0p0 Chapter 225
Chapter 225
"About twenty-two thousand. I haven't calculated the exact amount yet."
Many materials used in the decoration of this duplex were actually purchased from the system mall. The system mall and the special price are automatically adjusted and balanced with reality.
Even materials that are not available in this era are priced according to the prices of that era.
Except for Gu Jiu, everyone else in the room gasped. The house renovation alone cost 22,000 yuan. With their current salaries, they might not be able to raise 22,000 yuan in their entire lifetime.
Sure enough, there is a reason why merchants become so wealthy.
The three brothers of the Gu family had mixed feelings. In the past, they thought that the youngest brother was not doing his job properly and would be a burden to the whole family in the future.
Now reality has slapped them in the face so quickly. The youngest child who they thought was a drag has grown up and is, if not the most successful one in their family, at least the richest one.
Lin Shu looked at the men in the Gu family. Although there was a smile on his face, it seemed a bit forced.
It was obviously a big blow. She laughed to herself, but couldn't explain that most of the money came from selling herbs in the system mall.
Although Gu Jiu's company and trading company, as well as several shops downstairs, made money, they were not enough to buy a building and all his current belongings in just over a year.
For example, for the hotel that is currently being renovated, most of the money invested is the balance in the system mall, and only a small part of the money Gu Jiu gave her was used for hotel decoration.
Several grown men were looking around the new house, but Lin Shu didn't mind. After entering the house, he put the child on the sofa and asked Liu Xiao'e to take care of him. She started to boil water in the water dispenser, and the nanny brought out the candies, biscuits and various snacks that had been prepared in advance.
Gu Jiu placed the stove in the kitchen, stewed a pot of large bones that he had prepared earlier, and walked out of the kitchen.
Gu Changsheng just came down from the second floor with his three sons. He smiled and said jokingly, "Dad, my new home is well decorated, isn't it? How about you and my mom come and stay for a few days, enjoy the heating so you don't feel cold when you take a shower in winter, and enjoy the treatment of being able to use hot water whenever you turn on the tap?"
Gu Changsheng glared at his younger son who was not very steady. He was right. There was a heater in the bathroom, and there was an electric water heater installed on the second and first floors.
Living here, you don't have to boil water for washing, and you don't have to worry about being cold even if you take off your clothes to take a shower in winter. For the elderly, these two points alone are very attractive.
"Dad, since the youngest one invited you and mom to stay for a few days, just treat it as visiting relatives and come and stay for a few days. It's cold now, and we have moved out of the old house. It's deserted, and it will be even colder for you two old people to live there. You might as well come to the youngest one's place to have some fun."
Gu Xiang's words made sense. Gu Changsheng didn't hesitate for long before saying, "Let's talk about this after your mother comes."
Gu Jiu nodded and poured tea for everyone. As it was still early and breakfast had not been prepared yet, they drank tea and had some snacks to fill their stomachs.
In the kitchen, nanny Chen Jie and Lin Shu were making meat buns together, and eight-treasure porridge was cooked in the rice cooker last night.
The dough for making dumplings was also fermented last night, so I can use it to make dumplings and steamed buns this morning.
The meat filling is made of half fried meat and half raw meat, mixed with scallion, ginger and water. This way the meat will not be too tight and will remove the fishy smell and have soup.
Just after steaming two baskets of buns, the voices of Wang Suzhen and several sisters-in-law were heard from downstairs.
"Gu Jiu, hurry down and open the door, mom and sister-in-law are here."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Gu Jiu also heard the sound, and hurriedly stood up, opened the door, and went downstairs to open the iron door of the corridor.
The stairwell leads from the first floor to the second floor. It was specially built by Lin Shu for this house, so the stairwell was also decorated. The floor and walls were covered with tiles. There were also cabinets installed on the first floor to store shoes and some sundries.
The women in the Gu family usually see stairwells that are dirty and messy.
Especially those who moved out of the main and second rooms and now live in dormitories assigned by their units, they feel the most deeply.
When I walked in from the door, I found that the stairwell was not only equipped with very bright lights, but also decorated cleanly and beautifully. I couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"Holy crap, is this the stairwell?"
“Can a stairwell be made so beautiful and clean?”
Wang Suzhen changed her shoes and walked upstairs without Gu Jiu leading the way. As she walked, she exclaimed, "Jiu Ge'er, your cotton slippers are really warm to wear, and the floor is clean too."
Li Ling put on slippers and rubbed the floor tiles with her feet. "These tiles are really smooth. I hope you won't slip when you walk on them. Mom, please be careful when you walk."
Gu Jiu stroked his forehead and chuckled: "Second sister-in-law, the floor looks smooth, but it is non-slip. The slippers also have non-slip rubber soles. As long as there is no water on the floor, you don't have to worry about slipping."
"Is that so? That's good. Then don't let our mother into the kitchen later." Li Ling did not forget to remind him.
He Chunru and Jiang Chaohong, who had just changed their shoes, couldn't help but roll their eyes at her after hearing this. It sounded like she was the only one among the sisters-in-law who cared about their mother.
