On his return he was as fresh as a rose, and he brought back in his pocket four hundred francs with which they paid the two overdue quarters' rent at the shop that the Poissons had become answerable for, and also the most pressing of their little debts in the neighborhood.

Gervaise thus opened two or three streets through which she had not passed for a long time.
She had naturally become an ironer again.

Madame Fauconnier was quite good-hearted if you flattered her a bit, and she was happy to take Gervaise back, even paying her the same three francs a day as her best worker.

This was out of respect for her former status as an employer.
The household seemed to be getting on well and Gervaise looked forward to the day when all the debts would be paid.

Hard work and economy would solve all their money troubles.