The house has an elegant and simple architectural style, full of a strong historical atmosphere.
The tall courtyard wall is made of bluestone and is carved with exquisite patterns, which shows the unique aesthetic of the original owner.
Upon entering the house, the first thing that catches the eye is a spacious courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard is an exquisite little garden, filled with various flowers, plants and trees, the fragrance of which is refreshing and delightful.
On one side of the courtyard is an artificial hill with craggy rocks and flowing water, adding vitality and life to the courtyard.
Li Xi was overjoyed. The distant stories she had searched for in books, museums, and ruins in her previous life were actually reappearing before her eyes.
She felt a strange excitement, as if she had been drawn into this mysterious and legendary world.
"Lan'er, we must repay the president properly. I have never lived in such a beautiful house in my entire life."
Qin Xiaolin also praised, "This house is indeed elegant. We need to hire some servants to manage it, otherwise you few will probably be too busy."
After touring the mansion, the group left, and Qin Xiaolin said he had something to do and left.
Li Xi and her group planned to go to the brokerage firm to select some useful personnel.
It's not far from here to the West Market, where you'll find Kyoto's largest brokerage firm, offering everything from clothing and food to housing and transportation.
The broker brought about twenty people to the front yard, including both men and women.
If they weren't desperate to survive, who would sell themselves into slavery? It's just a matter of survival.
Everyone was pale and emaciated, and dressed in rags.
Forced by poverty, these people had no choice but to sell themselves into slavery; their eyes were filled with sorrow and helplessness.
Five people huddled together caught Li Xi's attention.
"What is this?" Li Xi asked the man with curiosity.
"Young master, this is a family. Their condition for selling themselves is that all five of them must be bought back. However, there are elderly and young members, so no one has been willing to buy them back," the broker explained.
They timidly raised their heads, only to see tired faces, each with a numb expression.
"Are you selling yourselves into slavery?" Li Xi asked.
"Yes..." The middle-aged man was the boldest; he looked up at me, then looked down again.
"Where is your home? Who else lives in your family? Why are you selling yourself?" Li Xi asked the middle-aged man.
“Reporting to you, sir, my name is Liu Fu, this elder is my mother, this is my wife Mei Niang, and these two are my children. My family is from Luzhou, and we are in debt that we cannot repay, so we intend to sell ourselves,” Liu Fu said sincerely.
His children, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen and a girl of six or seven, were the only able-bodied people in the family, the husband and wife. His mother seemed to be in poor health.
No wonder nobody wants to buy it.
"What are you good at?" Li Xi wanted to know if they had any special skills.
“Young master, I can do accounts, my wife and mother can do needlework, and my son can drive a carriage,” Liu Fu answered truthfully.
"Young master, this family only costs twenty taels." The broker didn't want to be stuck with the money, so he didn't care if he didn't earn much.
Meng Zhelan paid fifty taels of silver and, in addition to this family, selected two rough-working old women, two servants, and two maids.
Since Sun Tiantian wasn't around, she would usually see Judge Meng off to and from his shifts, and then go to the martial arts academy to practice martial arts—this was a plan set up for her by Meng Zhelan.
So Li Xi found two carriages and had the drivers take them to their new house.
Li Xi, Meng Zhelan, and Ling'er went to the clothing store to buy some new clothes and bedding for the people. Her eyes were like a ruler; she could tell what size clothes to buy just by looking at each person's body shape.
The new house has everything they need, thanks in large part to Chairman Wang, who bought most of the furniture when she purchased the house and had the housekeeper add some more items. So they can just move in with their bags.
On the way back to the restaurant, I picked up Tian Tian from the martial arts academy.
Moving is a troublesome affair, as Chairman Wang had anticipated. She waited for them at a restaurant with five or six people.
"You're finally back. I guessed you'd be back around this time, so I brought a few helpers to help you move."
Meng Zhong and Song Yuan were drinking together inside when they heard the commotion and came out. Knowing that they were moving, they started packing.
Shen Xu and Qin Xiaolin also brought helpers, and even brought several fully loaded carriages.
"What are you doing here?" Li Xi asked in surprise.
"I'm here to help you move. Brother Qin, you're really not being fair by not inviting me to join in the fun." Shen Xu patted Li Xi on the shoulder.
Qin Xiaolin frowned as he watched Shen Xu's actions: "You just said you would move over today. I was worried that you would be too busy with so few people. I happened to run into Brother Shen and mentioned it to him, so I bought some things that you might need."
Li Xi was deeply moved. "Thank you all."
Everyone was busy packing up their belongings, but there wasn't much to pack: some clothes and bedding, but the main things were the several boxes of gold and silver jewelry.
Many hands make light work; an hour is enough to get it all sorted out.
The group headed towards the new house in a grand procession.
The newly arrived servants had been waiting in the front yard, and upon hearing the commotion, they hurried out to greet their master.
After everyone's efforts, everything was settled in no time.
"Gentlemen, my daughter has ordered several tables of food. I hope you will do me the honor of joining us." A waiter from a nearby restaurant led a few people to set out the food.
"Come, everyone, please sit down." Li Xi poured wine for each person one by one.
"Thank you all for your help today, which allowed us to check in safely. A toast to you all." Meng Zhong raised his glass.
Glasses clinked as everyone toasted each other.
"We'll be having a housewarming party in a few days, and we hope you'll join us." Li Xi was also thinking of inviting her younger brother over.
It had been a long time since they last met. Li Yi had been very worried ever since her accident on New Year's Eve last year, but there was nothing he could do to help.
Later, after Su Xing returned to Beijing, he went to find her. The teenage boy burst into tears upon seeing his sister.
It was only then that Li Xi truly realized how good it was to have a younger brother, and she decided to help him make some plans now that she was back.
"Brother Li, you said you'd help me with business last year, but then nothing came of it. Does that still count?" Shen Xu teased.
"Don't worry, I'll discuss it with you once I have a clue." Li Xi poured him a full glass of wine.
Qin Xiaolin sat to the side, silently drinking one glass of wine after another.
The last time he went to northern Xinjiang to see her, he stayed for a month under the pretext of being her training partner. He couldn't figure out what he was thinking; he only knew he wanted to watch over her.
After seeing the guests off, everyone was exhausted.
After a quick wash, I went to sleep.
Judge Meng moved into the main room, a decision made jointly by Li Xi and the others. He felt a little embarrassed, as he hadn't contributed a single copper coin but had still occupied the main room.
Song Yuan also moved into the left wing, while Li Xi and the others lived in the back courtyard.
President Wang hadn't been this happy in a long time. She had found true best friends, a nickname given to the four of them by Li Xi. She loved the nickname.
Her close friends cut off all contact with her after she got divorced and was disliked by her family.
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