After Meng Zhao and the others were seated, the old woman in the courtyard brought out several bowls of water from the house. Upon seeing this, Meng Zhao and the others quickly and politely accepted them.
At this moment, the person there looked puzzled, glancing back and forth between Meng Zhao and the others. Unable to resist asking, "Why did you decide to buy land in our territory? What are you planning to do?"
Meng Zhao smiled but didn't directly mention opening a workshop. "I haven't decided yet. I just think your place has beautiful mountains and clear waters, making it a good place to live. It would be nice to stay here for retirement."
"We can sell them, but how many are you planning to buy?" the man there asked.
"I roughly estimate that the land at the foot of the mountain is about fifty or sixty acres. If the price is right, I plan to buy it all. I wonder how much the village head wants to sell it for?"
The man there had originally thought Meng Zhao was planning to buy a place the size of a courtyard, but when he heard that she wanted to buy so much, he immediately sat up straight and began to wonder. He had sold farmland before, but he had never sold wasteland before. He wondered what price he should ask for.
He exchanged a glance with his wife, who also looked bewildered. Helpless, he gritted his teeth and tentatively asked, "Twenty taels of silver?"
On the surface, Meng Zhao remained expressionless, but inwardly he was overjoyed. Such a large piece of land, right next to the mountains and rivers, if he could really buy it for twenty taels, that would be such a good deal.
Normally, she would have been prepared to haggle, but having seen the village's conditions along the way, she estimated that even getting enough to eat was a struggle.
This wasteland belongs to the village. Normally, the money from the sale should go to the village collectively. There are about a hundred households in the village. Even if most of it is kept for public use, each household can still get a few dozen coins. It would be unreasonable for her to haggle over such a cheap price.
As a businesswoman, she knew that directly accepting the other party's offer was a big taboo, so she tugged at Meng Dashan's sleeve, and the two left the courtyard.
Meng Dashan looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong, girl? Do you think the price is too high?"
“No, Dad, the price is quite reasonable. I just wanted to ask you what you’d like to eat tonight. I’ve heard that there’s a kind of golden thread cake in Hongnong County that tastes especially good. How about we go and try it after we buy the land?” she said naturally and in a relaxed tone.
“Sure, we rarely get to come out, so we should definitely try some local delicacies. What do you want to eat? We’ll go together later.” Meng Dashan didn’t know why his daughter had called him out, but if she wanted to eat some kind of golden thread pancake, he would of course go with her.
After chatting casually for a few minutes, the father and daughter returned to the courtyard together. Meng Zhao pretended to hesitate and said, "Twenty taels is fine too. They're just waiting for us to go to the yamen to transfer the household registration."
When Zheng saw that she had actually agreed, his eyes widened in surprise. Good heavens! He had quoted an exorbitant price, thinking she might be able to bargain, but she agreed so easily.
There, he couldn't help but take a closer look at Meng Zhao and his companions. They looked ordinary in their clothes, but he hadn't expected them to be so wealthy.
Hearing Meng Zhao mention the transfer of ownership, he immediately regretted his words and said, "Hey, miss, I haven't finished speaking yet. The twenty taels I mentioned were for the sale of twenty mu of land. If you want more, it won't be twenty taels."
Meng Zhao's smile froze, and her bright eyes narrowed slightly. When she came in, she had stated her request: to buy about fifty or sixty acres of land at the foot of the mountain.
She saw that the man opposite her was a simple, honest farmer, not one to play the businessman game. Little did she know that he would take advantage of her.
Meng Dashan was a straightforward person with a fiery temper. Upon hearing this, he immediately shouted, "Hey, you old man, how can you go back on your word? We have so many ears listening."
“Yes, it was supposed to be twenty taels, how could the price go up?” Xiao Chuan chimed in indignation from the side.
The official there, however, looked completely unconcerned. He curled his lip and said nonchalantly, "You ran out before I could finish speaking. How could I have time to say anything? If you want it, then bring over fifty taels of silver."
Hearing this, Meng Zhao couldn't help but sneer, "Heh, village head, we also come from humble beginnings, and the money we earn doesn't come from thin air. There are wastelands everywhere, and we don't necessarily want to buy yours."
Hearing Meng Zhao say that, Zai Zheng's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes darted around, and she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. But after thinking it over, she still felt that she should take a chance. If she succeeded, she might earn a lot more money.
“We have mountains and rivers here, how can you call it wasteland? Go look elsewhere, where can you find such a good place as ours?”
Although the price of one tael of silver per mu was not expensive, Meng Zhao was worried that she would raise the price again after agreeing to fifty taels. So he simply stood up and said, "Since the village head says so, we need to think about this matter some more. Let's go back first today."
Seeing Meng Zhao stand up, the others also stood up. Gu Yun, without saying a word, turned around and walked out of the courtyard.
Seeing their posture, the couple immediately became anxious. They rushed to the door, stretched out their arms, and stood on either side of the doorway, saying, "No, no, you both said you wanted to buy it. How can you leave? You've already agreed to do this. How can you go back on your word?"
"You just said twenty taels, but you changed your mind so easily. We're not buying it, what can you do about it?" Meng Dashan said, then walked around to open the door.
There, someone was directly blocking Meng Dashan with their body, shouting at the top of their lungs to the side, "Old woman, hurry up and call them over! We can't let them get away; the deal isn't done yet!"
Meng Zhao's face darkened as he watched the woman's hurried departure. He rebuked her, "What do you mean by this? Doing business is based on mutual consent. Do you intend to force me to buy or sell?"
"Hmph, I don't care about all that. It's fifty taels, not a penny less. If you don't hand over these fifty taels of silver today, don't even think about leaving here easily!" the man shouted shamelessly, as if he had Meng Zhao and his companions completely under his thumb.
Xiao Chuan, standing to the side, was also furious, his face flushed red. He pointed at the man's nose and cursed, "You're a complete scoundrel! You think we're easy targets? Who told you it was fifty taels!"
"Zhaozhao, there are quite a few people in this village. If we stay any longer, we might suffer." Seeing that the old woman had already left, Gu Changwu looked somewhat nervous.
Meng Zhao noticed this too and quickly pulled Meng Dashan, who was arguing ahead, back to his feet. "Dad, we have to go now."
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