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  He carefully listened to the situation of that piece of land and found out that it had nothing to do with either the Wei Wang Fu or the Qing Hua County Master, which made him very happy.

  Since He Zhizhong was excused from his task by 79 Free Web, he took advantage of the remaining half-day's work hours and went to the Leng Tao shop in East Market to buy some fresh cold dishes for his wife and children to eat.

  The young master had just finished packing the food box when he saw Zhang Wu Lang walking over, looking around. Zhang Wu Lang was wearing a moon-white fine gauze robe with a high collar today, and on his head, he didn't tie a fine gauze forehead band, but instead wore a neat and tidy green silk hat. His sleeves were not rolled up high like usual, but hung straight down to his wrists. Seeing that the air of arrogance and savagery had decreased somewhat, he felt a sense of surprise. The young master couldn't help but smile as he went to greet him: "Wu Lang, where are you from?"

  Zhang Wulang felt a bit uneasy and exchanged greetings with Dalang, smiling: "I just heard that my brother was coming this way, so I came to find him." He glanced at the several large food boxes in the hands of the young servant from the He family and couldn't help but smile: "Brother bought so many cold dishes, are you busy sending them back home?"

  Da Lang, because he had helped him before, didn't want to take credit at all, and just having a meal was enough. He even refused the gift that He Zhitong had prepared for him, and afterwards didn't say anything extra. His impression of him had changed somewhat. With a few words, he showed some casualness and warmth: "That's right, I'm free today so I can go home early. Thinking they all love to eat, I specially came here to buy." After finishing speaking, he first called the young servant to send the food box back home, then pulled Zhang Wu Lang into the store to invite him to have some cold noodles.

  Zhang Wu Lang didn't decline, and openly ate with Da Lang. The two of them only chatted about some trivial business matters on the market. Da Lang saw that he was speaking and acting very calmly, and couldn't help but ask: "Wu Lang, what good things have you encountered recently?"

  Zhang Wu Lang said seriously: "Speaking of this matter, I was just thinking of asking for your advice, brother. Please help me out." As he spoke, he really stood up and bowed to Da Lang together.

  Dalong hurriedly stopped him and said with a smile: "Don't be so polite, whatever I can help with, I will never decline."

  Zhang Wulang sighed: "We brothers thought that we can't idle around every day, so we opened a rice shop. However, doing business is not easy, it's easy to start but hard to operate, and no one comes to buy rice. Please help me think of a way, brother."

  No wonder he's dressed like this, it turns out he's changed his ways. Dalang smiled: "Brother, let me tell you the truth, don't get angry when you hear it, Wulang. It seems that everyone is afraid to come to the door." The wealthy families have their own granaries and rice stores, and most of the people who buy rice and grains outside are ordinary folks like Zhang Wulang, a notorious city rascal. If he shortchanges or cheats, there's no place to complain, so who would dare provoke him for no reason?

  Zhang Wulang didn't get angry, scratching his head and ears, saying: "I also thought it was probably like this, but we can't force people to come and buy, right?" In fact, what he said was not entirely true. On the first day of opening, when they were about to close, there wasn't a single customer. They felt that the omen was bad, so they went next door to the rice shop and dragged an old man over, forcing him to come and buy. As a result, they scared the old man into fainting, and it wasn't until after they paid his medical expenses that the matter was settled.

  Darong couldn't think of any good ideas that would make people quickly accept his views, so he comforted him by saying: "Doing business isn't that easy. Otherwise, wouldn't the whole street be filled with businessmen? You have this heart and that's good, the key is to engage in fair trade, prioritize reputation, and everyone will see it, slowly but surely there will be business too."

  Zhang Wu Lang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly became excited again, and loudly said: "Brother, someone sent me two fish that were just caught from the river, they are very fat and delicious. I didn't have the chance to repay you for the meal at your house last time, today is a good opportunity to return the favor. Brother, don't decline, I'll go and get someone to clean them up right away, please help me invite Uncle and Fourth Brother over, let's all enjoy together."

