At the beginning of Xia's sleep, he slept until noon as expected. Seeing some movement in the house, the maid knocked on the door and came in to help him wash up.
Xia Chu looked at the maid carrying water and recalled her name: "Is your name Mo Xiang?"
"Yes, slave Mo Xiang."
"Have you had your meal, Lord Marquis?"
"Not yet, and you won't let us call you, just keep waiting."
"Go and order the food to be passed on. Tell the Marquis that I will be there in a minute."
Mo Xiang responded and stepped back.
Xia Chu dressed neatly, washed up and went to find the Marquis for dinner.
As soon as they met, Mr. Hou rubbed his head and said, "How lazy."
"I was tired all day yesterday, so I can't sleep more."
"Okay, okay, come and eat." The Marquis was not annoyed and served him food lovingly.
"By the way, how's the brothel going?" Xia Chu asked with beef in his mouth while chewing.
"I don't want to take your orders to heart, so I asked Li Xinlan to buy the largest building in the capital the next day."
"Didn't it cost a lot of money?"
"It cost a lot, and the girls also paid for it."
“Wouldn’t it be possible to use it now?”
"Of course, it's in the Yixiang Building in the center of the city. Go take a look when you have time, and tell Li Xinlan what you want to buy."
"Thank you, father." Xia Chu stood up and served a bowl of chicken soup to the Marquis: "How much silver did you spend in total?"
"Don't worry, you can afford to be a father."
"Well, I can make it back anyway."
"Are you really talking about brothels as a business?"
"I don't rely on brothels, I rely on others." Xia Chu blinked and smiled slyly.
"Yeah, it's a secret again."
Xia Chu gave Mr. Hou another piece of chicken drumstick: "It took a lot of connections to build this building, right?"
"You are the only one who is clever."
"Such a good location, so many girls. It's so easy to get one."
The Marquis nodded approvingly: "I did use some connections."
"Tell me, I have a clue. I might as well pull their pigtails in the future to return the favor."
The Marquis laughed heartily: "You are such a wilted child."
The meal was enjoyable. Xia Chu remembered that he still had things to do in the afternoon, so he resigned and walked to Su Qianle's place. When he walked to the door of the yard, the boy came up and smoked cicada leaves for him. Xia Chu felt that something was missing, so he said to the boy: "Go and make me a plaque and hang it here. From now on, it will be called Su Yuan."
The boy said 'yes' and stepped back.
Xia Chu entered the courtyard and walked to Su Qianle's room and knocked on the door. Su Qianan opened the door and saw that it was Xia Chu. She was stunned and quickly saluted. Xia Chu waved his hand.
Su Qian'an pulled out the stool and poured another cup of tea for Xia Chu: "Young Master just sent someone to call me, why bother coming in person."
"It's okay, I'll come over and see Qianle."
Xia Chu walked to the bed and sat down, felt Su Qianle's pulse again, and asked in detail about her physical condition after taking the medicine. He told her to rest more and move less. He also remembered that Qianle in the previous life was literate, so he asked her what kind of books she liked to read and if she could send the maids to bring them to her to relieve her boredom.
Su Qianle was flattered. The huge gap, the huge difference from yesterday to today, made her feel like she was still in a beautiful dream.
Xia Chu saw her in a daze and stopped talking. He tucked her in and took Su Qian'an out.
The two stood at the door of the yard smoking cicada leaves.
Su Qian'an asked him: "How does the young master know that my sister is literate?"
Xia Chu raised his eyebrows: "You two have good conduct, Qian Le and talk well, and although you practice martial arts, you are not rude at all. You two must have good family backgrounds since you were young. Perhaps your family's family fortunes have fallen into decline."
"Master..." Su Qian'an's eyes filled with sadness.
"You don't need to tell me, you just need to know. From now on, you are my people, and I will protect you." Xia Chu's eyebrows curled up with a smile, just like the sun breaking through the dark clouds and casting a beam of golden light, letting Su Qian stay here. He was stunned for a moment, feeling that a powerful aura suddenly burst out from his body.
It made people have to believe and surrender, and Su Qian'an suddenly felt very satisfied.
Yes, very satisfied.
Su Qianan is very satisfied to be able to follow him.
Even, happiness.
"Let's go, I will take you shopping."
"Yes." Su Qian'an followed in stride.
It is the end of the New Year, and the streets of the capital are bustling, crowded, and endless. There are also many shops on both sides, including jewelry, spices, taverns, pawn shops, inns, teahouses...
Various vendors were stationed in front of the shops on both sides. They were eating, drinking and playing to their heart's content. Xia Chu stopped in front of a dessert shop and asked Su Qian'an: "Qian Le, do you like that nectar?"
"She liked it very much and said she had never tasted anything so delicious."
Xia Chu nodded and entered the dessert shop. Weighed some candied fruits and asked Su Qian to hold them in hand.
"Master, do you like this?" Su Qianan asked Xia Chu while standing at the door of the dessert shop.
Xia Chu looked around the shops while walking: "I bought this for Qianle. Although the nectar is good, it is not easy to get. I don't have much left. Let her eat this preserve after taking medicine."
Su Qian'an's heart warmed: "Young Master Lao is worried."
