What job did Wan Xueying find for Gu Ming? To be the mentor for An Ping and An Fan.
She had considered this. An Fan was fine; he could be sent to school with his peers. An Ping wasn't quite right. He already felt it was too late to start school, and he was hesitant. If he were to study with a group of children and learn worse than them, he would definitely be discouraged and might not want to go. The best solution was to find him a private tutor.
The Northern Frontier values military training over literature, and Elm Village hasn't even produced a single student in years. There's an old scholar in neighboring Willow Village, but he already has a school and couldn't possibly be a private tutor in Anping.
With such a ready-made candidate right in front of her, Wan Xueying certainly didn't want to miss it.
Gu Ming taught An Ping and An Fan, which not only allowed him to earn some living expenses but also allowed him to find time to review his lessons. Naturally, they were happy to accept the offer, and this matter was finally settled.
The only thing left to solve was where to house so many people. An Dayong accompanied the village chief to continue drinking, while An Ping took Wan Xueying, Shen Yu and the others to look at houses. The first place they went to was the large house, which was indeed the one Wan Xueying and Shen Yu had mentioned.
The house had a high wall built of massive stones, and the gate was locked and shut. From the outside, it didn't look shabby at all, and was even more impressive than most houses in the village. Perhaps it was a psychological issue, but after learning why such a nice house had been uninhabited, everyone looked at each other, hesitating at the door for a long time, but no one dared to be the first to enter.
"Shall I lead the charge?" Shen Yu finally volunteered. "You guys just follow behind me." He glanced at Wan Xueying again. "Wait outside first. You can come in when everything's clear."
"No need, I'll go with you." Wan Xueying had just used her mental power to survey the entire yard and didn't find any unknown creatures like ghosts.
"Then follow me closely." Shen Yu was still worried.
"good."
"Let's go first, right?" Shunzi rushed ahead of Shen Yu, followed by Nan Ying and Bei Wu. Qiu Shi felt they couldn't afford to back down any longer, so he also stepped forward to protect Shen Yu and Wan Xueying.
Seeing everyone's fearful attitude, Wan Xueying smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, there's really nothing here."
Everyone felt that Wan Xueying's words were meant to comfort everyone. Although she said she was not nervous, she was actually very panicked inside, and her hands unconsciously rested on her swords.
Seeing them like this, Wan Xueying shook her head secretly, but since it was her first time in such a deserted house, she also increased her vigilance.
There was a large copper lock on the gate of the house, which was installed by the village chief some time ago. It was designed to protect against the most treacherous people, not the most treacherous ones. If anyone wanted to get in, they could just climb over the wall.
This time they had the village chief's permission to come and see the house. Shen Yu had received the key from the village chief earlier. Shunzi took the key from Shen Yu and turned it a few times before the lock cylinder turned with the key.
The moment the door was pushed open, there was a teeth-grinding creaking sound. Relying on their numbers, Shunzi, Nanying, and Beiwu bravely walked inside.
At the front of the house was a large vegetable garden, the weeds having long since withered due to the drought. To the right stood a latrine, a pigpen, a chicken coop, and a stable. To the left, right at their feet, was a cobblestone path that led to a long row of houses, perhaps seven or eight in total.
Everyone peeked inside through the dilapidated doors and windows. Apart from cobwebs and dust everywhere, the place was completely empty. Not even a bed, table, chairs, or benches were there. But that was fine; it would make cleaning easier once they moved in.
Walking around this long row of houses and coming to the backyard from the side door, there are about ten rooms here, consisting of the main house and side rooms on the left and right. In addition to the main house with a bathroom, there are also a living room, study, kitchen, utility room, etc. Every room is still empty.
To be honest, this place gives people a feeling of being a mixture of things. It is neither like the house where villagers live, nor like the regular structure of a wealthy family's home. However, it can be seen that the original owner had certain ideas, and seemed to want to combine the two styles into one.
There is a corner door on the left side of the house opposite. Passing through it is like walking into a different world, a small garden with a rockery, pavilions on both sides, and a long corridor.
"This is wonderful!" An Ping couldn't help but sigh. This was his first time entering this mysterious house, his first time seeing a house of this structure and grandeur. Because he hadn't encountered anything terrifying along the way, his previous nervousness and fear had long since vanished without a trace.
"I think this place is nice too." In order to avoid the embarrassment of him saying this alone, Wan Xueying added casually.
"But why would that family not want such a nice house? And why did accidents happen here one after another?" Anping was puzzled.
"Nine out of ten times, it's related to the identity of the original owner of this house." All signs indicate that the original owner of this house was no ordinary person. Rumor has it that his entire family was killed by bandits while seeking refuge with relatives. Was it the work of an enemy? The fact that people plotting against this place keep getting into trouble one after another only suggests something strange is going on.
