Taigong He walked in slowly with a cane. He looked about fifty years old, but he was very strong and had a calm smile on his face. He obviously came from a wealthy family.
"I have met the two village leaders and the military advisor."
Zhang Yangquan said hurriedly: "Elders, you don't have to be polite, please sit down."
Taigong He smiled slightly and said: "When I was chatting with the owner of Guo Village, I learned that the village was rebuilding the abandoned village and buying land for the villagers to farm. Is this possible?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "Yes."
Taigong He twisted his beard and said with a smile: "In that case, I am willing to offer three thousand acres of fertile land to the village!"
Qin Lingsi said in surprise: "You have so many fields?"
Taigong He walked to the chair, wiped the surface of the chair with his sleeves, and then slowly sat down and said with a smile: "Doesn't it look like it?"
Qin Lingsi waved her hands hurriedly: "No, no, I'm just a little surprised."
Taigong He sighed and said, "Are you three willing to listen to the old man's story?"
Qin Lingjun stretched out her hand to make a gesture of invitation and said, "My dearest daughter, I am all ears to what the elders have to say."
Taigong He took a long breath and began to slowly tell about his life.
It turns out that He Taigong's name was He Renyi, and his elder brother was a high-ranking Taoist figure. In the Yuan Dynasty, Taoist people had a high status. They did not have to suffer from labor and taxes, but had various ways to make money.
With the protection of his elder brother, He Taigong lived a prosperous and carefree life since he was a child. He also developed an aloof and aloof character, ignoring political affairs and production, and immersed himself in poetry, music and painting.
Because of this, although Taigong He's family was well-off, he never entered the officialdom. When his brother died of illness, the He family suddenly became an ordinary Confucian household.
Without the backing of power, but with a lot of wealth, the He family has brought disaster.
In less than ten years, the He family's property was either stolen or robbed by others, leaving only a house and 3,000 acres of farmland on the outskirts of the city.
Fortunately, Sun Hong, a fellow acquaintance, had been favored by He Taigong's brother, so he had some protection for the He family, otherwise the remaining family property would have been misappropriated long ago.
Taigong He did not want to stay in the city anymore and lived in seclusion in Shangshui Village on the outskirts of the city, where he stayed for decades.
The people in the village farmed the fields belonging to their He family. In addition, Taigong He was very generous to the villagers and collected very low rents, so he was very popular.
Later, when Ximen's army raped young men, He Taigong commanded the villagers to resist. As a result, he was almost burned to death, but was saved by Zhao Desheng.
When he arrived at Longtan Village, the village distributed food and provided shelter to the villagers. He also heard from other old villagers what Qin Lingjun and Zhang Yangquan had done in taking in the refugees, so he decided to settle here.
The voice of He Taigong's narration fell slowly. After listening to it, Zhang Yangquan and the other two people all had emotions, and they were all sighing for a moment.
Taigong He said in a hoarse voice: "I am deeply grateful that an old and dying person can be taken in by the village, so I came to offer three thousand acres of fertile land in the west of the city, and I asked you not to turn it down."
Qin Lingsi said with a smile: "My father-in-law, we are short of land, you really help us when we need it!"
Taigong He smiled and said: "I will be relieved if I can help you a little. However, there is still a difficulty here."
"What's the difficulty?" Qin Lingjun asked.
Taigong He showed an angry look and said: "When those officers and soldiers came to rob us, they took away our family's belongings and land deeds. There is no land deeds in my hands."
Qin Lingsi smiled and said: "This is easy, we can just snatch it back."
With morality in hand, neither Zhang Yangquan nor Qin Lingjun raised any objections this time.
Taigong He hurriedly said: "If they refuse to return it, they can go to the government to check and file it. Those are red deeds, and I understand that they cannot deny them!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "It's better this way, let us handle this matter."
He Taigong: "By the way, I wonder where the black-faced warrior who saved us that day is?"
Zhang Yangquan quickly ordered someone to call Zhao Desheng over, and Li Er, Wang Da and other centurions also followed.
