Chapter 141 Return to Beijing
Lu Yao and the others were not surprised to hear the purpose of Manager Zhang's visit.
In other words,
They were surprised that the other party had waited until now to speak up.
After all, these days, whenever he is free, he will come to talk to them and tell them about his experiences over the years.
Manager Zhang didn't expect that everyone in the Rong family agreed to his excessive request without hesitation. He was instantly moved to tears. If he had known it was so easy, why had he practiced so many drills in the past few days?
After getting the answer he wanted, Manager Zhang did not linger any longer, leaving the space to this family and reporting the good news to his subordinates.
After a while, Lu Yao and the others heard cheers not far away. They found it a little amusing. Wasn't it just helping to make some long-lasting sauces and food? Was there any need to get so excited?
After dinner, they took a quick break to digest the food and then got in their cars to rest.
After three days of bumpy ride, my bones felt like they were falling apart.
Lu Yao and the others prepared a lot of soft bedding, ensuring that they could sleep soundly even in the wilderness.
The next morning, they had breakfast and continued their journey, finally arriving at the first town in the afternoon.
The group went to an inn, parked their carriage in the backyard, and booked a room each.
They planned to rest here for half a day and set off again early tomorrow morning.
Everyone in the inn knew Manager Zhang, and because they knew they were coming today, they had already made preparations in advance.
After taking a hot bath and having a meal prepared by the inn, the family went back to their room to rest. When they woke up again, they were met with the smiling face of Manager Zhang.
He had already bought all the necessary ingredients and was waiting for Lu Yao to help cook.
Lu Yao looked at the time and decided to go out with her family and children to buy some useful things before starting to cook.
This place is located not far from the mountains and is a must-pass place to go to Ganzhou. Therefore, it is more developed than the border town of Xikang County and has a much larger flow of people.
The group took a walk around and bought a lot of supplies and local specialties.
Next, they have to travel and may not be able to go into the city to rest every day, so they still need to prepare some necessary items.
After some shopping, everyone, including the two little ones, had bags in their hands.
The group returned to the inn and after a brief rest, Lu Yao went to the kitchen accompanied by Rong Yanhui and others.
Just like before on the road to exile, everyone worked together and soon completed the preparations. Next, it was time for Lu Yao, the chef, to show off her skills.
Soon, a strong fragrance came from the inn. The guests in the lobby stopped talking, sniffed, and asked the waiter what was going on.
"Have you hired a new chef?"
"What is this made of? Why does it smell so good?"
"Is the inn finally launching a new product? It's long overdue."
“…”
The waiter was also confused. He didn't hear the shopkeeper and the boss mention that there was a new chef. He immediately went to ask the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper also went to the backyard kitchen as soon as the fragrance came out. Seeing the busy family, he was a little disappointed.
He thought the people in the kitchen finally wanted to change.
"What are you doing?" He knew it was not a good thing, but he still stayed shamelessly.
Lu Yao didn't hide it: "Zhajiang."
Manager Zhang and his colleagues had seen them eat noodles with soybean paste, rice with soybean paste, and steamed buns with soybean paste... They thought the sauce was delicious and inexpensive, and most importantly, convenient, as you could add a little to anything you ate, so they bought a lot of ingredients, hoping they could make some.
There are so many young men and women in the caravan. Because they have been practicing martial arts and building up their physical strength for many years, they are all big eaters. If there are fewer people, there will not be enough to share.
So, Lu Yao made two large pots of sauce, enough for them to eat for a few days.
Seeing that the shopkeeper was interested, he did not hesitate to explain the method of making it.
The shopkeeper was overjoyed and after thanking her profusely, he went back to the front, picked up a pen and paper, and quickly wrote down what Lu Yao had said.
A good memory is not as good as a good pen, so it is more reliable to write it down. Tomorrow, he will ask the kitchen staff to study it carefully. As long as they can restore 80% of the taste, their inn's business will definitely be better.
To express his gratitude, the innkeeper waived all expenses for the family at their inn and gave them ten taels of silver as a reward when they left.
Lu Yao didn't accept it.
None of the recipes she knows were created by her. Her life is pretty good now, and she doesn't need to sell recipes to make a living, and she doesn't want to do that.
