The main house is a very standard three-entry courtyard.

The main door opens in the southeast direction of the house. A small house to the east of the door is the porter's house, and the row of houses to the west of the door is a reverse room. This place is usually used as a guest room or as a residence for ordinary domestic servants.

After Pei Yue and others entered the door, they saw a screen wall embossed with a sunrise pattern. Passing through the screen door to the left, the first thing that caught the eye was a flat open space. To the north were left and right corridors and a hanging flower door in the center. This is the front door.

hospital.

After passing the hanging flower gate, there is a large atrium with several sycamore trees planted.

There are a row of side rooms on the left and right sides of the atrium.

After passing through the atrium, we came to the main hall of the house, which has five rooms in total, with wing rooms on both sides. This is where the main family receives guests. Pei Yue and Taohua didn't understand the building regulations, so they just looked at them along the way.

It was lively. But Mr. Xi was different. He found that the specifications of this house were higher than usual. For example, there were generally only three main rooms in the third courtyard, but here there were two more.

The area from the hanging flower gate to the main hall is the inner courtyard of the house.

Beyond the main hall is the backyard, which is the private room of the owner and the bedrooms of the family members. Outsiders are not allowed to enter, and even domestic servants are only allowed to enter the maids.

In addition, rooms such as utility rooms and kitchens will not be described in detail.

The furnishings and furniture in each room are all brand new, which saves Pei Yue a lot of time and money. It must be that Pei Taijun made the arrangements in advance.

After walking around in a circle, the three of them came to the main hall. Pei Yue said to Mr. Xi, "Sir, please take a seat."

Mr. Xi smiled slightly and said: "Brother Yue, you don't have to be polite. The old lady just asked me to come and take care of the home, not to find a mean and vicious old disgusting thing to take care of you."

He speaks in a funny manner, has a calm demeanor, and has no offensive arrogance at all.

Taohua Xu was mentally tortured by Aunt Liu. Seeing that Pei Taijun sent another middle-aged man, she was a little nervous along the way, fearing that the wolf would be rejected through the front door and the tiger would come in through the back door. At this moment, listening to what Mr. Xi said, she realized that this man was not that man.

The kind man quickly poured two cups of tea from the teapot prepared on the table and brought them to Mr. Xi first.

Looking at the little maid with a flattering smile on her face, Mr. Xi nodded approvingly and gave her a thumbs up before taking the teacup.

Pei Yue looked at this scene and his heart moved slightly. Although he knew that Mr. Xi must have real abilities, he had been a little indifferent since he left the house. The reason is that people with greater abilities often have bigger tempers. He himself

He is just a thirteen-year-old child, and if he does not grasp the right balance, it will inevitably make Mr. Xi feel contemptuous.

In any case, he didn't want to find an ancestor to support him after leaving the house.

At this time, he finally relaxed a little and asked: "Mr. Xi, where are you staying? How is the backyard?"

Mr. Xi shook his head with a smile, his eyes were deep as if he could see through people's hearts, and he said straightforwardly: "Brother Yue, don't worry that I will get in the way here. The old lady asked me to live here for three years, and I will be able to stay within three years."

You are safe and sound. Apart from your safety, I will not interfere with anything else. As for your accommodation, you can just find a room in the wing on the left."

Speaking of this, Pei Yue could no longer test him and nodded: "That's fine. I thank you for your kindness."

Mr. Xi raised his hand to stop it and said calmly: "If nothing happened, why bother saying thank you? On the contrary, I am spending money and food here. Brother Yue, please don't be angry."

Pei Yue laughed when he heard this, and was about to ask something about martial arts when he saw Cheng Guang, the head of the village, walking in. His face was covered with sweat, and he said with a flattering smile: "Young master, there is no animal stable in the house. I will take your horse."

The foal is placed in a vacant room on the right side of the house, and everything has been tidied up inside."

"Thank you for your work. Does Manager Cheng have anything else to do?" Pei Yue said with a soft face.

