Chapter 166

Chapter 166

The bodyguard informed Lu Mingzhu, "Many of the plants and trees in the back garden have been removed, likely dug up and sold off, especially the fragrant herbs in the Hengwu Garden. The bamboo forest in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion has been dug up, leaving it riddled with holes. The Daoxiang Village is now teeming with chickens, ducks, and geese. The pavilions, terraces, and artificial hills with flowing water are still there, but all the houses are occupied."

No mistake, the Lu family had a grand garden.

To be precise, this mansion was built based on the Rongguo Mansion from *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

The front featured a northern-style courtyard, while the back boasted a southern-style garden.

A blend of northern and southern styles, quite whimsical.

Lu Mingzhu mused that the ancestor of the Lu family must have been an ardent fan of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, so much so that, with his wealth, he directly built a Rongguo Mansion and a grand garden.

If a Ningguo Mansion had been constructed next door to the east, it could have served as a filming location for the *Dream of the Red Chamber* crew.

Unfortunately, there was no Ningguo Mansion, only an open space used for horse riding.

The main branch of the Lu family wasn’t very large, so one mansion was enough.

After hearing the bodyguard’s report, Lu Mingzhu didn’t even look at Mrs. Li’s expression and said, "Go find the local official in charge of property. Ask them to bring more people, considering Comrade Zhang and my godfather’s influence. I want to represent my father and lease the Lu family mansion to the government for free for thirty years, to be used for housing local officials."

She would never allow the Lu family members to ruin it.

Mrs. Li was aghast and exclaimed, "You can’t do that! If you hand over the house, where will we live?"

"Why should I care where you live?" Lu Mingzhu finally understood what Xu the Butler meant when he said they didn’t get along well with the clan. Naturally, she spoke bluntly.

In the original body’s memory, the Lu clan members depended on the Lu family for their livelihood, and their lives were quite comfortable, with each household having its own courtyard.

Even those few who were financially strapped could rely on the clan’s ancestral fields to study and secure decent jobs, since most commoners were illiterate.

Someone at the door bellowed, "Just try handing it over!"

A burly man in his sixties, with a fierce air, hurried over behind the young girl.

He lacked the refinement typical of southerners.

He quickly walked to Mrs. Li’s side, standing opposite Lu Mingzhu, his face devoid of any smile. "I don’t care who you are. After the founding of the country, the people are in charge. The courtyard is now inhabited by Lu family members, and you have no right to drive us out."

The original body had seen this man before; he was Mrs. Li’s son.

His name was Lu Yaozhi, a distant cousin of Lu Mingzhu’s father, since his father was already a distant cousin of the old master, making him even more distant from Lu Mingzhu’s father.

Soon, two middle-aged men came running.

They bore a strong resemblance to Lu Yaozhi; they were his two sons. One of them was likely the father of the girl who had delivered the message, though it was unclear whether he was the eldest or the third son.

The second, fourth, and fifth sons had all passed away young.

Xie Junyao’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and he positioned the bodyguards around Lu Mingzhu to protect her.

Xie Junyao’s hand rested on his pocket.

Lu Mingzhu sneered, "We’ll see if I have the right or not!"

If she hadn’t come, she wouldn’t have realized that these people had truly treated the Lu family mansion as their own property!

More and more people heard the news and rushed over to stand with Mrs. Li and her son, facing off against Lu Mingzhu. There were about thirty or forty people, men and women, young and old, all glaring at Lu Mingzhu with hostility, loudly berating her.

"Trying to kick us out? Not a chance!"

"I’ve been living in Hengwu Garden for two years, and I’m not going anywhere. Whoever tries to make me move out, I’ll fight them to the death!"

"This is the ancestral home of the Lu family, jointly owned by us. A little girl like you has no say here. Get out now, or I won’t be so polite!"

"You have no right to drive us out!"

"Since your family ran off to a capitalist country, don’t bother coming back!"

"Lu Mingzhu? Isn’t she the one who brought bad luck to her father?"

"The ancestral home of the Lu family isn’t yours to take charge of!"

"A big house like this just sits empty, and without people, it’ll fall apart faster. What’s wrong with us living here? We even paid for repairs!"

They spat out these shameless words without a hint of guilt.

The bodyguards stood ready, hands on their weapons, on high alert.

Lu Mingzhu, fearless, kept her right hand in her handbag, her voice calm and steady. She said to Xie Junyao, "Junyao, do you know what human nature is?"

"What is it?" Xie Junyao asked.

