Chapter 32 Moving

Chapter 32: Moving

Song Tingzhou stepped in front of Meng Wan, shielding him from the middle-aged woman’s gaze. “He’s my fiancé. He came to town with me.”

“Ah, I see. This young man is really handsome, a perfect match for the scholar.” The middle-aged woman suddenly understood, realizing they didn’t look like brothers.

In the Yu Kingdom, people weren’t too strict about customs. Even though unmarried guys and gals had some limits, they could still stroll through town accompanied by family. Those with betrothals could even go boating or enjoy lantern festivals together with their fiancés.

In this tiny, out-of-the-way town, even fewer rules mattered. Still, accompanying someone to rent a house was a bit unconventional. So, despite her silence, the middle-aged woman secretly assumed Meng Wan was the type to coax a man into taking her out for fun—someone wild and improper.

Meng Wan held two sticks of sugar-coated hawthorns, standing quietly without a word, his eyes checking out the east-facing side room.

As usual, you walked into the kitchen first. To the left was an empty stove, its large iron pot removed.

No surprise there. A pot was worth half a tael of silver—a significant asset, the kind of thing families fight tooth and nail over when splitting up. Naturally, the previous tenant had taken it.

To the left of the kitchen was the bedroom, with a heated brick bed by the window. Not just in Quanshui Town, but throughout Changping Prefecture, the climate meant nobody used beds. From commoners to high officials, everyone used brick beds. The difference was that rural folks had earthen ones, while rich families in the city used bluestone or even jade bricks for their beds.

The whole bedroom and kitchen were smaller than back home, and the yard was shared. The upside was a well in the yard, saving the trouble of fetching water outside.

But with only one room, Song Tingzhou would probably have to go back to sleep at the bookshop. Though Meng Wan had never heard him complain about the living conditions there, he doubted it was spacious.

With all his studying, staying with family at least meant decent meals and a good night’s sleep.

“Auntie, we didn’t explain clearly earlier. We actually need a place with a storefront and at least two rooms for living.”

“Oh, I see. How about this?” The middle-aged woman led them to a corner of the main house, where a locked side door stood.

She opened it, revealing another suite. The back area was small, likely a kitchen, and beyond that was a main room. The layout was square, about 12 or 13 square meters, suitable for business.

“This isn’t exactly a shop, but the door on that side opens to the street corner. Since my house faces the street, it can serve as a storefront. You could also build a brick bed in this small room to sleep in. What do you think?”

Meng Wan was pretty satisfied. He discreetly poked Song Tingzhou from behind.

Song Tingzhou asked, “So, how much?”

Seeing his interest, the woman said, “Since Shopkeeper Huang’s son sent you over, I won’t treat you like strangers. Just this storefront alone would be three and a half taels. The side room in the yard is four taels.”

“Sigh…” Meng Wan let out a sigh.

The woman was puzzled. “Too pricey, young man?”

Meng Wan looked up at Song Tingzhou, who immediately understood.

“We’re still young, can’t make decisions on our own. We’ll go home and discuss it with our mother before giving you an answer.”

The woman grew anxious. The east side room would rent out no problem, but the corner room—built by her late in-laws hoping for many children—had been locked up and gathering dust for years. Renting it out would bring extra income.

Seeing Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan about to leave, she quickly said, “We can negotiate the price. If you rent both, I’ll knock off another tael.”

Meng Wan froze in his tracks. *Wow, a whole tael off just like that? Six and a half taels a year…*

“Auntie, we’ll take it!” Meng Wan said firmly.

After paying the deposit, Meng Wan bit into his sugar-coated hawthorns on the way home, absentmindedly eating both sticks all by himself.

He glanced at Song Tingzhou, then again.

Good. His dear cousin was too busy staring at the ground to notice.

That evening, Song Tingzhou came clean to Chang Jinhua. Meng Wan planned to open for business on the fifteenth, and she would find out sooner or later.

“You two sure have big ideas. Since you’ve already decided, why bother telling me?”

She was mad they’d been so bold, renting a house in town without a word.

Buying property and arranging marriages were the biggest deals—like a modern young couple secretly swiping the family’s household register to elope without their parents even meeting the in-laws.

Meng Wan knew he’d handled things poorly, but the opportunity was rare. The price was genuinely reasonable, and the size was right. So he pulled out all the stops to sweet-talk Chang Jinhua.

