Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 169: Zhuangzi

Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yu returned after three days, and by the time they came back, the new house was ready to move into.

However, people were particular about such things, so they had to choose an auspicious day for the move.

During their lunch break, Liu Yu accompanied Lu Chengxiao to check out the new house. The main building in the inner courtyard was furnished with brand-new furniture. In the study, the bookshelves against the wall were already filled with Lu Chengxiao’s books, arranged just the way he liked. Liu Yu’s clothing trunks and dowry boxes were placed in the western side room, still locked and unopened.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Liu Yu said, “Babao organized these books, and Mother helped clean the wardrobe. But I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to sort out the clothes in the trunks.”

The couple’s clothing was a private matter, so it wasn’t appropriate for Chen Shi to help with that.

“It’s fine, I’ll help you with it tonight,” Lu Chengxiao said, knowing how busy Liu Yu had been these past few days, and took on the task himself.

Noticing the slight darkness under Liu Yu’s eyes, Lu Chengxiao felt a pang of sympathy. He held her hand and said, “Hire a couple more seamstresses. You only need to cut one sample garment, and the rest can be passed to the seamstresses to cut according to the pattern. It’s not worth exhausting yourself.”

Liu Yu understood his concern. But since their cooperation with the embroidery shops had just started, and she had already hired sixteen more hands, she didn’t want to expand too quickly. She nodded and said, “I know. If there are a lot of follow-up orders after this batch is delivered, I’ll hire more people immediately.”

If she kept getting stuck in mass-producing garments, the new styles for Fangfei Yin and Mixian Ji might get delayed.

Seeing that she had it all under control, Lu Chengxiao felt a bit more at ease. The embroidery workshop only had two seamstresses, and Liu Yu really couldn’t spare much time. After a brief look at the new house, she had to return to the workshop. Though Lu Chengxiao felt bad, he couldn’t do much, so he took her back. As soon as they entered the courtyard of the embroidery workshop, they ran into Liu Yanping, who was waiting for him.

“Hurry up, let’s go check out the land! Yu’er, you should come along too. It’s a big deal to buy land, so it’s better if you see it as well.”

Liu Yanping was quite excited. He had already checked out the land from the Zhang family, and apart from being unsuitable for farming, everything else was perfect. He had been waiting for Lu Chengxiao to return, and now that he saw him, he was eager to go.

Liu Yu hesitated for a moment, but considering that buying land was indeed important, she nodded and agreed to go.

Seeing that Liu Yu wanted to go, Lu Chengxiao quickly called Babao to prepare the mule cart.

Liu Yu went to the cutting room to inform Madam Zhang, and then she followed Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping out of the alley. Babao had already brought the cart around, and the three of them got in. Liu Yanping, unable to contain his excitement, said, “The Zhang family’s land is only three miles from the bustling part of the county, not too remote, right next to the main road, and not far from the river. It will be very convenient for us to transport goods in the future. Most importantly, it’s huge, Chengxiao, Yu’er—over thirty mu!”

“Over thirty mu?!”

Lu Chengxiao was also shocked.

“That could be made into an estate, right?”

Liu Yanping laughed, “It certainly could be a small estate—thirty-two mu. The previous owner who sold it to the Zhang family managed it as an estate. The perimeter is even surrounded by a stone wall, and there are seven or eight existing houses inside.”

The boundaries were already set.

“Only one thing—the land is expensive. Although it’s in the suburbs of the county, it’s very close to the city gate. The price is much higher than in the towns and villages. Even though it’s not suitable for farming, each mu costs 27 taels. Mr. Zhang isn’t willing to split it up, so buying the whole piece would cost 864 taels.”

“864 taels…”

Both Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yu were stunned.

Not long ago, they thought they had saved up a considerable amount of money, but now, buying this land would take up half of it.

But then they thought about the prime location of their large two-courtyard house in the county, and now, adding a 32-mu estate to it, they felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

Worth it!

Liu Yanping rubbed his nose and asked Liu Yu, “Yu’er, does the embroidery workshop have any cash that can be divided?”

Actually, Liu Yanping had already asked his mother the day before. The embroidery workshop had earned a lot in the past three months, but Liu Yu had used up most of it for inventory, leaving only a little over 400 taels with Wei Shi.

Liu Yanping still had more than 300 taels left from his last trading trip. If they could divide the 400 taels, the Liu family could gather over 200 taels, which would be enough to cover half the cost of the 30-plus mu of land.

However, he wasn’t sure if Liu Yu had other plans for the 400 taels, so he asked.

Liu Yu smiled and said, “Yes, we can divide it. The inventory is fully stocked, so selling for the next few months won’t be a problem. The payment we’ll receive for the current batches within the next few days will be over 300 taels. After that, everything we sell will be profit. We can fully divide the 400 taels for rotation, and after that, we just need to find a shop space. As long as it’s not in Yuanzhou City, we should be able to afford a shop in the county.”

Liu Yanping was reassured and laughed, “Alright, I really don’t want to miss out on this zhuangzi. You’ll see once you get there.”

The estate was only four or five roads away from North Street, and the mule cart traveled quickly. In about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the piece of land Liu Yanping had mentioned.

It was easy to recognize—the entire area, except for a brick kiln, was a large plot surrounded by a stone wall. The wall was a bit dilapidated, but there was a proper gate and gatehouse.

Liu Yanping led the two of them to knock on the gate. The old servant guarding it had already met Liu Yanping and knew he was a buyer, so he invited Liu Yu and the others inside.

