Chapter 106
Of course, the Shen family is going to move out of Xiaxi Village.
Because of his own troubles, he attracted evil thieves and almost got the whole village into trouble. Although he was able to escape after everyone worked together to turn the tide, Chief Shen was still alive.
Xiaxi Village was now famous because of the killing of the evildoers by the crowd. The news about his Shen family in Xiaxi Village might have spread as well. Mr. Shen couldn't guarantee that after hearing the news, the head of the Shen family would come up with another plan if one plan failed, and send a second or even a third wave of assassins to hunt them down.
Although the county magistrate is currently interrogating the two top thieves and has promised to force out the person who hired the killer, it will take some time for the county to report the matter of Patriarch Shen hiring the killer to Suzhou, and even for the Suzhou government to accept the case and investigate it.
Before the matter is thoroughly investigated and Patriarch Shen is brought to justice, it is better to be cautious just in case.
In addition, he was also afraid that the remnants of the number one thief would find out about this and come to cause trouble.
Originally, the Shen family chose to move to Xiaxi Village in order to avoid being seen. Now that they can no longer hide in the village, they have no choice but to leave and find another place to live where they can remain anonymous.
"So, where does Mr. Shen plan to move to?"
Master Shen shook his head. "I haven't decided yet. We might move further south, or head north to the desert."
It was also the first time that Chen Erlang heard that his father was planning to leave Xiaxi Village. He was stunned for a while. When he came to his senses, he looked at his father and then at Pei Liuniang, his face looking anxious.
After Master Shen said goodbye to Gu Ran and Pei Liuniang and left the Gu family's small house, Shen Erlang asked, "Father, are we really leaving Xiaxi Village?"
"Really, although my father doesn't want to be exiled like this, the situation is pressing." Master Shen sighed.
When I first came to Xiaxi Village, I didn’t like this small village.
But as the environment improved, their grandson was born, and after more than two years of leisurely life in the countryside, the family also adapted to life here.
Seeing Shen Erlang's face full of nostalgia, Master Shen also understood.
He was studying in the official school, and probably made many friends with his classmates. He was also trying to open a shop in the provincial capital to make a living. It was natural for him not to want to leave.
"Father, if you really want to leave, we still have a lot of things to arrange one by one." Shen Erlang walked all the way in depression, and only when he returned to the Shen family mansion did he finally feel relieved.
"That's right, everything needs to be arranged properly."
"Dad!" Shen Erlang suddenly hesitated, "Um, Dad, can you, can you let me get married before leaving?"
"Oh?" Mr. Shen looked at his second son in surprise: "You have a wife you like?"
Shen Erlang nodded embarrassedly.
"Whose girl is she? Did you know her at the official school in the city?" Mr. Shen asked happily, then shook his head again and again, "No, our Shen family is in such a difficult situation now, it would be bad to let the girl get involved."
Shen Erlang was anxious and said quickly: "Father, I don't know him from the city, I know him from the village."
"From the village?" Mr. Shen was even more surprised.
There was a woman in the village that he loved? How come his father had never noticed?
To be honest, there don't seem to be many people in the village who are of the same age as my son and can be a good match for him!
"Whose company is the one you like?"
"Yes, it's the one we went to just now." Shen Erlang said with courage.
"Is it..." Gu Er Niang?
"It's Liu Niang!"
"Sixth Mother? It's Pei Sixth Mother." Mr. Shen stared at his son, and when he saw him nod shyly, his worried expression eased.
He actually fell in love with Pei Liuniang!
Mr. Shen breathed a sigh of relief when he recalled how Pei Liuniang dealt with the evil thief that day.
If it's Pei Liuniang, you can give it a try.
He was also shocked when he saw that she actually took the initiative to confront Mr. Jia that day.
Even though Master Jia had not stated it explicitly, it was obvious that he was the leader of the two villains. Master Shen speculated that Master Jia's skills were probably better than the other villain.
Gu Erniang did not say clearly at the time who the person she hired to deal with the assassin was, and in order to prevent the news from leaking out, he did not ask any further questions.
So when Li Ji and Pei Liuniang burst in, he was quite surprised, but he was not lying.
