Green Pagoda Tree Estate

The reason he didn't consult with Zhao Ruxi beforehand and directly had Wang Guangyao register the land deed in Zhao Ruxi's name was to avoid hurting the feelings between Zhao Ruxi and her family.

He was trying to show the people of the Earl of Suiping's Residence that this was his and his master's act of protecting their junior sister, and that it had nothing to do with her. His junior sister knew nothing about it.

Therefore, the people of the Earl of Suiping's Residence could not say that she was distrustful of her family or blame her for being unfilial.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared in Wu Zong's eyes.

He hadn't expected his junior sister to be so perceptive, understanding their intentions at a glance. In front of the guards and maids of the Earl of Suiping's Residence, she questioned him, distancing herself from the situation and giving him the opportunity to say what she had just said, indirectly telling the people of the Earl of Suiping's Residence that their junior sister was someone they protected and that they couldn't let her suffer any injustice.

After leaving the government office, the two went to Green Pagoda Tree Estate.

That's right, Zhao Ruxi's newly purchased estate is called Green Pagoda Tree Estate because there are several large locust trees on it.

In addition to the land deeds, Zhao Ruxi also obtained indentures for 235 servants at the yamen.

These farm servants, like household slaves, had no personal freedom. Their children, born there, remained farm servants, unable to participate in the imperial examinations, and confined to farm work. Without other opportunities, their entire lives were predictable.

The two men, accompanied by servants, entered the manor and saw that it was surrounded by mud walls, resembling a fortress. A large gate was installed on the wall, with three characters written on it, "Green Pagoda Tree Estate" in a vigorous and elegant style. In the lower right corner of the characters was Wei Qiu's signature, clearly indicating that Wei Qiu had written these three characters himself.

Wu Zong's attendant stepped forward and knocked on the iron ring on the door. Someone then pulled open the wooden plank covering a small, two-foot-square hole in the mud wall next to the gate, revealing a face inside. "Who are you looking for?"

"Your new master, open the door." Wu Zong's face was serious, exuding an imposing aura.

With a loud bang, the wooden planks slammed shut, and a flurry of activity erupted inside. A moment later, the door opened, and an old man in his fifties rushed forward, bowing deeply. "This old servant is Qian Duoduo, the head of Green Pagoda Tree Estate. Greetings, Master and Miss."

Zhao Ruxi: "..."

That sentence stunned her.

Qian Duoduo, what an adorable name! Yet it's been given to such a lecherous old man. I wonder if his parents gave him this name, or if it's just Wei Qiu's twisted sense of humor.

[Qian Duoduo's parents: My son wasn't born a creepy old man; he was cute when he was little too.]

Besides, although Wu Zong is over thirty, he doesn't look old at all and is quite handsome. Standing next to Wu Zong, they clearly look like siblings. Is it really appropriate to say she's Wu Zong's daughter?

Calculate the area of Wu Zong's psychological trauma.

While Zhao Ruxi's thoughts were racing, Wu Zong remained completely oblivious, standing there motionless with a serious expression, his sharp gaze scrutinizing Qian Duoduo, lost in thought.

At this moment, Wu Zong's attendant, Wu An, stepped forward and introduced his master with an air of official authority, "Hey old man, my master is Lord Wu of the Court of Judicial Review, and this is Miss Zhao, the young lady of the Earl of Suiping's Residence and my master's junior sister. Miss Zhao is the new owner of this estate, why don't you come forward and pay your respects to the master?"

Qian Duoduo looked up at Zhao Ruxi in surprise, then quickly lowered his head under Wu Zong's piercing gaze. He stepped forward again to bow to Zhao Ruxi, saying, "This humble servant greets Master." He knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhao Ruxi.

The others followed suit and knelt down to kowtow.

Zhao Ruxi knew that Wu Zong was backing her up. Some people are bullies who prey on the weak. If you are kind to them, they will think you are easy to bully.

So she didn't stop them. After they had all kowtowed three times, she said calmly, "Get up."

Qian Duoduo got up, bowed to Wu Zong again, and then stood aside with her head bowed, not daring to say a word.

"Let's go in," Wu Zong said, stepping inside.

Upon entering, Zhao Ruxi was somewhat dumbfounded.

The wall, though called a wall, was more like a screen, only about ten feet wide, with fertile fields on both sides.

In other words, this wall didn't enclose anything at all; its only purpose was to have a gate on it and a plaque with the three large characters "Green Pagoda Tree Estate" hanging on it.

Upon entering the gate, Zhao Ruxi looked to the left and right and saw a river on the right. A flock of birds took flight from the riverbank and soared into the sky.

Qian Duoduo is a very astute person. He knows that the estate has a new owner, and the new owner might transfer someone he trusts to be the head of the estate, thus removing him from his position. He is doing everything he can to curry favor with the new owner and keep his own position.

Seeing Zhao Ruxi captivated by the birds, and thinking that little girls would likely enjoy such things, he stepped closer and mustered his courage to say to Zhao Ruxi, "Miss, there's a river over there. Because egrets often roost along its banks, it's called Egret River. Those that just flew up were egrets."

"Do all the fields beside the Egret River belong to us?" she asked.

"Yes. This side of the river belongs to our village, and the other side belongs to someone else," Qian Duoduo said respectfully.

Zhao Ruxi was quite Gao Xing to hear this.

With a river, you can raise fish; with a river, you can irrigate; and you can even bring in river water to create a three-dimensional ecological cycle aquaculture. It's no wonder everyone wants this place.

Others might prefer farmland, wishing they could have all fertile land. But Zhao Ruxi, from modern times, knew that the most profitable thing was not farming, but growing cash crops and raising aquatic products.

The presence of rivers means a greater diversity of species.

"Aren't these two sides just going to be left empty? Won't anyone come into the village?" she asked, pointing to both sides.

"Because the estate is quite large, building a wall would be very expensive. So we only buried boundary stones at the border and didn't build a wall," Qian Duoduo said.

He had already defined Zhao Ruxi, his new master, in his mind: she was just a clueless little girl.

Thinking of this, his worries deepened.

If the new owner doesn't interfere, things will be fine. But if they do interfere and give bad orders, their lives will probably be even more difficult.

Qian Duoduo's father is the head of the estate, and their estate has had many owners. Some owners only care about exploiting people, while others pretend to know everything and give orders haphazardly. When they encounter an unreliable owner, their lives become very difficult.

Entering through the main gate and walking about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) further in, one arrives at a large courtyard with high walls and a vast area.

The gate to the mansion was wide open, and everyone went inside, discovering that it was a two-courtyard house. The backyard was divided into two smaller courtyards, with about twenty rooms in total.

The house was very clean, clearly it was regularly cleaned.