Grandpa Liu nodded, "Mr. Guo's knowledge and character are both rare. It would be best if Jiaren entered Taihua College."
Madam Cui also said, "Now that things have happened today, our two families are quite familiar with each other. It shouldn't be difficult for Jiaren to enter the academy."
Thinking about his studies, Jiaren couldn't help but smile as he stepped forward to bow and thank Mr. Wen and Old Master Liu.
"Thank you for your help, Teacher and Grandmaster, but we have just settled in and there is still a lot of work to do. I would like to wait until we are completely settled in before we go in."
Fearing that his nephew would miss the opportunity, Li Laosi immediately interrupted him, saying, "You should study. There are so many people in the family, do they need another one to do the work? As long as you study well, the family will be happy."
Jiaren then fell silent, but judging from his expression, he still couldn't let go of his family.
The others stopped trying to dissuade them, since building Taihua Academy wasn't something that could be done on a whim; it would take two or three months of preparation.
After exchanging a few more words, Li Laosi, Liu Biaotou, and the others took their leave.
Liu Zhiheng also took care of his father and returned to the city.
Mr. Wen was about to leave as well, but Mrs. Cui stopped him.
"Senior brother, if you're not too busy with your duties, could you find someone to investigate that Guo Qing? Fu Niu said he's scary, and I also feel like something's not right about him."
Mr. Wen was surprised, as he had been so focused on Mr. Guo that he hadn't paid much attention to Guo Qing.
"Alright, speaking of which, Doctor Zhang also said that he indulged in sensual pleasures, so he probably wasn't just making things up. Let me check and I'll let you know when I have any news. You can stay here in the manor and relax. If you have nothing to do, go for a walk on Broken Gold Beach."
"Okay, thank you, senior brother."
Regardless of how the two siblings discussed it, as the Li family's mule cart swayed towards Broken Gold Beach, everyone seemed to have a great weight lifted from their hearts and felt much more relaxed.
Jiaren, worried that his younger sister would catch a cold, carefully held her in his arms. "Fu Niu, are you missing Grandma? We'll be home soon."
Having been out for most of the day, Jiayin really missed her grandma and family, so she clapped her hands and urged her father to hurry up and drive the mule, "Thank you, hurry up and go, I've brought Grandma some good food!"
Just now, Madam Cui brought her a lot of snacks, sesame candy, and pine nut candy.
Everyone laughed, and the mule started to trot.
With a weight lifted from their minds, everyone put the Guo family out of their thoughts, but the Guo family didn't see it that way.
At this moment, Wenhao was carried down for his afternoon nap, but Guo Qing was nowhere to be seen.
He didn't return until after dinner, when it was completely dark.
Having regained some of his energy, Mr. Guo noticed his nephew's hesitant expression and asked, "Qing-ge, is there something you want to say?"
Guo Qing hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Uncle, I always felt that something was amiss with what happened today, so I went to inquire about it this afternoon. Of course, there's nothing wrong with Grand Secretary Cui's daughter, Mr. Wen, and even Old Master Liu and his son. But those two vagrants are a bit strange!"
"You mean Li Qiusheng and Liu the镖头?" Old Mr. Guo was grateful to Li Laosi and Liu the镖头 for helping to bury his family, and he remembered them very clearly.
Guo Qing nodded and said softly, "Uncle, it's not that I look down on refugees. It's just that they're too suspicious. These two men, surnamed Li and Liu, both came from Junyang County in the north. Their entire village fled here. They were poor farmers, but after arriving here, they found a rocky beach to settle down and discovered a hot spring."
"Now the whole village has raised over a thousand taels of silver and hired many craftsmen to build the hot spring estate and the new village. It's so luxurious and grand that many people envy it. But tell me, where did those poor bastards get the money? It's probably because my elder brother and his men fell on hard times and joined them. They were greedy for money, killed my elder brother and his men, and then pinned the blame on the bandits!"
Mr. Guo was so shocked that he sat up, but he refused to believe it.
"Impossible, right? Madam Cui and Mr. Wen are both here. They couldn't possibly have just watched them harm people, and now they're covering for them, even personally telling our family this terrible news?"
Guo Qing scoffed, "Uncle, you're too kind of person. I've seen too many opportunists in the marketplace. Especially in a life-or-death situation like that, the law and morality are useless. Who wouldn't want to grab more silver and food?"