I originally thought that the difficult character would be left to Mr. Li Ji, but I never expected that he would be Pei Liuniang's opponent.
Pei Liuniang's extraordinary skills were also witnessed by him personally.
Especially since Pei Liuniang has such an outstanding appearance, she is a good match for Erlang.
At least she is not like an ordinary girl, who makes people worry that she will not be able to protect herself when the Shen family's affairs bring disaster upon her. If they encounter assassination again, Pei Liuniang can also protect Erlang.
That is, Erlang likes Pei Liuniang, so is Pei Liuniang willing to marry her Erlang?
That night, Mr. Shen went to find his wife, Mrs. Shen, and went to the Gu family's small house to find out what Pei Jia Liuniang had to say.
Pei Liuniang was completely unaware that the Shen family was keeping an eye on her. At this moment, she opened the thank-you gift sent by Mr. Shen: the box was filled with six gold ingots.
What a generous deal!
Pei Liu's face was bright.
It was worth his effort to save the Shen family's life.
Pei Liu picked it up and weighed it, estimating it to be ten taels, which would make a total of six hundred taels of silver.
It seems that the Shen family is richer than imagined!
Pei Liu was about to put the gold and silver away when he heard the servants shouting from the next room. He threw the box onto the couch and quickly walked to Gu Ran's boudoir. Just as he was about to push the door open, he paused and knocked, "Second Mother?"
"Ah? It's Liu Niang!" In the side room, the delighted Gu Ran was about to turn around, but she quickly picked up the box that the Shen family had given her. Then, with a beaming expression, she opened the door and said, "Liu Niang, have you seen the thank-you gift from the Shen family?"
Pei Liu was relieved to see that she was fine. His eyes fell on the box she was holding tightly and he nodded, "I've checked it!"
"How is it? Did they give you a lot of silver?"
Pei Liu smiled and nodded.
"How much? How much?"
Pei Liu's eyes fell on Gu Ran's box again, "A box of gold."
Gu Ran's eyes widened immediately. "He actually gave you gold too?" Seeing Pei Liu nod, he immediately grabbed her hand and said, "Let me see, can you let me see?"
Pei Liu nodded and turned back to his room.
When she came over again and placed the box full of gold ingots in front of her, Gu Ran felt her eyes were filled with golden light.
"Sixth Lady, you're rich."
When Pei Liu heard Gu Erniang's sigh, he couldn't help laughing again.
"You didn't send it?"
Gu Ran then opened his box: there was also a row of gold ingots inside.
She laughed so hard: "Master Shen is so generous to us."
There are also six ingots and ten taels of gold, a total of six hundred taels of silver.
It seems that Mr. Shen did not show favoritism to those who helped him, so Li Ji must have received such a large reward.
The Shen family is really wealthy!
Gu Ran touched this and that ingot on the gold ingot, and he couldn't let it go. After a while, he said with regret: "Looking at how Mr. Shen made a move, he is also a kind-hearted person. Thinking about the fact that their family will have to flee everywhere in the future, I really feel that God is unfair. How could such a good family suffer such a miserable fate?"
Pei Liu watched Gu Ran reluctantly push the box of gold ingots back to him.
"The only way is to wait for the county magistrate to report the matter of Patriarch Shen hiring a killer to the Suzhou government office, and let the officials of the Suzhou government office bring Patriarch Shen to justice. Then they don't have to worry so much."
"That's right. As long as we avoid this period of controversy and wait until Patriarch Shen is done with, the Shen family won't have to flee anymore." Gu Ran suddenly thought of something and clapped his hands. "Then Mr. Shen doesn't have to move anywhere. He just needs to find a sparsely populated place to hide for a while. In that case, hiding anywhere doesn't matter."
"Why, you have a place for Mr. Shen..." Pei Liucai asked, and immediately realized something, "You want to?"
Gu Ran nodded vigorously at Pei Liu, his smiling eyes reflecting the golden light of the ingots. "I have Dunzi Island. There's nothing else on that island except my orange grove, right? The big house can also be used by Master Shen and his family to live in, or I can rent an acre or two of land for the Shen family to build a villa. It's not impossible. Master Shen has so much gold in his hands, so I can collect some rent, right?"
