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

Soon, they arrived at the Li family's residence, or rather, the Liu family's residence.

Tao'er took out her keys and was about to open the door when her cousin Shiliu followed behind her, clearly a little scared, which Tao'er noticed.

She turned around with a smile, "Pomegranate, are you scared?"

Shi Liu shook her head vigorously, "Cousin, I'm not scared!"

Don't send me back.

"If you're not afraid, why are you trembling?"

Tao'er asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"I... Cousin Tao'er, I'm not afraid."

This is my first time here, and I'm a little curious!

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Don't worry, with your cousin here, even if there are ghosts, they won't dare to catch you."

Besides, it's broad daylight now; ghosts won't come out.

This girl is only fourteen years old, so it's normal for her to be scared.

When Tao'er pushed open the door of the haunted house, the entire second family was stunned.

It wasn't fear, it was shock.

From the outside, the house looks unremarkable and dusty, but once you enter the courtyard, the bluestone-paved path alone is a full ten feet wide.

The covered walkways on both sides are carved with flowers, and although the paint on the pillars is peeling, the wood is clearly not something an ordinary family could afford.

The main house has three rooms with side rooms, two rooms each in the east and west wings, and a small courtyard at the back.

My cousin Shiliu couldn't hold back any longer and started chattering, "Oh my goodness, this rich man Li's yard is huge!"

Sister, look at that window, what kind of flowers are carved on it...?

And that threshold was higher than my knees!

Xiuxiu was more composed than Shiliu, but she couldn't help looking around, unsure where to put her eyes.

Liu Erniu and his second aunt, Xu, exchanged a glance, both seeing amazement in each other's eyes. They thought to themselves that the Liu family was indeed wealthy, living in such a magnificent house.

But being an adult, he quickly composed himself.

Erniu coughed and asked in a low voice, "Tao'er, will this house belong to you from now on?"

This yard is huge!

My eyes are blurry!

Tao'er nodded and put away the keys in her hand: "Second Uncle, don't rush to look at it. It's getting late, we need to hurry up and get ready."

Only after these words were spoken did everyone snap out of their shock.

Xu rolled up her sleeves, looked around, and muttered, "This courtyard hasn't been lived in for quite some time. Look at all the dust, the fallen leaves on the ground, and the grass that's grown to waist height..."

We need to hurry up and pack, otherwise you might not be able to move in tonight.

Tao'er smiled and said, "So everyone has to work hard."

"Peach Girl, you can assign some chores!"

Where to begin?

Liu Erniu rolled up his sleeves and asked.

Tao'er had already planned out how to divide the work.

Without further ado, let's get straight to the point: "Second Aunt, please take Xiuxiu and Shiliu and clean the main room and the two side rooms first."

All the bedding on the bed was replaced; the old bedding was put aside.

The tables, chairs, and benches in the main room should be wiped clean and made do with as long as they are usable.

"Those that can't be used can be thrown into the storage room; they can be used for chopping firewood later."

Xu readily agreed: "Sure, I'm good at this."

Xiuxiu, go fetch a bucket of water. Shiliu, stop just watching and get to work with the rag.

Tao'er then turned to Liu Erniu: "Second Uncle, please take my eldest brother and second brother and pull out the weeds in the yard, especially that path. The bluestone slabs need to be cleaned, otherwise it will be muddy wherever you walk."

If you see any dead branches or rotten leaves in the backyard, gather them up and pile them in the corner; I'll need them later.

I see some of the doors and windows are loose; could you please see if you can fix them?

"If it can be repaired, then repair it; if it can't be repaired, I'll find someone to replace it with a new one."

Liu Erniu chuckled, scratching the back of his head: "I'm good at fixing doors and windows, but this yard is too big. I'm afraid I won't be able to finish today."

"Make as much as you can, and get a habitable place ready first."

I'm going to town tomorrow to buy things; I need to get rice, flour, oil, and salt.

"Second Uncle, your whole family will come over for dinner then."

"No need, why bother eating, Peach Girl? We're relatives, you don't need to be so polite."

Liu Erniu waved his hand, thinking to himself that his mother probably wouldn't give his older brother and the others much grain.

"Second Uncle, don't be so polite with me. Just consider this a celebration of our housewarming."

Tao'er said with a cheerful smile.

"Alright, sir, listen to Peach Girl, let's get to work now and stop dawdling."

Xu urged her husband from the side.

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Let's get to work!

Liu Erniu smiled sheepishly, then turned around and went to work.

"Young lady, what should I do then?"

Qingge, who was beside her, asked.

"You and I will help each other tidy up the place where the four of us live."

You live next door to me, and Ayan and Huanhuan live with me.

I live in the main room of the east wing.

"That's what Tao'er said."

Her room had the best sunlight, and there was a peach tree and an osmanthus tree in the yard.

Open the window and you can see the scenery outside.

"Girl, I can handle these tasks. You don't need to bother. Just watch from the side."

Just let me know if you made a mistake.

Qingge didn't want Tao'er to get tired.

"Little sister, you don't need to do anything else. Just supervise the work. If we do anything wrong, just correct it immediately."

"That's what the older brother said while weeding in the yard."

"Okay, then I'll go and trim the flowers and plants in the yard."

Tao'er took a pair of scissors and went to the yard.

Everyone got busy.

Madam Xu led the two girls into the main room.

The main room was quite large, with an eight-immortal table in the center, a grand master's chair on each side, and a long table against the wall, covered with a thick layer of dust.

Xu ran her finger across the table, her fingertip turning completely black. She clicked her tongue and said, "This ash is as thick as a copper coin."

Xiuxiu fetched water, and Shiliu hurriedly brought three old rags, one for each of them, and they started wiping.

Xu was efficient at her work. She first wiped the eight-immortal table, from top to bottom, from the tabletop to the legs, leaving no corner untouched.

If you rinse the rag in water, the water immediately turns into something like ink.

Xiuxiu wiped the chairs, Shiliu wiped the long table, and the three of them each took a corner, which was quite quick.

After wiping her hands a couple of times, Shiliu couldn't stop talking: "Mom, why is this house called a haunted house?"

"I see everything's fine, where did this ghost come from?"

Tao'er had just finished tending to the flowers and plants when she came over. She heard this and didn't even look up: "It's all just hearsay. Who has actually seen it?"

Have you seen it before?

"Hehe, we've never actually seen that before."

But if it's really not haunted, then why did Li the Rich man's family move away?

Pomegranate asked a playful question.

There must be some secret involved!

But it has nothing to do with us.

"Silly girl, don't be curious about everything in the future. Curiosity can sometimes kill you, understand?"

"Pomegranate, listen to your cousin from now on, and don't ask around about everything."

Mrs. Xu quickly gave instructions to her youngest daughter.

"Mother, I understand."

Shiliu nodded obediently, though she didn't understand why her mother was so afraid.

"You all continue with your work, I'll go take a look around elsewhere."

Tao'er stood up, dusted off her hands, and went to the side room to take a look.