately, the Gao family's money has arrived, and I can withdraw it in two days.

Even so, Chen Xuan still gave the craftsmen a red envelope to express his gratitude. It wasn't much, just a large sum of money for each person as a token of appreciation, and they even gave small seedlings.

Therefore, when they saw the craftsmen off, they all said nice words to wish them good luck.

"With thousands of hammers and tens of thousands of chisels, the foundation will be solid forever. The owner will live in good health, become rich and noble, and be a great man in the world." This is the blessing given by the stonemason.

"Flowers in front of the door are blooming in all colors, smoke is rising from the courtyard and blessings are as vast as the sea, a turtle is lying in the house and longevity is as great as a mountain, and gold is flowing behind the house and wealth lasts for thousands of years." This is the heartfelt wish of the bricklayer.

"The road ahead is smooth and there are no wind or rain. Colorful clouds fall on good families. All guests coming and going are common people. The jade road and golden list lead directly to the door..." The carpenters also offered their sincere wishes.

People gradually leave, their voices fade away, but every word of blessing remains in my ears.

Xiao Miao, who was about to leave, put down the bundle of bark shavings he was taking with him for the last time, walked to the door and kowtowed, saying, "I can't speak. I wish the master a long and healthy life, endless food at home, and endless money to spend when he goes out. Hmm... hmm... I'm leaving..."

With that, she ran away, picked up the bark shavings and followed her master's pace.

Everyone who should have left has left, and the courtyard looks brand new. Although there is no banging and banging as before, it is not deserted at all.

"Xuan'er, what should we do next...?" Zhao Erhe stepped forward and asked, seeming a little uncomfortable with the sudden quietness here.

Retracting his gaze, Chen Xuan said, "There are many things to do next."

As he spoke, he pulled out a list he had prepared and handed it over, saying, "These are some of the items I selected for purchase yesterday. Please notify the store and have them deliver them to my house. My house is empty, so I need to decorate it. The young master and his family should be here tomorrow, so I don't want to be left without everything I need for daily life by then."

"Brother Xuan is really thoughtful. Let's do it right away."

After getting the list, Zhao Erhe and his colleagues started to work separately.

Then Chen Xuan could no longer go out and stroll around, because he had to wait for the merchants to deliver the goods to his door one by one, and he had to check and confirm and pay for them one by one.

But in this way, Gao Jingming had very little money left.

The place finally quieted down in the evening after a busy day. Almost all the furniture was in place, and some paintings, calligraphy, and bonsai were already arranged. It was time for Gao Jingming and his companions to move in. Whether there was anything else to add later was a matter for the future...

(End of this chapter)