Wang Dachun's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Are you serious? But... can you really come up with that much money?"
"If I can't afford it, don't I have my uncle?" Of course, Yang Cui wouldn't admit that she had money.
"Da Fu, I didn't realize you had such a deep fortune!"
An Dafu didn't speak, but looked at Yang Cui in surprise.
Wang Dachun then said, “Dafu, since you have money, why don’t you buy my house too? Otherwise, I won’t be able to pay off my debts! I’m really planning to start over this time. I’ll sell everything, pay off my debts, and there will still be some left. I plan to use that money to continue doing business. Dafu, you should buy it. It will save you from having to build a house for your son. We live so close by, it’s good for your son to live in this house.”
"I have no money."
Wang Dachun then said, "How about nine taels for the house and vegetable garden? I don't want any of the furniture or anything inside. I have two really nice cabinets that Uncle De made last year. How about nine taels?"
“Dachun, don’t sell the house. Where will your family of six live if you sell it?” An Dafu continued to persuade him.
Wang Dachun was determined to sell: "Niece, Dafu, let's go take a look at the place first. I'm not bragging, but my house and land are really good."
Yang Cui genuinely wanted to buy land. She wasn't at ease with money on her person, and for her, having land was more important than having money.
Wang Dachun led them around for most of the hour, constantly urging An Dafu to buy the house. Yang Cui looked at it and saw that the Wang family's house had three rooms and was quite nice overall. The vegetable garden behind the house was also large, and the furniture was very new. Nine taels of silver was really not expensive.
"It's such a large sum of money, we need to think about it. We'll give you an answer tomorrow morning, okay?"
Wang Dachun nodded: "Okay, I'll come find you tomorrow morning."
Wang Dachun could wait one night.
...
"Xiao Cui, are you really going to buy Da Chun's house and land?" With Wang Da Chun not around, An Da Fu finally seized the opportunity to ask Yang Cui.
"Uncle, do you think their land and house are worth that price?"
“It’s worth it, but…” An Dafu asked quietly, “Can you afford such a large sum of money?”
Yang Cui said in a low voice, "Uncle, to tell you the truth, I made a lot of money selling peach ginger and dried plum recipes. In addition to what I earned in the past few days, and the finished peach ginger and dried plum products I sold before, all these things add up to exactly this much on hand."
Yang Cui ultimately did not tell An Dafu the truth about the "lost" thirty taels.
An Dafu was shocked to find that his niece was so rich; she was definitely a hidden tycoon!
It took him a while to react, and he said solemnly, "It's not safe to keep money on you. It's better to buy some land. No one can steal this kind of thing. Four acres of land will be enough for you three to eat and drink your fill, and there will still be some left over."
"That's what I think too."
...
The next morning, Yang Cui took the money and, with the village chief as a witness, bought everything from Wang Dachun's house, spending a total of thirty-six taels and three fen. Village Chief An was surprised and envious of Yang Cui's wealth.
"Uncle An, I'll have to trouble you to make another trip and help me exchange the white contract for a red contract."
The land deeds and house deeds of Wang Dachun's family are all unregistered deeds. Unregistered deeds are not registered with the government. In other words, if they are lost and cannot be found or replaced, Wang Dachun's family will not recognize them in the future and insist that they did not sell them, which will make things unclear.
Many ordinary people's land deeds are white deeds because they need to register them with the government and change them to red deeds, which costs money. Many people are reluctant to spend this money, so they generally don't change them to red deeds.
After Yang Cui finished speaking, she took out a string of copper coins and handed them to Village Chief An: "Uncle Village Chief, here are two hundred coins. I don't know if that's enough."
"Why so much? A hundred coins should be enough to bribe the yamen at most." Village Chief An counted out a hundred coins and returned them to Yang Cui.
Yang Cui only took back fifty coins, and gave the remaining fifty coins to the village chief: "Uncle, please take this. It was hard work for you to make this trip for me."
"No, no, no, this is just my duty. You don't need to pay me. In fact, I should thank you, uncle and nephew."
This time, the village chief's family made a lot of money selling fruit and perilla leaves. The village chief was grateful to Yang Cui, and he was very happy to welcome her when she bought land and a house and moved here.
Having served as the village chief of Anjia Village for so many years, the village chief is quite perceptive. Besides, how could he not know what kind of person An Dafu is? He had long seen through the fact that Yang Cui was actually in charge of An Dafu's fruit and perilla business, and he admired her for it!
He also thought that he could take this opportunity to build a good relationship with Yang Cui, so that if there were any money-making opportunities in the future, Yang Cui would still think of him. Only by benefiting each other can we achieve a win-win situation.
The village chief and An Dafu went to the yamen to exchange the red deeds. They returned around 1 p.m., having successfully brought back the red deeds. Yang Cui held the red deeds, feeling indescribably joyful and satisfied.
Having money, a house, and land makes me feel less anxious.
Wen and An Dafu were extremely envious. Their family only had two and a half acres of land! It was not enough to feed their six mouths. After their son got married and had grandchildren, they would have even less to eat.
Yang Cui didn't see the envious looks from her uncle and aunt. She was too happy at the moment, smiled, and said to the village chief, "Uncle Village Chief, we must eat lunch here today."
The village chief ultimately refused the fifty copper coins. Yang Cui thought to herself that she had to treat him to a meal no matter what, since she would need his help after moving in!
Following Yang Cui's lead, An Dafu said, "Brother, have lunch here. We have a big grass carp at home, and my niece makes a really delicious pickled fish dish. You should stay and try it today."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
At noon, Yang Cui personally cooked two large bowls of sauerkraut fish with wild celery and dried tofu, eggplant and green beans, and a grass carp weighing over five pounds. The staple food was multigrain porridge, which was filling.
In those days, there was no pork, beef, or mutton to eat, so fish was the most common meat dish. Yang Cui's fish was delicious, and everyone loved it.
The village chief had never seen this method before. The fish was sliced into thin pieces with fewer bones than they usually ate, and he repeatedly praised Yang Cui for her skillful hands.
In short, everyone enjoyed the meal.
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