Chapter 172: with translation of title

The next day.

Early morning.

Lu Yuan was brushing his teeth by the pool.

He glanced at Pang Kaige's house.

Pang Kaige's front gate was tightly shut; after Wang Yulan tidied up the house a bit yesterday, she locked the door and returned to Wang Nianjun's home.

Not seeing Wang Yulan this morning really left him feeling a bit off.

He just felt like something was missing.

While Lu Yuan was brushing his teeth, a soft, sweet voice from inside the house said:

"Brother~ it's mealtime~"

Lu Yuan turned his head and said:

"All right."

After spitting out a mouthful, he quickly splish-splashed water on his face, then went home.

……

"By the way, honey, where did you say Gu Qingwan lives last time?"

Lu Yuan asked while eating.

Su Liyan, after a moment's pause, then said:

"It seems to be in Qingshui Hutong; the last time I went to the market with Wan sister to buy vegetables, she said so."

Qingshui Hutong?

Lu Yuan asked curiously:

"Which household is that over there?"

Su Liyan then shook her head and said:

"I don't know that either; Wan sister just pointed to Qingshui Hutong and said she lived there, and I didn't ask which household."

"What's up~ Brother~"

Lu Yuan looked at his wife and smiled, saying:

"It's nothing, just that Gu Lie is taking troops south to suppress bandits; he'll be leaving in a few days."

"I was thinking, as his older brother, should I set a table at Louwailou to see him off?"

Su Liyan nodded slightly, then immediately said:

"I didn't ask Wan sister which household either……"

Lu Yuan looked at his wife, grinning, and said:

"It's fine; Qingshui Hutong isn't big—just go in and ask anyone."

…………

Imperial Palace, Fan Weiheng ran all the way straight to the Zhonghua Hall.

……

After finishing their meal, Lu Yuan went out with his wife.

After seeing his wife off at the East City Gate, Lu Yuan spotted Liu Shoucai.

Today Lu Yuan had come specifically to find Liu Shoucai.

Yesterday, when he passed by the East City Gate on his way back, Lu Yuan had the people there call Liu Shoucai for him.

This morning, Liu Shoucai was already waiting here.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan and Su Liyan arrive, Liu Shoucai immediately put on a smile, looked at them, and said:

"Master, Madam."

Lu Yuan was already used to it, but Su Liyan still felt a bit unaccustomed to being called 'Madam' by someone in their thirties or forties; nevertheless, she sweetly agreed.

Her husband's talent reflected well on her, too~

At this moment, Liu Shoucai immediately smiled and handed Su Liyan a gift box, saying sweetly:

"Madam, this is the twisted dough snack from Haijin that I brought back for you yesterday from Haijin; please try some."

Haijin?

Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly; that's the city next to the Imperial Capital.

Yo, Liu Shoucai ran all that way?

Su Liyan was unsure whether to accept it, and instead looked toward her husband beside her.

Lu Yuan looked at his wife and said:

"A disciple bringing a gift to his master's wife is only natural; take it, and later we'll eat it together with Sister Liu at the workshop."

When her husband spoke, Su Liyan sweetly smiled and accepted it.

Afterward, Su Liyan placed it in the small basket on her cart, looked at her husband, and said:

"Brother~ I'm off to work now~"

Lu Yuan nodded, Su Liyan also greeted Liu Shoucai, then she rode away on her cart.

After his wife left, Lu Yuan then raised his eyebrows and said:

"Yo, you went to Haijin Garrison too? How'd you manage to go so far?"

Lu Yuan has never been anywhere else until now; the farthest place he's been is Qiu Qiu Village.

Liu Shoucai, meanwhile, looked at Lu Yuan on horseback and chuckled:

"Not long ago, some wealthy merchants from the Haijin Garrison heard about the heated bed heating ducts..."

"... and had me come over; I led a group of people to go take a look."

Lu Yuan listened to Liu Shoucai's words and then said amusedly:

"Fine, Boss Liu, business these days keeps getting bigger, expanding to other places."

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Liu Shoucai waved his hands repeatedly in fear and awe:

"Oh dear, Master, don't flatter me like this—it's all thanks to your support that I get to eat."

Having said that, Liu Shoucai stepped forward a few paces, leaned close to Lu Yuan's horse, and whispered:

"Master, shall we go home first?"

"I've really made a tidy sum lately; I've got your money all ready."

After saying that, Liu Shoucai undid his clothing buttons and let Lu Yuan take a look at the stack of bills in his inner pocket.

These bills are all large denominations; Lu Yuan glanced and saw they were all red, at least hundred-yuan notes.

"Whoa."

