Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Buying a Field_1 Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Buying a Field_1 At dusk, Jiujiu and her two brothers returned ho. Yang Chengrong had already learned to drive the carriage, so Du Zhong stayed at Apricot Forest Hall to engage in his forr work.
Handing over one thousand taels of silver notes to Yang Chaowen, Yang ngchen said with a smile, “Uncle, this is your paynt for making the boxes.”
“This, this is too much, isn’t it?” His hands trembling slightly as he accepted the silver notes, Yang Chaowen could hardly believe it, as it was the first ti he had earned so much money.
“It’s not a lot,” Yang ngchen said with a beaming smile. “Once Uncle’s leg is healed, I’m going to open a furniture factory specifically for him to make new-style furniture that will be sold all over the country. By then, I guarantee that Uncle will be counting money until his hands cramp.”
Yang Chaowen imdiately broke into a wide grin, “Uncle can’t wait for Jiujiu to open the furniture factory for , hehe.”
After the second acupuncture treatnt, he was already able to walk on the ground, but Jiujiu cautioned him against being overeager, allowing him only a half-incense stick’s worth of activity each day. He believed he would be completely recovered before long.
Everyone was pleased to hear this.
“Jiujiu, exactly how much are zongzi and preserved eggs worth?” Old Master Yang asked.
In the morning, Chengrong took people to transport away all the zongzi and preserved eggs without telling them how much money they made, leaving them without a clue.
Yang ngchen held up a finger: “One tael of silver each.”
“That expensive?” Everyone was shocked.
“Young Master Nangong will sell them for at least five to over ten taels of silver in The Capital, but we are not envious,” Yang ngchen said with a smile. “Young Master Nangong paid an advance of ten thousand taels, so we need to hurry up and make more. Also, I plan to teach my maternal family how to make zongzi and preserved eggs, so they can supplent the household a bit. Grandpa, Grandma, what do you think?”
Old Master Yang and his wife nodded in agreent, relieved that Jiujiu had thought of her maternal family when good fortune ca her way.
“I won’t go to town tomorrow; my aunts and mother should go to pick up the three mbers of my maternal family. I will teach them then,” Yang ngchen instructed.
Shen Qiulan and her sisters-in-law agreed happily, feeling moved and proud.
After dinner, Yang ngchen, Old Master Yang, and Yang Chaoyi went to the village chief’s house, with Xiao Guai running and jumping joyfully around Yang ngchen.
To avoid dulling Xiao Guai’s tiger-like nature, Yang ngchen had her brothers take it back to the mountains every few days, and being busy lately, she seldom had ti to be together with Xiao Guai. As a result, Xiao Guai clung to her whenever it saw her.
Yang ngchen knocked on the courtyard door.
“Who is it?” Chen Sijing asked as she opened the door and warmly greeted upon seeing Yang ngchen and the others, “Grandpa Yang, Uncle Yang, Sister ngchen, you’re here, and so is Xiao Guai.”
“Sister Sijing, are Grandpa Lizheng and Grandma Chen at ho?” Yang ngchen asked politely.
“They are both at ho.” Leading the three inside the courtyard, Chen Sijing called out loudly, “Grandpa, Grandma, co out quickly, Sister ngchen and the others are here.”
The village chief and his wife, their son Chen Lisong and daughter-in-law Madam Chen Lin, heard the voices and quickly appeared at the door: “Please co inside and sit down to talk.”
The three entered the room, and Yang ngchen greeted everyone with a smile, while Xiao Guai greeted everyone with a woof, his silly deanor making everyone laugh.
“Are you here for sothing?” the village chief asked Old Master Yang.
“Grandpa Village Chief, Grandma Chen, my Seventh Brother has taken Uncle Luo from Apricot Forest Hall as his master,” Yang ngchen explained warmly, “The apprenticeship ceremony will be held in town the day after tomorrow. Uncle Luo has invited Grandpa Village Chief and Grandpa Lizheng, as well as the two grandmas to attend the ceremony. I wonder if the two grandfathers and grandmothers are available?”
