Li Lao Er stopped the two old men from arguing and asked, "Uncle, did you get the peanuts and sweet potato vines?"

The village chief waved his hand with increasing pride and replied, "Of course we got it. Fifty catties of peanuts, enough to plant twenty mu of land, plus sweet potato vines for twenty mu. We'll figure out the rest for our own ten mu. The rice we brought was a deposit, and we'll give them another fifty catties when we hand over the sweet potato vines."

Everyone was delighted to hear this and praised the village chief, saying, "Uncle is amazing! An old general like him is worth two people!"

The village chief was even happier, but before he could wave his pipe and boast for a while longer, his wife called him back to sober up and go to bed.

Uncle Zhao then got down to business, saying, "Ten strong laborers will be coming from the big banyan tree tomorrow. We've agreed on a wage of twenty coins per person per day for a total of five days' work."

Li Lao Er quickly instructed everyone, "When the people from Big Banyan Tree Village arrive, we can befriend them, but be careful what you say. Remember, this place is under the Marquis's name. Talk more about killing the wolf pack and black bear on the way, and avoid mentioning the bandits, as it can easily cause trouble."

"Understood, we understand," the villagers responded, and then dispersed to continue their own business.

Jiayin sat on a small stool, picking wild vegetables with Jiahuan. Her little hands were not very obedient, so she couldn't do much work; it was just a way to pass the time.

After listening to everyone's conversation, she started making plans in her mind.

Seventy mu of riverbank land, minus twenty mu of foundation land, leaves fifty mu.

If you plant 20 acres of peanuts, you can harvest them in the fall and use the harvested peanuts to make oil or snacks, which will earn you less hard-earned money.

Twenty acres of sweet potatoes were planted, and they could be harvested gradually from the end of summer, enough to replace grain.

The last ten acres are the most important, because she wants to grow watermelons!

In my past life, my next-door neighbors were an elderly couple. The melons and watermelons they grew in their garden were exceptionally sweet. They couldn't finish eating them all, nor could they sell them, so they would give her a basket every few days.

So she never even considered growing them herself. It was just that when she was eating watermelon, the seeds she casually spat out fell into the garden, and a few vines sprouted and produced a few small watermelons.

Last autumn, unable to access her space, she threw the melon rinds to the four little pigs. Fortunately, she saved the not-so-plump melon seeds and dried them on the wall.

A few days ago, after the fruit tree seedlings were dug up, she planted melon seeds in them, and now the nursery is full of them, a lush green expanse.

I imagine they'll be able to move them out in a few days. I hope the nursery can do a good job and improve the quality of the watermelon seedlings; they must produce big, sweet, and delicious melons!

However, there aren't many watermelon seedlings; I estimate that they're enough to plant four or five acres at most.

With only a few acres left, she wondered if she should plant some more pear saplings. She vaguely remembered reading in a book that pear trees also prefer sandy soil...

As Jiayin was thinking about this, she became somewhat lost in thought. Jiahuan took the vegetable basin away and turned around to see her younger sister still sitting there. Afraid that she would catch a chill from the wind, she went over and carried her to her grandmother's side.

Grandma Li was rummaging through her packages when Yan Zheng, who was sitting opposite her, saw the chubby girl being brought back. He casually took her and put her on his shoulder, then strolled around on the ground.

Jiayin grabbed his hair bun, wondering why he had come to her house.

After much effort, Grandma Li finally found a set of clothes that were almost new. She smiled and said, "These are Jia Huan's clothes. You're too thin. In our family, only Jia Huan is about your size."

Yan Zheng smiled and thanked her, "Thank you, ma'am. I haven't changed my clothes for four or five days. If it weren't for being able to bathe in the hot spring at night, I would have stinked up."

He was younger than Li Laosi, so Li Laotai unconsciously treated him as a younger member of her family and casually naggarded him.

"You're such a worry. You've been stuck in this gravel beach and haven't come home since. I wonder how worried your family must be about you! Go back tomorrow and see them; they certainly won't say you've neglected your work."

