Chapter 061 Han Xiaoshuang
The next day, when Yuan Ming went to see Zhao the shopkeeper again, Zhao the shopkeeper added 100 taels to the original amount.
He smiled bitterly and said, "It's really not easy to get a good deal with you if you want to make some friends with Mr. Yuan."
Yuan Ming smiled and said nothing.
Zhao the shopkeeper looked at him and sighed, "Let's go, let's go to the government to transfer the property."
After leaving the gate of the town government, Yuan Ming's 400 taels of silver notes were gone, replaced by a thin house deed.
Zhao, the storekeeper, took a step behind him and patted his shoulder: "Mr. Yuan, please prepare a banquet. I want to go over and ask for a glass of wine."
Yuan Ming shook his head: "The Tongsheng exam is coming soon. I don't have time to think about anything else. If there is a chance in the future, I will definitely have a good drink with Zhao, the storekeeper."
"Okay!" Zhao, the storekeeper, said: "Then I wish Mr. Yuan good results."
Yuan Ming took the house deed and rushed home in a hurry to share the good news with Ji Qingyue.
Ji Qingyue had been looking forward to it for a long time. When she saw what Yuan Ming had in his hand, she was immediately delighted.
The two sat in the bedroom. Ji Qingyue unfolded the house deed and laid it flat on the table, carefully reading the words on it.
When he saw the names of both him and Yuan Ming written in the column of the owner, he was a little stunned.
He suddenly looked up at Yuan Ming: "Why did my husband write my name?"
"According to the laws of this dynasty, if there are multiple people on the deed, it is considered common property." Yuan Ming grabbed Ji Qingyue's hand and said sincerely: "I'm sorry, I should have given it to you when we got married, but it was so late. Thank you for your understanding."
Tears welled up in Ji Qingyue's eyes.
When he was still in the Ji family, he was the son of the county magistrate, but except for the monthly salary given to him by Liang, he had no assets, let alone a house.
Ji Qingyue was a little excited and was very enthusiastic that night.
In the following period of time, Yuan Ming devoted himself to the intense review. As the year drew to a close, the school tightened its supervision of students, and the workload became heavier day by day.
Yuan Ming could still cope with it, but he had no energy to focus on other things.
Fortunately, Ji Qingyue was very enthusiastic about renovating the house. From the second day after getting the title deed, he devoted himself to it, and even stopped going to his favorite workshop on weekdays.
Manager Zhao's house was indeed well maintained, with a simple and elegant decoration, and there was not much room for improvement.
In less than a month, Ji Qingyue's renovation project was completed.
Yuan Ming did not plan to hold a relocation party, but on the day of moving in, he still invited a few acquaintances to come and live with him. This is also a local custom, implying popularity.
Cao didn't want to come to the town, so Yuan Ming asked a few people from the Yang family to come to the town together.
It was agreed long ago that after school that day, when they arrived at the new house, Song Yan and Ji Qingyue had already started working in the kitchen, and Yang Chao was chopping wood in the yard.
"Yuan Ming is back!" Yang Chao saw him, put down the firewood, and called out.
Yuan Ming walked over and said embarrassedly: "You are guests, but you do the most work."
Song Yan came out of the kitchen and happened to hear this, and said loudly: "What kind of guests are we? I'm here to help Brother Yue."
"Yes, yes, I'm here to help Brother Yue too." Yang Chao said.
Yuan Ming thanked him and went into the study to change clothes first.
After a while, Yang Tao came in a carriage.
But what surprised Yuan Ming was that in addition to Yang Dali and Li Qing'e, there was also a stranger who he barely remembered.
"Brother, why did you bring her here?" Without waiting for Yuan Ming to speak, Yang Chao asked angrily. Yang
Tao ignored him and looked directly at Yuan Ming.
Everyone else in the courtyard also turned their eyes to Yuan Ming.
"Come in first and sit down first." Yuan Ming said.
Yang Tao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, whispered something to the woman beside him, and brought her in.
In the living room.
Yuan Ming looked at the woman sitting opposite him.
