After the small sampan that the three of them were riding landed on the shore, Xiao Yiran asked the Sun Moon Boat to slowly sail to the shore and sent away the four Xiucai from Huayin who were rushing to take the exam, and the sky was already bright.

"Qingwen, tell everyone, we don't accept guests today."

"Don't you have a day of guests?"

"Yes."

Xiao Yiran is not only because of physical fatigue, she also wants to calm down and think about the way out in the future. For a person like Xiao Yiran who has no foundation, it is impossible for this painting boat to make a living for a long time. If Xiao Yiran is willing to sell himself to pick up customers, it is another matter. In that case, at least you can rely on a few powerful people and use their power to protect yourself. The current Xiao Yiran's reputation is not very loud, so it attracts only some small guests, if one day the reputation of Sun Moon Boat is outside, and then if he wants to quit, it is not Xiao Yiran's ability to have the final say.

All day, Xiao Yiran was locked in the room of the painting boat and pondered. At dinner, Qingwen asked:

"Miss, do you want to receive guests tomorrow?"

Xiao Yiran looked away and said to Qingwen:

"Keep closing, we'll go out tomorrow."

Xiao Yiran remembered that back then, when his uncle was outside Jiangning Mansion, the Zhuangzi of Song Jiatuan came. I don't know if that Zhuangzi is still there after the past four hundred years, Xiao Yiran really likes that place. So, she wanted to go out of town early tomorrow morning to have a look.

The next day, the three of them changed into men's clothes, hired a carriage, went out of the east gate of Yingtianfu, and rushed towards Song Jiatuan in the direction in their memory. What Xiao Yiran didn't expect was that after only walking for ten miles, he got lost. Not only have four hundred years passed, but also after many wars, the scene outside Ying Tianfu has already undergone earth-shaking changes, that is, the official road has changed its location. Xiao Yiran asked Qingwen to get out of the car and ask passers-by about a village called Song Jiatuan nearby, fortunately, I learned from the passers-by that there was indeed a village called Song Jiatuan twenty miles ahead. Following the direction indicated by passers-by, the three arrived at noon.

Standing in memory, where is the original lotus pond and bamboo forest in the Zhuangzi of the eldest uncle Sun Jidong? There was nothing but desolation in front of him. The lotus pond that once made Xiao Yiran linger is only a pond less than an acre in size, with some fallen leaves and dead branches floating on the water. In the bamboo forest, whenever the breeze came, there would always be a burst of waves, but now there is only a low, bare hill left.

Looking at the qiē in front of him, Xiao Yiran couldn't help but feel endless emotion.

Things change stars and everything is wrong,

The bamboo forest in the lotus pond is semi-desolate.

The endless autumn wind sweeps the leaves,

The lonely man thinks about flying.

Standing by the deserted pond, Xiao Yiran recalled the bits and pieces that had happened in the nearly a year he had lived here.

Pink walls and black tiles, green trees.

In spring and summer, enjoy the lotus and swing lightly, and in autumn and winter, you are accustomed to listening to the bamboo forest wind.

"How did Mademoiselle know there was such a place?"

Seeing Xiao Yiran standing still for a long time, Musk Yue asked with some confusion.

"It was before you arrived at the painting boat that my mother brought me here."

"Why are you here, so desolate here?"

Qingwen's questioning made Xiao Yiran unable to answer for a while.

"Alright, let's go back."

The three of them returned to the painting boat, and Xiao Yiran pondered again. If you can buy it, it will only cost a few silver taels, and it will be restored to its original state in less than two years. Just who should I buy it from? Growing up in a painting boat since he was a child, Xiao Yiran is very unfamiliar with a qiē outside the painting boat. After thinking about it for a long time, I asked Qingwen to find Wang Ma.

"Mother Wang, I have taken a fancy to a place outside Yingtianfu City and want to buy it, but I don't know what to do?"

"I wonder if Miss is interested in a land with a home or a land without a land?"

"It looks like it's been abandoned for a long time, and it should be a borderless land."

"If it's a borderland, it's not that hard."

"So what to do?"

"You need to find the local land security, or Lizheng, if they come forward to report to the county, the county will issue a title deed, and then just pay the silver."

"So easy?"

"yes, this refers to the Borderlands. If there is a master's land, it will be much more troublesome, you need to find the owner first, and it depends on whether the owner wants to sell it. If you want to sell, you have to find a Chinese person, negotiate the price, sign the paperwork, and draw a pledge. Then go to the county government for the record, pay the tax, and then get the title deed. ”

Seeing that Xiao Yiran was pondering, Wang Ma asked again:

"Where does the young lady fancy the land? Is there a proper person to run errands for Miss? ”

"It is a piece of land in the east of Yingtianfu City, and there is an acre of pond in it. It's because I can't think of a suitable errand runner that I get worried. ”

"Miss, we are all women on the boat, since my mother was here, and it is not suitable for us to show up to do these things. If you want to find someone, you still have to look for someone from the outside. ”

"Mother Wang, you also know that I was adopted by my mother since I was a child, and I have no other relatives."

"If Miss can be trusted, there is a nephew in the old family who is dedicated to the economy."

"Wang Ma is also an old man on the painting boat, where can I believe it. If you can really help me run errands and do this, I will never treat Wang Ma's maiden nephew badly. ”

"Since Miss said so, I will send someone to call my maiden nephew, and Miss will tell him to his face."

