Chapter One: Perplexity

  When day broke, Gao Lao Gen packed a few things and left his home with his wife and children, looking back three times. Seeing the woman in her belly holding a four or five-year-old child, Gao Huai Yuan couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy again.

  "Stop right there, Gao Lao Gen! Xue Yan brought out a few taels of silver from the package inside the house and handed them over to Gao Lao Gen. With a scowl on his face, he said: "Originally, your family could have lived in peace, but because of your greed, you can't even stay in this good home. Take this money, it's for your children, not for you! Remember, leave far, far away and never come back! Use this little bit of money to do some small business and support your family!"

  Gao Lao Gen grasped the money, and tears flowed down again. With a thud, he knelt down in front of Gao Huai Yuan, heavily knocking his head on the ground several times, saying some words of gratitude. Then, he pulled up a wooden cart, loaded with his personal luggage, and headed out of the mountain.

  After seeing off Gao Lao Gen, Gao Huaiyuan took Xue Yan and others to take a rough turn around here. The more they looked, the more familiar it felt, the more they looked, the more they liked it. This place is located in a remote area, but there are mountains and water. If literati lived here, they would definitely inspire a lot of inspiration, and might even write some good poems. But it was bought by Gao Lao Gen, this greedy guy, what a waste of this place!

  Gao Huaiyuan looked at the surrounding mountains and always had a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't think of why he felt that way, so in the end, he just stopped thinking about it.

  After looking around the yard and those fields, Gao Huaiyuan said to Xue Yan: "Xue Yan, take these deeds of land property, as well as the transfer agreement signed by Gao Lao Gen, and go through the trouble of going to the county government office, find Captain Xing, ask him for help, and immediately transfer these things into my name, lest there be endless troubles!"

  Xue Yan set off immediately after receiving the order, bringing with him the deeds to the land and the transfer contract handed over by Gao Laogen, riding on the donkey from Gao Laogen's house, also bringing some money that was given to him by Fang Biao, heading in the direction of Daye County.

  Let's take stock, this old rascal Gao Lao Gen is really a miser. Over the years, the money he embezzled from the Gao family, except for some spent on Zhang Widow, was mostly used to buy real estate and other assets. There are still several dozen taels of silver hidden at home, which have now all been cheaply given to Gao Huaiyuan, allowing his pockets to bulge again.

  "Older brother is indeed formidable, it's only been a few days! He actually settled that old rascal Gao Lao Gen in just three or five moves, and even got so much money and property. Now older brother can be considered a wealthy household! Haha! Zhou Hao, this time we've made the right choice, haven't we? Following older brother is great, it's impossible to suffer poverty!" Huang Yan looked at the pile of gold on the table with an uncontainable smile.

  "Spare me the flattery! Following me will only bring you hardship, I'm telling you honestly, sooner or later the world will be in chaos! If you want to stand out in a chaotic world, you need to cultivate your skills. If you want to enjoy life, you might as well go back to your home in Shaoxing. Here, you have to listen to me. The things our master taught us, no matter what, cannot be abandoned. If you don't practice well, see how I'll deal with you!" Gao Huaiyuan splashed a bucket of cold water on Huang Yan's head, while Zhou Huan stood aside, his mouth twitching with excitement at seeing Gao Huaiyuan scold Huang Yan.

  Huang Yan made a fool of himself, rubbing his nose and saying: "I'm just trying to make you happy, who said anything about enjoying it? I'll listen to you, after all, you're our boss! Don't worry, the things Master taught us will never be forgotten! It's just those little brats, I don't know what the boss plans to do with them."

  He glanced at Huang Yan and Zhou Heng, after such a long time of getting along with them, he now had absolute trust in these two people, and had unconsciously regarded them as his own brothers. So when speaking in front of them, he wouldn't hesitate to say anything. He continued: "A man's life must do something, to be honest with you, it won't take long, maybe two or three years, the Song Dynasty will have another war with the Jin people. If you want to make a name for yourself, this is an opportunity, don't miss it! As for those young men, I won't treat them like you, I'll train them into a force in our hands! Once something happens, they can be used! For your requests, I will treat them the same as you, but you must do better than them! If you can't bear the suffering that follows, then I can only let you go home! Hope you remember!"

  After hearing Gao Huaiyuan's words, Huang Yan and others were very excited when they heard that there would be an opportunity to go on stage and fight in the future. They immediately straightened their chests and shouted: "Don't worry, boss! We're not cowards, we won't lose face for you!"

  Gao Huaiyuan reached out to collect the money and goods on the table, tied them into a large bundle, Zhou Huan came over voluntarily, carried it on his back, so much money, really heavy, but looking at it feels more solid in heart!

