At this moment, Song Anbang spoke gently: "Erxi is right. There are some things that only officials can do. For example, the decorations at the entrance are stone drums for civil officials and stone lions for military officials. There are also many rules about the roof pillars in this courtyard. Aunt, you should be careful to avoid bringing disaster upon yourself."
When Sister-in-law Lin heard Song Anbang say the same thing, she knew it couldn't be false, and she immediately felt a chill on her neck.
"My goodness, there are so many rules to building a house! Sister-in-law, it seems that only your family can afford a house like this. Even if I had eight lives, I couldn't afford to live in one."
Lin Erxi immediately stuck out her tongue and said to her mother, "Mom, look at you, you're still criticizing me. You're just short-sighted." She then turned to educate Da Xiaocao and Xiao Cao, "Don't be like your grandma, Da Xiaocao and Xiao Cao. Study hard with your aunt, and you'll be as smart as your aunt in the future. That way you'll understand all these things."
Da Xiaocao immediately showered her with compliments: "Wow, Auntie is amazing, she's the smartest person in Linjia Village."
"Aunt, you're so clever!"
Lin Erxi looked smug as Da Xiaocao praised her, and Lin Fengyao immediately came out and shouted, "Sister Erxi, how could you do this? How could you deceive Da Xiaocao like this while I was not at home? I am clearly the smartest person in Linjia Village."
"Little grass, come here, tell your uncle, Uncle Fengyao is the smartest, even smarter than Aunt Erxi! Tell him and your uncle will give you some snacks."
Lin Fengyao tempted Da Xiaocao with delicious food, but Lin Erxi immediately objected.
"Fine, Feng Yao, you're being incredibly despicable! You can't tempt Da Xiao Cao with food. Da Xiao Cao, don't listen to him. Auntie has some snacks too. Auntie is the smartest one!"
Lin Fengyao immediately retorted, "Second Sister, aren't you just using snacks to lure us in? Big and small grass, your uncle has even more snacks here."
"I have so many more and so many more..."
To compete for the title of the smartest person in the eyes of the two children, Lin Erxi and Lin Fengyao started their elementary school-style bickering.
Song Anxin: "..." I really want to pretend I don't know them.
Meanwhile, Da Xiaocao and Xiao Cao swayed their heads from side to side, watching the two argue with their big eyes wide open. Their little heads were full of questions. Why were their aunt and Uncle Fengyao arguing? In their eyes, Uncle Fengyao and their aunt were both very smart.
The group of people celebrating the new house watched the two arguing heatedly and burst into laughter, making the courtyard even more lively.
At this moment, the village head's wife smiled and said, "Fengnian's mother, now that you are an official and have such a big mansion, shouldn't you buy some servants? Last time I saw that the Liu family came, they had countless servants. Even Taohua brought two children today and had several maids and servants with her. Some shopkeepers also had servants. You, a seventh-rank lady, can't not even have a servant to serve you, can you?"
Aunt Guiying immediately said, "Yes, Fengnian's mother, if we go out like this, people will think that our Lady Hui has no prestige."
Sister-in-law Lin immediately chimed in, "If you ask me, sister-in-law, you should go to the county brokerage tomorrow and see if there are any good candidates."
"Oh dear, choosing servants requires careful consideration, let me tell you..."
Upon hearing that she wanted to buy a house, a group of women began to offer Song Anxin advice on how to choose an honest and loyal person.
Song Anxin listened attentively. Her family's house was already so big, and the family business might continue to expand in the future. She would need to buy some people to help take care of the house, otherwise she couldn't rely on Meizi alone. Although Meizi wouldn't complain, she couldn't do things that treated people like cattle.
Song Anxin listened to everyone's opinions, but everyone had only seen the surface of the matter and had never actually experienced it. This gave Song Anxin a bit of a headache.
She wouldn't truly treat the servants she bought as slaves; she preferred a labor relationship more like that in a workshop.
But these people are different from the workers in the workshop. They eat and live at home and are together all day long. They might become like family over time. If she picks a bad one to harm the master's family, she will not hesitate to take drastic measures and deal with him. But she will inevitably feel disheartened after spending a long time with him. She does not want to become suspicious in the future.
Just as Song Anxin was filled with worry, a voice came from outside: "The magistrate is visiting Madam Hui."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the courtyard immediately stopped in their tracks, all looking puzzled.
"What brings the magistrate here?"
"Oh dear, do I have to tell you that the magistrate is here? Let's hurry out and pay our respects."
Song Anxin thought that Magistrate Yan was probably just visiting her normally and wouldn't want to make such a big fuss, so she told everyone to continue strolling around the courtyard and warming up the new house, while she took Anbang and Fengnian out to receive them.
As expected, Magistrate Yan came in plain clothes, but besides Master Fan and a servant, there were about a dozen servants, maids, old women, servants, and several strong men standing behind him.
Song Anxin was somewhat puzzled, but she didn't dwell on it. After bowing to Magistrate Yan with Song Anbang and Lin Fengnian, she spoke:
"Lord Yan and Master Fan, what brings you here today? Well, you've come at the perfect time. Today is the day my family moves to our new house. Lord Yan, you were too busy with official duties to have a drink at our house when we were raising the roof beam. If you and Master Fan aren't in a hurry to go back, how about you stay for lunch and have a drink at our house to celebrate our new house?"
Yan Shuling smiled and said with his hands behind his back, "Madam Hui, it really is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. The banquet at Madam Hui's house is so delicious, how could I refuse? I also have a gift to congratulate your family on moving here."
Master Fan said to the group of servants behind him, "This is Madam Hui, and she is also your new mistress."
A group of men and women stepped forward and said, "Greetings, Madam Hui and the two young masters."
Song Anbang remained calm on the surface, but his eyes showed some surprise that the county magistrate would send servants to his elder sister.
When Lin Fengnian was suddenly addressed as "Young Master" by a group of people, his face froze, and he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.
Then, Master Fan took out more than a dozen contracts of servitude and handed them to her. Yan Shuping then spoke:
"Madam Hui, these are the indentures of these people. These are all old women, maids, and servants, carefully selected by the clerk from respectable families and of good character. There are also four guards whom I chose; they are skilled enough to protect your family. What do you think of this generous gift? Does it please Madam Hui?"
Yan Shuping looked at her with a smile. The four guards were selected from his Yan family's guards. As long as they weren't martial arts masters, they could handle most people.
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