  Dalong saw him and instantly forgot about it, returning to his usual self. He finally felt that the eerie feeling had weakened a bit. Holding back his smile, he said: "Wulang, please forgive me, today is not possible, I still have things to attend to. Another day, brother will treat you and the others to wine."

  Zhang Wulang finally reacted, thinking that since he had already blown his cover, pretending to be a gentle soul would only make him look like a nagging woman. He rolled up his sleeves even higher and looked at Dalang with a sly smile: "I'm used to being a rough man, I want to be a refined person, but it's not something I can do, haha, forgive me, brother."

  Dà Láng saw that he was generous and felt that he was lovely, personally poured him a cup of tea, and smiled: "Wǔ Láng is Wǔ Láng, what a Sī rén! Brother, I also can't be a Sī rén."

  Zhang Wulang liked this sentence and happily said: "Brother, wait for me." After finishing, he swung his leg and ran far away.

  Dalan didn't know what he was going to do, and couldn't stop him either, so he had no choice but to wait for his return. A moment later, Zhang Wulang personally brought over two big fat carp, and without saying a word, stuffed them into the hands of He's family servant: "Take it, go home and cook it for your aunt, uncle, and cousins!"

  The young servant only looked at the master's expression with his eyes, and the master knew that Zhang Wulang was a generous person, so he happily thanked him and ordered the servant to take it back. Zhang Wulang was overjoyed and personally escorted him to the street corner before leaving.

  Dalong hadn't gone far when he suddenly remembered something. Didn't this Wulang usually get along well with Silang? Why did he come to bother him for advice on business instead of going to find Silang? He looked at the two fat fish, and no matter how he looked at them, they seemed a bit strange.

  Dalong arrived home and ordered the young servant to take the two carp to the kitchen for preparation. He also called for Xiaoyan to go and invite Peony out to discuss matters.

  Before long, a tinkling sound of jade pendants was heard, the curtain was lifted, and the faint scent of lotus flowers wafted in with the breeze. Peony smiled brightly as she walked in holding a peony-shaped fan with an ivory handle. The young master's eyes lit up at once, but he saw that she was wearing a casual light yellow short jacket with a pattern of lotus flowers, paired with a peach-red six-panel gauze skirt, and wore agallochum shoes on her feet, with red lips and white teeth, looking delicate and charming.

  Looking at his own sister's beautiful face, the young master felt delighted and praised her for a couple of sentences before bringing up the main topic: "I asked about the villa you went to yesterday, and it turned out that it wasn't the Wei King's mansion, but rather the Ning King's estate. Because the ball court was built with oil and is exceptionally smooth, it's very famous in the capital, and many nobles love to borrow it to play ball. So, sister, don't worry, just go buy it."

  Peony immediately calculated that these people really loved to go there to play, and for her soon-to-be-opened Peony Garden, it was a good opportunity instead. Playing, admiring flowers, relaxing, buying flowers, was exactly what she needed. She then said to Dalang: "When shall we go see the land?"

  "Choose a day? No need! Let's just get married tomorrow!"

  At dinner time, He Zhizhong saw that there were suddenly two more dishes of sashimi on the table, and couldn't help but laugh: "Who is so thoughtful, knowing that I was just thinking of eating sashimi?"

  "Today I went to Dongshi to buy cold noodles and met Zhang Wulang, he gave them to me."

  He Zhizhong picked up a chopstick and fed it to his mouth, savoring the flavor carefully, feeling that the meat was sweet and fresh, and smiled: "Still fresh. Why did he suddenly send you river carp?"

  Dalong said, "At first he asked me about my business, then said he wanted to return the seat, I said I had something on, and suddenly he sent fish." He also asked Silang, "Do you know about his opening a rice shop? How did he suddenly change his nature?"

  "Of course I know, at that time I even went to send gifts. I heard that he was getting older and wanted to settle down, but the good family's daughter didn't look up to him, and he wasn't satisfied with anyone else either, so he had no choice but to make some adjustments and do something proper."

