Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

Tao thought to herself that the people here were quite nice, shook her head, and said with a smile, "Grandpa Chen, no, my grandfather didn't want to kick us out."

My house is too small for everyone to live in.

I suggested moving out, and my grandfather agreed.

"What?"

Move out?

"Did your parents agree too?"

Chen Shuigen wondered if Liu Daniu's family was really going to move out!

No wonder that girl asked him if he had any vacant houses earlier.

"Peach Girl, you can't move out!"

There aren't any vacant houses in the village!

Even if there were, they wouldn't be very good; no one could live there.

Unless we build a new house, but even building a mud-brick house would cost a lot of money!

Take Grandpa Chen's advice: it's best not to move out!

Chen Shuigen knew about the eldest son's situation; Liu Daniu and his wife were probably penniless.

Where would we find spare money to build houses?

"Peach girl, listen to Grandma Chen's advice. Even though your grandparents are biased, you won't be homeless."

The village head's wife also tried to persuade them.

"Thank you for your concern, Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen, but we have to move."

Why?

Tiezhu, what exactly happened to your family?

Or did your grandmother go and torment your mother again?

If that's really the case, I'll go and have a good talk with your grandparents.

Chen Shuigen thought that if he took the lead in handling the matter, Liu Laogen would have to be more cautious.

"Grandpa Chen, we can't go back to live in our main house anymore."

I've already sold the house to my grandfather for five taels of silver.

From now on, that house will have nothing to do with our main branch of the family.

And my grandfather told us we had to move out within three days.

Tao'er spoke the truth.

"What?

Sold for five taels of silver?

This is way too cheap!

Building a new house will cost seven or eight taels of silver!

"Peach Girl, you shouldn't have sold the house."

The village head's wife was so surprised that her mouth was almost big enough to fit an egg.

"Hmph! This old Liu is getting more and more outrageous."

Buying a house for five taels of silver? Isn't that bullying people?

He even ordered the eldest son's family to move out within three days. I think he's gone senile!

Chen Shuigen slammed his fist on the table in anger, nearly knocking the cups off the table.

"Grandpa Chen, please don't be angry. I was the one who asked to sell the house. It's not my grandfather's fault."

Tao'er wanted the village head to think of her as a filial granddaughter.

This will further highlight how cold-hearted and selfish Liu Laogen and his family are.

"Peach Girl, you're still young and don't understand the market. Your house should be worth at least seven or eight taels of silver. Five taels is too little."

This amount of money is far from enough for you to build a new house.

Chen Shuigen sighed and said.

"Oh, is that so, Grandpa Chen? I'm not very familiar with the market."

Oh well, the house's already sold, so there's no use regretting it now.

Unfortunately, there are no suitable vacant houses in the village, so we have to build new ones.

"Grandpa Chen, is there any suitable plot of land in the village for building a house? It needs to be about seven or eight fen (approximately 0.16-0.2 hectares) in size."

Tao'er feigned surprise, as if she knew nothing about the situation.

"Peach Girl, there is land available. A good plot of land costs at least ten taels of silver per mu."

Even the medium-grade ones cost seven or eight taels of silver per mu.

Chen Shuigen said.

"Ten mu?"

So expensive?

Even a medium-sized one would cost seven or eight ounces, which is too expensive.

Little sister, where would we get so much money...?

Liu Tiezhu regretted not having advised his younger sister earlier.

The cost of just buying the land is so high, not including the cost of building the house.

They might really have to sleep in the wilderness.

"Grandpa Chen, do you have any cheaper plots of land?"

It doesn't matter if it's a little less.

Tao'er intended to use the peaches to build a house, not to grow vegetables, so it didn't matter if they weren't plump.

"some.

There is a piece of wasteland of about one acre at the foot of the mountain to the east of the village.

There are mountains opposite and behind, and a small bamboo grove, but a river separates them.

That land has sandy soil, which is not fertile and not good for growing crops.

and……"

Chen Shuigen stopped there and shook his head.

"And what?"

Grandpa Chen, please feel free to speak.

"Well, that place is near the foot of the mountain, and wild animals often roam there, so it's quite dangerous."

I do not recommend that you build your house there.

Chen Shuigen sighed and said.

"So that's what it is. We're not afraid. My second brother is a skilled hunter, have you forgotten?"

Besides, we have a large family, so even if wild animals came, we wouldn't be able to handle them.

Moreover, we have a girl in our family who is as strong as an ox; she can kill an ox with one punch!

Grandpa Chen, how much silver would this piece of wasteland cost?

Tao asked with a smile.

"In that case, if you want to buy it, just give me two taels of silver."

Chen Shuigen figured that since the land was wasteland anyway, nothing would grow there, so he figured he could just collect two taels of silver as a symbolic reward.

Even the worst mountain terrain would cost four or five taels of silver.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty had a considerable amount of land, its large population meant there was simply not enough land to go around, which is why land prices were high.

"Then I'll write up the contract, and you can sign and affix your fingerprints later. This afternoon, you can come with me to the county government office to get it stamped, pay the deed tax, and complete the official deed."

Seeing that they were determined to buy the land, Chen Shuigen stopped trying to persuade them.

Tao'er quickly signed the papers and completed the white contract.

We agreed to go to the county government office after lunch.

"Peach Girl, you won't be able to move into the house so soon after you build it. Do you have a place to stay temporarily?"

"If all else fails, I'll talk to your grandfather and ask if you can stay until the new house is built before you move out?"

Tao'er shook her head and declined the village head's offer.

"No, Grandpa Chen, since I promised the old man, I can't go back on my word."

I'll think of a place to stay.

If all else fails, stay in town for now.

"We'll say it's for my parents' medical treatment."

Tao'er thought to herself.

The village head's wife suddenly slapped her forehead and said, "Honey, I remember there's a large courtyard with two sections at the west end of the village, with about seven or eight rooms."

It's still a brick and tile house.

Wasn't that courtyard always empty?

"Peach and the others can stay here for now..."

"Nonsense, what kind of place is that?"

That place is haunted, how can we let Tao Yatou and her family live there?

What if something happens?

Chen Shuigen scolded his wife.

Upon hearing this, Tao'er immediately became interested and asked, "Grandpa Chen, are there really such vacant houses in the village?"

Isn't this exactly the house she's always dreamed of?

"Peach Girl, to tell you the truth, that courtyard used to belong to the wealthy Li family."

Later, one of their maids died, and then they heard that the house was haunted every day, so the entire Li family moved to the town.

The house was then left vacant.

The wealthy Mr. Li asked me to help him sell it, saying he would sell it at a low price.

But nobody dares to buy that haunted house!

Several people have asked about it, but no one has actually dared to buy it.

Tao'er thought to herself, "Where in this world are there really ghosts? Most likely, it's because my master has done something wrong and can't sleep peacefully, which is why he's having hallucinations. It's all just psychological."

"Grandpa Chen, Grandma Chen, could you two please take my brother and me to see that house?"

She needs to visit the site in person before deciding whether to buy it.

"Alright, since Peach Girl wants to go and see, then let's go. Anyway, I have nothing else to do right now."

So the four of them headed towards the west end of the village.