Zhuangzi in Jiangjun Mountain is close to the river, and the two boats quickly passed through the connected river and entered Zhuangzi's territory.
Zhuangzi's owner, Ji Laozhuang, might have been warned by Mu Yan's people, so he brought Zhuangzi's servants and his family over to greet him.
After the two sides greeted each other, Huo Xi asked the servants and clerks in the village to help move the cane sugar to the warehouse.
There were oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages in the village, and there were about a dozen young men. After half an hour of moving, all the things they brought were unloaded into the warehouse.
He left his own boat at Zhuangzi Pier, and Guang Fengshui's boat took it back, and asked the clerk to bring a message to Shopkeeper Shen to report that it was safe.
The family then walked to Zhuangzi's main courtyard.
Huo Nian looked around as he walked, and the two grandsons of Ji Laozhuang also looked at Huo Nian, who was about the same age as them.
Huo Xi took a look and said to Ji Laozhuang: "I think your two grandsons are quite clever. Let them lead my brother to walk around the village. Children can't sit still."
When Ji Laozhuang heard this, he turned to look at his two grandsons and called to them: "Let's go play with the nobles, but be careful not to go to the river. Just play in the village."
"I understand, Grandpa."
Huo Nian was a little excited. He glanced at Huo Xi and saw that his parents did not object and ran away with the two children.
Yang was a little worried and followed her with her eyes.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of Ji Laozhuang said to Mr. Yang: "Don't worry, noble sir. It'll be alright. Apart from us, there are only some long-term workers living in our village. It's surrounded by two villages, and the villagers are easy to get along with. There are a few children. If you just play in the village, nothing will happen."
Mrs. Yang felt relieved and talked to her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
A group of people walked towards Zhuangzi's main courtyard.
The main courtyard is well built, with many buildings and a garden. The hall is large and the furnishings in the room are simple. Huo Xi likes it very much.
Ji Laozhuang ordered tea to be served, and the family stood listening to Huo Xi's instructions.
Yang then asked them to sit down, but the Ji Laozhuang family did not dare to sit down.
"Sit down, we are not noble people. We are just helping your master take care of things when he is inconvenienced." Huo Xi saw that Yang and Huo Erhuai were uncomfortable, so she said something to Ji Laozhuang.
"Don't you dare, don't you dare, the master has sent someone to tell us, let us regard you as the master of Zhuangzi and treat you equally with him. We dare not look down upon you."
"Sit down, I don't have any rules, and my family members are all friendly, so we can just get things done together. If you do this, my parents will feel uncomfortable."
Only then did Ji Laozhuang sit down with his family.
Yang and Huo Erhuai breathed a sigh of relief. The other party was a servant of the Gaomen family. People said that he was a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door. If someone stood in front of him, he could not sit still and felt uncomfortable all over.
When Mrs. Yang saw them sitting down, she started talking to them: "My family also has some scattered pieces of land in Jiangjun Mountain, and I come here every year to collect rent. It's not easy to buy in Zhuangzi here. ."
Ji Laozhuang said with a smile: "Yes, it's not easy to buy. Jiangjun Mountain is the ancestral cemetery of some nobles in Beijing, and the nearby Zhuangzi also belongs to these noble families. When they come to worship their ancestors during the Qingming Festival and Winter Solstice, they will come to stay in the Zhuangzi. A few days.”
Huo Xi's heart skipped a beat, all the nobles here have Zhuangzi, and the man named Mu gave this Zhuangzi to him? Not afraid of being caught? How can this be called concealment?
Ji Laozhuang glanced at her, then smiled and said: "Don't worry, noble man. There are many villages in the east, but our village is small and in the west, so it doesn't attract anyone's attention. Moreover, this area is full of cemeteries. In addition to paying homage to ancestors and sweeping their tombs, we usually don't pay attention to them." Who comes here to Zhuangzi to relax? The hot spring town to the east of the capital is where noble people often go to have fun. Except for the gravekeepers, there are usually no people here. "
Huo Xi and Yang Fu looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang and Huo Erhuai have long wanted to have such a village where they could farm, raise chickens and ducks, and chat with the villagers in their free time. Although it is not their own village now, they are down to earth and very happy.