Finally, the shopkeeper asked someone to prepare a lot of snacks, candies and other things. Lu Yao couldn't refuse and had to accept them.
At noon, they stopped at a flat place to rest, eat and feed the horses.
Manager Zhang and others finally no longer have to envy the Rong family for having ready-made delicious food.
Before they set off, they bought a lot of steamed buns and put them inside their quilts to keep them warm. They are still warm when they are taken out now.
Put some meat sauce on it and take a bite. The aroma is so delicious that you want to swallow your tongue.
The result of the delicious taste was that I consumed half as much steamed buns as usual.
Manager Zhang felt a little distressed.
certainly,
What he felt sorry for was not the steamed buns, but the meat sauce.
When those guys came across something delicious, they were like starving ghosts reincarnated. He poured out a bowl of sauce, and it was divided up in a short while.
I originally thought that if I made so much, it would be enough to last for a few days. In this case, it would be good enough if I could go to the next town for repairs.
The first meal had just begun, and he was already struggling with how to ask for help next time.
Oh, this job is so difficult.
It was just helping to make some sauce, so Lu Yao didn't care. Since she joined the caravan, the people in the caravan had taken good care of them, so she was willing to help. Besides, it wasn't in vain.
Therefore, on the subsequent journey, Lu Yao would occasionally make some sauces and foods for the caravan members, not just fried sauces, depending on what ingredients they prepared.
After rushing like this for half a month, they finally entered the capital.
Lu Yao and his group did not plan to return to Beijing just like that, but planned to go to Yunshan Village first.
Yunshan Village is closer than the capital. You can turn off the other road at the Qilipo fork and get there in a quarter of an hour.
However, plans did not change quickly. When they arrived at Qilipo and saw the two brothers Rong Huaijin and Rong Huaiyu waiting there, they had to change their itinerary.
Lu Mingxiu's status made it difficult for him to follow Xiaomei to the Rong family. He declined the Rong brothers' enthusiastic invitation and said to his younger sister, "Mo Zhu and I will go to the village first and then go into the city tomorrow."
The house in Beijing has been sold. If I want to get it back, I have to find that person. It’s getting late now, so I’d better wait until tomorrow.
There was nothing in Yunshan Village, so Lu Yao naturally didn't want her brother to go there now. Rong Yanhui was even less likely to watch his brother-in-law go to the village while he took his sister Yao to the capital to eat and drink delicious food, so he immediately joined in persuading her.
Huai Jin hurriedly said, "Two courtyards have been prepared at home, one for my cousin and the other for my uncle and aunt."
"Yes, Uncle Lu, just stay with your cousin and the others," Huaiyu also said, "It's a little late today, you can stay at home first and move out after everything is arranged."
Rong Yanhui followed up with a lobbying plea: "It's November now, and the Chinese New Year will be coming soon. After the new year, we will be finished. We don't have much time left."
"Brother, just come with us," Lu Yao quickly chimed in. "How can I be at ease if you just go to Yunshan Village like this?"
She pulled out her trump card, "Brother, if you must go to Yunshan Village, then I will go with you. At worst, Brother Rong and Haohao and Yueyue will go back to the Rong family first."
After she finished speaking, she winked at the two children, and Haohao Yueyue immediately threw herself at his feet:
"Uncle, come with us."
"I don't want to be separated from my uncle."
In the end, Lu Mingxiu couldn't resist the coquettishness of the two children, and went to Rong's house with everyone.
At this time, they had already separated from the caravan and continued on their journey, finally arriving at the gate of Yingtian Prefecture before sunset.
After taking out the document and confirming it was correct, they thanked the soldiers guarding the gate and entered the city gate.
More than half a year later, the streets of Beijing were still bustling and bustling. The two children looked out of the car window, still interested, but no longer as curious and eager as last time.
Lu Yao rubbed the two little guys' heads and asked them what they liked. After they had rested, they would go out for a walk.
I will settle down in Beijing from now on and have time to go wherever I want.
Xiao Yunhao and Xiao Xinyue both shook their heads. Their mother and father had already taken them around here last time, and they had been to many other places since then. They felt that compared to other places, this place was just a little bigger, with more people, and the things sold were a little more expensive. Apart from that, there wasn't much difference.
