Chapter 32 Officials on Duty
When they heard that they had to come to a remote and poor place like Yejia Village to do business, none of the old hands in the yamen were willing to move. It was because they had little experience and were sent here out of necessity.
They had thought that since there was no profit to be made, they would handle the matter impartially, but they did not expect that they would get the lion's share this time.
When those old hands went to the wealthy families in the town to do business, they would at most receive a red envelope of a few hundred coins.
No one expected that the host this time would be so generous.
The two officers exchanged glances, then stood a little further back and pointed. "Is there thirty acres of land in this area? The soil isn't very good, so how come there's still a plot of land here?"
Ye Beixiu hurried forward to explain.
"Since this land was also reclaimed by you, then include it in the calculation!"
Zhang Juexia felt more confident after listening to the conversation between the two people.
"Is it here?"
Ye Jidong hurried forward and responded, "Here!"
"Well, we brothers won't measure anymore. We'll just count this mountain as thirty acres, including this cleared wasteland. What's the price?"
The officer glanced at Ye Beixiu and said, "It's one tael of silver per mu of land. However, the brothers will handle the land deed procedures for you, and you will get thirty-five taels of silver."
Zhang Juexia was overjoyed and quickly signaled Ye Beixiu to come forward and answer.
Ye Beixiu was also overjoyed at this moment. This was his first time dealing with an official. He thought it would take a long time to deal with him, but unexpectedly, he got the job done with just a few words.
He quickly responded, "You have the final say, sir. I'll go get the silver right away."
The two officers were even happier.
This family is on the right track today.
The officer took the silver handed over by Ye Beixiu, weighed it in his hand, wrote a receipt, and promised to let them go to the town to get the land deed the next day.
After seeing off the official, Ye Jidong was ready to go home, and Ye Beixiu hurriedly handed him the red envelope he had prepared.
Ye Jidong refused, with a hint of anger on his face, "You kid, we're all family, why are you getting involved in such nonsense?"
Ye Jishun stepped forward and said a few words of advice, "It's a good thing for the children to buy land. Besides, if it weren't for you, this matter wouldn't have been so smooth. It's all the children's kindness, so just accept it."
"That's right, that's right, Grandpa Lizheng, we still have to build a house in a few days, and we will have to trouble you a lot in the future."
After a few words, Ye Jidong put away the red envelope.
"Bei Xiu's life is getting better, and I'm happy for you. Come to me if you need anything in the future."
Ye Jidong said a few polite words and this time he really went home.
After seeing Ye Jitong off, Ye Beixiu moved the table to the yard, and everyone sat in the yard and started chatting.
It all comes down to building a house, how can it be done faster?
Ye Jishun thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we just go to the village at the foot of the mountain and hire a builder. Anyone from our village who is willing to help can come. After all, those who come will be paid."
Ye Yunsheng also agreed. Even Ye Yunliang, who usually spoke very little, said something. "Xiu'er will need to treat his leg soon. If we only use the people in our village, it would take us half a year, not to mention two months, to build this house. That would be great."
Ye Beixiu immediately decided, "Then I will go down the mountain tomorrow to find a builder."
"Let your uncle go with you."
After the decision to build a house was made, Ye Ji led everyone back to the old house.
After watching Ye Jishun and the others walk away, Zhang Juexia closed the door and burst into laughter.
"Pinch me, I must be dreaming!"
Ye Beixiu extended his arm in front of Zhang Juexia and said, "Pinch me too. I think I'm dreaming too."
"Is that mountain land thirty acres?"
"More, more than half as much. You've never been there, I'll take you on a good tour some other day."
"It would be great if we could buy all the mountains we hunt on."
Ye Beixiu smiled and said, "You're just dreaming! That mountain is really huge."
Zhang Juexia thought about the money he had spent in the past few days. He had already spent fifty-six taels of the hundred taels of silver. By the time the house was built, there would probably be little left.
"Are we being a little impulsive when it comes to buying a mountain?"
"Of course not. With this piece of mountain, we have the foundation to live. I'll finish building the house in the next few days, and we'll start clearing the land."
Zhang Juexia was worried, "If we rely on the two of us to open up the wasteland, I'm afraid it will be a bit slow."
"When the time comes, we'll hire someone to help and pay them."
Ye Beixiu's face was filled with smiles and he spoke in a relaxed manner.
"Tomorrow, if we can decide on a builder and find an auspicious day for us, we can start building the house."
"Um."
Zhang Juexia thought of what Wang Guilan said again, "Grandma said that if this place is demolished, we should move to the old house and live there for a while."
Ye Beixiu asked Zhang Juexia, "What do you think?"
Zhang Juexia looked at Ye Beixiu, "Do you really listen to my advice?"
"Tell me about it."
"I don't want to go back to the old house. It's inconvenient."
"Then I won't go."
"Where are we going to live then?"
"I've thought about it a long time ago. Now that it's not too cold, we can build a shed in the yard and cover our things with tarpaulins. If we hire someone to repair the house, it won't take too long, about a month."
After hearing what Ye Beixiu said, Zhang Juexia immediately agreed.
Seeing that his young wife was so easy to talk to, Ye Beixiu asked, "Are you really willing to live in a shed?"
"Yes, so what? Wasn't I still living in the woodshed when you went to pick up the bride?"
Ye Beixiu held Zhang Juexia in his arms with a distressed look on his face. "I'll have to put you through this for another month or two, but it won't happen again in the future."
Zhang Juexia raised his head and looked into Ye Beixiu's dark eyes, which were full of sincerity.
"As long as things are going well, I won't feel wronged."
Ye Beixiu was a man of action. The next day, he and Ye Yunsheng went to find a house builder at the foot of the mountain. Coincidentally, Master Li Chengyi was at home with nothing to do, so when he saw the business coming to him, he immediately agreed.
He helped choose an auspicious date, the nearest being five days later. Ye Beixiu agreed without consulting Zhang Juexia.
Li Chengyi has people under him. On weekdays, they only need to provide lunch and enough hot water, and they don’t have to worry about anything else.
As for the wages, they were the contractors and charged a total of eight taels of silver for building this house, and not a penny more for any other expenses.
As for the construction period, it will be completed in about a month.
After Ye Beixiu came back, he told Zhang Juexia about these things. Zhang Juexia felt a little excited when he heard it. Being able to move into the new house so soon would make anyone happy.
"I'm afraid you've been very tired these days, cooking for so many people every day. I originally wanted to talk to Master Li and not worry about their meals. But then I thought, they came all the way here, how can they not eat?"
"Grandma said that she and my sister-in-law will come to help me, so don't worry."
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