Chapter 249 Planning for the Children

The grass in Yan is as green as silk, and the mulberry trees in Qin have green branches.

It was a good time for the main house. The flower seedlings bought by Songzhi and Sister Wang came back to life as soon as they were planted. When the sun set, Songzhi carried a small wooden bucket to water the newly planted flowers and plants.

Qin Xiaoning held the box of dried fruits and ate them like a little squirrel while looking at the lush courtyard.

On a whim, she put down the dried fruits in her hand, stood up and sat on the stone bench covered with felt. With a slight wave of her hand, a beautiful melody slowly began to flow.

One was playing the piano, the other was watering the flowers. The master and servant were busy when Sister Wang led a well-dressed woman into the inner courtyard.

"My dear, Madam Wei from next door is here to visit you."

The people living in this area are either rich or noble, most of them are prominent figures in Shuwang City. The Wei family next door was introduced to her by the old servant who was in charge of guarding the house when she moved here.

The Wei family was a merchant family, one of the richest in Shuwang City. They had frequent visits with the original owner of the house in the past, and the two families had a very close relationship. In the southwest corner of the house, there was even a corner gate on the high wall separating the two families to facilitate the two families to come and go.

When Qin Xiaoning saw her neighbor Gao coming to visit, she immediately stopped playing the piano, slowly stood up and greeted the visitor.

"It's Madam Wei. I just moved here and haven't had time to visit you yet. I'd like to trouble you to come and see me first." Qin Xiaoning greeted politely, "Madam, please take a seat."

Madam Wei was in her thirties, with a dignified and capable appearance. She slowly approached and said with a smile, "I know that you just moved here and have some things to do. I was planning to visit you again later, but I kept hearing you playing the piano these past two days."

As she spoke, she looked at the zither on the stone table and praised with a smile, "You play the zither really well, I'm not afraid of you making fun of me, but I felt itchy inside when I heard the music, so I couldn't help it and came here without informing you in advance."

Qin Xiaoning smiled and replied, "We are neighbors, so it is convenient for us to visit each other. Madam, you don't have to be so polite." Then she laughed at herself and said, "I just played it randomly when I was bored. I'm sorry to make you laugh."

As Mrs. Wei spoke, she looked at Qin Xiaoning carefully.

This young lady was born with a beautiful appearance, and her every move showed the demeanor of a lady from a noble family. Even though she was considered a well-informed woman in Suwang City, she had never seen a woman with Qin Xiaoning's demeanor.

"I heard that the young lady is from the capital?" Mrs. Wei was puzzled and couldn't help asking.

Qin Xiaoning smiled and replied, "That's right."

Then, she briefly introduced herself, "My husband's family is originally from the capital, but my husband died of an accidental illness. Several branches of the family were fighting for the family property, and I came to Qianzhou to get some peace and quiet."

Nowadays, it is rare for women to set up their own homes. As a woman, if she settles down here, it is inevitable that the neighbors will talk about her. Instead of letting everyone make random guesses, it is better to have a reasonable explanation to the outside world.

Besides, she is pregnant, and the child will have to stand on his own in the future, so she can't let the child attract criticism.

Mrs. Wei believed Qin Xiaoning's words.

"This young lady is so beautiful, but she is a pitiful person." Mrs. Wei said cheerfully, "Since we are neighbors, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can come to find me next door."

Seeing the other party's goodwill, Qin Xiaoning smiled and said, "Thank you, ma'am."

Mrs. Wei said straightforwardly, "Madam, don't be polite with me. To be honest, my family has had close contacts with the original owner of this house in the past, and our two families are as close as one family. The old gentleman in this family is a scholar, and my children have received a lot of instruction from him." Mrs. Wei chatted with Qin Xiaoning for a long time before leaving. As soon as Mrs. Wei left, the little book boy of Jixian Pavilion came to give Qin Xiaoning a housewarming gift on the orders of Boss Cai. The gifts included some common teas and fruits for congratulations on moving, plus a set of fine study treasures. In addition, the little book boy also brought over the share of the money from the sale of the calligraphy a while ago.

A total of thirty taels of silver.

It was agreed at the beginning that Jixian Pavilion would purchase each set of calligraphy at a price of fifty taels, and in addition, Qin Xiaoning would receive a 20% dividend from the sales.

Qin Xiaoning took the silver, weighed it slightly in her hand, and joked with the little book boy with a smile: "Your boss sold my calligraphy for a good price."

Since cooperating with Jixian Pavilion, Qin Xiaoning has revealed her daughter's identity to Boss Cai.

As they would be maintaining long-term relationships in the future, there was no need to keep it a secret. However, Qin Xiaoning reminded Boss Cai that no matter who bought her calligraphy, her identity must not be revealed.

What businessmen seek is profit. As long as they can get profitable and good words, as businessmen, they naturally will not care about other things.

The little book boy said to Qin Xiaoning, "Miss, your calligraphy really sells well. You took three pieces of calligraphy from us a while ago. Our boss put one piece up for sale, and it was bought by a collector in less than half a day."

As he spoke, he grinned and said, "The master said that the price of the remaining two paintings will be raised even higher."

When Songzhi heard that he could earn even more, he smiled from ear to ear and hurriedly stuffed the little servant boy with a bag of snacks.

The little servant boy hurriedly shouted, "Madam, that's enough, that's enough."

After seeing them off, Songzhi sighed, "I never thought that everything would go so smoothly after we left the mansion."

Qin Xiaoning stuffed the thirty taels of silver into Songzhi's pocket and said, "Keep it. Go out with Sister Wang in two days and find a wet nurse."

Songzhi was surprised: "This child is only a little over a month old, and they have to hire a wet nurse."

She curled her lips and said, "It's better to wait until she's about to give birth before hiring her. Hiring her now will just be a waste of money."

"We are not without money." Qin Xiaoning said, "I plan to hire two wet nurses, one to feed the child and the other to take care of his daily life. There is no rush to use a wet nurse right now, but I will first find one who can take care of the child."

Songzhi frowned: "One wet nurse is enough, right? Sister Wang and I can help take care of the child. Is there any need to hire another one?"

"Although we are not short of money right now, we can't waste it." Songzhi complained.

Qin Xiaoning retorted: "In the mansion, one child needs three wet nurses to take care of him. I only hired two now."

She just wants the best for her children.

"I earn money so that my children can live a better life." Qin Xiaoning persuaded Song Zhi, "Don't just think about saving money. If you want to have no worries, you should think of more ways to earn money."

Speaking of making money, Qin Xiaoning sat up from the recliner and said to Song Zhi, "The area where we live is full of rich people. Although there is an official school, it only accepts daughters of officials. This is my plan. After I give birth to a child, I will open a girls' school here."

"That's a good idea. A few days ago, I heard Mrs. Wei next door complaining that her daughter couldn't hire a good female teacher." Songzhi's eyes lit up when he heard this: "If we open a girls' school, we will definitely make a lot of money."