In the hearts of these two children, as long as their parents are there, it is the best place. As for the external environment and food, clothing and daily necessities, these are not important.
The Rong family lived in the east of the city, where there were many dignitaries and nobles, close to the imperial palace.
Finally, the carriage stopped in front of a house.
When the gatekeepers saw the carriage in front, they immediately took action and ran into the yard together. One of them opened the gate to welcome back the young master of the Rong family.
Liu Manyun and others had already arrived at the hall. Upon hearing the servant's report, they rushed to the front and just happened to catch a few people who had just gotten off the carriage.
"You're finally back," Liu Manyun stepped forward and shook Lu Yao's hand. "You must have suffered along the way. Come inside quickly."
"The yard and the room are all cleaned up, and the water is ready. It's available anytime," Qin Tianxiao said, holding a child in each hand. "Do you want to eat first or wash up first?"
After a long journey, Lu Yao and the others were exhausted and decided to take a shower first.
Liu Manyun's gaze fell on Lu Mingxiu again, and her expression became even more enthusiastic: "Uncle-in-law, you must treat this place as your own home. Don't be shy."
"We've been looking forward to your coming."
"I have a lot of questions I want to discuss with you."
"I'm not used to not having you and my cousin these days."
“…”
After more than two months of living together day and night, they have developed a deep friendship. Even though everyone has a different personality, it does not affect their "classmate" relationship.
Several young men from the Rong family also spoke enthusiastically to Lu Mingxiu, expressing their joy and welcome with practical actions, but they also grasped the right balance, not being too polite to appear distant, nor being too enthusiastic to make people uncomfortable.
Lu Mingxiu smiled at everyone, thanked them, and said, "Sorry to bother you."
Not to mention, the attitude of the crowd made Lu Mingxiu relax a lot, and he spoke to them more naturally.
When Rong Yanhui saw his brother-in-law like this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and cast admiring glances at his cousins.
In the subsequent conversations, Rong Yanhui would always take care of his brother-in-law, making sure that he would not feel awkward because of being in the Rong family. Seeing this, Lu Yao quietly squeezed her man's hand, and the latter shook it back, indicating that she could leave it to him without worry.
Lu Yao felt relieved and stopped paying attention to them. She focused on talking to Liu Manyun and the others with her child.
While they were talking, servants came to help move things. When all the luggage was unloaded from the carriage, someone drove the carriage away.
The group did not stay at the door for long. Surrounded by the Rong family, Lu Yao and others came to the yard prepared for them.
The luggage they brought with them had already been brought over by the servants in advance, and Lu Mingxiu's luggage was also sent to another courtyard.
Lu Yao did not go to the next yard to see her brother first. The Rong family had already made all the arrangements. If she went there to ask about it, people would misunderstand that she did not trust them.
In the end, he didn't go over and took Yueyue to the side room to take a bath and wash up.
The mother and daughter soaked in the bathtub for a long time and used fragrant soap and shampoo. It took almost half an hour before they came out smelling fragrant.
Although I took a shower when staying at the inn along the way, being outside is never as comfortable as being at home. After taking a shower, I felt a lot more relaxed.
It’s like suddenly taking off a thick coat in the middle of summer, it feels extremely comfortable.
After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Lu Yao took little Xinyue out and was about to ask about the situation of her brother next door when she saw someone sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard. She ran over happily and said, "Brother, have you been waiting for a long time?"
Lu Mingxiu shook his head, "I just arrived not long ago."
"Are you used to it?" Lu Yao asked other questions when she saw that he was telling the truth.
"fine."
He just didn't want to cause trouble or owe anyone a favor, but in the final analysis, he was a go-with-the-flow type of person. No one in the Rong family treated him as an outsider, and they tried their best to make him ignore his identity as a guest. If he felt awkward and uncomfortable, it would seem he was being hypocritical and too pretentious.
Rong Yanhui also brought little Yunhao out. When the little guy saw the people in the pavilion, he sweetly called out "Uncle".
Lu Mingxiu waved at him, and when the person came closer, he held the person and sat him on his lap: "I plan to go see the old house later."
Lu Yao nodded, "I'll go with you."
Lu Mingxiu wanted to refuse, but when he met his younger sister's gaze, he didn't say the refusal.
