Chapter 324: Chapter 304, Well-spoken_1
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After deciding on the land to purchase, Xiaoliu led the village head to the county town. The County Governor’s Office sent a government officer to measure the tract of land, and on the same day, Daohua got the deed.
In total, she bought five thousand mu of land, costing five thousand taels of silver.
Yan Zhiqiang didn’t buy land; the land here wasn’t very good. If he wanted to buy, he needed to go back and discuss it with his family, unlike the casual way Daohua handled it.
After securing the deed, Daohua looked at Xiaoliu, “Brother Xiaoliu, we are short on time. To reclaim the wasteland, we need manpower. I see there are many refugees gathered in the county town; you go and recruit some short-term workers. As for the number, you decide. I only have one requirement, which is to sow the seeds around the middle of March.”
“Those who work diligently and carefully can be converted into long-term workers or tenant farmers. I will go back, think over the specific rules, and then send someone to inform you.”
Daohua fell silent for a moment, then added, “Also, check in town if there are any oxen for sale. If there are, buy a few to bring back. Don’t try to save money on farming tools and oxen.”
While saying this, she glanced at Wang Manman.
Wang Manman immediately handed a one-thousand-tael silver note to Xiaoliu.
Xiaoliu carefully accepted it: “Miss, is there anything else you need?”
Daohua pondered for a while: “Nothing for now, let’s leave it at that. I still need to plan this plot of land, and see where would be a good place to build the manor.”
Yan Zhiqiang stood by silently, not showing any desire to intervene.
To be honest, he felt that when it comes to managing manors and fields, he might not be as good as Daohua.
The manors in this girl’s hands not only yield a lot each year but also have fewer troubles.
He managed his family’s estates and knew that achieving these results was not easy; he was often so busy he felt overwhelmed, far less composed than this girl was.
The village head was also listening and immediately recommended people from the village when he heard that Daohua was looking to hire.
Daohua smiled, “As long as they are not lazy and diligent, my place will take as many as come.”
After talking for a while, Yan Zhiqiang noticed that it was getting late, so he took Daohua back to the boat to return.
Xiaoliu stayed behind with two young men, watching Daohua and her party leave.
When the boat had traveled a certain distance, the village head turned to Xiaoliu and asked, “Young brother, which noble’s estate do you belong to? Such grand gestures, buying thousands of mu of land just like that.”
The village head, too, was somewhat observant; he noticed that the officials at the County Governor’s Office were especially courteous toward these people.
Considering that he would have to stay in Taohua Village often in the future, Xiaoliu smiled and replied, “We are from the household of Lord Yan, the Magistrate of Ningmen Prefecture.”
Upon hearing this, the village head’s eyes widened in shock, stammering, “The… the Magistrate’s household?”
Xiaoliu nodded his head, not saying much more, only adding, “Village head, before the manor is built, we may need to stay in the village for a while, and I’m not sure if that would be convenient for you?”
The village head nodded repeatedly: “Convenient, convenient, I’ll go and talk to the villagers right away.”
Xiaoliu thanked with a bow: “Then thank you very much.” With that, he took out a tael of silver from his purse and gave it to the village head.
The village head initially did not want to accept, but he couldn’t refuse Xiaoliu.
Xiaoliu smiled and said, “We are now heading to the county town to check things out, and we fear it will be late when we return. We’ll need to trouble the village head to arrange some food for us.”
The village head promptly said, “I will make sure everything is ready.”
Xiaoliu looked at the boat once more, seeing that it had gone quite far, then led the two young men towards the county town.
On the other side, Daohua stood on the deck admiring the scenery when she was about to turn around to enter the cabin for a bite. Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure on the shore.
“Strange Monk!”
Daohua immediately stretched out her hand to wave at the person on the shore and called out several times, but unfortunately, the boat was too far from the bank and Gu Jian did not hear her.
As Gu Jian’s figure grew more distant, Daohua stopped calling out and just watched silently.
Eventually, she watched Gu Jian turn a corner and head straight up Taohua Mountain.
Daohua immediately turned to Yan Zhiqiang inside the cabin and asked, “Uncle, did the village head say who bought Taohua Mountain?”
Yan Zhiqiang came out and said, “It seems to be two lonely old folks, they mentioned a brother and sister.”
Daohua breathed a sigh of relief, certain in her heart that the owners of Taohua Mountain must be Old Lady Gu and the Strange Monk.
Yan Zhiqiang looked at Daohua, “Why, you know them?”
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