Chapter 128 Buying Wasteland

The villagers of Dahe Village were getting anxious.

They had just sent their child here to learn to read and write, and now, only a few days later, Cheng Zhao is leaving.

Before, Cheng Zhao could no longer take the examination for the scholar, and they felt regretful in their hearts, but they were also very fortunate. It was precisely because Cheng Zhao could not take part in the college entrance examination that he stayed in Dahe Village to teach the children.

Now that Cheng Zhao has received the county magistrate's personal guarantee, he should naturally go back to his studies.

They couldn't bear to part with Cheng Zhao.

At the same time, she felt very selfish, hoping that Cheng Zhao would stay so that her own child could go to school.

Cheng Zhao has a bright future ahead of him. After the provincial examination next year, he will be an official and will no longer be a part of the same world as them.

“I’m not going home,” Cheng Zhao said firmly. “I said I would stay, and I will stay until after the New Year.”

The entire village was incredulous.

They had thought Cheng Zhao would leave without hesitation... After all, staying was a dead end, but now that there was a smooth road ahead, anyone would know what to do...

Cheng Wanwan had already anticipated that Cheng Zhao would not leave.

This child is very mature and he likes to repay a favor. She paved the way for him to solve the college entrance examination problem, so he would naturally choose to stay and repay her. He would at least teach Ergou and Sidan a lesson before leaving.

However, she did not think this would interfere with Cheng Zhao's studies. The examination for the academy consisted of writing essays and composing poems. The essay topics were drawn from the Four Books and Five Classics and were basically related to current affairs. In the past two years, there had been locust plagues and droughts, and there had also been floods in the south. She guessed that the academy examination should be related to these issues.

Cheng Zhao personally participated in locust eradication and devoted himself to practical work. His writings are bound to have a fresh perspective and be different from others, which is his advantage.

Old Mrs. Cheng still wanted to make a scene, but Cheng Zhao was determined, and the clan chief Cheng let her have her way. It was pointless for her to make a scene on her own.

"Grandma, I will definitely pass the imperial examination and bring honor to our ancestors. You and Uncle Liu should take everyone back home." Cheng Zhao said slowly. "I will go back before the New Year. Grandma, you don't need to come looking for me again."

Every time grandma came over, she would make a mess at Second Aunt's house, and he felt very guilty.

Grandma Cheng was taken away by the Cheng family.

Cheng Zhao wanted to say something, but Cheng Wanwan patted his shoulder and said, "It's the evening hour, get ready to teach the children."

At this point, several village women spoke up, wanting to send their children to school, and Cheng Zhao naturally agreed to all of them.

"Village head, hurry up and measure the land!" Old Mrs. Zhao said hurriedly. "Get a few more people together, and before it gets dark, this matter must be settled as soon as possible."

The old lady was terrified by Old Mrs. Cheng's shamelessness. She dared to rob money even with so many people watching. What if she waited until night when no one was around and climbed over the wall to steal money?

I'll only feel at ease if I use this money to buy land.

The village head brought his two sons, and Old Mrs. Zhao brought Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou with her. A group of people took measurements and records. These had to be clearly written on the document, and then taken to the town to get it stamped tomorrow morning. Only then would the land truly belong to Cheng Wanwan.

She didn't understand these things, so she didn't go with them and stayed home to cook.

The county magistrate came today and the Cheng family made a fuss, so they started cooking much later.

In the past, we would eat before going to class, but now the class has started and the fire in the stove has not even been lit.

She received a reward from the county magistrate today and bought a piece of land. She and the old lady over there are busy helping her with the work, and they say they deserve a big feast.

She took the pheasants and rabbits down from the eaves. She stewed one pheasant in soup with some mushrooms she bought from the mall, braised two rabbits, picked a handful of newly sprouted greens from the yard and stir-fried them with lard, and also stir-fried some wild ferns from the mountain. She then took four eggs from the henhouse, made a huge omelet, and made a big bowl of egg drop soup.

