After the marriage was broken off, the whole village next door regretted it

Chapter 328: Forming a Caravan

"Okay, okay!" Uncle Qi happily sent Shen Yi out. The two agreed on the time of delivery, and Shen Yi left.

When the workshop was completed, only one-third of Shen Yi's house had been built, but every detail was exquisite, and the villagers were very excited when they saw it, especially the smooth and neat floor tiles made by Shen Yi, which opened everyone's eyes.

Many villagers also asked where the floor tiles were bought from. Shen Yi just said that they were sent by someone from the provincial capital and were expensive.

One word dismissed a group of people.

Just as the villagers were working hard, Su Zhan and Su Chuan returned from the imperial capital.

The two of them returned to Dongmen Village and ran towards Shen Yi. After seeing the large house under construction, they walked around the ten-acre yard twice, exclaiming in amazement.

"Brother-in-law, after you build this house, are you planning to have all your descendants live in it?" Su Zhan asked with his eyes wide open.

Shen Yi nodded with a smile, and led them inside for a tour. "The whole house is square, with doors on all four sides. The front is the main gate. I want to build a large ancestral hall and hang the plaque on it. When nothing is going on, the main gate will not be opened, and you can go through the other three doors.

There are a total of thirty-two small courtyards in the big courtyard. Each small courtyard has its own gate and courtyard. The main room, kitchen, bathroom, firewood room, wing rooms and backyard are all arranged inside. Each small courtyard has eight wing rooms, so it is no problem for three or four generations to live together.

The floor tiles have been laid, the walls have been plastered with lime, and I will install the pots and water tanks later, so I can move in whenever I want."

The two brothers were amazed.

Su Zhan joked, "My cousin's husband has to work hard to make my cousin have more children, otherwise this house won't be able to accommodate them!"

"Hahaha..." Shen Yi laughed, "Xiao Tai has given me four children, and I am already satisfied. The responsibility of carrying on the family line will be left to the children."

The country has been conquered, and he doesn't have to worry about anything from now on.

After seeing the courtyard, Su Chuan and Su Zhan were very excited, but unfortunately their family did not have a plaque bestowed by the emperor, and they had no reason to build a big house.

The three of them finished looking around the house.

Shen Yi led them into the house to rest and asked about the business.

Su Chuan was very emotional, "Brother-in-law, traveling as a merchant is really profitable, but the risk is too great. We followed a caravan and even encountered a small caravan being robbed on the road. Even following a large caravan is not necessarily safe. Fortunately, our goods are common and worthless, so the large caravans don't take them seriously, and no one wants to target us."

He used to think it was a pity that Su Tai didn't sell jade, but now he thinks Su Tai has foresight. If they were really allowed to do the jade business, they would probably be dead in some corner now.

Shen Yi frowned when he heard this, "Is it not okay if more people go out?"

"Of course the more people there are, the safer it is." Shu Zhan took over the conversation, "For example, the Zhu family formed their own caravan. They have their own guards and don't need to find an escort agency. Moreover, their guards are highly skilled. Once the Zhu family's flag is planted there, at least no one will dare to provoke them when doing business near Lizhou."

He didn't pay attention to these things before, but after what happened with Ke Yunyun, he started to pay more attention to the Zhu family.

Su Chuan clenched his fist unwillingly, "It would be great if we could make our own name like the Zhu family."

He wanted to be strong, strong enough to provide support for his relatives, and strong enough that no one in Zhaohua County would dare to bully them again.

Shen Yi looked at Su Chuan and Su Zhan, stroking his chin and thinking, "It's not impossible! Brother-in-law and Yongnian have nothing to do now except farming at home, right? I'll find all the brothers who have been to the battlefield with me. The life-saving things that Xiaotai gave everyone before should still be there. We'll wear the life-saving things and bring weapons to escort you on your business trip, and slowly we can support this business."

Su Zhan and the other man's eyes lit up, they looked at each other, and nodded in joy.

Shen Yi and his men returned alive from the battlefield. They were not afraid of thousands of troops, let alone those bandits.

"If that's the case, we can bring more goods out." Su Chuan kept thinking.

Shen Yi said seriously, "If that's the case, they will definitely bring their own goods. I mean to share the profits. For example, how many people go and how to divide the money? These should be discussed in advance. Let's try it first. If there is no problem, we can continue to cooperate in the future."

Su Chuan nodded heavily, "Okay! Let's do this, brother-in-law, call them over and we'll discuss it."

Everyone was either related or knew each other well, and everyone knew their personalities, so the deal was quickly finalized.

Shen Yi ran to find the village chief, decided on the amount of strawberry jam he would need this year, and then went back to work on the house.

Shen Dagou also told his family about his business dealings.

Huang Xinghua and Shen Mu were happy and worried.

"You have finally returned safely, why do you do such a dangerous thing again? In my opinion, it is better for you to stay at home and take care of the work in the fields. Look, we are growing strawberries now and can earn several hundred taels a year, which is enough for our family to live comfortably for the rest of our lives." Shen Mu advised earnestly.

He didn't have any great ambitions. His eldest son returned safely, received rewards from the emperor, and his family could earn several hundred taels every year. He was truly content. Even if he were to die now, he would have no regrets.

Shen Dagou wiped his face, his eyes firm, "Dad, Mom, I know what you are worried about. Don't worry, I have my brothers here. It's just a business trip, nothing will happen. Besides, I can gain experience and broaden my horizons and make money if I go out with you. Such a good opportunity cannot be missed."

Wei Erya also supported him. She smiled at him and said, "Dad and Mom, just let the big dog go. He is a bird that has flown out of the cage and cannot be kept in."

Shen Dagou looked at Wei Erya lovingly, his eyes fell on her abdomen, and said softly, "Don't worry, this trip will probably take only three months. I will definitely come back safely, and then I will bring you some good things from the imperial capital. What do you like?"

Wei Erya blushed and glared at him coquettishly, "I don't need anything, you go early and come back early."

The caravan set off amid the reluctance and worry of the families.

In addition to Su Sheng and Song Yongnian, they also found some brothers who were willing to join them, as numbers would give them courage. Of course, those people were paid and did not participate in the profit sharing.

This time, the caravan took away 60% of the strawberry jam in Shenjiazhuang, and the remaining 40% was snatched away by small merchants entering the village.

The strawberry jam business was booming for less than a month before it ended.

Next is the bumper watermelon harvest. The watermelon business has matured and there are no surprises, just like in previous years.

After finishing their work, the villagers came to help Shen Yi build a house.

Everyone worked hard and finally finished building Shen Yi's mansion before the autumn harvest.

The huge courtyard of the house is two meters high, with two stone lions placed outside the gate. When you push open the heavy gate, you will see a screen wall carved with green pines, clouds and cranes. Passing the screen wall is the spacious and bright ancestral hall.

In the center of the ancestral hall hangs a plaque bestowed by the emperor. On the left side is a row of altar tables where ancestors are placed. In the center are two rows of elegant armchairs for meetings.