Yi Xin as a concubine

Chapter 203 A family reunion

Since Xin Baoer came here, she has been staying in her own little courtyard and has hardly ever gone out. Today is the first time she has stepped out of the house properly.

The place they are currently in is Chengping County, the closest place to the north under the jurisdiction of Daming Prefecture.

There are continuous mountains and rivers here, and there are many ancient temples and strange sights. It has been a good place for the emperor to play and escape the summer heat since ancient times, so a palace was built at the foot of the mountain.

I lifted the car curtain and looked out. The road was wide, shops were lined up, and occasionally there were a few hawkers' cries. It seemed very prosperous.

But Xin Baoer noticed that there were very few pedestrians on the street, and most of them had sad faces. The shop assistants sitting in front of the shops also had their heads drooped, and it was obvious that there was not much business.

Xin Baoer recalled the complaints of the shopkeepers who had come to her for advice over the past month: "This place is simply not comparable to the prosperity of Shengjing. The income has plummeted and we can barely keep the store running."

Xin Baoer also carefully compared the cash flow before and after the store relocation. Except for the grain and oil store, cloth store and daily necessities store, the performance of other stores was indeed not ideal, especially restaurants, teahouses and hotels, which were almost in a situation where their income was not enough to cover their expenses.

In fact, Xin Baoer has been quite worried recently. After all, she has made a lot of money since she took over these industries. Now, there are wars everywhere in the country, people are in a state of unrest, and the country is precarious.

How could business flourish in such an environment? Even the few shops left in the prosperous Shengjing City only earned less than 20% of their usual income.

Xin Baoer sighed and was at a loss.

As a high school graduate, she only had more knowledge and experience of later generations than the ancient people around her. She was also well-informed and able to apply what she had learned. She was able to integrate what she had learned from later generations into the life and production of this era. This is how she gained a place in the business world.

But on the other hand, if ordinary people don’t have money, they won’t go out. If people don’t go out, no matter how good her products are or how touching her marketing plans are, it will be of no avail!

"Alas! Now I am at my wit's end and have no other ideas to offer." Xin Baoer muttered dejectedly.

Mother Lin was sitting next to her. She heard her unconscious murmurs, patted her little hands, smiled kindly, and comforted her, "You will be home soon. The masters in the family are all very capable. If there is anything I can't figure out, you can ask them. The whole family has loved you since you were a child. As long as you ask, they will definitely not hide anything."

Xin Baoer smiled softly, responding. In fact, she was not quite sure, after all, the current situation might not have much to do with business methods.

The four carriages in front and behind stopped in front of a magnificent mansion. Before Xin Baoer got out of the carriage, she heard the shouting of her second brother Xin Chengzhi coming from outside the carriage.

"Little Eighth Sister is back."

Xin Baoer's originally sad face immediately blossomed into a bright and sweet smile. Without waiting for the servants to help her, she turned out of the carriage and jumped off the shaft neatly, scaring the maids behind her to scream.

"Why are you making such a fuss? I exercise every day." As he said this, he glanced at Wei Yu with resentment.

Wei Yu is usually a cold and aloof person. She would ignore anyone unless she is called. However, she is dedicated to supervising Xin Baoer's exercise to the point of being crazy.

"Oh, my eighth girl is finally back." Madam Cheng was really happy, her face was full of smiles.

"Mother, thank you for your concern." Xin Baoer quickly bowed.

"Child, why are you being so polite to your mother?" The eldest lady patted Xin Baoer angrily, but the love in her eyes almost overflowed.

"Okay, you two, come in and talk. How can we keep all the elders waiting?" Master Xin's voice came from inside the vermilion door, with a smile clearly in his tone.

"Oh! Your father can't wait any longer. Come on, let's go inside and talk." The eldest lady has always been impetuous. While she was talking, her feet were not idle either. She pulled people together and strode inside.

Seeing this, the maids and servants behind them didn't care about the things on the carriage and hurriedly trotted to catch up. In the end, Wei Yu was the most reliable. She stayed behind and helped the Xin family servants unload the things on the carriage one by one, and asked people to carry them in carefully.

As soon as you step through the gate, you will see a suddenly open layout in front of you. There is no screen wall, and there are corridors on both sides. There are only two large urns filled with water in the middle of the courtyard, and no other scenery.

Xin Baoer immediately thought of the Xin Mansion in Shengjing City. It was really big, occupying half of the street. Inside the mansion were terraces and waterside pavilions. Every step was a different scene, and every place was exquisite. Now...

As she thought about it, Xin Baoer's eyes couldn't help but become red. She couldn't describe the feeling in her heart, a little regretful, a little nostalgic.

"Oh, what happened? You must have been wronged." The second wife Hua and the third wife Miao also came over at this time. Seeing the little girl's red eyes, they couldn't help but ask with concern.

"Nothing, I just haven't seen my family for a long time. I was so excited and happy that I don't know how to express it." Xin Baoer's tears finally fell, but there was a smile in her eyes.

"Hey kid, this is our own territory now. Whenever you want to go home, it's just a matter of raising your legs. Just don't be lazy and stay in the house and refuse to go out."

The second wife, Madam Hua, was a skillful talker, and her words were both intimate and considerate.

"Your second aunt is the most talkative one. Eighth girl, let's go in quickly. Your sisters have arrived early and their necks must be stretched out waiting."

The third lady, Miao, was not willing to be left behind. She smiled and took Xin Baoer's other hand. The three ladies surrounded Xin Baoer and walked to the backyard.

In the small garden in the backyard, there were tables, chairs and tea tables set up in the open air, with maids in uniform walking around. When Xin Baoer and others arrived, there were already quite a few people sitting inside, and laughter could be heard from time to time.

"Eighth sister."

"Eighth sister."

A sister was the first to notice Xin Baoer and her group coming over and shouted happily.

Xin Baoer looked at the scene in front of her with emotion. The eldest sister, the second sister, the sixth sister, the seventh sister, and the ninth sister were all married. Only the tenth sister, Xin Dieer, was still dressed as a girl, looking in a certain direction with a shy face.

There were also two unfamiliar women in the crowd. They were my third and fourth brothers, the new brides they married this year. As they had not spent much time with their family, they still had some shyness of a young girl on their faces.

On the other side, the brothers and a few unfamiliar men were standing together, discussing something. They all had smiles on their faces and were obviously having a good time.

Xin Baoer suddenly hesitated. Was this kind of harmony and warmth really hers? At this moment, she was in self-doubt.

"Why don't you go over? Your sisters are waiting for you." Seeing the little girl slow down, the eldest lady couldn't help but ask worriedly.

At this time, Master Xin San came out from behind the crowd and said with a smile, "The eighth girl is feeling homesick."

Xin Baoer pulled the corners of her mouth, revealing an extremely gentle and peaceful smile, and said, "Third Uncle is right."

"Okay, everyone find a place to sit. We've still got a while before dinner, so just hang out here for a while while waiting for dinner to start." Master Xin took the lead and sat down at the main table, saying cheerfully.

"What can I say? Second girl and eighth girl are both home. Today we are finally home. There can't be any mistakes in the reunion dinner. You guys chat first. I have to go to the kitchen to keep an eye on things."

The eldest lady was so happy. She looked at her daughter and then at her son. Her face was full of smiles. She felt like she had endless energy. As she spoke, she rushed to the kitchen.

Seeing this, the second and third wives quickly exchanged a few words with everyone and went to help.

Xin Baoer was pulled over by several sisters and then surrounded. The sisters were talking to each other at once. Some of the words were interrupted by another person before she could hear clearly.

If it had been any other time, with so many people chattering around her, she would have asked Wei Yu to throw them out long ago. But today, she just felt comfortable, and the smile on her face never faded.

Chu Xingchen finally arrived when the banquet started at noon. Xin Baoer broke away from the crowd to greet him. She saw that he subconsciously wanted to smile, but he just pulled the corners of his mouth awkwardly. Only then did she realize that her face had become stiff from smiling all morning.

Chu Xingchen also teased her, pinching her face and said, "It's okay, smile more in the future, let's practice."