Regardless of whether Lin Qingyan's thoughts were superfluous or correct, Zhao Sheng would not be affected. When Zhong Daguan presented the map of the land to him, Zhao Sheng bought a piece of land at the foot of the mountain and started building a new house in a flurry.

  At the foot of Qingfeng Mountain, there is a small village called Xiaoqing Village. There are only about ten households in the village, and most of the land at the foot of the mountain belongs to them. This time, when Zhou Cishi and Tian Shi measured Lin Qingwan's land, they considered that the land opposite was too extensive and had already exceeded the jurisdiction of Suzhou Prefecture.

  Although it is also Suzhou's land on that side, it belongs to two counties and the administrative responsibility must be separated. This does not bring any benefits to Lin Qingyuan.

  So the angels supplemented her with the remaining land on this side of Qingfeng Mountain, because there were also many ownerless lands on this side.

  In this world, apart from the permanently owned land that already has a master, all other lands belong to the state, and belong to the emperor.

  However, the angel sent to Suzhou was considerate and thoughtful of the Lin family. On this side of Qingfeng Mountain, he drew a line that separated them from Xiaoqing Village by a distance, preparing for the new population in their village, so they didn't border each other.

  But the location is still good, and the soil quality is also good. Lin Qingyan looked at the map with satisfaction and nodded.

  The land over there is not much, only a little more than 300 mu, Lin Qingyuan put it aside for the time being, and still focused on Zhuangzi's side.

  "Have you asked them? Do they want to pay rent and farm like tenants or get a monthly salary and obey orders as before?"

  Zhong Daguan said with a low head: "They all say they are willing to follow the master together, share honor and shame with the master, advance and retreat together."

  Lin Qingwan sighed and said: "Since that's the case, let everything go on as usual. I originally wanted to let them accumulate more wealth and release them in a few years."

  Zhong Daguan was about to speak but hesitated, Lin Qingyan smiled and said: "If there's anything you want to say, maybe it's something I haven't considered thoroughly, but if you don't tell me, how would I know?"

  "Auntie, they don't want to let you go, if you bring this up, they'll just think you're tired of them."

  "What nonsense, how could I be tired of them?" Apart from Zhong and Lin, the people who stayed were the most loyal, and each had their own skills. She was grateful and didn't have time to spare.

  Zhong Daguan said in a low voice: "After all, most of them have their own shortcomings."

  Lin Qingwan was taken aback by his words, then shook her head and smiled wryly: "But in my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I just want them to be better off. Never mind, since they are still uneasy, let's just leave it at that for now. If they change their minds after a few years, they can tell me, and we'll adjust then."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "Uncle Zhong, you go and tell them that I said they can all hold on for a while longer. I still hope they can help me manage this estate well, so in the future my sister and I can rely on it to make a living. Tell them not to belittle themselves."

  Zhong Daguan saw Lin Qingwan and thought those people were really capable, so he happily agreed with a sound, bowed his head and was about to retreat.

  As they walked to one side, he suddenly remembered and turned back to say: "Auntie, the Zhao family has already started building a separate house at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain. Shouldn't we also build one there? Our land is all ready."

  Lin Qingwan thought for a moment and shook her head: "The diagonal opposite is our Zhuangzi, building another house for who to live in? It's just a waste of money."

  "...even if it's nearby, it's still not within the range of Qingfeng Mountain..."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "Let's just wait and see, we don't need to curry favor with the Lu family, and I think Mr. Lu wouldn't stoop to such flattery either."

  Lin Qingwan saw Zhong Daguantie frowning and sighed: "Uncle Zhong, there's not much cash at home, we have to be frugal."

  Zhong's loud voice startled him, and he suddenly remembered that the Lin family had donated most of their cash too, leaving only a few tens of thousands to get by, but now the young lady was still small and there were many places where money was needed.

  The Lin family is no longer in a situation where they can be extravagant like before.

  Zhong Daguan lowered his head, "I know, I didn't think it through."

