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At last, they got to the last key. He Xiaodong wasn’t much affected, but Lin Yuan was already sweating profusely.

"Miss, these are all the keys to the cottages," Xiaodong said. "Other than the living room, all other courtyards have locked doors."

He Chengfang added, "Our Xiaodong might not be good at many things, but she sure has a sharp mind. However, even though she remembers this so clearly, if you ask her to study, she can’t remember a thing. Ouch! My foot!"

He Xiaodong grimaced and glared at him, then gave Lin Yuan a sheepish grin.

He Guangming had specifically come home to tell her to bring the keys before he went to Yamen, reminding her to be polite and not to offend the two noble guests.

Initially, they were apprehensive about the visit, but upon meeting, they didn’t find the two to be fearsome at all—in fact, they felt quite kindred to them.

If Lin Yuan knew what He Xiaodong was thinking at that moment, she certainly would have chuckled and patted her shoulder, acknowledging that indeed, they were kindred spirits—not only did both come from rural backgrounds, but their temperaments matched as well.

Xia Zheng, having experienced it firsthand, agreed. The way Xiaodong foot-cuffed He Chengfang was all too familiar to him—it was exactly how Lin Yuan often treated him!

Now in possession of these courtyard keys, Lin Yuan decided not to inspect the back areas. For one, she was genuinely tired and hungry. Secondly, with He Xiaodong around and her familiarity with the cottages, Lin Yuan was sure it was better than if she inspected them herself.

"Xiaodong, you really are familiar with this place," Lin Yuan laughed. "You must be the one cleaning and tidying up around here, right?"

He Xiaodong blinked and glanced around, "Here?

Oh no, not here. We only take care of the grapevine outside.

The women from our village come to clean inside the cottages.

My father said that the previous owner of this property was very good to us, and we could not let the place fall into disrepair because he left, so he arranges for the women in the village to clean every three days; four people each time, with everyone taking turns. "

He paused and then added, "But nobody comes here for free; my father uses the remaining Silver in the village to pay them. For each cleaning, everyone gets twenty coins."

Remaining Silver in the village?

Xia Zheng puzzledly asked, "Wasn’t the money from the sold land distributed to every villager? How could there be any Silver left?"

At this, He Xiaodong hesitated, unsure if she should continue.

It was He Chengfang who lowered his voice and continued, "Father said that you two were noble people and instructed us to serve you well. I believe you are good people. To be honest, the Silver from the sold land in our village was partly given to the Lizheng, and some was divided among several village headmen, with the rest distributed to the villagers. It’s the same with the land sold in other villages.

However, unlike other village headmen who embezzled it for themselves, my father used it as communal funds for everyone’s benefit. "

That explained the origin of the remaining Silver.

Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng nodded, no wonder the other village headmen appeared so well-dressed and drove sturdy carriages, while He Guangming, in his coarse clothes, rode a bullock cart.

"Xiaodong, you just mentioned that you manage the grapevine outside, right? You must be aware of its annual yield then?"

Hearing Lin Yuan ask about the grapevine, He Xiaodong’s words visibly increased, and even the usually silent He Chengfang became particularly excited.

"That grapevine, you might not think it looks like much, but it yields quite well each year. When the old employer was around, people from our village would come help harvest the grapes. The old employer had plenty of Silver and didn’t care about the little amount, so he would just select some good-looking ones to send to his friends in the Capital City, and the rest were shared among everyone. "

He Chengfang eagerly took over the conversation, "How could we possibly consume so many grapes? We’d take some of the better and cleaner ones to sell in the Capital City, which helped supplement our family’s income."

It turns out, that’s how it was. Looking at it this way, He Guangming was quite a thoughtful village headman, not just waiting to make money from land sales like other village headmen, but instead, finding ways for everyone to earn money—truly realizing that teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish.