Dong Mu He works

Chapter 142: Turbulence (Part Two)

    

y less energetic than a young man.Gu Huanxi glanced from afar, walked over, and said to Gu Xiaoyu, "At this rate, it won't be long before you can come here to school."Gu Xiaoyu said earnestly, "I will...When Gu Huan started to feel excited, the sun was already high in the sky. Wei Liang had already bought a basket full of food and drinks, everything that Xu Huaiyi requested was there, and even things he hadn't mentioned were included. After completing the task beyond expectations, he even went out of his way to do chores outside the courtyard wall, not showing any laziness whatsoever.

Wei Ci was cooking pork ribs with lotus root in the kitchen. This was Xu Huaiyi's request, and when he went out, he specifically instructed how to cook the dish to make it flavorful and delicious.

Gu Xiaoyu was reading in his room. His desk was by the window, bathed in sunlight. He could take in the view of the courtyard at a glance. There were two tall and lush gingko trees, a cluster of blooming chrysanthemums, a proud plum blossom, and bamboo in the corner that remained green even in late autumn.

All of this brought him a sense of peace and tranquility.

It was a completely unfamiliar place, yet he felt no hint of apprehension or unease at being there. Because they were by his side, even in this strange environment, there was the warmth and comfort of home.

The aroma of braised pork ribs filled the air. The crisp October air seemed to warm up instantly. When he saw the familiar figure, a smile uncontrollably spread across his eyes and eyebrows, "Mother, you and your sister are up"

Gu Huanxi, "…"

Although her son meant nothing by his question, it was purely a greeting, she still felt inexplicably guilty and embarrassed.

Awkwardly smiling, she held her daughter and walked into his room. She looked around, "Are you getting used to living here Did you sleep well last night This is your own house, if you feel something isn't quite right, you can make changes as you see fit. If you need any help, just say so."

Gu Xiaoyu, while playing with her younger sister's hand, replied, "Our son slept very well. The layout of this room is also to his liking and doesn't need to be changed."

"Really"

"Um..."

Seeing his agreeable expression, Gu happily smiled, "As long as you are satisfied. However, I talked to your father, and we decided that it's too cold here in the winter. Heating the house with charcoal braziers is dangerous and not very effective. So, we plan to build a kang (heated bed platform) in the house. Not only will it be comfortable for sleeping, but you can also read and write on it during the day. That would be truly pleasant."

Gu Xiaoyu first nodded eagerly, then her eyes lit up and she asked, "Dad, can you make a fire kang My son heard before that making a fire kang is also an art, a skill."

Gu Huanxi pinched his nose playfully and said, "Don't worry, when the time comes, your dad will definitely teach you."

Gu Xiaoyu instantly remembered the scene where Xu Huaiyi had chased her, teaching her how to wash clothes and cook. The corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily. Following his father's character, there was no way he could escape his skills on a kang bed.

"By the way, where's your father I don't see him."

"Dad went out, saying he was going to the Jingzhao Mansion with the villagers to handle household registration and property transfer. He rushed off in a mule cart, but since there were many people, the procedures might be cumbersome. So he especially told his son to tell you not to worry about him, and don't wait for him to eat."

"Where is Wei Liang"

"No, Wei Liang is working outside."

Gu Huanxi nodded and took his hand out the door, "Come, accompany me for a walk around."

Gu Xiaoyu obediently let her lead him by the hand and they walked around. Seeing that both the front and back yards were clean and tidy, they went out the door and strolled around, looking down from a high vantage point at the lake. Both mother and son couldn't help but stop in their tracks, their eyes filled with admiration.

The lake is beautiful, tranquil and serene. The surrounding scenery is also picturesque, even in its withered state, with the graceful shadows of fallen leaves casting a touch of elegance. The white swans in the lake are even more beautiful, gracefully dancing about, creating a scene so perfect it seems almost unreal.

Gu Huan looked around and estimated that there was plenty of space here to build a gazebo this week. She could even do some landscaping to make it more beautiful. She imagined sitting here reading and drinking tea, she could stay here all day without getting bored.

Wei Liang was weeding nearby and, seeing them, came over to greet them.

Gu Huanxi was delighted to see him and asked, "Is there a suitable place around here to build a workshop"

"Yes, the area outside the west wall of the courtyard can be cleared. If you're worried about noise, it can be a bit further away from the house, maybe ten or so meters. But if you don't mind, it can be built right next to the wall, and then we can open a side door for easy access."

Gu Huaxi thought for a moment, "It's better to build separately. You go and tidy things up first. Wait until your master comes back and see how much land he plans to buy before making further decisions."

Wei Liang should resign.

At noon, Xu Huaiyi didn't come back. Gu Huanxi took the children to eat after finishing their meal and put her daughter to sleep. Then she took out paper and pen to draw the design of the gazebo. She pondered where it should be built to achieve the best view. What shape should the gazebo be What kind of flowers and plants should be planted around it As she pondered and drew, she soon came up with several draft drawings.

Compared to that, planning the tofu workshop was a breeze. She'd seen enough of modern small factory processes to know what worked, so with a few tweaks tailored to their situation, they could just copy the existing model.

But the premise for doing these things is having money.

Gu Huanxi thought about her family's finances and decided to sell the flowers she had made as soon as possible. Otherwise, if she made too much money later on, the source of the funds would be difficult to explain.

After all, in the villagers' eyes, the only thing their family could explain was that one hundred taels of silver. If they saw more than a hundred taels, who knows what kind of plot they would come up with

Actually, the villagers had long suspected their family's wealth and how they acquired it. The main reason was that no one expected Xu Huaiyi to be willing to spend fifty taels of silver to buy a house. Compared to one or two taels, fifty taels was definitely a huge sum.

The key points don't stop there. Besides buying the mansion, Xu Huaiyi also bought ten acres of land surrounding the mansion at a price of one or two silver coins per acre.

That ten acres of land is not suitable for planting crops.

A villager reminded him, so Xu Huaiyi waved his hand again and bought more farmland in the village, still at one or two silver coins per mu. With just a few words, he bought twenty mu of land.

The villagers were stunned. Was this how he spent money

Some people secretly made calculations for Xu Huaiyi, buying houses and land, totaling nearly a hundred taels before and after. After all, it also costs money to go to the government office to handle procedures. He had previously received one hundred taels from those wealthy households, and this wouldn't last even half a day! What about his life afterwards

Who knew, not only did they want to move in, but they had to make it a good move. After finishing all sorts of complicated procedures, Xu Huaiyi asked Hu Yingjie who led them here, where they could buy bluestones. He wanted to build a brick kang in the house so he wouldn't suffer sleeping through the winter.

Not only were the villagers' emotions complex, but even Hu Yingjie, with his usual poker face, seemed to have a hint of emotion in his eyes when he looked at him. How could someone be so capable of causing trouble and still appear like a disaster victim to go”Xu Huaiyi pleaded earnestly, "Indeed, taking the money meant for buying a cow and coming back with just a rabbit—this deal is simply too unbalanced. Wouldn't you feel wronged, sir"Dr. Jiao wor...