Chapter 125
She doesn't have a lot of money right now, but it's not a small amount either. All in all, it's almost two thousand taels of silver. Wen Shi's reward came very suddenly, but money in hand doesn't generate more money.
Especially now, with the situation stable, it's a good time to do business.
After much deliberation, Yingxiang decided to put the money to good use. She couldn't afford a shop in the city, and a small courtyard wasn't necessary. So, she decided to buy a farm outside the city instead.
Granny Yang glanced at Yingxiang, thought for a moment, and then said, "When I was buying and selling servants before, I overheard Madam Wang mention that she had bought an estate about 20 miles from the capital. It had eight acres of fertile land, five acres of dry land, a small orchard, and a lot of livestock, including one cow, a lot of chickens and ducks, and more than ten households with less than fifty people."
“Small farms like this don’t actually make much money. At the end of the year, breaking even is already considered very good.”
"The farmers help you with the work, but they also need to eat and drink. You can't let them go hungry, so you won't save much money."
"To make money, you need a large farm, at least several hundred acres of fertile land. But these are not cheap, and most people are not willing to sell them."
Yingxiang is quick-witted, so if that's the case, the most she can do is buy a fairly large piece of land.
"Farms are easy to manage; just choose someone who knows how to manage things."
“In recent years, grain prices have not been high, and the government also buys grain for reserves every year. There is no war on the front line, so there is no shortage.”
"If you have money, you might as well buy land directly. If you buy a lot, you can fence it off and that will be a farm."
Yingxiang smiled upon hearing this, agreeing.
"That sounds good."
After hearing what Granny Yang said, she realized that there was no need to buy the small farm. She felt that the cost-effectiveness was not that high, and that buying land was the most she could do.
"Manager, you may not know this, but this is how wealthy families used to do things. They would buy land first, and once they had enough, they would build walls around it. As for servants, they weren't that valuable. By the end of this year, you'll have more than ten people working for you. Are you still worried about not having enough people to do the work?"
Yingxiang had also considered the issue of how to settle these people afterward.
She doesn't have the indenture in her hands right now, and strictly speaking, he's not her person, but things will be different after the end of the year.
She originally intended to wait a few years before finally setting them free.
"Actually, shopkeeper, I know you're a good person and you treat those people well. You never miss three meals a day and you never beat or scold them. But I'm going to say something, and you might not like what I'm about to say: things that cost money should be used to their fullest potential."
"If you want to build a business, you can buy land first. If you can't farm it, you can rent it out and collect rent."
Yingxiang doesn't want to get entangled with the Wen family now, fearing that they won't be able to separate in the future. But this matter can't be bypassed by Wen Shi. She inquired about it today, and she will definitely have to discuss it with him later.
Fortunately, Wen Shi is a sensible person and had never considered having the Wen family go to her shop before.
"I'll discuss it with my husband when I get back."
Grandma Yang nodded. That was the way to go. If they could buy land and rent it out, they could collect some rent.
In the evening, Yingxiang deliberately went back half an hour early, bringing ready-made meals and buying a few flatbreads to save herself the trouble of cooking rice.
The three of them share one good quality: they are not picky eaters.
When Wen Shi brought the child back, Ying Xiang didn't say a word during the meal.
After eating and drinking her fill, she went into Wen Shi's study.
"My husband, I have something to discuss with you."
Simply saving money may not yield much. Besides, they are still young, so it would be best to make money work for them. What is this? It's for future investment.
Wen Shi put down the calligraphy brush he was practicing, gestured for his wife to sit down, and said directly.
“My husband, I’ve thought it over. With the money His Majesty bestowed upon you, and after deducting your salary this year, we have a little over 1,500 taels of silver.”
"The money is just sitting there anyway, so let's put it to use."
Wen Shi frowned subconsciously; he was somewhat confused.
How do I use it?
I hope she hasn't done anything bad, but Yingxiang has always been reliable, she wouldn't do something like that.
Yingxiang coughed and then said, "It's like this, we want to build a family business, and buying a house is the right thing to do, but we don't have that much money in a short time. I think it would be better to use this money to buy some land first. We won't sell it, and we can make some money by renting it out later."
“My lady, we can only buy a maximum of thirty acres of land. But think it over, the rent may not be much. Most of the people around here own land.”
Renting land can make money, though not much, but it's legal, so I wasn't too worried when I heard about it.
“I originally wanted to buy a farm, but after inquiring, I found out that small farms don’t make much money, and the input and output can’t break even in the short term.”
Yingxiang also wanted to invest her money and make it work for her.
It would be even better if it could bring in a stable income, so that the family could have an extra source of income every year.
"How about this, we buy some land and fence it off first. We don't have to buy all of it as top-quality farmland. We can buy half and half. If we want to make money, we don't necessarily have to grow grain. We can grow some peanuts and fruit trees, and raise more livestock. That way, we'll definitely earn more."
Yingxiang nodded, thinking that Wen Shi's suggestion was good.
"So you don't mind spending all this money, right?"
"Won't."
Wen Shi's words were resolute. He was never a stingy person, and Yingxiang was only trying to earn more money for the good of the family.
"As long as you don't break the law, my wife, I'll support whatever you want to do."
"I'm hosting a dinner party in a few days, but it won't be at home."
