Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity
Chapter 117 - 42: Tang’s Cloth Shop

Chapter 117: Chapter 42: Tang’s Cloth Shop

"Okay! You all go rest! Xiao Bao, haven’t you done your homework today? Quickly light the oil lamp and start doing it. Otherwise, what will you hand over to Mr. Wen tomorrow?" Mr. Gu saw that Gu Chengyi was hesitating to eat, and didn’t want to force him; Gu Chengli was also watching Gu Chengyi, so he didn’t eat either. Mrs. Fang and Mrs. He, being women, were always overlooked.

Mr. Gu had faith in Gu Chengyu, eating the wood ear mushrooms would definitely be fine. However, he couldn’t explain the reason to others.

"Hmph! The wives of the eldest and second son’s families, bring over the oil lamps from your rooms. Xiao Bao needs to study and write, one oil lamp surely isn’t enough." Mrs. Lv shouted at the wives of the elder and second sons. The old man was thinking of the second son and his family, but when he was about to try some food, the second son didn’t stop him. The second son probably hates even the old man now, right?

"Xiao Bao! You say you’ve seen this item in a book, but you’ve only been in private school for two days. Could you really recognize so many characters already? Moreover, where did you get this book?" Gu Chengyi looked at Gu Chengyu with suspicion.

Currently, the only literate person in the Gu Family was Gu Chengyu, so of course, he could lie.

"I saw it at the private school in town, the book even has pictures! I’ve never seen it before, so I asked the shopkeeper!" Gu Chengyu already had an excuse prepared and wasn’t afraid of Gu Chengyi’s questioning. After all, his brother couldn’t read and wouldn’t be able to find out anything, and by tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter anyway.

"If you say you saw it in a book, then let’s say it was seen in a book! Dad! It’s getting late, let’s head back to the room." Gu Chengyi stood up, glanced at the wood ears on the table, and saw that the plate was not big, and there was still some left in the plate. Eating just a little should be fine, right?

"We’ll talk about building the house when I return tomorrow! If we have to rebuild everything, where will our family live?" Suddenly, Mr. Gu realized that if they had to tear down the Gu family’s house and rebuild it, the whole family would have nowhere to live. Building a house isn’t a one or two-day affair; it might take at least a month or two, right?

"Old man, didn’t they say there was a house empty at the west end of the village near the Li Zheng family, which used to be where Liu the bachelor lived? Now, isn’t that house still empty?" Mrs. Lv mentioned the house because of pity for Liu the bachelor, who was an outsider with no silver, so he couldn’t marry a wife.

Every day he grew older, and five years ago, he died alone in his home without anyone knowing for days. That year, the snow was heavy, and many homes’ roofs were caved in, including Liu’s place, which had earthen walls and a thatched roof, causing half the house to collapse. Only after a neighbor found him when checking his collapsed house did they discover his already stiffened body.

"That house is probably uninhabitable, isn’t it? It’s about to collapse! Besides, Liu died in that house. It’s too unlucky!" Gu Chengyi immediately objected.

"Whose house hasn’t had someone die in it? Does that mean no one should live there anymore? That house is an earthen building; the walls seem okay, and you just need to pile up the thatch roof yourself with some effort. Anyway, we won’t be staying long, just a little over a month. Can’t we endure it for these few days? Moreover, that house is quite big; we can squeeze in." After much thought, Mr. Gu could only think of staying there. Disturbing others’ homes surely wouldn’t work as they were quite a big family.

"Second son, bring over some things tomorrow and go to the village chief’s family. Ask if we can borrow that house to stay in until the new house is built, then we move. If he’s unwilling, then give him some silver; consider it as renting." After much consideration, Mr. Gu still found Liu’s house the most suitable.

"Alright!" Seeing Mr. Gu’s firmness, Gu Chengyi said no more.

"Dad! When do we move? Can they start building the house tomorrow?" Hearing about building a new house, which dispelled her sleepiness, Mrs. He woke up instantly.

"I told the craftsmen to come the day after tomorrow to check the terrain first and see how to build." Mr. Gu took a puff from his smoking pipe, and Mrs. Lv stopped him, as it was almost bedtime; smoking now might disrupt his sleep later.

The next day, Gu Chengyi was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He sat up, opened the window, and looked out towards the main house door. After a while, when he saw Mr. Gu and Gu Chengyu walk out of the house and chatting, he felt relieved and lay back down. But then he wondered, why was the study session so early today?

Gu Chengyu and Mr. Gu left Shangling Village on an ox cart. "Dad! Do you know how many inns are in town? Which is the biggest?"

"If we’re talking about inns, the biggest in town would be Yingkelai and Juhe Building. I know Manager Zhou from town, and Yingkelai is run by his owner. I’m sure Manager Zhou knows the innkeepers, so let’s find him first." Mr. Gu had already planned to find Manager Zhou yesterday.

Gu Chengyu listened to Mr. Gu’s introduction of Manager Zhou along the way. It turned out that Manager Zhou was the shopkeeper of Tang’s Cloth Shop in town, and his owner had shops and inns in the county town and other towns as well.

Mr. Gu met Manager Zhou because he saved his life once. When Mr. Gu was young, he worked odd jobs in town, and once by the small dock, Manager Zhou accidentally fell into the river as he couldn’t swim, so Mr. Gu jumped in to save him.

Ultimately, Mr. Gu refused Manager Zhou’s reward, and that’s how they became acquainted. In truth, even if Mr. Gu didn’t jump in, others nearby would have saved him; Mr. Gu was just quicker.

Manager Zhou was impressed with Mr. Gu’s honesty, and since then, whenever Mr. Gu looked for jobs in town, Manager Zhou would ensure he had work, often paying extra. Even now, though Mr. Gu was older, his eldest and second sons also received job preferences. Many people seek portering jobs at the dock, but not everyone finds work, especially during the farming off-season.

Gu Chengyu and Mr. Gu arrived in town over an hour earlier than usual, heading straight to Manager Zhou’s Cloth Shop. Cloth shops typically opened early because village women would come to town early.

Mr. Gu parked the ox cart under a big tree next to the cloth shop, tied the ox securely, and led Gu Chengyu inside.

The Cloth Shop had two rooms, and at that time, there were already two or three shop hands inside, while a bookkeeper napped on the counter. Gu Chengyu glanced around, noticing that the shop was divided into two areas: one section for cotton and coarse fabrics, and another for silk, satin, and yarn, though these were fewer and less varied. Meanwhile, cotton and coarse fabric had more colors and types.

The wooden cabinets holding the fabrics were placed at an angle against the walls, and one of the shop hands was using a feather duster to clean the dust off the fabrics on the racks.

One of the shop hands noticed Gu Chengyu and Mr. Gu stepping into the shop and eagerly greeted them. "Hey, sir, looking to buy some fabric?"

Even though Mr. Gu was a man dressed in coarse fabric, the shop hand didn’t dismiss them, remaining enthusiastic in his service.

In fact, the shop hand was quite puzzled: so early in the morning, just after opening, why had two strange people walked in? One was an old man in rough homespun and the other a child in cotton robes, truly peculiar! Looking at them, they didn’t seem like fabric buyers. However, the shopkeeper had instructed that appearances could be deceiving and that doing business meant never looking down on anyone; after all, the person you underestimate might turn out to be a big customer, right?