  Zhong Daguantie stepped down and ran into Lin Guan's house.

  Lin Guan's family saw his disheveled appearance and couldn't help but laugh and ask, "What happened? Were you scolded by the young lady?"

  Zhong Daguan shook his head, "No, it's just that I suddenly remembered when Old Master was still around."

  Lin Guan's family looked inside and said in a low voice: "Why mention the old master?"

  Zhong Daguan sighed, "In the past when Old Master was around we were more carefree, now..."

  Lin Guan's family looked at him disapprovingly, and he shook his head, saying: "I didn't mean anything else, I just think it's a pity for the young lady." His eyes were red-rimmed as he said: "She is the old master's only daughter. Before she was born, the old master had already thought of building a room for her and raising her in his lap. After she was born, she was also pampered by the old madam, the old master, and the mistress. Who would have thought that in the end, she would be left to guard an empty gate, and now even spending money has to be carefully calculated..."

  Lin Guanjia: ... Is Auntie really as miserable as you said? I don't feel that way at all.

  "Now we should call the lady."

  Zhong's heart full of grievances was suddenly doused with a basin of cold water. He secretly glared at Lin, the housekeeper, and wiped his eyes before gruffly asking, "What are you doing here again?"

  "In eight more days, I'll be out of mourning, what did you say I came for?"

  It has been a hundred days since Lin Jiang's passing, and Lin Qingyuan and Lin Yuhong have come out of their mourning period. This means they no longer need to wear mourning clothes, but only need to wear slightly more subdued clothing in the following days.

  So Lin Qingwan and Lin Yuheng both need to change their clothes. Although they had plain-colored clothing before, it was somewhat not in line with the rules.

  Moreover, both of them have grown taller, and their previous clothes are a bit short now.

  Clothes need to be made, and shoes must also be made new, all changed to plain colors. The pearls and gems that were inlaid on the previous shoes are removed, and the newly made shoes are also plain-faced. The materials used cannot be too good either, so the shoe sole is still comfortable.

  Of course, for Lin Qingyan, the biggest impact was that they could eat meat now!

  Although it's still a good idea to eat less to show mourning, at least you can occasionally taste it now.

  According to ancient customs, this period should last for twenty-seven months, and they should live in thatched cottages and sleep on straw mats.

  However, this set of rules has long been relaxed, and now except for the three years that cannot be married, and cannot drink or have fun, other requirements are not strict.

  However, the officialdom has even stricter requirements for filial piety, so officials have to take a three-year leave of absence to mourn their parents, and candidates are also not allowed to take the imperial examination during the mourning period.

  Apart from these, after the funeral rites are over, everyone should attend to their respective businesses, read books if they need to, and take care of mundane affairs as a matter of course.

  After the seamstresses finished making the clothes, the time for hot filial piety also arrived.

  Lin Qingwan took off the hemp garment with fluff on her body.

  The quality of the hemp cloth was not very good and she only used one set for washing, so it became worn out after just a hundred days.

  She changed into a simple dress and said to Bai Mei: "Tonight we will go to the backyard to burn incense."

  Bai Mei twitched at the corner of her mouth, hadn't they just made an offering in the ancestral hall a moment ago?

  She really couldn't understand why her aunt wanted to hold a private memorial service in the courtyard at night, almost as if she thought of it and did it, could Grandfather really see?

  Lin Qingwan, however, felt that Lin Jiang was definitely watching them from above, and even in the ancestral hall where they were making offerings to him, she couldn't shake off the feeling that his line of sight was being blocked by the surrounding houses.

  So it's still best to make offerings under the starry sky.

  This time Lin Qingyan didn't plan to offer sacrifices by herself, but instead called Lin Yuhong over as well.

  Lin Yuhong was very excited, she had long known that her younger sister would occasionally burn incense and worship their father in the yard, and she had also sneaked out of the house to do so from time to time. However, she had never found any trace of her father, could it be because her heart was not sincere enough?

  This time, her younger sister finally agreed to take her along.