The happy little days of the Ye family

Chapter 598 House inspection in the county

After the summer harvest, everyone lost a lot of weight. Mr. Ye even specially brought back a fat rabbit weighing more than 7 pounds from the rabbit shed.

Although the Ye family raises rabbits, the rabbits in the rabbit shed are sold and rarely eaten.

For dinner, Ye Mu cooked a large table of delicious food, including rabbit stewed with potatoes, rabbit stewed with dried mushrooms, fried beans with lard residue, boiled water spinach, and loofah and egg soup.

Before eating, he asked Ye Xilin to send some meat to Ye Qingqing.

Everyone was very satisfied with the dinner. Mother Ye saw everyone eating happily with a bright smile on her face.

"Qingqing asked us when we are free, so we can go to the county to look at houses together. The Tang family wants to buy a house near a better academy." Ye Mu said cheerfully.

Father Ye looked at Old Mrs. Ye out of habit. Seeing that his parents ignored him, he touched his nose and said:

"The business of the braised pork shop is not very good recently, and I can't make much money in a day. How about I go to the county to look at houses tomorrow."

The business of the braised pork shop was not good, and Ye's father was a little upset, so he just went to the county to visit the house to relax.

Mother Ye was a little surprised, "So anxious? I wonder if the Tang family is free."

"I'll go over to the Tang family later and see what the Tang family has to say."

The matter of buying a house in the county had been discussed before, and no one else had any objections.

After dinner, Ye's father hurried to Tang's house. At this time, Ye Qingqing and the others had just had dinner, and Tang Xiaojing was still washing dishes in the backyard.

Ye's father was impatient and didn't wait for his son-in-law to come back. He directly said to Ye Qingqing and Tang San:

"Brother Shan, Qingqing, didn't you say you were going to the county to look at houses? I've been free recently. You guys can see if I'm free tomorrow. Let's go to the county to look at houses together."

Ye Qingqing knew that Tang Xiaojing didn't have to go to the county to deliver rabbits tomorrow, so he should be free, so he looked at Tangshan again.

Tangshan smiled heartily and said: "I solicit customers in the town and county every day. I can do it at any time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Xiaojing had already washed the dishes and came over.

Ye Qingqing looked at Tang Xiaojing: "Ms. sir, my father wants to go to the county to see a house tomorrow. Are you free tomorrow? Let's go to the county to see a house together."

"Okay, I'm always available here."

The summer harvest has been completed and the grain has been sold to grain stores. Tang Xiaojing has been very free recently.

Seeing that everyone was free, Father Ye made a decision directly and said: "Then it's settled, after breakfast tomorrow, we will set off together."

Tangshan knew that the Ye family wanted to buy a house near the academy to pave the way for the next generation, so he told Ye's father about several academies in the county.

"There are three academies in the county, namely Yanjia Academy, Qingsong Academy and Qingfeng Academy."

"The Yan Family Academy is the newly built academy near the Escort Bureau. Our family has a house nearby."

"The Yan Family Academy is an enlightenment academy. It accepts children who are five or six years old and have just started enlightenment. Because it is just an enlightenment school, the teachers there are relatively average."

Father Ye was not satisfied when he heard that the Yan Family Academy only provided education for children, and that the masters were relatively average.

Tangshan continued: "Qingsong Academy is the largest academy in the county. It contains both enlightened children, students and scholars who are taking exams. It is considered a relatively comprehensive academy."

"Most of the scholars in the county study at Qingsong Academy, and the fees are reasonable."

In fact, Tangshan has long been interested in Qingsong Academy and intends to buy a house near Qingsong Academy.

"What about the remaining Qingfeng Academy?" Ye Qingqing asked anxiously when Tangshan stopped.

Father Ye on the side also looked at Tangshan anxiously.

"Qingfeng Academy only accepts students above children, and there is a test before admission. Only those who pass the test can be admitted."

"Qingfeng Academy is specially prepared for people who take scientific examinations. It has produced many successful candidates and even Jinshi."

"The collection of books and masters in the academy cannot be compared to the previous two academies. But precisely because it is so good, the threshold is very high."

After hearing about the three academies in the county, Ye’s father felt that Easy Academy was the best.

"Our family does not require that the next generation must be a high official or honor the ancestors. It is already great to be a scholar and come back to be exempted from the corvee. If it can support the family, it is already great."

Father Ye is also self-aware and does not aim too high.

"I think Qingsong Academy is pretty good. I wonder if I can buy it in the house over there?"

The houses near the academies in the town are so popular, let alone the academies in the county, so it is probably difficult to buy them.

Tangshan has many friends, so he is not worried at all. "I am also interested in the house over at Qingsong Academy. I know someone in Yaxing. Let's go and have a look tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, it would be better if you have acquaintances." Father Ye was very happy.

"Brother Shan, you are familiar with the county. How much does a house near Qingsong Academy cost?"

The house near the academy is definitely not cheap, and Father Ye is a little worried that the family does not have enough money.

"The average small house in the county costs more than 200 taels. If it is near Qingsong Academy, it will probably cost 400 taels."

The Ye family had only prepared 250 taels before, but when Tangshan said he wanted 400 taels, Father Ye was shocked.

It's too expensive!

Tangshan and Ye's father have known each other for many years, and it was obvious at a glance that Ye's father cared about Yinzi.

Then he said: "If it is a house near the Yan Family Academy, more than 200 taels of silver should be able to buy a small house."

Father Ye gritted his teeth and said, "Since it is for the younger generation in the family to study, just buy it if you want. Tomorrow we will go to see the houses near Qingsong Academy."

After returning to Ye's house, Ye's father told the old couple that they were going to the county to see a house tomorrow, and asked the two old men if they wanted to go together.

Old Mrs. Ye nodded, "Let's go and see together, your father and I will both go."

Recently, the old couple have stopped caring about family affairs. Father Ye thought that the two of them would not go, but with the old couple here, Father Ye felt a lot more at ease.

Although the two of them don't care about anything now, they still care about the next generation of the family. It's better to keep an eye on such important matters.

Father Ye told the old couple again about the three academies in the county.

"I have taken a fancy to the house near Qingsong Academy. Tomorrow we will go to Yahang to see if there is a suitable house nearby."

Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye have no objection.

Father Ye didn't tell the old couple that the house in Qingsong Academy cost three to four hundred taels. He planned to bring more money there tomorrow and make up the difference.

Back at the house, Ye's father and Ye's mother also discussed going to the county to see the house tomorrow.

"We have already agreed with Qingqing and the others that we will go to the county to look at a house together tomorrow. My father and mother will also go with us."

"It's a good idea for the old couple to go together. Houses in the county are expensive. I wonder if 250 taels is enough? Should we bring some extra money?"

Father Ye didn't expect that Mother Ye would think of it before he brought it up.

"I just inquired with Brother Shan. The house over at Qingsong Academy costs about 400 taels."

"So expensive?"

Ye Mu originally thought that she would only have about 300 taels of silver at the end of the day, and thought that bringing an extra 50 taels of silver would be enough, but she didn't expect that it would cost 400 taels.

Father Ye carefully looked at Mother Ye, and seeing that she was not angry, he continued:

"Let's take out another 150 taels, plus the 250 taels we collected before, and bring 400 taels of silver over tomorrow."

Ye's mother took stock of the two people's private money again. They have now saved more than 400 taels.

After deducting the 200 taels spent on buying a house, there is still more than 200 taels left. As long as they don't go whoring or gamble, this money is enough for the family to live comfortably for 30 to [-] years.

Only then did Ye’s mother give the money to Ye’s father.