Chapter 99: Secrets of the Backyard

 

Eight days later, Jing’s father, Lin’s father, Mother Lin, along with Jing Yi, arrived in the county as scheduled to inspect the shops and manors. Due to the recent snowfall, the official road was not in the best condition, so it took them three days to return.

 

“Father, Ah Yi, you’re back. Is it cold? Was the journey smooth?”

 

“Father, Big Brother, did the snow on the official road melt?”

 

Chuxia and Xiao Shu were taking a leisurely stroll in the main courtyard of the manor, observing Jing’s father and Jing Yi entering briskly. They approached with concern, inquiring about their journey.

 

Originally, after finishing their meal, the two planned to sit in the garden for a while. In these few days, the plum blossoms had bloomed with snow on their branches, creating a delightful sight in the midst of winter.

 

The little one inside Chuxia’s belly was also quite active. Staying indoors for too long was certainly not his preference.

 

However, this winter wasn’t particularly warm, and the snow hadn’t melted much even after two days. Unlike the main courtyard, the garden wasn’t cleaned daily, and Jing’s mother was afraid it would be slippery.

 

Just as they were considering heading to the garden, they coincidentally met Jing Yi and Jing’s father returning from the county.

 

“It’s not just cold; the road was indeed challenging. The weather is freezing, and the official road is icy. We didn’t dare to rush the journey.” Jing’s father said with a cheerful tone, patting Xiao Shu’s head.

 

“How long have you been out? Look at your hands, so cold. Come, let’s go back inside.”

 

Jing Yi quickly walked over to support the other side of Chuxia, feeling his hand. Although the back of his hand was cold, the palm was warm, indicating that he wasn’t really cold. However, he couldn’t help but nag.

 

Today happened to be the two days off for both Xiao An and Xiao Shu. In winter, the private school had a two-day break every ten days. In case of severe weather like heavy snow, students could decide whether to attend classes based on the road conditions.

 

In ancient times, road conditions were like this—almost every time there was rainy or snowy weather, traveling became a problem. That’s why Jing Yi thought of presenting the cement formula to the Crown Prince.

 

Speaking of this cement formula, he had to act quickly. There were indeed quite a few things happening recently.

 

After all six family members gathered in the side hall and Jing’s father and Jing Yi finished their warm meal, holding cups of hot tea, they slowly sipped and began to share today’s gains.

 

“That broker is meticulous. He has found quite a few places for the shops we want and the manor Brother Lin wants. I heard it snowed in the county a couple of days ago, and he really put in a lot of effort.” Jing’s father sighed, laboring in any profession was exhausting.

 

“Yeah, who doesn’t work hard to have food and drink? That’s the life of a wealthy lord; we commoners can’t compare.” Jing’s mother echoed her husband’s sentiment.

 

Although they had money now, the cautious and hardworking approach they took in building their wealth was something their own family understood the most. Therefore, the personalities and ways of doing things for Jing’s father and mother didn’t differ much from the poor times.

 

“He has prepared four shops for us. Three are for opening soap shops, and one is for the ice cream business. Let’s talk about the ice cream one first. Although it doesn’t need to be too big, that one is just too small. Also, even though there’s a constant flow of people around, there are some unsavory characters. Business there definitely won’t last long.”

 

The ice cream business is exceptionally hot during the summer, and it is particularly lucrative. It is more eye-catching than the soap shop and is easily targeted by others. Placing it there is like throwing meat into a wolf’s den.

 

“Anyway, the Ice Nectar Pavillion is also in the off-season right now. Let’s put this one on hold. The Ningxia Pavillion is settled. It’s in a good location, slightly to the east of the first main street. The shop is not small, two floors. The backyard is also large, and the most special thing is that each of the four main rooms on the north side has a two-story small building, constructed in a unique way. There’s no shortage of anything, including the east and west wing rooms, the back cover room, the stable, donkey shed, and the well.”

 

Jing Yi seemed very satisfied with this shop.

