Shen Changshan knocked on the door on his own initiative. Looking at the vermilion door, he felt very excited. He had never thought that one day, his own home would have such a grand door.
Soon someone came to open the door. It was a middle-aged man in a coarse cloth shirt. Seeing the visitor, he politely asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"I, Ali..."
Shen Changshan didn't know what to say, so he turned around and looked at his daughter. Shen Li walked up and took out the land deed.
The middle-aged man looked carefully for two seconds, then asked, “Are you Miss Shen?”
"Um."
"Miss, please!"
As he spoke, he hurriedly opened the door and welcomed the few people in. Two days ago, they already knew that the house had a new owner, whose surname was Shen.
As soon as she walked in and took a look, Shen Li fell silent. This house was very exquisite, only slightly inferior to the Lu family's house.
You have to know that the Lu family is the richest family, so this house is definitely worth more than three thousand taels of silver.
hiss!
Chen Li took a deep breath in her heart. This house could not be bought without 20,000 taels of silver, and even if she had money, she might not be able to buy it.
Even after being confiscated by the government, houses like this would first be reserved for superiors or people with connections.
Pei Yu's thank-you gift was indeed very pleasing to him. Just as he said, he really liked it.
There are flowers, trees, rockery, streams, pavilions and towers in the house. The snow that fell last night added a touch of winter beauty to the house.
What Chen Li liked most was a two-story wooden building on the west side of the house. The exterior of the building was exquisite and beautiful, and there was a small garden in the yard where she planted many flowers and plants. It was exquisite and elegant everywhere, and everything suited her preferences.
Lu Nian nodded as he walked around and gave the most pertinent evaluation, "Sister Ali, this house is nice and beautiful."
Chen Li nodded, she was indeed very beautiful.
Shen Changshan smacked his lips and asked, "My dear, how much did you spend on this house?"
He knew that his daughter had a lot of money, but after buying such a house, it seemed that it had almost all been spent!
Seeing that she was slow to speak, the two men were confused. Did she buy it too expensive?
"Not a loss, it's a great bargain."
Chen Li still didn't tell him how much money she spent on it. She had already made up her mind that she would make up the money to Pei Yu next time.
The three of them were already walking back when an older man came up to them and said, "Master, Miss, I am the manager here. My last name is Lin."
"Butler Lin, how many people are still in this house now?"
The three of them had just walked along the way and had seen quite a few people. Now that the house was in their hands and the Shen family was going to pay them, they naturally had to ask clearly.
Steward Lin's expression remained unchanged. He lowered his head slightly and said respectfully, "Young lady, there are a total of twenty-five people in the house, including me now. There is an accountant, two cooks, four gardeners, four servants, five maids, and eight guards."
Shen Changshan took a breath of cold air. With so many people, the monthly salary would be at least 40 taels of silver. Tsk!
Chen Li nodded. This was a large house with five courtyards. She was not very surprised by these people. This house needed people to take care of and maintain it all year round, so naturally there were many people.
Although Butler Lin had his head half lowered, he did not miss the expressions of the two people in front of him. Obviously, the young lady was the one who made the decision.
"Where is your bond?"
Chen Li asked the most crucial question. If you want to employ someone, you must have their indenture in your hand to feel at ease. Otherwise, it would be bad to keep some people with ulterior motives around you.
"It's here, old slave."
Butler Lin took out a stack of papers from his sleeve and handed it over respectfully.
Chen Li took it, her expression still indifferent. "Butler Lin, I'm sure you know that this house has a new owner. If any of these people don't want to stay, they can redeem themselves and receive two extra months' wages."
"yes."
"By the way, would you like to stay?"
Steward Lin didn't reply immediately. After a while, he answered firmly, "Yes."
"Very good," Chen Li took out his indenture contract, took out a 500-tael silver note from her bosom, and handed it to him along with the other indenture contracts.
"Since you want to follow me, I don't have many rules. Just do your job well and don't betray me. It's that simple."
"I understand, young lady."
"Well, I'll be back in a bit, you go down first."
"yes."
Although he agreed, Steward Lin still escorted them all the way out the gate. Only after the carriage had gone far away did he turn around and close the door.
"Ali, there are already so many people there, do we still need to go buy it?"
"Well, go take a look and buy something that suits you."
"Okay."
He has always supported his daughter's decisions and didn't say anything more.
Lu Nian's face was red from the cold. Chen Li looked at her helplessly, "Tell me, why don't you stay at home? Why do you have to come out and get cold?"
Lu Nian immediately made an aggrieved expression, "I just wanted to spend more time with Sister Ali, that's all. My brother said I can only stay here for a few days."
"You already know where my home is. You can come over and play next time."
Speaking of this, Lu Nian became interested. "Sister Ali, come take a boat trip to Yangzhou with me sometime. The fish on the boat are so fresh."
"Really? I'll go and experience it next time I have time."
"Mmm, it's absolutely delicious. I ate quite a bit!"
Soon, they arrived at the door of the pawnshop. When Uncle Wu saw Shen Changshan driving, he hurried out to greet him.
"Brother Shen, why are you out in such cold weather?"
"Hey, Ali is here too, come inside and do it."
He warmly welcomed them in, lit a charcoal fire, and asked someone to serve them hot tea.
Chen Li clearly heard a comfortable sigh from Lu Nian next to her.
There is a charcoal fire in the house, but maybe the charcoal fire is not very good and it has a little smell. However, in the long run, it is also a big expense.
"Uncle Wu, I came here today to buy someone."
"Oh, all right. You sit down and drink some tea to warm yourself up. I'll ask my wife to bring the person over."
"Okay, Uncle Wu, take your time. Don't be in a hurry."
A quarter of an hour later, Uncle Wu walked in first, followed by a neatly dressed woman and more than forty other people. However, they did not come in and stood outside the door.
Uncle Wu introduced, "This is my wife. She usually manages these people."
"sister in law."
"Aunt Wu."
Aunt Wu had a smile on her face. Her facial features were the kind that looked very pleasing to the eye, and she looked even more approachable when she smiled.
But it's easy to imagine that this friendliness is probably just superficial. If you want to manage so many people, you need some skills.
Chen Li stood up and said, "Aunt, let me take a look first."
"Okay, take a look. Auntie will be there to help you."
She was in charge of so many people, so she naturally knew which ones were diligent and honest and which ones were cunning and deceitful. However, most of the people she brought were good.
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