Dao fruit.

Qiu Yan fought the demon king Shi Jianhui in the ancestral hall deep in the Jiedushi's mansion, and finally all karma was resolved.

At that time, on the platform of the ancestral hall, there was an adulterous woman lying down. At the last moment before Shi Jianhui died, the shattered demon core tried to fly towards the adulterous woman, but was stopped halfway.

Earlier, Qiu Yan had split a ray of divine thoughts, broke into the ancestral hall, and saw two familiar figures in a glimpse, one of them was the demon king Shi Jianhui, and the other was lying on the ground. The woman on the stage.

In the battle of the ancestral hall, the demon king died. The ancestral hall was flooded and destroyed during the battle between Tang Lai, Chen Yan, and Hengduan Mountain God, and the woman on the stage disappeared into the ruins.

But what Qiu Yan didn't expect was that the woman who disappeared with the ancestral hall that day appeared in front of her now and called herself the young master.

Face to face, eye to eye, Qiu Yan finally recognized why he felt familiar with this woman.

Two years ago, when Song Qian appeared in front of Qiu Yan in an eight-carried sedan chair, besides Song Nu, there was also a servant girl who accompanied her. She was dressed in green clothes and lowered her head. Qiu Yan remembered that it was the girl on the stage in the ancestral hall that made him feel familiar.

"you……"

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, with a cold light in his eyes, and was about to ask, but was interrupted by footsteps.

"Yan'er, are you back?"

Then, Liu Huai's voice came over.

"uncle."

Hearing this, Qiu Yan had no choice but to stop talking, collected his mind and went forward to salute, then saw Liu Huai's figure, and frowned.

Compared with before, Liu Huai was much haggard, and his spirit was still hale and hearty, but now he showed a little aging.

"Finally, I'm back home. Master Song has already sent someone to bring a letter to the news that you have passed the examination of a scholar. I heard that you are still the top case. It is the first, not bad! Not bad!"

Seeing Qiu Yan, Liu Huai laughed happily, and his slightly aged expression disappeared a lot.

This scene, in Qiu Yan's eyes, warmed his heart, but a little anger immediately surfaced in his heart.

"I left Qingchang because of the Taoism test, and went directly to Wuxin City after the test. It took only two months before and after, but my uncle showed his old age in such a short period of time..."

After thinking about it, he guessed the reason.

"Song Nu..."

Thinking of Song Nu's face before, Qiu Yan became more and more angry, but Liu Huai was by his side, so he had to suppress it forcibly, otherwise he would inevitably surprise the old man if he revealed his cultivation base.

"Your cousin has gone out to collect rent, and he will be back in a while. If he knows you are here, he will be happy too."

Qiu Yan was puzzled: "Rent collectors? The few acres of land our family newly bought can already be rented?"

When he first came to Qingchang, Qiu Yan helped the Liu family buy a house.They also paid for some farmland as a source of income for the Liu family, but those fields have been deserted for a long time and need to be recultivated.Two years of no improvement.

"It's not those lands," Liu Huai shook his head and sighed. "A few days ago, the farmers in the field made trouble. I was afraid of ruining your reputation, so I sold the land."

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes when he heard the words: "Troubleshooting? You haven't collected the rent at all in the past two years, and even you have given money to subsidize it from time to time. Why do they make troubles? Besides, if you make troubles again, there is no need to sell the land, just change people. .”

Qiu Yan said it on his lips, but he knew very well in his heart that if the servants make trouble and want to sell the land, the price will be extremely low and the loss will be huge.

"Perhaps the land is barren and there is no production," Liu Huai smiled. "Uncle has never read a book, but he used to go to the theater and know that people with fame and fame are most afraid of such things. If it spreads, others will not be able to distinguish right from wrong. Quzhi, I only say that our family is using the power to oppress others. You have just been admitted as a scholar, and your uncle can’t make you mess up and make you dirty. A few pieces of land are sold as soon as they are sold. The money from the sale of the land is still at home. I will give it to you."

Qiu Yan's heart warmed even more, but his anger was equally raging. After thinking about it for a while, he knew that there must be a pusher behind this matter. As for who that person was, it was almost ready to be revealed.

"It's no wonder that my uncle has worn out a lot in a short period of time. It turned out that he was too worried and hurt his mind. In two days, he will write a prescription and make up for it."

After sorting out the context, but it's not easy to get angry at home, Qiu Yan just asked: "Since the land is sold, where will my cousin go to collect rent?"

Liu Huai patted Qiu Yan's shoulder with a smile: "Your cousin is here to collect rent for you. You passed the examination of scholar, and the government gave you a few acres of land."

"The land given by the government?"

After hearing this, Qiu Yan shook his head secretly.

There is indeed a clause in Da Rui Law, saying that the government will give farmland to the students who pass the examination, but this is a strategy adopted to appease the scholars all over the world when they won the world at the beginning of the year.

Over the past [-] years, the imperial examinations have been held every three years. Not to mention scholars, everyone has accumulated a lot, and big landlords have emerged in an endless stream. The wealthy families in that place have annexed large tracts of land, and the rest is barren and hard-to-cultivate arable land. .

This is still the situation in borderlands like Jiannan Road. As far as Qiu Yan knows, land annexation is even more serious in Jiangnan and other affluent places. The land division clause exists in name only.

Some of these news were learned by Qiu Yan when he talked with the students in the posthouse, and some were learned from Yan Yongjie back then.

