After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Ning Nan's pupils contracted slightly and his breath hitched as he looked at the wooden box filled with land deeds that Ning Fu handed him.

Land...land is something that's very difficult to buy and sell.

On the one hand, the land is passed down through generations, and no one wants to sell it.

Those who sell their land are either spendthrift sons who squander their family fortune on drinking, gambling, and whoring, or they are people whose families cannot survive during famine years and can only barely make ends meet by selling their land.

In addition, there are other situations where a family member's child falls seriously ill, all the family property has been sold, and there is nowhere else to borrow money, only then will they be forced to sell their land.

On the other hand, even if someone were to sell land, buyers with average assets would not be able to compete with the landlords in the same village.

Farmers who grow crops rely on the land to get by year after year. After a year of hard work, they are lucky if they can afford a new piece of clothing or a proper meal of meat for the New Year. There is usually nothing left over at home.

Only landlords had surplus grain.

In years of plenty, landlords would sell their grain for copper coins, put them in jars, bury them underground, and store them. Generation after generation would save up, accumulating more and more. When famine came, they would take out the copper coins and start buying land from poor families.

There was no conscience involved, and it was a natural disaster or man-made calamity, so no one could be blamed.

However, when it comes to land sales, the landlords are indeed the most generous when it comes to bidding... For example, in Lijia Village, if any family wants to sell land, they will definitely go to Master Li first!

Thirty years ago, the Ning family was able to buy twenty acres of land in Lijia Village and settle down because of the chaos that had gripped the country sixty years ago, which had led to a sharp decline in population. The entire country had only been able to recover for a generation, and the landlords' coffers had not yet become thick enough.

They bought twenty acres of poor land from a family at a high price, but this also exhausted all the savings that their grandparents had brought with them when they crossed the Yangtze River to the south.

Even so, after Ning Nan's father fell seriously ill twenty years ago, the Ning family sold eight acres of land to pay for his treatment. In the end, his father passed away, leaving only twelve acres of land.

Ning Nan held the wooden box in his hands, his mouth feeling a little dry.

He knew that his uncle's family was wealthy.

But it was quite unexpected that someone so wealthy would treat him so well.

Ning Fu smiled and said, "Young Master, Master actually intended to give them to you yesterday, but seeing that you were newly married, he didn't want to disturb you. He only asked me to bring the land deed and house deed today. Master said that the Ning family was once a first-class family in the north, but they were persecuted by the literary inquisition of the Northern Dynasty. That's why Master and Second Master fled south with their family. Unfortunately, when they crossed the river, the Northern Dynasty bandits caught up with them, and the Ning family was scattered in the rush..."

"After the Second Master was separated from his family, most of Bei Ning's wealth ended up in the Master's hands. Now the Master is giving away the land, which can be considered as returning it to its rightful owner. The Master only hopes that the Young Master can have children for the Second Master and continue the family line. He has no other requests... Please, Young Master, Young Madam, Madam..."

Ning Fu then turned to Ning Chenshi, whose face was equally blank, and said sincerely, "Please don't refuse, otherwise Master... will truly feel unbearably guilty..."

The old woman was also at a loss, her face blank. Her uncle had already ruled out the possibility of being refused, but the gift was indeed too generous. She glanced at her daughter-in-law, then at her son. Ultimately, her uncle's gift was for the two of them, hoping that they could continue the family line for their father-in-law and Beiwang.

Ning Nan glanced at Uncle Fu, then at his mother, and after a long silence, he finally let out a long breath.

Grandpa Li's land is located east of Lijia Village, about five miles from Ningjia Courtyard, and very close to the original twelve mu of land owned by the Ning family.

Grandpa Li's house was also on the east side, built on a high flat area, so it wouldn't be flooded even during the flood season.

This house is considered quite large in Lijia Village, but it is actually just a three-courtyard house. The front and back yards are quite large, and a high wall has been built around it. The gate is nine feet high, and there are two stone lions standing on the left and right in front of the gate, which makes the house look very majestic and domineering.

In the afternoon.

Ning Nan led Er Lai and San Zhuang outside the house.

Erlai and Sanzhuang didn't know what had happened and thought they were about to fight again. Erlai quickly tucked a pig-slaughtering knife into his waistband and gave Sanzhuang a shovel. Sanzhuang was strong, so the shovel was more suitable for him.

Ning Nan didn't object... He also had a sharp knife stuck in his waist.

The main reason for coming to see Master Li off was to check if there were any unresolved issues.

He also specially invited Dahei, who carried a bow and followed behind them.

Li Xing, on the other hand, was waiting in a more distant place... In case of any trouble, he would inform Cuicui's wife and have her throw a few hundred taels of silver around the village to recruit people.

Since his uncle gave him these two hundred acres of land, hoping that he could help his grandfather Changping's lineage take root in the Southern Dynasty and continue the Ning family's genealogy, then he really had to protect this family business well!

If Old Master Li were to play any tricks and do something drastic in the fields, such as breaching the dikes, arranging for someone in the village or a tenant to cause trouble in the fields, or burning down the house or the mountain before leaving... the most extreme scenario would be that after people had moved into the house, the old man would send someone to set it on fire at night.

So he had to see for himself what the old man was really thinking.

There were about a dozen mule carts parked outside the mansion, with large boxes piled on them, and many people going in and out, carrying things out of the mansion.

"Even if you don't come, I still have to go see you."

Grandpa Li, leaning on a bamboo cane and stroking his beard, smiled at Ning Nan.

Ning Nan frowned.

Grandpa Li raised his bamboo cane and pointed inside the house, saying, "There's a mahogany box in the main hall containing the rent from thirty-two tenant households. I've already spoken to the tenants; they'll come to visit you one by one."

"Besides that, I heard you now have a registered residence and are even planning to take a scientific expedition... That's great."

The old man nodded to himself, "This means you're on the right path. Your grandfather and father, if they're watching from heaven, will surely bless you..."

"I'm just a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination, but my father was a successful candidate in the provincial-level examination, and so is my son. I won't leave you my insights on the imperial examinations..."

"Ha, I'm going to take this to my grave and go to the Lord of Mount Tai to take the imperial examination again. Let's see if, after studying for another thirty years, I can become the top scholar this time..."

"However... I made a copy of my father's and son's research findings, and I've put it in that mahogany box. You can refer to it... I didn't give you a wedding gift... so this is considered a gift..."

Hmm? Ning Nan looked somewhat surprised.

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

Grandpa Li withdrew his gaze from the house, planted his bamboo cane on the ground, and chuckled as he said to Ning Nan, "There aren't that many whys... Don't always think I'm a bad person... When I was young, I was also a scholar in the capital, kneeling outside the Meridian Gate to petition Emperor Longchang, vowing to lead the late emperor on a northern expedition... I'm not that bad..."

San Zhuang immediately snorted.

Er Lai's eyes also had a sinister look.

Ning Nan didn't say anything more.

Since the other party didn't seem to harbor any resentment, he reluctantly relaxed, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Then Ningnan... wishes you a safe journey and that you will become the top scholar in the imperial examination."

Old Master Li's expression froze.

After understanding what the other person said, he immediately burst into laughter, almost bending over with laughter... In the entire Li Family Village, the only person who would so deliberately curse himself to die early is this reckless Ningwa.