The house was left to them by their parents, so she should have a share of it.
After they finished washing up, someone came to take them to the main courtyard in front for dinner.
Rong Yanhui used to come to his grandparents' house often, so he was very familiar with this house even after more than ten years.
As we walked, I introduced the place to my wife, children, and brother-in-law, making sure they could get familiar with the environment and not feel strange living under someone else's roof.
The side hall of the main courtyard is where the family has their meals. At this moment, several plates of exquisitely presented dishes are placed on the huge round table, ready for the host to take a seat and start eating.
The whole family is moving in one after another.
"This round table is based on the large one Yaoyao mentioned earlier. Take a look, isn't it the same as the one you mentioned?" Liu Manyun took Lu Yao's hand and walked into the side hall. Pointing at the large round table that had room for the whole family to sit, she said, "You know what, this round table is really convenient."
"And this turntable. You don't need anyone to serve you food, and you don't need to stand up to pick it up. You just need to turn it and it will be in front of you," Qin Tianxiao praised. "Yaoyao, how can you be so amazing?"
But they knew that although the waterwheel was researched and made by a large group of men, without Yaoyao, the idea of the waterwheel would never have come into being.
Liu Manyun thought of something and chuckled, "We just returned to the capital. Because of this round table, our Rong family has regained its foothold in this circle."
This round table allows the whole family to sit together and chat and eat, which not only enhances the relationship between each other, but also makes people feel proud.
"Nowadays, all the wealthy families in Beijing are proud of having a large round table." Qin Tianxiao thought about the people who went from being disdainful at first to fawning over him at banquets these days, and couldn't help but sneer: "After being away for more than ten years, do you really think that there is no one left in our Rong family?"
She, her elder sister-in-law, and her two daughters-in-law's parents' homes are still there.
Lu Yao gave them a thumbs-up: "Aunt and Aunt are amazing."
She was just talking, at most she drew a blueprint. Without their operation, how could it be possible to attract so many nobles in the capital?
After everyone sat down, Lu Yao realized that the Rong Bingwen brothers were not there.
"Where are my uncles? Aren't they leaving the government office yet?"
"As for them," Qin Tianxiao said, "we haven't seen them for a long time."
Liu Manyun also explained: "The emperor wants to use these few months to fully promote and install it, so that he can start a big ploughing campaign next year."
Time is tight and the task is heavy. The old man and the people from the Ministry of Industry have been busy day and night. Now he has taken the people from the Ministry of Industry to other places and doesn't know when he will be back.
Not only that, he also took the second child away.
Lu Yao covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "It's good to be busy. It proves that the emperor values me. As long as the waterwheel is successfully installed, the grain production will increase next year..."
She didn't say the rest of the words, but the others understood what she meant. If they could really achieve the expected results, the credit would be enough for their Rong family to regain their footing and make further progress.
"Don't bother talking, hurry up and pick up your chopsticks," Liu Manyun saw that no one else had picked up their chopsticks. As the mistress of the house, she had no choice but to take the lead and greet Lu Yao and her siblings, "Just treat it like your own home. Don't be polite."
Lu Yao smiled and said, "Don't worry, I definitely won't. If I'm polite, I'll just starve. We're not that stupid."
Lu Mingxiu also nodded and chuckled. He had been with the Rong family for such a long time and they knew each other well. He had thought too much and felt awkward before, but now that he understood, he naturally didn't feel uncomfortable anymore.
As for Rong Yanhui and his two children, they have even less burden.
"It's been a while since I had such a relaxing meal."
Putting down the bowl and chopsticks, Lu Yao couldn't help but sigh.
"You guys are so busy traveling every day that you haven't eaten or rested well," Qin Tianxiao thought Lu Yao was exaggerating. "These two children and the servants prepared this, and they didn't do as good a job as you did."
Ye Jiayue and Lan Xin were not angry when their elders said they were inferior to others. Instead, they smiled and nodded. "Yaoyao taught us how to cook. It's too difficult to catch up with her."
Every time I feel that I am getting closer to her, I realize that there are still many things I can't do. It's really discouraging.
Fortunately, they have a good attitude and are not affected at all.
On the contrary, he took advantage of this identity and worked hard to learn and improve himself.