"You know what, the ground looks slippery, but it's actually not slippery when you walk on it." Jiang Chaohong tried walking a few steps and found it very stable.
"Wow, Brother Jiu, the light in your house is so bright."
"Youngest, why do you have so many plants in your house? You can't eat or drink from these trees. You might as well replace the plants in the pots with a cabbage."
Jiang Chaohong pointed to a fortune tree and said, "You dug this plant from the mountain. I think it would be more economical to plant a turnip instead of spending so much effort on it."
Lin Shu came out of the kitchen with a pot of freshly baked buns. Hearing Jiang Chaohong's words, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Third sister-in-law, next time you move, I'll help you carry a pot of kohlrabi over."
Jiang Chaohong's mouth twitched, "Then thank you."
She gave a gift today, but when it was her turn to move, she was given a turnip as a reward. Isn't she at a big loss?
Sister-in-law He Chunru put down the red eggs she had brought and said, "Sister-in-law, do you need my help?"
"No need, sister-in-law, please find a seat and sit down. We are going to have breakfast."
The main meal for the housewarming ceremony is at noon, and the family just has a simple breakfast in the morning.
For breakfast, Lin Shu prepared eight-treasure porridge, meat buns, braised pork head, and some side dishes and pickles.
The pickles include radish strips, turnips, and pickled mustard tubers.
This breakfast was considered quite rich considering that many people still ate coarse grains in that era.
When Gu Changsheng saw the braised pork head, he wanted to drink some wine.
Today was a happy day, and Wang Suzhen could not restrain him, so she followed his wishes.
Gu Jiu brought a wine glass and took out a bottle of Moutai from the wine cabinet, which aroused the appetite of several men in the Gu family.
Lin Shu quickly went back to the kitchen and brought out a plate of fried peanuts for them to eat with their wine.
Only after settling the whole family did she have time to look after Dabao and Erbao, and let Comrade Liu Xiao'e go to have breakfast.
The housewarming party at noon was arranged in the family's restaurant downstairs. Gu Jiu did not invite outsiders. In addition to two relatives, he invited close friends and some company employees.
At noon, Lin Shu saw his eldest nephew Gu Youtao coming with his girlfriend Niu Xiaoqin.
Lin Shu whispered to her sister-in-law, "You don't agree, but they are still dating?"
He Chunru glanced away, not looking at her upset son. "It's no use for us to disagree. He thinks this woman is the best and no other girl in the world is as good as her. What can we do as parents?"
Lin Shu was very curious, "Niu Xiaoqin's family has always wanted the bride price. If you don't pay the bride price, will they let Niu Xiaoqin continue to be entangled with You Tao?"
He Chunru felt a headache when thinking about her eldest son. She said helplessly, "That brat has not paid a penny for food since he left school and started working. If I nag him too much, he won't come home for ten days or half a month."
He Chunru felt that Gu Youtao's salary might have been spent on Niu Xiaoqin. Otherwise, given her family's nature of taking advantage, how could they allow Gu Youtao to get involved with their daughter?
Lin Shu looked at Niu Xiaoqin, who was wearing a fashionable suit and hip skirt, and a pair of pointed leather shoes. Her long legs exposed should be covered with a pair of stockings.
hiss!
In this cold spring weather, you don’t have to worry about catching a cold even if you wear such thin stockings.
There were no fleece-lined stockings in this era, and they were not a common commodity. The stockings seen on the market were basically imported from abroad, so the price was naturally not low.
This outfit, plus the small leather bag she carried on her shoulder, would cost at least a hundred dollars.
Given the stingy nature of the Niu family, they really were reluctant to pay for Niu Xiaoqin, and the person who would eventually pay the bill was obvious.
Lin Shu shook his head. It seemed that Gu Youtao would be doomed in this life because of this awesome comrade.
"Brother Jiu, I brought my brothers here to congratulate you and your sister-in-law on your new home!"
When I heard the loud voice, I knew it was Fade Chen.
When I looked towards the door, I saw that it was him who came with a group of brothers.
However, there are two little red flowers among this group of men.
Two lesbians in red cotton coats.
Lin Shu glanced at Liu Xiao'e and the nanny sitting next to the counter, walked over, and took Dabao from Liu Xiao'e's arms.
"Dabao, is one of those two female comrades your father's secretary? The one called Siqin?"
Dabao looked at the two lesbians wearing the same red tops and pointed to the one on the left, a tall, good-looking beauty.
"You do have some capital. How close was your relationship with your father in your previous life?"
Dabao shrugged helplessly. How could a son pay attention to every detail of his father's private affairs?
Lin Shu rubbed his head and said, "How can you be so careless that you can't even figure out something like this."
Dabao was also helpless. He was so busy every day that he had no time to pay attention to an unimportant woman.
"Mr. Gu, Mr. Lin, congratulations."
While the mother and son were talking, Siqin and her group had already walked up to them. Siqin smiled at Lin Shu stiffly.
Lin Shu smiled as if in the spring breeze, and she warmly welcomed all the guests who came to the banquet today.
