Chapter 105 Shop Renovation

West Street is in a remote location, and the shop area is not large. At fifty taels a year, buying it is enough, let alone renting it.

　　Such an outrageous price could cost the entire Tianshui Town, and only a fool like Wen Heng would agree to it.

　　But what Ye Annian didn't realize was that no matter who negotiated, the rent of this shop wasn't much cheaper. It's just that people in Wenheng were stupid and had a lot of money, so more people were cheated than ordinary people.

　　Zhou Zaiqian is a shady person. The shortest shop on West Street has been idle for half a year. There is no one in the town to rent it, and the people who cheat it are all outsiders doing business.

　　In the afternoon, it was time for Zhao Nan, Yang Chi and Brother Yan to come over to help Ye Anyian knead the mud and scream.

　　After the three of them passed the examination, Ye Anyian set a salary for them all, twelve cents a day.

　　It was an easy job, and it only took them half a day in the afternoon. Once they sat there, they could make money just by moving their hands. The three of them were very satisfied and worked very hard.

　　Now that their speed is gradually improving, they can quickly learn new animal shapes.

　　In one afternoon, four people made more than 200 clay balls of different shapes and screamed out.

　　Ye Annian and three others laid out the kneaded clay on the windowsill and stone table to dry. When they came back the day after tomorrow in the afternoon, they could color it.

　　Early the next morning, Genius Wei Liang and the two set off in the bullock cart.

　　As a result, not long after leaving the village, I met Zhou Liang, who was going to the town with him. There were six or seven people sitting in the back of the oxcart.

　　Since the two bought the ox cart, they have rarely encountered Zhou Liang's ox cart. It is convenient to have a car, and you don't have to rush early in the morning. It is getting colder and colder, so you can sleep a little longer.

　　But today they were going to see a shop, so they left a little early, and who knew they would run into each other.

　　The two of them said hello to Zhou Liang and then went to their own cars without saying any more words.

　　It was very quiet all the way, but it was rare that I didn't encounter a sarcastic aunt.

　　At the entrance of the town, Zhou Liang stopped to tie up the cattle as usual. When Ye Anian and Jiang Zhu said goodbye to him, they saw that Wu Xianglian was also in the car.

　　Ye Anian couldn't help but wonder, with Wu Xianglian's temperament, how could she hold back her sarcasm when meeting him?

　　Just when I was wondering, I heard an aunt next to me say to Wu Xianglian: "Didn't your Ansong fail the exam? You're still sending him things in big and small bags."

　　"If you ask me, he is already quite old. He is already nineteen during the Chinese New Year. It is better to marry a girl and start a family. As the saying goes, start a family first and then start a career. Maybe he will pass the exam after marrying a wife."

　　There was no malice in his words, but when Wu Xianglian heard that the other party said that Ye Ansong had failed the exam, she immediately became angry.

　　"What does it have to do with you? It's not that my An Song didn't pass the exam, the person who graded the paper must have made a mistake!"

　　"Ouch, you're still being stubborn." The lady patted her on the shoulder, "There's no shame in not passing the exam. If you're willing to confess, the worst thing you can do is ask him to take the exam again next year. Why are you anxious?"

　　"Get out of here! I won't tell you anymore." Wu Xianglian shook her arm and knocked down the aunt's hand. She staggered and left in a hurry.

Ye Annian stared at Wu Xianglian's back and blended into the crowd. He didn't even know when Jiang Zhu left with the bullock cart.

　　"What are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought." Jiang Zhu waved her hand in front of his eyes and asked.

　　Ye Annian came back to his senses and looked at Jiang Zhu: "You said, Ye Ansong didn't go home after failing the exam, but Wu Xianglian went to the academy to see him, why?"

　　Jiang Zhu raised his eyebrows: "It's outrageous to blame the evaluator for making a mistake if you didn't pass the exam."

　　The two of them looked at each other, and Jiang Zhu called out, turning the cart around, and they went straight to Wen Mansion to find Wen Heng.

　　But Qiao Wenheng also wanted to go find them, and he forgot to give Ye Anyian the key to the shop yesterday.

　　As soon as Ye Annian saw Wen Heng's playful face, he remembered that he had been cheated out of fifty taels of silver to rent a shop, and he thought that he had been taken advantage of.

　　The wronged Young Master Wen gave Ye Anyian the key to the shop and was about to take his servants to the academy, but was stopped by Ye Anyian.

　　"If you go to the academy these days, keep an eye on Ye An. If he makes any moves, tell me in time."

　　"Sure." Wen Heng agreed happily, and then asked, "Does he have to tell you everything he does?"

　　Ye Anyian:...

　　"You don't need to do things like study, eat, and go to the toilet. It's more abnormal, such as who he met and where he went."

　　"Oh, I got it."

　　Ye Annian suspected that he didn't understand at all.

　　"You can send a servant to keep an eye on him." Jiang Zhu reminded, "This will prevent him from becoming suspicious."

　　"This is easy to handle." Wen Heng grinned, "If I can't do anything else, I still have a lot of servants."

　　"Then send the servants and try not to conflict with him these days." Jiang Zhu's words made Ye Anyian relax. He really felt that the servants were more reliable than Wen Heng.

　　"You don't have to worry about the store. After it opens, I will find a job for you according to your father's request."

　　After saying that, he followed Jiang Zhu and left in an ox cart.

　　Wen Heng, who was originally very repulsive about going to the academy, suddenly became interested when he thought of staring at Ye Ansong.

