MTLNOVEL Chapter 418: Still Alive?
Master Tian chuckled and said, "The regions of Jianghuai and Jiangnan have plenty of rice paddies. Any family that's doing decently will have a mu or two of paddy fields. There are quite a few families in your village that plant rice. Just ask them when you get back to the village, it shouldn't be too hard to manage."
"Master Tian is right. We'll ask Village Chief He when we get back," Gu Dashan said and then cupped his hands towards Master Tian, "We have much to thank Master Tian for today. It's thanks to you that we could get the land deeds sorted out so quickly."
Master Tian smiled and waved his hand, "Brother Gu is too polite. You've also helped us a lot."
If it weren't for the Gu Family's help, County Magistrate Xu, with his indecisive nature, could forget about being promoted in this lifetime. Now, the order for the promotion is about to come down, and as a steward, he would follow County Magistrate Xu to a more affluent place.
However...
"Lord County Magistrate is busy with official duties today and regretfully cannot meet with you."
Gu Jin'an, quick-witted, heard this and stepped forward with Gu Daya, carrying gifts, and smiled, "Master Tian, these are two tokens of our gratitude prepared by us. One is for you, and the other is for the Xu Family. Could you trouble yourself to deliver them to the Xu Family?"
Seeing that the tokens of gratitude were all commonplace items, Master Tian did not refuse and let the two servants by his side take them.
After seeing Master Tian accept the gifts, Gu Jinli asked, "If I may be so bold, Master Tian, are the surviving members of the Lu Family already sent to the Prefecture's officials?"
Master Tian frowned, looked at Gu Jinli, and said, "On the day when Old Master Lu was executed by waist-chopping, all surviving members of the Lu Family, including Concubine Lu, were escorted to the Prefecture's officials. Why do you ask that?"
This was not something a young lady should inquire about.
"Are they still safe?" Gu Jinli did not answer but continued to ask, "And what about Concubine Lu? Is she still alive? She is County Magistrate Zou's concubine."
Mrs. Han was ruthless. After she couldn't withstand the harsh torture, not only did she confess her involvement in inciting Xiao Lianxian which led to Zheng Ying fighting with Shangguan Hua, but she also revealed that she had given the infertility drug to County Magistrate Zou's concubine.
Mrs. Han had always been vindictive, not allowing others to be well if she was not. Seeing her own demise, she dragged Concubine Lu and the siblings Zou Yuzhen into the mess.
County Magistrate Xu hadn't kept it a secret and had told County Magistrate Zou.
Upon learning of this, County Magistrate Zou was so furious that he spat blood on the spot and fainted for an entire day and night, still recuperating at home.
County Magistrate Zou was vengeful inwardly; he wouldn't let Concubine Lu live and would surely take action against her.
A chill ran down Master Tian's spine as he expressed gratefully, "Young lady, you have done us a great favor."
He then said to Elder Gu, "Master Gu, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave now."
He also said to Luo Wu, "Go inform County Captain Jiang, tell him the Lord County Magistrate summons him and to come quickly."
Having said that, he left hurriedly with his two servants.
Luo Wu didn't dare delay and promptly excused himself from the few families and went to find County Captain Jiang.
Gu Dashan, puzzled, said, "What does Master Tian need to do in such a hurry?"
Gu Jinli subtly smiled and said, "He's probably rushing to catch someone in the act."
She would remind Master Tian, knowing that County Magistrate Zou would invariably seek revenge. However, such an affair wasn't exactly honorable, and if County Magistrate Zou wished to exact revenge, he could not use individuals openly associated with him. Hence, County Magistrate Zou's private minions might emerge.
Qin San Lang had mentioned before that Zou Jiang's major disaster years ago might have been related to County Magistrate Zou. The bandits who caused trouble for Zou Jiang's family had now become river bandits.
County Magistrate Zou, river bandits—this matter seemed quite significant. It would be a pity not to stir things up.
Gu Jin'an looked at Gu Jinli, feeling that his sister was concealing something from him, but given the number of people around, it wasn't the right time to ask further.
Qin San Lang had shared with Elder Qin the possibility of County Magistrate Zou having connections with the river bandits. At this moment, narrowing his eyes, he thought about how he hadn't been able to sleep well lately. He needed to keep an eye on Zhang Niu in Yushu Village.
Zhang Niu's elder brother, Zhang Hu, was known to mingle on the water routes. If County Magistrate Zou was truly conspiring with the river bandits, it was very likely that he would make use of Zhang Hu. Therefore, Zhang Niu might go to tip off his brother, and Qin San Lang would have to monitor Zhang Niu's whereabouts closely.
Elder Qin said, "This is a matter for the officials at the county government. Let's hurry and go. Once we've deposited the silver at the bank, we'll head home. The family is waiting for our land deeds."
They were currently at the county government, and County Magistrate Zou had men within the government offices. It was inappropriate to discuss this matter here.
"Elder Qin is right. Let's head to the bank quickly, settle our affairs and then go home. When our family sees these land deeds, they won't know how to express their joy." Gu Dashan wore a contented smile, carefully placing the land deeds into the inner pocket of his clothes. The group then left the county government, heading for the bank.
The bank was near the government office, and they quickly deposited their silver there. After receiving silver notes of various denominations, they returned to the county government, boarded a mule cart, and hurried home.
Before boarding the cart, Gu Jinli purposefully looked around. She did not see Qin San Lang and felt somewhat disappointed... He must have left already, but how many days would they spend training in the mountains? Could they return by the end of the month for the holiday?
As evening approached, the group finally returned to Da Feng Village.
Several families had been eagerly waiting, and as soon as they saw them return, they quickly came forward. Third Grandma immediately asked, "Have you taken care of the land deeds?"
Gu Dashan nodded with a smile, "Everything's been sorted out. It was Master Tian, who works closely with County Magistrate Xu, who led us through the process. The clerks at the Civil Affairs Office were very courteous; it didn't even take a quarter of an hour to complete."
"That's good, that's reassuring." Third Grandma looked at Third Grandpa, "Old man, where are our land deeds? Hurry and show them to me so I can have a look."
Third Grandpa replied, "What's the rush? Let's get home first."
He also told the others, "You all should head home as well. Be careful when you look at the land deeds. Don't get so excited that you damage them."
"Yeah, yeah, Uncle, don't worry, we understand," answered the families, accompanying their men home with their children, returning joyously.
Inside their own courtyard, Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan took out the house deeds, land deeds, and field deeds to show to Third Grandma and the others.
Third Grandma couldn't read, so she asked Gu Jin'an to point at the words on the deeds, reading each one to her.
Upon hearing that they had bought three acres of paddy fields, she exclaimed in surprise, "Three acres, that's a lot. Oh my, the paddy fields can produce rice, right? Three acres of rice, that should be worth a fair amount of silver."
These three acres of paddy fields were purchased to be left for Gu Fuya. Although there was no news of Gu Fuya and her family to date, the elders were convinced that they were still alive. They wanted to secure some assets while they themselves were still living, to pass on to Gu Fuya and her family when found, ensuring they could make a living.
She continued, "Our family bought three acres of paddy fields, but doesn't Brother Qin's family only have two acres? And his family has two grandsons. Just two acres of paddy fields is too little."
Gu Jinli said, "Grandpa Qin said that two acres of paddy fields are enough for his two grandsons. If they had bought three acres, they wouldn't know how to divide them later. You don't need to worry."