Tianliangyuan

Chapter 246: I benefited greatly

Fu Pei was dragged by Xu Junting to look at houses. The location of Chongye Lane was not bad. Although it was not as close to the palace as the Marquis's Mansion, it was still acceptable.

Moreover, several fourth-rank officials live in Chongye Ward, so if Fu Pei could buy a house here, he wouldn't have to rush to move for at least eight to ten years.

Most importantly, the house that Xu Junting showed him was big enough.

“This is a large three-courtyard house. You are now a sixth-rank official. A house any larger than this would not be in accordance with regulations.”

Fu Pei nodded, agreeing.

"Look, there's a small garden here. In the future, the women in your family can enjoy the flowers and have a drink here. But right now, it's still a bit dilapidated."

Although Wang Changgeng bought the house, it had been abandoned for a long time, so the yard was overgrown with weeds. Only an old couple guarding the gate kept the front yard in a decent condition.

It's simply bullying to expect two elderly people to keep such a big house clean.

“My uncle said that because this house is not well maintained and some parts may need repair, he will not raise the price and will sell it to you at the original price.”

Fu Pei originally thought that the Xu family was worried that Xu Tingting would suffer with him in the future, so they arranged a large house for Xu Tingting to live comfortably.

But now, looking at the house, it is indeed dilapidated. Several of the side rooms need to have their bricks and tiles replaced. If I were to buy it back at the original price, I estimate I would have to spend another ten or so strings of cash to repair it completely.

However, the courtyard is large enough, so he doesn't need to rush. He only needs to clean up the main courtyard. As for the more remote courtyards, he can clean them up in a couple of years.

"Has this house been abandoned for several years?"

"Yes! My uncle bought this house more than ten years ago. It was a new house back then, and my cousin and his family used to live here. But they came less and less often after that. In the last four or five years, almost no one has lived here. So my uncle thinks that selling it to you at the original price is a bit unfair to you."

Fu Pei burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Lord Wang is indeed kind-hearted. I am already very grateful that he sold it to me at the original price."

The capital city today is more prosperous than it was a decade or so ago, so the land is naturally more valuable.

Fu Pei was already extremely grateful that the price wasn't raised, so how could he dare to hope for anything else?

In the end, the house was acquired by Fu Pei for 220 strings of cash.

If it weren't for the hundred strings of cash that Xu Zhaozhao sent, Fu Pei really wouldn't have had that much money to buy it.

Although Fu Pei had saved some money during his two years as an official, he still needed to set aside some for purchasing betrothal gifts.

Now that we've bought this house, we won't have much money left for the betrothal gifts.

But he wanted to marry Xu Wen's daughter. Although she was an illegitimate daughter, she was still a precious guest. He couldn't just bring two pounds of meat and marry her off.

So, how can we quickly get some money?

Just then, Xu Zhaozhao's men came to the door again.

This time, however, it wasn't Xu Chuan who came, but Zhu Zi.

"So it's Steward Xu. May I ask what orders Your Highness may give?"

Fu Pei thought the county magistrate had sent him to deliver a message, but it turned out that wasn't the case.

"To be honest, our county magistrate's estate in Lantian is already quite well-established. However, as the county magistrate is a woman, her residence is not yet completed, and it is inconvenient for her to visit the estate. Furthermore, the Third Young Master has been very busy with official duties lately. Therefore, I have taken the liberty of asking Lord Fu to help me come up with a few meaningful names. I hope Lord Fu will not take offense."

"Just a few names?"

"The county magistrate means that it would be best if you could personally write the inscription. The top scholar's calligraphy is quite famous."

Fu Pei nodded: "In that case, I'll go there in person another day."

“Of course. However, the name of the manor has already been chosen: Yunqi Manor. The county magistrate has already commissioned the creation of a plaque, which was personally inscribed by my uncle.”

Wang Changgeng was a civil official with a prominent position and was also an elder, so it was perfectly acceptable for him to inscribe the plaque.

"Very well, then I will go and take a look as soon as possible."

"Thank you for your help, Master Fu."

"polite."

Fu Pei still felt that it was just a manor, so why should he have to come up with a name himself?

After he and his page arrived in Lantian County, he finally understood.

The large characters for Yunqi Mountain Villa are indeed very eye-catching.

Yan Shu led him on a tour, mainly explaining what each place was for and where guests were entertained.

After walking this route, Fu Pei understood why Xu Zhaozhao had asked him to make this trip.

This place will surely become the second Hundred Fruit Garden in the future.

No, that's not right either. It should be different from Pagoda Fruit.

The Pagoda Fruit Garden leans more towards the beautiful scenery of green mountains and clear waters, blooming flowers, and abundant autumn fruits, while Yunqi Mountain Villa is clearly different.

There is an extremely spacious horse farm here. Playing polo here in the future would be a great pleasure. Not only that, there are also workshops and even a large greenhouse.

Fu Pei didn't know why Xu Zhaozhao wanted to build so many greenhouses, but she must have a purpose for them.

Fu Pei initially didn't understand why, given the success of Pagoda Fruit, they wouldn't build another estate based on the Pagoda Fruit model.

After he inquired, he learned that much of the land here was wasteland. They had already screened out the land suitable for growing crops. The land chosen for the horse farm was simply not suitable for growing anything. Even if something could grow, the investment would be enormous.

In Xu Zhaozhao's own words, the input and output are not proportional. If you really do this, it will be a huge loss. Only a fool would continue.

Fu Pei listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion, and felt increasingly that he should find some time to have a proper talk with this county princess.

Fu Pei gained profound insights from this trip.

Not only did they choose a name on the spot, but they were also deeply moved.

He felt that many of his previous ideas were too narrow-minded.

His judgment was even inferior to that of a woman confined to her boudoir.

It's his problem; he should reflect on himself.

The gifts presented by Zhu Zi were not very generous; they consisted of some meat and tonics, as well as some silk.

Silk was a very precious commodity in Daxing, and in some powerful and wealthy families it could be used directly as money.

As for ordinary people, they are not allowed to wear or use these items, so if they actually end up in their hands, they have no choice but to sell them as soon as possible.

Fu Pei initially thought this was just another pretext the Xu family had come up with to give him money, and he was somewhat resistant to it.

But after seeing these thank-you gifts, I felt like I had been wrong.

No, he felt that he had been judging others by his own petty standards!

However, this trip to Lantian benefited him greatly, and that very night he wrote a memorial to the throne as if guided by a divine hand, which reached the emperor the next day.

Upon seeing the memorial, Emperor Yong'an was overjoyed: "Guards, summon Peiqin to an audience!"