After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 972 Hometown
Haitang followed her great uncle Xie Wenzai, as well as two elders, Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian, to the Wu family's former residence.

They had already obtained permission from Wu Ke to acquire two plots of land on this huge ruin for their future settlement. Today, they came to select the plots of land.

Haijiao had reached a consensus with Jin Jiashu in advance that no matter which piece of land Haitang chose or what kind of house was built, Jin Jiashu would accept it. Of course, the design of the house still had to be personally reviewed and approved by him. But before that, Haitang had to buy the land for him first.

Jin Jiashu is now recovering well. Although the remaining poison has not been completely eliminated, it will not affect his daily life. He has obtained the permission of the Empress Dowager Zhou and the new emperor to leave the palace. Next, he only needs to appease the Empress Dowager Xu and let her not be so reluctant to leave, and then he can return to his own home.

However, it is said that Queen Mother Xu still prefers to let him live in the mansion she rewarded. The servants in the mansion have been carefully trained, loyal and reliable, and can take good care of him. Jin Jiashu is now trying to persuade Queen Mother Xu to allow him to return to the house he originally rented to celebrate the New Year. There are not only tablets of his "parents and relatives" there, but also the loyal followers he brought from Chang'an. He is much more comfortable living there than living in a luxurious mansion.

During the tug-of-war between Jin Jiashu and Queen Mother Xu, Haitang had to help him decide on the address of his future new home. Although the rented courtyard has a comfortable environment, the area is too small; the mansion given by Queen Mother Xu is indeed rich, but it is not a place where the new owner can live in peace. Now that Jin Jiashu has money in his hands, he is more inclined to build a house that is completely to his liking from scratch. It would be best if this house is close enough to his teachers and friends so that he can meet them at any time. It's a pity that the Hai family has already settled down near Zhengyangmen Street and has no intention of moving, otherwise he would like the Hai family to move to the vicinity of the new home to facilitate exchanges between the two sides.

Unfortunately, the Hai family has no intention to do so for the time being. The current residence is also convenient for the three generations of men in the Hai family to go to work. When Empress Dowager Xu rewarded her "nephew" with a house, she deliberately chose a house that was a certain distance away from the Hai family, so the exchanges between the two sides were not as convenient as before. Jin Jiashu could only accept this reality and settle for the next best thing and become neighbors with several teachers. He knew that Haitang would definitely be worried about the elders living alone, and in the future, if they lived closer to Xie Wenzai and them, it would also make Haitang feel at ease.

Haitang got off the car in front of the ruins of the Wu family. The three elders, Xie, Cao, and Lu, had been standing in front of the abandoned gate of the Wu mansion for a while. Looking at the fallen plaque, the three of them had mixed feelings. Recalling the prosperous times of the Wu family and comparing them with the bleak scene now, they couldn't help but think that things have changed.

Haitang stood behind them and looked over. She guessed what they were thinking and whispered, "The Wu family's master has returned. I think he will rebuild the old house soon. By then, this house will no longer be like this."

Xie Wenzai nodded slowly and walked towards the door: "Let's go in and take a look."

They had already informed Wu Ke in advance, so they did not feel guilty about trespassing. However, their tour was blocked at the front yard of Wu's mansion. The houses in the middle and west roads of the front yard of Wu's mansion had not been burned down, and they could still see some of the former prosperity. However, the north of the middle road and the entire east road were almost all charcoal. If they insisted on going in, there would be scattered building debris falling down at any time, which would be too easy to get hurt. They could only turn around and walk back along the corridor on the west side. They could also cross many abandoned courtyards and walk to the location of the former Wu's mansion garden.

Cao Gengyun had visited the Wu Mansion many times and vaguely remembered the layout here: "This area seems to be the residence of the Wu family's servants? The main courtyard and study area of ​​his family were basically burned down. This area is not inhabited by his family, but the houses have been saved, and the previous layout can still be seen. Eh? It seems to be a stage over there? I remember when his old lady celebrated her birthday, I followed his servants, came in from the west gate, and arrived in front of this stage. The small buildings around the stage are connected by corridors, and can also lead to the garden at the back." Lu Bainian nodded: "Although the stage has collapsed, its appearance is still there, and the corridor also retains some of its old appearance. The garden should be at the back. We used to come in from the west gate, so we are more familiar with this area. Old Xie should be more accustomed to walking over from the garden, right? I remember you live in the small house behind his garden?"

Xie Wenzai nodded and said, "The Wu family has two large gardens. The small courtyard where I used to live is to the east of the South Garden. In front of the gate is a very quiet alley that connects to the main road outside. I remember that the Wu family's South Garden was watered from the Paozi River in the south. With the running water, the scenery in the garden has come alive."

Haitang interjected, "According to the map Wu Ke gave us, the area around the South Garden of their old residence was not inhabited by any important people, and those living outside the garden were not their family's guards and servants, but mostly students and relatives, so the fire did not burn there. The houses in that area are still there, but they are so dilapidated that it is almost uninhabitable. Over the years, there have been many homeless refugees living here, barely able to shelter from the wind and rain."

Xie Wenzai nodded and said, "We will spend some money to hire these poor people to clean up the houses in that area and see if they can still be used. The flowers and trees around the houses may still be alive. If they can be preserved, the school will have beautiful scenery in the future. The South Garden of the Wu Mansion used to have many rare flowers and plants, so don't ruin them."

Cao Gengyun immediately became interested: "There seems to be a lake in the south garden of his house. The lotus in the lake is not the common variety in the north. It is very beautiful when it blooms. We can also go and take a look to see if the lotus is strong enough to survive until today. If it is still alive, we can introduce it back. Even if we can only open a small pond in the school and plant the lotus, it will add a beautiful scenery in the summer and let the students learn to sing praises to the lotus!"

Lu Bainian laughed and said, "That's a famous breed from Jiangnan. It's very delicate and needs someone to take care of it. How could it be alive today?"

Cao Gengyun smiled and said, "Even if the lotus doesn't live to this day, we can learn from the Wu family's South Garden and plant flowers and trees in our new home, and build our school fresh and refined. Why not? We are all old people, and have suffered for most of our lives. Now we have finally returned to the capital and live a comfortable life. If we can see the colorful flowers when we open the window every morning, and fall asleep at night with the fragrance of flowers, read in the lotus fragrance in the summer, and play with the cat in the winter with the fragrance of plum blossoms, wouldn't we be as happy as gods?!"

Such a day would naturally be very beautiful. Xie Wenzai, Lu Bainian and Haitang thought about it for a while, and they all showed a look of longing on their faces.

Haitang smiled and said, "Let's take this as our goal. Let's go around the abandoned houses outside the South Garden and see which one to choose as our new home. With the abilities of my cousin, Grandpa Cao, and Grandpa Lu, are we afraid that we can't realize our dream?"