After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Jiang Xiaoqi was afraid that things might change if she waited too long. That house had such a secret, and she couldn't just leave it empty like that.

I don't know what the Liu family was thinking. Did they really believe that 'the most dangerous place is the safest place'? They entrusted the house to a government-run brokerage firm for sale.

He didn't entrust the matter to the Jiang family, nor to his cousin, Mrs. Jiang. Whose eyes and ears was he trying to avoid?

The Liu family and the Jiang family of Fucheng are truly formidable; I had underestimated my partners before.

But do the Jiang couple really trust me that much? Jiang Xiaoqi touched her face and thought narcissistically: Is it because I'm too cute that they think I'm naturally trustworthy?

It's normal that Jiang Xiaoqi doesn't understand; he, with his modern soul, can't fully comprehend the clan-based thinking of ancient times.

It's important to understand that the ancients valued clans, not just because one person's success brought prosperity to their entire family, but also because of the more profound saying, "One prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer."

The so-called "extermination of nine generations of relatives" package truly means that no one can escape.

"Young master, Madam Jiang sent Granny Liu over, saying she's helping with arrangements for the new house. She's worried there won't be a leader in charge, so let's not be fooled."

Granny Liu curtsied and treated Jiang Xiaoqi with great courtesy.

"Grandmother, you are too kind. It has troubled you to make this trip, Granny."

Jiang Xiaoqi naturally wouldn't treat Granny Liu as an ordinary servant. She was an old servant of Madam Jiang, and Jiang Xiaoqi knew her importance in front of the master after several interactions.

"Young Master, you flatter this old servant. This is nothing. The mistress originally wanted to come in person, but there have been many things to do in the manor these past two days, so she sent someone as useless as me."

Granny Liu was an old and shrewd woman. She couldn't openly discuss the affairs of the Jiang family, nor did she want Jiang Xiaoqi to misunderstand that Madam Jiang didn't value her. That's why she made fun of herself as useless. In reality, she knew her own worth better than anyone else.

Jiang Xiaoqi smiled and said, "If you're not good enough, then we'll have to go to the palace to find someone who is. With you here, we have a pillar of strength." As she spoke, she led Granny Liu into the house.

Granny Liu smiled and nodded, then began to look around the house. It was much the same as before, except that many of the flowers and plants had withered. She had visited the house a few times with the madam before, so she still remembered it.

Based on her knowledge of the house, she quickly noticed some problems.

“Young master, although this house is quite old, it’s still in pretty good condition overall. It just needs some repairs. The roof tiles are a bit damaged, and the flowers and plants in the yard also need to be tended to.” Granny Liu pointed to the roof and the garden.

Jiang Xiaoqi nodded repeatedly in agreement. He had originally planned to renovate the house properly, but some things he would have to handle privately. However, he could leave the public matters to Liu Mama's arrangement.

“Granny is absolutely right. I was just thinking about how to get started. If you know any craftsmen, you can send them over directly, so I don’t have to wander around like a headless fly,” Jiang Xiaoqi said playfully.

Granny Liu, being her age, was truly powerless against cute and pretty little children. She nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, of course! The young master trusts this old woman, so I will naturally take care of everything perfectly for you!"

"Granny, here are five hundred taels of silver notes. Please use them as you see fit. If it's not enough, just come to me for more." Jiang Xiaoqi handed over five one hundred tael silver notes.

Having received Madam Jiang's instructions, Granny Liu naturally knew that the money would come from the Jiang family. Just as she was about to refuse, Jiang Xiaoqi interrupted her: "If Granny doesn't accept it, I'll have to find someone else."

Granny Liu had no choice but to accept the silver note, carefully put it away, and thought she would report it to her mistress when she got back.

Over the course of a few days, the craftsmen were busy coming and going in the new house, repairing the roof, mending the furniture, and tending to the flowers and plants.

Granny Liu personally supervised the work to ensure that every task was done meticulously.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiang Xiaoqi wandered around the house, thinking about the secret passage and how to completely block it. She also thought about the temporary space and how to put all those things away.

Watching the bricklayer use yellow mud and glutinous rice water to inlay and glue together the tiles, he shook his head and said, "No, the strength is too weak."