Thoughts crossed his mind, Qiu Yan asked again: "Who sent this land given by the government?"

"It was sent by the Song family master himself. This man is a good man. You don't know. Since the land was sold half a month ago, your cousin's shop has also encountered trouble. Our family is almost desperate. I didn't expect the Song family master to manage it up and down. The land that was supposed to be released in a few months, brought the title deed in advance, otherwise..."

Liu Huai shook his head and did not continue.

"The terms of the government's granting land to scholars have long been in vain. No matter how Song Nu manages it, it is useless. This land deed is definitely not given by the government! Previously, my uncle's family was forced to sell the land, and even my cousin's shop was in trouble. Others did it on purpose, Song Nu and I had quarrels, these things were most likely done by him, causing uncle to hurt Chi Yu, but he gave the land to make up for it afterward, the former is arrogant and the later is respectful..."

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan secretly sneered.

At this time, I heard Liu Huai say again: "By the way, let your aunt go out to buy some food and welcome you..."

His voice fell, and a crisp voice came from beside him——

"Just leave this kind of matter to the little maid, how can you bother the old lady and the old mistress."

The one who spoke was the woman who opened the door for Qiu Yan.

Before, because of Liu Huai's haggard look, Qiu Yan couldn't care about anything else, he had to understand the situation first, but now that he had a general idea of ​​the situation, he turned his attention back to the woman.

Unexpectedly, this woman was already familiar with Liu Huai, and after a few words, she left home with a vegetable basket, while Qiu Yan was pulled into the house by Liu Huai.

"This maid of yours is very diligent," Liu Huai smiled, and before Qiu Yan could speak, she took the initiative to say, "A few days ago, she came to the door suddenly and said that she was the maid you accepted in Wuxin City, and her background was pitiful. Why? ? Is there something strange?"

After all, Liu Huai had been in charge of Pan's residence for many years. Now that he is old, he still has the ability to read words and deeds. He noticed Qiu Yan's expression and already had a guess, so he opened his mouth before asking.

"Since the news came that you were a scholar, many people wanted to sell themselves to join us. I didn't agree. I was afraid that if you didn't investigate for a while, your reputation would be ruined. However, this woman brought a letter from the daughter of the Jiedu envoy, and the county lord looked over it. I also talked about a lot of things about you in Wuxin City, and took out a volume of your book as a token..."

After hearing these words, Qiu Yan had a general understanding of the matter, and gradually had a way of thinking.

"Uncle Lao, those who sell themselves to seek refuge, idle around, and attach themselves to avoid tax and service, they really shouldn't be taken in. As for this Biying, you don't need to worry about it, I have my own opinion." With a countermeasure, he then Speak to appease Liu Huai.

Not long after, the woman named "Biying" came back from buying vegetables, took the initiative to enter the kitchen, and started cooking.

After a while, Qiu Yan's cousin Liu Yue also came back to collect the rent. The brothers met and exchanged pleasantries. Afterwards, the female family members set up tables and chairs, and the whole family sat around.

"Last month, your aunt and cousin were picked up by people from the Pan Mansion. Those people were very polite. I heard that it was because of your name. It seems that the few words you wrote before spread in Yuanning Mansion. , being sought after by others, the Pan family has heard about it a little, and regrets what he did at the beginning, and wants to make amends." During the dinner, Liu Huai introduced the changes in the family, looking very relieved.

But these words made Qiu Yan suspicious.

"The words I wrote? I have achieved some success in calligraphy in the Taoist test, but I haven't left any ink marks in Yuanning Mansion. If there is any, it is the practice that Zhang Zhen took when I was concentrating my soul. I heard that the copybooks were all taken to Yuanning City by him. I don’t know what else was involved.”

Nowadays, most of the households in Yuanning Mansion have invited the Kitchen God, and they are covered by Qiu Yan's legal domain. However, the calligraphy and literary circles are not known to ordinary people. Rich businessmen, how many people care about the way of cooking?

Different circles, different horizons, different knowledge, such as the battle between the Taoist demons, if Lu Jing's soul had not entered the Netherland, it would be difficult for Qiu Yan to know.

Therefore, even though stoves are spread all over the city, the legal system for collecting information is still not perfect.

After eating and saying goodbye to Liu Huai and the others, Qiu Yan got up and went back to the house, followed by a woman.

After entering the courtyard, it was getting late, Qiu Yan didn't say much, and went straight to the study.

After being away from home for several months, there was not much dust in the study room, obviously someone cleaned it.

Looking at the spotless desk, Qiu Yan's mind flashed Pan Rongniang's voice.

With a sigh, Qiu Yan sat down, put down the package and the long sword, and turned his eyes to the woman "Bi Ying".

"Tell me, what are your plans?"

After hearing this, Biying took her time and bowed her head in a respectful manner, with no waves on her delicate face: "Biying really wants to be a maid for the young master, in order to thank you for saving my life."

As she spoke, she raised her head and stared at Qiu Yan with watery eyes: "I will explain the reason clearly to you, but before that, there is still something to do." After saying that, she clapped her hands.

crunch.

Suddenly there was a sound outside, and then the door of the study was pushed open, and Song Nu walked in tremblingly, with his upper body naked, his hands tied behind his back, and a bamboo on his back, as soon as he walked in, he fell to his knees with a thump on the ground. (To be continued..)