The old village chief sighed and asked Jinniu in the crowd, "Jinniu, does your family want to buy land?"
His father lost money gambling and was heavily in debt. He sold his fields and land to raise money, and some of Fan Damu's fields were his family's land.
Zhang Jinniu scratched his head, unsure of what to do, and said, "I'll go back and ask my mother."
He ran very fast, and soon Aunt Zhang followed him.
Aunt Zhang has always been obsessed with the land, always thinking about when she could buy back her own land so she could grow crops and her family wouldn't have to worry about not having enough to eat every year.
Last year, she earned some money by supplying charcoal to Shuiqing's family. She originally planned to buy any land that was willing to sell, no matter what!
But plans can't keep up with changes. Potatoes have a high yield and can be grown in the ground. They're also delicious. Suddenly, she felt that the land wasn't absolutely necessary.
With the added threat of flooding, it's uncertain when the fields will be able to recover properly. It's always safer to keep some savings on hand for emergencies.
However, she still came along to take a look; if the price was really cheap, she might consider it...
"Damu, how much do you plan to sell it for?"
Fan Damu gritted his teeth and reduced his original offer even further: "In the past, one mu of land cost at least four taels of silver, but I only want four taels per mu, so seven mu of land would cost twenty-eight taels of silver."
Aunt Zhang gasped.
The price isn't much cheaper at all.
"There are eighteen acres of good land. Originally, it was worth a little over one tael of silver per acre, but it will all be calculated at one tael per acre. There are also a few acres of wasteland that have been reclaimed next to it. Considering that we live in the same village, I will give it to you as a gift."
Anyway, those few acres of wasteland are not fertile enough, so whatever you plant will not yield a good harvest, which is a waste of seeds and manpower.
But we don't have enough fertilizer at home to raise them.
Aunt Zhang was already having second thoughts, feeling like she'd made a wasted trip.
Her family owned land, although it was reclaimed wasteland, but Shuiqing taught her other composting methods, and the crops were much better than before.
But she knew the poor soil yield; Fan Damu's words sounded like a gift, but planting it would be a waste of effort.
"My forest is probably the largest in the whole village! I won't ask for much, fifteen taels of silver, no bargaining, how about it?"
This made everyone else gasp in surprise.
The mountains in their village are barren, mostly covered with miscellaneous trees and wild fruits, and are of little use except for firewood. Fan Damu really dared to take them.
This was given away for free by the village. They didn't spend any money to buy it, and they didn't even haggle over the price. Who do they think they are taking advantage of?
The price for selling land used to be predictable, but now there's been flooding. If we sell it at the same price as before, will Aunt Zhang buy it?
Aunt Zhang thought she was poor, but not stupid.
At this price, why doesn't she wait until the paddy fields are fertile before buying? She should buy now and raise the crops for a few more years.
Besides, she couldn't afford it.
She spoke frankly: "Let alone four taels per mu, even two taels per mu, I can't afford it."
"I already have fields and forests, I don't need to buy them, old village chief, I'd better head back now."
Zhang Jinniu also went back.
After the other families in the courtyard had said what needed to be said and had learned enough about Fan Damu's family situation—and since they knew it was impossible for them to buy the fields and forests—they followed them home.
Their Shanshui Village is a mixed-surname village, not a village of the same clan, so they don't interfere in other people's affairs.
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