During the first month of the lunar calendar, Li Guang took Meng Yaoyao and Li Nan to explore every street and alley in the capital until the end of the month.
By February, the festive atmosphere in the capital was fading, and Li Guang began to consider returning to Shuixian Village.
Just then, Li Xue arrived at the Marquis's mansion and asked Li Guang when he would return to Narcissus Village.
After discussing it, the group decided to leave Beijing in two days.
Next, they carefully selected and purchased some goods in the capital to bring back.
After doing all this, Li Guang took Meng Yaoyao and Li Nan to the palace to bid farewell to the emperor.
In Shuixian Village, Zhao Xian worked for more than a month and finally completed the finishing touches on the workshop and the dock. Even the cargo transport line and crane equipment on the dock were all installed.
After completing these tasks, the next step is to begin production.
To date, the third phase of the farmers' market project has been completed, and all buildings have been handed over for use. The owners have begun to renovate the shops, inns, and restaurants, striving to open for business as soon as possible.
Moreover, all the residential houses built as part of the third phase of the project have been delivered, and the homeowners are decorating their houses, eager to move in as soon as possible.
Homebuyers who come to Shuixian Village, regardless of where they come from, have become villagers of Shuixian Village.
Just as people were busy, two luxurious carriages arrived at Narcissus Village. An official got off one carriage, and several attendants got off the other.
The official was carefully examining Zhao Xian's old house, nodding repeatedly.
At this moment, Zhao Xian was discussing the production of the new workshop with Qin Waiyuan indoors when a servant came to report that an official from the capital had arrived and wanted to pay his respects to Marquis Zhengyang.
Zhao Xian was stunned. What did this official from the capital want with him? Did Li Guang send him? And if so, what was the purpose?
Zhao Xian dared not delay and hurriedly went out to greet him.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the official, accompanied by several attendants, inspecting his old house and discussing something.
Upon seeing Zhao Xian emerge from the house, the official immediately stepped forward and bowed to him.
"Greetings, Marquis Zhengyang. I am Luo Kuang, Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Workshops of the Ministry of Revenue. I have come to Shuixian Village on the orders of the Minister to build a marquisate for Marquis Zhengyang."
"So it's Junior Supervisor Luo. Please come in and have a seat," Zhao Xian said.
Luo Kuang nodded and followed Zhao Xian into the house, while several attendants were still outside inspecting the old house.
Zhao Xian knew that the Junior Supervisor of Works was a fourth-rank official in the imperial court. This rank of official was nothing special in the capital, but in the provinces, he was definitely a high-ranking official.
After we were seated, someone brought us tea.
At this moment, Zhao Xian was still confused. He didn't understand what Luo Kuang meant by building a marquis's mansion.
After taking a few sips of tea, Luo Kuang spoke:
"Lord Zhengyang, His Majesty was deeply moved to hear that you are still living in the old house left by your ancestors in Narcissus Village."
"We plan to build a mansion in Narcissus Village according to the standards of a marquis, as a reward for Marquis Zhengyang."
Zhao Xian finally understood that the emperor had already bestowed upon him a house in the capital, and was going to build him another mansion in Narcissus Village.
This must have been something Li Xue asked for when she met the emperor, which is why the emperor agreed to build her a luxurious mansion in Narcissus Village.
Li Guang and Li Xue, one seeking a title and the other a residence, it's unknown what the emperor thought of them.
Zhao Xian had long wanted to build a new house, but he was afraid of what others would say if it was built too well, so he hadn't made up his mind yet.
Now that's good, the emperor is going to build himself a mansion in Narcissus Village. The standard won't be too low, so he doesn't have to worry about what others say.
Next, Luo Kuang and Zhao Xian discussed whether to demolish and rebuild the old house or choose a plot of land to build a new residence.
Zhao Xian still has some affection for the old house and wants to preserve it. He has decided to buy a plot of land next to the old house to build a new residence.
After the matter was settled, Zhao Xian decided to buy a plot of land near the old house to build a marquis's mansion.
The new house occupies a large area, which means we need to buy the land from several nearby houses.
It seems the only solution is to go to the village head and ask him for help. This involves some issues related to demolition compensation, which the village head is best at.
Zhao Xian arranged for someone to go to Wang Lizheng's house and invite him over to discuss the purchase of the homestead. Soon after, the village head arrived.
“Uncle Village Head, this is Luo Shaojian, the Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue of the Imperial Court,” Zhao Xian said.
This was a high-ranking official of the imperial court, so Wang Lizheng dared not be negligent and quickly bowed in respect.
"The village head of Shuixian Village greets Your Excellency, Junior Supervisor."
"Village head, there's no need for such formalities. I've come to Shuixian Village today to build a marquis's mansion as a reward to Marquis Zhengyang, in accordance with the Emperor's decree."
According to the regulations of the imperial court, the area of a marquis's mansion should not be less than 20 mu. However, the Marquis of Zhengyang did not want to build away from his old residence, which involved the issue of demolition.
The reason we've invited the village head is to ask for your help in setting aside land for the construction of the Marquis's mansion.
Luo Kuang's words not only surprised the village head, but also left Zhao Xian stunned.
What does twenty acres mean? That's an enormous area, more than 13,000 square meters. The Marquis's mansion is huge.
This involves a person's perception. In ancient times, a marquis's mansion covering 20 mu was not considered large. Under normal circumstances, a marquis's mansion covering 50 or 60 mu was the most common, and it was not uncommon for it to cover more than 100 mu.
In Shuixian Village, the villagers' houses are relatively close together. If you want to get 20 mu of land next to your old house, you would have to relocate at least 40 or 50 households.
Zhao Xian originally thought that demolishing four or five households would be enough, but he didn't expect that so many houses would have to be demolished.
Although the villagers will cooperate with the relocation and move to other places, the impact of doing so will definitely be negative.
Before the village head could say anything, Zhao Xian spoke up:
"Junior Supervisor Luo, I never imagined that the Marquis's mansion would be so large. How many houses would have to be demolished?"
How about this: we'll allocate a plot of land in the southeast corner of the village to build the Marquis's mansion. That way, the new mansion won't be too far from the old house, and it won't involve too many households being relocated.
Zhao Xian's words relieved the village head. If forty or fifty households were to be demolished at once, the project would be too large and the impact would be negative.
Upon hearing this, Luo Kuang nodded and said, "Since Marquis Zhengyang is unwilling to disturb the villagers too much, then let's go and take a look at the southeast side of the village."
The three of them then got up and went outside. Several of Luo Kuang's followers were still inspecting Zhao Xian's old house.
"Take your surveying tools and go to the southeast of the village to survey the land," Luo Kuang said.
"Yes, Lord Luo, we'll be right there."
The group soon arrived at the southeast side of the village, where there were both farmland and wasteland. It was not difficult to measure out twenty acres of land to build the Marquis's mansion.
The village head looked around and found that there were only two or three households and only a few acres of farmland involved, which was easy to resolve.
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