Mistaking my lack of response for hesitation, Uncle Chen took one last look around the surroundings.
Finding that no one was present, he immediately dragged me into the house and closed the door behind us.
"…!"
Startled by the sudden movement, I did not resist and went along with it, believing that he would not harm me.
The inside of the house was completely different from its modest exterior.
Smooth stone tiles were neatly paved across the floor, spotless and well-maintained.
Expensive furniture was arranged carefully throughout the hall, each piece polished and orderly.
Several oil lamps with bronze bases illuminated the entire space, casting a warm golden glow.
"First, sit there,"
Uncle Chen said shortly, pointing at a wooden chair placed beside the tea table.
Obediently, I took the seat, carefully placing the clay jar on my lap.
Uncle Chen turned toward the inner room and called out, "Liu Shi, we have a guest. Bring some tea."
As he took the seat opposite me, a gentle female voice echoed from inside.
"Coming…"
Moments later, soft footsteps approached, and a woman entered carrying a teapot and two cups.
When I lifted my eyes, I saw a beautiful woman with neatly tied hair, dressed in a simple yet clean light-green robe.
"Li Tianyuan greets Madam Liu,"
I said respectfully, bowing my head as my parents had taught me.
According to my mother, Madam Liu was the most beautiful woman in the entire village and the wife of Uncle Chen.
Seeing me, Madam Liu seemed genuinely surprised, clearly not expecting the guest to be me, before giving a gentle nod.
Her expression was curious yet restrained.
She poured tea into both cups and then stood beside her husband, looking at me warmly.
As I was about to reach for the tea cup, Uncle Chen's eyes fell on the clay jar resting on my lap.
"Little Tianyuan, what are you holding?" he asked curiously.
I hesitated briefly, then lifted the jar slightly.
"This is money," I replied honestly.
"I came to hire Uncle Chen."
He froze upon hearing those words, then turned to look at his wife as if asking, Did I hear that correctly? Seeing the same puzzled expression on her face, he realized he had not misheard.
Not wasting any time, I told them everything that had happened yesterday, how my aunt and uncle were plotting to take my inheritance under the name of custody, and how my aunt had already taken my mother's belongings without asking on the very day of the funeral.
As they listened, both of their expressions turned cold.
"They plan to act quickly before any outsiders interfere," I said.
"Please, Uncle Chen, I want you to help me drive them away and retrieve the things my aunt took."
Silence engulfed the entire hall.
Then Madam Liu spoke to her husband, "I told you… they don't seem like good people. We should have taken Little Tianyuan with us yesterday."
Uncle Chen immediately retorted, "How could we? We are only acquaintances, not blood relatives like them. If we had tried to take him, it would have looked as though we were after his fortune as well. No one would have believed our words."
He slowly turned his gaze toward me and continued, "But now everything changes, if Little Tianyuan himself wants us to intervene."
He stood up, walked over, and gently patted my head.
"You did well to come to me," he said firmly.
"I give you my word, while I am here, no one will touch what your parents left behind. Don't worry anymore. I will handle everything from now on."
Madam Liu immediately added, "Take Zhao Hu and Sun Tie with you and break their limbs so they won't harm anyone ever again. To think they would go after a child… Hmph!"
Her eyes were fierce, as though she truly wished to kill them all.
Even Uncle Chen laughed dryly, choosing not to respond to her words.
That made me smile.
For the first time, I felt like I was no longer alone.
I picked up the clay jar and was about to take out the money, but Uncle Chen immediately pushed it back toward me, giving me a stern look.
"Don't think everyone in this world is like your aunt and uncle," he said.
"I'm not heartless enough to take money from a helpless child, especially not the child of my friend."
Madam Liu nodded beside him, her expression equally dissatisfied with me.
But I immediately retorted, "No, Uncle Chen. This money isn't for that."
They both looked at me.
"This is to hire Uncle Chen to help me to register assets on my name, find tenants and draft rental contracts for all of my assets."
""Huh?!""
Seeing their confused expressions, I explained my plan,
"First, I want to register every property my parents owned under my name with proper documents with no details of guardianship."
Despite being far behind in technology compared to the other world I had seen in my dream, there were still some things that were very similar in this world.
One of them was asset registration.
The Great Yan Kingdom had its own rules for managing territories and farmlands.
All assets within the country had to be properly registered in the magistrate's records so that taxes could be calculated accordingly.
Since my parents were the original owners of the properties and were now deceased, anyone could claim those assets by presenting even the slightest proof of relation.
Usually, children were not placed in charge of assets, as they were considered incapable of paying taxes.
This was where the concept of guardians came in, individuals who would take charge of the assets and handle their maintenance until the child reached adulthood.
But I didn't want anyone to be my guardian.
I wanted to be in charge of all my assets and take full responsibility for paying the taxes myself.
In order to pay taxes and properly maintain the properties, I needed to rent them out.
"Now that my parents are no longer with me, I don't need such a large house for myself. It would take a lot of work to take care of the entire place every single day, and I don't have the money to hire others. So, I want Uncle Chen to see if there are people who would like to rent my house as well as warehouse and farming lands."