Xu Qu was the fifth son of the family and the youngest child in his generation. In fact, as a child of the second branch of the family, Xu Qu was very happy when he heard about the Marquis's plans.

Xu Qu's father, Xu Qi, the second master of the mansion, will be separated from the mansion after the old lady passes away. When the family is divided, his family will receive half of the property left by the old lady, and then 20% of the property of the Yongning Marquis's mansion. He will then move out with his whole family.

Xu Qi was still somewhat afraid of the future. In the Yongning Marquis's mansion, he was the second master. He had never done anything since he was young, neither good at literature nor martial arts. Because his father was the old Yongning Marquis and his elder brother was the current Yongning Marquis, he had always been a wealthy idler. Until his son got married and had a grandson, and his mother grew older day by day, Xu Qi was a little scared. Because this was how the family had always divided the property. After the division, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't just sit around and eat his inheritance until it was all gone.

Xu Qi was invited to the old lady's courtyard by the Marquis's men. At first, when he heard what the Marquis said about this matter, he found it somewhat unbelievable. What kind of logic was this? He was only given the right to operate the business, but not the ownership of the shops. The shops and estates still belonged to the manor. He would hand over a portion of the profits to the manor, and the rest would be his own.

Xu Qi was a little confused, but the old lady was very interested and even took the initiative to offer her own estates and shops to make the matter happen.

When Xu Qu heard the old lady call him and his wife, he quickly stood up. The old lady smiled and said, "You two come closer, each of you grab one, whichever one you grab is yours."

Xu Qu walked somewhat shyly to the front of the daybed, looked at the old lady, and then at her father. Xu Qi nodded slightly to Xu Qu. Xu Qu reached out and took out a small piece of paper from the brush washer near the old lady. Xu Qu's wife, Zhou, took out a small piece of paper from the brush washer near the Marquis.

The two men handed the crumpled paper to the old lady, who unfolded it, looked at it, and said with a smile, "One is a shop selling writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones near Qianmen, and the other is a fifty-acre estate in the north of the capital. You're quite lucky."

Once someone started, others were eager to try. Zhang Zhaoci also took two small slips of paper, one for an inn near the South Gate and the other for a 30-acre hillside estate very close to his estate on the outskirts of Beijing.

Each household received a small slip of paper. The old lady smiled and said, "These are shops and estates that you yourselves have chosen. Whether they are good or bad depends on your own luck. I have only one request: you must keep the shopkeepers and employees in the shops, and you cannot move the workers on the estates. These workers are all from the former Yongyi Marquis's residence. Some have been with me for decades, and some are descendants of the old people of the Yongyi Marquis's residence. I have a responsibility to them. As for your thoughts, you can discuss them with the shopkeepers and estate managers. You can learn from them, but you cannot boss them around. They have been doing this for more than ten or even several decades and know very well what they are doing."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Seeing that it was getting late, the old lady told everyone to disperse.

Zhang Zhaoci returned to her courtyard with the two small notes. Xu Di happened to be there. Seeing that only Xu Zhi, Xu Bai, and Granny Lu were in the room, Zhang Zhaoci waved the two small notes in her hand and asked, "Xu Di, was this your idea?"

Xu Di took the note, and upon seeing its contents, exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, they've already divided up the shop and the estate?"

Zhang Zhaoci said, "What do you mean by 'divided'? This was all taken out by the old lady. She said it was all family property brought from the Yongyi Marquis's mansion back then. She divided it among us, the parents, so that we could have more ways to make money. Xu Di, the old lady has had a hard time. How could you come up with such an idea?"

Xu Di said, "Mother, I'm just worried that everyone might get into trouble if they're idle in the mansion. Besides our family, which family doesn't need money? Giving them a way to make money is better than being coaxed into doing things that are detrimental to us."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Do the Marquis and the Old Madam listen to you? I said no, but the Old Madam still wouldn't have it and insisted that we take it. We can't just ignore it. Tell me, do you have the time to manage it or do I have the ability to manage it?"

Xu Di said, "Let Xiao Jiu manage it. While we're still in the capital, let Xiao Jiu go and see what's going on, learn from others, and have a chance to put his knowledge into practice, right?"

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Then you take Xiao Jiu with you, I'm not going."

Xu Di said, "Don't worry, I'll take Xiao Jiu with me."

Xu Bai, with his big eyes, had been listening attentively. Now, he clung to Xu Di's leg and cried out, "Brother, I want to go too! I want to go too!"

Xu Di picked up Xu Bai and said, "You'll be with me everywhere. Why do you always like to follow me around? Okay, I'll take you with me."

The Marquis's mansion was bustling with activity because of these estates and shops. However, the men all had their own duties, and the shops and estates were ultimately managed by the women of the household. Someone found out that Xu Di was a very resourceful person, and at the end of July, the heir apparent's wife, Ning, along with Yao, Chen, and Zhou, funded a banquet for the four of them in the flower hall in the mansion's garden, specifically inviting Zhang Zhaoci and Xu Di.

Xu Di immediately understood what these four aunts and uncles meant; they wanted his help in devising a plan.

Xu Di didn't intend to keep his abilities a secret. Upon receiving the invitation, he went to the flower hall openly with his mother.

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