Chapter 1302: Chapter 1302: Grandfather’s Intention

Luo Ziling returned to his room, Yang Qingyin, Ye Xiaoli, Yang Xiaodong, and Wang Zhenjun were sitting in the living room talking, Luo Liansheng was also there, holding a teacup and talking as he walked.

He was telling the four young people about the old times in Yuezhou. When Luo Ziling entered, he was talking about how during the Southern Song Shaoxing Period, Song Emperor Gaozong fled to Yuezhou and then ran towards Ningbo and Wenzhou, eventually being forced by the Jurchens to flee to the sea.

The other four listeners were engrossed.

“Grandpa, you’re giving them a history lesson!” Luo Ziling chuckled as he sat down next to Yang Qingyin, “Qingyin is a top history student, you have to worry about her pointing out your mistakes.”

“I don’t know much about these things Grandpa talks about,” Yang Qingyin laughed, “Listening to Grandpa is much more fascinating than our class lectures.”

“Have they left?” Luo Liansheng stopped his storytelling and smiled at Luo Ziling, “That was a quick discussion, wasn’t it?”

“It’s done,” Luo Ziling replied with a grimace, “Ouyang Feifei was very straightforward, she told the officials from Yuezhou that she would invest in Yuezhou if they help us retrieve the full ownership of the old mansion. She directly made such a demand to remind the officials!”

“That child,” Luo Liansheng also gave a wry smile, “Why is she getting involved in the Luo Family’s affairs?”

Yang Qingyin felt uneasy again upon hearing this.

However, she didn’t blame Ouyang Feifei but smiled and said, “Her willingness to do so is quite good. It’s not suitable for you and Ziling, Grandpa, to talk directly with them. It’s best when such matters are spoken through someone else, it spares everyone any awkwardness.”

“It seems we made quite the impact,” Luo Ziling smiled at Yang Qingyin, “First borrowing the influence of the Yang Family, and now the Ouyang Family, these officials from Yuezhou must think the Luo Family is extraordinary. Little do they know, we’re just ordinary people with a few friends.”

“That can’t be said,” Yang Qingyin shook her head firmly, “If they knew your mother’s* background, they would be even more ingratiating.”

“It looks like being low-profile is no longer possible,” Luo Liansheng said to Luo Ziling with a rueful smile, “Later on, you and I need to have a good talk about past events that occurred back home, the matters related to the old mansion are quite complex, and it’s necessary for me to explain them to you today.”

Yang Qingyin interjected and asked, “Grandpa, if we get full ownership of the old mansion now, will it belong to Ziling in the future?”

“That’s definite,” Luo Liansheng nodded, “I am planning to transfer the house currently under my name to Ling’er. My good-for-nothing son won’t manage these affairs. The old mansion is the foundation of the Luo Family, and it’s what I care about the most. I hope Ziling will maintain it well and pass it on to future generations. It’s a testimony to the Luo Family’s centuries of heritage.”

“Grandpa, I will definitely protect the old mansion well.” Saying this, Luo Ziling smiled, “Mr. Zhou Shuren’s old mansion is now a famous tourist attraction. Perhaps in the near future, our Luo’s old mansion might become another famous site in Yuezhou.”

“Our old mansion is near the Orchid Pavilion, less than a kilometer away. Now that the Orchid Pavilion scenic area has been expanded, they are almost next to each other.”

Hearing Luo Liansheng say this, Luo Ziling raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Then in the future, it can be tied together with the Orchid Pavilion, benefiting from its fame, and the Luo Family’s reputation will become even more resounding.”

Luo Liansheng’s wry smile turned into a genuine one: “Then you should find a way to make the Luo Family’s name stand out!”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult!” Luo Ziling was very confident.

That evening, Luo Ziling and his grandfather shared a room.

Before going to bed, his grandfather told him a lot about matters related to the Luo Family.

After hearing his grandfather, Luo Ziling became completely certain that the ownership issue of the old mansion indeed is a focal point of contention among the descendants of the Luo Family.

Luo Liansheng’s two brothers, Luo Liankai and Luo Lianguan were still alive, and their sons were also doing quite well, but any of them would prefer to have sole ownership of the old mansion.

Because Luo Liansheng had not returned for twenty years, the one-third that originally belonged to him had been usurped by his two brothers. Assuming Luo Liansheng would not return, they had divided his share equally among themselves.

The result was endless disputes due to poor division among the sons.

The continual disputes led to the poor protection and repair of the old mansion, some parts of which had become quite dilapidated.

Now, Luo Liansheng’s two brothers and their wives were still living there, but their children had long moved out.

After building small western-style houses, they moved into more comfortable and spacious villas.

But everyone knew the value of this late Ming dynasty building, therefore, the issue of ownership of the old mansion caused terrible relations between Luo Liankai and Luo Lianguan, and similarly bad relations among other cousins.

Some even thought about selling the doors and windows of the old mansion, and even Luo Liankai’s eldest son, Luo Xujin, considered selling the entire building.

Now, there are many businessmen buying old buildings; after purchasing, they dismantle all the doors, windows, and pillars and reconstruct a new “ancient building” elsewhere.

Prices for such ancient houses are also very high.

Nearly ten million in price, it was very tempting, at least several of the Luo descendants were tempted.

According to Luo Liansheng, in the past six months, at least ten purchasers had visited the old mansion to consider buying it, but because Luo Liankai and Luo Lianguan opposed, it never resulted in a deal. However, both Luo Liankai and Luo Lianguan were not in good health, who knew when they might pass away.

If they did, then the old mansion would definitely be sold.

“Our Luo Family, was also a family of scholars in the past, the ancestors who built this house were probably from the late Ming or early Qing period, and were descendents of the famous painter of Jiangxi Province, Luo Mu. His youngest son Luo Ning, because of war, came to Yuezhou and settled here. He initially built this house near the Orchid Pavilion. However, it wasn’t this big at first; it was only after a few decades when the situation stabilized that they expanded the scale.” Luo Liansheng was very emotional when discussing these matters, “However, the Luo family didn’t have many descendants, many branches had only one child, and later had no offspring. During the Qing dynasty, the repression against scholars was quite severe, thus our branch of the Luo Family remained in obscurity. At the beginning of last century, the status of scholars improved, and the Luo Family showed signs of revival. Then the Japanese came in ’40s, and we faced another period of misfortune. After stability was restored, you also know about the condition in the following decades, because we had this old house, we were brought down. Up to this generation of your grandfather, there’s still no sign of revival.”

When Luo Liansheng said the last sentence, he looked intently at him, and Luo Ziling immediately understood his grandfather’s intention.