  "What does the eldest plan to do with this money?" After leaving the yard, Huang Yan led a donkey from the backyard and put the package on its back, asking Gao Huaiyuan.

  "Of course, I won't give it to my dad. You know that raising these kids will cost a lot of money in the future, and this little bit of money is far from enough! We'll have to think of ways to make more money later on. Relying on just this little bit of money won't get us anywhere!" Gao Huaiyuan turned around and locked the gate of Gao Laogen's courtyard before answering.

  Huang Yan's face revealed a sly smile again, and the three of them set off on the road towards the old mansion.

  In the next few days, Gao Huaiyuan changed his mind again and drove Huang Yan and Zhou Huan out of the backyard to Gaolao Gen's old home. After all, there were many people here, and he didn't want too many people to know what he was going to do in the future. The crime of hiding private soldiers alone was enough for him!

  Xue Yan soon returned to the old mansion from Daye County, handed over the deed of the property to Gao Huaiyuan, with the friendship that came out of drinking last time, plus the silver money opened the way, things went very smoothly, and the yamen's clerk didn't make things difficult at all, so they handled the signing and sealing for them. This time Gao Huaiyuan was completely relieved, at least now he is also a master with land, this is what it means to have savings at home and not be worried!

  As for these land deeds and other properties, Gao Huaiyuan didn't have time to take care of this matter, so he handed them over to Liu'er to keep. To Liu'er, now he regarded him as his own family member, if it's said that the most trusted person in the world, then Liu'er would be the first one, so for this kind of thing, he thought of Liu'er first.

  Liu'er was deeply grateful for Gao Huaiyuan's trust and carefully put away the items, vowing in her heart to keep his secret and take good care of them, as if she had already become Gao Huaiyuan's little housekeeper.

  After coming here, Liu'er was no longer as cautious and timid as before, afraid of inviting trouble. She became more outgoing and spent her days directing the servants in the mansion to clean up and tidy up. Under her leadership, the old mansion quickly changed its appearance, becoming spotless and clean everywhere. Even the thatched roof was cleared of weeds, and new window paper was put up, making people feel comfortable at a glance.

  The servants in the old mansion saw that Liu'er was extremely favored by Gao Huaiyuan, and no one dared to underestimate her. They listened to her orders and did not dare to be slow, which made Li Tong a bit unhappy. He became a nominal manager, and the real master seemed to be Liu'er. However, he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction. Liu'er's status in Gao Huaiyuan's eyes was above his own, so he could only follow Liu'er obediently and do things with her. Anyway, he still got paid and had less trouble, so he consoled himself.

  As for Gao Lao Gen's sudden disappearance, no one in the mansion dared to ask about it. Anyway, Gao Huai Yuan took responsibility and said that because of his fault, Gao Lao Gen had escaped in fear of punishment. He ordered everyone to speak with one voice, saying that Gao Lao Gen had retired and would no longer work for the Gao family. As for where he went, nobody could say clearly.

  However, in private, there was a servant who couldn't help but look at Xue Yan, this cold-faced big man, and secretly wonder if the young master would kill Gao Lao Gen in a fit of rage and then get rid of the body. Although wealthy families in the Song Dynasty were generally more lenient towards their servants compared to other dynasties, if they really provoked their masters, killing a servant was not uncommon, as long as no one found out, no one would pursue it.

  But this matter seems to be not quite as they guessed, because when they heard that Gao Laogen had gone missing, his family also disappeared together. Even if Gao Hua yuan was ruthless, he was still a young man after all, and it was impossible for him to kill off the entire Gao Laogen family. Besides, wasn't Zhang Widow still alive and well? Unable to figure it out, they simply stopped thinking about it. Anyway, this young master was strict but not bad to them servants, providing them with food and drink without stinting, and occasionally even giving them a few coins as a reward for their work. Compared to Gao Laogen's treatment of them, this was a vast improvement! So when they looked at Gao Hua yuan and Xue Yan again, they were even more respectful!

  In the following days, Gao Huaiyuan was busy like a spinning wheel, constantly turning around. He made time to teach Liu'er to recognize characters and learn arithmetic; as the head of the old house, he had to meet with the tenant farmers; he also snuck away to take a look at the small porcelain kiln; and some distant relatives in Gaojiazhuang, who heard that the third young master Gao Huaiyuan was back, came to visit and show their closeness. Just dealing with these things made Gao Huaiyuan extremely busy.

  After getting all these things roughly done, Gao Huaiyuan lay on the bed and slept soundly for half a day. In the past, he wore a suit of iron sand every day and never felt so tired. It seems that being the master of this old house is not an easy life after all!

  When he got out of bed, he thought it was time to arrange for Huang Yan and the others. He ordered Li Tong to prepare a donkey, bring an honest servant, ride on the donkey and head towards his old nest.