This was the person who fell in the snow that day, and Yang Tao took her back.
Yang Tao looked between them, cleared his throat, and said, "Let me introduce her. Her name is Han Xiaoshuang."
After saying the name, he paused.
Yuan Ming raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked Yang Tao, "I remember that you saved her in the snow that day, but is there anything you brought her here for today?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Xiaoshuang suddenly knelt at his feet.
"Master Yuan, please help me. I heard that you can speak in front of the town governor. As long as you are willing to help me, I am willing to work like a cow and a horse to repay your kindness."
Yuan Ming pursed his lips and looked at Yang Tao.
Yang Tao lowered his head with guilt and said nothing.
Yuan Ming stared at him for a long time, and finally looked away, "Miss, you think too highly of me. I am just a commoner, how can I speak in front of the town guard."
Han Xiaoshuang said quickly, "Mr. Yuan! I know your husband is a good man. He will lend a hand to women who have suffered injustice. This incident is related to him. If Mr. Yuan cannot stop it in time, I am afraid your husband will also be hurt!"
Yuan Ming's face suddenly became solemn.
Han Xiaoshuang shrank his neck and said through gritted teeth, "I dare not threaten Mr. Yuan, I just want to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?"
Han Xiaoshuang was surprised, glanced at Yang Tao, and said what he wanted.
It turns out that Han Xiaoshuang is from a village called Hanan in Shifang Town. The village got its name because the villagers have believed in the goddess Hanan for generations.
This country does not have strict restrictions on religious beliefs and even respects normal religious activities.
In the past hundred years, Hanan Village has not been affected by the belief in the goddess Hanan. The people are simple and the neighbors are harmonious. Moreover, because of the common belief, they are very harmonious, just like a family.
However, just a few years ago, a group of missionaries who claimed to be from the south came to the village and completely changed the fate of the villagers.
"They said that the goddess Hanan had descended to where they lived and told them to look for believers all over the country. Many people in the village didn't believe it, until one day, they really invited a miracle..."
Han Xiaoshuang recalled with fear in her eyes.
"They sprinkled the ashes into the fire, and the flames suddenly grew larger. In the blazing flames, we all saw it, everyone saw it."
Yuan Ming frowned: "What did you see?"
Han Xiaoshuang replied: "A goddess who smiled in the fire, with kind eyes and compassion for all living beings. No one dared to look directly into her eyes. Just one glance was like sucking the whole soul in."
Hearing her say this, Yuan Ming's brows wrinkled even deeper.
Before rebirth, he never believed in these supernatural things, but he himself experienced rebirth, which is definitely not something that ordinary people can do.
"What did they say after seeing the miracle?"
Han Xiaoshuang's body trembled heavily, and boundless fear appeared in her eyes, as if this sentence made her see the most terrifying scene.
"The villagers regarded them as gods, and therefore treated the missionaries as guests of honor, and believed what they said."
Han Xiaoshuang swallowed and continued: "At first they only asked the villagers to provide food and drink, build temples, and cast statues for worship. But later..."
Han Xiaoshuang's voice became more and more choked, and finally she burst into tears.
Yang Tao approached her, put his hand on her shoulder and patted her gently to comfort her, and Yuan Ming had to look away.
After her emotions gradually stabilized, she apologized to Yuan Ming and continued, "Since last year's New Year's Eve, they told the village chief that the goddess was grateful for their offerings and wanted to select virgins from the village to keep with her."
Yuan Ming's heart sank completely. The missionary office that came from afar, the unheard-of miracle, and the selection of virgins all looked like a series of scams. Their goal was the girls in the village.
However, the scam that Yuan Ming could see through at a glance, the people in the village believed it, and even held a festival for it, gathering all the virgins in the village and taking them to the temple for the goddess to choose personally.
Since then, every festival, the missionaries would find various reasons to let the villagers select girls to give to the goddess. No one knows where these girls who disappeared went.
Han Xiaoshuang felt cold all over and hugged herself tightly: "The girl I picked the first time was my sister. One year later, it was my turn.