The two continued to wander, and Xia Chu suddenly saw a three-story shop on the street corner ahead on the right. Immediately, I felt happy and walked towards the shop.
Standing at the door of the shop, Xia Chu asked him: "Can you bargain?"
"meeting."
Xia Chu nodded with satisfaction, stood on tiptoes in approval, and patted his shoulder.
Su Qian'an wanted to laugh, but tried her best to hold it back, and followed Xia Chu into the shop. This was a decoration store selling weapon accessories.
Xia Chu walked around the store and turned back to ask him: "What color do you like?"
"black."
Xia Chu picked out a black knife spike and compared it with the knife on Su Qian'an's waist: "That's it."
The shopkeeper quickly stood up and came over to praise: "Young master, you have good eyesight. This is the best knife earring in our store. Look at the jade bead in the middle, it is mutton fat jade..."
Xia Chu raised his hand to interrupt his chatter.
"How much?"
"Twelve taels."
Xia Chu signaled Su Qian'an to give him money. Su Qian'an saw his look and understood the shopkeeper's bargain: "Can it be cheaper?"
With a 'pop' sound, Xia Chu's hand that was originally supporting his chin on the counter fell down.
"This little brother, look at the fine workmanship, the jade beads alone are worth it..."
"Give me the money." Xia Chu was too lazy to listen to the shopkeeper's nonsense and stared at Su Qian'an as he ordered.
Su Qian'an felt apprehensive while giving money, thinking to herself, didn't you ask me at the door of the store if I would bargain
Xia Chu looked at the shopkeeper packing the knives carefully and asked casually: "Is there anything else on the second floor?"
"No, the second floor is the warehouse."
"What about the third floor?"
"The third floor is too small. The younger one lives by himself."
"Why don't the shopkeeper hire a waiter and just do all the work on his own?"
"Hey, the young master looks like he belongs to a wealthy family. Business is not doing well these days, and I can't make much money. I am working alone, and I can still make ends meet."
Xia Chu nodded: "In that case, will your shop sell?"
"This can't be done. This is a family business passed down from our ancestors and cannot be lost to villains." The shopkeeper looked embarrassed.
Xia Chu was a little pity. He liked the layout here and the location was good. He thought for a while and then asked: "If you can't sell it, you can always rent it, right?"
"rent?"
"Yes, rent! Look at this, I have rented all three floors, and I have paid for all the things you have here. Including you, if you are willing to stay, you can also be a clerk and continue to sell these things. , I’ll give you wages.”
"Seriously?" The shopkeeper figured it out. Doesn't this mean he earned rent in vain
"nature."
"Can I stay too?"
"Food and lodging are included." Xia Chu said with a smile.
"What about the rent?"
"Qian'an? Why are you standing there? Let's negotiate the price." Xia Chu pushed Su Qian'an in front of the shopkeeper and walked to the stairs: "Can I go up and have a look?"
"Natural, natural. Young Master, you can do whatever you want."
Xia Chu went up to the second floor, checked it out, and roughly imagined the layout and modifications in his mind. Then he went up to the top floor. The top floor was indeed a bit small, but the view was very good. Then he hollowed out the middle of the surrounding walls and added inlays. It's nice to close the windows and draw the curtains, just drink tea and enjoy the view.
Xia Chu was thinking about it when Su Qian'an called out from downstairs.
"Master, let's go."
Xia Chu went downstairs, and Su Qian'an walked up to him and winked: "Master, this person's price is too high, why don't you look elsewhere?"
Xia Chu smiled knowingly and cooperated: "Okay, let's take a look. It's really too small to do anything, and it will be troublesome to modify it later."
The shopkeeper was anxious when he saw the two of them raising their feet. He originally thought that the young man was rich and wanted to make a fortune, but when he saw that he didn't want him anymore, he quickly lowered his worth.
"No, young master, why don't you just pay the price this guy said?"
Xia Chu and Su Qian'an looked at each other and smiled, and Su Qian'an echoed Xia Chu's ear: "Master, I don't bring that much cash."
Xia Chu nodded and said to the shopkeeper: "Then make a contract at the price he said. In addition, you write a receipt for the money. I will sign it and you can go to the Xiahou Mansion accountant to collect the money."
"It turns out he is from the Xiahou Mansion. I am a little blind. I will give you a written receipt." The shopkeeper showed the written contract and the written receipt of the money to Xia Chu, and then handed over the pen and ink respectfully.
Xia Chu took the silver note and gave it to Su Qian'an to sign the other contract note with a flourish of his pen.
After signing the document, the shopkeeper asked with a smile on his face: "Where will the little one live from now on?"
"You can live here for now. When the second and third floors are renovated, I will give you a room in the Marquis Mansion, and then you can move there."
"Yes, do you think the name of this shop needs to be changed?"
Xia Chu pointed at Su Qian'an and said, "Look back and see this little brother coming and then ask him what he means."
"Yes, yes." The shopkeeper handed over the knife spike that Xia Chu bought before: "You two nobles, please go slowly."
Xia Chu took the brocade box and said jokingly to Su Qian'an: "Let's go, little brother."
Su Qian'an smiled helplessly. He began to slowly get used to Xia Chu's temperament and was no longer so restrained.
(End of chapter)