Chapter 1749: Chapter 1749: Profiting from Others’ Misfortune

Gu Jinli was able to buy many houses, shops, and land.

She also informed Mrs. Kuang and Ji Zhenniang, who bought some properties as well... Don’t be fooled by their current diet of coarse grain porridge; after the bandits in Hundred Wolves Mountain were eliminated, these families gained wealth and had the silver to buy houses and land.

Due to this, when Ji Zhenniang and Xie Cheng just entered the courtyard, Nanny Xie came to report that Erqing had arrived.

Erqing came to deliver a message, and upon seeing Ji Zhenniang, he relayed Gu Jinli’s instructions: "Lady Xie, my mistress says that if you have any house or land deeds that haven’t been registered at the government office, you should find them now and take them to Old Madam Gao. She will personally go to the government office to register all the deeds."

"Is there something urgent happening?" Ji Zhenniang asked.

Erqing: "My mistress said that it’s best to handle this quickly to avoid complications."

The mistress said, noble families and high-ranking officials are not short on money, and they have a penchant for buying houses, shops, and land during chaotic times. To prevent officials from abusing their power to seize properties, it’s best to register the deeds now.

Old Madam Gao strongly agreed and consented to handle the matter.

She had been dispatched to notify Ji Zhenniang and the others, urging them to quickly gather the deeds for registration.

"Additionally, the mistress advised that if there are properties you wish to buy but have yet to purchase, it’s best to do so today or tomorrow."

Xie Cheng also asked, "Zhenniang, do you have any land or shops you want to buy? Tell me, and I’ll handle it for you."

Ji Zhenniang shook her head, a bit disdainfully, and replied, "There’s turmoil in the Northwest, and the land is barren. I already feel that the ones bought earlier are a loss, so I won’t buy anymore."

If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Jinli and the others were buying, she wouldn’t have followed suit, worrying that if Gu Jinli made a profit, it would be a mistake not to buy.

She continued, "Nanny Xie, go gather those house and land deeds."

"Yes." Nanny Xie hurriedly went to fetch them.

Erqing then took his leave.

Xie Cheng, holding Ji Zhenniang’s hand, gave her some detailed instructions, cautioning her to be careful in speech and conduct. He said, "Don’t speak out unsatisfied words about the Emperor while on the road, like today. Walls have ears, and even the servants at home cannot be trusted to keep quiet. Should they speak out, it could lead to calamity for the family."

Upon finishing, he noticed Ji Zhenniang puckering her lips, displeased, so he soothed her, saying, "I want to grow old with you, Zhenniang, and give you prestige, so alongside striving for success myself, I wish for your safety."

If one dies, one cannot become a General’s wife.

After listening, Ji Zhenniang was no longer upset; she playfully teased with pride, "My husband is right, I won’t speak carelessly."

Xie Cheng, worried she might get carried away, cautioned her a bit more before saying, "The reward team from the Capital has arrived; the soldiers at the station outside the city must be particularly excited. I’m going out with Uncle Niu to give them a talk so they won’t speak recklessly and cause trouble for everyone."

"Go ahead, husband." Ji Zhenniang escorted Xie Cheng to the door and, once Nanny Xie had fetched the deeds, she went together with them to Ms. Gao Lei’s courtyard.

Mrs. Kuang, Mrs. Han, Ms. Lu, Guo Daming’s wife, and others all came to deliver the deeds.

On seeing them, Ji Zhenniang hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran inside. Once she spotted Gu Jinli, she stuffed the box of deeds to her: "Here, register these along with yours."

Granny Lei favored Gu Jinli the most, so her deeds would certainly be processed first; giving her own deeds to Gu Jinli ensured they would be second.

She then quickly turned around and respectfully greeted Ms. Gao Lei: "Greetings, Granny Lei, we trouble you for handling the deed registration."

Ms. Gao Lei snorted coldly, not criticizing her for rushing inside but instead warning, "People from the Capital are coming soon, so behave yourself and don’t speak carelessly. If you cause trouble for everyone, I’ll make sure to deal with you!"

Ji Zhenniang shivered a bit and quickly promised: "Understood. I definitely won’t speak recklessly."

Ms. Gao Lei said nothing, staring at Ji Zhenniang for a while before shifting her gaze once she saw Ji Zhenniang was sufficiently scared.

