Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 314 Buying Land
The boat glided past, gradually leaving the fighting group behind.

Xie Yuyan asked Old Man Tang, "What's the story with that boat captain?"

Old Man Tang said, "After the market opened, there were more jobs on the water. Some people started to try to buy boats and grab some water transport business. The boat captain seized this opportunity and took over three boats with a few fellow villagers. They were all good swimmers and strong. They helped small merchants transport goods and gradually established themselves on the Bian River."

"When business is booming, the big bosses don't care about these small fry. But recently, the boat captain's business has grown bigger and bigger, and he's started to compete for it, which naturally attracts the dissatisfaction of those big bosses."

"They were just testing each other there."

Zhang didn't quite understand.

Xie Yuyan said, "If the boat captain is scared, he won't dare to covet those large-scale transactions anymore. But if he still refuses to give up, the next fight might be even fiercer, and someone might secretly take action."

Old Man Tang laughed and said, "That's exactly what you mean, my lady. We need to be careful these days, lest we get involved with them."

Zhang immediately nodded: "After we enter the capital, we should not travel by water for a while. Hopefully, when we take a boat again, this will not happen."

Upon hearing his mother's words, Yang Qin immediately went to see his sister-in-law.

Xie Yuyan smiled slightly: "With new opportunities come struggles; this is an inevitable path."

Tang Xing's eyes flashed on the boat. He wondered if he was seeing things, but this lady... didn't seem afraid at all. On the contrary, she seemed quite interested.

That would be great.

The brothers followed their father to guard this Bian River, waiting for their lord to summon them to do their work. What seemed lively to others was utterly dull and uninteresting to them.

They finally received a message from their husband, thinking that something important needed them, but it turned out that he only wanted them to be guards for a lady.

It wasn't that they disliked the woman; the person their husband had instructed them to protect must be extremely important, and they would rather die than let anything happen to her.

I just feel that being a bodyguard isn't good enough.

They were people whom the young master had secretly raised behind the backs of the Wang family. They were completely obedient to the young master and did indeed follow him in doing something that seemed "crazy," although it ultimately failed.

From then on, all he could think about was how to avenge his fallen brothers whenever he had the chance.

But the young master said that now was not the right time; they needed to rest and recuperate. They were not afraid to fight, but they were afraid of being abandoned. In the future, they could only do some insignificant things for the young master.

That's why he felt excited when he saw Madam Xie's expression. Perhaps this matter wasn't so simple? Could they be about to witness some "big storms"?
As Tang Xing pondered, he noticed the old woman's gaze sweep over him, which startled him, giving him the feeling that someone had seen right through him.

Before the boat even docked, Yang Qin had already spotted Yang Xiaoshan standing not far away.

Yang Xiaoshan was dressed in a gray short-sleeved brown outfit, his body and face covered in dust, making him look no different from the people carrying goods on the shore.

Clearly, this outfit was chosen to avoid attracting attention.

Xie Yuyan stepped out of the cabin and found several men on the shore who looked similar to Tang Xing.

Old Man Tang said in a low voice, "Don't worry, my lady. These are all our men, five in total, who will take turns protecting you."

The boat stopped, and Mama Yu helped Zhang Shi ashore, while Xie Yuyan and Yang Qin walked off the boat on their own.

With his feet on the ground, Yang Qin had a somewhat unreal feeling, as if the ground and the boat were shaking. He found it novel and strange, and couldn't help but jump around on the spot.

Yang Xiaoshan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Madam Zhang, Madam, you've finally arrived." Old Man Tang and his son led the group to a small courtyard to settle down. Mother Yu followed Tang Xing to boil water, while Xie Yuyan sat down to listen to Yang Xiaoshan speak.

"We bought the house, it's a bit small, but it's enough for now."

Xie Yuyan nodded. It was better to have a smaller house to avoid attracting attention; she needed to avoid those people for the time being.

Yang Xiaoshan continued, "The land that my wife instructed me to buy... I bought it too." Although the place was very remote, he thought that his wife knew how to read maps and would not be wrong. Since his wife was right, he would just go ahead and buy it.

“That piece of land isn’t far from here,” Yang Xiaoshan said. “If my wife wants to see it, she can rest here for a bit and then go there.”

Xie Yuyan asked, "Is there any land available for purchase around here?"

When Xie Yuyan stepped onto this spot, she was still somewhat dazed. She hadn't expected the surroundings to be so desolate, with only a few thatched huts and small courtyards.

In her memory, this place was very prosperous. From here to the south end of the bridge, there were many food stalls on the street, selling rice, dried meat, and all kinds of sweet candies. Unfortunately, she only came here once, bought a box of candied plums, tasted only one, and when she got back, her grandmother ordered it to be thrown away. She was also punished with a beating on the hand and forced to write the "Rules for Women".

She didn't care about being punished; her goal was simply to see what she wanted to see.

The shops, inns, and restaurants on both sides are by no means luxurious places in Daliang, but they are places that ordinary people like to come to. Just by looking at the crowded appearance of the houses, you can tell that the houses and land here must be expensive.

Even without her past life experiences, she could deduce that this place would soon become lively, and that it would be related to her.

Before Yang Xiaoshan could speak, Tang Xing, who was helping Madam Yu bring tea into the room, said, "Madam, you want to buy land nearby? There's still quite a bit of land here, but most of it is residential land, and the prices aren't very low."

Xie Yuyan asked, "How does it compare to the residential land in the north of the city?"

“That’s a bit lower,” Tang Xing thought for a moment and advised, “but there are too many peddlers and laborers around here, so it’s really not suitable for living. It would be even less worthwhile to open a shop here.”

“You just noticed, madam. There aren’t many people living here, and passenger ships don’t stop here. Even though shops have opened, no one goes there. Last year, someone took over two shops, but moved elsewhere this year, and those two shops haven’t been sold yet.”

Xie Yuyan looked at Yang Xiaoshan.

Yang Xiaoshan immediately stood up: "Where is it? I'll go see it right away and get the paperwork done for that shop as soon as possible."

Tang Xing was taken aback. She was going to buy it already? Hadn't this woman heard what he said? He said that the previous shops couldn't stay open anymore.

"Besides those two shops, are there any other shops for sale?"

Tang Xing shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."

"So if we want to buy something next, we can only buy residential land?" Xie Yuyan pondered for a moment and said, "That's fine, building a house on vacant land is actually faster."

Tang Xing suddenly realized he shouldn't have said that, and he couldn't help but ask, "Wife, would you like to look at other places?"

"Need not."

Tang Xing knew he shouldn't ask any more questions, but then he thought about the land his wife wanted to buy...

"My lady may not be familiar with Bianjing..."

As Tang Xing finished speaking, he met Xie Yuyan's clear eyes and instinctively shut his mouth.

“I’m familiar with it,” Xie Yuyan said calmly as she stood up, without continuing. She then changed the subject, “There’s no need to rush to go elsewhere. I’ll stay here these next few days and get things done here.”