After discussing the matter with Village Chief Yang, Li Kaishan returned to Canghe Village.
This mountain is impossible to measure, so he needs to go back and make a rough estimate.
The next morning, Li Kaishan arrived at Yan Qingqing's house early, smiling, and said, "I've already discussed it with Village Chief Yang. The purchase of this mountain will cost approximately two thousand taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing immediately instructed Ruyi to fetch 2,100 taels of silver for Li Kaishan.
Two thousand taels were for the mountain's resources, and one hundred taels were a reward for Li Kaishan and Village Chief Yang's hard work.
Moreover, Yan Qingqing herself calculated that if the mountain were measured normally, it would cost at least 2,500 taels.
Li Kaishan had shown her some consideration, so she couldn't be ungrateful.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing had given so many silver notes, Li Kaishan asked in surprise, "Why are you giving so many? Two thousand taels would be enough."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Every time we buy land, we trouble Uncle Village Chief for help, and Uncle Village Chief always keeps our family's affairs, big or small, in mind."
I never offered anything; consider this extra money as a treat for Uncle Village Chief to have a meal.
And there's also the village chief of Yangjia Village. He was willing to sell me the mountain this time, which did me a huge favor. I should at least show him some appreciation.
Li Kaishan replied, "Even so, we wouldn't need that many."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Uncle Village Chief, please don't refuse anymore. You'll need to make some arrangements when you get to the government office, won't you?"
Seeing this, Li Kaishan stopped refusing, put away the silver note, and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter perfectly for you."
Li Kaishan immediately took the silver notes and went to the county government office.
When the clerk of the yamen heard that the hill was ordered to be purchased by the imperial decree, he immediately processed the deed.
After Li Kaishan came out, he sighed, "It really is true that having someone in the court makes things easier."
After searching for a long time, Li Xiangping finally found a suitable estate, which was about a thousand acres in size.
Then he excitedly went to find Yan Qingqing.
Yan Qingqing rarely saw Li Xiangping so excited, so she asked, "You seem so happy today, is there any progress on the land purchase?"
Li Xiang'an nodded and said, "Yes, Mother. I found out about a very suitable estate, a thousand mu in size. The owner has encountered some difficulties in his family, so he only wants six taels of silver per mu."
Moreover, I went to check, and it's all fertile farmland.
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Since you've already decided on it, just buy it."
Li Xiangping scratched his head and said, "Even at six taels of silver per mu, it would still cost six thousand taels."
This is a big deal after all, and even though I am the eldest son, I must respect the opinions of my younger siblings.
We need to come back and discuss it with Mother.
If Mom has time, we can go take a look together.
Yan Qingqing nodded in agreement. Li Xiangping had always done a good job in this regard, and he hadn't become arrogant just because he had become an official.
The next day, Yan Qingqing changed her clothes and took a low-key carriage with Li Xiangping to the manor he had mentioned.
This estate is a bit far from Canghe Village, because Canghe Village is in the north of Chengyang County, while the estate that Li Xiangping is looking at is in the south of the city.
Following Li Xiangping's instructions, A-Da left the county town and headed straight for the village.
This estate is indeed quite large, and from a distance it is filled with crops, which are growing well.
Yan Qingqing was quite satisfied and said to Li Xiangping, who was standing next to her, "This estate is nice. Let's talk to the owner and, if possible, go to the government office to complete the transfer of ownership as soon as possible."
Li Xiangping laughed and said, "I knew Mother would approve. I've already invited the host to come over."
"Mother, please wait here for a while."
Yan Qingqing nodded, but they didn't have to wait long before a carriage came rolling in from a distance.
Yan Qingqing looked at the carriage from afar and felt that the person driving it looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
Yan Qingqing was somewhat surprised when the carriage got closer, as the driver was none other than the steward of Master Ding's mansion.
Yan Qingqing glanced at Li Xiangping, who was also somewhat surprised, as he didn't know this was the estate of the Ding family.
Sure enough, when the carriage came to a stop, Master Ding got off.
This Master Ding is even thinner than when he last came to Yan Qingqing's house to offer his congratulations.
Master Ding was also surprised to see Yan Qingqing and Li Xiangping, but he still quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I, Ding, have met with the magistrate of Mingzhao and Lord Li."
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing quickly smiled and said, "Master Ding, there's no need for such formalities. We're old acquaintances."
Mr. Ding said somewhat embarrassedly, "Under the leadership of the Mingzhao official, the Li family has been rising steadily, while the Ding family has been declining under my leadership."
Faced with such clear and obvious truths, Ding felt truly ashamed.
Yan Qingqing smiled and comforted him, saying, "Master Ding, nothing lasts forever."
No one can always be in the limelight, and no one can always be at the bottom.
So you don't need to feel embarrassed.
Yan Qingqing had only offered a few words of symbolic comfort to Master Ding, but to her surprise, Master Ding covered his face and burst into tears.
Yan Qingqing and Li Xiangping were both a little dumbfounded. Although Yan Qingqing knew that comforting people was not her forte, she did not expect to make someone cry in such an unreliable way.
Master Ding had probably been suppressing his emotions for too long; he squatted on the ground and cried for the time it takes to drink two cups of tea before his steward, Ding, finally persuaded him to get up.
He looked at Yan Qingqing with some embarrassment, and Yan Qingqing looked at him with embarrassment as well, saying, "Don't worry, Master Ding, we will not force you to sell this estate if you don't want to."
Upon hearing this, Master Ding quickly explained, "No, no, it was Mingzhao who managed to buy my estate, relieving my immediate crisis. I am truly grateful."
Just kidding, he finally found someone with enough money to buy his family's estate.
Yan Qingqing found Ding Yuanwai's behavior somewhat familiar, and he suddenly remembered the couple he had met when he bought the shop.
However, Yan Qingqing had some connection with Master Ding, so she had to ask him about it.
Perhaps Master Ding had been suppressing his feelings for too long, so he poured his heart out to Yan Qingqing like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
He has been losing money in his business since last year, but the Ding family is a large and wealthy family, so they can afford to lose money.
But his eldest son also became addicted to prostitution and gambling.
At first, it was just small-scale gambling, and Master Ding didn't take it seriously. But in the end, he gambled more and more, and the gambling dens started coming to his door to collect debts.
Master Ding realized the gravity of the situation and quickly sent someone to the accounting office to withdraw the silver.
But the accounting department had no money left to pay out.
Only then did Master Ding realize that his eldest son had gambled away all of the Ding family's money.
He angrily questioned the accountant, asking why so much silver had been disbursed to the eldest son without his authorization.
It turned out that the accountant was acting on the orders of Old Madam Ding. The old lady doted on her grandson and was afraid that Master Ding would beat him if he found out, so she had been indulging him.
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