“I went to ask the Zhuangtou at the estate; the farmland prices are almost at market value, no hidden tricks.”
The land in Fengyuan Town is divided into fertile land, medium-quality land, and basin land.
The market prices start from twenty taels upwards, fifteen taels upwards, and ten taels upwards per mu, respectively, depending on the soil’s fertility.
On this basis, the exact price is negotiated per two mu.
The two mu of land Cao Wen had was barely categorized as medium-quality land, so the price was around fifteen taels per mu, but since the land was still planted with crops, that part was calculated separately.
The Qian Family intended to sell the land along with the standing crops to the tenants.
Of the harvest from rented land, 40% was paid to the Imperial Court, 30% to the Dongjia, and the tenants kept the remaining 30%.
That meant the current crops on the land had to be valued at 30% of their worth to be paid to the Qian Family.
Since the autumn harvest hadn’t come yet, no one knew how the actual yield would be, so they could only estimate based on previous years’ results.
“The estate’s Lizhui Xiansheng calculated that besides the fifteen taels per mu for the flat land, we also have to pay fifty jin of rice, which converts to about five hundred wen. That’s the price for paddy fields; the land price comes to about the same.”
Cao Wen laid out the details of today’s meeting to Xu Duoyan and Lu Lingbi.
“What exactly happened to the Qian Family? Selling land before the autumn harvest is the most troublesome time, yet they’re selling at this critical moment.”
“There are many rumors, but no one knows which is true. I heard they offended some official and urgently need to fill a financial gap,” Cao Wen said.
“I think that’s likely true; otherwise, they wouldn’t be in such a rush.”
Xu Duoyan said, “That doesn’t concern us much. What we should consider is whether to buy the land or not.”
If they didn’t take over the land, the tenants would have to follow the land’s new owner.
No one knew who the new landlord was or what rules they’d enforce.
Even worse, the new owner might evict the tenants.
With the autumn harvest approaching, the land would be wasted, and the tenants would have to bring gifts to plead for leniency.
The Qian Family themselves were unsure what the new landlord’s intentions would be.
They feared the tenants might rebel, so they tried to silence them by selling the land directly to the tenants.
“In the countryside, it’s always better to own land. Getting the chance to buy land, especially the land we’re familiar with cultivating, is a good thing.”
Hearing Lu Lingbi say this, Cao Wen understood her meaning and looked at Xu Duoyan.
Xu Duoyan nodded as well.
Owning land does bring peace of mind.
No matter what, having a mu or two to cultivate something every year is better than nothing.
Even if we stop farming in the future, we can resell the land and break even.
“Only…”
He looked up at Cao Wen.
“Even though it’s just two mu, the price adds up to over thirty taels.”
Cao Wen responded, “Mm, I originally planned to buy just one mu of paddy field first. If everyone agrees, I’ll get the deed. If not, we can let it go.”
After he finished speaking, he pulled out the money he had—eighteen taels total.
“This money can buy one mu of paddy field. After the harvest, we can recover some capital. Our grain supply at home is enough to last until after the harvest. I just wanted to hear your thoughts. If you agree to buy, we’ll start with one mu. If not, we’ll wait and see. It’s not much of a threat to us anyway.”
“But the other mu will still be transferred to the new owner, which isn’t right. Who knows what kind of devil the new landlord will be? Having no land to plant even two vegetable stalks…”
Xu Duoyan glanced down at the money on the table, then took out her own purse.
“Let’s just buy all the land we’re planting. We’ll have to live frugally until the autumn harvest.”
Lu Lingbi smiled softly when she saw this.
“Mother didn’t save much, but I can add a little.”
After saying that, she also put her savings on the table.
Previously, Xu Duoyan and Lu Lingbi had been saving money to leave, but their savings were small at first.
After coming to the Cao family, mother and daughter both started earning and saved a bit separately.
Now that they weren’t leaving, they were happy to use the money to settle their household.
Cao Wen saw the pile of copper coins and scattered silver on the table and wanted to return the money Xu Duoyan and Lu Lingbi contributed, but Xu Duoyan held his wrist.
“We’re family. When something happens, we should support each other.”
Lu Lingbi nodded in agreement.
“Yes, A Wen, we’re family. You can’t bear everything alone.”
“Keep the money. Use it for whatever you need. You’ve been covering the household expenses before; from now on, we all share the burden together.”
A warm feeling surged in Cao Wen’s heart.
He had felt awkward taking their money, but now, he found it hard to refuse.
“Alright, I’ll take the money. If anything comes up later, I’ll cover it.”
He counted the money; together, the three of them had gathered thirty-five taels.
He carefully put it away.
For now, this was almost all their family had.
That afternoon, he and Xu Duoyan went to the estate to pay the silver and received the land deeds.
“So much silver for just two thin pieces of paper—this is way too expensive.”
Cao Wen looked at the two pages of land deeds and, after confirming they were correct, handed them to Xu Duoyan.
“Keep them safe.”
“It’s good to own land. From now on, we won’t be tenants, so we don’t have to pay that extra 30% tax.”
Xu Duoyan didn’t refuse and took the deeds.
“I noticed that besides us, no other tenants were buying land at the estate. I guess no one else can afford such a large sum and will have to follow the land’s new owner.”
Cao Wen sighed.
Tenants barely had enough to eat; where would they find extra money to buy land?
When they visited the estate’s Zhuangtou today, he was surprised the family still had enough money to buy land.