Cheng Guang took a step forward and said: "Master, you are the master of Green Willow Manor now. How can you do it with only one maid by your side? I chose some people in the manor, all of them are honest and hard-working, and there are four personal maids in total.

The maids, six cleaning maids, eight rough ladies, two cooks, four personal servants, and four elders. When they heard that they could come to work with the young master, no one was unhappy, and they all

It’s a son born in our Duke’s family, so he doesn’t even need to sign the birth deed…”

Pei Yue was noncommittal, pointed to the last chair on the right and said, "If you're interested, sit down first."

Cheng Guang was overjoyed, but he didn't dare to be presumptuous, so he sat down with his buttocks half pressed against him.

Pei Yue said calmly: "We will talk about it later. I would like to ask Manager Cheng about the specific situation on Zhuangzi first."

Cheng Guang's heart trembled, and he asked cautiously: "I don't dare, I wonder what the young master wants to know?"

Pei Yue asked: "How has the harvest been in Zhuangzi in recent years? How much grain should be paid to Duzhong in a year?"

Mr. Xi watched quietly, a little surprised in his heart. The question this young man asked was very important.

Cheng Guang hesitated a little and said after careful consideration: "Back to the young master, there is no fixed amount for the amount of food and grain to be handed over to the capital. The old lady and the old lady are kind and generous to our family's children, so it is probably based on the annual harvest. For example

In the past two years, the harvest in the fields was not good, so not much was turned over. Taking last year as an example, when the accounts were closed at the end of the year, Zhuangzi turned over six hundred and twenty taels of silver to Du Zhongyi."

Pei Yue's eyes narrowed and he asked strangely: "So few?"

A trace of contempt flashed in Cheng Guang's eyes, and he said with difficulty: "Young Master, the rent charged by our family is based on 15%, which is less than other families. This is just because all the people in this village have children, so the owner of the family shows pity.

, As for those who are not particular about family backgrounds, 20% to 30% are common, and even 50% are common! I can guarantee that no one among these farmers dares to cheat, and they are all very honest."

Pei Yue nodded his head and asked calmly: "Excuse me, Manager Cheng, how much grain does one acre of land on the farm produce each year in a normal year?"

Cheng Guang replied: "Our family has good paddy fields. As long as God does not cause disaster, we can produce more than three shi of grain per mu of land in a year."

Pei Yue asked again: "So based on current market prices, how much can one stone of grain be sold for?"

Cheng Guang gradually realized something was wrong and said hesitantly: "One tael of silver."

Pei Yue chuckled, looking directly at Cheng Guang with lightning eyes, and his tone became colder: "Manager Cheng, although I am young, I know how to count. There are three thousand acres of fertile land on this village, and the annual grain output is at least nine thousand shi.

It's nine thousand taels of silver. Even if you go by the 15% ratio you mentioned, you have to turn in at least 1,350 taels every year, but you told me that you only turned in 620 taels!"

Cheng Guang quickly argued: "Master, the weather has been bad these past few years..."

Pei Yue said angrily: "You still dare to quibble? Do you really think that I am an ignorant child and let you deceive me? The capital has been going well for more than ten years, and the high officials in the court have said so. How can you say that you are only twenty miles away?"

Is it possible that things have changed in Green Willow Village? I heard that you have been here as the head of the village for five years and have embezzled at least three thousand taels of silver. I will report this matter to the old lady. How do you want to die? "

Cheng Guang instantly slipped from his chair and fell to the ground.

Pei Yue took two steps forward, kicked him on the shoulder, and shouted: "Answer!"

Cheng Guang was so frightened that he couldn't take any chances if he knew who the young man in front of him had been fighting against these days.

I couldn't help but find an excuse and run away a long time ago.

Seeing his cowardly look, Pei Yue turned around, sat back down, and said to Taohua, "Pour him a cup of tea."

Taohua was a little confused, but she still followed the instructions, but Cheng Guang could no longer stand up, so Taohua had to put the tea in his hand.

Looking at Cheng Guang who was trembling slightly, Pei Yue said coldly: "I'll give you two choices."

Cheng Guang suddenly perked up and looked at Pei Yue expectantly.

