Something happened. This is not going to be bloody.

The people of Da Chu believed in living near water, and many courtyards would bring running water into the yard.

The courtyard that the prefect rewarded Yao Qing was not big, but it was very exquisite. There was a white wall painted with lime outside the door, and Xiangfei bamboo was planted beside the wooden door. When you pushed the door open, you could see running water lingering in the courtyard. There was a main room, two side rooms, and a wing room on each side of the east and west, which looked well-arranged. There were flowers and plants planted under the corridor, and green bamboos were reflected in the distance.

Zhou Leng got off the donkey cart and pushed the door open. He looked at the yard and said with satisfaction, "If I were to buy this little yard with money, I really wouldn't be able to afford it."

Yao Qing carried the wooden box full of money through the corridor into the main room, found a safe and reliable place to put it, and then went to get other packages.

Ju Zheng helped Zhou Leng and his family move, and he also followed along on his donkey cart, but the cart he was driving was heavy, so he was slower, and he had just tied up the cart outside the courtyard gate. He said loudly:

"Madam, the city is still better. Look at the white walls of the courtyard. If it were in Sanyuan Village, it would be smeared with mud by naughty children in a few days. In short, it is not beautiful at all."

Zhou Leng turned his head to look at Ju Zheng who was showing envy and said:

"Don't be envious. I'm planning to open another shop in the city. If you like the city, come and help me. How about living in our courtyard for a while?"

Ju Zheng grinned happily, no longer looking like a cold swordsman. He unloaded all the luggage from the car and put it inside the courtyard gate, then stood up and looked around the courtyard carefully and said:

"Madam, Brother Guiyan and the young lady from Uncle Zhong's family have been flirting with each other all day long. If I move away, Brother Guiyan will be the only one left in the East Courtyard. I think good things are about to happen. I was too shy to ask for help, but today the Madam invited me, so I boldly came to the city to continue to follow Brother Yao Qing."

Zhou Leng raised his eyebrows and said:

"It's good that Gui Yan has a family. It seems that we will have to spend some money. Slowly, the five of you will all have your own families. It will be a blessing."

Ju Zheng turned his head to look at the shopkeeper's wife, and then at Brother Yao Qing who came to pick up the luggage. He felt unprecedented peace in his heart. The days when he had been through life and death seemed to have long gone away. Only the peace of the moment remained. He also had family and good friends.

That’s right, family!

Ju Zheng is the youngest of the five. In his heart, Yao Qing and Yirong are his brother and sister-in-law, his family.

"Madam Shopkeeper, from now on I will call you sister-in-law, okay?"

Zhou Leng looked at his red ears and said with a smile: "That's great, then I will call you Uncle Ju Zheng."

"I will go back today and tell Brother Gui Yan that I have packed my shoes, hat and copper coins. I will be back in a few days. Sister-in-law, please prepare my room."

"Your place to stay is a must. This is great. I can also save the copper coins for hiring a maid."

When Yao Qing came to move the luggage again, he was looking at the two people chatting and laughing. He also smiled and joked, "You two are just taking it easy here, chatting and laughing. You've left me alone to do the work."

Ju Zheng lowered his head embarrassedly.

Yao Qing joked, "Good boy, go take this bundle into the main room and put it anywhere. I'll clean it up later and I'll have a few words with your sister-in-law."

Ju Zheng nodded and went to the main room carrying two large bags.

Zhou Leng looked at his back and said, "Ju Zheng said he wants to come to the city and live with us. I will go to the street to look for a shop to rent in a few days. I think the war has just ended here, and the location is special. There will inevitably be a war with Prince Mu's Mansion in the future. It seems inappropriate to open an inn. I'd better go to the street to look around before deciding."

Yao Qing frowned and thought for a while before saying, "How about opening a coffin shop?"

Zhou Leng was speechless. She didn't know how to make paper figures. Thinking about having to make paper figures and guard the coffin every day, she shuddered.

Yao Qing looked at his wife's reaction and knew that his idea was a bad one.