  He Zhizhong took another bite of fish and said, "It's great that he has such thoughts. 79 Free Net 79, how long can it last?"

  Si Lang smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's a bit difficult, there's no business. He has a bad reputation outside, people are avoiding him, where would they come to his door?" Then he told them about the time he forced someone to buy rice, but ended up scaring them away and losing money instead.

  "Er Lang shook his head and smiled: 'A person like him, opening a rice shop? If he really wants to make a career for himself, it would be better to join the army.'"

  Liu Lang sneered, "He wants to get married? What's the point of getting married after joining the army? In my opinion, if he really wants to find a way to make a living, it would be better for him to go into cockfighting. That's the most suitable profession for someone like him."

  He Zhizhong cursed: "How dare you look down on others? Fighting chickens is a legitimate business, don't go spreading this outside."

  Liu Lang, relying on his youth, usually didn't take him seriously, so he retorted: "Where did the child look down on him? Nowadays, isn't it said that having children doesn't require literacy, and raising chickens and horses is better than reading books? If I didn't have a proper occupation, I would also go into chicken farming. There's no faster way to make money than that. We work hard at sea, buying goods, and after finally returning safely, we still need to spend so much effort to sell them, going through wind and rain, which is not as good as others who gamble a few times."

  Wu Lang's wife, Zhang Shi, heard him say this and felt it was not good for the fetus education. She feared that the child in her womb would also be affected by these words and immediately got up and walked away. He Zhi Zhong also sank his face, and Yang Niang, who was waiting on the side, saw the situation and quickly made eye contact with him, only then did Liu Lang reluctantly stop speaking.

  He Zhizhong's face turned gloomy and he coldly snorted, "Why don't you talk about those who gamble on cockfighting until they lose everything and sell their wives and children? You're saying these things in front of the kids, aren't you afraid of corrupting them? I don't care about outsiders, but if any of my He family's sons dare to get involved with these unscrupulous things, I'll break their legs and chase them out! Not a single one will be allowed to inherit anything."

  Liu Lang saw that he was angry and didn't dare to say more, shrinking his neck to eat. He Zhizhong was still angry and felt that the fish wasn't delicious either. Mrs. Cen silently scooped a bowl of chicken soup for him and said in a low voice: "The children are still young, what's the hurry, teach them slowly."

  He Zhitong sighed, the taste in his heart couldn't be expressed. Liu Lang was only twenty years old and the youngest, with an ordinary relationship with his brothers, but now he had such thoughts, after he died, it's likely that there would be no good days to come.

  Thinking of this, he worriedly cast his gaze towards Peony who was picking fish bones for He Chun, and secretly made up his mind that no matter what, before he closed his eyes, he must find a good home for Peony.

  Peony was busy picking fish bones for her nephew, when she suddenly felt that He Zhizhong was looking at her. She lifted her head and smiled sweetly at him. He Zhizhong saw how lovely she looked when she smiled, and the depression in his heart eased a lot. In a gentle voice, he said: "Tomorrow, Peony, are you going to see the land? Father will accompany you."

  The peony is hard to come by.

  On the second day, He Zhizhong and Dalang set out early in the morning with their horses and rode to the outskirts of Huangqu. They bypassed Ning Wang's villa and continued on for about ten miles before reaching the edge of the land.

  About half a mile to the right of the main path, there is a piece of dry land about 100 mu in size. The dry land is surrounded by willow trees and other plants that separate it from the outside. If you want to prevent outsiders from entering, just plant thistles or wild roses along the willows to form a line. A small, clear river dedicated to irrigation flows out of the Yellow Canal and meanders along the left side of the willows, stretching far into the distance. Even if peonies are planted in the pond, the water source is very convenient.

  Dalong thought this land was quite suitable, but Peony looked at it and wasn't very satisfied, just because the terrain was too flat.

