The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

The mule cart rumbled along.

Su Qianqian sat by the car window, reached into the basket beside her and grabbed a handful of dried mushrooms, thinking that these dried mushrooms tasted delicious and could be given to her uncle's family.

Adding mushrooms to the soup every day would definitely make the business more prosperous.

Cousin Ying sold herself to save 10-year-old Su Qianqian, so naturally she wanted to repay her in the greatest way possible.

The mule cart made several turns until it reached the entrance of a secluded alley. The alley was so narrow that the mule cart couldn't go in, so Su Ping'an had to be left at the entrance to guard the cart.

Led by Su Bing, the family walked into the innermost part of the narrow alley and entered a large courtyard.

Su Qianqian noticed that the people living in the courtyard were a very mixed bunch, so it seemed that her uncle's house was shared.

There were many houses in the courtyard, but they were low and simple, and there was a large puddle in the courtyard. When the family went in, their shoes were covered in mud.

It seems that the original owner's uncle's family was indeed having a very difficult time.

An elderly woman with bound feet, dressed in dark blue satin, approached with a kitchen knife and asked menacingly, "I'm the landlady here. What are you doing here?"

Su Bing was startled. It turned out to be the landlady. He thought it was someone else, so fierce, and holding a kitchen knife.

The landlady first looked at Su Qianqian, who was closest to her, and noticed that the little girl didn't have bound feet like the old woman. Without a doubt, she must be a poor girl with no money or background.

These days, any family with a bit of wealth would have their daughters' feet bound.

Honest Su Bing blushed as soon as he spoke: "I...we're here to see my brother-in-law, Gu Huai."

The landlady's face turned even fiercer when she heard Gu Huai's name. She stepped forward, grabbed Gu Bing's sleeve, and yelled, "Gu Huai already owes me three months' rent. Since you're his relatives, you'd better hurry up and pay off the rent they owe!"

The landlady brandished her kitchen knife. Being a landlady isn't easy these days; if you're not a bit stern, you can't collect rent at all.

However, the landlady regretted it as soon as she said it.

Because she saw that the child among the four was playing with a jade pendant with the words "Meng Ji" engraved on it.

"This...this is Mengji's VIP badge?"

The landlady recognized it immediately as a VIP badge from Meng Ji. She loved eating Meng Ji's dim sum and had seen this kind of badge before when she went to Meng Ji.

I remember the manager of Mengji said that you had to deposit five thousand taels of silver to get this VIP card, and the cardholder could enjoy a 40% discount.

Su Qianqian hummed in agreement. This jade pendant was a gift from Madam Meng when she visited the Meng residence, as a token of gratitude for saving her life.

Just now on the mule cart, I saw that Xiao Bao was bored, so I gave him the jade pendant to play with.

The landlady was a clever woman. She accumulated so many houses and became a well-known landlady by being able to read the wind and people's expressions.

Therefore, the landlady knew that she couldn't offend important people casually, because anyone who could casually take out five thousand taels of silver must be either rich or noble.

Although the four people in front of me were dressed in ordinary cotton, I've heard that some wealthy people like to be quirky and prefer to pretend to be poor and mingle with the poor.

The landlady quickly loosened her grip on Su Bing's sleeve, concealed the kitchen knife behind her back, and said ingratiatingly, "Sir, judging from the weather, it might rain at any moment. There's still a room in my yard that hasn't been rented out yet. You can sit inside and wait for us."

The landlady smiled and refused the rent offered by the Gu family, saying, "No need, no need. It's common for people to be a year or two behind on rent here. Master Gu Huai only owes three months' rent, which is not much at all."

The landlady took out two pieces of candy from her purse and handed them to Su Qianqian and Su Xiaobao respectively, saying, "Miss and young master, please have some candy. Please don't think it's too cheap."

Su Bing was completely bewildered. This landlady's change of attitude was too fast!

Just a moment ago he was fierce, but now he's suddenly being addressed as "Master." This is the first time in his life that someone has called him "Master," and Su Bing blushed a little, feeling quite embarrassed.

The landlady said many polite things before turning to collect rent from another tenant.

This tenant was a scoundrel, and his tone was extremely unruly. "Landlady, you just said the rent could be owed for a year—"

"Get lost! How dare you, a scoundrel, compare yourself to a nobleman?"

Landlady Meng chopped the cleaver into the mud at the other party's feet before she could barely collect the rent. Sigh, is it easy for me to collect rent?

