When she returned to the courtyard, Shen Yijia saw Brother Hao and Sister Huan standing there with conflicted expressions.
Shen Yijia chuckled and said, "This will be our home from now on. Do you like it?"
"Sister-in-law…" Brother Hao pouted, looking like he was about to cry.
"Haha!" Shen Yijia could not help but laugh out loud. Noticing that Madam Li was distracted, she hurriedly asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Madam Li shook her head silently.
Coincidentally, Uncle Yang came in with Song Jingchen on his back. Shen Yijia quickly shifted a big rock in the corner of the courtyard for Song Jingchen to sit on.
"Mother, being expelled from the clan might not be a bad thing! Even if Father and Grandfather knew about this, they would have agreed!" Song Jingchen said after sitting down.
After all, it was better not to have such clansmen.
Madam Li sighed. "I hope so."
Shen Yijia suddenly realized that Madam Li was conflicted about this. She could not figure out what there was to be conflicted about.
It was obvious that those people were not good people. Should they have stood quietly and let the clansmen lecture them simply because they were elders?
Shen Yijia would have to decline politely.
Did Lin Mu and the others think that their mission was over?
Shen Yijia could only laugh at them for being too naive.
Shen Yijia was becoming adept at making them work for her.
They ate some simple pastries for lunch.
Shen Yijia arranged for someone to follow Uncle Yang to the town to buy pots, pans, rice, grain oil, tables, stools, and other daily necessities. At the same time, he took care of the deed transfer for them.
They also bought mattresses. Since the mattresses couldn't fit in their carriages, they arranged for someone to send it over.
As for why two people had to go. Well, there were too many things to buy. A single carriage could not fit them all.
Shen Yijia expressed that she was not afraid at all.
Fortunately, she had a conscience, and gave Lin Mu and the guards some money to spend on these necessities.
Shen Yijia did not know if it was an illusion, but she clearly felt that the guards heaved a sigh of relief after she took out the silver taels.
"This is puzzling." she thought to herself.
Shen Yijia rubbed her nose and wondered if she had gone overboard before.
But… Oh dear, the weeds needed to be pulled and the rooms had to be cleaned up.
Song Jingchen sat at the side and watched as Shen Yijia ordered the imperial guards around.
The gloom in his heart from the Song Clan's attitude had dissipated, and he couldn't help but smile.
The saying that there was strength in numbers was indeed true. Under the instructions of Shen Yijia, as well as some support from Brother Hao and Sister Huan…
The house had changed dramatically before the sun set.
The merchant had delivered the beds, since they bought the ready-made ones. The things they had asked Uncle Yang to buy had also arrived.
It wasn't like the old days. Everything was bought cheaply.
Even so, the delivery of truckloads of items attracted the envy of many people in the village.
They all guessed that Song Jingchen and the others had brought back a lot of money.
However, none of them knew about this. Even if they knew, they wouldn't care.
Shen Yijia counted the money that had returned to her purse. This trip had cost nearly 30 taels of silver.
It took nearly five taels to go through the household registration office.
Shen Yijia thought to herself that this money was easily spent. Forty taels of silver were gone in a single day.
She had already spent some money on the way here. Thus, she only had less than 300 taels of silver left.
If there was no source of income, it would really be like what Song Jingchen said… They might have to starve in the future.
When everything had been arranged properly, Shen Yijia checked it again. She thought to herself, "At least it looks like a home now."
Uncle Yang had packed dinner from the town, and everyone had a good meal.
Before the sky turned dark, Shen Yijia wanted Lin Mu and the others to go up the mountain to cut a load of firewood.
They each boiled water and washed up, but sleep became a problem.
There were too many people, but too few rooms…
In the end, Madam Li decided that Uncle Yang, Lin Mu, and the others would spend the night in the west wing. Anyway, Lin Mu and the others would be returning to the capital tomorrow.
Madam Li brought Brother Hao and Sister Huan to the main room while Shen Yijia and Song Jingchen stayed in the east wing.
This arrangement made Shen Yijia blush.
"Are… are we going to share a bed?" she thought to herself.
On the other hand, unlike what Madam Li had expected, Song Jingchen silently agreed.