Without saying a few words, Yang took Ji Laozhuang's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to go shopping outside. Huo Erhuai was also led by Ji Laozhuang's son.
Only Ji Laozhuang, Huo Xi and Yang Fu were left in the hall.
"Ms. Huo, my mistress said that you are my master. If you have anything to do, just give me your orders. My whole family will be at your disposal."
Huo Xi nodded: "Help me find someone to build a big shed. It doesn't require bricks and stones. It can be built in half with wood and yellow mud, and the top is made of holes. It must be ventilated in the front, back, left, and right, and it must be strong on the top.
Find people to build ten large stoves, and ask the tenants to fetch some rough firewood, and we will buy more from them. Buy more."
Ji Laozhuang listened and took notes, wondering in his mind, was he going to make tea or cook something?
But he also knew the rules and didn't ask too many questions.
After Huo Xi gave his instructions, he let him go down.
"Uncle, you have a day's rest in the village today, and tomorrow you and dad will bring back the ten-cup iron pot we ordered."
Yang Fu nodded in agreement: "Xi'er, are those the only things we brought today?"
"It should be enough. In the evening, when we are the only family left in the main courtyard, we can try it secretly."
"good."
After explaining, Huo Xi and Yang Fu also went to the village for a walk.
Zhuangzi has more than 300 acres, all of which are planted with rice, and some mulberry trees are also planted on the slopes and mountains. Zhuangzi has three servants, plus the little ones who have not yet recorded their records, there should be twenty or thirty people, and there are about ten young and strong people.
Ji Laozhuang wanted to find people to build mud sheds and build stoves, but they could only find people from tenant farmers or nearby villages.
The two of them walked in the village and saw that the servants, including the children, were in good spirits. Huo Xi felt that Mu Yan should be a good master who was not harsh.
There were children secretly looking at her and Yang Fu along the way, and Huo Xi smiled at them. Maybe they saw that they were quite friendly, so a few children followed them closely, and Huo Xi rushed to answer whatever he wanted to ask.
It made her understand a lot.
Walking all the way to the rice fields, Huo Xi and Yang Fu couldn't help but laugh when they saw her father following him to the fields with great interest.
After walking a few steps further, I saw her mother chatting with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from Ji Laozhuang. There were many women around, sitting on the ground under a big tree. Her mother laughed twice from time to time.
I'm usually very happy to see my parents on the boat, but I didn't expect them to be so happy in the village.
"Uncle, let's make more money this year and buy a village for my parents. If we throw the money at it, we'll be able to get one."
Yang Fu saw her sister chatting happily with the woman, and her eyes were a little sour. If it weren't for him, why would his sister and brother-in-law have to live on the water. He nodded: "Well, let's make more money this year!"
The two of them walked away and arrived at a stream in Zhuangzi. Before they got close, they heard Huo Nian's gurgling laughter.
When I got closer, I saw a dozen children fishing for loaches and fish in a shallow ditch.
"I'm good at drinking water, I can teach you." I heard Huo Nian's slightly proud voice.
"real?"
"Yeah. Once I ask my sister and parents, let's find a place that's not too deep and I'll teach you."
"Okay. Go up and there is a place. It's not deep. It's only up to the waist. No one can be drowned. Let's go there!"
"Let's touch the loach first. After I go back and ask my parents, I will teach you tomorrow."
"Okay... looking for a hole like this, yes, there must be something there if you touch it..."
"What kind of thing?"
Huo Xi stood watching from a distance for a while, and became even more determined that she would earn a lot of money this year, and use the money to create a village for her parents and Nian'er.
It also allows them to have a place to farm, sit under the trees and chat with the villagers, and allow Nian'er to have a happy childhood.