 

“How much?” Jing’s mother understood in her heart. There were not many things that could satisfy her son, so her first reaction was to ask about the price.

 

The atmosphere suddenly stagnated slightly, and after a while, Jing Yi, who seemed indifferent but was actually a little nervous, said in a low voice, “Seven hundred and sixty.”

 

“How much?!” Jing’s mother felt that she hadn’t heard it clearly and repeated the question.

 

“Mother, this is in the county, on the first main street, a large shop and a large mansion, two floors, and the price is quite reasonable.” Jing Yi explained emotionally and logically. He knew that his mother had a bit of trouble accepting it at first, so he clarified that it wasn’t a big deal.

 

“Yes, Mother, when we went to the county, everything there was more expensive than in our town, and there were more people, and the roads were wider,” Jing An also chimed in.

 

“Why did you buy such an expensive one? Oh, my, it hurts my heart. Didn’t the broker recommend three shops?” Jing’s mother sighed, knowing that things had come to this point, but she still couldn’t help but nag.

 

“Hey! What can you do! Your eldest son didn’t like it!” Jing’s father, uninvolved in the matter, even added salt to the wound. He thought it wasn’t necessary to buy the most expensive one.

 

“Father, didn’t we already say that the one you liked on the Second Main Street doesn’t have many advantages? The road is narrower than the First Main Street, and the surrounding households’ consumption capacity is not as high. Moreover, the backyard is not large enough, and the storage rooms won’t be sufficient. Even if it’s a hundred taels cheaper, we’ll earn it back every two months. What’s the fuss about?” Jing Yi was speechless.

 

“Alright! Then, let’s definitely go for the good one. My eldest son is really bold!” Hearing that they could earn it back every two months, Jing’s mother was satisfied again. She even added a bit of sarcasm towards Jing’s father.

 

Jing’s father: Anyway, as long as I’m the only one hurt, it’s fine.

 

“Ah Yi, when should we open? Who will manage it?” Chuxia worried. Currently, Ningxia Pavilion was mainly managed by him, while Jing’s mother and Lin’s mother took care of daily affairs. The accounts were clearly divided—profit was for Jing Yi and Chuxia, and Jing’s mother and Lin’s mother received dividends as high-ranking managers.

 

“Of course, i will manage it,” Jing Yi said decisively, without any second thoughts.

 

“Chuxia, you focus on unloading the goods first. I plan to do some decoration and repairs for the shop, and the backyard needs a good overhaul too. From now on, this will be our family’s home in the county.”

 

“Expect to open in three months. You manage remotely for now, transfer two or three people from the current shop, and send three guys to help with security. I’ll go to the town market from time to time. It will definitely be fine.”

 

When the child is born, Jing’s mother and Lin’s mother will surely pay more attention to the child, and Jing Yi will have to run to the county by himself.

 

“Okay.” Chuxia felt reassured. As long as the arrangements were made, it was fine. It was indeed going to be tough for his husband, but that’s what family is about.

 

After discussing their own affairs, Jing Yi talked about Lin’s family’s manor.

 

“Father Lin also found a manor. It’s not very close to Wang’s Manor, but it’s not far from our town and here. It takes less than half an hour by carriage. The manor is quite large. Looking at the drawings, it has two large courtyards connected, with a large garden in between. There are fifty acres of fields around it.”

 

“Ah! That’s great! It’s finally found. Mother has been talking to me about it all the time, and he’s been nagging about not being able to find one in our town,” Chuxia said, both happy and amused.

 

“Hahaha, Brother Lin’s mouth has been stretched to the back of his head these past few days. He’s so happy!” Jing’s father described.

 

“It’s not settled yet. They took the broker to see the manor. If there are no major issues, it can be finalized soon.” Jing Yi didn’t dare to mock his father-in-law. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to sleep on the floor tonight in this cold winter month.

