After seven or eight busy days, Yan Qingqing and her family had finished planting all seven mu of land.

Besides reserving two acres for planting sweet potatoes and potatoes, the rest was planted with beans. At first, Yan Qingqing thought it was better to be cautious. After all, you can't put all your eggs in one basket.

After finishing the work in the fields, both the business with Jinsheng Pavilion and the cooperation with Yuelaiju got back on track.

Manager Wu of Jinsheng Pavilion sent word that she had investigated the leak incident thoroughly.

It turned out that her newly purchased concubine had an older brother who worked at Chen's shop. This concubine's brother promised her many benefits and instructed her to keep an eye on Manager Wu's every move.

Just last time, Manager Wu took a sample from Yan Qingqing and drank too much in his excitement, so the sample was stolen by the concubine.

Manager Wu begged Yan Qingqing for forgiveness, saying that it was his own carelessness that led to this incident, and that the young master had already sent someone to reprimand him, and that he had even sold off the concubine.

Not only is there no hope of him being transferred back to the capital this year, but if Yan Qingqing doesn't forgive him, his job as the shopkeeper is over.

After saying that, he cried his eyes out in front of Yan Qingqing. Yan Qingqing felt both annoyed and amused by Manager Wu's behavior.

In the end, Yan Qingqing thought about it and forgave him. After all, they were acquaintances, and if another manager were sent over, who knew what kind of character he would have?

Yan Qing only told him to be more vigilant in the future, and didn't say anything else.

These days, there's no such thing as property rights or patents; you can only accept your bad luck in these situations.

With some free time, Yan Qingqing started thinking about her next plan: building a house and buying land.

Yan Qingqing calculated that, including the hundred taels of silver awarded by Magistrate Ling, she now had a total of more than three hundred taels of silver.

She plans to use part of the money to buy land and part to build houses.

In today's society, among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, apart from becoming an official, land is the foundation of survival.

Thinking of this, Yan Qingqing called out to Li Xiangping, and the two of them went to the village chief's house together.

Li Xiangping was also very excited when he learned that Yan Qingqing wanted to buy land. He preferred farming to doing business.

He knew he was the eldest son in the family, and he didn't have his younger brother's business acumen. Moreover, he would have to take care of his mother in the future, so farming was his best choice.

Li Xiangping's face was beaming with smiles the whole way. He also told Yan Qingqing that once the family had more land, he would hand over the entire business to Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian, and he would focus on farming at home.

Everyone has their own ambitions. Yan Qingqing naturally supports Li Xiangping's hobbies. It would be good if her son could become a big landowner in the future.

When the two arrived at the village chief's house, Li Kaishan had just returned from the fields.

Upon seeing Yan Qingqing and her son, the village chief's wife, Jiao, was exceptionally warm and invited them inside. She even poured them some sweet soup.

Jiao said with a smile, "Qingqing, have a bowl of sweet soup. I know your family is not lacking, but your aunt doesn't have anything good to offer you two."

Yan Qingqing took the bowl with both hands and said, "Auntie, we're all family, you can't be so polite."

Li Kaishan laughed and said, "Qingqing is right. We're all family, no need to be so polite."

The couple started calling Yan Qingqing by her name at some point, which made it seem more intimate.

Seeing this, Yan Qingqing quickly added, "That's right, Auntie. I came to see Uncle Village Chief today because I have something I'd like him to help me with."

Li Kaishan said without hesitation, "What is it? Tell me."

Yan Qingqing said, "Uncle Village Chief knows that there are many children in the family. When the family was divided, we only got three thatched houses, which are no longer enough to live in. I was thinking of taking advantage of this time to repair the houses."

Upon hearing this, Li Kaishan nodded and replied, "It's time to make some repairs. The boys are all grown up, especially Erlang and Sanlang, who are of marriageable age."

Your house is really too small to live in anymore. Are you planning to build a few more rooms?

Yan Qingqing replied, "Uncle Village Chief, I want to rebuild it. The children are all grown up. In the future, there will be not only sons but also grandchildren. Regardless of whether the descendants are successful or not, I plan to make this place my ancestral home. I will build a three-courtyard house so that there will be enough room for the children in the future."

After Yan Qingqing finished speaking, not only was the village chief stunned, but even Li Xiangping was shocked. His mother was actually so generous.

A three-courtyard house would definitely not be a mud-brick house, but a large brick and tile house.

Even the wealthiest families in town might not be able to afford to build it.

After taking a deep breath, Li Kaishan asked again, "Building a three-courtyard house will definitely cost a lot of money. You should think it over carefully."

Yan Qingqing nodded. Since she had brought it up, she must have made a budget.

Building a house in the countryside is definitely cheaper, not only in terms of labor, but also in terms of land, which is relatively much cheaper.

Just like how building a house in the countryside is much cheaper than buying a house in the city these days.

Yan Qingqing replied calmly, "Don't worry, Uncle Village Chief, I've already made a budget. Around two hundred taels should be enough."

Li Xiangping gasped after hearing this. Two hundred taels was all the money his family had made in business in the past few years. However, since Yan Qingqing had made this decision, Li Xiangping would not object.

He believed that his mother must have her own reasons, and if their family could build such a nice house, then they wouldn't have to worry about their younger brothers' marriages in the future. Maybe the matchmakers would wear down their doorstep.

Thinking about it this way, spending two hundred taels to repair a courtyard really isn't too much. Without Yan Qingqing needing to explain, Li Xiangping had already convinced himself.

Seeing that Li Xiangping didn't say anything, the village chief didn't say anything more either, and readily approved a plot of land for her to build a house.

After expressing her gratitude to the village chief, Yan Qingqing continued, "Uncle Village Chief, I'd like to buy a few more acres of land. Do you have any suitable ones?"

Li Kaishan was already numb. If Yan Qingqing had the means to spend two hundred taels of silver to build a house, it wouldn't be surprising if she bought a few more acres of land.

However, all the existing fertile land in the village has already been allocated, and there has been no news of anyone wanting to sell their land recently.

Li Kaishan thought for a moment and said, "The existing fertile land is already planted with crops. Even if someone wants to sell, it will probably have to wait until after the autumn harvest. I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll let you know as soon as someone is willing to sell."

Yan Qingqing had anticipated this situation long ago. No one would sell land unless absolutely necessary, so she never planned to buy fertile land in the first place.

Yan Qingqing said, "Uncle Village Chief, it's good to have fertile land, but if we don't have fertile land, we can buy some wasteland and mountain land."

Upon hearing this, Li Kaishan exclaimed, "Why are you buying those? It takes several years to cultivate wasteland, not to mention mountainous land. It's not even as good as wasteland."

Yan Qingqing naturally had her own plans, but she didn't intend to tell Li Kaishan right now.

Li Kaishan felt he had already tried to persuade her, but Yan Qingqing still insisted on buying it, so he didn't stop her anymore. He told her that wasteland was three taels of silver per mu and mountain land was two taels of silver per mu.

In the end, Yan Qingqing asked for thirty mu of wasteland and twenty mu of mountain land. Li Kaishan told her to go back and wait, saying that he would help her get the land deeds done when he went to the county town in a couple of days.

Before Yan Qingqing left, Li Kaishan told her that if she changed her mind in the next couple of days, she could come to him anytime.

Yan Qingqing smiled upon hearing this, feeling that the old man was genuinely concerned for her and afraid that she would overpay.