The old man was stared at by three pairs of eyes, and finally he told the truth.

The old gentleman rested one elbow on the tea table, his body hunched over, and said in a frail and aged manner, "To my shame, I have lived a lonely life, and when I was over fifty, I picked up a child."

After I raised my child to adulthood, he didn't pursue a career in government; instead, he chose to take a crooked path and got involved in gambling.

A few days ago, a man surnamed Tian came to my house. My adopted son knelt down and begged me to act as his mediator.

Otherwise, the people at the gambling den would cut off his hands and feet and throw him into a mass grave.

It's my fault for not disciplining him properly, but he is still the child I raised..."

"So you softened your heart, became an accomplice to evil, and helped him commit fraud," Lu Qiqi continued.

When Lu Dahai heard that the old man had helped the two people cheat, and thought about how he had almost lost several hundred taels of silver, his gaze towards the old man was no longer as kind as before.

The old man shook his head and said, "It's not exactly fraud. The property deed that Mr. Tian showed you just now is genuine."

Lu Qiqi did not deny this; the house deed was indeed genuine, but it was just a blank deed.

In ancient times, house deeds were divided into white deeds and red deeds.

A contract that has been registered with the government is called a red contract.

The procedures for obtaining a red deed are complicated and cumbersome. In order to obtain a red deed, one not only has to pay extra taxes, but also has to bribe the officials in charge.

Therefore, most ordinary people prefer to hold white contracts for trading.

A white deed is a draft deed that is not registered with the government. Such deeds make buying and selling houses convenient and quick.

If there is any inconvenience, it is that once the deed is lost, the house belongs to whoever holds it.

Li Qingshan pondered for a moment and said, "The origin of that white contract is unknown?"

The old man nodded heavily. "That white contract was obtained by a man surnamed Tian through despicable means, seducing someone else's concubine."

He took the property deed and went to the government office to sue the homeowner, forcing the homeowner to move out. The concubine was also sold into prostitution in a brothel in a cesspool alley – a fitting punishment.

After the old man finished speaking, he lowered his head, his old face slightly flushed with embarrassment.

“That’s why the man surnamed Tian is in such a hurry to sell the house,” Lu Qiqi said. “Old sir, you should leave. I won’t report you to the authorities, but if you continue to aid and abet evil, you’re unlikely to have a good end.”

How could the old man not understand Lu Qiqi's words? If he were sent to the authorities, he would probably have to spend his last days in prison.

The old gentleman clasped his hands in a respectful greeting and walked out of the teahouse, whereupon Lu Qiqi went to pay for the tea.

The shopkeeper took the money without saying anything. As long as no one died in his shop, losing a little money for tea was nothing.

As they left the teahouse, Lu Dahai said, "It's a good thing we didn't buy this house and get involved in this mess, otherwise we wouldn't be comfortable living here."

Lu Dahai is right. The house is in the hands of the Tian family, so it's a dispute between the owner and the Tian family. Once someone else gets involved, things will become even more complicated.

If the homeowner finds the witnesses to the property deed and the seller, and compiles the evidence, the buyer may very well lose both money and the house, suffering a great loss.

After this incident, the three of them lost all interest in looking at houses.

However, Lu Qiqi still took a detour to the brokerage firm and told the manager about the little stick.

The brokerage manager bowed his head and apologized, fearing it would damage his reputation. If his reputation was damaged, he would have no business dealings in many places in Qingshui Town.

Therefore, the brokerage manager immediately promised that he would not let Xiao Bangzi go easily once he found him, and he would personally find a satisfactory house for Lu Qiqi and the others.

...

On the sixth day of the month, Lu Qiqi asked Zhou Yi to deliver some cured meat and fresh vegetables to the Feng family as gifts.

Lu Qiqi then took the Lu family to see a new house that the brokerage manager had found.

The house is located in Junlan Lane in the East Market of Qingshui Town, on the same street as the school. It is a 15-minute walk from the school to the house.

Lu Qiqi was very satisfied with the location; she liked it even more than her previous four-courtyard house.

The brokerage manager unlocked the door, pushed it open, and said, "The owner of this house moved out three months ago to take up his post in the capital. Before leaving, he entrusted the house to the brokerage for sale."

"This house is really big!" Madam Lu's eyes were full of smiles as she looked around, afraid of missing any beautiful scenery.

When Li saw the house, she was overjoyed and thought to herself: This courtyard is so beautiful, I wonder how comfortable it would be to live here.

The brokerage manager laughed, "Sister-in-law, you have a good eye! This is a five-courtyard house, ranking among the top three in the East Market!"

Having learned from past mistakes, Lu Qiqi inquired in detail about purchasing the house.

The brokerage manager answered each question in turn, saying, "This courtyard belongs to the old residence of a prefect who entrusted the brokerage to sell it before going to the capital to take up his post."

The young lady need not worry about not being able to get the house deed. The magistrate has already deposited the deed in the bank under the jurisdiction of the prefectural government. As long as enough silver is paid, she can get the house deed.

This property deed is a red deed, which will save a lot of time.

If the young lady buys it today, she can get the deed and move in tomorrow.

The brokerage manager led Lu Qiqi and the others to see the house while talking.

The house where the magistrate lived had excellent feng shui.

The house is divided into two courtyards, east and west, with many side rooms, forming three interconnected courtyards, spacious and grand.

Passing through a corridor in the east courtyard, you'll find a garden. The garden hasn't been tended to for three months, and there are some weeds, but it's easy to see that the original owner took good care of the property.

Lu Qiqi thought that with a little simple repair and tidying up, she could move in.

Passing by ponds, rockeries, pavilions and towers, all arranged in a well-organized manner, one can fully appreciate the refined aesthetics of the magistrate.

After seeing the house, Madam Lu wished she could move in right then and there.

She took Lu Qiqi's hand and walked to the side, saying, "Qiqi, this courtyard is so nice, do we have enough money to buy it?"

Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "I just asked the brokerage manager, and this house costs five hundred taels of silver. I have just enough money on hand, so buying this house will not be a problem."

Madam Lu then asked, "After buying this house, will there be enough money for the children's education?"

Five hundred taels of silver!

She had only ever heard of such a large sum of money in plays; she had never seen it in real life!

At this moment, Li also came over and said, "I still have some money here. It's not much for selling the house, but it should help with the children's tuition."

Thinking about the five taels of silver she received during the New Year, and the five taels of silver in red envelopes from Li Qingshan that were also under her control, Lu Shi had a total of ten taels of silver in her hands.

“I have one too. Seventh girl, this house is really grand. Let’s buy it. Your third aunt and I will take care of the children’s tuition.” Madam Lu said.

Seeing that her family liked it very much, Lu Qiqi decided to buy it right away. "Okay, I'll go to the bank with the broker and buy the house. I'll try to live there for a while before spring planting."

Mrs. Lu clapped her hands and cheered, while Mrs. Li's eyes shone with delight.

Everyone is looking forward to moving into this big house as soon as possible.