The news that Mu Yi'an had bought more servants spread like wildfire throughout Jiangjia Village once again.
"Have you heard? Young Scholar Jiang's wife has bought two more servants, apparently a mother and daughter, and they look quite alike."
"How many servants does she have? She's really living a life of luxury. But why haven't I seen her buy servants for Scholar Jiang and his wife? Isn't that a bit unfilial?"
"Come on, everyone knows you and the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family are cousins. Don't smear the young scholar Jiang and his wife. How are they unfilial? Clothes, food—look at the young scholar Jiang's wife, when has she ever gone to the Jiang family's old house empty-handed?"
Some people, unable to stand by and watch, spoke up. Everyone knew that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jiang family had initially looked down on her divorced sister-in-law, but after the family division, she had acted quite happy. Now that the young scholar Jiang's wife was making money growing watermelons, she must be regretting it.
"That's right. After the family split up, Jiang Xiucai lived with Da Jiang Xiucai. There are those who are filial to their parents, but who are filial to their elder brother and sister-in-law?"
All three members of the Jiang family, father and sons, passed the imperial examination at the county level, which is quite a mouthful.
The people in Jiangjia Village are either relatives by blood or by marriage; if you count them carefully, they are all related in some way.
Mu Yi'an didn't hear their discussion. Ever since buying the house, she hadn't left the yard, staying at home thinking about how to tidy it up.
Jiang Shuyun wasn't home, so she had to take care of all these things. The house in the county town was for at least three years, so it needed to be properly tidied up to make it comfortable to live in.
Mu Yi'an stayed at home writing and drawing. After she finished drawing the rough blueprints, Uncle Li and Jiang Shuhe returned. The rice in the village was saved for seed, and the rest was harvested, dried, and stored.
When Steward Li returned, he asked how to dispose of the collected grain. After paying the taxes, should some of it be sold?
"Steward Li, you and Jiang Shuhe, along with Old Xu from the estate, should pay the taxes first, leave us enough food for three years, and sell the rest."
Mu Yi'an thought that they wouldn't be buying any more servants for the next three years, and the family's population wouldn't increase much. They only needed enough food for three years; any more would be wasted due to improper storage.
With things settled on the estate, it's time to take care of things at home. They'll be heading to the county town after the New Year, and the village's fields also need to be properly managed.
The twenty mu of paddy fields will continue to be leased to Uncle Jiang's family. Mu Yi'an needs to think carefully about who should lease the thirty mu of dry land to.
The rice has been harvested, the wheat has been planted, and it's already November.
Uncle Jiang came over with good news, "Shuyun's wife, the rice harvest is much better than last year, it really is much better."
It took Mu Yi'an a while to remember that last year, she had asked Uncle Jiang to select the largest and plump rice plants for seed.
"Third Uncle, how much more did you harvest per acre?"
"More than 20 jin!"
"That's quite a lot. Did you save seeds early again this year?"
"I've kept them all, they've all been kept."
Uncle Jiang was overjoyed. Twenty catties per mu, twenty mu would yield four hundred catties! His family could harvest more than a hundred catties of grain this year, and the children and adults in his family could eat more refined grains.
Uncle Jiang left quickly after finishing his business, as there was still work to be done in the fields.
Mu Yi'an was also happy. She didn't have any great abilities and couldn't do anything earth-shattering, but she could do something small for ordinary people and improve their lives a little. So her trip wasn't in vain.
Mu Yi'an told her older brother about this and asked him to give it a try and make a record of it.
"Brother, keep a record of this. If possible, report it directly to the county magistrate. If this can be promoted, farmers can harvest a few more kilograms of grain."
"Okay, I understand, brother. Yi'an, thank you!"
Looking at his younger sister, Brother Mu felt that she had changed a lot. She was more talkative than before, more opinionated, and thought further ahead.
Since he rarely comes back, Mu Yi'an told his parents about buying a house in the county town. He plans to move there after the New Year and invite his parents over.
"Okay, our Yi'an is getting more and more capable. She's no longer the little girl who hides behind her mother and doesn't dare to show her face."
"mother!"
Mu Yi'an felt a little ashamed, because she wasn't much younger than her mother in her previous life!
"Haha... My girl is embarrassed."
Mu's mother patted her daughter's head. She really had grown up. In the blink of an eye, she was already a mother of three.
After returning from her parents' home, Mu Yi'an mentally calculated the family's current assets.
He owns a manor, a house in the county, twenty mu of paddy fields, thirty mu of dry land, twenty mu of woodland, a courtyard, a shop in the town, and more than ten thousand taels of silver.
They've been here for over a year and have managed to acquire this business, which is quite successful. For the next few years, Mu Yi'an won't make any major moves; she'll wait patiently for Jiang Shuyun's results in the autumn imperial examinations.
However, he couldn't just do nothing. Mu Yi'an wanted to buy a larger shop in the county town to sell products from his own farm: pork, chicken, mutton, eggs, watermelon, vegetables…
For the next three years, Mu Yi'an planned to make a fuss at the estate.
"Steward Li, these are the renovation plans for the houses in the county town. Go and find someone to renovate them according to the plans. Also, since you used to manage shops, go to the county town and find a brokerage firm to recommend a few shops."
"Madam, what kind of business are you planning to do?"
"We will sell agricultural products produced on our own farm. I plan to raise pigs, sheep, and chickens on the farm, and we will sell these products ourselves."
Mu Yi'an felt that this way, her annual income would not be small.
"Understood. Then let's find a larger shop in a slightly more densely populated area."
"Well, it doesn't have to be in the city center. Shops there aren't very cheap, and they're not very spacious either. It would be even better if it had a backyard where people could live, which would be convenient for living and also for storing goods."
"Understood, Madam."
Butler Li felt that life was becoming more and more promising. His life was busy and fulfilling, and most importantly, he felt very secure every day and didn't have to live in fear.
With these matters arranged, Mu Yi'an felt much more relaxed.
The affairs of the estate were handed over to Uncle Li and Jiang Shuhe. The pigsty, chicken coop, and sheepfold were all under construction, and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
No one in the village knew that Mu Yi'an had bought a farm and a house in the county town. Apart from his family and Jiang Qi, Mu Yi'an hadn't told anyone. He would go to the old house to explain the situation when Jiang Shuyun returned.
With things back on track at home and some money in his pocket for emergencies, Mu Yi'an, who had been here for over a year, could finally take a breather.
The estate will need a lot of long-term laborers next year, and Mu Yi'an plans to find a group from nearby villages. Whether or not to use the people in the villages is still undecided for Mu Yi'an.
It's unrealistic to keep their purchase of the estate a secret forever; everyone will find out sooner or later. Jiangjia Village isn't exactly wealthy; they're just well-off enough to make ends meet. Those who can afford it send their children to school for a few years to learn to read and write, but very few actually take the imperial examinations, as that requires a lot of money.
Mu Yi'an knew that no matter where they went in the future, Jiangjia Village would always be their root. This was the persistence of the ancients, and she had to take this into account.
Forget it, let's discuss this properly when Jiang Shuyun comes back.
Thinking about his existing assets, Mu Yi'an felt that making money quietly was a good thing!
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