stingy landlady

Chapter 37 Looking at the Wasteland

I could see the old man wandering around in the field from afar, occasionally bending down to touch the soil.

Dazhu walked closer and called out, "Father!"

The old man looked up, glanced at the table, and replied, "Yes!"

He bent down again, casually plucked a blade of grass, and threw it away. He dusted his hands off the dirt, then stepped forward and said:

"Dazhu! I was just looking for you! If it doesn't rain tomorrow or the day after, the land needs watering. Otherwise, the wheat seeds will get thirsty and the wheat won't sprout."

"Okay! I understand, Dad! I'll arrange for Xiao Zhou and the others to fetch water from home to irrigate the fields."

"Dad! I need to talk to you!"

"What's up? Let's talk as we walk!"

"Dad! I've taken a liking to that low-lying land under the West Bridge! I want to buy it and grow rice there!"

"That piece of land is quite large! You can't do much with just a few acres, and clearing it up would be a huge hassle!"

"Father, I'll buy a few more plots of land, and we'll hire people to plow it with oxen. Since there's no water in the fields right now, we can burn some and then plow it with oxen. What do you think, Father?"

The old man looked at Dazhu and laughed, "Look at you, you look like a greenhorn! Sure, you can do it, but it'll all come with money to pave the way!"

"Your father doesn't have any money to lend you!"

"Dad! I have some! We'll go look at the land now, then find the village chief to measure it, and buy it. Wasteland is cheap! We can get to work sooner, start raising seedlings, and transplant rice in June or July!"

"Slow down! I'm an old man, I can't keep up with young people! If you walk so fast, you won't be able to keep up!"

This is truly wonderful news! The old man has been farming for decades and has even reclaimed wasteland. But he has never experienced anything like his son buying several acres of wasteland at once, nor has he seen anyone in the village willing to do so.

Reclaiming wasteland also costs a lot of money. It requires manpower and resources!

The eldest son's life is getting better and better.

Guizhi remembered she had forgotten to tell Old Zhou to weigh out the shepherd's purse. She went outside and saw that Lin Xiaoyun was alright, so she asked him:

"I'm going to the east end to ask Grandpa Zhou to weigh out the shepherd's purse and the wild garlic. Are you coming?"

"Go!" Lin Xiaoyun said and left without hesitation, heading straight for the gate.

Guizhi trotted after her.

Old Zhou released the little ducklings into the yard, holding a handful of millet in his hand. The ducklings clung to him, following him everywhere. A flock of fluffy yellow ducklings quacked and chirped, quite a sight!

Guizhi came in and saw this interesting scene.

"Grandpa Zhou!"

"The Third Miss is here!" Old Zhou said, tossing the millet in his hand into the feeding trough. He then wiped his hands.

"Grandpa Zhou! Are Hongmin and Hongli's family still digging for wild vegetables today?"

"We should dig! They can sell over a hundred copper coins a day, and her old lady is so happy!"

"We're delivering 60 catties of shepherd's purse to Xiangmanlou today. You'd better help us pack it into baskets first. The oxcart will arrive later without delaying us."

"Grandpa Zhou, can you weave baskets?" Guizhi asked again, remembering the question.

"If we know how to weave baskets, we can weave several baskets with willow branches, which will be convenient for our own use."

"I can weave bamboo baskets, but I've never woven willow baskets before. But I think they're pretty much the same, so I'll try to figure it out when I have some free time!"

Old Zhou thought for a moment and then said.

"Grandpa Zhou, there are still thirty catties of wild garlic. Divide them into three portions! Ten catties each. That's for three people. But if there's no room to put them, put them all together as thirty catties, and we can weigh them later."

"Grandpa Zhou, we still need to keep harvesting the shepherd's purse. But we still need to dry it, otherwise it will rot if we pile it up, and it will be a waste. We should also wash the wild garlic and dry it in the sun. We can pickle it after it's completely dry. Pickling it while it's still wet will make it rot easily."

Guizhi said it was the same, and Old Man Zhou agreed.

"Miss! I've been taking walks these past few days, and I think if we want to build a house, we could go east along the main road to that wasteland! That area is on higher ground!"

After careful consideration, Old Man Zhou offered the following suggestion:

"It won't flood easily in the summer. There are no other houses to the east of our house, so we can buy more wasteland and build as much as we want. There's also Yupei, where we can build a yard and keep a vegetable garden."

We could also plant some fruit trees, like plums and crabapples! Then the young ladies and wives would have fruit to eat. We could even build pigsties and chicken coops in the orchard! The smell wouldn't be as strong then.”

After hearing this, Guizhi had an idea and said, "Grandpa Zhou, let's close the gate and go take a look now. It's not far anyway!"

The three walked eastward along the main road, which led to the forest farm. This was the easternmost part of the village; beyond that, wasteland stretched out on both sides of the road.

Although it's all flat land, perhaps because there aren't many people in the village, or because the cost of clearing the land is too high, no one has cleared it yet.

Guizhi listened to Old Man Zhou's plan and felt that it made a lot of sense.

The delivery business has started again. On the way to sell dumplings, Guizhi sat on the oxcart and chatted with Dazhu.

"Dad, I just went with Grandpa Zhou to see that wasteland to the east. He said it's on higher ground and won't easily flood. Plus, it's spacious enough to build a big house. We can also buy more land to plant fruit trees."

After thinking for a moment, Guizhi asked again:

"Dad! I think I heard that road leads to the forest farm! Is that right? I've never been there."

"Yes, there are also people living in the forest farm, like a small village. But the people there can go up the mountain to cut down trees and sell timber. They also need to plant trees and create forests."

