The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

After finishing the opening of Fengwu Shop, Xia Mianwan felt quite accomplished. After all, although the money earned was not a lot, after the opening boom faded, the business was still stable.

We sell stuff every day and it’s not too busy.

Now both Chen Susu and her daughter are employed by Xia Mianwan. Chen Susu is in charge of looking after the shop, and after sending her two children to school, Chen Dasao comes back to help look after the shop.

After Chen Susu and Chen Dasao became proficient in the business, Xia Mianwan was able to free up his hands to do more things.

The most important thing now is the donkey cart business that Xia Mianwan promised to help Xiaowu manage.

Xia Mianwan thought about the idea and went to Bailu Academy. At noon, the entrance of Bailu Academy was very busy. Xia Mianwan waited at the entrance for a while and saw Zhou Chengze coming out with his classmates.

"Brother Zhou."

Zhou Chengze saw Xia Mianwan waiting at the door and hurried over: "Sister Xia, why are you here?"

"I don't know where Xiaowu is working today. When you go back, tell your mother and Xiaowu to come over tomorrow." Xia Mianwan said.

Zhou Chengze nodded and said, "No problem."

Xia Mianwan thought that most of the students at Bailu Academy came from decent families, so she handed some potato chips and meat jerky to Zhou Chengze, "Brother Zhou, these are the potato chips and meat jerky I made. You can use them as snacks, and share some with your classmates to help our Fengwu Shop gain a good reputation."

Zhou Chengze took the potato chips and meat jerky and nodded, "Okay."

……

Early the next morning, Xiaowu and Zhou Niangzi arrived at Fengwupu in the first rays of morning sunshine.

It was so early that the Fengwu Shop had not yet opened. Xiaowu and Mrs. Zhou were afraid of disturbing Xia Mian's late rest, so they waited at the door for a while.

After a while, Xia Mianwan, who came to open the door, saw the two and hurriedly welcomed them in. "How long have you been here? Why don't you come to the backyard to find me?"

Madam Zhou smiled and said, "It must be hard for you to run the shop, so we thought it would be good for you to sleep a little longer."

Xiaowu nodded vigorously at the side.

"Why are you here so early? Is it because of Brother Zhou?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Xiao Wu nodded and said, "Chengze started school early, so I have to start working part-time earlier, otherwise I won't be able to get any work."

Xia Mianwan frowned and said, "Your place is indeed a bit far away, and it is not convenient for Brother Zhou to go to the academy. Have you considered renting a place in the city?"

Madam Zhou said, "We have 32 people here, so if we rent a house in the city, it will cost a lot of money. We have inquired before, and we need six main rooms to live in a house with four or five people in the north of the city. Such a small courtyard would cost at least one tael of silver in the city. Although Xiaowu and I can earn some money now, it is not stable. The expenses of the academy are high, and we have so many people to feed and drink, the pressure is still too great."

"Yes, godmother is right. The farm in the suburbs is closer to the mountains and rivers, so we can save some money on firewood and food." Xiao Wu said.

Xia Mianwan nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, but Brother Zhou is studying after all, and the journey is really far. If he gets up too early, I'm afraid he won't be energetic enough."

Madam Zhou thought about it. Indeed, she knew her son well. He was very hardworking. The weather was good now, but he would suffer in winter. Moreover, he would spend more time on the road, so he would have less time to study.

"Mianwan, do you have any suggestions?" Madam Zhou, who has always admired Xia Mianwan, asked.

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "In fact, we can let Brother Zhou rent a house in the city first. There are many such houses in the academy. The kitchen is shared. You only need to rent one room, and the yard is also shared. This kind of house costs about 300 coins a month near the academy. I think it can save Brother Zhou a lot of time. After Xiaowu starts the donkey cart business, it will be convenient to go in and out."

Xiao Wu thought about it and felt that what Xia Mianwan said made sense. "Sister Xia is right. Chengze is indeed a bit tired. He has to follow the donkey cart in and out every day, and he has to go out so early."

Madam Zhou thought for a while, then made up her mind and said, "Okay, I'll go check out the house for Chengze in a while. Chengze occasionally copies books for the bookstore now, and he can earn a few hundred coins for each book. We can afford it if we work a little harder."

Xiao Wu said anxiously, "Godmother, I'm here! Don't worry, I will do business well, and we will move to the city together as soon as possible!"

Madam Zhou patted Xiaowu's head lovingly, "Okay! Godmother is waiting."

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "Xiaowu, let's start talking about the donkey cart sale now."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, "Sister Xia, go ahead."

"Xiao Wu, let me ask you, which children can help now?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Xiao Wu thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Qi, Xiao Ba, Hua Er, Qiao Er, Xiu Xiu, Xiao Hong, Da Hua, Damao, Er Mao, and San Mao. The rest are too young, and they need someone to look after them at home. They can do some small things, but they can't really help."

"Hua'er and Qiao'er have to help Sister Zhou embroider purses, so they definitely don't have time to spare. Do Xiuxiu, Xiaohong and Dahua usually do the work in the kitchen?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Xiao Wu nodded, "They all do the cooking and laundry at home together. Da Mao, Er Mao, and San Mao occasionally take them to the mountains to pick mushrooms and process them."

Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and said, "I have an idea. I'll tell you about it in detail."