"Huh?"
As if sensing something, Pei Wende, who had followed the Zhu family into the courtyard for a short time, suddenly stopped and glanced thoughtfully in the direction of the ancestral temple.
"Zen Master?"
Although Zhao Yanwei, who was leading the way, did not notice Pei Wende's strange movement, Zhu Run, who was following Pei Wende closely, saw Pei Wende's gaze keenly.
"It's okay, I'm just a little surprised at your family's situation."
He simply stopped moving forward and saw Pei Wende sitting on the stone bench in the center of the yard with a smile, and at the same time he put down the butcher knife in his hand.
"I thought that if we could reclaim hundreds of acres of wasteland in just one year, no matter how miserable your Zhu family is, you would still have a house."
"What I never expected was that more than a dozen members of your Zhu family actually live in such a small courtyard."
Unlike all the mansions and compounds that Pei Wende had seen before, the area of this courtyard is actually not very large, only two to three hundred square meters at best.
The shape is also different from the regular mansions of this era, but is somewhat similar to the courtyard houses of later generations.
The main house is a two-story building with the largest area. It is separated from the front and back by a hall and several small rooms. At a glance, you can tell that it is the house for the owner's family of five.
On the left and right sides are slightly crude side rooms, built in the shape of a Zigzag. You can faintly see the traces of the latrines, kitchens, and the daily lives of the servants.
It can be said that except for the slightly grander gate, this place looks even worse than some ordinary people's brick houses.
"Why is the Zhu family not the Zhu family? Now it is estimated that our old man is the only one who cares about this false reputation."
Sighing helplessly, Zhu Run first signaled her husband, children, and Aunt Zhu to go about their business, and then she sat on the stone bench opposite Pei Wende.
Since the two of them were currently in the center of the courtyard, they could clearly see the scenery and dynamics of the entire courtyard.
Apart from the slightly annoying mosquitoes, this location is arguably the best location in the yard.
"After these two years of suffering, the people who can still be with us are basically our own family members. Why should our own family members be divided into different ranks?"
Without hiding his helplessness, Zhu Run didn't hide anything in front of Pei Wende.
"This is a little overthinking by the young monk."
With a slight chin gesture, Pei Wende continued to speak with an unchanging expression.
"Enjoy wealth and endure poverty."
"It seems that the female donor is the real head of the Zhu family!"
Although Pei Wende had softened his tone as much as possible, Zhu Run's expression still changed slightly.
"The Zen master has a keen eye. The current Zhu family is indeed headed by a young lady."
Lowering his head without any trace, Zhu Run's expression at this moment was not only helpless, but also a bit sad.
"In this case, the young monk will not hide it."
Gently tapping the handle of the butcher's knife, Pei Wende deliberately lowered his voice and asked after making sure that Aunt Zhu could not hear their conversation.
"Actually, I've been wondering from the beginning. How on earth did you, a dozen members of the Zhu family, manage to carve out hundreds of acres of fertile farmland in less than a year?"
Although Pei Wende comes from the 21st century, his years of living at the bottom have long made him integrate into the people of this era.
Especially when it comes to reclaiming hundreds of acres of fertile land at once, and it is reclaimed from mountain forest wasteland, no one knows the difficulty of this better than him.
Even in the mechanized 21st century, this is still a huge project.
Not to mention today's backward feudal country, a hundred acres of fertile land can completely break up a slightly disunited village.
"Now that I think about it, that so-called 'pig demon' must be your trump card!"
It was obviously a question sentence, but Pei Wende was extremely sure when he said this sentence.
"If you can really tame a 'pig demon', it is indeed possible to cultivate hundreds of acres of fertile land in less than a year."
Faced with Pei Wende's remarks, Zhu Run did not open his mouth to refute.
However, her strange silence gave Pei Wende a hard time. He did not point out this fact just to silence the other party.
"Don't worry, the young monk is actually quite open-minded. He is not the kind of mage who slays demons indiscriminately."
After tapping the hilt of his knife again, Pei Wende looked past Zhu Run and towards Zhao Yanwei who was talking to Zhu Huaigu and Aunt Zhu in the house.
"That 'pig demon' is actually your current husband, right?"
After saying this, Pei Wende did not look at Zhu Run, who was already pale and without any blood, but continued to speak in a low voice.
"This is something I never thought about before..."
"Why did your family lose their daughter and suffer a demonic disaster, but you never went to Jinshan Temple to seek help, even if it was just a tentative visit."
"On the contrary, your cook was so enthusiastic that she went to Jinshan Temple to ask for help without telling you."
The voice paused again, and Pei Wende was not anxious to listen to Zhu Run's explanation, because he had already roughly guessed the whole incident.
"If your old man is in charge of the Zhu family, your cook's explanation can actually be explained."
"After all, I have never met your old man. Maybe he is really the kind of old antique who values the family's reputation more than his granddaughter's life?"
Pei Wende has seen too many different forms of sentient beings in this world.
If nothing else, let’s just talk about the original “coffin incident”. Wasn’t it the tragedy that a stubborn old man poisoned his monster wife to death and ultimately brewed?
"But you are obviously not the kind of old-timer who would sit back and let your daughter disappear just because of your family's reputation."
Pei Wende admitted that his previous words were suspected of eliciting a confession, but it did allow him to understand Zhu Run's character and family status.
"Then the question is, why are you afraid of going to Jinshan Temple to ask for help?"
With Pei Wende's current reputation in Runzhou, as long as Zhu Run goes to Jinshan Temple to explain the situation, he will definitely come down the mountain.
By that time, Zhao Yanwei's identity as a "pig demon" will most likely be exposed.
I'm afraid Zhu Run knew this very well, so he never went to the mountain to ask for help, and even made up a very reasonable reason to the outside world.
The only thing she didn't expect was that Aunt Zhu would go up the mountain without telling their family.
"One is the husband, the other is the daughter..."
"In order to save your husband, you, a mother, actually chose to give up your daughter. It is really cruel."
Killing people but nodding, Pei Wende's heart-wrenching words fell into Zhu Run's ears, and she immediately lost all excuses for sophistry.
"I...this is not what I want..."
——Monthly Ticket/Recommended Ticket——
7017k