Pei Liu raised the corner of his mouth.
"Second Mother, do you like gold so much?"
"Who in the world doesn't like gold?" Gu Ran looked at Pei Liu, "Sixth Lady, please don't tell me you don't like gold?"
"like."
"That's good. I tell you, Liuniang, you must not be fooled. Why believe that love is stronger than gold? In this world, money is the most reliable, and gold is the most important." As Gu Ran spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the box of gold ingots in Pei Liu's box.
Pei Liu noticed it and pushed a box of gold ingots in front of Gu Ran.
Gu Ran looked up at Pei Liu:?
"This gold is too valuable. I don't know where to hide it. Can you keep it for me, Second Mother?"
"Really?" Gu Ran couldn't believe it.
"Really." Pei Liu nodded seriously.
Gu Ran stared at the gold ingots and swallowed, "You, aren't you afraid that I might be selfish and take all your gold?"
"I believe you, Second Mother."
Gu Ran:!
Then he quickly picked up a box of gold and said, "Don't worry, Liu Niang. I just like looking at gold. You put it here with me, and I will just treat it as a treasure to satisfy my viewing pleasure. I will absolutely not let you down. If you are ever short of money, come to me for gold, and I will definitely give it to you right away."
"Okay." Pei Liu smiled and left Gu Ran's room.
Gu Ran put the two boxes of gold ingots together, and the golden light almost blinded her eyes.
Wow, the Shen family is so rich!
With such a big customer, why not rent out the right to live on the island to them and hopefully make some extra money?
How should I bring this up to the Shen family?
When Gu Ran was worrying about how to start the conversation, Mrs. Shen came to visit him.
Mr. Shen just came to express his gratitude the other day, so why is Mrs. Shen suddenly here too?
Mrs. Shen was said to be almost 40 years old. Since she came to Xiaxi Village, she seemed to have never left the house. Just like Grandma Shen, she seldom interacted with the people in the village. Therefore, Gu Ran rarely had any contact with the two of them.
However, thinking about the wives and grandmothers of the powerful marquis families in the Great Sheng Dynasty that the original owner knew about, and the fact that the Shen family had such a secret, it was common sense for them to reduce their interactions with the people in the village.
It was just that Mrs. Shen, who rarely saw anyone, rarely came to visit the Gu family's small house. She was wondering what the matter was. She never expected that Mrs. Shen actually came to inquire about Pei Liuniang's marriage, and she was very surprised.
“What does Mrs. Shen mean?”
"He's my son Erlang, and he's old enough to get married, so I thought if there's a suitable one, I'd have to look for him."
Mrs. Shen was born with an air of nobility, probably because she had been living a life of luxury these days. There was a sense of laziness in her every move, and even though such a terrible thing had just happened, it did not affect her.
"It's rare for him to be so happy, so naturally I have to ask and see if it can be done."
"So, Shen Er is interested in Liu Niang?" Gu Ran stuttered.
Mrs. Shen said nothing, but smiled slightly and nodded, "Please ask Er Niang, if Liu Niang is interested, that would be the best."
"But, Mrs. Shen's family is going to leave Xiaxi Village, right?" He hurriedly came to Liu Niang to propose marriage at this time. Could it be that he wanted to take Liu Niang away with him?
For some reason, when Gu Ran thought about Liu Niang leaving, he suddenly felt anxious and a little blocked in his heart.
"Yes, it's precisely because we are about to leave that we are afraid that after Erlang passes away, he will never find a wife he loves so much. As parents, we naturally want to help them become a happy couple."
"Then, what if Liu Niang doesn't want to leave?" Gu Ran rolled his eyes and asked suddenly.
Mrs. Shen was stunned.
"If Liu Niang is also interested in my Er Lang, then she will go wherever we go. What's the big deal about this?"
"What if, by some chance, Liu Niang also loves Chen Er but doesn't want to leave Xiaxi Village, and Chen Er insists on leaving? Wouldn't you, as parents, be considered forcibly breaking up a couple?"
Mrs. Shen was stunned for a long time before she slowly said, "That's right." Then she looked at Gu Ran and asked, "Is Liu Niang attracted to my Erlang?"
