After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 396 Let the children join in
Lu Tong slammed his fist on the table excitedly, “Great idea! I heard that the Zhu family sells some of their grain on the ice plains. I didn’t expect you to have a way with them too. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have had to deal with the Zhu family all this time.”

The reason he was willing to associate with Master Zhu was because he was interested in Master Zhu's money-making channels. However, the other party was cunning and had not given in for so long. His patience was almost exhausted. He never expected that he would find what he was looking for so long without any effort.

Shen Yi smiled and said, "If Lord Lu decides, I can personally lead a team to the Ice Plains again."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Shen."

Lu Tong was in a great mood after resolving a worry, and ordered two more main dishes.

After finishing their meal, the two went to the childcare center.

The manager of the business clearly recognized Lu Tong and immediately came over to greet him.

Lu Tong introduced, "This is Lord Shen, the newly appointed county magistrate of Zhaohua County. Bring all the houses in the city that are for sale or rent over here for us to see."

The steward brought over a huge stack of books, which made Shen Yi's head spin. "I only want houses near the county government, preferably spacious three courtyards with a garden, but no ponds."

"Why is that?" Lu Tong asked, puzzled.

A pond in the courtyard is considered auspicious for attracting wealth, and few people would choose a courtyard without one.

Shen Yi smiled wryly and said, "My twins are very resilient. If there were a pond at home, I'm afraid something would happen sooner or later."

The steward quickly said, "Sir, that's easy to do. We can fill in the pond, which will only take a day or two. If you agree, there are a few places you can look at."

After listening to the steward's description, Shen Yi immediately decided to choose a large three-courtyard house, which was right next to the county government office and only a few steps away.

There is indeed a large pond in the garden, but it has been neglected for years. Half of the water has dried up, and the aquatic plants are lush. It will probably take some effort to clean it up.

The county yamen runners volunteered to help Shen Yi, clearing out a huge pile of messy things that were stacked to the side. Judging by the progress, it would take another three or four days to finish.

Shen Yi was busy with county government affairs and couldn't take care of the courtyard, so he had someone send a message to Su Tai, asking her to come and help for a few days.

Su Tai was at home watching the twins write. Shen Yuezhang and Shen Congrong were each holding a book and sitting in the courtyard, reading with great interest. Beside them were a bowl of double-skin milk, a plate of flower cakes, and a pot of tea.

It looks so pleasant.

The twins had to look up at their older siblings every quarter of an hour while writing, feeling quite aggrieved. They secretly glanced at Su Tai, who was sitting calmly and steadily beside them, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Tears streamed down her face silently, and she dared not make a sound.

Shen Congrong caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye, her eyes darting around, and she slowly asked, "Mother, did you pass by Aunt's house on your way to Qiongzi? Isn't the Ice Plains fun?"

Shen Yuezhang put down his teacup and looked at Su Tai with great interest. "I've heard that the icy plains are bitterly cold, and the herders there have no fixed abode. Is that really true?"

"Cough cough cough," Su Tai choked on her saliva and looked at the two children in confusion, "Who told you this?"

The two of them looked towards the workshop.

“It wasn’t just Mr. Chu; even my uncle told us the same thing before. He said that my aunt’s family earned so much money because of our help; not all herders can earn that much money,” Shen Congrong replied seriously.

Su Tai opened her mouth, realizing the terrifying power of preconceived notions, and pondered how to explain it to the two children.

Just then, the wooden stake made a sound.

She hurried over to open the door.

As soon as the constable saw Su Tai, he immediately clasped his hands in a respectful bow. “Madam Shen, Lord Shen has bought a house in the county town. He will be setting off for the Ice Plains in the next few days and will not have time to attend to it. He specially sent me to tell you that he would like you to come to the county town for a few days.”

"Is he going to the ice fields again? Do you know why?"

The constable chuckled and shook his head, "I don't know either." Su Tai thanked the constable and turned to tell the four children to pack their luggage, "We're going to stay in the county for a few days. Take what you need, and don't touch anything you don't need."

Shen Yuezhang was overjoyed, "Mother, you've finally decided to take us out."

Su Tai's lips twitched slightly, and she said with a forced smile, "It's not that I'm willing to take you out, it's that I'm afraid those two troublemakers will really tear the house down if I don't take you!"

Since we're going on a long trip, we definitely need to entrust the livestock at home to them.

Qi Yan and Wei Daya are the most suitable candidates. The two of them are currently helping out at the guokui (a type of flatbread) workshop, and they only need to say a word.

After making arrangements, the family of five boarded a horse-drawn carriage and headed to the county town.

The constables escorted the man to the county government office and personally handed him over to Shen Yi.

Su Tai gratefully gave him one tael of silver, and only after the yamen runner left did she inquire about the situation.

Shen Yi's face darkened as he thought of the courtyard. "Wife, I thought the pond in that courtyard was just a bit abandoned and difficult to clean, so it shouldn't be a big problem. But the more I cleaned it these past two days, the bigger the problem became. The pond stank so badly that I felt like vomiting just looking at it."

The neighbors came to ask, saying that we were piling up manure in our yard! I couldn't explain myself. Lord Lu suggested that I just fill it with soil, but I felt uneasy just thinking about the stench coming from under our house.

I heard that the owner of that house lost money in business and had to sell it. Do you think the house might be unlucky?

Ever since he learned of Su Tai's abilities, he has become a firm believer in supernatural and supernatural phenomena.

Su Tai raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice, "How much silver did you spend to buy it?"

"Three hundred taels."

Su Tai's brows relaxed. "Three hundred taels isn't much, it's acceptable. I'll go over and see what's going on later. The constable said you're going to the Ice Plains?"

Shen Yi nodded. "That's true."

He then told Su Tai the whole story.

Shen Yuezhang and Shen Congrong stared expectantly at Shen Yi from the side, their burning gazes impossible for Shen Yi to ignore.

He sighed inwardly, "So, tell me, what are you planning to do now?"

Shen Yuezhang hurriedly stepped forward to massage Shen Yi's shoulders and back, while Shen Congrong squatted down to massage his legs.

Shen Yi tensed up, as if facing a formidable enemy. "Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. What exactly are you up to?"

The siblings smiled at each other and shouted in their clear voices, "We want to go to the ice field too!"

"No way!" Shen Yi stood up without thinking, shaking his head and waving his hands. "There are plenty of wolves and tigers on the ice plains. Your mother and I were attacked by a leopard. It's too dangerous to take you with me."

"I'm not afraid, I can protect myself." Shen Congrong clenched her fist.

Shen Yi's face darkened. "I said no, and that's final. Dad's going to take care of serious business, not to play around."

Shen Yuezhang was on the verge of tears, which fell like pearls from a broken string.

Shen Yi was both angry and helpless, so he had no choice but to ask Su Tai for help, "Wife, can you tell me why these two children can't understand right from wrong!"

Su Tai chuckled dryly, "Actually, I support them too."

She shrank back guiltily.

Shen Yi: "."