Madam Meng told Mo Qianshang everything she had heard: "This house wasn't in a hurry to be sold, but the economy is bad these days. He can't close his pawnshop, and he wants to do something else to support his family, but houses aren't easy to sell these days, so it's stuck in his hands."
“Someone said they wanted to buy it a few days ago, but then changed their mind at the last minute. He complained to me a bit while he was selling pastries. Sister Mo, if you want to buy a house, why don’t you go take a look?”
"What a coincidence." Mo Qianshang thought it was worth asking, since the pawnshop was located in this county town, so it was possible to know its background.
If it's suitable, then it's really unexpectedly smooth. After all, this county town is so small, and in this era, many people live in one house for several generations. Buying a suitable house in such a county town is not something that can be done overnight.
"You know, even though I've never been there, I know the area where his family lives. It's very nice. Although it's quite old, they're a family that values quality. Just look at the facade; it must have been well-built."
"What you say makes sense. Tell me roughly where it is, and I'll go take a look in a bit."
Madam Meng said, "Speaking of which, the location of that house is a bit out of the way. Also, if you want to find someone, you should go to his pawnshop first. There may be no one in the house now, but the pawnshop is always open!"
Mo Qianshang thought it made sense, so she asked Madam Meng for the location of the pawnshop, thanked her, and then led her family out in a grand procession.
The county town wasn't very big. Although the pawnshop was a little far from the pastry shop, it was only a short walk away.
Mo Qianshang entered the pawnshop and saw the man who looked like the shopkeeper behind the counter. She told him why she had come.
When Manager Wu heard that the person wanted to buy his house, he immediately handed the money over to his employees and took them to see it.
Looking at the Wu family's house, you can see an exceptionally tall tree, towering above the yard. It's clearly an old tree, perhaps many years older than the house itself.
The tree is lush and leafy, like a large umbrella covering the courtyard, giving it a sense of historical weight.
Manager Wu led Mo Qianshang and the others into the courtyard, where a sense of openness suddenly appeared.
This is a two-courtyard house. The first courtyard has three main rooms, a storage room, and a kitchen on one side, and an empty room on the other side. There is an outhouse in an inconspicuous place at the back.
Mo Qianshang went into the kitchen and took a look. The kitchen was very large and the stove was well-built. If they really moved in, they would hardly need to touch the kitchen.
She glanced at the dining room, where a large table was placed in the middle, though the area wasn't very big.
This house is different from the courtyard house built by Mo Qianshang. The courtyard is very spacious and has been landscaped. The ground is also paved with stones, which makes people feel very comfortable.
The yard was surrounded by a low fence with flower beds, but all the flowers and plants inside have now been pulled up, leaving only bare soil. But it's easy to imagine that if some seasonal flowers and plants could be planted, it would be a beautiful sight.
When Xiao Yao went to the back, she felt that the backyard was rather empty, and thought that she could plant some fruit trees there.
Mo Qianshang looked around the house. It was indeed a bit old, but there was no damage. It was clear that the people who built the house had put a lot of care into it. The wood was hard and well maintained. The pillars in the house only had some paint peeling off on the surface, and the wood itself was fine.
After looking at the whole house, she was quite satisfied. She asked Qin Baiyi in a low voice, and Qin Baiyi also thought it was good. It was not easy to buy such a well-maintained house in such a small county town.
Mo Qianshang then negotiated with Manager Wu, who offered a price of 350 taels of silver. Mo Qianshang negotiated down to 300 taels and bought the house.
Three hundred taels of silver isn't cheap in this small county town, but the house is indeed well-built and spacious. Although it's not in the most luxurious area, it's surrounded by residential buildings, making it a suitable place to live.
After the two sides reached an agreement, it was time to sign the contract. Mo Qianshang's face had become a familiar face at the yamen. The yamen runners who knew her would smile when they saw her and say that Lady Mo had come again.
The deed transfer at the yamen required some loose change, totaling only about two taels of silver. This time, it didn't bother Clerk Li, and his subordinates handled it for him.
Mo Qianshang came out on her own, while the children stayed at the house with Yao Shi to play. With this trip to the yamen, she gained another house in her assets.
She let out a long sigh: "I still have to go see Chen Jin. Buying a house isn't easy. Anything I'm not satisfied with has to be changed, which costs a lot of money. If possible, I'd rather build a new one myself."
Qin Baiyi didn't go into the yamen just now. Wearing a mask, he was quite conspicuous. When Mo Qianshang took him out on the street, she felt that the number of people turning their heads to look at him was too high. She even began to regret whether she had let him come in and out with her, as it was too ostentatious.
"I really admire you. You just keep wearing a mask like that and being watched by others. Don't you feel uncomfortable?"
Qin Baiyi raised an eyebrow and adjusted his mask: "I had no choice."
"...You wear a mask because you don't want others to remember your face, right? But by wearing a mask like this, doesn't it just let everyone know that there's a masked person living around here?"
Qin Baiyi: "..."
Mo Qianshang suppressed a laugh: "If someone comes looking for you, even if they can't recognize you with a portrait, hearing that there's someone here who always wears a mask might arouse suspicion, right?"
Qin Baiyi had never discussed this issue from this angle before, and after a long pause, he could only dryly say, "But you still can't take it off."
Just like the people in the yamen, Chen Jin smiled as soon as he saw Mo Qianshang: "Lady Mo is here again."
Mo Qianshang smiled helplessly: "Yes, I bought a house in town, but you know what kind of house I like. A lot of the house needs to be renovated. Most importantly, I want to replace the bed with a heated kang bed. I don't want to have a bunch of charcoal braziers piled up in the house in winter."
Chen Jin nodded: "Okay, if you have time now, take me to see it. I'll calculate the materials, and we can make it anytime."
The house will take some time to renovate, so it's impossible to move in immediately. After taking Chen Jin to the house, Mo Qianshang took the children to the academy to meet their teachers.
Mo Qianshang was worried that her three little ones wouldn't be good enough for Mr. Feng, but Mr. Feng had no objections at all. He simply asked a few questions and then took the children to see the dean.
After a whole day, everyone in the family was exhausted, except for Mo Qianshang and Qin Baiyi, who had walked the most, and they looked more energetic.
Back home, the children, instead of resting, became energetic and even grabbed Uncle Wen, who was resting at home, and started telling him how big and nice the house in the county town was.
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