"I don't know about that. I'd have to ask her." Gu Ran quickly waved his hand. "However, if your Shen family still wants to stay in Yongchang County and stay out of the spotlight, I have an idea for a place. I wonder if I should mention it?"
"Where?"
So Gu Ran sincerely invited Mrs. Shen to live in seclusion on Dunzi Island.
"Mrs. Chen, many people are afraid to go to Dunzi Island because of rumors of miasma and poisonous snakes. That's why many people don't go there. But in reality, it's not like that. Look, I've cultivated an orange grove on the island for over a year and hired so many people, but no one has died from accidentally breathing in the miasma. Besides, everyone in the surrounding area only knows that there are orange trees there, planted by me, Gu Erniang. If you move there, who would know if we didn't tell them?"
"And if you move to Dunzi Island, you can keep all the land and real estate your Shen family has acquired, as well as the Shen family mansion in the village. Then Shen Er can continue to go to school in the city, and it will be convenient for him to discuss marriage with Liu Niang, right?"
"Once this period of chaos has passed, you can move back to Xiaxi Village and continue to live a peaceful life, right?"
Mrs. Shen's expression gradually eased.
"Can people live on that island?"
"Yes, yes. When the weather is hot, I even go to the island to escape the heat!" Gu Ran nodded vigorously. "And now many of the guys I hired live on the island on rotation. If Mrs. Shen doesn't believe me, I can personally take you to the island to check out the environment. After you see it, you can make a decision."
"I can't make the decision on this matter." Mrs. Shen didn't expect that when she came to test Gu Erniang's attitude, the topic would go so far. "Wait until I tell my master and let him come and talk to you in detail."
So, Mr. Shen, who was busy selling his fields, land and house, was stunned for a long time when he heard the news brought back by his wife.
"Look, is this possible?"
Mr. Shen weighed the options for a long time before finally nodding: "This proposal is not impossible, but let me go to the island first to see it with my own eyes."
After all, escaping is not an easy thing, and it is good to be able to settle down in one place for a long time.
That way, the Shen family would have a place to take root, where they could grow and prosper with peace of mind and also make a living. Otherwise, even if they had a lot of wealth, they would eventually run out of it.
It's not like now. I have been in Xiaxi Village for so long. Apart from Erlang cooperating with others to open a small shop, my other livelihood is to buy land and real estate. I dare not do anything else and just think about leaving at any time.
Moreover, this matter has caused such a big stir, but I think that the chief of the Shen family or the people who are chasing them would normally think that their family is afraid of being exposed and has fled to other places, and would not easily think that their Shen family dares to stay in Xiaxi Village.
This is also a good trick to confuse people.
And to reach the island, you don’t need so many people to go together.
They just left a few slaves to help look after the mansion, manage the land, and collect rent on time. After they hid on the island to weather the crisis, they could come back to Xiaxi Village after Chief Shen was caught. They could move freely.
The next day, Mr. Shen went to find Gu Ran as expected.
Gu Ran had already guessed the purpose of Mr. Shen's visit. When he heard that he wanted to visit Dunzi Island, he immediately made arrangements.
Her orange grove is now flourishing and she is not afraid of others coming to inspect and visit.
After getting on the ferry, I saw that the place where there was originally only a single-room house now had an extra room at the back, a shed next to it, and a pavilion in the front.
The extra houses were used for the coachmen to stay overnight, because Gu Randuo had bought four donkeys and put them on the island. Three of the donkeys were raised in the orange grove, and the other two were kept at the ferry.
In this way, donkey carts can go directly to the orange grove: there are donkey carts carrying people or goods in the orange grove coming to the ferry, and there are also donkey carts carrying people or goods going to the orange grove at the ferry, which is equivalent to having an additional direct bus route.
As for the pavilion, it is used for visitors who have just arrived on the island to rest or wait for the donkey cart.
Gu Ran took Mr. Shen in a donkey cart and slowly arrived at the entrance of the orange grove.
Now, outside the gate leading to the orange grove, two small houses were built on the left and right sides of the passage by Wu Sanbo and others during the slack season last year.
Nowadays, most of the guys and servants working in the orange grove live here, and even Yang Jinling and others have moved here.
