Chapter 168 Preparing to Buy Land
Hearing the noise outside, Du Wanchun quickly turned around and looked outside, only to see that Zhou Ruiyuan had returned.
"My lord, how was the result announcement today?" Du Wanchun strode up to him and asked with a smile.
Zhou Ruiyuan stepped forward to help her up, and replied with a smile, "You've topped the list."
Du Wanchun was delighted to hear this, "That's wonderful!"
After saying that, he called out to Aunt Zhou and the Third Prince inside the house, "Mother, Third Uncle, Ruiyuan has passed the imperial examination!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou and the Third Prince's faces lit up with joy, and they turned to walk towards Zhou Ruiyuan.
"That's wonderful! You've passed the imperial examination this time, and next time you'll be going to the capital to take the metropolitan examination," Aunt Zhou said with a smile.
After hearing this, the Third Prince's eyes darkened slightly as he said, "Passing the imperial examination is a good thing, but it's inevitable that you'll see the Emperor during the palace examination..."
After hearing this, Aunt Zhou slowly stopped smiling. "We'll have to meet sooner or later. Ruiyuan and I have already discussed it. We'll disguise ourselves to participate in the palace examination, and the emperor might not be able to recognize us."
The Third Prince looked at Zhou Ruiyuan, pondered for a moment, and said, "Don't worry, with me here, there will be absolutely no problem."
Zhou Ruiyuan nodded slightly, "Thank you, Third Uncle."
The Third Prince laughed and said, "You don't need to be so polite with me."
After he finished speaking, he took out many books, as well as some fine writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, from a box behind him.
"Ruiyuan, use these first. If you need more, just let me know."
Zhou Ruiyuan took it and thanked him again, saying, "Third Uncle, you've gone to so much trouble."
The Third Prince smiled and said, "No need to spend any money. These are all from my Prince's Mansion, and it won't cost much silver."
Aunt Zhou got up and started tidying up her things, saying, "Alright, you two must be hungry. I made some tofu and tofu soup today, come and try it."
The Third Prince's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. "You made tofu?"
Aunt Zhou nodded. "Sister Wang has a stone mill at home. We ground some beans at her house and made a big pot of tofu."
As she spoke, she turned and went to the kitchen to prepare to bring out the tofu.
The Third Prince hurriedly chased after him, saying, "Let me do it, you go and rest."
Aunt Zhou had just stepped into the kitchen when the Third Prince pushed her out.
The Third Prince rolled up his sleeves, abandoning his previous demeanor as a country gentleman, and began to work with a bent back.
After the family finished eating, Du Wanchun took out a blueprint and said, "Mother, Third Uncle, I've taken a look. There's a small mound of earth behind our house. Why don't we buy this land and build a new house?"
Aunt Zhou had wanted to build a new house for a long time, but her plot of land was too small.
Aunt Zhou and the Third Prince came over to take a look. "Great, but this land seems to belong to the Zhu family. I wonder if they'll sell it."
Du Wanchun smiled and said, "We'll go ask about it tomorrow."
Aunt Zhou nodded in agreement, "Alright, let's ask first. If it's for sale, we'll buy it and build a big house."
Du Wanchun nodded slightly.
The Zhu family used to be the Chen family's neighbors; the small hill behind their house was all their land.
However, Zhu's son later passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, so the family moved to Cheng'an County, leaving only that empty land behind.
It just so happens that Zhu's son also participated in this provincial examination.
As if she had just thought of something, Aunt Zhou asked him, "Ruiyuan, how did Zhu's second son do on the exam this time?"
Zhou Ruiyuan thought for a moment and replied, "I don't remember his name being on the list."
Aunt Zhou's face darkened. "Looks like you failed the exam!"
Zhou Ruiyuan nodded slightly. "I met Zhu's second son once during the examination. He was arrogant and conceited, so it's normal that he failed the exam."
Aunt Zhou nodded slightly, "We must be careful what we say when we go to the Zhu family tomorrow."
Du Wanchun understood her meaning and said with a smile, "Mother, don't worry, nothing will happen."
Aunt Zhou's complexion gradually improved. "I was just afraid that the Zhu family wouldn't sell the land."
Du Wanchun reassured her, "Don't worry, even if they don't sell, we have other ways."
“That works too,” Aunt Zhou replied thoughtfully.
The next day, after lunch, Aunt Zhou and Du Wanchun arrived in Cheng'an County by horse-drawn carriage.
The Zhu family lived in a small alley.
Du Wanchun and Aunt Zhou parked the carriage at the entrance of the alley, then walked into the alley and arrived at the Zhu family's door.
Aunt Zhou knocked on the door. "Aunt Zhu, are you home?"
The Zhu family home was quiet.
Aunt Zhou knocked on the door again, "Aunt Zhu, are you home?"
Du Wanchun also knocked on the door.
Not long after, the door opened, and a man wearing a gray long robe came out.
Looking at him, Du Wanchun guessed that he must be the son of this family.
Upon seeing the newcomers, Zhu Lao Er asked impatiently, "Who are you looking for?"
Aunt Zhou smiled and said, "You must be the second son. I'm from the Zhou family in Changliu Village. I used to live next door to you."
Upon hearing that they were from the Zhou family, Zhu Lao Er's face immediately darkened. "What do you want with me?"
Aunt Zhou glanced into the house and said, "I want to find your parents and see if they're willing to sell the land your family owns in Changliu Village."
Without a second thought, Zhu Lao Er frowned and said sternly, "I'm not selling. You'd better leave now."
Seeing his expression, Aunt Zhou assumed he was worried that she didn't have enough money, so she quickly said, "We'll pay thirty taels to buy it."
Thirty taels is a large sum of money for an ordinary family.
Knowing that Zhu Lao Er was even angrier, he yelled at them, "Can't you understand human language? I said I won't sell, and I won't sell."
Seeing his agitated state, Du Wanchun guessed what was going on and softened her voice, saying, "Young Master Zhu, it would be best to tell your parents whether or not to sell this land."
Zhu Lao Er snorted coldly and said, "Look at what you're saying, do you think I can't even make decisions about my own land?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
