Chapter 118 Like My Own Uncle
When Muramasa Ma Shouren saw Lin Zhiyi, he was stunned for a moment, and then when he saw Lin Fu following behind her, he remembered who this girl was.
Then he saw the pastries in Lin Zhiyi's hand and immediately put on a smiling face. It seemed that the Lin family was a sensible person.
Lin Zhiyi pretended to be very abrupt, "I am sorry to bother Uncle Muramasa again. Although this cake is not a rare item, it is also a token of our Lin family's love."
"No, I'm not disturbing you. You're very polite. Wenyuan, this is the Master Lin I just told you about. Go and get some stools."
Ma Wenyuan? Lin Zhiyi guessed that this villager must have had some education, otherwise he wouldn't have given his son such a name.
After several refusals, a woman in her fifties finally took the pastries. Lin Zhiyi guessed that she must be Muramasa's wife.
Ma Wenyuan brought four stools.
Then Muramasa said again: "Sit down first, I'll take you to find out the local area later."
Lin Fu: "Then I'll trouble Muramasa."
Muramasa saw Lin Xue and Lin Luchen and looked at each other with unfamiliar eyes. He asked, "Who are these two?"
Lin Fu explained: "These two are also members of my Lin family."
Since Lin Fu represented the Lin family, he was the only one who had the court documents.
"Hold on."
Muramasa walked away for a while and came back with a booklet in his hand which clearly recorded the list of people to be exiled.
Seeing his children and grandchildren still standing in the house, staring at the Lin family, he said:
"Okay, go do what you need to do. I still have some official business to attend to."
As soon as Muramasa Ma Shouren spoke, his sons and daughters-in-law stood up with their children in their arms.
"Uncle Lin, you guys talk to my dad first."
Lin Fu smiled and nodded at them.
Ma Cunzheng put the booklet down, and Lin Zhiyi knew that he was going to divide the land according to the list.
Then they reported their names one by one.
After Ma Cunzheng checked the list, he put away the booklet, drank another bowl of water, and then said, "Shall we go and identify the fields now?"
Lin Zhiyi: "No rush, let's talk about building a house first. I want to buy a piece of land in the village to build a house."
"How big does Mr. Lin want to build it?" asked Muramasa.
"To be honest, my dear brother, our family is quite large. These two are also children of our Lin family. They are all the people you just registered, a total of thirteen people. In addition to these people, there are others who are not on the list."
Lin Fu pointed at Lin Zhiyi and said, "This is my daughter."
Ma Mu Zheng was surprised. It turned out to be his daughter. If she was not on the exile list, she must have been married.
Since she can follow me, it seems that this girl is also a person who values friendship and loyalty.
"Dad, let me talk to Uncle Muramasa." Lin Zhiyi said.
Lin Fu nodded.
"There are three others who are not on the list. They came to seek refuge with me. One is my wet nurse and her son, and the other is my maid. However, they have all been restored to good citizenship now and are considered my family."
In fact, Chai Ya has not yet been reinstated as a good citizen. If she wants to have her status reinstated, she has to go back to the Chang'an government to handle it.
But Lin Zhiyi didn't want Chai Ya to be discriminated against because of this.
"There are seventeen people in our Lin family. We need at least ten bedrooms to accommodate them. We also need to build a bigger yard."
Lin Xue and Lin Luchen were touched. They didn't expect that their uncle and cousin would consider their two families when building a house.
Yes, even if the eldest uncle has severed ties with the second and third wives, he is still their uncle.
Ma Cun was lost in thought. If that was the case, then it would be inappropriate to stay in the village.
Because in the village, the land plots are all of the standard three-and-a-half-tenths, and the larger ones are only a little over four-tenths.
As for the Lin family, they need at least two connected plots of land.
"There is a piece of vacant land at the east end of the village. If you like it, I can give it to you at a lower price. However, the east end of the village is close to the mountains, and no villagers are willing to settle there."
Lin Fu was undecided when he heard this.
They are close to the mountain, and if any wild animals come down the mountain, wouldn’t the Lin family be in danger?
On the way to Fangzhou, the government officials did not take shortcuts to save trouble. They took the official road throughout the journey and did not encounter any wild animals on the way.
Even with the presence of the Jinwu Guards, he was still nervous and worried all the way.
Lin Zhiyi thought that the east end of the village was a good place. They could build a high wall and live a quiet life as the Lin family. Even if they did something in the yard, they would not be suspected or talked about by the villagers.
"Dad, I think it's okay. We can build the wall higher."
Lin Fu nodded: "Okay."
Lin Zhiyi: "Then please trouble Uncle Muramasa to take us to see Zhuangji."
Macunzheng agreed.
Now that they agree, it's easy.
A few people came to the east end of the village. It was indeed a very unlucky place, with no neighbors at all. Fortunately, the place was large.
Lin Zhiyi decided on the spot to enclose two acres of land and raise some chickens and ducks in the yard.
Lin Fu naturally had no objection.
In the end, Ma Cunzheng accepted two taels of silver from them.
It’s because the farm is too far to the east, otherwise two taels of silver would not be enough to buy two acres of land.
Now that the foundation has been determined, the next step is to find a bricklayer to build the house.
Lin Zhi thought about it and decided that they would only live there for five years, and the Lin family would definitely return to Chang'an, so there was no need to bother with the design of the house, just build it according to the style of the era.
As long as it's not too bad, she's not very picky.
Anyway, I can take a shower and there is a bathroom in the space, so it doesn’t matter if it’s outside.
She also wants to focus on making money.
When Lin Fu asked Lin Zhiyi for his opinion again, Lin Zhiyi smiled and said, "Dad, just leave it to Uncle Muramasa. I believe he knows more about building a house than we do."
Even if Muramasa gets some benefits, the Lin family will also benefit from these five years. Just consider it as a good relationship so that they can be taken care of in the future.
"I'll have to trouble Uncle Muramasa in the future. Our budget is one hundred taels. If it exceeds that, please discuss it with my father."
Ma Cunzheng was a little surprised when he heard this. It seemed that this girl really treated him as her own family and trusted him so much.
"That won't do, my girl. Aren't you afraid that I'll run away with your father's money? I can take your father to buy building materials, find a bricklayer, and find laborers..."
Lin Zhiyi waved his hands. "Oh, Uncle Muramasa, what are you talking about? When I saw you today, I felt close to you, like my own uncle. How could I not trust you?"
Ma Cunzheng couldn't help but laugh, "Good, good, I, Ma Shouren, now have another niece."
Lin Zhiyi's words immediately brought them closer together.
In fact, Ma Muramasa is also a smart man, and he does not take care of all the fugitives.
He would carefully examine all the exiles, observing their facial features, words, deeds and character. Only if he felt that these people were of no problem would he take care of them.
It was unknown what crime this family had committed to be exiled to their village, but they were definitely not extremely evil people, otherwise the court would not have given them freedom.
And the way this family speaks and behaves shows that they are not ordinary people.
Especially this girl, who was willing to suffer exile with her family, her character is beyond reproach.
"What did Mr. Lin say?" Muramasa looked at Lin Fu.
"To be honest with Muramasa, the money for building the house is paid by my daughter. She has full authority over the matter. We can build it however she wants."
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