After becoming rich overnight, I handed over the system.

Chapter 58 Drive Apricot Away

The next day, the group rode in an oxcart into the city, leaving Xingniang alone at home to guard the gate.

"Mother, where are we going to find a house?" The group stood in the city, somewhat lost.

"Third son, you should know, right?" Old Mrs. Liu looked at her youngest son.

"Mother, there are brokerage firms in the city. Let's find one and ask around." After asking around and finding out where the brokerage firms were, the group headed towards them.

When the group arrived at the brokerage firm and explained their purpose, the broker warmly led them to see the house.

They first arrived at the first house, which was a small courtyard with only one main house, two side rooms on the east and west sides, a west kitchen, and an east wing.

There was an osmanthus tree planted in the courtyard. According to the broker, when it blooms, the whole alley will be filled with the fragrance of osmanthus.

"Aunties, what do you think?"

"It's a bit small." Old Mrs. Liu felt the house was too small. "Aren't there other options? Let's take another look."

Liu Yuanxi's wife really liked the courtyard; it was more than enough for their family. However, her mother-in-law was right; they had only looked at the first house so far, and there was still time to look at other houses later.

"Oh dear, ma'am, your yard is small, and the seller's price is cheap. Of course, it's only right that you look around some more. Let's go check out the next place; it's not far, just across the alley."

Zhang Yaren also found this group of people strange. It was the first time he had ever seen an entire family come together to buy a house, especially since these people didn't seem to be from the city.

However, when it comes to doing business, the customer's situation is not important; what matters is that a deal can be made and money can be earned.

The group then arrived at a second location. "This house is bigger than the previous one, but as you can see, its location isn't as good. However, the best thing about this one is that it has a well."

Zhao's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this; wasn't this the house she wanted?

This courtyard is larger than the first one, with two more side rooms, and the price is a bit higher.

I then looked at a few more places, but I wasn't satisfied with any of them. They were either too small or too expensive, not as good as the first two houses I had looked at.

Seeing that they were still dissatisfied, Zhang Yaren asked, "Aunties, do you have any other requirements? We've looked at several houses, what do you think?"

Grandma Liu didn't hide anything and directly stated their requirements.

"To be honest, I'm satisfied with the first and second houses, but we'd like to buy a bigger one. I wonder if you have any here?"

Zhang Yaren was overjoyed to find that Old Lady Liu and her family wanted to buy so many houses.

"Yes, of course there is. It's my fault, I should have asked you sooner. Come on, the big courtyard isn't on this street, but there is one not far from here, though it's a bit expensive. If you're not satisfied, there are places a little further out."

"Let's go take a look first."

When the group arrived at the big house, they immediately sensed something different standing in front of the door. The gate of this courtyard didn't look like the kind that ordinary people would have at home.

Zhang Yaren pushed open the door and introduced himself to everyone.

"This was the former residence of a Mr. Huang in the county. It was a three-courtyard house."

"Then why did Master Huang want to sell it?" Liu Lao Er asked curiously.

"Hey, Master Huang has made a fortune. He said he's going to the prefectural city to do business, so he doesn't need the house here anymore." Zhang Yaren said with envy. Compared with those big merchants, they, the middlemen, really earned too little.

Zhang Yaren led them through the main gate, then through the second gate, into the inner courtyard, and then showed them the house.

They were all quite tired after this trip.

"Mother, this house is nice, it's big." Old Liu thought to himself, this house has a lot of space and many rooms, and it looks new, not bad at all.

"No rush, didn't Zhang the broker say there's still one room left?"

Fortunately, Zhang Yaren didn't expect them to choose a place at first glance, so he took them to another house.

Upon arrival, the group discovered that the house was somewhat old, but still spacious and relatively quiet.

"This place seems a bit remote," Liu Laoda couldn't help but remark, and the others nodded in agreement.

However, this house has one more courtyard than the previous three-courtyard house, and of course it's also much larger.

"There's no way around it. Big houses in the city are in high demand. This house is a bit remote, but it's bigger, and more importantly, the price is the same as that three-courtyard house."

"Why is that?" The Liu family didn't understand, since this house was clearly much bigger.

"One reason is that this property is indeed inferior to that house, and another is that the owner of this house wants to sell it as soon as possible."

Zhang Yaren's words made the Liu family even more curious.

"Why sell it so quickly? Could there be something bad going on with this house?" Liu Lao Er guessed, and the others frowned upon hearing this.

“No, I, Zhang the broker, would never do such a deceptive thing. The owner of the house wants it to pay off his son’s gambling debts; in a way, it’s their ancestral home,” Zhang the broker quickly explained.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and finally decided that they should still have a three-courtyard house.

Zhang was overjoyed to have sold three houses in one day, especially since Old Lady Liu and her family paid so readily.

With the house settled, the family breathed a sigh of relief. After receiving the deed, they did some shopping and headed home.

I've been out all day, and I miss home terribly.

Unexpectedly, they were stopped by someone as soon as they reached the village entrance.

"Grandma Liu, you're finally back! Oh, you bought a cow? By the way, someone tried to steal your sweet potatoes, but luckily the villagers caught them. Come to the ancestral hall quickly, my grandfather is waiting!"

When Grandma Liu and her family heard that the village chief's grandson had come to deliver the news, they became anxious.

"Eldest brother, third brother, you two come with me to the ancestral hall. The rest of you go home and pack your things! Second brother, you drive the ox back and come over too!"

Liu the Elder made immediate arrangements for his family members, and then led his two sons toward the ancestral hall.

When they arrived, they learned that Xingniang had stolen the sweet potatoes while they were away and was trying to run away, but the villagers discovered her.

“Liu Shi, Yuanxi, this person stole something bestowed by the Emperor. You mustn’t be soft-hearted. If you lose this imperial gift, you might also be punished.” The clan chief admonished them, knowing that this Xingniang was a relative of Old Lady Liu and the others.

"Don't worry, clan chief. We kindly took in Xingniang, but we never expected her to be so audacious as to steal. This kind of thing must not be tolerated. Tomorrow I will have Yuanxi report it to the authorities," Old Lady Liu immediately stated.

In truth, he was overjoyed. Xingniang had indeed made her move. It was worth the effort of bringing out the golden potato. He couldn't believe she wouldn't be tempted by such a large lump of gold.

The villagers who captured Xingniang were also people she had specifically instructed to keep an eye on her; now she's finally going to be kicked out.