The people of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion entered the thatched cottage. Inside, there was nothing but a row of low couches.

  Everyone secretly blamed Shang Ruoyi in their hearts. The houses chosen by others were all much better than this one. Although they were drafty, they were at least sturdier than the thatched one.

  He Zhiyuan said in a deep voice, "Jingheng's wife, your third - uncle has always thought you were a reliable person. But in this matter, you should have discussed it with us. How could you make such a hasty decision on such an important matter?"

  Shang Ruoyi smiled. "Third - uncle, you only see the shabbiness of this thatched cottage, but you haven't discovered the wonderful features of this courtyard."

  "What wonderful features?"

  "If we go further east from our courtyard, there is a forest. Although the land here is barren, the trees in that forest are very lush, which indicates that the soil quality there is good. We can dig the soil there and spread it in the courtyard. Perhaps we can plant some fruits and vegetables. The trees can also be cut down to make some furniture, which can save us some money. The trees can also be used to make some fences to raise chickens, ducks, cows, and pigs. Then we can reclaim some land to grow grains. After paying the taxes to the court and the bribes to the officials, we can not only be self - sufficient but also perhaps earn some money."

  When Shang Ruoyi finished speaking, the whole room was silent. Everyone, including He Jingheng, looked at her in shock.

  They never expected that Shang Ruoyi, just by taking a walk, had already thought out all the plans.

  The corners of He Jingheng's lips curled up. This woman always surprised him again and again.

  "But what about this house? Where do we have the money to build a new one now?"

  Qin thought for a while and finally took out the only gold bracelet on her body.

  "This is all my possessions." Before, Shang Ruoyi had told her not to take it out and that it could be used for other purposes when they reached the exile site.

  Now, building a house was the most important thing.

  The old princess took out a paper - wrapped package, which also contained some gold and silver jewelry. "The property confiscation was hasty. I could only take such a small amount of things."

  Lin and Cong Fangzhi from the third - branch also took out some. "This should be enough. Let's build a small one first. When we have more money in the future, we can build a bigger one."

  As soon as the words fell, He Jingheng took out a jade finger - guard from his pocket and put it in Shang Ruoyi's hand, saying softly, "Build a big one."

  The moment the old princess saw the finger - guard, her face changed slightly. But seeing He Jingheng's calm expression, she moved her lips and finally said nothing.

  Shang Ruoyi noticed this scene and knew that this finger - guard must have some extraordinary significance.

  That night, when they saw Shang Ruoyi take out several quilts from the biggest bundle, they were so shocked that no other words could express their feelings.

  "On the way of exile, Lord Zhang told me to buy some cotton - padded clothes and quilts, saying that they would definitely be useful here." Shang Ruoyi smiled. "Thanks to Lord Zhang's reminder, otherwise we would have been freezing."

  He Jinghe looked at the quilts in the bundle. At that time, after Shang Ruoyi took out the cotton - padded clothes, he saw that she never opened that bundle again. He even thought it was so heavy that it might as well be thrown away.

  Fortunately, he didn't throw it away. Otherwise, he would have slapped himself today.

  For the first time in several months, the He family members had a good night's sleep.

  Knowing that the finger - guard was extraordinary, the next day, when Shang Ruoyi went to the pawnshop in the town to exchange silver, she didn't put the finger - guard in. Instead, she took out several gold ornaments from the space and exchanged a total of one hundred taels of silver.

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  If she went to the county town, she could exchange more silver, but where did she have the time?

  She also took out the banknote she got from the eldest lady on the day of her marriage, took out a five - hundred - tael one, and went to the bank to exchange it for cash.

  With so much silver, it was enough to build a big house.

  She also bought a lot of daily necessities in the town, as well as a lot of meat and vegetables. They hadn't had a good meal for a long time. Now that they had a place to stay and didn't have to travel anymore, they naturally had to have a good meal.

  "Sister - in - law, what do you think of this shovel?" He Jingxi walked over carrying a shovel and asked. "I've never used one, so I don't know if it's any good."

  Shang Ruoyi knew he wasn't good at shopping, so she deliberately sent him. Only in this way could she have the time to exchange the banknote for silver and put it back into the space.

  However, she never expected that the shovel in his hand was so shabby.

  "This is clearly a broken shovel that others don't want. It can't be used." Shang Ruoyi frowned. "Where did you buy it? Take me there."

  He Jingxi took her to an iron - ware shop. An old man was standing at the door, with a meat bun in his mouth, eating it hungrily. When he saw He Jingxi coming back with the shovel, he quickly ran away.

  He Jingxi was looking intently at the shops one by one and didn't notice that the old man who had sold him the shovel had already run far away.

  Shang Ruoyi entered the shop and saw the brand - new shovels all over the room. She secretly scolded He Jingxi for being blind to have bought the only broken shovel in it.

  She put the shovel at the door. The shopkeeper, a man, came over with a smile. "What would you like to buy, sir/madam?"

  Shang Ruoyi pointed at the shovel and said coldly, "Did you sell this to my brother?"

  The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, looked at the shovel, and said, "Sir/madam, are you in the wrong shop or did you remember wrongly? Our shop sells only new iron - ware. This one of yours is clearly old and broken and can't be used."

  Shang Ruoyi turned to ask, "Are you sure you bought it here? Was it this shopkeeper who sold it to you?"

  He Jingxi blinked, looked at the furnishings in the shop, and then at the shopkeeper, and said in a low voice, "I bought it from an old man in a gray robe at the door of this shop. He said he was the shopkeeper of this store and that this shovel was the best one in the whole store."

  Hearing this, Shang Ruoyi couldn't help but sigh deeply.

  This was clearly being cheated!

  Looking at He Jingxi's innocent face, she was somewhat speechless.

  Should she say he had been too well - protected or that his brain didn't work well?

  "Oh, that guy! Young man, you were cheated. He's a swindler. Everyone in our town knows that." The shopkeeper also never expected that a grown man could be cheated out of his money by such a person.

  "Sorry, shopkeeper." Shang Ruoyi walked around the shop, bought all the farming tools she needed, paid the silver, left an address for the shopkeeper to deliver these things to their home, and then left with He Jingxi.

  Since there were so many things to buy today, Shang Ruoyi planned to buy a carriage. It would be more convenient to go shopping this way. It was much more convenient than walking to the town on foot today. Moreover, with a carriage, both He Jingheng and the old lady could come to the town.

  "Sister - in - law, I'm sorry. We lost a tael of silver for nothing." A shovel that could be bought for two hundred copper coins, he actually spent a whole tael on it.

  Shang Ruoyi waved her hand. "It doesn't matter."

  As soon as the words fell, a gray figure appeared not far ahead.

  He Jingxi's angry roar came from the side. "Old man, don't run!"