Forced to marry, I picked up a young powerful official

As expected, Aqiao was smiling happily, and asked Shen Nankui with a cheerful look on her face, "Aunt, Aqiao wants to eat the dim sum from Lanfangzhai. Did you bring any delicious food for Aqiao when you came back this time?"

"Of course I brought it, but... you can't eat it."

"Ah? Why?" The little girl opened her eyes wide, looking puzzled.

Shen Nankui touched her head. His smile was very kind, but the words he said were like a bolt from the blue to Aqiao's ears.

"Gu Wenqiao made irresponsible remarks about her elders. As a punishment, she is not allowed to eat the snacks she brought back from the capital, and is required to copy ten chapters of the Classic of Filial Piety."

A Yuan laughed with glee, "Idiot, I'll let you talk without restraint!"

Ah Qiao looked like she was about to cry, and said aggrievedly, "Aunt, what Ah Qiao said is all true, and she didn't make it up. Don't you want to know what's going on at home?"

Shen Nankui said, "If I want to know, I will ask Mama Liu or your parents. Of course, you can also tell me the facts, but you can't criticize the elders. If you think the elders are wrong, you can advise them to correct it, but saying this in private will not change anything and it is also disrespectful to the elders. Do you understand?"

Ah Qiao pouted and nodded, "Ah Qiao knows she was wrong."

"Go ahead and copy the book first."

Shen Nankui had already spoken. Ah Qiao knew her temper and did not dare to plead. She walked into the main room with a wronged look on her face.

A Yuan covered his mouth and laughed, then turned around suddenly and met Shen Nankui's gaze.

He was stunned for a moment, and said quickly: "Aunt, I...I'm going to read a book!"

Shen Nankui stopped him and said, "During the half month I was away, you must have fallen behind in your studies, right?"

"No, no!" He shook his head quickly.

Shen Nankui glanced at him calmly, "You knew your sister had said something wrong, but you didn't say anything to remind her. You even gloated over her punishment. Okay, you also go in and help Ah Qiao copy the books. Submit your homework to me to check in the evening. If I find you slacking off, you will be severely punished."

A Yuan could no longer laugh and went into the main room like a quail.

The brother and sister looked at each other, and the expressions on their faces were uglier than crying.

"Hahahahaha!"

A burst of laughter was heard. It was Gu Qingrong who came back. Seeing his two children like this, he smiled with great joy.

"It's still my second brother and his wife who can keep them in line!"

As a father, he doesn't have to worry about taking care of the child anymore, and with Shen Nankui's methods, there is no need to worry about the child not becoming successful in the future.

"Brother is back?"

The two sides exchanged greetings and sat down in the main hall.

Shen Nankui looked at the brother and sister who were quietly copying books on the other side, then looked up at the yard and said thoughtfully: "Perhaps, it's time to build a new house."

The two children are growing up, and it is not a good idea to have them study in the main room all the time, as they will be easily distracted.

Gu Qingrong also lowered his voice, "It's not difficult. Our family is not short of money now. If my second brother and his wife have this idea, I can find a bricklayer team to start construction after discussing it with mother and my second brother."

Shen Nankui thought for a while and said, "Originally, it was suitable for us to live in this courtyard, but now there are many more people in the family. First, there is not enough room, and second, there is a stable that needs to be built. It is better to build a new house."

No matter where Gu Yichuan will serve as an official in the future, it is reasonable to renovate the old house.

"That's right," Gu Qingrong slapped his thigh, "In that case, leave this matter to me."

He added hurriedly, "As for the money for building the house, don't think about paying for it yourself, second sister-in-law. This is the Gu family's business. As long as mother agrees, the money should be paid by the first and second wives, as well as the public treasury."

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you, big brother."

Gu Qingrong smiled with satisfaction, and then he got down to business, "Second sister-in-law, I know you will be back today, so I came here to talk to you about the business."

He told Shen Nankui in detail about the recent business conditions of Yanxia Pavilion and the discrepancies in the accounts. Finally, he asked, "Second brother's wife, is there anything wrong?"

Gu Qingrong has been in charge of Yanxia Pavilion for such a long time that he is quite adept at it. However, with Shen Nankui away these days, he always seems to have lost his backbone. He is hesitant when making decisions and is not confident, fearing that if he does something wrong, it will have an adverse effect on Yanxia Pavilion.

Shen Nankui shook his head and said with a smile: "Brother, you and sister-in-law have done a good job. There is no problem with the current situation of Yanxia Pavilion."

After hearing this, Gu Qingrong's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled down.

"That's good, that's good!"

Seeing him like this, Shen Nankui couldn't help but laugh. After a while, he asked again, "Brother, just now you said that you rejected all those colleagues who offered a lot of money to seek cooperation, right?"

Gu Qingrong nodded, "I remember your instructions. We at Yanxia Pavilion have been steadily building up step by step, and we don't need to rely on others, so I ignored all those who came to us to get a piece of the pie."

He was full of vigor when he said this, and compared to when he was working as an accountant, he was completely different.

Shen Nankui smiled and praised: "Brother is now quite like a shopkeeper."

Gu Qingrong felt a little embarrassed, scratched his head and said, "Second sister-in-law, please stop making fun of me. If it weren't for you, how could I, Gu Qingrong, be where I am today? ...By the way, is there anything wrong with you asking about this?"

Shen Nankui shook his head and said, "Not really, big brother. I remember when Yanxia Pavilion opened, old scholar Hu sent us a painting of his own handwriting. Is it still in the store?"

"Yes, there are also gifts sent by Yichuan's classmates. They are all in the shop."

Shen Nankui said, "Brother, when you go back, remember to hang the calligraphy and paintings written by Mr. Hu in the center of the front hall of Yanxia Pavilion. If there are calligraphy and paintings with signatures as gifts from others, you can also hang them together."

If Yanxia Pavilion wants to maintain its position in the city, Gu Yichuang's status as a scholar may not be enough, and it may also need to borrow the power of others. However, once Gu Yichuang passes the imperial examination, there will be no need to worry about this.

Hearing this, Gu Qingrong probably understood and responded, "Don't worry, second brother and sister-in-law, I will definitely remember it."

After discussing the matter, Gu Qingrong did not stay long and hurried back to the county town.

Yanxia Pavilion has become somewhat famous in the city after the New Year. Now its business is booming. It is no exaggeration to say that it makes a fortune every day. It really cannot be left alone for a moment, so he has to go back quickly to keep an eye on it.

Two days later, the first month of the year ended and the first day of February was the day when the private school opened.

Shen Nankui became busy again. While giving lectures, she made another decision - to pay for the expansion of the private school and change it to "Laian Academy".

Expanding the academy was a great thing, so the village head naturally agreed and took the responsibility of doing the job.

Shen Nankui originally wanted to pay for it herself, but when the people in the town learned that she was going to expand the academy, they spontaneously donated money and raised a sum of money. After the money was converted, she only had to pay a small amount.