This was expected, since there's no reason for them to give you a house for no reason.

"Village chief, how much does it cost to rent this house?"

Lu Fugui couldn't help but ask, "We don't have much money to buy it right now. We still owe the Lu family a large sum of money, so we absolutely can't borrow any more money. We can only rent a place for the time being."

"Here's the thing, there are four houses in total. Two of them are quite large and can accommodate about ten people. The rent is 25 coins a month. The smaller one can also accommodate five or six people if you squeeze in. The rent is 15 coins a month. You can consider sharing a house, which is relatively cheaper."

The price offered by the village chief was reasonable, considering that the house was old and dilapidated and it was impossible for him to ask for an exorbitant price.

The price is acceptable to everyone, but the problem is that even if we rent all four houses, we still can't accommodate so many people.

There were fifty or sixty of them.

Before they could speak, the village chief continued, "There aren't enough rooms for all of you. There are a few plots of land in the village that you can buy and build your own houses. However, our village has a large population, so the competition is fierce and the land is relatively expensive."

The reason why the houses I just mentioned, which had no descendants, were so cheap was partly because they were old and dilapidated, and partly because people had died in those houses before, which was considered somewhat unlucky.

Most villagers buy houses when there are happy events in their families, so houses like this are considered unlucky, which is why the houses have been empty all these years.

But homestead land is different; it's all new land, and you can do whatever you want with it after buying it, plus it brings joy.

That's why they're so expensive; apart from a few wealthy families who bought them, the rest are left over.

The village chief paused for a moment, then continued, "The smallest plot of land is five fen (0.05 acres), which sells for three taels of silver in the village. Larger plots are one mu (0.06 acres) or two mu (0.06 acres). One mu costs six taels of silver, and two mu costs ten taels of silver. It depends on what kind you want to buy."

Hearing this, it seems that two acres of land is more cost-effective, but ordinary farming families don't actually have that much money to buy such a large amount of land. Most of them buy five fen or one acre.

Now, apart from the Lu family, if the others in the group had actually spent money to buy the homestead, they probably wouldn't be able to afford to build a house, let alone buy fertile land.

Cui'er's family wanted to buy it themselves, since it wouldn't be very convenient for the three of them to share a rental with others. So Lu Daping asked, "Village Chief, are there any smaller plots of land available?"

The village chief shook his head: "That's all."

He Jiuniang offered them a suggestion: "If you're willing, the two households can buy five fen of land together and then divide it equally. At worst, your yards will be a little smaller."

yes!

Everyone's eyes lit up. Since the village wouldn't divide it into smaller portions, they could buy it and make their own plans!

"Alright, my family wants to buy five-tenths of an acre of land. Is there anyone willing to share it equally with us?"

Lu Daping looked at the crowd. Some people were determined to rent a place temporarily, while others wanted to make plans as soon as possible.

Li, Tiedan's mother, stepped forward and said, "My home is small; I have two children, so it doesn't need to be very big."

The mother and her two children had received nine taels of silver from the bandits' den, and another six taels from the Jingzhou. They hadn't spent any money on the journey and had some savings.

Cui'er's family and Li's mother and her two children were all members of the Lu clan, so they were related by blood. Living together like this wouldn't cause any major conflicts. Moreover, Cui'er had also formed a revolutionary friendship with Li and Gao on the way, and she was very happy to be their neighbor.

"Okay, Aunt Li, we'll be neighbors from now on!"

Cui'er happily took Li's hand, her smile genuine.

The Gao family, mother and daughter, were also unwilling to share a rental with others, so they took the initiative to say, "Let's buy five acres of land too. It's inconvenient for you two young girls, Liu sisters, to buy with us."

The Liu sisters were very obedient throughout the journey, and being young, they dared not cause any trouble. Although Gao disapproved of their previous attempts to rely on the Lu family, she was still willing to be their neighbor.

The Liu sisters no longer dared to dream of getting involved with the Lu family, and they also felt that they would be easily bullied if they shared an apartment with others, so they nodded timidly.

Liu Daya said, "Auntie, but my sister and I don't know anything about this. How are we going to build this house?"

They were only thirteen years old, far from the age of coming of age, and didn't really understand anything.

"What's the big deal? We've all come this far together, how could we possibly abandon you kids? Once we've settled down, we'll start helping you build houses!"

Lu Fugui readily stepped forward to respond, and everyone nodded in agreement. Yes, they had taken care of each other along the way, so how could they not care?

"Thank you, thank you uncles and aunts!"

The two sisters were so excited they were about to cry. They had thought they had been abandoned by their parents and were destined to drift aimlessly for the rest of their lives, but they never expected to have such a turning point and opportunity.

"Alright, alright, why shed tears on such a joyous day? It's settled then!"

Ms. Gao couldn't help but be moved and came over to pat them on the shoulder to comfort them.

So, the group of people who were rescued from the bandit's den, those with relatively more money, were willing to pool their money to buy land and build houses, while the group of Lu family members they met in Ganzhou City, who still had so much money, temporarily rented empty houses in the village.

As for Lu Guilan's family, they didn't have much money. The rented house wasn't enough, and it would be even more difficult for them to build their own. They remained silent for a while, quietly following behind the Lu family.

The village chief was surprised that they were so humble and yielding. After all, an existing house is much more convenient and cheaper than buying land and building it. He thought they would fight over it, but they resolved it peacefully, and everyone seemed very happy.

With this in mind, the village chief had a plan. They were relatives, relatively united, and quite numerous, even comparable to some of the village's older households. This meant that no one could bully them in the village in the future.

As the village chief, he naturally couldn't think of bullying these newcomers. They not only had a large population, but also had merits that allowed the state government to directly arrange their accommodations. There must be someone helping them behind the scenes.

At this time, the Lu family had also made a decision. Old Man Lu said, "Our family is large, so let's buy two acres of land to build a house. It will be more convenient for the children when they grow up."

This was expected by everyone. They all knew that the Lu family was wealthy. They had sold the horse and lent them some money, and the Lu family still had some left over. They would also definitely give them a reward for the young master Qin they had saved.

However, no one was jealous. They all felt that it was the Lu family's skill that allowed them to survive and stand here, and that their lives would definitely get better and better if they followed the Lu family in the future!

The village chief was surprised again. This family didn't seem special, but they could buy two acres of land with just a few words, which was something that many families in the village couldn't do.

"Alright, alright. Since everyone has made up their minds, come with me to see the house and the land. After that, we'll sign the documents and register them with the government."