"Besides, they said themselves that they had lived in the mountains for several months. Where did they find food during those months? They probably just robbed my older brother and the others!"
Thinking that the Broken Gold Beach was already taking shape and would become a treasure trove in the future, a glint of greed flashed in his eyes.
"Uncle, Madam Cui and Mr. Wen also said that they didn't see it with their own eyes, they only heard about it. Those refugees saved them, it would be too easy to gain their trust."
"If these refugees killed my elder brother and his family, seized their grain and money, used the grain to survive the winter, and used the money to build a hot spring estate, and now they've come to our house to deliver the news, hoping we'll repay their kindness so they can continue to benefit from it, their intentions are absolutely terrifying!"
Mr. Guo initially didn't want to believe it, but what his nephew said seemed to make some sense.
He didn't care where the grain and silver his family had brought had gone, or whether it had actually been used up by the Li family and other villagers.
But he wanted to know how his children and grandchildren had died, and at the hands of whom.
It seems that when Li Laosi talked about this, he used very vague words and glossed over it in just a few words.
Originally, he thought that Li Laosi didn't want him to be sad, but if what his nephew said was true, could it be that the Li family was really the murderers who killed his children and grandchildren, and that he was too guilty to say more?
"Alright, go and rest now. Don't bring this up again."
Guo Qing seemed a little aggrieved, but still obediently agreed, told the old man to rest early, and then left.
He hid behind the courtyard gate, waiting secretly.
Sure enough, a moment later, the old man's most trusted old servant was summoned into the room...
Hard work pays off; every effort will be rewarded.
The villagers of Qingshui Village worked from dawn till dusk, exhausted, and after more than a month, the Broken Gold Beach finally took shape.
Construction in the valley is nearing completion.
Fruit trees were planted on both sides of the mountain, and millet was planted in the furrows under the fruit trees.
Although the villagers preferred to plant sorghum, sorghum grows too tall, which would block the sunlight from the fruit trees and also take away more soil nutrients.
Four rows of houses were built on one side of the road at the foot of the mountain. Although they were connected by a ridge and somewhat compact, they also appeared more orderly.
A few days ago, the roof beams were installed, and now the doors and windows have been installed, and the kang (heated brick bed) has been laid out. We just need to wait for the wind to blow for a few days before we can put in the wooden furniture and move in.
Not far away, on the riverbank, the vines of the winter melon planted wildly, a lush green expanse.
Next to the melon vines was a peanut field. The peanut seedlings had only recently emerged from the soil, but they were already full of vitality.
Beyond that was the sweet potato field. The seedlings were bought directly from a nearby village and had been resting for a few days, but by then they had grown wildly.
The mischievous boys, Jia'an and Jiaxi, were very dedicated, working one shift in the morning and one shift in the afternoon, keeping a close watch on the riverbank. They were often praised by the old men who strolled by.
In the new village, the women were happily wiping and cleaning everywhere, pasting paper on windows, sprinkling water and sweeping the ground, and also moving many wildflowers to plant in front of and behind their houses.
A long irrigation ditch was dug at the entrance of the courtyard, and a separate channel was drawn from the hot spring flowing from the valley.
From now on, there will be no need to boil water for things like taking a bath or washing clothes at home.
The wastewater will be discharged into another ditch behind the house, and eventually flow into the river.
To make water access more convenient, the men in the village worked tirelessly for three extra days, and used a considerable amount of stone.
But it must be said that the whole village was overjoyed because of these two irrigation canals, and finally had a more tangible sense of happiness from the hot springs.
The Li family was especially busy, as they not only had to tidy up their own house, but also the courtyards of Young Master Ye and Madam Cui.
Grandma Li was washing the newly bought kang mat and drying it in the sun.
Jiayin sat on the doorstep, watching her family members busy at work with a smile.
Old Mrs. Li stood on tiptoe to look at the courtyard on the right, thinking of Young Master Ye, and said, "Young Master Ye has been gone for twenty days, hasn't he?"
Tao Hongying was washing pots and pans when she heard the sound of carriages and horses outside the door. Just as she was about to answer, she heard the sound of carriages and horses outside the door.
Grandma Li exclaimed with delight, "Quick, see if it's Young Master Ye who's back!"
Jiayin, with her chubby little legs, ran outside!
Here's the third update for today! New readers, don't forget to give this post a five-star review on the homepage! Comments and requests for more updates are also welcome. Hugs, thank you, my darlings! Mwah!
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