In any case, it is an indisputable fact that they have made great progress and improvement now.
After dinner, Liu Manyun and her companions took Lu Yao and the two children to the garden for a walk to help digest the food and chat. Rong Yanhui and Lu Mingxiu followed their cousins and nephews to the study.
As for the two siblings' appointment to see the current condition of the old house, it was getting dark now, so they could only wait until tomorrow.
The first day back in the capital passed just like this.
Perhaps it was because she had been jolted along the road for so long, Lu Yao still felt swaying even when she was lying on the bed.
She couldn't help but chuckle, "I didn't even walk on the flower path when I was taking a walk before."
This situation didn't happen when I went to Ganzhou before.
Rong Yanhui rubbed her hair and gently massaged her head, "Thank you for your hard work."
Lu Yao rolled her eyes. She didn't like hearing this.
Rong Yanhui chuckled twice and changed the subject: "Tomorrow we will go see the house that mother left for us."
Lu Yao nodded. Once everything was settled, she would start to show her skills.
"Are the old servants who worked for mother still here?" More than ten years have passed, and the Shen family has been confiscated and liquidated. The guilty servants have been sentenced, and the innocent ones have been sold again. I don't know if they can be found again.
Rong Yanhui pursed his lips and said, "After Wang Yalan became the housekeeper, she used various excuses to drive away the elderly or arrange for them to do hard labor."
What this means is that it is very difficult to get it back now.
Lu Yao felt a little regretful. "I heard you say business was booming when Mom was around. I guess the shopkeepers were quite capable."
The shop owners are all hired, not signed indentures. Perhaps you can ask them when you get the chance.
Even after more than ten years, it might be really difficult.
Lu Yao sighed and decided not to think about it anymore. If it really didn't work out, she would just work hard and train it herself. This way, it might be more convenient and reliable to use.
"Times have changed. More than ten years have passed. Many people and things have changed. There is no need." Rong Yanhui hugged the person in his arms and said softly.
How could he not know his sister Yao's thoughts and intentions? But there was really no need.
Lu Yao nodded in agreement.
She had originally thought of looking for those old people to give the man some thoughts, but now she thinks that such an idea is really wrong.
"You're right," Lu Yao decided. "Then we can ask my aunt and the others to help us find out if there are any reliable people."
She still had some resistance to the human trafficking, but in this era, she couldn't be independent and could only treat them as nicely as possible in the future.
The two talked for a while and then fell asleep in each other's arms.
Because of something, Lu Yao and Rong Yan got up early the next day.
In the yard, there were servants and maids arranged by the Rong family. When they saw them get up, one of them immediately brought warm water, and another brought the breakfast prepared in advance to the table in the hall.
After Lu Yao finished washing up, she saw a sumptuous breakfast on the table.
"Where is Young Master Lu? Is he prepared?" Rong Yan asked.
In order to make Lu Mingxiu feel comfortable, Liu Manyun instructed her subordinates to call him the same as the Rong family members.
The maid replied respectfully, "Master, I have already asked Master Lu to come over."
Knowing that their elder uncle/brother would have breakfast with them, they did not eat first, but went to the yard to practice boxing.
Lu Mingxiu and Mo Zhu arrived very quickly. They just started but didn't continue because they had other things to do.
After dinner, Haohao and Yueyue woke up and returned to their parents and uncle, who still had things to do. They did not argue to join them, but spoke very considerately:
"Dad, Mom, and Uncle, please go ahead. I have an appointment with my cousin Huaibai today to go and see his new books."
When little Xinyue heard what her brother said, she nodded repeatedly: "Aunt Ziyu wants to take me to see beautiful flowers."
They didn't lie, they just didn't agree immediately when they were invited.
Well, it should still be in time if we go now.
then,
Lu Yao and the other three sent the two children to the main courtyard, talked for a few words with Liu Manyun and others, and then left Rong Mansion to do business.
Today's capital city is as bustling and prosperous as any other day.
Fourteen years have passed, and this is the first time that Rong Yanhui has walked on the street with his head held high and no burden at all.
He walked beside his sister Yao, looking at the surrounding shops and keeping an eye on Yao to avoid being bumped into by others.
They first went to the nearest house.
