Smiling on the surface, she secretly planned to curry favor with him. A constable stepped forward and said, "We are here on orders to convey the magistrate's decree: The Third Lady of the Qin family, intelligent and virtuous, has invented a new method of rice planting and rice-fish farming, bringing convenience and increased harvests to the people of our jurisdiction. She disregards personal gain, benefiting all, and is truly a model of womanhood. We hereby bestow upon her one hundred taels of silver as a reward!"
"Thank you, Prefect! Thank you, Magistrate!" Qin Sanniang respectfully accepted the silver with both hands. One hundred taels was not a small sum!
The villagers prostrated themselves on the ground, their minds reeling. One hundred taels! How heavy that must be!
However, this was something she earned through her own abilities. Everyone admired her, but no one held a grudge. Most of them were grateful. Da Wa's mother didn't hide anything. Just as the county magistrate said, this was a great thing that would benefit future generations. Da Wa's mother had a truly broad vision! If they knew this method and wanted to hand it over, they would really have to go through a mental struggle!
Village head Chen Sheng's eyes crinkled with a smile. Although the money had nothing to do with him, Shiligou had become a household name in the prefect's eyes. Would he have to worry about making ends meet in the future? Besides, Da Wa's mother was a villager under his jurisdiction, so this matter was closely related to him! He felt honored...
Qin San Niang warmly greeted the constables, giving each of them a large red envelope. Fortunately, she had plenty of red envelopes in her spatial storage, so she casually slipped in a tael of silver as a reward.
The King of Hell is easy to fool, but the little devils are hard to deal with. These two messengers are acquaintances. They volunteered to deliver a message, which means they probably have something to gain, and they also want to do him a favor.
Qin San Niang was always a perceptive person; how could she possibly let them go back empty-handed?
Sure enough, the constable accepted the red envelope with a smile, and after touching it through the outer skin, he knew quite a bit, and his smile grew even wider.
"Then thank you, Madam Qin. We two brothers still have to go back to report, so we won't bother you any longer."
After seeing the constable off, Chen Sheng was about to turn back when he heard Qin San Niang call out to him. He turned around and asked, "What's wrong? Da Wa's mother?"
Qin San Niang paused for a moment and asked, "Village head, as you know, I'm currently running a tavern and need quite a few wine jars."
"I know, I know, your family's wine is very good! But I don't know how to make wine jars, and there's no kiln in our village," Chen Sheng said, frowning. He thought to himself, "No wonder Da Wa's mother is so rich; look at her, even her winemaking skills are superb. Just this one reward alone earned her a hundred taels of silver! Wow, she's truly enviable!"
Qin San Niang choked for a moment, thinking to herself, "Of course I know there are no kilns in our village, that's why I'm trying to find a way!"
"Village head, I recently found a kiln master who's willing to open a kiln. I think the location of this hill behind our village is pretty good!"
"Isn't this like getting a hundred taels of silver for free? I was wondering if you could sell me the back mountain?"
Although the back mountain is a small hill, it's suitable for growing fruit, raising chickens and ducks, and even building kilns! Most importantly, further back lies a deep mountain, full of treasures. If I become more capable in the future, I can still go in and explore.
"What? The back mountain?" Chen Sheng was surprised, then said, "The back mountain isn't impossible to sell, but there's nothing on it, it's just a barren mountain. Are you sure you want to buy it?"
It wasn't that Chen Sheng was reluctant to part with the land, but the mountains he had sold before were all good land. Although the fruit trees weren't particularly thriving, the mountains were still lush with foliage and even had large bamboo groves. The mountain that Da Wa's mother had her eye on, however, had many dead trees. While many villagers went there to cut down trees and gather firewood, mountain fruits were also scarce on that mountain!
Before Qin San Niang could say anything, he continued to persuade her, "Da Wa's mother, all these hills are worth the same amount of money. Aren't all the small hills around us better than this barren hill behind your house?"
Knowing that he meant well, Qin San Niang was quite grateful. However, what she valued was the location of the mountain. She didn't care whether there were bamboo groves or orchards or anything like that; those could be planted again, which was not a difficult task at all!
What truly caught her eye was the clay from the shady side of the mountain behind. She had already asked Guo Er to show it to the craftsmen at the charity hall, and they confirmed that the clay was an excellent material for making pottery jars. That's why she was considering buying the entire mountain.
"Thank you for your consideration, Uncle Village Head, but I think the location of this hill is quite good, and it's not far from the workshop. As for what you mentioned, it can all be improved through modifications. Besides, there's a lot of soil on this hill, so it would be even more suitable to open a kiln here."
Qin San Niang didn't explain it very clearly to him. Although she believed that the village head wouldn't raise the price arbitrarily, she couldn't guarantee that others wouldn't have ulterior motives.
“Uncle, once this kiln opens, we’ll definitely need to hire workers. When that happens, people from our village can come and work without having to walk so far. Don’t you think so?” Qin San Niang said calmly.
Oh dear, this woman is doing this for the benefit of the villagers! With workshops and kilns involved, what can he say? He should just agree!
Besides, his eldest son had recently been clamoring to come work at his father's house. His wife had already started earning money, and his position in the family was in jeopardy. He had no choice but to work hard! But his eldest son was all about brute force, and Chen Sheng felt embarrassed to ask him to do any delicate work.
If the kiln is opened, things will be different; his eldest son will definitely be selected!
"Alright, you're right!" He immediately stopped walking and sat down on the threshold to chat with her. "Big Brother's mother, although this back mountain is a small mountain, it will cost quite a bit to buy it!" He held up six fingers in front of Qin San Niang.
Sixty taels isn't unacceptable...
"Uncle, you have to give me a definite answer on how much. Besides, once this kiln is built, it'll feel more secure if it's on our own land!"
"Yes, you're absolutely right. Let's just go with sixty taels. Let's not delay any longer. I'll be free tomorrow, so let's go to the yamen together and get the land deed done. It'll save us from any unforeseen complications."
After saying that, Chen Sheng stood up and made his decision! This was a great benefit to the entire village. Da Wa's mother was now well-off, so buying the mountain was perfectly reasonable.
Although this back mountain is right next to their Shili Gully, it's not impossible for villagers from the neighboring villages to buy it; they need to act quickly…
The two agreed on a time and then went their separate ways.
The next day, Da Wa drove the oxcart, taking the two of them to the county government office to complete the formalities. When the clerks at the county government office learned that this was the woman who had been praised by the county magistrate, their expressions became more solemn, and the formalities were completed very smoothly.
When she held the still-warm land deed in her hands, Qin San Niang felt completely refreshed. Who would have thought that one day she would become the mountain lord?!
Wow, we've taken another big step closer to becoming a landlady!
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