"Brother Chang'an said that we don't need to wait for him for lunch today, he has something to do."
Liu Ying noticed Gu Lili's doubts and explained to her with a smile.
Speaking of which, Chang'an and Gu Lili were indeed a perfect match, both talented and beautiful.
I don't know who they are.
Gu Lili understood and nodded, and the group began to eat.
Li Ershu went out today with Liu Miaoyin, who was disguised as a man.
Liu Miaoyin said she wanted to go with Li Ershu to see what it was like.
Liu Ying had already considered Li Ershu as her son-in-law, so naturally she did not object.
Throughout the meal, Liu Miaoyin chattered on about what she had seen and heard that day.
Li Ershu and Liu Ying would occasionally chime in with a few words.
Gu Lili, on the other hand, kept glancing towards the door while eating.
No one knows where Chang'an went.
He had completely forgotten what he had said yesterday.
There are countless men in the world, but even ordinary friends are not surprised to care about where he is.
Even after the group had finished lunch, Chang'an was nowhere to be seen.
Fortunately, the craftsmen that Liu Ying had sent her servants to find also arrived at the Liu residence to report back.
After a brief chat with the craftsmen, Gu Lili asked Liu Ying to take them to the western suburbs to see the estate.
When they arrived at the estate Liu Ying had mentioned, Gu Lili jumped off the carriage.
Sure enough, it was exactly as Liu Ying had said.
Indeed, a mountain spring flows through Zhuangzi.
Moreover, the houses in this courtyard are all built of blue bricks. Just from the outside, Gu Lili felt that the six hundred taels of silver she gave was probably too little.
"Madam Liu, I feel that this estate is probably worth more than six hundred taels."
He immediately decided to give Liu Ying some more money, even though she was rich, he couldn't let her suffer a loss.
Liu Ying waved her hand and said, "This estate originally belonged to a wealthy merchant, but his family fell into poverty and he was eager to seek refuge elsewhere. He was in a hurry to sell it, and my father happened to buy it at a low price. It was exactly six hundred taels of silver at the time."
Liu Ying wasn't lying, but so many years have passed, the house should have appreciated in value by now.
“Over the years, this estate has made our Liu family a lot of money, and we’ve already broken even, so we’re not at a loss. You can rest assured, young lady,” Liu Ying continued.
Gu Lili listened and nodded thoughtfully.
Forget it, I won't argue with Liu Ying about this anymore.
Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll personally find a broker, estimate the price, and then give the difference to Liu Ying.
Liu Ying led Gu Lili into the courtyard. Because the estate had been inhabited for many years, the houses were well-maintained.
Liu Ying led Gu Lili around, and Gu Lili took out paper and charcoal pencils and started writing and drawing on it.
After the tour was completed, Gu Lili had just finished drawing the structural diagram of the house on the paper in her hand.
The craftsmen who accompanied them looked at the house structure diagram in Gu Lili's hand with surprise.
I couldn't resist leaning over the table to watch Gu Lili scribbling and drawing.
Gu Lili divided the house into three parts. The back courtyard was reserved for the warehouse and Li Ershu's residence.
The left and right sides are reserved for the more than twenty servants who were bought today.
There weren't enough rooms for all the people, so Gu Lili drew a picture of bunk beds on a piece of paper.
When building a house, bricklayers and carpenters are indispensable.
A carpenter, as the name suggests, is someone who helps make furniture.
The original layout was modified again.
In each courtyard, several outhouses, just like those in Guzhuang, were drawn.
There are already a lot of people, so this is to prevent fights from breaking out over the toilets early in the morning.
Therefore, Gu Lili made a special improvement on the original Gu Zhuang.
The outhouse in the front yard has five stalls in total, regardless of whether it's the men's or women's side.
It was also specifically marked that each pit must be enclosed by a wall.
This ensures everyone's privacy.
In a large room next to the courtyard, a space was set aside for distilling essential oils.
Gu Lili divided the servants into three groups: one group was responsible for selecting flowers, another group was responsible for extracting essential oils, and the third group was responsible for tending the fire.
Gu Lili quickly drew the place used for distilling roses.
"I wonder if you can understand it?" Gu Lili smiled and handed the drawings she had made to the craftsman who was engrossed in his work.
The craftsman picked it up and examined it carefully for a long time, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"May I ask, young lady, what is this? It looks like a bed, but it also looks like a frame?" the craftsman asked curiously.
Even if it's just a facade, he's never seen one like it before.
Gu Lili explained with a smile, "This is indeed a bed!"
Using bunk beds can save space in the house; otherwise, if the number of people increases in the future, this small courtyard will not be enough to accommodate everyone.
The craftsman nodded repeatedly and said, "I have never seen a bed like this before. I will take this paper to Old Zhou the carpenter in a while. He is skilled and will surely be able to make one just like this."
Today, he was the only craftsman who came.
In Gu Lili's words, he was a contractor.
Gu Lili smiled and said, "Not just one, but at least thirty."
Besides the servants she bought today, Gu Lili also realized that she would need to find some long-term laborers to manage the fields.
Now that Liu Ying has sold the estate to me, it's up to her how she deals with the farmhands on the estate.
If she wants to keep them, then Gu Lili will find some more.
If Liu Ying doesn't need them, she'll meet these people and then decide whether to keep them or not.
Craftsman Wang held up three fingers and exclaimed, "Does the young lady really want thirty sheets? I... I'd better hurry up and ask Old Zhou."
Judging from the structure of this bed, it shouldn't be too difficult to build.
Seeing the surprised look on Craftsman Wang's face, Gu Lili nodded and smiled, then took out another piece of paper and started writing and drawing on it.
To speed up the completion of the wooden bed, Gu Lili drew out all the details.
This will prevent the carpenter from having to spend time figuring things out later, which would delay the progress.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Gu Lili finished the painting.
The craftsman, holding it in his hand, finally began to make sense of it.
With this structural diagram, I believe Lao Zhou will be able to understand it soon.
The group then discussed several areas that needed renovation, agreed on a price, and the craftsman left.
Liu Ying decided to keep the original long-term workers in Liu Ying's household for Gu Lili.
The two wandered around the estate for a while before heading home.
When Gu Lili returned home, she found that Chang'an had already come back.
"Young man from Chang'an, where did you go this morning? You didn't even come back for lunch. It made our county magistrate quite worried," Liu Ying teased with a smile.
Gu Lili couldn't help but want to facepalm. Why had Liu Ying become so introverted after being imprisoned for more than ten years?
When Chang'an heard Liu Ying say that Gu Lili cared about him, he felt a warm glow in his heart.
"I went to the western suburbs today."
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