This was the dowry that the Rong family prepared for Rong's mother. After marriage, Shen Shiren lived here with her.
Later, her mother and brother's family came to the capital and lived here.
In order to save Shen Shiren's face and self-esteem, Rong's mother only said that she bought it with her private money and did not say it was a dowry. Shen's family, including outsiders, also thought that they bought it later.
That’s right, the former Chen Mansion was originally Rong’s mother’s dowry.
During the previous house search, the Chen residence was sealed off. Later, when Rong Yanhui was pardoned as a reward for the waterwheel, all of Rong's mother's dowry was returned. Naturally, the house returned to Rong Yanhui's hands.
The former Shen Mansion brought a lot of hurt and bad memories to Rong Yanhui. They originally planned to move to another house, but this was also where Rong's mother lived.
Although,
Wang Yalan wiped out almost all traces of her life.
They walked around the house.
Lu Yao had been married to the Shen family for so many years, and she had always gone through the back door or directly to the side courtyard. This was the first time she knew the overall appearance of the house.
"The yard wasn't like this before," Rong Yanhui said with a look of regret. "Mother doesn't like extravagance."
After she left, the Shen family modified the house almost from the inside out.
The former elegance was replaced by vulgar wealth, and all the flowers and plants that my mother loved were gone...
As Rong Yanhui walked, he described the past to Lu Yao and Lu Mingxiu, and finally said with a sense of loss, "There is no trace of mother anymore."
Brother and sister Lu Yao and Lu Mingxiu were also a little sad. Wasn’t their house the same?
Lu Yao held Rong Yanhui's hand and comforted him, "Since we're staying with my aunt and her family lately, we can start by renovating it according to our memory."
From now on, this house belongs to them completely and they have the final say in everything.
Rong Yan came back to his senses, "Sister Yao is right."
He is obsessed with appearances.
"Go back and remember what the house looked like back then, and we'll find someone to renovate it."
Lu Yao said, and then looked at her brother, "Brother, think about it when you go back."
Lu Mingxiu nodded, he had the same idea.
Rong Yan replied, "Let's go back and discuss this together."
From now on, this will be their real home, and it cannot be based solely on his preferences.
The house used to be the way his mother liked it. Now, Yaomei is also the mistress of the house, and he wants to decorate it to her liking.
Lu Yao didn't refuse and smiled brightly at him: "Okay."
Seeing the two of them being so intimate, Lu Mingxiu turned his head to look aside and simply took Mo Zhu to the side.
The young couple is loving and affectionate, so it would be better for him, a lonely man, not to be an eyesore here.
He had just taken two steps when Lu Yao and Rong Yanhui looked away. Seeing the playful smile on each other's lips, they couldn't help but blush.
Rong Yanhui coughed lightly and said, "Let's go."
I have already looked at the house and will go back to discuss with Sister Yao how to renovate it.
Lu Mingxiu suggested: "Actually, Mo Zhu and I can go."
"That won't work!" Lu Yao refused without hesitation. She had to accompany her brother.
"Okay, okay," Lu Mingxiu curled his lips and asked, "Do you want to take another look?"
Lu Yao looked at Rong Yanhui, who shook his head, "It's already completely unrecognizable. It's better not to look at it."
It has to be renovated anyway, and the way it looks now makes me tired to look at it for even a second.
After leaving their future home, they got on a carriage and went directly to the Lu family's house.
At this time, the door of the house was closed. Mo Zhu went forward and knocked on the door, but after knocking for a long time, no one came to open the door.
He went to ask next door and found out that the owner of the house had been away for some time and no one had been there recently.
After asking about the master's departure time, Mo Zhu came back and told Lu Yao and his sister.
It turned out that after Lu Mingxiu sold the house, a family who came to live with their relatives moved in here, but for some unknown reason, they left again a month ago.
Lu Mingxiu thought about it, said something to Lu Yao, and went to look for someone with Mo Zhu.
Lu Yao knew that he was going to look for the person who had bought the house, so she did not follow him, but instead strolled around slowly with her husband and his family.
This was the first time in more than a decade that Rong Yanhui had gone shopping leisurely in the capital, and it was also Lu Yao's first time. As a couple whose husband and wife were both going for a first time, they were like an engaged couple in love. They would go and see anything they were interested in, and if they found something they liked, Rong Yanhui would take the initiative to pay for it.