Living here means that everyone doesn't have to squeeze into a large dormitory bed, and it is also convenient for everyone to travel. What's better is that Gu Ran lives in the house and doesn't have to worry about living too close to the guys and leaking any unnecessary privacy.
"We're thinking about gradually expanding our orange cultivation in the future, so we'll have more people coming to the island. So, after the busy farming season is over, we plan to build a few more houses here, and also open some shops and restaurants."
After all, there will be more waiters by then, and it would be too much for Yang Erniang and the others to be fully responsible for everyone's meals. It would be better to hire people to open some restaurants. On the one hand, it would reduce the pressure of organizing meals, and on the other hand, it would allow the waiters to spend the money they earned from their end to promote consumption!
The gate of the orange grove was reinforced and two guards were assigned to guard it.
After entering the gate, there is the road leading to the big house. It is built according to the terrain and is winding. There are lush green orange trees on both sides of the road.
Now is the time when the orange trees are growing vigorously and vying to sprout. A lot of new green is dotted in the large area of dense green, which looks like a lot of light-colored flowers dotted on the branches.
Mr. Shen finally stopped in front of the house.
He had also heard many villagers who came to the island to work talk about the Gu family's orange grove in the village, and he had imagined what the island was like. However, when he entered the valley from the ferry and saw it with his own eyes for the first time, Mr. Shen was shocked.
I originally thought that planting orange trees on a deserted island was just a matter of clearing a few acres of woodland and hiring a few people to take turns to take care of it, but I didn't expect Gu Er Niang to be so meticulous and build all these facilities in such an orderly manner.
"How is it? Master Shen, the scenery on my island is pretty good, isn't it?"
"Very good, very good." Mr. Shen nodded repeatedly.
After following Gu Ran to visit the big house that was going to house the Shen family, Mr. Shen heard that there was an orange grove behind the valley, so he suggested going to take a look.
Gu Ran naturally had to meet the requirements of the future big customer, so he readily got on the donkey cart again and took Master Shen to another orange grove.
In order to facilitate the care of this orange grove, Gu Ran also marked out a living area near the windmill tower behind the valley and built a small house for the farmers and their servants who took care of the orange trees to live in.
After looking at the orange grove, Mr. Shen got off the donkey cart, walked through the woods with interest, and came to the wooden bridge.
Only after crossing the wooden bridge and seeing the mountains did Mr. Shen give up.
Mountains stretch across the island. If you want to cross this small foothill, you have to find another way to reach the area south of the deserted island.
Even Gu Ran hadn't been there to explore, so it was naturally not appropriate to take Master Shen deeper.
"Gu Erniang, it was a wise decision of yours to buy this Dunzi Island." Mr. Shen sighed on the way back.
"Well, I was just thinking of finding a safe place to make a living selling oranges!" Gu Ran smiled. "How about it? Mr. Shen, would you be willing to condescend to live on my deserted island for a while?"
"Is it the big house in front of the valley?"
"Master Shen wouldn't mind that the house is shabby, would he?"
"No, no, no, that house is quite nice and elegant." Master Shen shook his head. "It's true, we are a large family. If we move to the island, I'm afraid your big house will be full. Then, where will you, the master, live?"
"Now, most of the guys have moved to the small house outside in the orange grove. The wing room in the front of the guard house was originally a large bunk bed for the men, and the wing room in the back was for the women. Now no one lives there, so it's empty." Gu Ran explained, "When I come to the island, I'll just live in the wing room behind the guard house."
"Besides, after the busy farming season, I plan to ask Uncle Wu to build a few more houses."
Mr. Shen nodded slightly and glanced at Gu Ran: "Madam Gu, you are giving up your big house to our Shen family. Do you have other intentions?"
"That's right." Gu Ran made no secret of it and nodded frankly, "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, Master Shen. First of all, because Master Shen paid us so generously, I couldn't bear to see the Shen family become homeless. Secondly, I want to earn some rent money."
"Oh, I see." Mr. Shen laughed heartily and looked at the vast orange grove. "If that's the case, then I'd also like to ask Madam Gu a favor."
"Master Shen, what do you say?"
"Can my Shen family buy a few acres of land on this island for a large sum of money?"
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