"First, I will inform the old lady about this and ask her to send an accountant to check the accounts, so that you will not say that I have wronged you. After the audit, if you are not greedy for money, then continue to be your bank head. If you are found guilty

, then he will be punished according to family rules, whether he is alive or dead, you and I will not be able to decide when the time comes."

"The younger one chooses the second option and begs the young master to give him a way to survive. The younger one is blind and cannot see that the young master's discernment is as sharp as lightning. Please spare the young master's life!"

"Shut up! Second, spit out the money you have been greedy for these years, write down the origin of each money clearly, deliver it here tomorrow morning, and then take your family back to Kyoto. As for how to explain to the master after you return.

, then it depends on your ability. As long as you don’t appear in front of me in the future, this matter will be over, do you understand? "

Although Cheng Guang was extremely reluctant to let go, how could he dare to confront Pei Yue? After all, this young man was now the head of the family in name. It would be okay even if someone dragged him down and beat him to death, not to mention that he always hung up the old lady.

On the side of the mouth.

After hesitating for a moment, he had to bow his head resignedly and said: "I understand, young master. Thank you for your grace."

Pei Yue sneered: "Of course, you can also run away with your family and money overnight. If you can escape, you will be lucky."

Cheng Guang quickly shook his head and said, "I don't dare."

He is not crazy yet, and it would be painful to hand over the money, but if he becomes a runaway slave, and with the Pei family's position in the Liang Army, he can casually say hello to a certain general, and his family will be lucky if they can find the whole body.

Pei Yue's face became calmer, he just stared at him and said, "I poured you tea, why don't you drink it? Look down on me?"

"Thank you, Master, for the tea!"

Cheng Guang quickly picked up the tea cup and drank it in one gulp.

However, this was hot tea that he ordered someone to prepare in a hurry. It was so hot that he vomited it out on the spot, and the pain in his mouth was unbearable.

Pei Yue waved his hand and said, "That's all, go down."

Cheng Guangqiang stood up, covered his mouth and said vaguely: "Yes, young master."

A group of servants were standing in the atrium outside the door in nervous anticipation. However, before the good news came, they saw Zhuangtou, who was very frightened by them, walking out half-heartedly, covering his mouth and taking small steps, with a look of fear on his face, as if

It felt like there was a ghost in the main hall.

Not long after, Pei Yue walked out of the hall, glanced at the group of people, and said with a smile: "You can come here if you are interested, but you should go back today."

Everyone looked confused immediately, and started talking in low voices, somewhat dishonestly.

Pei Yue looked at the back of the team. There were two obviously silent teenagers, about fourteen or fifteen years old, and asked with a smile: "What are your names?"

The older of the two replied: "Master, the younger one's name is Wang Yong. Next to him is my younger brother, his name is Wang Ming."

Pei Yue nodded and asked, "I have something to trouble you."

Wang Yong was an honest man, so he raised his hands a little awkwardly and said, "Please give me your instructions, young master."

Pei Yue smiled and said: "After you go back, you go and inform every household in Zhuangzi one by one, saying that I will tell you something in the open space in front of you tomorrow morning at the beginning of the morning. At least one person from each household must come, and he must be an adult.

Can this be done?"

Wang Yong nodded quickly and said: "Young man can definitely do it."

Pei Yue said to everyone: "Please come back, everyone. I will explain your specific arrangements together tomorrow."

Although everyone was puzzled, no one dared to chase Pei Yue to ask him clearly, so they had to turn around and leave.

After they left, Pei Yue returned to the main hall, sighed and said, "Taohua, you go make lunch first, I have to deal with something."

Whether he overturned Cheng Guang with a few words or asked those people to leave with confidence, Mr. Xi was always silent, but there was curiosity in his eyes and he did not hide it. It was obvious that the thirteen-year-old boy in front of him was...

He was a little more mature than he expected.

Pei Yue didn't care about this. He didn't care much about Zhuangzi's affairs now, because these matters were not difficult to solve. What troubled him was how to reply to the literary girl from Daliang.

No reply?
Chapter completed!