Taigong He bowed his hand to Zhao Desheng and said: "I can't repay the strong man's kindness for saving each other. I would like to betroth my daughter to the strong man as his wife. I don't know what the strong man wants?"
Zhao Desheng was taken aback and was speechless for a long time.
Wang Da, Geng San and others all looked at him with envy. Even Zhang Yangquan was a little envious of this boy. He Xiaomei's timid little appearance really gave him an advantage.
Qin Lingjun suddenly whispered: "Are you envious of him?"
Zhang Yangquan said hurriedly: "How could that be? I'm happy for him." He raised his voice and said loudly: "Zhao Baihu, why don't you reply quickly to Taigong He?"
Qin Lingsi chuckled and said: "This guy must be so happy that he is crazy. Father-in-law, we have made the decision for him. Just wait until you marry your daughter!"
Taigong He twisted his beard and said with a smile: "In this way, I will have nothing to worry about anymore."
Everyone immediately discussed the wedding date. Unexpectedly, Zhao Desheng suddenly said: "Military advisor, the two village masters, Taigong He, I can't make the decision on this matter myself. I have to ask my mother and Miss He." Taigong He frowned and said: "It's normal to ask your mother, but why ask my daughter? If she hadn't agreed to it herself, I wouldn't have raised it rashly."
Zhao Desheng said: "I dare not hide it from Grandpa. My mother has an eye disease and cannot see. Mrs. He will definitely suffer a lot when she marries into my family."
"I, I'm not afraid of hardship!" Hearing a delicate voice, He Xiaomei rushed in.
Zhao Desheng stared at her, his eyes as wide as owls: "Are you...really willing to marry me?"
He Xiaomei blushed, lowered her head to play with her belt, and hummed softly.
Just as Zhao Desheng was about to say more, Wang Da and Geng San couldn't help but rush up to him, one hugged his neck, the other kicked his butt, and shouted: "You're a good boy because you've got a lot of money, and we're sure to drink this wedding wine!"<
/p>
Li Er crossed his arms and said with a smile: "Brother Zhao, if you continue to retreat, you won't be considered a man!"
Zhao Desheng's dark face turned red, and he stammered: "You still have to...ask my...mother!"
The monkey glanced at Geng Si and said with a smile: "How did this kid learn to speak like you?"
Geng Si smiled and scolded: "Go, go to hell!"
Everyone immediately went to Zhao Desheng's house and found Zhao's mother to explain the matter to her. Zhao's mother learned that the village leader and the military advisor were personally acting as matchmakers, and she happily agreed.
Qin Lingjun always acted vigorously and resolutely, and the wedding was scheduled for the next day. When Taigong He saw the village master's arrangement, although he felt a little hasty, he still agreed.
The next day, everyone held a wedding banquet in the village and had a lively wedding banquet together.
On the third day, Zhang Yangquan and Qin Lingjun planned to go to the city together to beg Taigong He's three thousand acres of land. Qin Lingsi also wanted to go together, but Zhang Yangquan stayed behind.
"What are you doing? Can't you just leave it to Uncle Guo to build the village and repair the water tanker? Why do you want me to stay in the village?"
Zhang Yangquan said seriously: "It's January, and Uncle Guo is responsible for the preparations for planting potatoes. He has to calculate how many potato pieces to plant per mu of mountain land. This is a delicate job. Are you willing to do it?"
Qin Lingsi snorted: "You know I'm not good at counting!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "That's it. You go and be responsible for the repair work of the two villages, and then lead the carpenters to build the waterwheel. Remember to bring Hu Gong with you, he should be able to help."
Qin Lingsi pursed her lips, but remained silent.
Qin Lingjun knew her sister's temper well and said softly: "When we get the land, we will sell it all and buy 3,000 acres of land in the northern suburbs. By then, the 6,000 acres of fertile land will be pointed at your water tanker!" p>
Qin Lingsi then turned her anger into a smile, patted her chest and said, "It's easy to say, leave it to me!"