Chapter 203 Heading to Qingyuan County

Chapter 203 Heading to Qingyuan County

The young waiter was a local from the prefectural city. Although he only did ordinary work as an innkeeper, he was very well-informed.

He told Xie Wanniang that the girl's future husband's family was actually a real pit of fire.

Because they had finally managed to marry into an official's family, the cousin and her mother were extremely proud of themselves these past few days.

People easily become complacent when they are successful. Sure enough, the innkeeper, waiters, and even the cooks, kitchen helpers, and dishwashers have all heard the address and name of their noble relative from different people several times because of the boasting of their servants.

The young waiter told Xie Wanniang that despite their boastful boasting, their supposedly prestigious family was actually not even considered a big shot in the city.

The son of a mere seventh-rank official, born out of wedlock, is an uneducated and good-for-nothing who spends his days frequenting brothels and gambling dens. He is so unsuitable for marriage that it is impossible to find a suitable match for him in the prefectural city. What kind of good marriage is this?

In his opinion, it's better that the girl's marriage was stolen; at least she won't have to suffer in the mud for the rest of her life.

Xie Wanniang thought to herself, "Just as I expected," and gave the young waiter a small piece of silver before sending him away.

The young shop assistant left happily, while Haitang whispered to Xie Wanniang, "Didn't that family do any proper research before agreeing to the marriage?"

Xie Wanniang smiled, "Firstly, their two families live far apart, and the woman is unfamiliar with the city, so the information she can find out is bound to be limited. Secondly, since the other party intends to keep it a secret, they will definitely guard against them sending people to inquire."

Things are done by people, and if you offer enough benefits, most people in this world can actually be bought off.

Deceiving outsiders on one's own turf should be quite easy for a seventh-rank official.

After finishing their meal, Xie Wanniang paid the bill, and then, with the warm farewell of the waiters, the group left the prefectural city by carriage or horseback, heading towards their second destination – Qingyuan County.

Qingyuan County and Yi County are located at opposite ends of the prefectural city, but Qingyuan County is much closer to the prefectural city than Yi County.

Therefore, many wealthy gentry and local families who could not buy suitable farms around the prefectural city would go to Qingyuan County to choose their preferred farms.

If Qingyuan County weren't so close to the prefectural city and had such fertile land, Xie Wanniang wouldn't have wanted to join in the fun.

The group set off after sunrise and arrived in Qingyuan County before noon.

After finding an inn to stay in, Xie Wanniang sent half of her guards out to inquire about reliable brokers.

As for her and Haitang, because they needed to keep an eye on the valuables they brought, and there weren't enough people to protect her openly or secretly, Xie Wanniang simply stayed in the inn and didn't go out.

With nothing else to do, she took out the chessboard and black and white chess pieces that she had packed in her bag before leaving, and casually started playing chess with Haitang.

Neither of them had much of a competitive spirit when it came to Go, and their skill levels were equally mediocre. Therefore, their game could be described as having absolutely no technical skill involved.

As they casually placed pieces on the chessboard, they would occasionally pick up their teacups and take a small sip, enjoying the pre-rain Longjing tea given to them by the Lady Hou, along with some snacks.

Xie Wanniang didn't want to open the packaging of the pre-Qingming Longjing tea. Whether it was her or Jiang Yuan, they only wanted to quench their thirst and stay healthy when they drank tea. As for anything else, well, one of them had a little knowledge of it but could only pretend, while the other hadn't even bothered to look into it.

It would be a waste to let a cow eat a peony, so she planned to ask someone to take the two jars of pre-Qingming Longjing tea back to Xiejia Village in Tang County after she returned to Yi County.

Her father, Xie Daoheng, was a connoisseur and lover of tea, but he hadn't actually had any good tea in a long time. He would probably be happy for a long time after receiving this gift from Xie Wanniang, thanks to the double blessing of good tea and his daughter's filial piety.

The guards acted quickly, and in less than half a day, they found out the two best-reputed brokers.

After a brief consideration, Xie Wanniang chose the one with more options available, which would allow her to select a suitable estate more quickly.

Without further ado, after having lunch at the inn, Xie Wanniang led Haitang and the others to the home of the broker surnamed Jin.

After Xie Wanniang explained her purpose, the man with the gold tooth recommended several villages near Huangjiazhuang and Nangaozhuang to her.

"Huangjiazhuang is next to the Qingshui River, and Nangaozhuang is next to the Tang River. Both are good places with no shortage of water. The land there is also very fertile. Even the worst fields can be rated as medium."

Xie Wanniang nodded, "When will you have time to take us there to have a look?"

The man with the gold teeth glanced at the sky and said, "Let's go tomorrow. It's getting late today, so let's just leave it at that. We'll only be able to visit two villages before it gets completely dark."

Since Xie Wanniang and her group came to buy the estate, they must have brought a lot of money with them. Under these circumstances, it would be very dangerous for them to stay overnight in a random place. It would be better for them to stay in an inn in the county town where the security situation is relatively good.

Xie Wanniang nodded, agreed on the meeting time and place with Jin Yaren the next morning, and got up to leave with Haitang and the two guards who accompanied her.

The man with the gold teeth escorted them to his front door and was about to say goodbye when he looked up and saw a large group of men surrounding an inconspicuous ordinary carriage, rushing towards Xie Wanniang.

"girl!"

"Boss!"

"Thank you, Sister Xie!"

Everyone greeted Xie Wanniang with loud, joyful voices, which startled Jin Ya Ren out of his daze.

So, this girl didn't just bring one maid and two guards? She actually had a whole bunch of people lying in ambush outside his courtyard?

Good heavens, thank goodness he's not the kind of shameless person who has no bottom line and would do anything for money.

If he had any impure thoughts because a young woman had come, he and his wife, children, and elderly parents would probably have been torn to pieces.

Wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead, the Gold Tooth Man silently revised his immature idea.

Given their large numbers and aggressive demeanor, they wouldn't be in danger even if they stayed overnight with their suitcases. The ones who would be in danger would be those who coveted their wealth.

However, the man with the gold teeth didn't change his mind and said, "Since you've brought so many people, let's set off right now."

He thought that although Xie Wanniang and her group did not need his extra protection, it was better to avoid trouble when they were out and about.

Rather than risk being targeted by someone because of their money, and then putting themselves in danger to protect their property, they'd rather just stay at the inn, saving themselves the trouble and not giving others the chance to cause trouble.