After seeing Ju Zheng off, the two began to clean up their new home.

Three days later.

Ju Zheng came with his few belongings. His room was in the west wing near the entrance, and he was responsible for guarding the house.

Yao Qing has started to go to the government office early and come back late to work. After all, the city had just experienced a war and there was still some chaos in it, so he was very busy.

On a free day, Zhou Leng took Ju Zheng to stroll the streets. She was a little uncomfortable with the not very lively market and many closed shops, which was completely different from the past.

Ju Zheng said:

"Sister-in-law, I don't think this place is a good place. Why don't we go to other streets and have a look? Why is it so deserted? The last time Gui Yan and I came here, it was very lively. This is a place where merchants from the north and south pass by."

Zhou Leng replied: "Let's go to Zhuangzhaiya and find a broker to ask for the price first."

The two of them went to find a broker and talked for a long time. Now was the low period for house sales and leasing. Many wealthy businessmen moved their families to deeper hinterland after the war, so there were more vacant shops.

Zhou Leng spent all his savings to buy a shop, which was divided into two floors, the lower floor was about 50 square meters, and the upper floor was 30 square meters. One side faced the river and the other side faced the street market.

The reason why this shop is expensive is that it is very close to the dock. When a ship docks, you can just walk a few steps to the shop. On both sides of the shop are two time-honored restaurants.

When Zhou Leng decided to buy the shop, Ju Zheng was very puzzled, but he did not stop him. Instead, he took out more than 100 strings of cash he had saved to raise money for his sister-in-law.

The two men paid the money, signed a contract with the brokerage firm, and went to the government to get a title deed, so that the shop could be considered private property.

Zhou Leng stood at the second-floor window and looked at the ships coming and going on the canal. What would never be lacking here was traveling merchants. Apart from goods, traveling merchants only needed wine and meat. Zhou Leng planned to open a tavern here, similar to the modern bars.

Wine is the essence of grains. Most of the wines brewed nowadays are just alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of less than 20 degrees. If you want to brew strong liquor, you have to make distilled liquor.

When she was at Qingrong Inn, she heard that there was a high-purity liquor called Liedao in the north. In addition to purchasing other liquors, she also wanted to brew her own liquor and create her own tavern characteristics.

Ju Zheng's voice downstairs interrupted Zhou Leng's thoughts:

"Sister-in-law, I think it's too expensive to make tables and chairs in the city. I'll go to Sanyuanzhuang and ask the craftsmen in the village to help. They charge less and I can save some money."

"Ju Zheng, lock the front and back doors. Let's go back to the courtyard. When I draw the blueprints, you can go to Sanyuan Village to find someone to polish the tables and chairs. The shop has already been bought, so there is no rush to open it. Let's prepare all the miscellaneous matters first."

"okay."

It was only after Yao Qing came back from work that he heard about his wife buying a shop.

After dinner, they returned to the main room. Yao Qing, wearing his inner clothes, leaned on the soft couch and said with emotion: "My wife is really straightforward. I wonder what kind of shop you want to open?"

"Don't worry about it. You will be surprised when the time comes."

"Madam, now that Judge Lin knows that we have settled down, he has invited you and my wife to his house for a drink the day after tomorrow. You haven't met Madam Wang since you entered the city, have you?"

Zhou Leng replied:

"He is a judge and still wants to befriend you. It seems that he is really good at winning people over. Since they have invited us, we should bring gifts with us. However, we have already spent all our money. It seems that we can only use our thoughts to show our kindness. Speaking of Lady Wang, I saw her on the street today and wanted to greet her, but she walked away alone. I don't know if she didn't see me or if she felt that I was not fit to talk to her now."

Yao Qing sneered and said, "My lady, how can you be so mean? As for the money, just bear with it. When you get your salary next month and the interest from the inn, you won't have to worry about it anymore."

Zhou Leng also smiled at herself in the mirror. She laughed at herself and felt that she seemed to have really become like Yi Rong.