The seven or eight houses that Liu Yanping mentioned were a small cluster of buildings just inside the gatehouse of the estate. They had been built quite some time ago, but appeared to have been maintained. With proper upkeep, they could easily last another few decades.

Liu Yu and Lu Chengxiao quickly understood why Liu Yanping was so fond of this place. Any other buyer looking for an estate wouldn’t be interested, but they weren’t buying the estate for farming—they just needed the land. This was perfect, as it meant they had both land and a house. For a small-scale weaving and dyeing workshop, these seven or eight houses could be used right away. When they needed to expand, they could build more structures deeper within the estate. This meant they could save on the initial cost of building, and there was plenty of room for future expansion.

The three of them exchanged glances, clearly all interested.

The old servant, after leading them inside, left them to explore on their own. Apart from the few houses, there really wasn’t much else on the estate.

After a full tour of the estate, the three of them made up their minds—buy it!

None of them were the type to dawdle. They immediately left the estate and returned to town to find Liu Yanqing and Qin Shuban to help arrange the purchase.

Qin Shuban, seeing that the deal was actually going through, was pleased and readily agreed. He had already informed his friend two days ago and was free, so he accepted an invitation for dinner on behalf of the other party.

Lu Chengxiao smiled and said, “Then let’s meet at the Hongyan Restaurant at the end of the evening.”

~

With that settled, they turned to gathering the funds. Lu Chengxiao had enough capital on hand. As for Liu Yanping, after dividing the profits with Wei Shi, Liu Yu took her 200 taels, signed for it, and, in front of Lu Chengxiao, handed it over to Liu Yanping.

“Second Brother, take more money with you on your trip to the two Zhejiang provinces. Consider this a loan; just pay me back when you return.”

“Alright, I really do need capital right now, so I won’t stand on ceremony.” Liu Yanping didn’t hesitate. The Liu family’s financial foundation was weak; they had only started to thrive in the past few months. He was indeed in dire need of funds. Taking the silver note from Liu Yu, he turned to the main topic and said, “Chengxiao, we need to head to the two Zhejiang provinces as soon as possible. I’m really short of money everywhere.”

Lu Chengxiao glanced at Liu Yu, clearly reluctant, but he nodded, “If we want to be back before the end of the year, we should set off soon. I’ll discuss it with Father, Mother, and Yu’er. Once we finalize the deed for this estate and warm the house on an auspicious day, we’ll depart.”

For their first New Year as a married couple, Lu Chengxiao didn’t want Liu Yu to spend it alone.

Wei Shi instinctively glanced at Liu Yu. Seeing that she was calm and understanding of Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping going on a trading trip, she felt reassured.

The newlyweds had been together for less than a month, and now they were going to be separated again. Wei Shi thought to herself that opening the weaving and dyeing workshop and cloth shop would be good. Once the business was up and running, there would be fewer trips needed in the future.

~

The housewarming was set for the fifth day of November. They didn’t notify anyone else, just invited a few close relatives for a lively gathering.

During the day, Lu Chengxiao, who had been composed while entertaining the guests, was encouraged by his uncles and cousins to drink more wine in the evening. After seeing off the guests, he returned to the new house with Liu Yu, where they were finally alone. Overjoyed, he picked Liu Yu up and spun her around a few times.

“Yu’er, are you happy?”

He pressed her against the porch pillar, his eyes bright as he looked at her with a smile.

Liu Yu instinctively glanced at the corridor door leading from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard. Noticing her reaction, Lu Chengxiao’s eyes shone even brighter, though his voice was low and husky as he whispered, “Babao is in the south room of the outer courtyard. He won’t come in unless I call him.”

They were so close that Liu Yu could feel the rise and fall of Lu Chengxiao’s chest. The faint scent of alcohol mingled with his low murmurs: “Yu’er, I thought about this for a long time…”

Liu Yu could taste the wine on his breath—rich, smooth, mellow, and sweet with a touch of heat. Lu Chengxiao’s slight intoxication deepened, and as his lips moved from her mouth to her earlobe, then down to her neck, Liu Yu’s eyes became clouded with a similar intoxication. Her entire body felt as if it might melt at any moment.

What was he thinking? Lu Chengxiao showed her with his actions.

He wanted to be close to her, unrestrained.

Their breaths grew uneven as he gazed at her with a burning desire, before reluctantly pulling back a little.

Liu Yu’s breathing hadn’t yet steadied, but she shook her head, saying, “Not happy.”

Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping, along with their group, had their ship and fabrics ready, and they were set to depart on the sixth day of November—tomorrow.

While Lu Chengxiao was still in a daze, Liu Yu hooked her arms around his neck and leaned back into him.

Whether it was the wine, the desire, or the impending separation, Liu Yu was far more proactive this time. She guided his hands to her soft, delicate body.

Lu Chengxiao’s breathing deepened.

As they moved to the bed draped in red silk, he allowed himself to be consumed by his longing and reluctance, telling himself to wait just a little longer, then a little longer, never quite able to draw the line, thinking he could control himself as he had done before.

But from the moment Liu Yu took the initiative to entangle him, she had no intention of letting him take the lead today.

When Lu Chengxiao finally realized what was happening, a deep groan escaped both their throats. As he tried to lift her slender waist, she responded by kissing him and, half-panting, whispered softly, “I want you.”

She pressed down on him.

Lu Chengxiao let out another muffled groan, feeling something explode in his mind. Restraint? There was no room for restraint now. His eyes turned red with desire, and he could only wish to hold her slender, soft waist even tighter.

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