Lu Mingzhu smiled. "It’s these people in front of us, who used to grovel, practically kissing my parents’ feet, taking turns to serve them every day. Now, taking advantage of our family’s absence, they’ve moved into our ancestral home, without so much as a word, and even have the nerve to tell me I can’t touch our family’s things."

Li and Lu Yaozhi flushed with anger, glaring back, "That’s a lie! A lie!"

Lu Yaozhi’s eyes flashed with rage as he stepped forward, fist clenched, ready to hit Lu Mingzhu, when suddenly his forehead felt cold—a Browning pistol was pressed against it.

The move was sudden, and the noisy crowd instantly fell silent, as quiet as mice. Many of them went pale.

Lu Mingzhu’s hand emerged from her handbag, revealing a delicate hand holding a sleek Browning, her fingers nimble.

"Are you leaving now, or do I have to make you? I’m being kind, unlike you, so I’ll give you a choice," Lu Mingzhu said, her eyes sharp, her tone icy. "If anyone ends up missing an arm, a leg, or their life, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Occupying someone’s home without their consent is banditry, and losing your life is self-inflicted."

In the U.S., killing them wouldn’t even be a crime.

Though Lu Mingzhu wasn’t sure about mainland law, injuring someone isn’t the same as killing them, so she’d be fine.

Are they burglars or robbers?

She hadn’t wanted to resort to violence, but their attitudes pushed her over the edge. How can people like this even exist?

Lu Mingzhu was truly seeing the world in a new light.

Li pulled her son behind her, shielding him with her own head against the Browning.

"Lu Mingzhu, you dare! These people in front of you are all members of the Lu family, your father’s brothers, sisters, and descendants!" Li never expected Lu Mingzhu to threaten them with a weapon.

Lu Mingzhu smiled faintly. "My father was an only child. Where do brothers and sisters come from? Even my grandfather—his brothers died young, and only one aunt married out long ago. Which one of you is? I’m here on my father’s orders to reclaim the house. You better get out, or when I inspect the house for damages, I’ll throw all your belongings out as trash!"

A few sensible people in the crowd quietly slipped away, perhaps to pack their things.

Li Shi and the others refused to budge.

They felt they had strength in numbers, and the world operates on the principle that the law doesn’t punish the majority, so even if the officials showed up, they’d be powerless.

As the standoff dragged on, several comrades showed up with a sizable crowd.

The bodyguard leading the way said, "We need to hurry. Our young lady is fragile and has come all this way to handle the family property in her hometown. Now the house has been taken over by outsiders, and they’ve got the numbers. If things get violent and our young lady gets hurt, what then?"

The elderly comrade at the front gestured with his lips, signaling him to look ahead, "Is this your fragile young lady?"

Wow!

She’d already pulled out her weapon.

Her beauty was mixed with a fierce, heroic vibe.

Fortunately, they arrived in time; if things had turned bloody, it would’ve been a mess.

"Comrade Lu, welcome home," the elderly comrade quickly walked up to Lu Mingzhu, with a warm, friendly smile. He glanced at the Lu family members and continued, "If you run into any trouble, let us know, and we’ll make sure it gets sorted out."

He had many old comrades who fought in the Northeast War, and the losses were severe. Fortunately, at that time, they used the medicine donated by He Yun and the medicine Lu Mingzhu bought with her own money, which stopped widespread infections from fake or shoddy medical supplies.

He treated his men like his own kids and counted his blessings, deeply grateful to the donors.

Lu Mingzhu shook hands with him, "I’m here to deal with the family property left on the mainland. If it sells, the money will go toward national development. If it can’t be sold, it will be lent to the government for use. I didn’t expect to find the ancestral home taken over the moment I arrived, with people spouting nonsense about me having no right to handle our family’s property."

"That’s on them," the elderly comrade had just taken up his post locally and had heard that the Lu family was influential, often banding together to bully innocent folks, but he hadn’t found a way to deal with it.

Now he had.

He turned and ordered his subordinates, "Tell them to clear out. If they don’t, arrest them now and handle it later."

Immediately, several more Lu family members ran away.

The remaining ones still refused to give up, "If land can be divided, why not houses? We’re just regular people with nowhere to live. What’s wrong with living in a courtyard? Anyway, they’ve all gone to capitalist countries, and it’s just sitting empty."

Jiangnan is a fertile land, and the Lu family originally had many ancestral fields. The large annual income belonged to the clan, said to be used for the repair and protection of the ancestral hall and ancestral home, as well as for the education of children from poor families in the clan. In reality, each of them could take a share, but after liberation, they had nothing.

