"Yeah, didn't you not want to share a room with me before? And the newly built house isn't big enough, so this time I specially rented an extra room and reserved the biggest one for you. How about that, are you grateful to me?"
Lu Yanzhao was "...very grateful".
After giving Bai Luochen a good beating, he would always bring up the matter of renting a house to Lu's mother, intentionally or unintentionally. This way, he could see Gu Nanjiao every day, and Lu's mother was very supportive.
I never expected it to turn out like this!
I wonder what Lu's mother will think when she finds out. She meant well but ended up doing something wrong!
At this moment, Lu Yanzhao finally understood what it felt like to lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot.
Gu Nanjiao told Lu Yanzhao that the rented house was only a temporary residence, as she would be doing business in the county town for a long time and needed to buy necessary items. She would usually stay at home, but if there was wind or rain or she missed the village's oxcart, this place would be a temporary haven.
Hearing this, Lu Yanzhao's expression softened a bit, but the room that Gu Nanjiao would be living in was still an eyesore no matter how you looked at it!
The two arrived at the city gate, where the old man driving the oxcart was still waiting. He would wait until the cart was full of five people before setting off. Yang Meiqin was getting impatient and kept urging him on.
After Gu Nanjiao and her companion boarded the oxcart, the old man slowly cracked his whip and set off.
Having witnessed Yang Meiqin's live sex show a couple of days ago, Gu Nanjiao couldn't stop thinking about what happened that day whenever she saw her today.
She glanced at Lu Yanzhao subconsciously. Lu Yanzhao was sitting cross-legged, engrossed in a book. Gu Nanjiao wondered to herself, what was Lu Yanzhao's reaction to seeing Yang Meiqin?
After returning home, Gu Nanjiao asked Lu Yanzhao to talk to the village chief and the village head about buying the mountain.
Looking at the document in his hand, Lu Yanzhao was shocked: "You've already got the document for buying the mountain sorted out?"
He had taken Gu Nanjiao's earlier talk of buying the mountain as a joke, but he hadn't expected her to actually pull it off. He was surprised by the extent of her abilities. Lu Yanzhao's gaze towards Gu Nanjiao was somewhat complicated.
"I asked my dad for help. He has some connections, so it was settled very quickly!"
For the first time, Lu Yanzhao felt useless. He couldn't help Gu Nanjiao with anything she did, and he was even worse than his father-in-law. He was quite frustrated!
As Lu Yanzhao lowered his eyelids in distress, Gu Nanjiao spoke up: "Could you help me with the relevant procedures at the village chief and the village head? You know more than I do, so it should go smoothly."
Hearing Gu Nanjiao say this, Lu Yanzhao felt a little better. It seems that he is not entirely useless after all!
“No problem!” Lu Yanzhao agreed readily.
Gu Nanjiao raised an eyebrow. Had Lu Yanzhao changed his ways? He's so easy to talk to now.
Lu's mother and younger sister haven't returned from their stall yet, but judging from the sky, they should be back soon.
After Lu Yanzhao left, Gu Nanjiao was in the kitchen thinking about what delicious food to make for dinner.
Just then, Lu's mother returned, bringing a piece of fresh pork belly, some tender lotus root, a few yams, some fresh wood ear mushrooms, a freshly killed chicken, and some cucumbers, chicken fat mushrooms, and radishes. Gu Nanjiao thought for a moment and decided to make braised lion's head meatballs, braised chicken with chicken fat mushrooms, stir-fried yams and wood ear mushrooms, and cucumber salad. She also made a radish soup, which would be enough for four people.
Seeing that it was almost time, Gu Nanjiao began preparing dinner.
First, mince the pork belly. Then, wash a section of lotus root, peel it, and mince it. In a small bowl, soak some scallion and ginger in water.
Braised lion's head meatballs, also known as four-happiness meatballs, are tender, delicious, and nutritious. The whole family loves this dish.
Crack an egg into the minced meat and chopped lotus root, add various seasonings and scallion and ginger water, stir in the same direction until all the seasonings are evenly mixed, then start frying.
Gu Nanjiao called Lu Xiaomei over to help start the fire. Despite her small size, Xiaomei was quite skilled at starting a fire and controlled it very well.
After frying the oil until golden brown, remove the oil and fry it again. Gu Nanjiao poured the hot oil into a large bowl and specifically told Lu Xiaomei not to touch it.
When the oil is hot, add scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers, then add soy sauce and other seasonings to enhance the flavor, and half a bowl of water to boil the fried meatballs.
While tending the fire, Lu Xiaomei would occasionally stand up and glance at the fire, looking impatient: "Sister-in-law, when will it be ready!"
"Almost done, but you need to stop drooling, it's about to drip into the pot."
Lu Xiaomei slurped twice and swallowed, "It smells so good, I can't resist it."
At this moment, Lu's mother came over with a basket of eggs and said, "You have to endure it even if you can't resist. You can only eat them when your brother comes back."
Lu Xiaomei pouted: "As soon as my brother comes back, you start buying chicken, fish, meat, and eggs all over the house. I've never seen you so generous before?"
Mother Lu laughed heartily: "Oh, my little sister is giving her opinion."
The two chatted and laughed as Gu Nanjiao finished preparing the dishes.
A short while later, Lu Yanzhao returned. He said he had already discussed the matter with the village chief and the head of the village, and now that they had the official documents in hand, the negotiations went very smoothly. The back mountain would cost approximately 480 taels of silver, and after the county government officials came to measure it tomorrow, they could go to the government office to pay the money and transfer the property.
Gu Nanjiao had just enough money on her now, and she was even wondering who she could borrow from if she needed more. It seemed like fate was on her side; the price was perfect. However, she had to do this secretly. If the villagers found out she had bought the back mountain, who knew what kind of trouble they would cause!
The next day, Gu Nanjiao accompanied Lu Yanzhao to handle the matter.
Because Zhang Yan had given prior notice, the process went very smoothly.
The constable handed the white deed for the mountain to Gu Nanjiao: "This is the white deed. Keep it safe. After the mountain is measured, you must come to the registrar in person to have it turned into a red deed. Then the mountain will be yours, and you can do whatever you want, but you cannot restrict the villagers from hunting."
Gu Nanjiao said politely, "Thank you for reminding us, Officer! We understand now!"
In ancient times, people relied on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood. The government was aware of this, and in order to maintain a balance, even if you bought a mountain, you couldn't restrict the villagers from hunting. However, the land and other things in the mountains belonged to the buyer.
Although Gu Nanjiao wanted to keep a low profile, fearing that the villagers would find out that she had bought the back mountain, the county officials' blatant arrival to measure the back mountain still alarmed quite a few people.
"What is the Lu family doing? People from the county government have come."
"I heard that the Lu family bought the entire back mountain for five hundred taels of silver. I don't know where they got so much money."
"The Lu family used to be so poor, but marrying a scholar's daughter really changed everything. They're blessed with good fortune. Look at them, first they started a business, then they built houses, and now they've even bought the mountain. We've never seen so much money in our lives."
Li Shi also joined in the fun in the crowd. When she heard the villagers' discussion, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes, which made Lu Yanping even more determined to marry Huang Qingqing.
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