He is a person with strong action, so he will do what he says, and directly called Old Man Shen over, told Du Jinning's plan, and said, "You go and inquire to see if there are any houses to sell nearby." If you can't find out, go to someone and ask. ”

Old man Shen was sent by his master to guard the house here, and he usually did not live behind closed doors, and he and his children and grandchildren also shouldered the important responsibility of good neighborliness and friendship. I usually have a chat with the nearby porter, and take this opportunity to promote the identity and status of the Qi family, so as not to have the short-sighted crumbs to see that this house has not been inhabited for a long time, and sneak over the wall to come in and do something unseemly.

In addition, if there is a happy event in the neighbor's house, he will also give a gift according to the identity of the other party.

Don't look at this small move, it doesn't cost much, and you don't need the owner to bother, but if you do it, the other party can accept it. Everyone has an identity and status, and the people here write to their relatives in Beijing, and as soon as they talk about this situation, the Qi family can gain the favor of some people. At the critical moment, maybe others in the court will say a good word or two for the Qi family and save the lives of the first family.

Because he often walks around with his neighbors, Old Man Shen is still quite well-informed in this area.

At this time, when he heard Qi Muyuan's words, he immediately laughed: "Ouch, Young Master Du is really blessed." Let's have a house, because the people who live in it are either rich or expensive, and they are not short of money for one or two houses, so everyone buys a house, unless the family road is ruined, it will not be easy to sell out. A year or two may not be able to meet a house for sale. But what if you don't say that Young Master Du is blessed? A few days ago, I went out to visit the door, and I happened to hear that the house diagonally opposite the door was going to sell the house. ”

"Oh, what a coincidence, that's great. I don't know how big the house is? How much does it cost? Du Jinning was immediately happy. Isn't this just drowsiness meeting a pillow?

Old man Shen shook his head: "His family is always closed on weekdays, and it seems that there is no one to guard the house." How big it is and what kind of situation it is, the old slave doesn't know. However, this news came out when a Chinese person came to the door and asked everyone if they wanted to stay at home. If Young Master Du is interested, I will ask my little grandson to run and invite the Chinese surnamed Cao to ask about the situation. ”

"Okay, then there will be Uncle Lao Shen."

Old man Shen's family is very quick to work, but after a cup of tea, Cao Zhongren arrived, and was attracted by Shen Ming, the grandson of Old Man Shen, to meet Qi Muyuan and Du Jinning.

Du Jinning wanted to buy a house, and everyone in Cao Zhong listened to Shen Ming, and after coming in to see the ceremony, he said straight to the point: "The house opposite belongs to the Wei family." The Wei family's hometown is in Xingning County, and when his eldest master passed the examination, he bought such a house in Fucheng. It's just that I didn't have enough money at that time, and I didn't repair and clean up the house after I bought it, so I just made do with it for two years. Six years later, he was admitted to the Jinshi and took his wife, wife and children to work in other places, and the house was empty. Over the years, it has also been rented out for people to live in, and the rent that can be collected is not enough to maintain the repair of the house, because the house is too big. ”

Speaking of this, he glanced up at Qi Muyuan and Du Jinning, and saw that both of them were good-looking, and at first glance they were the children of official eunuchs, so he said more bluntly: "I think the two young masters also know that in the officialdom, if you love the people like a son and are innocent, it is not easy to support your family by relying on so much money." Lord Wei is like this, his life as an official has not been better, but it has become more and more difficult. Life in his hometown is not easy, Second Master Wei has been sick a few times, and he has spent almost all his family money. Lord Wei thought that this house was left in vain, and the more it was put away, the more dilapidated it became, so he planned to sell it. The mansion occupies a large area, and it is estimated that it can be as big as Young Master Qi's house, and this location is rare. Lord Wei said, the price is 1,500 taels of silver. If Young Master Du sincerely wants it, the price can be negotiated again. ”

Du Jinning glanced at Qi Muyuan.

Taking advantage of Shen Ming's efforts to call people just now, Old Man Shen also told the price of the nearby houses. Like the Qi family's house, there are many houses inside and outside, and the yard is also relatively exquisitely cleaned, and the price can probably reach more than 2,000 taels. For smaller houses or smaller ones, it can range from more than 1,000 taels, depending on the situation.

If the situation of the Wei family's house is really similar to that of the Qi family, the price of 1,500 taels is really not expensive.

However, just now Du Jinning said that she didn't want to buy such a big house, and now she has encountered such a big house, which is really not to her liking.

Du Jinning Road; "Let's go see the situation first." Then he asked, "Do you have a key?" ”

Cao Zhongren shook his head: "The Wei family has a distant relative in Fucheng, and the key is in his hand. How the final price was negotiated, and whether it was decided to sell, Lord Wei entrusted him to decide. I had already called for someone to inform him when I came, and he would come with the keys in a moment. ”

Saying that, he looked at Shen Ming: "I have to bother Brother Shen to take a look." If he comes, let's go and see the house. ”

Shen Ming was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, and his errands were very numb. When he heard this, he ran out as fast as he could, and after a while he came back again, and cried out, "The man is coming, call everyone over." ”

The group got up and went out the door.

When Du Jinning looked at the location, it was really diagonally opposite the door, and there was a family across the opposite side of the Qi family, and it was only a few dozen meters away from the Qi Mansion.

At this time, a hunched and gray-haired old man was already waiting there.

This old man is also surnamed Wei, and he is the distant uncle of Lord Wei. Seeing that this group of people came out of the Qi family opposite, Qi Muyuan and Du Jinning were both good-looking, and they could see that they sincerely wanted to buy a house, so his attitude was very respectful and polite.

After greeting each other, Old Man Wei opened the door and invited everyone in.

After entering the gate and walking a few steps, standing under the porch of the courtyard, Qi Muyuan looked at the situation in the courtyard, and then looked up at the roof of the courtyard with a big hole, and his brows furrowed tightly.

This yard is really not your average dilapidated.

On the opposite side is the main hall, which is used to receive foreign guests, and it is also the façade of the family, and the original owner should have spent money when he built this house, although there are no carved beams and paintings, but the house is also tall. But now the windows were broken, and the place where the big pillar in the corridor was grounded had rotted, and the foot of the wooden structure under the house had rotted out a large hole. Not to mention the cloisters on both sides, there are not a few tiles left of the roof.

The grass in the middle of the yard seems to have been pulled out shortly ago, revealing black and yellow soil. The bluestone-paved road is covered with moss.

Qi Muyuan turned his head and said to Cao Zhongdao unhappily: "For such a house, you still need fifteen hundred taels?" ”