The maid's road to success

Things in Chunyuan are back on track. Wenniang and Bihe told Wushan that if any poor children came to ask for help, they should be kept if they were of good character.

They still have to be busy with Yufuzhai's affairs every day. After all, the expenses of them and Anze's group of ten children, all depend on the income from Yufuzhai.

Fortunately, Bihe was doing well in business. She bought several shops, spending a total of four or five hundred taels of silver. She sold some dead contracts to people with good cooking skills from the merchants and opened some morning tea shops. Although she did not earn much, after deducting the cost and paying the wages to those people in a month, she could still earn four or five taels of silver.

It's not bad. There are no crops grown in Chunyuan now, and the vegetable garden cannot be planted either. It only costs less than one or two taels of silver every month to buy some food, silk thread, cotton and linen cloth, and some daily necessities. The rest is kept with Bihe to be used when Chunyuan has large expenses in the future.

Life was getting back on track, and Wen Niang began to relax and prepare for the winter. She was very afraid of the cold, and now it was even worse here in Yuzhou.

Although she didn't suffer much in Fushoutang, she didn't know how to do needlework, so her wrists would feel sore. She also suffered a lot on the way to escape Lin County from Kyoto with Chen Luoxi.

Later, in order to take care of Chen Luoxi, he had to fetch water to wash clothes even in the cold winter, so his hands and feet inevitably got frostbite, and they would still feel itchy when it was rainy or cold.

In order to make Wen Niang feel more relaxed, An Ning went early to pull a few carts of charcoal. Every time An Ze went to see Wushan, he would always bring back a lot of firewood.

When Wushan came to the city to sell things, he would carry a lot of firewood back with him, so there was enough firewood, but there had been so much rain recently, so much that it was annoying, and everything was wet.

Wen Niang became less and less willing to go out, and even when the little ones came to learn needlework, she stayed in her room to teach them.

"You're getting lazier. How can you stay in your room all day?"

Bihe came in with the newly researched tea. It was the honey tea she made, which was a little different from the previous ones.

"This tea is good. I think I can sell it."

Bihe's eyes lit up.

"That's what I was planning. I've always loved researching these things. We have twelve or three kinds of dim sum in our store. Anping is also trying to see if he can make some fresh dim sum to sell. I think this tea is a good choice."

Wen Niang nodded.

"Young ladies from wealthy families always pair tea with dim sum during afternoon tea. We now have five kinds of expensive dim sum in our store. Why don't you research what kind of tea to pair with each kind and make dry tea to sell with them? This is a novel method that no other store has and it can also help us establish a unique business."

Bihe thought it was feasible. She knew how to make many kinds of honey tea, as well as fruit honey, which the masters of the mansion used to love to drink.

Yuzhou cannot compare to Kyoto. Can the tastes of the masters here be as picky as those of the daughters of the marquisates in Kyoto?

"It has been raining recently. The goods were sold out in less than an hour. Now we have to wait almost two hours."

Wen Niang looked at the increasingly heavy rain outside and felt a bad feeling in her heart.

"Tell An Ning and An Ze to buy more food and send it to Chunyuan. Let's prepare more. The rain keeps falling and getting heavier. I'm always worried."

Who taught the plum blossoms to be so sentimental? The heavy rain falls silently. Sometimes too much rain is not necessarily a good thing.

"An Ning has already stockpiled two bags of rice and sent them to Chunyuan. We have been making snacks here, so we already have a lot of noodles. I will take An Ze to the grain and oil shop in front to buy some rice and other food."

Wen Niang nodded. An Ning and An Ping were from Yuzhou. They were sold the year their family suffered a disaster. They also said that there was too much rain in Yuzhou.

There are floods every few years. The harvest this year was not very good, so many farmers were forced to sell their land and work as laborers to earn money.

If there is another flood, it will be difficult to survive.

"Tell An Ning and An Ze to prepare more food in the next two days. All the empty rooms in Chun Garden should be properly reserved. If the rain gets heavier, we can also stay in Chun Garden."

Bihe also thought it was a good idea. The terrain of Yuzhou City was poor, and if it continued to rain, Yuzhou City would be unsafe.

"Okay, I'll stop busy and follow you to clean up a few rooms. I heard that there is water accumulation in the south of the city."

She did what she said. The next day after selling snacks, Bihe took Anze, Anya and other children to Chunyuan.

Now Yufuzhai is still open for business, but the children can be sent over first. If anything happens, the four adults in An Ning can pack up and leave at any time.

While walking on the road, Bihe already felt that the road was not easy to walk on. Fortunately, An Ning had traveled all the way to Yuzhou and had practiced the skills of driving a horse-drawn carriage, so it was relatively safe.

"Wushan is here to help."

An Ze, wearing a straw raincoat, jumped off the carriage and helped a few people move things.

Wushan is quite hardworking. Since he can't go out often due to the rain recently, he took a few children to build a bamboo awning so that the yard is not muddy.

Anya and Ulan took the younger one to clean up the room.

Originally there were eight or nine rooms of varying sizes in this courtyard, and the houses on the left and right sides had not been repaired yet and were uninhabitable.

Wushan will live in a room with the boy, Wulan will live in a room with the girl, then Anze will live in a room with Annan and others, and Anya will live in a room with the girl.

There are still a few rooms left, but not enough empty beds.

Fortunately, Wushan cut a lot of bamboo for making bamboo mats and kept them at home. We could make a makeshift bamboo bed to sleep on.

An Ning took advantage of the light rain to go back and fetch things. Since she planned to live in Chunyuan, it would be better to bring firewood and coal over.

Bihe and Wen Niang stayed in the shop for three days, but the rain showed no sign of stopping and even the yard was flooded.

Fewer and fewer people were going out, and business was slow. Wen Niang simply closed her Bihe shop and took advantage of the fact that she could still leave the city and went to Chunyuan with her valuables.

An Ning packed up the carriage early and was waiting for the two people at the door.

"Are the children settled?"

An Ning nodded.

"Chunyuan has been cleaned up. Let's buy some more meat and prepare some cooked food today. I heard from the older people on the street that it might rain for a while."

Wen Niang looked at the streets and couldn't help but reveal a worried look.

If this continues, I'm afraid there will really be floods. Floods alone wouldn't be too scary, but epidemics are most likely to occur after a major disaster.

That's the most terrible thing.

Wen Niang could only take things one step at a time. Chunyuan had stored enough food, and in order to avoid being watched by interested people and causing danger later, they would sell some of the food when transporting the luggage.

They were also transported to Chunyuan when no one was around, in case a flood really occurred.

Food is life-saving, so more food is best.

Wen Niang packed up the dim sum that had not been sold in the past two days. These overnight dim sum could not be sold, but they were okay to eat herself.

An Ning walked into a store selling prepared food with familiarity and bought eight or nine pieces of braised beef, roast chicken, and pig's trotters.

Fortunately, the weather is cold now, so everything can be stored.

"Buy some seasonings for pickling, and then buy some vegetables to make some pickles."

This kind of cooked food can be kept for a while, but this is not necessarily the case with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Made pickles to keep them fresh.

"Is Wen Niang afraid that there will be a disaster this time?"

Wen Niang nodded.

"If there is no flood, that would be the best. If there is a flood, we have to protect everyone. Since we have brought them back, we can't just leave them alone."

Bihe nodded. Although Wen Niang was a little younger than herself, she was always more cautious than herself. Moreover, she was always used to preparing for a rainy day and avoided many bad things.

Bihe felt that Wen Niang would not make a mistake this time. After all, it had not rained so much in Yuzhou for a long time.

Besides, Yuzhou had experienced floods before, and those older and more experienced people said that the rain this time was unusual.

After buying the necessary things, Wen Niang went to the drugstore to prepare some medicine just in case.

Then he got on the carriage and went to Chunyuan.

These days, Wushan and Anze took a few older children to collect some wood and slate nearby.

It is much cleaner when laid in the yard.

When Wen Niang arrived at Chunyuan, Anya and several other girls had already cleaned up her and Bihe's rooms.

There are not many rooms, and two people live in one, but it is obvious that everyone has put a lot of thought into it.

A neat wooden board, supported by a thick tree stump, with several bamboo mats and two layers of mattresses spread on the board.

It was much more comfortable than their own room.

"Do you have bedding in your own room? We have it here, so what do you use?"

Wushan scratched his head embarrassedly and said.

"Yes, we bought enough bedding before, and we haven't used it all. When An Ze and his men came over, we used the ones bought from the restaurant. The new ones will be used by you immediately."

Wen Niang touched everyone's head kindly and did not reject their kindness. After all, doing something would make them feel good.

Wen Niang took out the things she brought for everyone and distributed them.

"There is no kang here. The weather is cold, and it has been raining and it is even colder. Everyone puts a small iron stove in the house for heating and to boil some hot water."

At that time, iron was expensive, and these six or seven furnaces cost three taels of silver. No wonder Yuzhou people rarely used them.

One stove costs as much as a family of four in a month.

They also bought a lot of cotton-padded clothes. Before, they only had two sets, but when it rained, the clothes couldn’t dry, so it’s better to have more.

After the room was decorated and the things were distributed, everyone sat together to eat and talk.

Wushan was capable and had built a rain shelter in the yard with bamboo early on.

It's very convenient, with facilities available from the room to the kitchen, to the toilet, and to the door.

It is much more convenient to move around in the yard.

The oilcloth that Wen Niang bought was of no use at all.

As soon as we arrived in Chunyuan, the rain started to get heavier and heavier, as if the sky was leaking and water was pouring down.

Wen Niang looked at the path in front of the yard, which was washed by rain and the soil covering the surface was being carried away by the flowing rain water.

I have a vague bad feeling in my heart.

I have heard in the past that too much rain can easily cause casualties. One reason is that the river water rises and floods the villages downstream. Another reason is that the rain washes away too much silt and causes mountain collapse.

Most of the farmers nowadays live in places close to mountains and water. They originally believed in making a living from the mountains and the water, but now this situation has become a burden.

After more than ten days of rain, the mountain has become muddy and difficult to climb.

Everyone can only try not to go out. Wushan usually walks around the house to see what's going on nearby.

The location of Chunyuan doesn't look very good, as it is not close to any mountain or water.

The surrounding land is almost entirely irrigated by rainwater. It is far away from the city and the countryside.

So it became abandoned over time, and only the villagers who lived near the temple came here to check on the crops. Later, the crops were sold and even fewer people came here.

Now it seems like a good place to take refuge. There is a well in the yard, and there are no mountains or rivers around, so it is unlikely to be affected by a disaster.

Staying away from people means less trouble and a more peaceful life.

Wushan searched several yards and found some tree trunks, which he brought back and piled in the open space in front of the house.

"What are you doing carrying all these tree trunks?"

Wen Niang was embroidering belts for a few little girls and watched Wushan Anze busy at work.