As usual: “Cousin, go study in the small room, or go fetch some water. Just go.”

After sending Song Tingzhou away, Meng Wan flashed a grin. “Mom… uh, Aunt… don’t hit me, Aunt!”

“In broad daylight, running your mouth! If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll be tearing down the roof next.”

Chang Jinhua grabbed his hand, gave him a few hard smacks to let off steam, then sat down. “Am I some kind of unreasonable person? If you’d talked to me properly, would I have stopped you? You’re an unmarried young man, waltzing into town with Dalang to rent a place—people will look down on you!”

Deep down, she was mad they’d rented without asking her, but more afraid that Meng Wan would be gossiped about and misunderstood.

Meng Wan cautiously sat beside her, then hugged her arm, forcing tears out of his eyes. “Aunt, I know you mean well. I was wrong, really wrong. The bookshop owner set it up, and I didn’t expect to close the deal right then. The price was right, so I decided.”

Chang Jinhua tugged her arm, couldn’t pull it free, and glared at him. “How much?”

“Six and a half taels—one shop, one bedroom.”

The next day, all three of them headed out. Chang Jinhua insisted on seeing the rented compound herself, worried the young ones had been cheated.

The first house down the alley was the one they’d rented.

Coincidentally, the middle-aged woman was airing quilts in the yard. Seeing Song Tingzhou and Meng Wan, who’d put down the deposit yesterday, she was about to be happy—until she spotted the stern-faced Chang Jinhua.

Her heart sank: *These kids acted on a whim. Is their family here to back out and demand a refund?*

She cautiously approached. “Scholar and young man, you’re here. And this sister is?”

Chang Jinhua rarely smiled, especially with strangers. She bowed slightly. “My husband’s last name is Song. Yesterday, my son and the young lad here rented a house from you and paid a deposit. It’s unsafe for children to carry too much money, so I’ve come to pay the remaining rent.”

The woman relaxed, her smile more genuine. “So you’re Sister Song. My husband’s surname is Lü. I’m forty-five, probably a few years older than you? No need for formalities—just call me Sister Lü.”

“Sister Lü, could you show me the rooms again?” Chang Jinhua’s tone was humble and calm.

“That’s easy. Just follow me.” Sister Lü led the way, showing Chang Jinhua the property again.

Right in front of Sister Lü, Chang Jinhua asked Meng Wan, “So, we’re settled?”

When Meng Wan nodded, Chang Jinhua took out her money pouch without another word and counted the coins.

Sister Lü watched, surprised. *Why is an unmarried young man making the decisions?*

Sister Lü had rental contracts on hand, as her family rented out properties regularly. Song Tingzhou reviewed the contract, they exchanged money and pressed their seals, and the deal was done.

Meng Wan felt relieved and said to Chang Jinhua, “Shopkeeper Huang helped us find this place. We should let him know.”

Chang Jinhua: “That’s right. You and Dalang go. I’ll tidy up here.”

Watching their family dynamics, Sister Lü was full of questions. After Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou left, she couldn’t help asking, “Does your young lad run the household?”

"That young man of mine is the child of my relatives. His family fell on hard times, so he's been living with me ever since. He's real capable—he can make tofu and read, and he's got his own money, so he doesn't depend on us to get by. This time, he wanted to open a shop 'cause it's been tough supporting Da Lang's schooling, and he hopes to earn more silver. He talked it over with me, so it's not like he's taking over." Chang Jinhua's words were full of protectiveness for Meng Wan. As a widow, she'd been cautious for years, and her biggest fear was gossip. She valued her reputation, so she was especially worried that others might speak ill of Meng Wan.

Lyu Shi suddenly got it. Was he a child groom? No wonder they were so close before marriage—he was raised to be her husband.

Knows how to make tofu? That's a real skill. Be handy to buy tofu from him later.

Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou went to the bookshop to thank Boss Huang.

Boss Huang said, real polite, "It was nothing, not worth mentioning. If I ever need that young man's help down the line, I hope he won't say no."

Meng Wan figured he was just being polite. Besides his simple drawings, he couldn't think of anything else he could help the shopkeeper with.

When it came to making breakfast, other things were easy. Fried dough sticks were simple, and tofu was something he was skilled at. The only problem was the oil pan. Meng Wan figured a regular round pan was fine for fried dough cakes, but a pain for fried dough sticks. Since the east room didn't have a pan anyway, why not get a rectangular one made?