Wen Shi's salary was enough for the whole family to cover all their expenses in the capital for a year. Yingxiang's shop was also able to support them, so the two of them didn't really need the savings.
"Drink less."
"Don't worry, I don't drink too much."
"So, is that settled then?"
"Okay, don't worry about my family. When you find out, just say it's for the kids. Don't tell them yet."
"I'll listen to you."
Yingxiang left the study feeling much better.
The next morning, Granny Yang brought two people over, and Yingxiang began to teach them how to brew wine. The large vats they had bought before were not enough, so she bought a few more. The small courtyard was almost full of wine vats.
The weather was hot, so the wine sold very quickly.
The iced tea at the teahouse is quite famous. Although it's not cheap, some people are willing to try it. With the hot weather and the ice stored from last year, business is as stable as ever. Most of the customers are regulars, but there are also some new customers.
When Wen Shi took a day off, the two went to buy land outside the city.
With twelve acres of fertile land and eight acres of dry land, besides building houses, there are plenty of places to raise livestock such as chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, sheep, and cattle. Except for cattle, all of them can be eaten directly.
Yingxiang had thought that since most fish swim in rivers, they wouldn't be expensive, but later market prices proved her wrong; the fish weren't cheap at all.
Although there are fishermen, catching fish is not easy. The riverbank is dangerous, and every year the government receives many cases of villagers who want to catch fish but end up drowning in the river.
Over time, some people became afraid to go there anymore. If they could dig a pond to raise fish, they would definitely make a profit. It seemed like aquaculture was a good option.
She wasn't worried about manpower. After buying the land, she made a rough plan. The fertile land would definitely be used to grow things. Grain wasn't valuable, so she would grow other things, such as fruit trees, which weren't cheap. Then she wouldn't need to buy the fruit for brewing wine. She could also grow some dried fruits like peanuts. After building the wall, she would also dig a well inside, otherwise it would be too far to fetch water from the mountains.
Three acres of dry land will be used to build a few simple houses, just stone houses to shelter from the wind and rain. She can buy servants and settle them, as there will definitely be people to do the work.
She can just fence off the remaining open space to raise livestock; she'll definitely be able to gradually build up this farm.
In the end, the farm ended up in her name, and Wen Shi had no objections; they trusted each other completely.
The following morning, after Wen Shi took the child out, Ying Xiang checked in as usual. She browsed through the mall, and when she saw many ready-made fruit tree seedlings, she was stunned for a moment.
This system is really like a pillow being delivered to her whenever she wants to doze off.
The capital city is much better than other places; you can buy many things there with a little effort.
She continued flipping through the pages and saw some ready-made feed. In fact, animal husbandry can be very profitable. However, animals in ancient times were not so easy to raise. Due to a lack of technology, the survival rate of animals was not high.
Yingxiang plans to first have someone build a wall around the area, and then divide it up in detail. She certainly can't just leave it there after buying it.
After searching for most of the day, she, who was originally going to choose fruit seedlings, suddenly saw a durian ice cream.
Let's choose this one first, eat it, and then decide what seedlings to choose tomorrow.
Yingxiang sat under the eaves, slowly eating durian ice cream. She found it refreshingly cool. She used to love durian, but it wasn't available here.
She savored the ice cream she had today, and was in a good mood. She was now a person with a family fortune and had some assets under her name.
If grain isn't valuable, then grow something valuable. People are adaptable, and we shouldn't be too narrow-minded.
After finishing her ice cream, Yingxiang washed her hands and went to the teahouse to select a person.
The play continued, but there were always people who had free time. Building walls wasn't a technical job and didn't cost too much money. Yingxiang selected four strong young men and borrowed two more from Granny Yang.
She led her people there first.
"Don't worry, shopkeeper, I will definitely get things done."
Outside the city, Yingxiang looked at the young man named Jiang Xian. He was among the first to come to the shop and was quite capable.
"I'll entrust this area to you for now. If you do a good job, there will be a reward."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
This area has farms of all sizes, and it's really vast outside the capital. Yingxiang looked around and saw that everything was lush and green. She gave Jiang Xian a few more instructions before leaving. Her plot of land was eventually enclosed and became rectangular.
Once the enclosure is built, construction can begin inside. There's no need for heavy brick or tile walls; mud walls will suffice.
After Yingxiang left, the group rolled up their sleeves and began working.
Not long after they returned to the wine shop, Granny Yang suddenly came over.
"Shopkeeper, you really do keep your word."
Yingxiang smiled. Some time had passed since she first mentioned it. She wanted to make money and had the capital, so there was nothing to hesitate about. Wen Shi also supported her.
"Following you, I'm sure I'll make a lot of money."
Thinking back to the dividends she received a few days ago, although they weren't much, Granny Yang was extremely happy.
"It's better if you think that way. I work so hard, I have to make money."
After Yingxiang finished speaking, she stood in the courtyard, looked up at the square sky, and realized that two years had passed since she arrived in the capital. She had made a name for herself.
The success was due to the system's assistance, as well as Wen Shi's understanding and full support; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy.
He was able to take care of the child without complaint and was willing to give her all the family's money.
She spent a lot of money on this land purchase, but she won't regret it. At her age, she has the resources and should take a chance.
Being afraid of everything, like a wolf in front and a tiger behind, means you're destined to accomplish nothing. Yingxiang still believes in the saying, "The harder you work, the luckier you get."
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