Su Qianqian's family sat in the empty house for a long time, and then it started to rain.

Su Bing frowned. "I'll go to my brother-in-law's stall and help pack it up."

Just as he finished speaking, Gu Huai and two others returned pushing a wheelbarrow, which was loaded with pots, pans, and other utensils commonly used for food stalls.

The woman among the three was covered in mud, which must have caused her to slip and fall on the road.

Su Qianqian looked at the three of them and felt extremely sorry for them.

Madam Gu stepped forward and hugged the woman with graying temples among the three, "Sister-in-law—"

Qin recognized the people in front of her at a glance. "A-Mian, you've arrived."

Amian was Gu's nickname before she got married.

"Sister-in-law, I'm here. I'm too late."

Qin hugged her sister-in-law, tears streaming down her face.

They hadn't seen each other for many years. They actually wanted to visit their sister-in-law in Lotus Village, but their last trip there had caused her to be scolded badly by the old lady, so they didn't dare to go again.

Moreover, the Gu family is too poor now, with too much debt, and they don't want to burden their sister-in-law.

He only planned to go to Lotus Village to support the young girl after he had paid off his debts.

Gu Huai was only a few years older than Su Bing, but his hair was half-white and his face was full of wrinkles, making him look more than 10 years older than his actual age.

Then there's my older cousin, Gu Yun, whose face is tanned dark. He's in his twenties, but he looks like he's in his thirties or forties, weathered by life.

They sell steamed buns and soup; it's a very hard job.

While others are just going to bed, they have to start kneading dough and making steamed buns. They have to set up their stall before dawn and work from morning until midnight before going home. They can only sleep for two hours at home before getting up again to prepare food for the next day.

When it rains heavily, you'll get soaked to the bone, like today.

Su Qianqian urged, "Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, you're all soaked. Quickly change into dry clothes so you don't catch a cold."

Qin wrung out her clothes and said, "It's alright, we're used to it."

Gu Huai invited Su Bing's family inside, but then he saw the landlady passing by the door with an oil-paper umbrella. She didn't raise a kitchen knife at him or urge him to pay the rent; instead, she smiled at him.

That's strange, the landlady always seemed fierce whenever she saw him.

Did something good happen to the landlady today? She's smiling so happily!

"Master Gu Huai, we have a distinguished guest at your home. Please treat him well."

The landlady's address of "Master" completely stunned Gu Huai.

Hallucination, this must be hallucination. How could the landlady address him respectfully as "Master"? And she even used the formal "you" (您).

I've heard that only scholars who pass the imperial examinations can be called "Master"! He's just a poor man making a living by running a small stall.

Su Qianqian looked around the room. The room was very small and filled with things, leaving no room to put her feet.

Gu Ying doesn't live here. The Gu family currently has three permanent residents, but they only rent a small room in this simple courtyard.

The small hut was packed with things for setting up a stall; it was so cramped that there was no bed and nowhere to sleep.

I heard that the Gu family only sleeps for less than two hours a day. They probably just squat in this little house for a short nap before getting up to work again.

That's so pitiful.

"Uncle, why don't you rent a new place?"

Gu Huai said with a look of satisfaction, "Our Qianqian has grown into a beautiful young woman."

Su Qianqian knew that she wasn't actually that pretty; she hadn't been getting enough nutrition.

But she was not bad-looking. She looked more like Su Bing, who was tall and thin with fair skin. That's why she was chosen by Gu Shi when she went to the city to sell firewood and married into Lotus Village.

Qin took out a few copper coins from under her pillow and stuffed them into Su Qianqian's hand, saying, "This money is for our Qianqian to buy silk flowers to wear."

Actually, Qianqian has money, but the reason she wasn't wearing anything on her head was because she was focused on making money and often went to the mountains, where jewelry would easily be snagged off by tree branches.

She accepted the greasy copper coins, took the money bag from Madam Gu and stuffed it into her aunt's hand, also handing over the 50 taels of silver notes she had just received from Manager Wan.

"Aunt, we've moved out of the old house now, and no one bullies us anymore. We've also made a lot of money, and this money is for you and Uncle."

Qin was shocked when she saw the money in the purse with her own eyes.

I never imagined my sister-in-law's family had so much money.

Given how honest and kind-hearted my sister-in-law and her husband are, they probably don't have the ability to earn that much money, right?