After hearing his idea, Song Tingzhou took him to the blacksmith shop in town. The blacksmith said it was no problem—whether round or rectangular, he could make it.

A rectangular iron pan was harder to make than a round one and cost more. They finally settled on 750 wen for the pan. Meng Wan threw in an extra ten wen, making it 760, and asked them to rush it.

Back at the rental, they did some quick tidying—swept the dust and splashed some water. The three of them went back to Sanquan Village for a quick meal and packed up some more.

"Bedding, basins, buckets, bowls, chopsticks, grain—what else? Oh, and we gotta bring the mats." Chang Jinhua was bustling around.

Meng Wan said, "Auntie, our mats at home are too long and won't fit the bed over there. I saw some for sale in town—let's just buy a new one, yeah?" The big kang at the Song house could sleep four or five, but the one in the east room in town was at most two meters three. The old mat wouldn't work.

"Mats cost a lot in town. Your second aunt can weave 'em. I asked her to make two. Either way, we have to spend the money, so it's better to give it to family." Chang Jinhua said briskly, grabbed a dozen copper coins, and left.

The next day, Song Tingzhou went to town alone. The small room attached to the shop needed to have a kang built quickly, so it could dry out and be ready for living. Otherwise, Song Tingzhou would have no place to stay.

If they were building a kang in the village, they could call a few young men from the clan, find some yellow earth, mix it with mud, and have it done in no time. In town, it was a bit more complicated. Meng Wan thought the small space was limited, so it might be better to buy a few bricks in town and pay the brick seller a little extra to help build the kang.

After asking Song Tingzhou, he agreed it was feasible. So Song Tingzhou went to handle that today, leaving Meng Wan at home to help Chang Jinhua pack.

By the fourteenth, everything at home was packed. The two mats woven by the second aunt were rolled up, and the two pots—one large and one small—were brought along. Bundles and bags of things were loaded onto the village chief's ox cart.

"Auntie, your family is really impressive—moving to town to do business?" Dazhu drove the cart, his tone envious.

There were too many things, and they didn't want to tire the ox, so Song Tingzhou, Meng Wan, and Chang Jinhua walked alongside the cart.

"Da Lang is going to the prefectural city again. I thought moving to town might help earn him a bit more travel money. But it's just renting a yard—three families share one gate. It's not as comfortable as home." Chang Jinhua didn't want to draw too much attention, but the fact that the whole family was moving to town was too conspicuous, and it probably couldn't be hidden.

Dazhu felt a bit relieved at this. "Yeah, your family earns more, but your expenses are high too." He didn't mean any harm, but people are like that. When everyone in the village was poor, some were sour about Chang Jinhua starting to make tofu, but she only earned a little extra each day. She was still an ordinary commoner.

But hearing that they were moving to town—that meant they were no longer the same mud-legged villagers. The stone-paved roads in town were so clean. Living in town meant they could call themselves townspeople.

What about them? They were called country folk. From then on, the two sides were different. How could that feel good?

Now, hearing Chang Jinhua say they'd have to squeeze in with others—that meant it wasn't a life of leisure. Dazhu felt a bit of sympathy. Street vendors had to bow and scrape like servants, looked down upon.

In the countryside, there was plenty of hard work and trivial tasks, but at least you didn't have to put on a smiling face in public. In winter, with a warm wife and children by the kang, as long as there was enough grain and firewood, life was comfortable.

When the things were delivered, Dazhu helped carry them inside and took a look around. The yard really did have other people living there. Chang Jinhua's family only occupied a small side room.

He secretly felt pleased, thinking he'd have plenty to gossip about with the villagers when he got back.

Chang Jinhua spread the mats and arranged the bedding, while Song Tingzhou fitted the large iron pot from home into the kitchen stove.

"Cousin, did you have the outdoor stove built for me?" Meng Wan came out of the house and asked Song Tingzhou.

Song Tingzhou led him outside. "I had it built around this corner. What do you think?"

Between the east room and the back door of the shop, there was an empty space. A square earthen stove had been built there, with a rectangular hollow in the middle to hold the square pan. This was where they would fry the dough sticks in the future.

Since it was built outdoors, it dried quickly and was already usable. But the kang built for Song Tingzhou behind the shop still needed a few more days to dry before he could sleep on it. He was returning to the private school on the sixteenth, so for the next few days, he would have to commute between Sanquan Village and town.