After gathering all the deeds, Ms. Gao Lei took Peng Wen and the others to the government office.

...

Magistrate Hao and his group, upon hearing that the Emperor’s reward team was approaching Xing’an Prefecture, were both excited and uneasy, immediately bustling about to ensure nothing went wrong the next day.

Coincidentally, some shrewd families in the city brought human traffickers and various deeds to the government office, intending to register red deeds, and blocked the entrance.

Registering what? Don’t you see the government office is busy right now?

Qi Vice Magistrate instructed Squad Leader Shi to disperse the crowd.

"Come back next month for red deed registration. Lord Magistrate is unavailable now, so everyone go back!" Squad Leader Shi, following orders, led the Government Officials to halt people.

"Squad Leader Shi, do us a favor, it’s just registration, and it’ll be quick." The group wouldn’t leave, and they tried offering Squad Leader Shi silver.

But Squad Leader Shi did not accept, instead instructing the Government Officials to use sticks to drive people away. Those without strong backing were all chased off.

Ms. Gao Lei was not stopped, as she entered through the corner gate and went to Magistrate Hao to discuss the deed registration.

The Lei Family’s Trading Team had helped the city a lot, so naturally, Magistrate Hao would give her this favor, having the steward next to him assist Ms. Gao Lei in handling it.

However, the amount of deeds Ms. Gao Lei brought was quite significant, taking over an hour to process.

Just after finishing, two more land deeds were delivered by the Gu Family servants, causing more trouble.

Qi Vice Magistrate was shocked, probing at the Civil Affairs Office, discovering that nine-tenths of the deeds Ms. Gao Lei brought belonged to Gu Jinli, Mrs. Kuang, Mrs. Ji, and other women. He became envious and went to Magistrate Hao, saying: "Lord Magistrate, haven’t they bought too many properties? And where did they get the silver?"

Magistrate Hao, busy with the arrangements for the people from the Capital, lifted his head in response to Qi Vice Magistrate’s words.

This Qi Vice Magistrate was quite gossipy.

Magistrate Hao asked indifferently: "Too many?"

They weren’t just a lot; they were taking advantage!

Qi Vice Magistrate subtly expressed this sentiment.

Magistrate Hao sneered: "Haven’t distinguished families often done such things?"

These distinguished families referred to those noble families and high-ranking officials who liked to purchase properties amidst chaos.

Qi Vice Magistrate was at a loss for words, quickly saying, "I apologize for my behavior."

Using the excuse of having work to attend to, he hastily took his leave.

...

By the time Ms. Gao Lei returned to the separate yard, it was already evening. Chief Ruan had sent someone with grain and meat; the yard was buzzing with preparations to slaughter pigs and sheep, lively and bustling.

Listening to this lively noise, Ms. Gao Lei felt very happy and instructed Peng Wen to distribute the exchanged red deeds to each family.

As for the deeds from Gu Jinli’s family, she wasn’t in a hurry to send them.

That girl had mentioned she and San Lang would come to dine with her for a reunion dinner in the evening.

Unexpectedly, Xie Cheng, grateful for Ms. Gao Lei’s guidance for Ji Zhenniang, also came bringing Ji Zhenniang for dinner.

Ji Zhenniang: "Granny Lei, we’ve come to accompany you for dinner."

Ms. Gao Lei saw her, feeling somewhat vexed, because Ji Zhenniang was a bit of a troublemaker, and her presence often brought some hassle during meals.

Sure enough, during the meal, Ms. Gao Lei was once again irritated by Ji Zhenniang.

Nevertheless, she was actually pleased inside because aging brings a fondness for noise, and she didn’t truly dislike Ji Zhenniang; if she did, she wouldn’t bother teaching her.

After the cheerful meal, everyone retired to rest for the evening. The next day, the entire city was nervously waiting for the arrival of the Emperor’s reward team.

Many people ran to the city gate to watch the excitement, waiting from morning until afternoon, finally witnessing the arrival of the reward team.

"They’re here, they’re here, the Emperor’s reward team has arrived, so many carriages, can’t see the end!" Some affluent onlookers rode horses to the outskirts of the Prefecture, several miles away, and upon spotting the reward team, they quickly rode back to report the first-hand news.

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