Lu Yao smiled at him, without stopping him, nor did she feel bad about spending so much money.
Today, let them be willful for once.
By the time they were tired of shopping, they were already carrying a lot of things in their hands.
The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
After some revengeful spending, at the time agreed with their brother, the two of them went to meet up with Lu Mingxiu and put their things in the carriage.
It was already noon, and instead of returning to the Rong family, they went to find a restaurant that looked good.
The restaurant was doing good business, but since it was late, it wasn't difficult to get a seat.
They were lucky, not only were there empty seats, but there was also a private room by the window on the second floor.
After ordering a few of the restaurant's signature dishes, they began to talk about their morning itinerary.
"The house is still in their hands and they can buy it back at the original price."
Lu Mingxiu was the first to tell the good news.
"Really?" Lu Yao didn't expect the other party to not add a single cent.
"Why is this?" Rong Yanhui asked the question in his heart.
Logically speaking, those people are here to make money, and this is obviously an opportunity to make a killing, so they would not give it up.
Either they had a good relationship, or something happened.
"After we left, the house changed hands to two people, but they both left the capital for various reasons," Lu Mingxiu explained.
In other words, there are bad rumors about the house outside, and they are getting more and more exaggerated.
Regardless of ancient times or modern times, ordinary people have to spend almost all their family savings to buy a house. This is also the place where the whole family will live for a long time. Naturally, they want to choose a good one, even if it is cheap. It is impossible for them to really not consider other things.
In order to avoid losing the house, the man lowered the price a lot, but still no one was interested. Now that Lu Mingxiu is willing to buy it back, he is so happy that he doesn't even have time to raise the price.
"Not good?" Lu Yao frowned. They had lived here for so many years and didn't feel that way.
Lu Mingxiu shook his head; he didn’t understand either.
"When will the contract be signed?" Lu Yao was more concerned about this.
"afternoon."
The other party probably wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible to avoid any further complications. If it wasn't noon, he would probably have dragged me to the yamen by now.
After the group finished their meal, they sat in a private room to rest. Rong Yanhui quietly left the room and went to the counter to pay the bill. After he left, Lu Yao took out two banknotes and gave them to Lu Mingxiu.
Lu Mingxiu frowned: "What are you doing to me?"
"Brother Rong asked me to give this to you," Lu Yao said, "I just got back and need to spend money on many things."
How could Lu Mingxiu take his younger sister's? Even if his brother-in-law knew about it and offered it, "Don't worry, I have it."
"It's not cheap to renovate the house."
Lu Yao didn't believe it. She could roughly know how much silver her brother had with just a casual calculation.
He might have enough money to buy back the house, but it would definitely not be enough to repair it and buy new furniture.
"You sold the house for me back then, and now you're buying it back, so you should at least contribute a little bit," Lu Yao insisted. "Or do you think I have to settle things with you in the future?"
Lu Mingxiu rubbed his head and said, "I am your elder brother, it is my duty to take care of you."
How can a sister who is already married still give money to her brother?
"Brother, just accept it," Rong Yanhui pushed the door open and came in. "This is a small token of our appreciation. If you don't accept it, we'll have to calculate how much money we've spent on you over the years."
"Yes," Lu Yao nodded in agreement, "and the cost of the trip to Ganzhou."
If you really want to make the distinction so clear, just press it.
Lu Yao looked proud on the outside, but was humming in her heart.
She believed that her brother would definitely not insist on it anymore.
Sure enough, after hearing what they said, Lu Mingxiu had no choice but to change his words: "Just think of it as me lending it to you."
"Borrow?" Lu Yao's eyes rolled. "Since it's a loan, then borrow a little more."
As he spoke, he looked at the man beside him, who immediately took out two banknotes from his pocket and stuffed them into Lu Mingxiu's hand, "Brother, you know, Yaomei and I still have a lot of money."
Lu Yao nodded. She had told the other party that before the house was confiscated, they almost took out all the money from the Shen family.
The people who confiscated the property were not aware of this part, and the Shen family was even less aware of it.
Having said that, Lu Mingxiu stopped being pretentious and accepted the banknotes generously.
