The shopkeeper immediately nodded. He was in this business, so why would he turn away business that came to him?

He immediately said, "The best bricklayers in our county have always cooperated with Benya, and they can build the styles that are popular in the capital."

Lin Jiujiu nodded, "Then let's entrust the house building to the shopkeeper. Please help me find more people. My house is so dilapidated that it's uninhabitable. Qingming Festival is coming soon, and there will be more rain then. I hope to be able to move into a new house before then."

The shopkeeper counted on his fingers and realized there were less than two months left. Although the timeframe was tight, it wasn't impossible to finish the project.

He then said, "If we hire more people, it's not impossible to finish the project before Qingming Festival."

Lin Jiujiu was fairly satisfied with his words.

"Then I'll trouble you, shopkeeper, to find more people. Also, find some strong men to help with the land reclamation. The houses will be built and the land will be prepared at the same time."

The shopkeeper thought it was a good idea and immediately promised to find enough manpower.

I casually asked, "Should we also include the mountainous areas?"

The reason why mountain land is more expensive than wasteland is not because it has been cultivated, but because there are mature trees on the mountain.

Now that Lin Jiujiu is building a house, those fallen trees might come in handy.

Lin Jiujiu thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do it all at once."

The shopkeeper, seeing that her courage was no less than that of an ordinary man, couldn't help but secretly give her a thumbs up.

"My wife has great courage."

Lin Jiujiu didn't take the praise to heart.

He simply said, "No one in my family can cook. Could you hire about ten more women to help me cook? Let them bring their own utensils and ingredients, as long as there is at least one meat dish every day. They can arrange the rest themselves."

After saying that, he took out two thousand taels of silver notes from his sleeve and pushed them in front of the shopkeeper.

"This is the deposit. You can also purchase the materials. You don't need to save me money, but the quality must be top-notch."

When the shopkeeper saw the two thousand taels of silver notes pushed in front of him, his eyes immediately lit up with greed.

This young lady is really efficient; she's already taken out the silver before she even got the land deed.

The shopkeeper checked the banknotes and found no problems. He then had her sign the receipt and asked Lin Jiujiu a few questions.

"I wonder what style you plan to build your house in, madam? I have a catalog of the most fashionable houses in the capital right now. Would you like to take a look?"

Lin Jiujiu rejected the offer without even thinking about it.

"I can draw the blueprints for the house myself. I'll have the foreman come to my house tomorrow and just do as I say."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper knew that the other party had come prepared.

After making preliminary plans, Lin Luo returned with the other employees of Ya Xing.

However, he didn't come alone; Lin Yu and her mother were with him.

As soon as Lin's mother saw Lin Jiujiu, she hurriedly asked, "Jiujiu, are you going to buy land?"

Seeing that the family had something to say, the shopkeeper quickly stood up and said something.

“Madam Lin, please have a seat. I’ll go to the yamen to get the land deed for you.”

After saying that, he left with the young waiter, leaving the flower hall for the family to talk.

Lin Jiujiu nodded to him, and only spoke to her mother after everyone had left.

“Mother, you can see what my little dilapidated thatched hut looks like. The door is so big that it would collapse with a gust of wind. I’m thinking of tearing it down and rebuilding it. I’ll feel more at ease living there.”

Lin Jiujiu originally thought that her mother had come to stop her, which is why she spoke up to explain.

Although that's what she said, even if Lin's mother tried to stop her, she couldn't change her mind.

After hearing her words, Lin's mother not only did not object, but also carefully took out a handkerchief from her bosom.

Inside, there was the pair of gold earrings that she had asked Lin Xiaomei to take away last night.

Lin Jiujiu couldn't help but twitch her eyelids when she saw this thing.

Seeing her like this, Lin's mother patted her with amusement.

"What's there to be disgusted about when it's gold? Besides, my little sister got up early this morning to pick soapberries and washed them again and again, so they're already clean."

That land isn't cheap. Let's pawn this. She'll give us half an acre each, and we'll build a small place for you to live in temporarily. Later, when your father and brother have earned some money, we'll build you a bigger one."

Although Lin Luo told his mother that Lin Jiujiu wanted to buy several hundred acres of land, and even though the people from Yaxing came to the village to measure the land, Lin's mother still didn't believe it.

Lin Jiujiu smiled and pushed her mother's hand back.

“This is for my little sister, so you can get her something else later. I have the money for building the house.”

Fearing that her mother would worry, Lin Jiujiu simply said...

“I dug up two century-old ginseng roots on the mountain before, and sold them in the county town this time. I got a total of three thousand taels of silver. Besides building a house, I also bought a large piece of wasteland to reclaim.”

We don't need to worry about money right now.

Upon hearing this, Lin's mother was initially delighted, but after her joy subsided, she remembered what Lin Luo had said earlier.

"Jiujiu, so it's true that Xiao Sanzi said you bought more than 50 acres of wasteland and nearly 300 acres of mountain land? How can you manage to cultivate all of that by yourself?"

Once she realized what was happening, Lin's mother's worry instantly shifted from whether Lin Jiujiu had enough money to build a house to what she would do if she couldn't finish farming the land.

Seeing her like this, Lin Jiujiu smiled and said, "Mother, I don't plan to plant all grain. I plan to plant fruit trees on the mountain and sorghum on the land down the mountain. Besides, if I can't manage it all, I can hire someone, right?"

Lin's mother was clearly a beat slow to respond; she hadn't heard what Lin Jiujiu said.

He was secretly plotting something in his mind, and finally, with gritted teeth and a determined look on his face, he said.

"Don't worry, Jiu Jiu. I'll have your father and your brother help you plant the land. I promise I won't let your land remain barren and get taken back by the government."

Although deep down I felt that Lin Jiujiu was a bit unwise, with the money she had for buying wasteland, she could have bought several acres of fertile land, and they could have helped take care of it.

They weren't exactly rich, but at least she was financially secure.

If Jiu Jiu wants to remarry in the future, with these fields to rely on, her future in-laws will not look down on her.

Clearing these hundreds of acres of wasteland is no easy task, even though wasteland is cheap and taxes are waived for three years.

However, if the land cannot be developed within the stipulated time, the government has the right to reclaim it.

In this way, not only will you not gain any advantage, but you may also lose the money you spent on buying the land.

Lin Jiujiu wanted to say that she didn't need to worry about the land reclamation, but seeing that her mother was lost in her own thoughts, Lin Jiujiu opened her mouth several times, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

The shopkeeper, seeing that it was almost time, returned with the land deed.

Although it is simpler to obtain a white contract than a red contract, it still has to go through the government; the only difference is that the homeowner's name is not written on the contract.

Lin Jiujiu took the newly printed land deed, checked that it was correct, and then took the document from the shopkeeper before speaking to her mother.

"Mom, since you're here, let me take you shopping and we can buy some things."

Upon hearing this, Lin Luo was immediately shocked.

"Mother, it's getting late. Shouldn't we go back? I'm a little worried about my little sister being home alone."

He had witnessed firsthand how fast his second sister could spend money, and he was afraid that if they went on another shopping trip, he would have to bring back a car full of stuff.