Xie Mulin led the people into the door of the old mansion.

Ma Lu Yao's family came to report and said: "Second girl, we have already taken someone to clean up the kitchen, and asked the tenants of the nearby clan house to buy firewood, and the cooking has begun on the stove. The old lady's japonica rice porridge is also almost ready. Others may have to wait another half an hour for dinner. Will the girl follow the old lady to eat porridge, or will she hold on for a while to eat? ”

Xie Mulin thought for a while: "We don't bring much japonica rice, so let's leave it to the old lady." I'll eat with you. "Where is Ma Lu Yao?

Ma Luyao's daughter-in-law said that her husband took someone to inspect the surrounding environment of the old house, and that there were some things that could be used and any dangers that needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. Although it was already dark and it was inconvenient to act, with the help of the moonlight and a few lanterns, it was barely able to cope. Everyone is going to spend the night in the old house tonight, if they don't confirm the safety of the environment, how can everyone be at ease?

When Mrs. Xie came back, she only brought two maids, and she was very sick, so it was not easy for Pearl and Mother He to clean up the main house, settle her down, and then ensure that she took medicinal meals every day, not to mention that Pearl had to go to Pingwang Town to block people later. Therefore, they have no time to do many things, and they don't have the strength to do them, and now they are counting on them.

Xie Mulin expressed his understanding, so he simply handed over all the work in this area to Ma Luyao. Isn't Wen going to keep his right-hand man just to help her? Why worry about everything? She sent Ma Lu Yao's daughter-in-law back to the kitchen, and she also called Li'er and Cuijiao, and brought two powerful mothers-in-law, each carrying a lantern, and began to walk around the old house.

She'd have to figure out where she's going to spend the night tonight.

The three-room house of the Xie family was originally a two-entry courtyard, and an east cross courtyard was added, which was used for weaving workshops in the early days. When Xie Zehu first started his family, he hired women from poor families in the clan, as well as middle-aged and elderly women from nearby tenants or villagers' families, to spin and weave cloth on his own land, and then accumulate the finished products and sell them.

Later, when his family became wealthy, he moved the weaving workshop out, and the east courtyard was divided into two rooms, the front was used as a kitchen and a carriage shed, and the back became his special study, where he basically was there when he needed to discuss with his shopkeepers and men. He, his wife Lu, and son Xie Pu mainly live in the courtyard of the middle road.

When he made more money, his son gradually grew up, and Wen's fiancée, he could no longer let everyone live in one courtyard, so he bought an extra piece of hillside land from the clan and built additional houses, namely the Sanjin Courtyard on West Road and the backyard with a building behind the main courtyard. The backyard occupies a large area, although there is a house, but it also leaves room for addition, which was originally lived by Xie Zehu when he was preparing to have children in the future. But he only has one son, his wife has never given birth again, and he does not take concubines, and the backyard has always been empty.

The three courtyards on the West Road, the first one is the guest courtyard Baiyuan where guests come, the other is the bamboo courtyard where Xie Pu's former residence lives, and the third is the Meilu where the Wen family lives, which is mainly a two-story small building, plus a row of bungalows and huts where people live. The courtyard of Meilu is the best preserved overall, and the person who presided over the relocation seems to have stored most of the old furniture that is not ready to be moved here, and there is a separate small kitchen in the courtyard.

Half of the old house was built on a hillside, so the further one walked inside, the higher the terrain became, and the walkway along the way had steps and gentle slopes. Standing on the two buildings in the third courtyard, you can see far away, the view is excellent, and the ventilation and lighting are very good.

Xie Mulin walked around the old mansion, although the lantern light was dim, and the lighting conditions were far less than during the day, she still roughly figured out the situation in the house.

Don't look at this old house looks very old, there is grass on the roof tiles, and there is moss under the steps, but because the whole is relatively new, and the materials are good, it can still live after being abandoned for many years. In particular, the backyard and the Meilu in the west were newly built and the terrain was high, and they were not invaded by floods, and they were in the best state of preservation. You only need to clean and clean, repair the broken doors and windows, put the broken furniture in order, and then move some good old furniture out of the plum house, and you can live again!

Xie Mulin also asked, there is a well in the kitchen yard, because when the Xie family moved as a whole, the servants in the third room were more responsible, and they covered the wellhead with a stone slab before leaving, so the well is not dirty, and the water can still be used, of course, it will be better to ask someone to come and find it. It's really not good, there is a river not far in front of the house, the water is quite clear, boiled for use, drinking water and domestic water are not a big problem.

On the hillside behind the old house, the greenery is lush, don't look at the mountain is not high, but the firewood is still quite sufficient. Cuijiao also heard from the children of nearby people that there are occasionally birds to hunt, mushrooms to pick, and several herbs to use in the forest.

After crossing the hillside, there is a small village, called Qianwan Village, there are about twenty or thirty households, most of them fish, farming for a living, there is a doctor, a carpenter, a blacksmith, four or five women who spin and weave, and a family is a family that has been doing the business of supporting boats and carrying passengers for generations, supporting a small boat every day, going back and forth between Qianwan Village and Huyin County, and each village along the road has docked, one back and forth in the morning and evening, and the time is fixed. Residents in the vicinity basically rely on this boat to go out. The small pier in front of the old house is a temporary docking point.

Xie Mulin had counted it in his heart, and Ma Lu Yao's family came to report that dinner was ready. She went back to the main house and had dinner with Mrs. Xie.

Dinner is very simple, basically the ones eaten on the ship, because it is almost to the place, so there are not many ingredients in stock, it is just bacon and pickles. However, this is a water town, and the subordinates caught a small fish from the river, which was just used to cook a soup, which was only enough for Xie Mulin to drink. The chef has good skills, and she eats very deliciously. However, Mrs. Xie ate a bowl of white porridge, and she was a little greedy, smelling the aroma of her granddaughter's food, and thinking that she was pitiful, she was a little uncomfortable.

Mrs. Xie was upset, so she wanted to be a demon: "How come the children don't even know a little filial piety?" My old woman is here with coarse tea and light rice, but you eat big fish and meat deliciously! ”

Xie Mulin raised his head and said to her with a smile: "Old lady, you are still sick now, and you can't eat meat, so put up with it for the time being, right?" When you're well, you can eat whatever you want. ”

Mrs. Xie choked for a moment, only feeling that she was being coaxed as a child, and she was even more angry, her eyes widened, and she was about to scold, but Xie Mulin opened her mouth first: "After eating in a while, I will tell the people below to clean up the house and spend the night tonight." I see that the main house has been blistered, and the smell is not good, the river swelled a few days ago, and I don't know when it will rain again, in case the house is flooded again, how can the old lady stand it? The house on the other side of Meilu is basically intact, and the terrain is high, so it is not afraid of flooding. I'll ask someone to find a sedan chair and send the old lady to Meilu to settle down, right? ”

"No!" Mrs. Xie suddenly forgot about the trivial matter of the meal, "I am the mother of this family, how can I move to a remote house and a remote courtyard to live?!" Besides, Meilu is your mother's place! ”

Xie Mulin smiled and said, "If my mother knows, she will definitely welcome you to move over." Don't pay attention to the main house and the courtyard. My mother is my father's wife, and she doesn't live in the west yard? The environment of Meilu is much better than here, you can live comfortably, and the illness can get better faster, isn't that a great thing? Don't lose your temper. The doctor also said that you should be as calm as possible and not get angry at every turn. In case of getting angry again, even if Dr. Du is invited back, there may not be a way to cure it. Are you worth it for this little thing? ”

Old Mrs. Xie choked again, she glared at Xie Mulin for a long time, and finally swallowed that breath.

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