After all the guests arrived and the meal started not long after, some guests left and they had to see them off. After being busy for the whole morning, they really didn't have much time to rest.
Many guests who came to the banquet knew that this building was built by Gu Jiu himself, and they went to visit several shops next door.
If you don’t go around, you won’t know. Once you start going around, you’ll be unable to stop.
"Wow, there are more varieties of fruits in this fruit shop than in our wholesale store. Mr. Chen, please come here quickly. What is the name of this fruit? We don't have this kind of fruit in our fruit wholesale store, and we don't have another kind of purple fruit either."
"Clerk, what are these two fruits called?"
"The fruit with thorns is called durian, and the other is mangosteen. There are labels on the shelves with the fruit varieties and prices marked on them," the clerk reminded.
“Oh, there really is a label here.”
After being reminded, several people paid attention to the labels on the shelves.
"Isn't this a sweet potato? Why is it called Tianshan Snow Lotus Fruit?"
"There are also blood oranges here. Does that mean the flesh of this blood orange is red?"
Siqin and Xiaofen were shocked. When Chen Fei saw that there were so many fruits that his wholesale store did not have, he immediately lost his composure.
"Brother Jiu is so dishonest. He has so many fruits in his own fruit shop, but he doesn't even share his purchasing channels. If our fruit wholesale store had more categories, wouldn't our business be even better?"
Not only did Chen Fei discover that the fruit shop had a wide variety of products and low prices, but other customers also noticed it.
The fruit shop's business became booming for a while.
In addition to fruits, customers are also more concerned about what good things are available in the mini supermarket.
As a result, once you get in, you are involved in food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Rice, flour and oil were snapped up by guests from afar, followed by kitchen and daily necessities.
When Gu Jiu and Lin Shu finished their work in the restaurant and came out, they found that the customers who had left long ago were still patronizing her other two stores.
They were all relatives, so what else could Lin Shu do? He offered a 10% discount to all guests. As long as they were guests who came to the banquet, they could enjoy a 10% discount on any purchase in the small supermarket and fruit shop, no matter how much the amount was.
Finally, guests were seen waiting for the bus on the roadside with bags of various sizes, and more people were carrying bags of rice and oil drums in their hands.
The Lin family and the Gu family were both at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"Little sister, your fruit shop and small supermarket seem to be famous. In the past, only nearby residents came to patronize them, but in the future, perhaps residents from even farther places will come to buy from them."
Admittedly, Lin Shu felt that this possibility was very high.
The customers on the roadside carrying bags of rice, oil drums, and large and small bags all live far away from here.
This time they returned in such a high profile, there will definitely be many neighbors who will ask them where they bought the supplies.
After returning home and drinking some tea, the brothers and sisters-in-law of the Gu family wanted to go back. Lin Shu took out the braised pork ribs that had been stewed in the morning and asked them to take some back.
I originally wanted to have them eat at home in the evening, but they skipped work in the morning and had to go back to work in the afternoon.
Gu Nuan took one last tour of the new house before saying goodbye and leaving.
On the way back, her husband Hu Renyou exclaimed: "Jiu Ge'er's new house is decorated so well. Seeing that his residence is so spacious, I am tempted to buy a house and move out."
Now Gu Nuan's family of five still lives with her parents-in-law. As you can imagine, the living conditions are not very good when such a large family lives together.
In the past, the entire Gu family lived together in a three-story villa, which was barely livable. The Hu family’s conditions were not as good as the Gu family, so housing was even more tight.
Gu Nuan and her husband were assigned to one room. As the children grew up, they divided the room into two single rooms. The couple and their four-year-old daughter lived in one room, and the two older daughters lived in the other.
"What's the point of just acting on impulse? Do you think buying a house is just a matter of talking? Do you have any savings?"
Over the years, as they had more and more children, they naturally paid more and more food expenses to their parents.
After deducting the food expenses from the monthly salary, there is not much left. A family of five has to save money to barely make ends meet.
As for buying a house, it's not something he can afford just by thinking about it.
Hu Renyou felt guilty after being criticized. He pinched his shrunken purse and had no ideas at all.
However, men like to argue, "Don't I give you my salary every month?"
Gu Nuan raised her eyebrows and glared at him: "Hu Renyou, what do you mean by this? You gave me your salary, so it's my responsibility if you didn't save any money?"
Hu Renyou pushed the frame of his glasses and frowned, "That's not what I meant. Were you asking me about my deposit first?"
"Don't you know the monthly expenses of your family? Your salary can't even cover the monthly expenses of your family, and you have the nerve to ask me for savings. You want to do a job worth 3,000 yuan with a salary of 30 yuan, why don't you go to heaven!"
Gu Nuan was so angry that her chest heaved. The food expenses she paid to her parents-in-law every month were more expensive than those paid by her brother and sister-in-law from her natal family.
It’s only five dollars more expensive a month, but the food is much worse than what I eat at my mother’s house.
She now seriously suspected that only their family paid the food expenses honestly, and his brother's family might have just done some superficial work to fool them.