Lu Yao had a lot of silver in her space. They had gone to the bank in the morning to exchange some silver notes, which made it much more convenient to carry them with them.
In the afternoon, the couple accompanied Lu Mingxiu to go through the transfer procedures.
Looking at Lu Mingxiu holding the house deed with his name on it, the two siblings felt that everything was settled.
After completing the formalities here, Lu Mingxiu took out another fifty taels of silver and gave it to the man.
The man still had some principles, "Brother, you are embarrassing me."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to get rid of my uncle and his family so quickly. How could I let you spend all your money and effort for nothing?"
"Or," Lu Mingxiu asked deliberately when he saw that he didn't want it, "too little?"
The man waved his hand and smiled, "I've already made a lot of money from two previous transactions."
How could he do business at a loss?
"Let's put it this way," Lu Mingxiu insisted. "There will be many places in the future where I'll need your help. If you don't accept it, I'll be embarrassed to ask you for help again."
The man laughed and said, "It seems I have no choice but to accept it."
To be honest, it was one thing that he was willing to pay the other party the original price, but he was really happy that this person was so considerate. He would just take care of him more when he needed him in the future.
He thought of something and reminded, "You need to pay more attention to your uncle's family."
At first, this family cursed for a long time. If he hadn't used tough measures, they would probably have refused to leave.
Lu Mingxiu thanked the other party for the reminder. He would never allow that family to have the opportunity to influence their lives.
Seeing that he knew what was going on, the man patted him on the shoulder and left with his younger brother.
It was still early, so the group went to the house.
This time they had the key, so they opened the door and went in directly. What they saw was the mess on the floor, which made them feel distressed.
"It's a good opportunity to renovate it." Lu Yao didn't feel bad at all and asked her brother, "What kind do you like?"
Lu Mingxiu has not made a decision yet.
Lu Yao suggested: "How about renovating the whole thing?"
My parents have been dead for so many years, and the house has never been renovated. On the contrary, it was severely damaged by the so-called uncle's family. Now it has been completely renovated, and I feel much more at ease living in it.
She was also worried that the family was holding a grudge and had done something before leaving, otherwise why would something happen to the two families behind?
Although it was most likely a coincidence, she didn't want to take any chances.
The two men were very familiar with this house. They could imagine what it looked like in the past without going in. However, because it needed to be renovated, they took a quick tour before closing the door and going back.
In the following days, Lu Yao and his wife and Lu Mingxiu focused their main energy on designing and renovating the house.
After the design drawings came out, I went to find the middleman who bought the house to help find reliable craftsmen to start the major renovation.
During this time, they also bought some servants.
This time, when selling people, Lu Yao hopes to find some with special skills, preferably those who can read and write, who can help look after the shop.
As luck would have it, a group of servants from the families of criminal officials arrived at the middleman's place, and they first came to Lu Mingxiu's side.
Lu Mingxiu also wanted to buy two to work with, so he went together.
Because the master they originally served was fired for corruption and bribery, they were very careful when selecting people. Those with wandering eyes, those who looked around, and those with cunning expressions... were absolutely not accepted.
Finally, Lu Mingxiu picked two maids and a gatekeeper.
He is alone, three people are enough.
Lu Yao happened to meet more than a dozen people from three generations of a family.
They were not valued in the master's family before because they were brought by the original wife who had passed away. Even though they were capable, they were suppressed by the stepmother in various ways and were finally sent to work in the farm.
Although life was hard at that time, fortunately the whole family was together. Now that they have been sold again, I don’t know where they will go or whether we will see each other again in this life.
Lu Mingxiu asked about the family's background and confirmed that there was no problem. Lu Yao and Rong Yanhui asked the family some more questions and confirmed that there was no problem, so they did not continue to select.
However, they did not speak up to confirm it immediately.
The family who originally thought they would be bought out, saw them like this, and the light in their eyes dimmed a little.
Seeing this, the two ancestors pleaded, saying that they were old and could do without the property, but they just wanted the noble man to buy their son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and granddaughter.
The middleman scolded: "Who the noble wants is not decided by you?!"
Upon seeing this, the two men knelt down with a plop and kowtowed repeatedly: "Please forgive my sins, sir!"
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