Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 479 Koi Little Lucky Star 8

Just like now, when their family sends several children to the private school in the village, some other families are jealous.

He said that he had a lot of money at home and was bored.

Fifteen-year-old Yunfeng and thirteen-year-old Yunsen are both grown-up boys and are still studying in private schools.

If they now bought good farmland and had a calf, it would probably make the villagers even more jealous.

Old Master Yun slowly placed the saddlebag on his knees, his cloudy eyes sweeping over the nervous faces of his family members: "What Chu girl said is reasonable. This silver is a blessing, but it can also be a disaster if not handled properly. It's said that making a fortune in silence is a life-or-death experience."

Yun Zhong, the family's backbone, was the first to recover from his shock. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice with unprecedented seriousness, "Dad is right. We must not buy land or add cattle to our village! That would be like holding a torch and shouting 'My family has made a fortune' around the village. Envy brings disaster, this has been passed down from our ancestors for generations."

He paused, his mind racing, "The approach Yunchu just mentioned is feasible! But I need to carefully consider the specific steps."

Yun Ji was impatient and said, "One idea is to buy land in another village. I heard that Xiahe Village in the south, next to the riverbank, has some excellent paddy fields for sale."

"Let's ask a reliable middleman to buy it quietly, write Dad or Big Brother's name on it, and then rent it out to tenants over there to cultivate. We'll keep the title deed, and outsiders will just think it's the land of a landlord from another village."

"The land outside the village alone might not be secure enough," Yun Chu added. Her thoughts were exceptionally clear, as if she had been thinking about it for a long time. "Suddenly, we have dozens of acres of land outside the village. Sooner or later, the rent will have to be paid to the village."

"After a while, word will get out. I'm thinking, 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows' is the right thing to do. Can we split it up into several parts?"

In the dim light of the kitchen, Yun Chu's eyes were surprisingly bright:

Take out about 100 taels, and use half of it to go to a nearby reliable village to buy medium-sized paddy fields (for example, about 20 mu). Be sure to find a trustworthy middleman and keep it secret.

Take another 100 taels and go to the provincial capital.

I'm not looking for a luxurious shop, but rather one with a courtyard that's located on an inner street and is quiet in the midst of a bustling city. The price of a house with a courtyard is currently around seventy or eighty taels.

Firstly, this is a solid asset that can be used for many years without being conspicuous;

Secondly, living in the city is expensive, so if things go wrong in the village, or if the children grow up and need to go to school or find a job, they'll have a place to stay. We can have a middleman rent out the house, and the rent can be directly deposited into our account at the Huitong Bank.

He set aside two years' maintenance money (twenty-four taels) and then took out thirty taels. Instead of buying a calf directly to attract attention, he first carefully nurtured the current large yellow cattle (which was very legitimate). Then he asked someone to go to a farther cattle market to find a sick and weak half-grown calf with a good skeleton but possibly worse appearance, and bought it back at a small price.

Just tell others that your uncle has connections and that you got the bargain.

Go home and take good care of yourself, it won’t be noticeable.

When it grows strong, it can be paired with the big cow, which not only increases the labor force but also accumulates more fertilizer. Others will just say that our family is diligent and has raised the cow well.

Of the remaining silver, only a small portion - eight or ten taels would be enough.

Don’t buy new clothes or quilts, but use them in places where they cannot be seen:

Completely reinforce the roof and re-tile it (it's normal since there's been a lot of rain this year);

Make the walls of the courtyard and the barn stronger;

Sew two sets of thick, durable cotton linings for the children (put new cotton linings on old clothes so that it can't be seen);

Quietly and in batches, store more high-quality grain seeds and salt cloth for the winter.

These expenses are insignificant, but they can actually improve the family's ability to resist risks and quality of life. Outsiders will only think that the Yun family is better off than before.

Most importantly, the remaining fifty or sixty taels of silver must not be exposed.

Yun Chu suggested, "Manager Hu, the bills from Renjitang can be exchanged locally, so exchanging them at a bank in the prefectural capital should be more convenient and less conspicuous."

"Uncle, next time you go to the city for business, you don't have to cash it all out at once. Exchange some of it for silver bills (from other branches of Huitong) and keep it safe in our own account at Huitong Bank. The rest of it, it's safest to deposit it directly at the Huitong head office in the city. Exchanging these bills and silver in the city will be done without anyone noticing!"

Yun Zhong listened, his eyes growing brighter and brighter: "Okay! This is the safest way!"

"Buy land in a village or a house in the city, and your foundation will be dispersed and inconspicuous; take your time with the calf, and repair the house and patch the walls; store grain, salt and cloth for household management; hide the bulk of your silver in a bank in the capital, it is a hundred times safer than burying it under the kang at home! Even if the house is hit by a disaster or robbed, the capital will still be there!"

Old Master Yun's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and he nodded vigorously: "That's it! Yun Chu girl, you think farther ahead than your father and uncle!"

"Our money didn't come from the wind, it was earned by the luck of the kids! We can't let it go to waste in our hands!"

"What you said today, you must keep to yourself once you leave this room! Even those who sleep on the same kang as you are not allowed to say a word! Feng'er, Sen'er, and the little ones, listen carefully!" His stern eyes swept over the half-grown children, and the children straightened their backs and nodded heavily.

The flame of the oil lamp danced gently, and the halo of light once again enveloped the hut. The tense and depressing atmosphere was replaced by a far-sighted and cautious determination.

The stack of silver that represents "half a lifetime of peace" is no longer just a heavy joy, but also a secret responsibility that requires the whole family to guard with wisdom and caution.

They are no longer farmers who are only concerned with the ecstasy in front of them, but like guardians who hold treasures and walk on thin ice.

***

Meanwhile, Lin Fubao's family is in turmoil over a mountain goods harvesting incident. Lin Cao and Lin Chun tumble down the hillside, though unharmed, Lin Cao sprains his ankle and Lin Chun scrapes his calf.

The Lin family courtyard suddenly became noisy:

Mrs. Song questioned in a sharp voice, Lin Cao cried and said, "It was the Yun family's bad luck that brought disaster upon themselves", and Lin Chun blamed "Fubao for not taking good care of the gift from the mountain god".

Lin Fubao's face flushed red, secretly annoyed that his curse on the Yun family had failed and instead hurt his own family, but he smiled sweetly: "Grandpa Mountain God is testing our sincerity!"

The next day, when the head of the village sent someone to visit him, Lin Fubao deliberately displayed a sign that read "Lucky Silver" (awarded by the county magistrate) and described the incident as a "trial" to win some praise, but internal conflicts were brewing.

The Lin family still hangs a plaque that reads "A Family of Good Deeds." Mrs. Song praises Fubao whenever she meets someone, saying that he "is blessed by koi fish and keeps away the evil spirits."

The girls were not as enthusiastic as before. The girl in the apricot-yellow shirt complained quietly to her family. Lin Fubao took a bite of the candied triangles given to him and then stopped eating them. In the end, they stepped on them and made them dirty, which was wasted.

The family expenses are becoming increasingly tight.

The county magistrate's reward money (the first "blessing silver") was spent on the storefront plaque and Fubao's new clothes, and the harvest from the meager land was average.

That night, Old Man Lin sat on the kang and sighed, "There is not enough money. We have to find a way." Mrs. Song urged him to "take Fubao to the city more often to ask for rewards from noble people."

——But some people in the neighboring village were already muttering, "How lucky is the Lin family? Even wrestling has to be checked according to the almanac!"