If this were used to fill the secret passage on the left, a little water would be enough to flush it open.

The system only provides temporary space for upgrades for a short period of three months. Within these three months, I need to figure out how to properly arrange the things in the temporary space, and it's best to move out all the eleven cubic meters of items.

Otherwise, your exquisite space would be useless; without any gaps, what kind of portable space would it be?

This system is a scoundrel! Ten thousand points for only three months of usage rights! What evil capitalists! They're inhuman!

The system that was being scolded was pretending to be dead at the moment. Well, it wasn't exactly pretending to be dead, since it had received the unexpected 10,000 points and was about to upgrade again, this time the upgrade would take even longer.

After the last 5,000 points were deducted, the system remained silent for more than ten days. This time, with 10,000 points deducted, it will remain silent for at least a month.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt like he had only cursed the system in vain. While cursing the system in his heart, he racked his brains for a way to block the secret passage.

He suddenly thought of modern building material—cement. If he could make this material, it would definitely be a hundred times stronger than yellow mud and glutinous rice water.

I read about how cement was made in a novel, but I can't remember exactly. I only remember that it involved limestone and clay.

Limestone and clay are crushed, ground, and calcined at high temperatures. The silica and alumina in the clay react chemically with quicklime to form cement clinker.

Cement is obtained by rapidly cooling clinker, grinding it, and sieving it. When cement is mixed with a certain proportion of sand, it becomes extremely strong and hard, whether used for building walls or paving floors.

Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. Clay shouldn't be hard to find, but we'll have to spend some time finding out about limestone. There are precedents for using limestone for disinfection in ancient times, which proves that limestone wasn't scarce in this era.

Money makes the world go round, so these things should be done by hiring people, or better yet, by setting up a small workshop. Once the cement is ready, you can start by paving the yard, which can also cover up your true purpose.

"Young master, Granny Liu brought back more than a dozen people from the brokerage firm, saying that you should choose the people the family will need in the future."

After saying that, Granny Liu indeed led in a dozen or so people, men, women, and children.

"Young master, this old woman took the liberty of selecting some for you. Please take a look and see if any of them catch your eye. You can keep them to do some menial work such as sweeping and guarding the gate."

Jiang Xiaoqi has always only had Wenbin by her side. In order to avoid suspicion, Madam Jiang did not arrange for any of the Jiang family's existing servants to come over. That's why she instructed Granny Liu to go to the brokerage to find some honest and reliable people.

"What are you saying, Granny? You're too kind. We are indeed short-handed here. Let's keep a coachman, a gatekeeper, a cook, a cleaner, and a errand boy for now."

Jiang Xiaoqi spoke up, pointing out the positions and number of people she needed to serve. Liu Mama was delighted to hear this: "Isn't this a coincidence? There happens to be a family of five, and the daughter-in-law of this family is an excellent cook."

The old man used to work as a gatekeeper, his son was a skilled cart driver, the old woman did cleaning and sweeping, and their eleven-year-old grandson was just the right age to run errands.

Granny Liu felt that buying people this way was also kind and righteous, so that the family wouldn't be separated and wouldn't be distracted while doing things. After all, the whole family would be together and wouldn't think about going out to see relatives.

"What a coincidence. You can make the arrangements, Granny. Let's skip today and have them come tomorrow. Tonight, I'll have Wenbin go and buy some bedding and clothing so they won't be left with nothing when they arrive."

"Young master is kind and righteous. Tomorrow I will send you the indentures of the five of them. Rest assured, they are all indentures that cannot be broken. You can use them with complete confidence."

With a whoosh, the group of people retreated, and Jiang Xiaoqi once again felt the so-called class system, the so-called hierarchy of people, and the distinction between the noble and the lowly.

But he shouldn't be so dramatic. Throughout the ages, who has ever taken the initiative to change this situation?

The beneficiaries don't think about changing things, and the enslaved are powerless to change things. So they remain in this muddle for thousands of years. Those who can turn things around become the silent beneficiaries, while the enslaved continue to be enslaved.

Can Jiang Xiaoqi change anything? No, he's neither that noble nor that powerful, unless the imperial court is his family's property...

I chuckled to myself. I'll be a kid for a few more years. I still need to work hard. At least I need to stand taller so that my voice can be heard by more people.