The arrogant little husband is desperately flirting with the hunter

The two of them were about to set off for another county. Yan Zhen was afraid that her husband would get cold on the road, so he actually asked Yan Zhennan to install a shed on the back of the ox cart.

Yan Zhennan complained while doing it. He had never done anything so weird before.

Zhao Guizhi happened to hear this and rolled her eyes at him: "You've even made a three-legged table before, so what's wrong with making a cattle shed?"

Yan Zhennan quickly begged for mercy: "Mom, I'll do it. I guarantee it will be warm and beautiful."

Zhao Guizhi didn't expose her second son's shortcomings. She still had to prepare some things for Xiao Ge'er to take with him.

Yan Zhennan took a deep breath to warm his hands before continuing with his carpentry work.

Chu Xiao came out of the house and handed him his hot spring bottle: "Second brother, this is for you, don't freeze."

Yan Zhennan quickly waved his hand: "Ge Fulang, just use it. I'm used to it at Master's place and I'm not afraid of the cold."

Chu Xiao didn't force it, he squatted down and asked: "Your skills should be complete now, your master won't give you wages?"

Speaking of this, Yan Zhennan couldn't help curling his lips: "This industry has its own rules. You have to work for the master for five years before you can be considered a true apprentice. After this winter, I will have worked for him for five years. Only then will I ask for a raise."

Chu Xiao didn't understand all this, but he felt that Yan Zhennan's craftsmanship was no worse than that of Carpenter Tan. What's more, young people have quick minds and can always come up with new styles, which makes them more popular with newlyweds.

"But what does my master say? He probably won't let me stay there any longer. After all, a carpenter who has just finished his apprenticeship needs at least one tael or two qian of silver per month, and he won't be willing to part with that."

Chu Xiao was puzzled: "I see his carpentry shop is quite big, why is he so reluctant to pay the wages?"

Yan Zhennan shrugged: "An apprentice only earns fifty cents a month. Usually, he can't help much in the first year. In the second year, he can make some ordinary furniture. After three years of study, he can basically get the hang of it."

"Instead of spending more than ten taels of silver a year to keep a carpenter who has completed his training, it is better to recruit more apprentices to work for free. None of my senior brothers were retained by him."

Chu Xiao frowned: "Then he is not afraid that those people will go out and set up their own business and steal his business?"

Yan Zhennan shook his head: "No, his carpentry shop has been opened in our Anning Town for decades, and the prices are reasonable. It is said that you should hire the experienced rather than the new. Not everyone can compete with him for business."

"And it was agreed when I became an apprentice that I could not open a shop in Anning Town within ten years after I finished my apprenticeship."

Yan Zhennan smiled and said, "Even if they gave way, they don't have much money in their pockets. They can't even afford to buy wood, so how can they open a business? Most of them go back to continue farming, and do some carpentry work for the villagers."

Chu Xiao: "Wasn't that five years of study in vain?"

Anyway, if he doesn't do it, why should the skills he has learned with great effort be restricted and useless?

"Not really. I can still make a little money in the village. My mother asked me to learn it because she wanted me to have a skill. I can't make much, but I can still make a little money a year."

This is indeed the case. After a year's hard work in harvesting, most farmers would only have a few taels of silver left after deducting the food they had for food. And that was only if they owned quite a bit of land.

Two or three taels is not a lot, but it is enough to feed myself just to fill my stomach.

But it is definitely impossible to support a family.

Yan Zhennan smiled innocently and touched his head: "Well, actually I have my own plan. I am thinking of going to the capital city after I finish my apprenticeship next year. There must be more carpenter shops in the capital city than here. Who knows, there might be someone who needs a carpenter. A month is not much, a thousand or eight hundred coins will be enough."

"Wait for me to work for a few years, save some money and come back to buy some land. Then I'll take some work in the village."

Yan Zhennan had indeed imagined his future life more than once, and now he was just waiting for the five-year apprenticeship to end.

Chu Xiao smiled and joked: "Don't you want to get married soon?"

After hearing this, Yan Zhennan's face instantly turned red: "That, that's all for the future. Didn't my eldest brother get married in his twenties? Good things are worth waiting for. I, I'm not in a hurry."

Chu Xiao did not continue the topic. He stood up and pointed at the wooden board under his hand, "Remember to carve two little fat fish on it for me. Make it look better."

"Okay, I'll carve some more lotus flowers. I guarantee they'll be beautiful." Yan Zhennan patted his chest confidently.

Chu Xiao didn't stay here any longer. After returning to the room, he discussed with Yan Zhenshen: "Let's pass by other counties and see if we can find a suitable place for my second brother to open a carpentry shop."

Yan Zhenshen was rummaging through boxes and cabinets to take out the quilts that had been used before. These had been used for many years and the cotton inside was no longer fluffy and needed to be restuffed.

However, you need a professional to fluff the cotton. He has to disassemble it here before carrying it to the next village.

"Yeah." After hearing what her husband said, Yan Zhenshen responded but did not continue what he said.

Instead, he asked, "We'll put two layers of quilts in the oxcart to protect you from the bumps. We'll use these old cottons. As for the small quilt, should we make one or buy one directly from the county town?"

"It's fine. I'm not sleeping in the car anyway. I just want to stay warm on the road. My cloak is very warm."

Then he thought of something else: "I'd better make two new ones. It's very cold when you're driving on the road. You can cover your legs to keep warm. You need to make another thick cotton coat."

In the next two days, Chu Xiao and Yan Zhenshen began to prepare for going out.

The transportation here is not well developed. Many people have never been to other counties, let alone the women and men in some remote villages. They may not even have been to the county under their jurisdiction.

You can't just go out whenever you want. It's okay to wander around the nearby villages, but if you want to go into another county, you need a household registration certificate, otherwise if you are checked and cannot prove yourself, you will be detained first until the yamen runners go to the county to prove your identity.

During this period, the money spent by the yamen runners must be borne by the prisoner. If you go out without proof, they will definitely suspect that you are a spy sent by another country.

Of course, not everyone will be checked.

But Yan Zhenshen is tall and strong, and always has a cold face.

Sometimes when he came to Anning Town to sell wild animals, he would be questioned again by yamen runners who had never seen him before, not to mention going to other counties.

So before leaving, they had to come to the government office to get a household registration certificate, but this matter was handled by Lu Zhubu, so he just asked a few questions casually.

The government office was idle in winter, so Chief Clerk Lu kept them to chat. At first, he praised Lu Chengxue for being well-educated and keeping the house in order, and said that Lu Zhicheng was a lucky boy.

As he was talking, the topic turned to Yan Zhenbei.

Lu Zhubu smiled and took a sip of tea. "I won't beat around the bush. Xiaobei and Qing'er are not too old, but they are not too young either. But it has been said since ancient times that boys and girls should not sit at the same table after the age of seven. It seems that our Qing'er is also seven years old."

Yan Zhenshen nodded: "Indeed, Xiaobei will be ten years old after the Chinese New Year, and it is indeed not appropriate for him to live with Grandpa Lu. Thank you for your concern these days, Grandpa Lu. I will definitely..."

Lu Zhubu dropped the tea bowl heavily, causing Yan Zhenshen to stop talking and not be able to continue.

Is this the wrong thing to say?