After Magistrate Wu took the old man and Qibao into the study and sat down, he said, "Old man, this is where I handle official business in the yamen."
The old man swept the study room. There were some pamphlets, writing brushes, inkstones, and writing brushes on the desk. The bookshelves were also filled with many books. There was nothing else.
The old man said, "Most of the things here are books. It seems that the county magistrate is also a book lover!"
Magistrate Wu smiled and said, "I usually like to collect various books. Let's not talk about this anymore. I have already found all the owners of the land in the slums. There are more than twenty of them."
The old man asked, "Are they all willing to sell the land?"
The county magistrate said: "Although we encountered many difficulties during this period, we have finally solved them."
The old man said, "Thank you for your hard work, County Magistrate. I will invite you to Zuixianlou for a drink at noon to express my gratitude."
The county magistrate politely declined, "Old man, I have some official business to attend to this afternoon, so I really shouldn't drink. I can drink again when I have the chance."
The old man said, "Well, I wonder how much these people are bidding?"
The county magistrate said, "There are bound to be a few who are greedy for small profits, but with me here, they won't dare to go too far. This piece of land is no longer useful to them. Although the price is a bit higher than normal, it is acceptable. I calculated it and it's a total of more than 4,000 taels of silver."
The old man breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. This price was within his expectations.
Magistrate Wu continued, "But they said they want silver in exchange for the land deed. If you trust me, old man, just give me the silver and I'll do the deal with them on your behalf."
The old man said gratefully, "Thank you, County Magistrate! How could I not trust you?"
The old man understood what the county magistrate meant. They didn't know who paid for the land. If they went there themselves, something might go wrong. If County Magistrate Wu went there, they wouldn't dare go back on their word.
Magistrate Wu nodded and said, "Once I get the deed and write your name on it, I'll send someone to deliver it to your house."
The old man said, "Sir, County Magistrate, just write my granddaughter's name on this land."
Magistrate Wu looked at Qibao and asked in surprise, "Old man, I remember you have three sons. Will they agree with you doing this?"
The old man said, "They agree. Our family doesn't have that many troubles. They also treat Qibao like their own daughter and they won't say a word."
Qibao feigned innocence and said, "Sir, County Magistrate, don't listen to my grandfather. This land will be registered in my grandfather's name. That way, I will become the landlord! How impressive!"
County Magistrate Wu laughed heartily and said, "Yes, this land is indeed quite large. He is indeed the number one landlord."
The old man was also a little amused and confused. How could he not know what his granddaughter was thinking? He felt warm in his heart, but he didn't say anything. When he was gone, he would leave this land to Qibao.
After the matter was settled, the old man took out the silver and said, "This is ten thousand taels. The rest will be used to buy materials for building the house. If it's not enough, feel free to come to the Xu family to get it. I'll trouble the county magistrate for the rest."
Magistrate Wu said, "It's not a big deal. Once we've gathered all the people, I'll send a few yamen runners to supervise the work and have the house completed quickly. I'll also have all the refugees who can work do the work. After all, they'll be the ones living there."
The old man said, "Then I'll trouble you, Your Excellency the County Magistrate. I'll leave now and won't delay your work any longer."
Magistrate Wu stood up and prepared to escort the grandfather and grandson out the door. As he pushed open the study door, a voice rang out, "Dad! I knew you were in the study!"
The three of them looked up and saw a little girl in a green dress skipping towards them.
"Xinyi, why are you here? Didn't I tell you to stay at home and behave yourself? This is the yamen, where your father works! This is not the place for you to make trouble." County Magistrate Wu said.
"I see that Dad has been very busy these days and comes back very late at night, so you rarely spend time with me!" said the little girl with a pout.
County Magistrate Wu shook his head helplessly and said, "Xinyi, this is Mr. Xu. Come over and say hello."
The girl was obedient and bowed to the old man and said, "Hello, Grandpa Xu."
"Grandpa, this is my daughter, Wu Xinyi. She's my only daughter, and she's a latecomer. There are only my daughter and I at home. She's a bit dependent on me, and she's also quite lively."
The old man smiled and said, "It's better for the child to be lively. Your daughter looks like a sensible child."
When Wu Xinyi heard the old man praising her, she immediately grinned.
Qibao looked at the girl in front of him. She was about eight or nine years old, with fair and clean skin, and her eyes were very similar to those of County Magistrate Wu.
"Little sister, what's your name?" Wu Xinyi was not afraid of strangers and asked Qibao.
"My name is Xu Linyue." Qibao said.
"Okay, Xinyi, your Grandpa Xu is going back. You can go back by yourself later. Dad still has a lot of things to deal with." said County Magistrate Wu.
"Oh, okay! Then Dad and I will go see Grandpa Xu off together."
As they walked towards the main door, Wu Xinyi casually took Qibao's arm and said, "Can I call you Sister Yue'er?"
Qibao was a little uncomfortable with her enthusiasm, but still replied, "Sure, you can call me Qibao too. That's what my family calls me."
"Qibao? Why are you called Qibao?" Wu Xinyi asked.
"I have six older brothers and I'm the youngest, so I'm called Qibao."
"Wow! You have six brothers? Your parents are so fertile. I wish I had a brother or sister. Then I would have someone to talk to every day!" Wu Xinyi said enviously.
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