Chapter 96: Chapter 83: Early Investment – 1
When Yan Zhiqiang was purchasing the estate for its convenience, the major criterion apart from fertile land was proximity; hence, Yan Family’s large estate and Daohua’s smaller one were both situated within the same village—one at the head and the other at the tail.
The village where the estate was located is called Danlin Village, which is home to over five hundred families, mostly bearing the surname Zheng, and nearly all the tenant farmers for both estates came from this village.
Yan Zhiqiang sent one of his attendants back to the Yan Family to deliver a message, informing them that he, Grandmother Yan, and Daohua would be staying at the estate for a few days and not to worry about them, then went off to tend to the fields.
That night, both Daohua and Grandmother Yan slept soundly, unaffected by any unfamiliar bedding.
The next day, seeing that both were in good spirits, Yan Zhiqiang felt reassured and focused his efforts on melon planting at both estates.
As for Daohua, noticing that the watermelon planting was overseen by her third uncle, with Grandmother Yan also watching, she turned her attention to the barren hill.
Zheng Zhuangtou did not dare neglect the new owner, and that very day, he brought back a cartload of fruit tree seedlings for her.
Daohua carefully examined the seedlings and, satisfied, nodded her head before turning to Zheng Zhuangtou to ask, “Uncle Zheng, do people in the village have any free time currently?”
Zheng Zhuangtou: “Yes, they do. Each family in the village doesn’t have much farmland, and with plenty of labor at home, many finished the spring plowing by early April. A lot of industrious young folks are now planning to go out and find work to supplement their family income.”
Daohua smiled and said, “In that case, I’ll trouble you, Uncle Zheng, to find some people for me to clear this barren hill. As for their wages, we’ll pay according to the rates they’d get for outside work. What do you think?”
Zheng Zhuangtou nodded repeatedly, gratefully saying, “Thank you, miss, for your kindness. I’ll go to the village and spread the word immediately, I guarantee we’ll find enough hands for you right away.”
Daohua: “My grandmother, uncle, and I won’t stay at the estate for long, so it’s not a problem to have more workers. However, I don’t want to see anyone slacking off or cheating.”
Zheng Zhuangtou became serious: “Rest assured, miss. I am well aware of who in our village is hardworking. I guarantee there won’t be anyone like the sort you mentioned.”
Daohua smiled: “That’s the best I could hope for. We still need more fruit tree seedlings. Please, Uncle Zheng, go buy three more carts, we need every variety. Right, I just noticed we also have grapevines. Buy some extra of those; the courtyard of the estate is large. Later, I’ll find someone to set up some frames specifically for growing grapes.”
Zheng Zhuangtou listened carefully and assured her that he’d see to it immediately once Daohua had finished speaking.
Daohua: “That’s all from me for now, you may go about your duties.”
After Zheng Zhuangtou left, Daohua asked Wang Manman to bring writing materials, and she began to keep the accounts.
When she came out, she had taken all the silver she had left with Grandmother Yan over the years. After deducting the one thousand taels of silver spent on the estate, she now only had a little over three hundred taels.
Hiring people to clear the land required money, purchasing the fruit tree seedlings required money…
Daohua wasn’t sure if the little money she had would be enough for the initial investment in the estate?
As Wang Manman ground the ink, she asked with perplexity, “Miss, isn’t planting fruit trees just about digging holes at will? Why do you need to hire people to reclaim the barren hill?”
Daohua: “Because I’m not only planning to plant fruit trees on the hill but other things as well.” It would take a few years before fruit trees could yield any harvest, and in the meantime, she naturally had to think of other methods.
Wang Manman grew curious: “Other things? Like what?”
Daohua smiled: “Of course, the quickest profit-making medicinal herbs.” After arriving at Xingzhou, she had looked through some travel notes. They mentioned that Xingzhou was suitable for cultivating medicinal herbs such as Scutellaria baicalensis, Schisandra chinensis, Gentiana, Glycyrrhiza, Eleutherococcus, and Licorice.
These medicinal herbs are commonly used, seeds can be bought in medicinal herb shops, they have short growth cycles, and they are perfect for making money.
Upon hearing that the estate came with a barren hill, she had already decided on planting medicinal herbs.
Daohua listed the needed medicinal herb seeds and handed it over to Wang Manman: “Give this to Uncle Zheng; he’s going to buy more fruit tree seedlings, so he might as well pick up these medicinal herb seeds too.”
Wang Manman took the note and went to find Headman Zheng.
At this moment, Headman Zheng was still at the village chief’s house.
The estate needed people from the village to clear and cultivate the land, so this matter had to be discussed with the village chief.
The village chief and Headman Zheng were cousins; their ages did not differ much. Hearing that the estate was hiring, the chief immediately expressed his concern, “Then what are we waiting for? I’ll go and call some people for you right away.”
Headman Zheng did not stop him, as he knew this work was very precious to most people in the village.
In the past two years, there had been severe droughts in the northern regions. Their area, being close to the Dayuan River, was not as severely affected, but times were still tough for everyone.
Now that there was an opportunity to find work, even if there was no wage but only meals provided, there would be a large number of people competing for the job.
Just as the two of them reached the door, Headman Zheng saw his wife leading Wang Manman towards them.
“My husband, this young lady said she’s looking for you for some matter.”
Even from a distance, Headman Zheng’s wife began to shout.
Her voice was so loud that Wang Manman nearly couldn’t resist covering her ears.
Knowing that Wang Manman was Daohua’s personal maid, Headman Zheng immediately ran over and asked, “Miss, do you have any instructions for me?”
Wang Manman handed the note written by Daohua to Headman Zheng, “These are the medicinal plant seeds that the young lady wants you to bring back on your way.” After speaking, she swiftly pulled out a silver note worth fifty taels from the purse on her waist.
“Keep the silver safe and remember to report to the young lady after you get back,” she said, then turned and left.
The village chief, watching from the side, approached after Wang Manman left and inquired, “So, the butler is a young lady?”
Headman Zheng nodded, “Although the Old Madam and Third Master are here this time, it is their eldest young lady who makes the decisions.”
The village chief glanced at the note in Headman Zheng’s hand, looking somewhat worried, “How can they let a young lady take charge? Buying fruit tree saplings and medicinal plant seeds—what if they don’t grow? Wouldn’t the family blame you?”
Headman Zheng frowned, “That shouldn’t happen, I’m just following orders.”
The village chief sighed, “Haven’t there been enough instances where the previous masters of the estate wrongly blamed you? When those above are dissatisfied, they often take it out on those below. Over the years, you’ve had a hard time.”
Headman Zheng showed a helpless expression, “It’s the same for everyone.” Serving as the headman, at least he could support a whole family without resorting to selling off children, which was already a lot better than many others; he should be content.
“Let’s go, I’ll call the people for you.”
That very evening, Headman Zheng pulled back three carts of fruit tree saplings, while the medicinal plant seeds Daohua wanted were also bought and brought back.
After inspecting them, Daohua asked Headman Zheng, “Have the workers been hired?”
Headman Zheng replied, “It’s all been arranged; we can start clearing the land at any time.”
Daohua said, “Good, let’s begin tomorrow. After the barren hills are cleared, we’ll plant the fruit trees and medicinal plants.”
Later, Daohua had people place the fruit tree saplings in the vacant storage room. After sending Wang Manman away, she put all the saplings into her hidden space.
To ensure the quality of the saplings, she planted them directly in the fertile black soil, then nonchalantly walked out of the storage room, locking it carefully to guarantee that no one would discover the saplings were gone..