  In modern peony specialized gardens, for this flat terrain, a regular layout is usually adopted, that is, the garden area is divided into regular planting pools, and various peony varieties are planted in a regular manner to form a neat geometric pattern. This layout is uniform and convenient for interspecific hybridization and research, making it the best layout for peony specialized gardens with purposes of appreciation, production and germplasm conservation.

  But Peony thinks that in this era of garden design, which emphasizes changing scenery with every step, such a rule-bound garden would not be popular and could only be used for specialized planting gardens. It's not suitable for the ancient people who came to visit and appreciate flowers. She wants a garden with undulating terrain, with peonies as the main theme, harmoniously arranged with other flowers, trees, rocks, buildings, etc., achieving a natural and effortless beauty, like a work of nature.

  Dalong saw Peony silent and speechless, couldn't help but feel anxious: "Peony, are you looking down on me?"

  He Zhizhong also asked Peony: "What exactly do you want? You have to say it out first, then your brother can go and take care of it."

  The peony was a bit red-faced, thinking that it was one thing, but actually doing something about it was another. She knew that it wasn't easy for Dalang to find this piece of land in this area, and it was also her own fault for not making things clear beforehand, so she didn't directly say that she looked down on it, but just smiled and said: "I think it's a bit small, and also a bit flat, let's take a look around first."

  The family selling the land was a noble family with the surname Zhou. The reason they were selling was because the master of the house had been convicted of a crime and was demoted to a position in Lingnan, with no chance of returning home. They needed money for bribes, so they decided to sell the land. Today, the one accompanying the He family to view the land was the old steward of the Zhou household. Upon hearing Peony's words, not only did he not worry, but instead, he smiled and said: "If you think it's too big, then there's nothing that can be done about it. But if you think it's too small, then there really is a way to resolve it."

  "Peony heard him say this and seemed to have a good place, hurriedly said: 'What did you say?'"

  Dalong also said: "If there's a good place, don't hide it."

  The old manager didn't say it clearly, but smiled and led the way: "Please follow me." He took several people across the dry land, through the willows on the right, to the riverbank before stopping, pointing at the other side of the river for Peony and others to see: "Actually, the other side of the river is also my family's. This river was also opened by my family's master using a method."

  Previously, they were separated by a distance, with willows in between, and the peony was not seen clearly. Now, it is seen that there are also willows planted on the other side of the river, about twenty or thirty feet away, but there is a row of white walls and green tiles, which seems to be someone's residence.

  He Zhizhong vaguely understood in his heart that the old general manager wanted to sell the house together with their own family. With the keenness of a businessman, he realized that if this land and house just happened to meet Peony's intention, it might not be cheap. He spoke out to probe: "This side of the land is not very wide, only about 20 mu? Whose house is that?"

  The old manager smiled slightly: "It's also the owner's house. Because this guest only said he wanted to see the land, not the main house, so I didn't take him there to look. Let the guest go and take a look first?" He led the crowd down, and on the river surface below, a simple bridge was built with pine wood, just enough for two people to pass through shoulder to shoulder.

  Da Lang wanted to help He Zhi Zhong, but He Zhi Zhong waved his hand: "I'm not at that point yet, go help Dan Niang." After speaking, he lifted his robe and steadily walked onto the bridge. Da Lang had no choice but to turn back and pull Mu Dan, only to see Mu Dan already running onto the bridge, making a face at him, and excitedly chasing after He Zhi Zhong.

  Dalong couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head and saying to Yuhe: "Dan Niang is becoming more and more like a child." The old steward was good at observing expressions and knew that this was the father and brother giving their spoiled daughter a business, as long as Peony agreed, this deal would be settled. Afterwards, he became even more careful and attentive to Peony, answering all her questions without mentioning anything else.

  But as they crossed the bridge, they saw another path paved with cobblestones, about two zhang wide, leading straight to the gate of the mansion. On both sides were planted old locust trees, blocking out more than half of the sunlight. Standing in the shade of the trees, they felt a cool breeze blowing gently and the chirping of cicadas, making them feel very comfortable.