Yan Zheng shook his head nonchalantly, which startled Jia Yin, who quickly grabbed his hair bun, causing him to wince in pain.

"Don't worry, Auntie, my family doesn't care about me at all. They'd rather I get far away and not bring shame to the family."

Old Mrs. Li was shrewd and experienced; how could she not see that behind his seemingly carefree smile lay a deep sense of grievance?

So she stopped trying to persuade her and said, "Hurry up and change your clothes. Come to my house for a special meal tonight."

"Great, Auntie, Fourth Sister-in-law's cooking is simply amazing! It's even better than the chef we specially hired." Yan Zheng readily agreed, picked up Jiayin, pinched her chubby little cheeks, and then walked away with a grin.

Grandma Li shook her head and sighed, "She's a pitiful child. Even in wealthy families, not everyone lives a good life."

Jiayin hugged her grandmother's neck, smiled, and kissed her, saying, "Grandma is the best."

The Li family was not wealthy, and they had traveled two thousand miles from north to south, enduring a great deal of hardship.

But the family, consisting of more than a dozen people of all ages, is united and close-knit, and has never quarreled or fallen out. It can be said that most of the credit goes to Grandma Li, the head of the family.

The saying "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure" is most true in the Li family.

Grandma Li knew her granddaughter was praising her, and smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared. "No, it's Grandma's lucky girl who's the best. Because of you, our family has such a good life now."

Leaving aside the usual mutual flattery between the grandmother and grandson, just consider dinner time: Tao Hongying stewed pork belly and cabbage, and Yan Zheng indeed came over to eat with the Li family.

He may look like a spoiled brat, but he's actually quite shrewd.

As he ate, he asked Li Lao Er, "Second Brother, we've planted fruit trees and intercropped grains on this mountain, but I'm afraid we won't harvest much in the fall. The peanuts on the riverbank aren't enough to fill our stomachs, and we can't eat sweet potatoes every day. What are your plans to solve the food problem?"

Li Lao Er was also troubled and replied, "If we make money in the valley, we'll use it to buy grain first. If that's not enough, we'll think of another way."

Yan Zheng shook his head. "The price of grain outside is changing every day; it's going crazy. It's not cost-effective for you to buy grain with silver. I have an idea!"

He pointed to the hot spring and laughed, “When the estate is built and people come to visit, don’t ask for silver, ask for grain! Two or three catties per person, it’s not much. Those rich families have thousands of dan of grain stored up, they don’t care about this little bit. But little by little, you can earn enough grain for a year in just one or two months.”

This was a really good idea. The Li family members' eyes lit up when they heard it, and they quickly invited the village chief, Uncle Zhao, and Chief Escort Liu.

Sure enough, everyone who heard this understood everything and was overjoyed.

The village chief wanted to thank Young Master Yan, but Young Master Yan asked for stewed goose instead. It turned out that he hadn't had enough of the half bowl that had been given to him the day before!

Everyone couldn't help but laugh and immediately agreed.

Young Master Yan refused to take advantage of the situation, and the next morning he went to the big banyan tree and bought two large white geese, which Tao Hongying helped to stew.

Before noon, the aroma from the large iron pot wafted out, and Madam Cui arrived in a carriage.

The village had been tidied up these past two days, and her sworn brother had left, leaving only her and Sister-in-law Qiong. She was bored in front of a large group of unfamiliar servants and villagers, so she came to walk around and take a look.

Everyone was naturally delighted, especially when they saw that she had brought a large piece of meat, which made their mouths water with delight.

Young Master Yan didn't eat alone; he shared most of the goose meat with the villagers for a treat. In addition, he also cooked a large pot of stewed cabbage and radishes with the meat brought by Madam Cui. Everyone got a bowl and ate with great relish.

As a result, before they could even put down their rice bowls, Liu Yang and Jia Yi grabbed one person and threw him into the middle of the camp.

The two boys were very proud of themselves, shouting loudly, "This guy was hiding in the bushes outside, peeking around, but we caught him from behind!"

An early update today, here's the third chapter!