Chapter 145: Old Lady Wan asks Xiao Fubao about the Wan family buying bad land
Old Mrs. Wan carried little Fubao and walked forward for a distance, putting some distance between them and the crowd, before asking little Fubao.
"Fubao, grandma is going to buy some land today. In the future, we can grow our own food and make a lot of delicious food for me, Fubao. We can also eat meat. Fubao, which piece of land do you think grandma should buy?"
Little Fubao didn’t quite understand what Old Lady Wan meant, but she heard that she could eat meat, and she had already seen a piece of land shining with golden light.
Little Fubao likes shiny things. She immediately pointed to a large piece of land in the southwest and said in a baby voice, "Grandma, it's shiny."
Old Mrs. Wan quickly looked in the direction that Xiao Fubao pointed, and saw that there was a slope over there and a low-lying area below. There were slopes several people high all around, covering an area of about thirty acres.
After taking a look, although Old Lady Wan was puzzled, she felt that it was unlikely to be arable land there. After all, working on a slope was more troublesome than on flat ground. But since Little Fubao pointed it out, it meant that there would definitely be food produced there.
Mrs. Wan did not hesitate any longer. She returned with little Fubao in her arms and handed him to Mrs. Wan Er. Then she turned to Jinniu and said, "Village Chief, we are going to buy that piece of sloping land. How much does it cost?"
The village chief glanced at the place that Old Lady Wan pointed to, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Aunt, are you sure you want to buy that piece of land? That place is not as good as the one I picked for you. Why don't you reconsider it? That land is sloping and even poorer than the land here. No one has bought that land for so many years. There is also a big pit underneath. When it rains, water accumulates. It is either flooded or dry. If you buy that land, you will definitely get less grain than the poorest land in our village. It may not even be enough to pay the tax."
The eldest and second eldest also took a look at the land. They were not optimistic about it either. They whispered to Mrs. Wan, "Mom, buying land is a big deal. Why don't we buy this flat land? It will be easier to open up the land and won't delay the spring ploughing."
Mrs. Wan firmly believed in Xiao Fubao's words and made the final decision: "Village Chief, I will buy that piece of land. Please help me calculate the price. If we can't produce food in the future, we won't blame you."
Taurus has no choice. If someone is willing to pay for the land, he can't stop them.
Wan Xingmo also stepped forward and said, "Uncle Village Chief, let's buy the land over there too. Our house is next to grandma's, but I have a small family, so we can just buy less."
Wan Jinshu had no objection. Whatever his son said was the final word.
The village chief felt that the two families must have been kicked in the head by a donkey, but he was not a nosy person. He said all the things he needed to say and advised them. If they couldn't produce any grain in the future, it would be none of his business.
"Okay, since you have decided to buy that piece of land, I will give you a cheaper price. The better wasteland is 800 coins per mu. If you want to buy the land over there, I will give you 400 coins per mu. How much do you want to buy?"
Old Lady Wan was secretly delighted. The price had been halved, and she could buy twice as much as before. She waved her hand and said, "I want all of them over there. Village chief, please measure the acres for me. We can go through the formalities today and start reclaiming the land tomorrow."
People in the village couldn't sit still. They were all carrying farm tools and going to the fields to turn the soil. In the distance, you could see groups of three or four working in the fields. Some of them were so hot that they took off their cotton jackets and continued working in their padded jackets, sweating profusely.
The more Old Lady Wan buys, the more income the village has. The village chief is of course happy. He had brought tools with him. Old Lady Wan said to buy all of them, so Jinniu took the tools and went to the land with the Wan family to measure it together.
Wan Xingmo quickly walked to Old Lady Wan with a hint of respect on his face and a smile on his lips, saying, "Grandma, how about you give me a few acres of land? I also want to buy one next to your house."
Of course Old Mrs. Wan was willing. It was such a large piece of land, and Wan Xingmo's family couldn't grow much. At most, taking care of three acres of land would be enough to exhaust everyone in his family.
"Okay, how many acres of land are you going to buy?"
Old Mrs. Wan agreed readily.
Wan Xingmo quickly asked, "Grandma, I don't know how to tend the land either. Can you tell me how much we can grow if our whole family tends the land?"
Old Lady Wan couldn't speak out her thoughts, so she said in a roundabout way, "Mo'er, I don't know about your family, but I'll tell you about my family's situation. You can use it as a reference. My family has four strong laborers, plus several daughters-in-law and several young boys. If we work hard, we can probably take care of more than 20 acres of land. That's in a good year. The land here is much harder to grow than ours."
After listening to what Grandma Wan said, Wan Xingmo silently calculated in his mind and said, "Grandma, then our family will buy three acres of land. Can you please give me three acres of land?"
Old Lady Wan nodded, looked at Wan Xingmo with appreciation and said, "Okay, you can choose first later. I will give you three acres of land, and the rest will be mine."
After the two of them had discussed it, they arrived at the place.
From a distance, this place looks like a rolling hill surrounding a tiankeng. When you look at it up close, you will find that there is some shallow water gathered in the pit. Crops cannot be grown at the bottom of the pit, but the soil erosion on the slope is fast and it dries up quickly, so it is indeed not suitable for growing crops.
Taurus asked Mrs. Wan again without giving up.
"Aunt, have you made up your mind? You want to buy this piece of land? You can't return it once you sell it."
Old Lady Wan nodded firmly: "Yes, I won't change it. I'll take this one. Measure it. I like this one. It looks good to me."
Seeing the firm attitude of Old Lady Wan, the other members of the Wan family reserved their opinions.
Jinniu sighed, took out his tools, and started working with Boss Wan and the others.
It took two hours to measure, and it was already dark when the measurement was completed.
It is difficult for people to walk on it, let alone to open up new land in the future. It will definitely be more difficult than anywhere else.
"Aunt, I've measured it all. The slopes around it plus the pit below are a little over 45 mu. I won't count the rest and will give it to you directly. Take the whole 45 mu, the slopes are 36 mu, and the pit is 9 mu. I don't think you can grow crops in this pit, so I'll give you 100 coins."
After Wan Laosi accompanied him to measure the land, he calculated the amount of money.
According to the original agreed price of four hundred wen per mu, these forty-five mu of land would be worth eighteen taels of silver. Now it is two taels cheaper, meaning fifteen taels and three hundred wen.
Not only did they spend half the money than their original budget, but they also bought four times more land. This was a bargain no matter how you looked at it. The only thing was that the harvest was worrying.
Old Mrs. Wan was extremely happy in her heart, for only she knew that she had gained a great advantage this time.
It's getting late and we can't process the land deed tonight.
I can only wait until tomorrow morning to go to the town to find the mayor to handle it.
Old Lady Wan and Wan Xingmo handed all the money to the village chief. The village chief took the money and agreed to meet at the entrance of the village early tomorrow morning and go to the town together.
After returning home, the Wan family had a simple dinner and then sat in the house to discuss the matter.
The brothers of the Wan family couldn't understand why Old Lady Wan did this.
Everyone was waiting for Old Lady Wan to answer their questions.
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