Later that day, when the sun had just set, Wang's mother's maiden nephew arrived at the Sun Moon Boat. was led into Xiao Yiran's room by Qingwen, and naturally, Wang's mother was also on the side.

"Miss, this is my niece Sun Xiang. Xiao Xiangzi, this is my aunt's master, just call Miss Cheng. ”

"Hello Miss, Sun Xiang is polite."

Xiao Yiran also returned the salute. Sun Xiang is thirty-four or five years old, with a white face and beard, and his eyes are not big, but he is bright, and he is a shrewd and capable person at first glance.

"Brother Sun, I invite you here today because I want to ask my eldest brother for help."

"Miss has something to do, just tell me."

Xiao Yiran looked at Wang Ma next to her, Wang Ma understood, and said to Xiao Yiran:

"The old body just sent someone to call Xiao Xiangzi, and didn't reveal what it was, Miss tell me carefully."

"Brother Sun, do you know that thirty miles outside the East City Gate, there is a village called Song Jiatuan?"

"I know, in the summer, because of a sale, I was there."

"That's good. That's right, there is a pond of acres and sizes on the edge of Songjiatuan Village, and there is a bare hill by the pond, and I want to buy it. It's just that I don't know if there is an owner in that place, and in addition, as for how to buy it and how to go through the formalities, I need a person to help. I don't know if the eldest brother of the Sun family is willing to run errands for me. ”

"It's simple, don't tell Miss Secret, that's what I do for a living."

"Since that's the case, then it's troublesome for the eldest brother of the Sun family. This is ten taels of silver, the eldest brother will use it first, and after the matter is done, Yiran will have a thank you gift. ”

"Miss doesn't have to be like this, we do this business, we have the rules of this business. It is all taken from the silver two of the transaction, and the amount you should get is as much as you want, and there is no need for the lady to pay in advance. ”

Xiao Yiran didn't know what their commission would be at that time, and turned his head to look at Wang Ma.

"Miss, the proportion of our commission is half percent, that is, one hundred taels of silver, and five taels."

Obviously, seeing the confusion in Xiao Yiran's eyes, Sun Xiang hurriedly explained.

"Then follow the rules of the eldest brother of the Sun family."

After speaking, Xiao Yiran drew a map of the boundary according to his memory and handed it to Sun Xiang.

"Brother Sun, what I chose is the place in this box, including the pond and the small dirt hill on the edge of the pond. The area is centered on the pond, and it is about 30 to 50 acres. ”

"What does Miss mean not less than thirty acres?"

"That's right. It's big, more than 50 acres is fine, but don't exceed too much, the key is to see how the price is. ”

Xiao Yiran's meaning is very clear, I am afraid that it is too expensive to afford it.

"Miss rest assured, the land there is not valuable, and the cultivated land is only thirteen or four taels of silver per acre, and the lotus pond and Tushan are not cultivated land, at most four or five taels of silver per acre."

Next, the two discussed some details, and Sun Xiang said goodbye and left. Before leaving, he told Xiao Yiran that he would listen to the letter within three days.

While waiting for Sun Xiang's reply, Sun Moon Boat was still closed, and there were no guests. The morning after Sun Xiang left, the sky was overcast, and the cold and hard west wind blew before dawn. Around noon, the sky suddenly began to fall with snowflakes. Because it was the first snow of the year, Xiao Yiran came to the deck and saw that most of the people in the painting boat were gathered here, and Wang Ma was also there.

"I didn't expect the snow to fall so early this year, and there are still more than ten days before the beginning of winter."

When Wang Ma saw that Xiao Yiran also came out, she came over and said to Xiao Yiran, and the others also agreed. Qingwen didn't care about this, and jumped lightly on the deck, stretching out her hands and continuing the falling snowflakes.

"Miss, you don't always receive guests, after a long time, why don't you sit and eat empty? There are a lot of mouths on the boat. ”

Wang Ma kindly reminded.

"Two more days."

"Is Miss worried that she will not be stingy that night?"

"Yes, Mother Wang. Our painting boat has no roots here, so if we don't cause trouble, it's best not to cause trouble. ”

"Maybe 'mixing without stinginess' is just a moment of drunkenness, and the words of drinking are forgotten later."

Xiao Yiran shook his head and didn't say anything more. After watching the snow on the deck, Xiao Yiran turned around and went back to the room because of the strong and cold wind. As soon as I came in, before I could sit down, I saw Qingwen running in in a panic and said to Xiao Yiran:

"Miss, no, that 'bastard' is here with three or four people."

"Sue sù below, row the painting boat to the center of the river, and ignore them."

"Miss, they didn't come from the shore, but came down from the upper reaches of the river with a small sampan. He had already leaned to the port side of the boat, and said that if he didn't let them come up, he would forcibly climb up. They came with ropes. ”

Xiao Yiran thought to himself, people really couldn't help but chatter, and as soon as he said a few words, "mixing up" really came. It's a blessing or a curse, it's a disaster that can't be avoided, there is no way, Xiao Yiran has no choice but to order Qingwen:

"Let them come up."

"Miss?"

"Go ahead, you can't hide anyway, see what they can do when they come up."