Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Xu Huizhen looked at Niu Dazhuang with a radiant smile, her eyes filled with affection. She was also glad she had made that choice; she really stood up for him when trouble came!

"These days, we women can't function without a man to keep us in check. About two years ago, the second son of the Cheng family climbed over my wall in the middle of the night. At that time, Dazhuang was still my cousin. He taught him a lesson and made him behave."

"Hehe, Huizhen, you really can't do without a man up there."

"You seem to be quite the chatterbox. I wonder who it is that hasn't seen their cousin for three days and starts nagging! Alright, I'm not going to argue with you anymore. Let's split up."

Go and call Uncle Niu, have him come over and act as a mediator. With Dazhuang on the side, two mediators will make a good pair. I'll go and call Uncle Pian. Let's settle this today; we can't let this go on any longer."

Xu Huizhen's sudden change of topic left Niu Dazhuang completely bewildered: "What's going on?"

"Xue Ru and I bought Pian'er's ancestral home, a two-courtyard siheyuan, but the current policy doesn't allow for transfer of ownership, so it can only be done privately."

Actually, Niu Dazhuang had his eye on this house, but now that his woman had bought it, he couldn't really say anything.

After the two female hosts left, Niu Dazhuang called Lin Yongmei over.

Let Zhang Ma take the two little ones to play in the yard.

Before Niu Dazhuang could speak, Lin Yongmei spoke up first: "Master, it's not that I didn't inform you of this beforehand, it's that they told you in advance..."

"It's alright. You don't need to tell me about these things in advance anymore. I think they're loyal now and won't do anything to harm me. Just keep an eye on them for me!"

"Don't worry, Master. I will inform you immediately if they have any unusual interactions with men. I will make sure you are not cuckolded."

"Don't say it out loud, it'll sound like I don't trust them at all."

Lin Yongmei inwardly scoffed, "You just don't trust them, otherwise why would you send me here?"

Niu Dazhuang suddenly changed the subject: "Do you still hate me?"

"I wouldn't dare! I'm afraid of your family discipline!"

"You're quite eloquent. From now on, we'll be partners. You don't need to call me 'master' anymore; just call me by my name."

"No, Master, please don't test me. I admire you from the bottom of my heart. Your ability to handle women is the best I've ever seen, whether it's to your face or behind your back."

Huizhen and Xueru both speak highly of you! I've also heard that you have quite a few women in your family, all of whom are obedient and compliant.

"Whether they obey or not doesn't give me much of a sense of accomplishment; making you obedient is what I'm most proud of."

"Master, although I've undergone some special training, I'm still human, and more importantly, a woman. I risked everything to infiltrate this place, not for any particular faith, but for money. You don't know..."

The old bald man brought so many soldiers over, but there weren't enough positions to settle them on the island. There wasn't even a decent place to live. We called it a military dependents' village, but the people on the island called it a refugee camp.

"Really! That's pretty bad. When did you join the spy organization? What kind of training did you go through?" Niu Dazhuang was very interested in this.

"I only trained for three months before being sent here. The officer who trained us said that my mission this time was to provide cover for Sun Yibo."

I didn't need to do any specific work. The more I acted like an ordinary person, the less likely I was to be exposed. So I learned some basic disguise and telegraph techniques.

"What about firearms and explosives?"

"I haven't studied demolition, and I only know how to firearms. I'm not participating in any operations, so there's no need for me to learn."

"You should have studied extreme survival techniques, right?"

"Yes, I have learned that, and they also taught us some methods of dealing with torture and forced confessions."

Niu Dazhuang nodded and then asked, "Who else is in your family?"

"There's an older brother and sister-in-law. When I came here, they already had two children."

"You must have relatives in mainland China too!"

"Yes, but I'm afraid of implicating them, so I haven't contacted them even once. Speaking of which, I also have a niece staying here. I don't know if they can survive this year's drought!"

"It's true that people are going hungry, but as for people starving to death, that's unlikely."

After saying that, Niu Dazhuang added, "Don't tell anyone else what you just said, except me."

"I know."

Through chatting, Niu Dazhuang felt more at ease with her.

The two chatted for a while longer before Chen Xueru and Niu Ye arrived first.

Old Niu was wearing an old man's shirt on his upper body and a pair of shorts on his lower body. He was holding a large palm-leaf fan and fanning himself incessantly.

Chen Xueru went inside and took out the large watermelon that had been soaking in the bucket. She placed it on the shady dining table.

Seeing that there was watermelon to eat, the two little ones stopped digging in the dirt and ran over to it.

"You two aren't allowed to eat today. You both got diarrhea from eating yesterday."

If you don't let them eat, how can the two little ones be happy? They'll cry in there for you to see.

Finally, having no other choice, they cut off a small corner. Zhang Ma, carrying Hou Kui, and Lin Yongmei, leading Xiao Jingli, went out the gate to play in the alley.

Pianye and Xu Huizhen also came over. Pianye entered the courtyard, greeted everyone, and then sat down.

"Don't be so formal, Mr. Pian. Eat some watermelon first to cool off, then we can talk business." Xu Huizhen was so hot that she unbuttoned the buttons under her neck.

After finishing a slice of watermelon, Uncle Niu looked around the yard and said, "Huizhen, your yard needs a grape trellis!"

Speaking of the grape trellis, Xu Huizhen looked at Chen Xueru, and both of them understood what the grape trellis meant.

"That's true. Having a grape trellis makes the yard much cooler. I'll build one in the yard next spring."

The five of them finished the whole watermelon. After washing their hands, Xu Huizhen took out the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper).

Master Niu twirled his brush: "Since you two have agreed on the price, I won't say anything more. If neither of you has any objections, then I'll begin writing."

"Master Pian, I'll ask you one more time, this is a non-negotiable contract of sale. Once sold, it cannot be redeemed, nor can it be revoked."

Grandpa Pian nodded seriously: "Rather than staying in poverty and guarding this ancestral courtyard, I'd rather convert it into cash and try my luck somewhere else. I refuse to believe I'm destined to be poor my whole life!"

"Alright, since neither the buyer nor the seller has any objections, I'll get to work." With that, he quickly wrote down the two land deeds for sale.

Once the ink had dried on the rice paper, Uncle Niu picked up the land deed and began to read: "This deed is hereby made in perpetuity by the seller... after consultation and consent of the entire family, transferring ownership of the land under his/her name..."

"Now, through the mediation of a middleman, we agree to a permanent sale to Chen Xueru and Xu Huizhen, making it a hereditary property that will never be redeemed or subject to change. All three parties agree that the selling price is RMB 25,800. The transaction is settled on this day, with no outstanding debts..."

After Uncle Niu finished reading, Xu Huizhen took out the prepared money and placed it on the table: "Uncle Pian, please count it."