  The peony only walked on this street and already had a good impression. The old general manager came forward to knock on the door, and a man in his 40s lazily opened the door, glanced at Peony and others, knew they were here to see the house, and didn't say much, just opened the door and slipped away.

  That house is a two-sectioned quadrangle, with the central hall, backyard, main bedroom and other parts built in a moderate and unadorned style. The furniture is neither new nor old, and the style is not particular about being elegant or refined. However, the bedding and curtains are very old and even tattered, and the paint on the doors and windows has almost all flaked off. Peony felt slightly disappointed at first glance, and couldn't help but mutter to herself that this house didn't seem so small from the outside, how could it be so cramped inside?

  He Zhizhong, however, had obtained the old caretaker's permission and inspected the walls, roof beams, pillars, doors, and windows, finding them all to be quite sturdy. He was somewhat reassured in his heart, but as he was accustomed to doing business, not a hint of it showed on his face. Instead, he let Mudan display a disappointed expression.

  The old steward had been observing Mudan's expression, seeing that he was somewhat flustered, and hastily led Mudan to the next room, smiling apologetically: "If you think this one is too small, there's a bigger garden next door with pavilions and towers."

  Peony's eyes lit up, and she followed him to a moon gate that opened on the right corridor of the backyard. Behind the moon gate was a garden of about ten or more acres, with streams, lotus ponds, pavilions, artificial hills, and flowers and trees, all as the old steward had said. But just like before, probably because no one had taken care of it, everything looked lifeless, wild grass grew up to people's waists, last year's dead lotus leaves were still in the pond, the railings were covered in dust, and a lot of paint had peeled off.

  The peony garden, although it's in a state of disrepair, still has a good overall layout. In the future, we can separate this garden from her residence and use it as the starting point to gradually expand and build a nice garden. As for the one mu of land on the other side of the river, aside from using it as a base for growing seedlings, we can also plant some other flowers and trees. This way, after the peony viewing season is over, there will still be attractive places for people to visit. We can also allocate some land to grow some vegetables and herbs, which will add another layer of rustic charm if planned properly.

  The peony was about to speak when He Zhizhong said with a hint of displeasure, "What's going on with this mansion? Did the previous owner never come here to live? How did it become so dilapidated? It looks like no one has taken care of it for years."

  The old steward's expression was slightly unnatural, but he quickly replied: "The master went to Lingnan last year, and the young one is left here to take care of these industries. Because we wanted to sell it early, no one came to live in it, and there were many other miscellaneous things at home, with few people, so it was left like this. But actually, the foundation is still there, and it can be restored with a little renovation. You see, the layout of this garden is very good, designed by a famous designer, these lake rocks are also expensive, and the flowers and trees planted are precious, including peonies, they just look unimpressive because no one takes care of them. If you like it, we can negotiate the price."

  His words sounded reasonable, but He Zhizhong detected a different tone and calmly asked: "How much does this house cost, including the land on the other side of the river?"

  The old steward had long been prepared and said without hesitation: "My master is a practical person, really wants to get rid of it, so he wants 6.66 million yuan. No need to say more, just this stone alone will cost some money."

  This price for peonies is still acceptable, but He Zhizhong didn't allow her to speak. This price isn't high, it's even slightly cheap, even if they're eager to sell, it wouldn't be their turn after so long to pick up a bargain. Thinking of this, He Zhizhong became more cautious: "As far as I know, there are many families who want to buy property in this area, your garden is good and the price isn't high, you've been wanting to sell for a long time, why haven't you been able to sell it?"

  He paused for a moment, then smiled and said: "Six hundred and sixty-six thousand dollars, why do you want such an amount? What's the reason behind this? Moreover, who sells land without selling it in one piece? You split the land on the other side of the river and sell it separately, aren't you afraid that this side won't sell? If you want to make a deal, speak the truth; otherwise, I can also find out later."

  The old general hesitated again and slowly spoke out a few words.

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