Chapter 119 The Original Owner's Property
Yuan Hongqu first inspected the shop. Although there were no collapsed houses on this street, her shop was uninhabited, and the things inside were deteriorating faster than in other more populated places.
She looked around and found that there was nothing wrong with the shop, but the snow in the courtyard was quite thick, and it would probably take a lot of effort to clean it.
Yuan Hongqu went to the storeroom in the backyard. The storeroom was not large. She took out one-third of the rice, flour and other grains from the basement of her space and filled the storeroom.
Recently, a large area was cleared out in the original Red Lotus Space. She only grows grains, and with the growth rate of ordinary crops in the space, these grains can grow and mature continuously as long as she has the energy to go in and harvest them.
She only did some initial processing of the harvested grain, and now she has moved it to the shop in front of the store.
As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. She stored grain in the manor, the Lin family also had grain, and now this small shop is also filled with grain.
If she were alone, she would come and go without any worries, but she is not alone now. She has Daiyu and so many other members of the Lin family!
If they really reach the point of desperation and can't leave the city, Yuan Hongqu certainly can't magically conjure up food.
Then the grain in this shop can be taken out openly and legitimately.
If this snow never stops, these things will come in very handy!
No one can guarantee that this isn't a mini ice age...
After Yuan Hongqu had placed the grains away, she checked them over and over again before locking the doors and windows.
The shopkeeper next door had already cleared the road with his two sons, but the snow was falling too fast, and the ground that had just been cleared was now covered with a thick layer of snow again.
When the shopkeeper saw Yuan Hongqu come out, he also walked out of the shop with his hands in his sleeves.
"Former owner, are you here to check out the shop and prepare for opening?"
Many officials and wealthy families had their own compradors, who were tasked with keeping an eye on the shops next door. If a shop opened for business, they were to be notified immediately, as this information was always beneficial.
Since it was rare to see the shop owner come over, the shopkeeper naturally wanted to find out more information.
"We're not open for business, and there's not much produce from the land, so I came to check if the shop had been crushed by the university."
"Absolutely not. Although our street is not as big as Ningrong Street next door, it was built with good materials. Besides, your shop was renovated a few years ago. The original owner invested a lot! You won't lose out at all if you buy it." The shopkeeper was born and raised on this street. He knew the things on this street better than anyone else.
"Manager Fang, I would appreciate it if you could look after my little shop. If anything happens, please go to the Rongguo Mansion on Ningrong Street next door and pass on a message to Master Lian. Thank you for your trouble."
"Hehe, of course. They say a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative, and we're neighbors, aren't we?" The shopkeeper's face crinkled with laughter. The original owner really was from the Rongguo Mansion. With such a powerful backer, no wonder he didn't care about the shop's business!
"Manager Fang, do you still have any of those coarse cloth bags and hemp ropes in stock?"
"Yes, yes, we have everything in the shop, except for food!" Manager Fang said solicitously. Manager Wu had bought cloth bags and hemp ropes from his shop many times before to use on the estate.
"Okay, then bring out all the warehouse space you have."
"Alright!" He didn't care what the original owner wanted so many bags and ropes for; once something was sold, it was never returned!
He really deserves to be rich; in this awful weather, he managed to make such a big deal!
The shopkeeper cheerfully carried out the cloth bags and hemp ropes from the warehouse, and the streets of the inner city were barely passable.
Yuan Hongqu paid them money and had them delivered to a small courtyard near the Lin family's residence.
In addition, Yuan Hongqu also selected a lot of things in the shop and asked them to be delivered there as well.
The cart was completely full of these items. The shopkeeper felt that once this deal was done, he wouldn't have to worry even if he didn't open for business for the next month.
Yuan Hongqu bought these cloth bags mainly to empty the bags of rice and flour from the space inside.
The small courtyard near the Lin family's house belonged to the original owner.
While examining the items left behind by the original owner, Yuan Hongqu discovered a house deed from the capital city, with Yuan Hongqu listed as the homeowner.
She found it very strange that the original owner of this body had never been to the capital, so how could she have such a property?
After arriving in the capital, she visited the Lin family several times, passing by that courtyard each time, but she didn't know it was the original owner's property.
It wasn't until she accidentally saw the property deed again that she realized the house was near the Lin family's place.
Yuan Hongqu then had an idea. They would definitely have to go back to live at the Lin family's place. The small courtyard was not far from the Lin family's place and was inconspicuous. It seemed that having this place would make it easier for her to do a lot of things!
She pretended to be innocent and went to the government office to check that the house deed was genuine.
Yuan Hongqu went to check on the house, where there were only two old servants looking after it.
Only then did she realize that this courtyard was actually her dowry left to her by her mother.
The original owner's mother was from the capital and was the legitimate daughter of a wealthy family.
It seems that their family has a tradition of beautiful women dying young. The original owner's maternal grandmother also passed away not long after giving birth to a daughter. After that, the original owner's maternal grandfather remarried and then paid even less attention to the original owner's mother.
That's why the original owner's mother married her father, who was just a minor official.
This courtyard was her only dowry.
Now, the original owner's maternal grandfather and his family have been away from the capital for many years, and they would not remember that they had a daughter who died long ago.
This courtyard was rented out in earlier years. The rent money, apart from what they needed for their own living expenses, was sent to the original owner. In recent years, for some unknown reason, the house has become unrentable.
They barely have enough to eat.
With no other option, they cultivated some land in the yard and planted some grains and vegetables to barely make ends meet.
Yuan Hongqu first made up for the two men's wages over the years, and then asked them to find someone to repair the house.
This is a small courtyard house, with a total area roughly the same size as Rongyue Courtyard.
After the house was repaired, the old servant came to resign. For so many years, the two of them had been guarding this place. Now, Yuan Hongqu had given them a large sum of money, and the two of them wanted to go back to their hometown and find a quiet place to retire.
Hongqu will not be living in this courtyard at the moment; it's just a backup place. It's more convenient for her to do things if no one is around.
Just like now, the shopkeeper unloaded the things and left. Yuan Hongqu felt that this empty house was an extension of her space.
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