Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

Chapter 1051 Another village ahead
Ahead lies another village. Further on, in the distance, a mountain village is bathed in the red glow of sunrise. That mountain village must be my own Taozhuang, right?
“That’s right, hold on tight. We’re going to run a little further, get closer, and see even better.” With that, Gu Wenxuan saw that she was ready and spurred the horse on.

Indeed, the outline of our own Peach Village is already faintly visible, with peach blossoms covering the mountains and slopes, clusters and clumps, like clouds and brocade, so beautiful that it's almost unbelievable.

Unexpectedly, this land contains such a paradise, no wonder so many people want to use it for their spring banquet, even Magistrate Cheng is no exception.

This money was well spent. Even without considering the annual income from the estate, this scene alone is priceless.

"No, this is what it means to share happiness rather than enjoy it alone. We should invite our parents to come with us today."

"It's not too late. It's our own estate, so we can come whenever we want. After we finish the inspection today, we can see if there's anything our son is missing, and then we can come anytime."

As expected of you, you never forget your son. But then again, when the whole family goes on a trip, how can we leave the child behind?

that is!

Even before reaching their destination, Zhou Banxia could already imagine that once Peach Garden opened, it would not only attract many literati and scholars, but also many women who would want to visit this precious place.

Take herself as an example.

If you keep receiving invitations but never show up, it will definitely have a bad influence. You could simply hold a banquet here to thank the ladies of each household.

And my cousin's wife, who had already said that we should go for a spring outing together when the weather is nice, could be a perfect opportunity to invite her and her children to stay with us for a few days.

"If we borrow someone's place to hold a banquet or something, and our family stays there for a few days, won't that affect our rest?"

"No, the estate is huge. It's hard to explain in a short time. Once you go inside and see for yourself, you'll understand why I wanted this Peach Estate."

Isn't it to fulfill a dream? Didn't your father once bring you to Peach Village, but unfortunately we could only buy inferior peaches outside and weren't allowed to go in?

"We've arrived. See that road on the left ahead? Starting from that point, that whole area belongs to Taozhuang. Ordinary people can't go in there."

As they were talking, the horse ran faster than Gu Wenxuan said "we've arrived." To the left ahead, there stood a conspicuous large rock.

The two large characters "Taozhuang" are deeply engraved on a large stone at the entrance of the village, weathered by wind and rain. The red characters are clearly visible, but one cannot enter the boundaries of Taozhuang.

"By the way, this isn't the entrance to Taozhuang Village yet. Go in along this road. See that row of houses ahead? That's where the horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts stop, and it's also where the peaches are traded."

Understand.

Zhou Banxia chuckled inwardly.

You were blocked there back then and couldn't get in.

"This time, we won't go that way. We'll follow this bluestone path, which leads to the main gate of Taozhuang Village. There are three gates in total, so they won't interfere with each other."

Generally speaking, the main gate is not open. In the past, merchants would enter Taozhuang through the side gate of that row of houses, which is also the most common gate.

There's also a side door, which is basically where the servants and laborers of the manor go. The workshop inside is right next to that door, which is why I said the layout inside is quite good.

There are three gates leading in three directions; the guest courtyard is the guest courtyard, the workshop is the workshop, and the main courtyard in the middle is another large courtyard, with the areas clearly divided.

Zhou Banxia said that she had seen the layout diagram but had not yet conducted an on-site inspection, so she already had a general idea of ​​what to expect, since the layout diagram was marked with a scale.

"The most wonderful thing is the layout of the peach trees in the manor. Well, I won't go into details. It'll be more surprising if you see it for yourself. Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Absolutely!" To be honest, after sitting on horseback for so long, my legs were okay, not completely numb, but my buttocks were sore. "It's so beautiful here." Absolutely!

Gu Wenxuan was also very much looking forward to it.

When I visited before, it was already deep winter, and the flowering season had long passed. All I could see were peach trees covering the mountainside, which, though magnificent, were all bare trunks.

Unlike now!

Peach blossoms were in full bloom on both sides of the road, along with many unnamed wildflowers and grasses. Even the village walls were covered with vines, a riot of colors and a fragrant aroma!
He handed the riding whip to the headman who had rushed over upon hearing the news, telling him to just take his men and wait for the carriage to arrive. He then waved for everyone to leave and took his wife's hand in his.

Enter the gate.

Ok?
Why did my feet suddenly stop moving?

Zhou Banxia looked at the vines climbing all over the village wall, and then she stopped in her tracks. Her husband hadn't marked how thick the village wall was on the blueprints.

These days, most villages near mountains have village walls, which are usually made of rammed earth, and their height and width are roughly the same.

After all, village walls don't play a significant role in peacetime, but they become crucial during famines or wars, serving to defend against invading refugees and bandits.

In places like Qinghe Village, although the village walls were not well maintained and collapsed, you can still see how thick some of the remaining walls are.

The wall surrounding the tofu workshop was designed to be the same thickness as the existing village wall at the entrance of Qinghe Village, which was still standing, so that it could be connected to the village wall someday.

But the wall at the entrance of Taozhuang Village is at least five meters thick, no matter how you look at it, it's no less thick than the outer wall of my own manor.

Looking at the grass and flowers inside and outside the wall, the bottom was also paved with bluestone strips, and the ten-meter-high wall was also covered with blue bricks, plastered with white lime and laid in a staggered pattern.

Zhou Banxia quietly asked Gu Wenxuan, who was looking down at her, "Is the entire village wall this high and wide? Isn't that going too far? Is it really okay if we don't change it?"

Gu Wenxuan thought she was going to say something, but it turned out to be this: "The village wall was built along the geographical location of the whole village, so naturally it has different heights."

This is the village, which can be called the village wall or the stockade wall, and it is also the main gate. Before entering this gate, you are already far from the stone tablet, so it doesn't matter.

Just like the manor we live in now, who says our manor is overstepping its bounds? It's not our family mansion, so it's the same principle as limiting the number of courtyards and courtyards.

Besides, even if it's overstepping the limit, you still have a safety net. Have you forgotten about your mansion in the imperial city and that villa in the suburbs of Beijing—what level are they?

According to that ranking system, you would at least be a proper county princess. Who would be crazy enough to cause trouble? Do they really think the Ministry of Rites' order to register you is just a joke?

“…” Okay, I’m just a coward, Zhou Banxia said, rubbing her forehead. “Let’s forget about the manor. When Father expands the village houses, we should follow the rules.”

"Is there even a need to say that?" Gu Wenxuan couldn't help but chuckle. "Even if I wanted at least a five-courtyard house, my father would never agree."

Not to mention that it's not even a house in your name. Even if we get a share after our parents pass away, it will still be surnamed Gu, not Zhou.

Rare!
"If you say it's not yours, who would dare overstep their bounds?"

You managed to smooth things over!
"Unless you, my man, haha, one day get an official title and a noble rank, no, that's not right. Once I get an official title and a noble rank, my wife and I will have even less chance of competing with my elder brother for that mansion!"

More than that!
Unless you fall so low as to have "no roof over your head and no place to put a needle in your pocket," given your family's tradition of dividing the property among themselves, that house is destined to be inherited by your eldest son and grandson.