It was tough for the villagers in the Xianqin; no one knew what kind of new landlord they would face.
Cao Wen couldn’t figure out which wealthy family the Qian Family would sell the land to; it might even be someone from out of town.
“Oh, and don’t spend money recklessly these days. It’ll cost money to pick up the iron pot in a few days.”
Xu Duoyan reminded Cao Wen, knowing he was usually careless with money.
“We’ve scoured almost every public mountain nearby. The mountain goods are limited. From now on, it won’t be as easy to earn money as before. The biggest harvest to look forward to is the autumn crop, but with just two mu of land, there isn’t much. At least the grain for the second half of the year is secured and not so urgent.”
In June and July, after the Sichuan pepper and myrica berries ripen, the number of people going into the mountains to gather goods visibly increases.
Seeing the high prices for these mountain products, some daring folks even venture deep into the forest to make a living.
They often encountered people coming and going through the mountains.
Previously, the forest would be deserted all day, nothing like the current bustling activity.
Although gathering mountain goods depends on luck and the areas explored, repeated trips help reveal where the best goods are when they ripen the next year.
But with more people entering the mountains, competition inevitably grows, making it harder to gather the goods.
This kind of luck-based livelihood has unpredictable yields and risks, so it isn’t a long-term plan.
“I know.”
Cao Wen jingled the three taels of silver left in his hand.
It was time to find another way to make a living.
Three days later, Cao Wen went to the market early and carried home the iron pot the blacksmith had made.
Lu Lingbi heard a clanging sound from the kitchen and put down her work to take a look.
On the stove sat a newly fitted black pot—different from the deep, flat-bottomed clay pot they were used to, this was wide-mouthed, shallow-bottomed, and came to a pointed top.
Curious, she pinched the pot’s side and discovered it was indeed made of iron!
“A Wen, where did you get this pot? Why does it look like this?”
Lu Lingbi tilted her head and saw Cao Wen carrying a liter of rice while picking out broken husks.
She hurried over and asked about the iron pot’s origin.
“It was made by the blacksmith. When we bought the clay pot, I ordered it then. It took a few days of work and I finally got it today.”
She asked about the price and gasped.
To be fair, it was sturdy.
You could burn it on any fire without worrying about it breaking.
But for that price, you could buy more than ten clay pots.
Even if you broke one a month, it would last a long time.
Since the money was already spent, she didn’t say much, just thought…maybe from now on, the money should be entrusted to Ayan.
This guy really knows how to spend.
“Aunt, how many chicken eggs have we saved?”
“Looks like about twenty. The hens have been nesting and haven’t laid many eggs lately. Why, do you want to hatch some chicks?”
Cao Wen said, “No, I want to use two eggs to fry rice.”
Lu Lingbi’s eyes widened.
“Fried rice?”
“Yes.”
Cao Wen raised his eyebrows.
Since arriving here, he hadn’t eaten anything fried—everything was boiled or stewed.
Now even a simple stir-fried vegetable would make his mouth water.
Having spent so much money to get an iron pot, he felt he had to try cooking something immediately or it would be a waste.
While explaining to Lu Lingbi how to stir-fry, he busily prepared the ingredients.
Lu Lingbi was quite knowledgeable and had just heard about stir-frying.
She grew interested and helped Cao Wen.
By midday, Xu Duoyan returned from the field carrying a hoe.
Since getting the land deed, she had been more diligent, going to the paddy fields early every day to check for pests, loosening soil, and weeding.
A couple of days ago, she even sowed some seasonal vegetable seeds.
After all, it was their own land now; they could farm it however they liked without landlords telling them what to plant.
Naturally, she took more care in working it.
As soon as she entered the yard, she smelled a different aroma from the kitchen—a meaty scent, somewhat like rendered lard.
She had smelled it before in the Qian Family kitchen and remembered it vividly.
Knowing Cao Wen went to the market early today, she frowned slightly and hurried inside.
Cao Wen and Lu Lingbi were gathered around the stove.
In the new iron pot were tiny chunks of preserved pork fat, about the size of a pinky finger.
They sizzled and melted, releasing clear oil.
A bowl of beaten egg mixture was poured into the hot oil.
The egg quickly puffed up into fluffy, round clusters.
After a few stirs, the egg clusters were crushed while still tender, then mixed with a bowl of white rice.
At the same time, Cao Wen added seasoning powders and chopped pickled vegetables.
As the ingredients rolled around in the pot, they emitted an enticing aroma that made the stomach tighten.
Though she hadn’t felt hungry earlier, now she was definitely hungry.
“Ayan, you’re back just in time!”
Cao Wen scooped up a small spoonful of fried rice.
“Come try it, see how it tastes.”
Xu Duoyan strolled over and took a bite without hesitation.
She had always been curious about the fried dishes Cao Wen mentioned, and today she finally saw it firsthand.
It certainly broadened her horizons.
“How is it?”
With her mouth full of rice, she nodded.
The dish had multiple flavor layers: salty preserved pork, tender eggs, sweet rice, and occasional tangy pickled vegetables.
One bite felt like tasting an entire table of dishes, truly refreshing.
Seeing the two pairs of eager eyes fixed on her, she raised an eyebrow and thought about how to comment but ended up honestly nodding, “You really know how to cook.”
Cao Wen smirked.
“Then how about I set up a little food stall?”
Lu Lingbi and Xu Duoyan both raised their eyebrows.
“Hmm?”