After completing the land deed, Zhang Jian followed the local customs and invited both the buyer and seller, the broker, and all the neighbors to a communal meal, which involved going to a tavern for a meal, allowing everyone to get acquainted.
As the saying goes, distant relatives are not as helpful as near neighbors, which is precisely the reasoning here.
As for the original homeowner, who was naturally unable to attend while being in the County Government jail, Zhang Jian invited an official from the County Government instead.
Thanks to his "financial ability," a rather senior clerk from the County Government showed up, adding more prestige to this small banquet.
Of course, Zhang Jian also got to know the elderly couple.
The old man, surnamed Wang and called Wang Xiu, and his wife was referred to by the neighbors as Lady Wang, or directly as Aunt Wang, Lady Wang, and Auntie Wang by the Wang Family!
The elderly couple was quite famous in West Gate Square because they had a sweet water well at home, and the tofu they ground was smoother than that of ordinary tofu shops.
In the small courtyard, Zhang Jian looked at the leaky wooden house in front of him and inwardly shook his head.
This wooden house had not been repaired for a long time and had places where wind and rain could leak through.
Wooden houses have this disadvantage; they need annual maintenance, otherwise, they can become quite troublesome.
At this time, however, many neighbors offered to help voluntarily, without charge, to repair the wooden house and rebuild the earth walls.
Zhang Jian did not stand on ceremony.
In such a situation, it would be too standoffish to refuse.
With his financial capability, while the numerous neighbors helped repair the walls, he went to the market and ordered a wild boar from a hunter, repairing the house on one hand and slaughtering the pig to host the neighbors on the other.
It’s rare to have such a generous neighbor as Zhang Jian, so more and more people came to help every day.
Many hands make light work.
In less than a couple of days, the wooden house was repaired, with a few newly purchased wooden furniture added in the process.
Looking at the gradually tidied-up small yard, Zhang Jian’s gaze swept over, and there was a sense of nostalgia in his eyes.
He still felt somewhat disorganized.
There was also a feeling that something was missing!
After a moment, Zhang Jian pondered silently.
"A female master of the house is missing!"
Zhang Jian couldn’t help but recall the years when Qi Yuhua was by his side, during which the house was always kept clean and orderly.
The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but show a slight smile.
"Additionally, I need to prepare a sideline business; I can’t just keep spending silver without seeing the main business..."
Zhang Jian thought for a moment, and soon he made a decision.
He planned to return to his old trade, selling calligraphy and paintings.
This profession is elegant, not vulgar, and carries status.
When Zhang Jian decides, he acts, and the next day hung up flags at his door, offering letter-writing services and selling calligraphy and paintings.
The pair of flags were a novelty near West Gate Square, attracting quite a bit of attention from the surrounding neighborhood.
In this era, educated individuals always garnered more focus.
Because the skills they possessed were mostly related to the upper echelons of the dynasty, serving as the basic stepping stones to reach those echelons.
Cyan Rain City belongs to a dynasty called the Great Chen.
Although the Great Chen claimed to emphasize both civil and military, civil servants often had more opportunities to be close to the Emperor, and thus their weight was somewhat greater.
And at this moment, the Bai Hua Fairy in Old Wang’s house also awakened.
Zhang Jian has seen her once.
For some reason, the Bai Hua Fairy stayed behind, recognizing Aunt Wang as her godmother, helping her sell tofu, and becoming the notorious Tofu Beauty.
Since the two families lived close by, Zhang Jian also frequently visited the Wang Family to buy tofu pudding and tofu, becoming extraordinarily familiar over time.
With a good daughter in the family, at the age of eighteen, it’s natural for the news to spread among the city’s gossipers, and soon the thresholds of the Wang family were being worn down by official and private matchmakers, making the yard inside and out quite lively.
In the Zhang Family’s courtyard, Zhang Jian looked at the lively scene in the Wang Family’s courtyard and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
However, in his gaze, Bai Hua Fairy was handling it with great ease.
First, she stated her position, saying she wanted to serve her parents for two years, fulfilling her filial piety and effectively silencing everyone.
But two years passed in a flash, and this time more people were stepping over the Wang family’s threshold.
Even though Wang Qiaoyun never showed her true appearance, her outstanding temperament, combined with her consistent help in managing the Wang family’s affairs over the years, made her intelligence and virtue seen by many in West Gate Square and the city, with many seeking her as a good match.
The Wang couple in the front courtyard became busy again; as Wang Qiaoyun grew older, they became somewhat worried, and deliberately sought to find a suitable husband for their hard-won daughter.
In the back courtyard, Wang Qiaoyun suddenly turned her gaze toward the outside of Cyan Rain City, with a hint of worry in her eyes.
"Did they come so quickly?"
Standing in her boudoir, her expression was exceptionally grave.
The person she offended was not ordinary, and furthermore, she held in her hands a treasure left by the Ancient Immortal Gods, so the other party would certainly not let it go.
She didn’t think it possible to slip by unnoticed.
With her understanding of the other party.
The other party, to prevent any mishaps, might directly control all the city’s citizens, sifting through one by one, or even resort to lightning methods to refine all the city’s citizens to find her whereabouts, leaving no room for hiding among the masses.
Having lived so long, they have already become human monsters, more vicious than anything.
There was a fierce look in Wang Qiaoyun’s eyes as she glanced at the busy Wang couple in the front yard, determined not to let that person destroy everything here.
Outside Cyan Rain City, a magnificent figure descended from the sky.
He carried a giant sword on his back, his eyes emitting intense evil qi, and the immortal light around him was majestic, seemingly able to obliterate the city before him with the slightest leak.