Duke of Zhenguan

Lin Chuan opened the door, looked at Tian Hu outside, and quickly greeted him:

"Brother Tian? Please come in!"

Tian Hu shook his head and said:

"We won't go in today; we need to rush back to report!"

Lin Chuan didn't try to persuade him any further, and asked with a smile:

"Brother Tian, ​​what brings you here so early?"

"How could I possibly have the face to give any orders? To be honest, young master, the matter on Thursday was actually handled by the magistrate of Chang'an County on my wife's orders."

I never expected such a big mistake to happen. If it weren't for the young master's reminder, my wife and I would not have known that we were released by the jailer and son-in-law of the county jail on Thursday!

"I made a mistake in handling this matter, and I have come here specifically to apologize to the young master!" Tian Hu said with a wry smile.

"How can you blame Brother Tian for what the jailer did on his own?"

Lin Chuan shook his head and asked, feigning confusion:

"Do you know where he fled to on Thursday?"

"I don't know. The magistrate of Chang'an County has already thrown Xie Er, the head of the jailers, into prison, but no matter how he is questioned, Xie Er will not say where he escaped to on Thursday. He probably really doesn't know..." Tian Hu said awkwardly.

"He was burned to ashes, how could he possibly know!"

Lin Chuan sighed inwardly, then smiled and said to Tian Hu:

"If you don't know, then so be it. I doubt you'll dare come to Chang'an again on Thursday. Let's just let this matter go, Brother Tian, ​​there's no need to blame yourself!"

Seeing that Lin Chuan was so sensible, Tian Hu, who had just been scolded by Chen Qi, felt much better. He took out a land deed from his pocket, handed it to Lin Chuan, and said with a smile:

"This is the land deed for a shop at the east entrance of the West Market. The madam said that the matter ultimately didn't go well, and the young master suffered a loss in the agreed-upon deal. This shop is considered compensation, and we hope the young master won't find it too little!"

Lin Chuan looked at the land deed in Tian Hu's hand, but didn't reach out to take it. Instead, he smiled, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Tian Hu, and said:

"Please trouble Brother Tian to inform your esteemed friend that I acknowledge the matter from Thursday, and that the money and goods have already been settled. I cannot accept this shop!"

"Haha, young master is just as the lady said!"

However, young master, you are overthinking it. Madam said that she always does things fairly, and you must keep the shop to be considered even.

The lady also said that if the young master ever encounters any trouble in the future, he should go to the Pavilion of Beauties to seek her help; she would certainly help if she could!

Tian Hu laughed heartily and, without saying a word, shoved the land deed into Lin Chuan's hands.

Although Tian Hu didn't know about Thursday's visit to Lin Chuan's house, what he said made sense.

On Thursday, the person who sneaked into Lin Chuan's house with a dagger clearly wasn't there to chat. If Lin Chuan hadn't been cautious and prepared in advance, he might not even have had a chance to regret it now.

Since Chen Qi was so sincere in giving it to him, Lin Chuan naturally had no reason not to accept it.

Holding the land deed, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Tian Hu and said with a smile:

"In that case, I humbly accept it. Please convey my thanks to your wife on my behalf, Brother Tian!"

"Haha, I'll definitely pass on the message. Farewell!"

……

After Tian Hu left, Lin Chuan stood at the door and curiously opened the land deed to examine it carefully.

The land deed was made of sheepskin and was obviously newly made; the ink had not yet completely dried. It clearly indicated the length, width, and dimensions of the shop, as well as a clear description of its location.

The last column clearly states the owner of the land deed: Linchuan, Chang'an County.

It was stamped with a bright red official seal on the back.

After Tian Hu left, Madam Li came out and asked Lin Chuan in a low voice:

"Brother, why don't you invite them in!"

"He has other things to attend to and can't be delayed!" Lin Chuan said with a smile as he put away the land deed.

"Did you know Dalang before?" Li asked nervously.

"Mother, they were sent by the person who bought the son earlier!" Lin Chuan explained.

Li was finally relieved and asked:

"Is there something you want to ask Da Lang?"

"No, I'm here to deliver this!"

Lin Chuan handed over the land deed.

Li took the land deed, looked at the familiar bright red official seal on it, and asked uncertainly:

"Is this the land deed?"

"Yes, it's a shop in the West Market. The person who bought the house felt that the previous fifty taels was too little, so they gave him this shop as compensation!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

Holding the land deed, it took Li a while to react before she softly asked Lin Chuan:

"Brother, even the worst-located shop in the West Market is worth fifty or sixty strings of cash. The recipe has already sold for fifty taels of silver. Should we still keep this shop?"

"Don't worry about it, it's fine!" Lin Chuan nodded with a smile.

After looking at the land deed, which she couldn't understand at all, several more times, Li handed it to Lin Chuan:

"You decide, young master!"

Lin Chuan took the land deed and asked Li Shi with a smile:

"Mother, shall we go take a look?"

"Shall we go now?"

"Go now!"

"Er Ya, you stay home and stay here!"

Li walked briskly, even faster than Lin Chuan with his long arms and legs. She arrived at the east entrance of the West Market and found the place according to the location marked on the land deed. Seeing that the shop was at least four or five zhang wide and had two floors, a rare happy smile appeared on Li's face.

The shop wasn't empty; it was a shop that sold furs.

However, the shop had been completely emptied, and several shop assistants dressed in hemp clothing were dismantling the signboard hanging outside.

A plump middle-aged man saw Lin Chuan and Li Shi standing not far from the doorway, quickly came out to greet them, cupped his hands in a respectful bow to Lin Chuan, and asked in a respectful tone:

"Is it Lin Chuan, the young master?"

"That's me!"

Lin Chuan quickly returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute.

"My surname is Chen. As Madam has already instructed, I originally planned to visit Young Master Lin after the shop was vacated, but I did not expect Young Master Lin to arrive first."

"The things inside have all been moved out, and the workers are cleaning up. Please wait a moment, Mr. Lin!" the middle-aged man said respectfully.

"Thank you for your trouble, Manager Chen!" Lin Chuan nodded with a smile.

"Young Master Lin, you're too kind!"

The middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting and went back to instruct his assistant to speed things up.

Lin Chuan and Li Shi waited for about half an hour before the middle-aged man returned, handing the lock and key to Lin Chuan and respectfully saying:

"Young Master Lin, here is the lock and key! Please go in and take a look. If there are no problems, I will return to report!"

"Of course, no problem at all. Thank you, Manager Chen. Please convey my gratitude to Madam!"

"Goodbye!"

After Manager Chen and his employees left, Lin Chuan and Madam Li entered the shop.

The shop was very large, with a width of about four zhang and a depth of at least six zhang, and there was also a low attic above it.

What pleased Li even more was that there was a small courtyard behind the shop.

Although the courtyard was much smaller than that in Tiechi Lane, with only two rooms, the houses were built with blue bricks and gray tiles, and the ground was paved with stone slabs. There was also a well next to it, making it many times better than the houses in Tiechi Lane.

After strolling around the small courtyard, Li whispered to Lin Chuan:

"Your father used to always say how wonderful it would be to have a shop..."

"Mother, Father would be happy if he knew this in the afterlife. What kind of shop do you think we should open?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile.

"How would I know these things? This is what you earned, Dalang, so you can decide for yourself!" Madam Li shook her head.

Lin Chuan thought for a moment and said softly:

"Then let's open a noodle shop!"