More than an hour later, the two returned to Narcissus Village.
At this time, a lot of villagers gathered in front of the workshop. Some were carrying bags, some were carrying basins, and some were carrying baskets, all filled with millet, and they were queuing up to sell.
The Qin sisters and Li Guang were busy. One of the sisters weighed the grain, while the other kept accounts and made payments. Li Guang was stronger, so he was responsible for moving the purchased millet.
Wang Lizheng was also present. He was very concerned about the acquisition of barnyard grass and maintained order at the scene.
"Don't try to fool me. I'm buying barnyard grass to help the villagers get through this difficult time. I remember who has sold barnyard grass before. If you try to evade me again, don't blame me for finding out. I won't buy your barnyard grass anymore."
The village head's voice was extremely authoritative. Several villagers had already sold millet and wanted to switch to other family members to sell it, but the village head had sharp eyes and could tell right away.
Some people did try to take advantage of the situation, but with Li Zheng present, they dared not bluff. This old man was a man of his word, and if they were caught by him, they would not only lose face but also suffer a greater loss.
There was an old man who received a hundred copper coins after selling his millet. He was so excited that he was trembling and could hardly stand. Li Guang was afraid that he would fall, so he hurriedly went forward to help him up.
Seeing this, Zhao Xian was very satisfied. The village had more than 160 households, and they could buy more than 1,600 catties of barnyard grass every day.
Based on a 20-day acquisition period, the harvest will amount to over 30,000 jin (15,000 kg). Such a large quantity of barnyard grass requires several rooms for storage, but fortunately, the rooms in our workshop are more than sufficient.
When Wang Lizheng saw Zhao Xian return, he came over.
“This morning, I went to check on the wasteland and saw some villagers and their families working together to collect several hundred kilograms. They only sell ten kilograms a day. Why collect so much?”
I knew some people were trying to be clever and stayed here all afternoon. Sure enough, after selling once, they sent someone else to sell, but I scolded them all away.
Zhao Xian smiled. In fact, he had long anticipated this situation. Fortunately, the village head was there to supervise, otherwise many people would have followed suit, and things would have gotten chaotic.
"Thank you, Uncle Village Head. It's all thanks to you for maintaining order here. You've worked so hard."
"This is a big event in the village, how can I ignore it? I've been keeping an eye on things here whenever I have free time, watching to see which little rascal is up to some tricks."
If I can't come, I'll send my little grandson. He's incredibly clever; no one can fool him.
Zhao Xian nodded. With the village head's involvement, he wouldn't need to worry too much about acquiring the barnyard grass.
“Uncle Village Head, I need your help with something,” Zhao Xian said.
"Just let me know if you need anything, don't be so polite with me," the village head said with a smile.
“My family originally owned seven or eight acres of farmland, which we mortgaged in the past few years. Now we want to redeem these acres, but we don’t know how to do it.”
"What's so difficult about that? Just find the original land deed, go and negotiate with the other party. If the land deed has just expired, pay him the money you received as collateral, and the land will naturally return to you."
If the land title expires, interest will be paid at the rate originally agreed upon for the period of expiration, and the principal and interest will be repaid.
Of course, if there are still crops on the land, it cannot be returned until the crops have been harvested.
“Okay, then I’ll find the land deed and get on with it now,” Zhao Xian said.
"Would you like me to come with you?"
"No need for that. It's not difficult to handle. I can go by myself."
Zhao Xian returned to the house and explained the land redemption to Li Chun'e, asking her to find the original land deed.
Land is the foundation of farmers. No matter how rich a family is, they cannot live without land. Now that Zhao Xian wants to redeem the land, Li Chun'e is very happy.
She quickly found the land deeds from back then. Although it was only seven or eight acres of land, there were several deeds.
Zhao Xian looked at the land deeds; most of them were signed three years ago, and one was signed six years ago.
For his future, his family gave everything they had. In those days, it was incredibly difficult for a student from a poor family to achieve anything.
Zhao Xian silently put the land deeds into his pocket, then pressed them against the outside, smiled at his mother, and went out.
Based on these land deeds, he located the parties involved and negotiated with them regarding the redemption of the land.
Everyone in the village had witnessed what had happened to Zhao Xian's family during this period, so it was perfectly normal for Zhao Xian to redeem his land at this time.
Besides, the scholar had connections in both the county and the prefecture; who in the village would dare offend him?
The land redemption went very smoothly. Except for a few acres of paddy fields that could only be returned after the rice was harvested, the dry land was basically uncultivated. After paying the ransom and signing the agreement, the land was redeemed.
As dusk fell, there were hardly any people left in front of the workshop. Seeing that it was almost time, the village head prepared to go home.
"Uncle Village Head, why don't you stay for dinner before you leave?" Zhao Xian invited.
"No need, I have some things to take care of when I get back. I'll come back for a drink after the rice is harvested." The village head said and hurriedly left.
The day's acquisition work finally came to an end. Qin Shiyu and the others were exhausted and noticeably tanned.
Although they work in the shade, the ultraviolet rays are very strong this season, and their skin is easily sunburned.
I'll buy some sunscreen from the system and give it to them. They're all teenagers; who wants to get tanned?
Just then, Zhao Xiaosheng returned carrying a load of water. The weather was hot, and with so many people in his family, the water consumption was very high, and there would be even more people in the family in the future.
Relying solely on carrying water is definitely not feasible; a well needs to be dug at home.
Currently, there are no public wells in the village. Only villagers with very good conditions dig wells in their own yards for their own use.
It seems I need to dig a well myself. This well must have a large water output, not only to ensure my own family's water supply, but also to provide convenience for the nearby villagers. It would be a good thing for the village.
In my memory, digging a small well would cost three to five taels of silver, while digging a well with a large water output would probably cost more than ten taels of silver.
I'll go ask the village head tomorrow how to drill this well.
During dinner, Zhao Xian glanced at Li Guang and noticed that he had gotten much darker, appearing even darker under the dim oil lamp.
"Li Guang, I have redeemed all the land in my family. The dry land can be used to grow crops, but the paddy fields can only be used after the rice harvest."
I know you are very interested in farming. You can grow some food crops on these fields, conduct research, and promote some economically valuable crops to benefit the people.
Li Guang suddenly stood up, his face full of excitement.
"Thank you, Brother Zhao. I will definitely manage these fields well and plant more valuable grain crops."
“If you want to expand your planting area, buy some land to cultivate and promote valuable crops,” Zhao Xian added.
Li Wen was visibly excited, and his face darkened further with his excitement.
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