Looking at Guo Ting who was completely at a loss, Xu Xiao smiled slightly.
He reminded: "You want to ask about my being reported?"
Guo Ting suddenly remembered her purpose, and her cheeks suddenly turned red.
She apologized in a low voice: "I'm sorry, third cousin. If I had known earlier..."
Xu Xiao interrupted her: "If everyone had known about it earlier, then everyone could have risen to great heights."
"My grandmother just feels sorry for me. In fact, this matter has nothing to do with your Guo family, so don't take it to heart."
Guo Ting wanted to say, how could it not be related? At least others had doubts, so they would talk about their Guo family's business.
Guo Ting said: "I know that my third cousin is a nice person and doesn't want our family to get involved. Since my father passed away, we really haven't dealt with people in the officialdom properly. If we do anything wrong or offend anyone, I hope
Third cousin made it clear!"
Xu Xiao nodded, nodded and said: "It's not difficult for you to guess this matter. You just need to think about what has already happened. If my grandmother really wanted to prosecute her, she would not have endured it until today."
"She has been holding back until today, and then she said it in front of you. Don't you still understand her purpose?"
Guo Ting was in a daze, a little unbelievable.
What I didn’t understand before will become clear now.
Unexpectedly, the old lady, who is so arrogant and seems to have nothing to worry about, would actually use all available people and things for the sake of her grandson and his marriage.
Fortunately, Xu Xiao was honest enough, otherwise she would still be like a fool, still asking questions, thinking there was something wrong with her business?
Seeing that she understood, Xu Xiao said bluntly: "My grandmother is old, and she became a little anxious when she saw that Yan Xin's marriage was ahead of me. But she will never do anything that is difficult for others. My cousin must not let her go.
In my heart."
"Xu Gong's Mansion is not a place for cannibalism. My two uncles, aunt, and my mother are all philanthropic people. Even though my cousin is here, there is no need to be polite if you need my help."
"It's rare to have a meal under the same roof. After today, it's hard to say whether we can meet again in the future. You and I just need to be honest. This is the rarest fate."
Soon, Xu Xiao sent Guo Ting back.
But this time, Guo Ting walked very steadily and no longer worried about whether the people behind her were looking at her or thinking about something?
From the conversation just now, she felt that Xu Xiao was a very honest person, at least when it came to marriage matters, he was very calm.
Even his attitude towards her was not ambiguous, let alone ambiguous, leaving her secretly guessing.
But for some reason, the more Xu Xiao behaves like this, the more she wants to open up this man's heart and see what kind of woman he likes?
What will he do for the girl he loves?
…
Early the next morning, Xu Xiao fulfilled his promise and took Guo Ting to Zhuangyuan Street.
He hadn't been there for a long time, and found that Zhuangyuan Street was much busier than before, and there were also some new shops with wine flags, banners, or floor-to-ceiling flags hanging on them.
Xu Xiao went to the antique shop, but Guo Ting didn't wait for him. She told the boy to follow and took Aunt Zhuang to the flower market.
She has always wanted to open a flower shop in the capital, but she hasn't found a suitable one yet. Now that she has a chance, she wants to go and check it out.
There was no flower market on Zhuangyuan Street originally, but it was only there when it was expanded later. Therefore, it is not on the main street, but has to go to Back Pai Street.
But even if it was expanded, it was much larger than the flower market in Baoding Prefecture, with more varieties. There were many that she didn't know, so she had to wait for the boss to introduce them one by one.
But then I asked about the rent for the shop, which cost one thousand two hundred taels a year, which was too expensive for a small flower shop.
Aunt Zhuang said from the side: "For one thousand two hundred taels, I might as well open an antique shop. I can rent a bigger one elsewhere."
The proprietress was enthusiastic. When she heard that they wanted to rent a shop for business, she said, "That's somewhere else. The supply of shops on Zhuangyuan Street exceeds the demand. If you walk around a few times, can you see anyone who wants to rent a shop?"
"The shops here, the front and back streets are blocked with stone piers, so carriages and sedans can't get in. The eaves on both sides can provide shelter from the wind and rain, and you can go shopping on rainy days. These are nothing. The most important thing is that these streets
With the guards of the Lu family guarding us, no thieves or gangsters dare to come and cause trouble, otherwise they will be turned over and sent to the government."
"Even at night, there are always people watching the lights to prevent water from leaking out. Apart from other things, the flowers and trees in front of our door are moved into the pergola at night without worrying about anyone stealing them. Because of this, the shop owners
We all get along well with each other, and we all get along like neighbors."
"So, whenever I hear that someone doesn't want to do it, it's all relatives who are rushing to get it, and it's not outsiders' turn at all."
"I see that your master and servant are not from the capital, so you probably don't know yet. One thousand two hundred taels is what us merchants all say. The purpose is to discourage those who want to rent shops. In fact, when we rent, the rent is very high.
Low.”
"So when you go out, don't say nonsense that the shops on Zhuangyuan Street are expensive. These are just for us merchants to avoid trouble. Because people came to ask about them every day before, so we all agreed."
Guo Ting: "..."
Aunt Zhuang: "..."
The two of them didn't ask clearly in the end how much the real rent was.
They just carried out two pots of flowers in a daze and met Xu Xiao who was looking for them.
Seeing that Guo Ting and Aunt Zhuang looked unhappy, Xu Xiao asked, "Did something unpleasant happen to you?"
Guo Ting shook her head and said nothing.
Xu Xiao looked at Aunt Zhuang, but Aunt Zhuang asked curiously: "The third young master also has a shop in Zhuangyuan Street?"
Xu Xiao was stunned, why did he ask this? But he still replied truthfully: "There are two rooms, one on the upper floor and one on the lower floor. Mr. Lu gave it to me."
Aunt Zhuang immediately clicked her tongue and said, "Wow, wouldn't it be very valuable if you rent it out?"
Xu Xiao said: "I used it to open a tea shop and didn't rent it out."
Aunt Zhuang asked curiously: "How much money can you make in a year by opening a tea shop?"
Xu Xiao said: "Not much, five or six thousand taels of silver a year."
Aunt Zhuang's eyes lit up and she continued to ask: "Is it net profit?"
Xu Xiao nodded.
The next moment, Aunt Zhuang said excitedly: "Miss, how about we open a tea shop?"
Guo Ting said: "Where does the source of tea come from? How to distinguish good quality from bad? Can I afford to rent a two-story shop?"
Aunt Zhuang immediately became weak and sighed: "That's right!"
Xu Xiao asked: "Do you want to do business here?"
Aunt Zhuang nodded, but Guo Ting shook her head.
She said to Xu Xiao: "The shops here are too expensive, and there are no rentals, so I can't do it. I want to open a flower shop, and I'm still looking for a shop, so I'm not in a hurry."