"Xueying, what do you think of this place? Do we want to stay here?" Shen Yu asked.
"Yes, of course." Such a wonderful house was beyond her imagination. Even if it were given to her for free, she would have wanted to buy it even if she had to pay a small amount of money. It was no wonder that, despite all the troubles, people still cared about this place. The village chief had just said that if it hadn't been for the drought and they had discovered a water source, he wouldn't have thought of giving this place away for free.
"Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble later?" Shen Yu asked.
"That will be a matter for the future. Let's solve the accommodation problem first." It doesn't matter if there is nothing here. They have simple tents and luggage, so they don't have to worry about having no place to sleep.
There was no need to worry about water for now. With so many people, they could quickly clean up the place. In a couple of days, they would go to the county town to register their residence and buy some furniture and other necessary items. Living here would definitely not be too bad.
Regarding Shen Yu's residence, the two discussed and decided to divide the front yard into two parts.
Give the four rooms on the right side, as well as the vegetable garden, toilet and stable on the right side to Shen Yu. When the time comes, expand it outwards and build a new gate so that it can become a separate household.
Considering that Shen Yu would have more helpers in the future and there was no kitchen or utility room there, the two of them discussed and decided to build a few more rooms.
Wan Xueying and her family also wanted to expand their side of the farm, building a few more rooms, a toilet, and stables. They had quite a few horses and mules. She didn't plan to raise pigs, as the smell was terrible. However, she was considering a chicken coop, as she loved eggs.
There is also one most important aspect that must not be forgotten in the renovation, that is, it is very cold here in winter. The original owner may have no experience in this area and did not install a kang. Wan Xueying decided to find someone to install the kang while renovating the place.
They have settled this aspect, and the next thing to be resolved is where Wan Hesu and Gu Ming will live.
Since all the land around this house belonged to Wan Xueying, even the nearest abandoned house was still far away from here. In the end, Wan Hesu and Gu Ming chose two adjacent houses as their place of residence, so that the two families could take care of each other.
When Su heard that Wan Xueying was going to live in that deserted house with Aunt Chen and the others, she became very worried and discussed with her whether she could wait until the house was completely built before moving in.
Wan Xueying didn't want to make Su worry, but she was also worried that Chen Yi Niang and Wu Ma Ma would be scared living there, so she was in a dilemma.
Finally, Shen Yu suggested that Wan Xueying stay in the An family for a few days to accompany her family, while Gu Ming, Wan Hesu and others would follow everyone to live in the big house first, and then move back to their respective homes after the two families had cleaned up and were able to live in it.
The abandoned houses of their two families were not just abandoned. Not only were the doors and windows incomplete and drafty, but the house chosen by Gu Ming's family behind them even had most of the tiles on the roof missing.
In this way, Gu Ming's mother Wei and Lin Ying, the master and servant, can accompany Aunt Chen and Nanny Wu, and Wan Xueying can feel much more at ease.
Because there were so many people around, Su Shi hadn't found the time to chat with Wan Xueying. After finally letting her go back to her own home, she pulled Wan Xueying aside and asked her many questions about her life in the capital, and naturally, she also asked about Shen Yu.
Wan Xueying naturally preferred to report good news, never bad news. Whenever she mentioned the Wan family or their affairs, she downplayed them. With the exception of Wan Hesu, who had changed his name, the Wan family would gradually fade from her world. She didn't want those people and events to make her unhappy for the rest of her life.
While chatting, Wan Xueying handed Su the pills she had prepared for her health, and urged her to ensure An Shi took them. She also placed her hand on a point on Su's back, slowly channeling her vital energy into it, thereby increasing the vitality of Su's cells and tissues, thus accelerating her recovery. This was also the reason she decided to stay home for the next few days.
After helping Su inject her vitality, Wan Xueying sent her back to the house to rest so that the vitality could have a greater effect in her body.
When she returned to her room, she plucked a handful of Tree of Life leaves from the space, crushed them into a slurry with a pestle, and then diluted it into several water bags. The revival of the wheat that hadn't completely withered depended entirely on this slurry.
This day had drained a lot of her mental and physical energy. She simply washed herself in the room, changed into clean clothes, and lay down on the bed, intending to sleep. But then she heard some noises and the sound of someone talking in a very low voice.
Haha, she just helped the villagers find a water source during the day. She doesn’t expect everyone to be grateful to her, but at the very least she shouldn’t be thinking about their family.
She used her mental power to determine that there were only two people on the other side, and they were heading towards the kitchen. In order not to alert them, she put on her shoes and quietly walked out of the room and stood guard at the kitchen door.
When the two men put the food and meat in the kitchen into the sacks they brought and were about to go home, as soon as they walked out of the kitchen, Wan Xueying put the dagger that she rarely showed on the neck of one of them.
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