The Chen family was all happy for Yang Cheng’an, and the village chief said with a joyful face, “This is a happy occasion, we must certainly attend.”
“Uncle Luo said it’s fine for people to co, but please don’t bring any gifts, or else Uncle Luo will be angry,” Yang ngchen reminded them.
The village chief expressed with a smile, “We won’t bring any gifts.”
Although it’s the thought that counts, the village chief knew Doctor Luo well enough to understand that if he didn’t want gifts, they would respect his wishes.
“Then, the morning after tomorrow, my elder brother will co with the horse-drawn carriage to take the two grandfathers and grandmothers to town,” Yang ngchen said with a smile, “I also want to discuss two matters with Grandpa Village Chief this ti.
First, in a few days, the villagers will be harvesting wheat and rapeseeds, and I would like to ask Grandpa Village Chief and Grandpa Lizheng to help purchase the rapeseeds at a rate of twenty wen per catty, as much as possible;
Second, there are many neglected dry fields in the village, and I’m willing to pay for the villagers to help fix them up. Then, by the headcount, allocate a plot to each household. I will teach the villagers to grow greenhouse vegetables, which we can sell to Drunken Immortal Tavern, providing another source of inco for the villagers to improve their lives.”
After listening, the village chief stood up excitedly, looking at Yang ngchen with a jumble of words, “Jiujiu, thank you, I thank you on behalf of the villagers, thank you!”
Previously, the cultivation of dicinal herbs had enabled the villagers to earn as much as five or six taels of silver in less than a month, with the least earning more than one tael. Doctor Luo also provided free dicinal herbs to those who had bought the wasteland, and Jiujiu had enthusiastically taught the villagers how to plant and manage them. Following that, the villagers made so money by selling eggs and glutinous rice at high prices.
Now, Jiujiu was paying for the villagers to fix up the dry fields, preparing to divide them among the families for planting greenhouse vegetables, and she had already secured a sales outlet—Jiujiu truly was a lucky star for the villagers.
“The villagers have been very good to and my family; naturally, I will do everything I can to give back to the villagers,” Yang ngchen said, making light of it with a wave of her hand.
The village chief was visibly moved, “No matter what, we have to thank you. Without your relentless efforts to help everyone, our lives wouldn’t have improved.”
“Jiujiu, rapeseeds aren’t useful; the villagers only grow so to feed pigs or sell at five wen each to others for feeding cattle and horses.” Chen Lisong didn’t want to see her at a loss as Jiujiu weighed everything for the villagers, “What are you doing with rapeseeds, Jiujiu? Moreover, twenty wen per catty is too expensive.”
Yang ngchen smiled mysteriously, “Once my experint succeeds, Uncle Chen will know that rapeseed is a great thing. Next year, we should encourage the villagers to plant more of it; then, there will be another source of inco.”
“Jiujiu is smart and capable; we believe you will definitely succeed in your experint!” Madam Chen Yang praised her generously.
Everyone else also expressed agreent and support.
Yang ngchen graciously accepted, knowing well the thods and machinery for extracting oil from seeds, “By the way, Grandpa Village Chief, when you and Grandpa Lizheng speak to the villagers, you’ll have them sign an agreent that the greenhouse vegetables can only be sold to the Drunken Immortal Tavern. If anyone sells them privately, they must pay ten tis the loss in compensation, and I will also take back the dry fields and greenhouses. After all, I’m providing the money, seeds, and technology, and we can’t let outsiders benefit.”
“I will go find Lizheng in a mont. Maybe we should just transfer those dry fields to your na, then you can divide them among the villagers. This way, everyone will also rember your kindness,” the village chief said after thinking it over.
Yang ngchen felt that the village chief’s suggestion was reasonable and agreed to purchase the dry fields at a fair price.
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