It was also the first time that Fan Jihuai met Heng Wen Zhenren. On the way back, he seemed to be intentionally avoiding the crowd. He had only heard his voice but never seen him. When he saw the young man in front of him again, he was tall and graceful, with an extraordinary demeanor. He exuded the noble air of a young master.
What is the origin of the Qiao family? Why are their sons more outstanding than each other?
The eldest brother is tall and strong, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He moves calmly. When he stands in the crowd, his demeanor is no less than that of his eldest brother.
The second son is a typical scholar, with a touch of unruliness in his elegant temperament. He looks good, but his heart is as black as ink. Sometimes he would rather deal with other people in the Qiao family than face Qiao Yunqing directly. Although this guy speaks slowly, he always makes connections and takes everything into consideration, even his old father treats him with caution.
The third brother was even more exaggerated, he was wearing coarse cloth, but his face was white and tender. With his peach blossom eyes, he could sweep the crowd and make the girls, ladies and wives dizzy with a smile!
The fourth brother in front of me, not only looks good, but also has a bit of nobleness.
Fan Jihuai pondered it for a while, then stopped worrying and rushed towards Laohu Town with Hengwen.
Qiao Xin didn't know that someone had come to pick him up. They rode on a ox cart, carrying weapons, walked out of the city ten miles north, and arrived at their destination.
The road was full of rugged mountains and we were all very nervous, fearing that a wild animal would suddenly appear. Fortunately, we had good luck today and the journey was smooth without any danger.
Qiao Xin, on the other hand, was very relaxed both physically and mentally. She looked around as she walked, and remembered everything that caught her eye in her mind. For people who have lived in the wild for many years, drawing in the brain is an instinct engraved in their genes.
After getting off the official road, we turned into an abandoned dirt road and entered the Laohu Town. Just as Butler Fang said, both sides of the road were wastelands covered with weeds. If it weren't for the flat terrain and obvious signs of human intervention, no one would believe that this place used to be planted with crops.
Fang Ya pointed around and said with some regret: "Here, there, and there, they were all good lands before, but now they are like this. No one wants them even if they are given for free. The court and the government encourage everyone to open up wasteland, but Weizhou Prefecture has only more than 20,000 people at most, and the lands of the government and wealthy families are all in the south and west of the city. Who would spend the energy to come to a place where wild beasts roam? Laohu Town is really deserted!"
Qiao Xin didn't think it was a big problem. As long as the government didn't pursue it, she had plenty of ways to kill those animals that hurt people. What she cared about most was another question, "Is this land really yours now that it's been opened up? It can't be that when you're playing with it so well, another owner suddenly appears?"
Fang Ya nodded affirmatively, "Of course, these lands have been abandoned for 10 to 20 years. It was not until the new dynasty that the government counted them. As long as you open up the land and plant crops yourself, you can report to the government office and register it after verification.
After saying that, he realized, "You don't want to buy a house just to open up wasteland, do you? That's not worth it. What you grow is not enough to feed the animals in the mountains. It's better to buy a house in the city and buy good farmland in the east and south of the city. The best farmland there is also cheap, only ten taels of silver per mu.
Qiao Xin spread her hands and said, "If I had money, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble!"
Fang Ya suddenly realized that he was so scared that he was confused. If he could really afford to buy good land, he would never take the risk to come here and try his luck.
A group of people got off the car at the stone bridge at the entrance of Laohu Town. At noon, there was no smoke from cooking. Qiao Xin couldn't help but wonder, is this really not a deserted village or a wild inn?
Fang Ya, who was accompanying him, smiled bitterly and said, "Of course not. It is normal for poor families to eat one meal a day. Everyone should have just had breakfast by now!"
The original owner had also experienced such hard days. That was the part of the memory that Qiao Xin was most unwilling to accept. That was not how a human being should live. One meal a day was enough to just stay alive and breathe.
Fang Ya was very perceptive. He saw Qiao Xin's hesitation and suggested, "How about we go back to the city and look at other places?"
Qiao Xin was not willing to give up: "Since I'm here, it would be a pity if I don't take a look."
The group crossed a stone bridge and came to the town. Fang Ya pointed to a large house beside the bridge and said, "Let's take a look at this first. This is the manor built by the former military minister. It has more than a dozen rooms. Although it is a bit run-down, the materials used at that time were all good.
This house has changed owners several times, and now it is in the hands of Mr. Zhou's son. His family lives in the city, and the expenses are high. His children are not ambitious. They originally planned to treat this house as their ancestral inheritance, but seeing it deteriorate day by day, they had no choice but to ask me to sell it. "
Qiao Xin touched the outer wall and saw that it was made of stone strips cast in cement. The foundation was half a meter wide and the wall was two meters high. The material was indeed solid.
The yard is over 200 square meters, covered with withered grass and broken spider webs everywhere. The house is a two-story building with 15 or 16 rooms. Except for the four walls, there is not a single mouse in each room. The doors and windows are damaged to varying degrees! If I really move in, I think it will require a major renovation!
Qiao Xin carefully checked the layout of each room. She had a rough idea in her mind. There was no problem with the main structure. The walls were solid and the beams were made of good materials. It was just that it had fallen into disrepair and no one had maintained it. It looked shabby, but these were not problems in Qiao Xin's eyes.
What satisfied her most was that several rooms in the second courtyard were equipped with earthen kangs, which could be lived in directly after cleaning.
Weizhou Prefecture itself is a little bit south, but it is very cold in winter. Only wealthy families are willing to spend money to build a kang. Now it is really a bargain for Qiao Xin's family.
"That's it!"
After some bargaining with Fang Ya, he promised to give him an extra five taels of silver as a commission, and finally the deal was closed at a price of one hundred and fifty taels.
Since they had decided to settle down here, they had to visit their neighbors first, especially the village chief and the head of the village. Led by the agent, the group soon arrived in front of a house that was comparable to Qiao Xin's.
Qiao Xin asked in confusion: "Aren't they all hunters who have nowhere else to go? Why is the village chief living so well?"
The dealer explained, "It's rented. We just need to give the owner a few hides every year! If no one lives in the house, it will be unsightly in one or two years. It's better to rent it to these hunters. First, they can help with maintenance, and second, we can get some hides. It's not a loss! Of course, if they pay as much as you do, they will be willing to sell it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
No comments yet.