Looking at this, Liu Shoucai really struck it rich.

As for this money, Lu Yuan will definitely take it.

Lu Yuan doesn't bother with ten or eight yuan, but he wouldn't refuse a few thousand or eight hundred.

However, no rush—I still need to go to Clear Water Hutong.

Immediately, Lu Yuan said:

"In the evening, come to my place tonight; I have something to attend to right now."

"I came to find you today to ask if you have any free hands available."

"Free hands?"

Liu Shoucai stared, then immediately nodded and said:

"Yes! Master, when you speak, there must be someone!"

Seeing Liu Shoucai's expression, Lu Yuan chuckled and said:

"If there are free hands, there are free hands; if not, there aren't. For my manor's affairs, if there are free hands, I'll just find a few."

"If not, forget it; mainly, I'm not in a hurry to move in."

Upon hearing that, Liu Shoucai quickly nodded and then said:

"Then, Master, when do you plan to move into your manor?"

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment and then said:

"I won't be able to move in for the next year or two; no rush."

Liu Shoucai froze, then muttered, "A year or two later..."

"That really isn't urgent, but..."

"This is my own master!"

"Since you asked, regardless of whether the master is in a hurry, I need to be."

Immediately, Liu Shoucai thought and said:

"Master, my workers are all booked up; mainly, the people coming to us for the Kang heating ducts aren't just from Huangcheng."

"Some wealthy merchants and big bosses from other cities, once they find out, hire us at high prices, and my skilled workers are scattered everywhere."

"Only after they all return will it be at least two or three months later."

"If we were to hire workers now, that would be fine, but... the workers' skills vary widely, which Liu Shoucai thinks is not good."

"For building the master's house, we certainly need the best materials, and the workers must be top-notch too."

Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Alright, we'll discuss the details at my place tonight; I'm heading off now."

Having said that, Lu Yuan reined in his horse and rode toward Huangcheng, while Liu Shoucai hurriedly called out from behind:

"Got it, Master."

After watching Lu Yuan disappear from sight, Liu Shoucai went to fetch his horse and also prepared to head back.

"This morning I had just returned when I heard my master calling for me."

Liu Shoucai immediately came over, and right now he's really tired and sleepy.

As Liu Shoucai mounted his horse, preparing to go home, he saw the people around shouting auspicious cries for "Master Liu" and such.

Liu Shoucai felt that over the past month or so, he had truly been living like in a dream.

"Turns out I'm just like these folks—sometimes around here I can go three days without getting a job as a laborer."

"Now..."

"Wow, I've even bought a house in Huangcheng and brought all my family over."

"Just like that, I've transformed from Old Liu to Master Liu."

"This is all thanks to the master's generosity~"

"......"

Lu Yuan made his way all the way to Clear Water Hutong.

"Although this is called a hutong, it's actually just like DongmingShequ."

"Moreover, it's not just siheyuan courtyards."

"There are also many private residences."

"Namely, those small, self-contained courtyards with their own gates."

"This place is even larger than DongmingShequ."

"However, Gu Qingwan's family is from the Ministry of War—so influential that you could basically ask anyone and find out."

"As Lu Yuan stood at the entrance of Clear Water Hutong, a granny happened to come out leading a little grandson."

Auntie, have you eaten?

The auntie stared, then looked at Lu Yuan with a strange expression; it was obvious she didn't know him.

But she still said:

I've eaten, you've eaten too.

Lu Yuan then quickly nodded and said:

Auntie, where do Gu Lie and Gu Qingwan live?

The auntie stared, then immediately beamed at Lu Yuan and said:

Oh~ you're a friend of the Gu family's daughter.

Lu Yuan was stunned, then quickly nodded and said:

Yes, I'm friends with Gu Lie and Gu Qingwan; this is my first time here, I don't know where their house is—do you know?

The auntie quickly nodded and said with a smile:

Of course I know; the Gu family are great benefactors around here, everyone here speaks well of them~

Lu Yuan felt a bit dazed, like that……

Lu Yuan had thought that Gu Lie, with his character, must be bullying the neighbors every day.

But upon second thought, it seems……

That's also right.

The Gu family are Imperial Relatives and Nobles; nowadays the emperor despises such Imperial Relatives and Nobles, so even if Gu Lie were arrogant, he wouldn't dare cause trouble near his own home.

Immediately Lu Yuan laughed and said:

Then auntie, where is his house?

The auntie immediately smiled, turned, and pointed Lu Yuan in a direction, saying:

There, that red gate.

Lu Yuan nodded, then waved his reins and laughed, saying:

All right, auntie, you're busy.

