Chapter 260 The Master of the Wasteland
Gu Jinan smiled and said, "The student understands your hard work. Don't worry, sir, Jin'an just wants to study in peace now. As for fame, we will wait until Jin'an completes his studies."
"Okay." Shang Xiucai was very pleased. If he were such a short-sighted person, he would not let it go if he encountered such a big achievement, even if his life was in danger.
Gu Jinan is not afraid of death, but he knows that he is a man of little importance nowadays, and removing half of the people is too big a deal. If it happens, it will not only be him, but also his family who will be in danger.
He would not allow his family to be in danger again.
"Master, Mr. Gu and Miss Xiaoyu are here." Ah Jiu took Third Grandpa and Gu Jinli outside the study door and raised his voice to report.
Gu Jinan hurriedly came out and asked, "Grandpa Third, Xiaoyu, why are you here? But something happened at home?"
Gu Jinli smiled and said, "It's okay. We came to Uncle Shang to ask about the wasteland outside the gatehouse in the town."
When Shang Xiucai heard this, he sighed and said, "Why are you asking about that wasteland? Come in first, and then we'll talk later."
Gu Jinli and Third Grandpa walked into the Shang family's study. After sitting down, Gu Jinli explained the purpose of their visit.
She did not hide the fact that she wanted to buy land to build a shop. Shang Xiucai was an upright person and disliked people who were secretive. Only when she told him frankly would he make efforts to help.
She also told her that she suspected that the area was not a wasteland, but a ruin.
"So that's it." Shang Xiucai stood up, walked to a bookshelf on the right side of the study, and pulled out a book from an old wooden box: "I heard my grandfather tell me about that piece of land. I was afraid of forgetting it, so I remembered it. Come down."
Shang Xiucai liked anecdotes and would write down many ancient things he heard. He would read them when he had nothing to do. It was quite interesting to watch.
"The land outside the gatehouse is indeed not wasteland, but a large house. The smelly pond that Old Doctor Wu mentioned is the back garden of that house."
"That was all when Da Chu was first established. Grandpa said that he didn't know why the house caught fire. It burned for several days and nights. People from Shangjiacun and the town went to put out the fire. But the fire was too big and they couldn't be saved at all. , and after a few days, the house was burned down to nothing. The people looking after the house inside were also burned to death."
"Later, a few Taoist nuns came to the ruins and chanted sutras there for some spiritual enlightenment. No one has ever been to the ruins. Over time, it became a place for people in the town to dump garbage."
"As for who the owner of that house is? Even my grandfather and the others don't know. I only heard that it is the house of a family named Lu in the south. Usually no one comes to live there. It is just prepared for the owner's family to rest when they go to Jiangnan. .”
The aristocratic families of the previous dynasty not only had many mansions, but also built forts, maintained private soldiers, and had great power. It was very common for them to set up mansions in various places in Dachu for rest.
"Uncle Shang, is this a private residence?"
Shang Xiucai nodded.
Gu Jinli frowned, this was difficult to deal with: "Do you know who the master is? Is it still the family named Lu?"
Shang Xiucai shook his head: "No, the Lu family has been defeated a long time ago. The owner of the land currently registered is the Hu family."
"Mr. Hu? Who is this Mr. Hu? Is there an address on the register?"
Shang Xiucai shook his head: "No, this book was registered in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Now this Hu family is probably no longer alive."
The clue is broken again.
Gu Jinli frowned, recalling the story Shang Xiucai just told, and asked: "Taoist nun, where did those Taoist nuns come from? Do you know which Taoist temple they belong to?!"
Shang Xiucai still shook his head: "I don't know, after so many years, I haven't seen any Taoist nuns come to worship in that ruins again. But..."
Shang Xiucai suddenly remembered something: "The old man who pours night fragrance in the town heard that his mother was raised by Taoist nuns. He probably knows the origins of those Taoist nuns."
What a twist!
Gu Jinli immediately asked: "Uncle Shang, do you know where the old man who poured night fragrance lives?"
"I know this. The old man and his wife live in the bamboo forest behind the ruins." Ah Jiu came in with tea and sighed: "The old man's surname is Mi. He also had a hard life. He once had a son who died of illness. For many years, only the old couple lived together."
Ah Jiu has a free-spirited personality and likes to run to town when he has nothing to do. Once he runs there, he learns about Mr. Mi.
"I know Mi Laoweng and his wife. I often go to the bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots and bring them some food."
"Did we dig our fresh bamboo shoots from the ruined bamboo forest?" Shang Xiucai knew this for the first time, but he had eaten a lot of fresh bamboo shoots.
Ah Jiu scratched his head and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, I was afraid that you would find it unlucky, so I never dared to tell you the origin of the fresh bamboo shoots."
After all, the ruins have been through water and burned to death, so most people would be taboo.
With a snap, Shang Xiucai took the book and lightly hit Ah Jiu on the head: "Your master, I will be taboo about this? Since you know that old man, take Sanshu Gu and Xiaoyu to find someone. , we will take care of this matter today.”
He heard from his grandfather that the wasteland was actually very popular. Many people asked about it, but they could not find the owner. As time went by, no one asked anymore.
Now that the Gu family is eyeing that wasteland, if they want to take action, they must hurry up to avoid something unexpected happening.
"Hey, I'm going to prepare the car now and take Mr. Gu to find Mr. Mi." Ah Jiu ran out to prepare the car.
Gu Jinan hadn't finished school yet, so he didn't go looking for anyone with his third grandfather and Gu Jinli, but only sent them out of the study yard.
Gu Jinli and Third Grandpa left the Shang Mansion and waited at the gate of the mansion for a while before Ah Jiu came driving a mule cart.
The mule cart was very fast, and it took a quarter of an hour to reach the bamboo forest behind the ruins.
The bamboo forest is very large, and some bamboos are still growing on the ruins. Mr. Mi's home is deep in the bamboo forest. It is a three-and-a-half-room house made of blue bricks. There are still faint traces of smoke on the blue bricks.
An old woman was feeding chickens in the open space in front of the house. When she saw Ah Jiu, she smiled and said, "Little young man, have you finished eating the fresh bamboo shoots?"
Mrs. Mi likes Ah Jiu very much. This youngster is a conscientious person. People nearby often come to dig bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest to eat. No one gives anything to her. They just leave after digging.
This young man would give them rice and noodles, and twice he even took two pieces of meat and a jar of meat oil, which was very generous.
Ah Jiu jumped off the mule cart and said with a smile: "Grandma Mi, you are not here to dig bamboo shoots today. You are here with two guests. I want to ask Mr. Mi something."
"What's going on? I know everything about the old man, just ask me." Mrs. Mi said, but she still turned around and shouted into the room: "Old man, come out quickly, we have guests."
Mr. Mi is a night-scented person and has to get up in the middle of the night. Now he is sleeping in his cage, but he has little sleep. After Mrs. Mi shouted a few times, he woke up, walked out of the room and asked, "What kind of guest? What do you want to see the old man for?"
Gu Jinli stepped forward, saluted Mr. Mi, and asked: "Grandpa, we want to ask, do you know of any Taoist temples with Hu characters and only Taoist nuns?"
Mr. Mi paused and said, "Are you looking for Huyun Temple?"