She walked into the inner room and opened the cabinet where the grain was kept. The cabinet was locked and only she could open it. There was still a lot of grain inside.

She originally planned to use wheat flour and rice as staple food, but then thought better of it. Instead, she took out some cornmeal and millet, intending to make some cornbread and cook some dry millet rice that was neither too hard nor too soft.

Cheng Wanwan prepared all the ingredients, and the cooking process was left to Wu Huiniang.

Seeing that the food was almost cooked, she said, "Si Dan, go call your grandpa, grandma, and the village head to come and eat."

Just then the village head came in with a land deed: "It's forty-one mu of land, which works out to twenty taels of silver and five cents."

Old Mrs. Zhao followed in and said, "Mrs. Dashan bought forty acres of land in one go. Shouldn't she erase the five cents?"

“Even if you hadn’t said that, I would have erased the five coins.” The village head handed over the land deed. “Let Cheng Zhao check if there are any errors in this land deed. If there are no problems, go to town tomorrow morning to get it stamped.”

Cheng Zhao glanced at it and, finding it mostly correct, folded it up and solemnly handed it to the village head.

Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Uncle Village Head, Mother, please stay for a meal. Although the magistrate has rewarded us with silver, he didn't have time to go to town to buy meat, so we'll just eat what's left at home."

When the village head and Old Mrs. Zhao entered the yard, they could already smell the aroma of meat.

The two looked into the main room, and wow, a table was covered with food: a large bowl of braised rabbit meat, a pot of soup, and a large plate of egg pancakes. This was even more lavish than what they ate during the New Year.

The moment Mrs. Zhao opened her mouth, she wanted to curse him as a spendthrift.

But if you think about it carefully, the pheasants and rabbits were all brought by the wolves in the mountains, the wild vegetables were dug from the mountains, and the greens were freshly grown in the yard. As for the eggs, they were also laid by hens picked up from the mountains. The only pity is the cornmeal and millet. This meal must have consumed at least three or four pounds...

Forget it, the county magistrate rewarded me with one hundred taels of silver, and I don’t know how much food I can buy with it. It’s no big deal if it’s just for a meal.

Old Mrs. Zhao immediately took the initiative, saying, "Village head, please sit down."

At this time, Zhao Sidan called Old Man Zhao over, and the two of them sat down at the table. Cheng Zhao and the four boys also sat down. Old Lady Zhao and the other three women took their bowls to eat at the side. There was no rule in the village that men and women should sit at different tables. The main reason was that the table was too small and there was not enough space for everyone, so they simply took a bowl and went to the kitchen to eat, leaving out a portion of all the dishes.

When the village head tasted Cheng Wanwan's braised rabbit for the first time, he was stunned after taking a bite: "Tiezhu also caught a wild rabbit before, but the rabbit meat we made at home didn't taste as good as yours. This is so delicious!"

With his mouth stuffed full, Zhao Sidan mumbled, "Grandpa Village Head, my older cousin said this braised rabbit is even better than the ones at the restaurants in town."

The village head ate two bites of meat but dared not put down his chopsticks again. In this day and age, everyone was craving meat. He had only helped measure the land, so how could he eat meat for free at someone else's house? He lowered his head and ate millet and cornbread in big bites. In the past, he could only eat until he was three or four tenths full, but this time he ate until he was eight tenths full. The village head put down his chopsticks with great satisfaction.

After the meal, Cheng Wanwan took out twenty taels of silver and handed it to the head of the village.

The head of the village has quite a bit of silver in his hands now. There's the reward from the county magistrate for digging the ditch last time, and there's also the money from selling the land. These are all public funds of Dahe Village. He keeps them all with him, and he's really afraid that someone will steal them in the middle of the night.

The village head whispered, "Mother Dashan, hide the silver in your hand well, don't let anyone steal it..."