 

But Father Lin wasn’t someone who would be bothered by Jing’s father’s teasing. He knew that the two of them had a relationship where they got tired of each other after drinking a thousand cups together.

 

At this moment, Renyi appeared at the door. “Master, there’s something to report.”

 

Renyi was more steady and composed than his brother Renhe, so Jing Yi assigned the job of tailing Lai Da to him. Seeing him coming now, Jing Yi knew that he had received the message and hurried over to report.

 

“Ah Yi, talk to Renyi. I’ll have Sister Miao help me back,” Chuxia said. Seeing that Renyi had something important to report, he didn’t want to disturb them and quickly called Sister Miao, who had been helping tidy up the tea set.

 

Sister Miao was the sister rescued by them, Zhao Miao, from the father and children they saved last time. The younger ger was named Zhao Yu, and after nearly ten days of treatment and recuperation, their father could now get up and move around.

 

Initially, Chuxia didn’t want their indentured servitude contracts. He intended to sign a long-term employment contract with them. However, when their father woke up, he seemed docile and gentle, but his temperament was even more stubborn than the siblings.

 

Knowing about the various things that happened while he was unconscious, he felt grateful. Understanding the kindness of the master’s family, he also realized that they couldn’t forget their debt of gratitude. The master didn’t sign contracts for tge children, wanting to give them a respectable way to live. However, as the father, he had to work like an ox and repay the debt.

 

In the end, Chuxia took in his indentured servitude contract and signed a long-term employment contract with the siblings. However, the siblings still treated themselves as servants of the Jing family without any distinction.

 

“All right, stop looking and speak up,” Jing Yi teased. These brothers were quite interesting, targeting other people’s siblings, silently watching silently, and causing a ruckus for the noisy ones.

 

Rarely, Renyi, who usually spoke less and was stable, was teased by Jing Yi’s words, and his face turned red.

 

“Cough! Master, when I reported to you a few days ago, I mentioned that Lai Da had found out about the Zhao siblings staying at our Jing family. These days, he frequently goes out to meet with some bad characters. I overheard him at a teahouse once, persuading those troublemakers to act together. He said they would wait for the Zhao siblings to go out alone and then abduct them!”

 

At the end of his report, Renyi’s expression became solemn, his eyes fierce, and his fists clenched tightly.

 

“Well, this idiot is still not giving up. Tell the Zhao siblings not to go out these days,” Jing Yi frowned. “And then?”

 

“Then they waited for a few days but didn’t catch the siblings alone. Those guys got lazy and didn’t want to do it anymore. Lai Da couldn’t get them to act, so later, he went to find his uncle, the steward of the Liu family estate!”

 

“Because the Liu family estate has many guards, I couldn’t infiltrate. However, I kept an eye on it. Late at night, Lai Da staggered out of the estate, cursing incessantly. It seems like he was asking his uncle to help the Jing family get someone, but his uncle didn’t agree.”

 

“I followed him all the way. He kept muttering, ‘Wait and wait, all he knows is making me wait! Coward!’ ‘I don’t care what the Liu family is doing now. If it’s a little later, my side’s wild vegetables will get cold!’ ‘Don’t think I don’t know about the unethical things you did for the Liu family.'”

 

“Master, there’s one particularly suspicious sentence he said: ‘If I want to break away and get rich on my own, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’ll let everyone in Fuyang Town see what’s in the backyard of the Liu family estate!'”

 

Jing Yi sat up straight, muttering to himself, “What could be in the backyard…”

 

What secrets could there be in the garden? It certainly wouldn’t be something visible at a glance; most likely, it was buried underground. Jing Yi couldn’t think of anything else that could be buried in the backyard soil.

 

“Continue to keep an eye on it. Pick two reliable people from the house to replace you. Don’t get caught, remember, safety first,” Jing Yi instructed Renyi.

 

“Yes, Master,” Renyi said and then withdrew.

 

Alone in the room, Jing Yi pondered. It was time to pay a visit to Dean Wen.