After Lu Yuan left, the auntie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lu Yuan arrived at the door of the house the auntie pointed to, and began knocking, clang clang clang.

After a couple of minutes, the door was opened from inside.

A grandmother curiously looked at Lu Yuan.

Before the grandmother could ask, Lu Yuan smiled and asked:

Gu Lie and Gu Qingwan live here, right? I'm their friend; I came specially today to find them.

The grandmother was startled, then smiled and said:

The young master isn't home; only the young lady is.

Lu Yuan then immediately nodded and smiled, saying:

Could you call her out? I have something to discuss with her.

The grandmother immediately nodded and said:

Please come in first; I'll go call her for you right away.

Lu Yuan nodded, then led his horse into the courtyard.

Before Lu Yuan could properly look at the courtyard, the grandmother immediately called out to an old man sweeping in the middle of the courtyard:

Old Li, take the guest's horse to the stable.

All right.

All right.

Immediately, the two responded in unison.

Then a strange silence fell over the courtyard.

The three looked at each other.

Lu Yuan felt a bit dazed.

But the grandmother quickly blinked and smiled, saying:

I meant Little Li.

After saying that, the grandmother looked at the somewhat younger one and said:

That person, while walking toward Lu Yuan, smiled and said:

Grandma, please speak more clearly next time.

The grandmother then immediately smiled and said:

Old Li just arrived; for a moment he couldn't tell left from right, okay okay, hurry up and take the guest's horse.

After saying that, the grandmother turned back to Lu Yuan, smiling and said:

Guest, please go inside the main hall and wait.

Lu Yuan nodded repeatedly, following the grandmother to the middle house of the courtyard.

This house is actually also a siheyuan.

But it's a separate entrance, unlike the three-entry, three-exit siheyuan where Lu Yuan lives.

However, this siheyuan entirely belongs to the Gu family.

Lu Yuan looked and thought there were probably over ten rooms.

It seems there's also a rear courtyard?

Lu Yuan wasn't sure, but anyway, after entering the main hall he just waited.

However, Lu Yuan wondered what kind of big official Gu Lie and Gu Qingwan's father could be.

While Lu Yuan sat waiting, the grandma hurriedly came to serve tea and said with a smile:

"Guest, our young lady will be here shortly; she just got up."

Lu Yuan glanced at the time on the wall.

Hey.

It's almost eight thirty.

Looks like Gu Qingwan is just like me~

Well, this counts as finding a sleeping buddy.

Lu Yuan nodded, then suddenly asked:

"Grandma, are the master and lady at home?"

Lu Yuan thought that since he had come, he should first go pay respects to the elders.

Just like an elder, coming in and sitting in the main hall?

Isn't that inappropriate?

Before the grandma could answer, a cheerful voice came from outside the house:

"Yo~ rare guest, how did you come to my house?"

Huh?

Lu Yuan turned his head and saw Gu Qingwan standing at the doorway.

After the grandma set down the tea, she immediately withdrew.

Before Lu Yuan could say anything, Gu Qingwan walked toward him while smiling and saying:

"You brought something~"

"Really, you came, you came, why be so polite~"

After saying that, Gu Qingwan sat at the other side of the table and then opened the small gift box Lu Yuan had brought.

Gu Qingwan's hands are really fast; by the time Lu Yuan came to, she had already put the little pastries into her mouth.

Lu Yuan was speechless:

"Not... who told you to have it? This is for your parents."

Gu Qingwan blinked her lovely eyes and said:

"Oh? For my parents?"

"You came to propose marriage? That wouldn't do; just a box of pastries is too little."

Lu Yuan: "???"

Having come to his senses, Lu Yuan of course knew Gu Qingwan was joking.

However, looking at Gu Qingwan like this, his mood is actually not bad.

But having said that, could Lu Yuan still let Gu Qingwan have the upper hand?

As a girl, you dare joke like this; as a guy, what do we have to fear?

Immediately, Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows and said:

"Fine, I'll go out later and cut twenty catties of pork, then bring you home as a little son—your older sister is pregnant."

"By then you'll be waiting on me at home~"

Thanks to Brother Starry Sky for the 1666 book coin tip, thanks a lot~

Thanks to Brother Lone Wind for the 1666 book coin tip, thanks a lot~

Thanks to Brother Mindless for the 400 book coin tip, thanks a lot~

Thanks to Brother Liu Ting for the 100 book coin tip, thanks a lot~

Wuu wuu wuu I'm guilty, I admit…… I woke up in the middle of the night, playing games got a bit carried away.

Just treat it as if I took leave yesterday~

It's been over a month since release, daily over ten thousand characters, really no time to play games, occasionally indulge for two days~

(End of chapter)