Originally, under the leadership of Lu Yaozhi, they moved into the Lu family mansion. Some of them gave their own houses to their children to live in, avoiding crowding and saving on rent. Others rented out their houses, earning some income.

The main branch living in Shanghai had all gone abroad, and everyone thought they could live there until old age, unwilling to move.

The elderly comrade said indifferently, "Moving in without the owner’s permission is considered occupation. It is said that you also damaged the property in the mansion. What’s the difference between you and bandits? Take them all away!"

At his command, people immediately acted.

He had given them a chance, but they didn’t cherish it, forcing him to take drastic measures. Now they couldn’t blame him.

Amid the clamor, the head of the household was taken away, leaving the women and children behind.

They were given no chance to resist.

"Hurry and pack your belongings, or we will deal with everything seriously," the elderly comrade said to the remaining people, giving them some dignity.

He knew that each of these families had their own houses, some even more than one.

Like the leader, Lu Yaozhi, who was in the flour business in Yangzhou and also ran a rice port, was not in any difficulty. Yet he led the move into the Lu family mansion, which was truly baffling.

Seeing her son and grandson being taken away, Li Shi immediately begged Lu Mingzhu.

Lu Mingzhu said, "The old comrade’s giving you one last shot."

Li Shi, seething with anger, took her daughter-in-law and granddaughter back to their room to pack their belongings. She couldn’t help but throw things around in frustration, but she didn’t expect one of Lu Mingzhu's bodyguards to follow them in, crossing his arms and saying, "You’ll be held responsible if any of the old items from the Lu family are damaged."

In truth, the Lu family mansion had been occupied by so many people that the furniture and artifacts were nearly all gone.

Only the heavy furniture was left.

Fortunately, the Lu family had been abroad for a long time and hadn’t left many valuable items in the ancestral home.

Lu Mingzhu and the old comrade looked around, getting angrier by the minute, wishing they could rough up everyone packing and toss them out.

"Old comrade, what do you think about turning this place into government housing for cadres and their families?" Lu Mingzhu asked him.

The old comrade smiled bitterly, "I don’t think that’ll work."

Lu Mingzhu was puzzled at first, then said, "You’re worried that if I kick out the clan members, you and the others moving in would stir up gossip?"

The old comrade nodded, "Absolutely."

No question about it.

In that case, they’d gain a bad reputation for competing with the people for housing, which would have a negative impact.

Lu Mingzhu thought for a moment, "First, let’s empty the house. We’ll stay here for a few days, and I’ll figure out what to do with this place."

She wanted to see if there was any treasure hidden inside.

With a place to intervene, the clan members moved out within two days, leaving behind an empty mansion with just heavy furniture and a ruined Grand View Garden.

Lu Mingzhu was furious, "If they were homeless, I’d get it, but these people? They all have homes!"

The old comrade filled her in on their situation.

Xie Junyao bluntly revealed their thoughts, "They figured since you weren’t around, they could take over as the main branch and live it up in your family’s glory."

"What a joke!" Lu Mingzhu said, then called the bodyguards to search the place again and see what else they could dig up.

After being occupied for so long, the place had probably been dug up three feet deep.

Rich families loved hiding gold and silver like this, so the Lu family members wouldn’t have missed the chance.

Every family had elders, right?

According to Lu Mingzhu's guess, even if there were hidden treasures in the furniture or secret compartments, they’d be long gone by now.

Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao first searched the main courtyard and the main house.

The first thing they discovered was the foundation of the main house. The two of them, with a bodyguard, dug deep along the wall and found gold bars under the foundation stones—like solid gold bricks.

Massive gold bricks.

So their ancestors were just as impressive as that guy!

Lu Mingzhu looked at the wall, frowning slightly, "If we pull these out, the main house could collapse."

An unstable foundation could easily collapse.

"Should we dig?" Xie Junyao asked.

"Dig!" Lu Mingzhu quickly decided. "Dig out all these gold ingots and see how many there are."

She called in a few bodyguards to lend a hand.

After hours of digging, they unearthed ninety-nine gold ingots from the main house's foundation. Each ingot bore a casting date on the back, revealing they were from a Jiangnan foundry during the Jiaqing era (1796-1820)—quite a surprise! Each ingot weighed fifty pounds and was of pure gold.

Lu Mingzhu calculated, "4,950 pounds."

Not just gold ingots, they also dug out ninety-nine silver ingots, each weighing one hundred pounds, totaling 9,900 pounds.

Incredible!