Dazhu added, "Your Uncle Zhou and I looked at the low-lying wasteland to the west; it should be suitable for growing rice. We'll discuss it with your grandfather and plan to buy two plots."

Then he added, "If we buy another twenty mu of wasteland in the east, at one tael of silver per mu, and no taxes for three years, then forty mu would cost forty taels of silver!"

"Guizhi, if we have to clear the land and build a big brick house, we'll spend almost all of our money!"

Guizhi smiled and said, "Father! Don't be reluctant! Money is meant to be spent! If we buy property, the money will generate more money! We'll have money coming in!"

Guizhi's heart was bleeding. "Three hundred taels of silver! Who knows when I'll earn three hundred taels again!"

"Father! Let's order another carriage later!"

Dazhu exclaimed in surprise, "Xiaoyun agreed to let him pull the carriage? He'd rather starve than sell the horse?"

Guizhi pouted: "Hmm! No matter how precious a horse is, it's still just an animal. His brain must have been twisted by that goose back then! Is a horse more valuable than its master's life?"

As Dazhu drove the cart, he said, "You silly girl! I was thinking of buying another cow!"

Gui Xiang and Gui Hong were dumbfounded! They were together every day, how could they not understand what the father and son were talking about?

Guizhi said listlessly, "If we have to find someone to raise, we'll also have to raise horses! Let's make the most of everything and save money wherever we can."

Dazhu asked, puzzled, "What if Xiaoyun feels she's suffering and exhausted at our house, and starts nagging to go home? What should we do then?"

"So what! We'll just buy another horse! It may be expensive, but at least we can save money now! Dad, you've become a problem child!" Guizhi said impatiently.

"Haha, hahaha!" Dazhu laughed loudly.

Gui Hong asked timidly, "Dad, Third Sister, what are you talking about? My eldest sister and I don't understand at all. It's making us all dizzy!"

Dazhu laughed again: "That's right, you don't understand! Haha, hahaha!"

Upon arriving at the entrance of Xiangmanlou, we took down the shepherd's purse, wild garlic, and bean sprouts to weigh them.

Li, the purchasing agent, handed five food boxes and fifty coins to Dazhu.

Dazhu took the food box and said, "Mr. Li, I'll take this food box back, but I can't accept these coins! The boss is willing to give me a few boxes of dumplings, but I can't accept money for that."

Li, the comprador, didn't try to force it on him: "The boss said it's a gift, so we subordinates can't shirk our responsibilities. If we don't do a good job with these few dozen copper coins, we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot!"

After watching the waiter weigh the vegetables and calculate the bill, which was 550 copper coins, Li, the comprador, casually handed over six strings of copper coins, which amounted to exactly 600 copper coins.

"Brother Dazhu, Manager Qu said your bok choy has sprouted and he's been waiting for it to hit the market these past few days! We can't let a small thing ruin my livelihood!"

After hearing what Comprador Li said, Da Zhu had no choice but to accept the copper coins, saying, "Thank you, boss! Thank you, shopkeeper! And thank you, Comprador Li!"

At the entrance of Xing'an College, they retrieved the forty food boxes that the servants from the Zheng and Liu families had brought back.

Guizhi poured two portions of wild garlic and some shepherd's purse that she had grabbed into the buckets carried by the two servants.

"Young men, these are the wild garlic that Young Master Liu ordered! Please also send some shepherd's purse to you, so you can have an extra dish."

The servants, carrying buckets, waited in their usual spot for the academy to let students leave.

When the two young masters, Liu and Zheng, came out, they heard from the servants that Dazhu and the others had given them shepherd's purse. They then bowed to Dazhu and walked away.

While the fifth brother, Wang Yiyun, was eating dumplings, Guizhi sat next to him and whispered, "Fifth Uncle, have you tried on the clothes my mother made? If there's anything wrong with them, I'll take them back and have my mother alter them."

"I tried it on when I got back to my place yesterday! The new clothes fit me perfectly. I even did a few squats and some boxing while wearing them. They're great. I'll tell my sister-in-law when I get back from my exams, and I'll thank her then!"

Wang Yiyun said this while eating dumplings.

"Fifth Uncle, you need to eat properly, morning and night! You're under a lot of pressure now that you're going on a scientific expedition, right?"

"Hmm! Your fifth uncle is doing well! It's great to see you all every day! Studying is tough! But when I think about our family's situation, I realize that if I went back, I wouldn't be able to carry anything. I feel that studying is still more suitable for me!"

"Fifth Uncle! My second uncle fell off his horse yesterday and broke his leg. My father and my fourth uncle took him to the clinic to get medicine."

"Second brother is so old, yet he's still so immature. Why is he going to ride a horse? I'm afraid Father and Mother will get upset again!"

Wang Yiyun said somewhat anxiously:

"Sanya, we have a course called 'Riding,' where we learn to ride horses and drive carriages. There are instructors who teach us how to control horses, how to maintain balance, and how to control speed."

Most importantly, wear a helmet and protective gear! Safety is paramount! Second brother was a bit reckless!

Wang Yiyun spoke with a tone of disappointment and frustration.

“My grandpa and grandma almost got into a fight. Grandpa said that Grandma spoiled my second uncle and aunt, and Grandma said that my second uncle and aunt didn’t listen to her. There were so many people in the family, how could we let them really fight? Everyone persuaded them to calm down, and then everything was fine.”

"That's true. Harmony in the family brings prosperity! My eldest brother and sister-in-law have such good personalities! And as a result, all of you girls are sensible and filial!"

"Fifth Uncle, you don't mind that my mother gave birth to only girls?"

"Why would I complain! You bring me boxed lunches and dumplings every day, and my sister-in-law even makes me clothes. You've all been so kind to me. If I complain about you, then all my studying of the classics would have been for nothing!"