　　He said to the four followers: "Did you hear that? Keep an eye on Ye Ansong! He told me how many times he went to the latrine in a day and how much water he drank!"

　　"Yes, Second Young Master!" The four servants agreed in unison.

　　…

　　On the other side, Ye Annian and Jiang Zhu went to West Street to look at the newly rented shop.

　　West Street is very quiet. Today, only Granny Qian's food shop is open.

There were no guests at the moment, so Granny Qian moved a stool and sat at the door to bask in the sun.

　　Seeing the two people coming, he frowned slightly and said, "You should rent it."

　　"It's okay, mother-in-law, we'll rent it for one year." Jiang Zhu replied.

　　Granny Qian smiled helplessly and said nothing.

　　It's been a long time since she'd seen a shop on this street that could stay open for a full year. Most of them would close in less than half a year.

　　Seeing her like this, Ye Anyian stepped forward to comfort her: "The main reason is that I have a good rapport with you, mother-in-law. We will be neighbors from now on."

　　Granny Qian sighed and took Ye Annian's hand: "Since you have rented it, let's work hard. If you have any difficulties, tell me, I will help you if I can."

　　"Then I'll ask you to take care of me from now on." Ye Anyian said politely.

　　After talking to Granny Qian, he used the key to unlock the door of the shop.

　　As soon as the door lock was unlocked, Jiang Zhu stepped forward to block Ye Anian and pushed the door open.

　　The two wooden doors in front of them made an old "squeaking" sound, and the moment the doors were pushed open, a puff of dust came out.

　　Jiang Zhu raised his sleeves and waved, protecting Ye Anyian and taking a few steps back.

　　What you see is a small shop of less than 20 square meters, divided into two rooms, the inside and the outside. The inside is a bit like a kitchen kitchen, and the outside is equipped with tables, chairs and benches, but they have already fallen a thick layer of dust. Look at this layout , it should have been a snack shop before, just like Grandma Qian's house.

　　Jiang Zhu went next door to borrow a bucket of water from Granny Qian, sprinkled some water into the shop, pressed down the dust, and then asked Ye Anian to come in.

　　The two of them almost looked at the small palm-sized place at a glance, discussed the layout, went to the bullock cart to get the cleaning tools, and started to clean it up together.

　　Although the place was not big, the two of them worked for a whole morning before they could clean up the shop.

　　At noon, I went to Granny Qian's house and had two bowls of dumplings.

　　Grandma Qian's shop sells wontons in the morning and dumplings at noon and evening.

　　After a long meal and a short rest, we took out the tables and chairs that were already ruined and unusable, loaded them on an ox cart, and took them back in the evening and chopped them up to make a fire.

　　After cleaning up, the two went to find the craftsmen in the town to talk about renovations.

　　The shop is not big, and the renovation is quick. It can be completed in about three to five days, just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　The labor price was negotiated with the craftsmen, totaling five taels of silver. Ye Anyian paid half of the deposit, and the craftsmen could come to work tomorrow.

　　Grandma Qian is an old man in the town and knows the craftsmen well. After all, almost every time a shop is rented out, these craftsmen are called in to renovate it.

　　She volunteered to help keep an eye on her, but Ye Annian couldn't resist, so he agreed first and planned to buy something to thank her afterwards.

After settling on the shop, the two went to find a carpenter in the town and ordered a wooden shelf for displaying goods and a single wooden bed.

　　After the shop opened, he planned to buy a skilled person to come back and take him as his apprentice. He will not come to the shop every day in the future, so he will ask that person to look after the shop here.

　　The two of them were busy until evening, and it was completely dark when they got home.

　　The evening meal was simple. Jiang Zhu made noodles with soybean paste.

　　After dinner, Ye Annian hugged his tools and wood, sat at the kang table in the east room and started working on the Rubik's Cube.

　　In the past few days, he would make a few every night, so that when the shop opened, he would have new goods to put on display.

　　Now that Zhao Nan and the other three have finished their studies, he only needs to concentrate on making Rubik's cubes and other wooden toys.

　　When Jiang Zhu entered the room with the boiled soup and medicine, he saw that he was still busy, so he walked over and put the medicine bowl on the Kang table.

　　Ye Annian heard the movement and raised his head to see Jiang Zhu sitting opposite him.

　　"You've been working all day, are you tired?"

　　"A bit." Ye Anyian put down what he was doing, stretched out, and felt a pain in his back.

　　It seems that he is really pampered. Just sweeping the floor and moving tables and chairs can make him so tired.

　　"Then drink the medicine and lie down to sleep. I'll press it for you later."

　　Ye Anyian nodded, took the medicine bowl and drank it cleanly.

　　Jiang Zhu put away the empty bowl and took out a bottle of medicated oil from the medicine box: "Take off your clothes and lie down on the quilt."

　　Ye Anian knew that this sentence did not mean that, but his face felt hot when he heard it. He turned around, took off his shirt, and lay down on the quilt.

　　Through the warm yellow candlelight, Jiang Zhu caught a glimpse of Ye Anyian's ears turning a faint pink again.

　　He raised the corners of his lips, poured the medicinal oil into his hand, rubbed it to warm it, and then attached it to Ye Anyian's waist.

　　Ye Anyian felt a heat in his waist, which made him tremble.

　　Jiang Zhu didn't move. He waited for Ye Anian to adapt, then slowly started to massage.

　　Ye Annian felt the strength in his waist. After a while of soreness, he slowly felt comfortable. He breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.