Despite the sweltering summer heat, the water level of the Taile River shows no signs of decreasing.
Nanzhi sat by the river, took off her shoes and socks, and dipped her two fair and tender little feet into the water, where they felt exceptionally cool.
The two wolf cubs had grown quite a bit. Nanzhi pulled one over and placed it under her head before lying down.
She vaguely remembered that there were still a few fields by the river that no one was cultivating.
Such a place is perfect for growing rice.
Thinking of this, Nanzhi quickly put on her shoes and socks and went to find the village chief, Zheng Xinghai.
"Village chief, Uncle Zheng, are you there?"
Zheng Xinghai put on his clothes and came out. "Nan girl, what's wrong?"
Nanzhi said excitedly, "Village Chief, I want to buy land."
It's certainly a good thing that someone is buying land, and besides, Zheng Xinghai knows that Nanzhi has opened a restaurant, so he must be quite well-off.
Moreover, if someone buys land, the village will have an extra source of income, but unfortunately, the villagers haven't had much money in recent years, so almost no one is buying land.
Many places have been vacated and turned into wasteland.
He went inside, took out a map, and slowly opened it.
"Look, this land is fertile, one tael of silver per mu, this land is slightly worse, seven hundred wen per mu. Which one do you want?" Zheng Xinghai pointed out several better places one by one.
She could see Nanzhi on the map, but it wasn't the place she wanted.
Nanzhi pointed to the area on both sides of the river, "How much are these?"
Zheng Xinghai looked down at where she was pointing and thought he was seeing things.
"Girl, you can't farm here."
The groundwater next to the riverbed floods every time it rains. She's still just a young girl; she's not quite there yet when it comes to farming.
Nan Zhi replied without hesitation, "Village Chief, right here, by the river."
Zheng Xinghai kindly reminded them, "When the river floods here in the summer, the land along the river will be submerged. Once it's flooded, it's difficult to even grow stones. If you plant crops, it would be a waste of seedlings."
Nanzhi knew he meant well, but she still resolutely said, "This place is fine."
"Sigh," Zheng Xinghai sighed, "Unchanged?"
Nanzhi nodded firmly.
Twenty mu of land, at 500 cash per mu, would be 10 taels of silver; one hundred mu would be 50 taels of silver.
Without hesitation, Nanzhi handed over fifty taels to Zheng Xinghai.
"Girl, the land deed needs to be reported to the government. It's only yours after the government stamps it. I'll go there tomorrow."
Nanzhi: "Thank you, Uncle Zheng."
Fifty taels of silver bought a piece of mudflat. Zheng Xinghai felt sorry for the girl, but seeing her still laughing without a care in the world, he didn't know how to describe his feelings.
Nanzhi returned home and went straight to Song Hanyan.
"Song Hanyan, I plan to clear wasteland and farm."
Song Hanyan patted her head and said, "Do whatever you want."
Nanzhi looked at him, "But I need people to clear the land."
Clearing 100 acres of land to plant rice is not something she can do alone.
Not only do weeds need to be removed, but soil also needs to be mounded, and finally, river water needs to be diverted to the fields.
This process sounds simple, but it is extremely labor-intensive and resource-intensive in practice.
Nanzhi could only turn to Song Hanyan for help, hoping that he could provide her with some more manpower.
“Girl, he can’t get anyone to come.” Zhou Chang said first.
Nan Zhi glanced at Song Hanyan and knew it was hopeless.
"Da Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, if all else fails, you can do the chores for your mother."
The three quickly got up and moved away from Nanzhi.
They clear land with their claws, jokingly, even if their claws are worn down, they won't pull out many weeds.
Their master wants them to die.
"Sigh, I was just saying, why are you all so far away from me?"
Song Hanyan thought for a moment and said, "Zhizhi, we can ask the villagers to help us clear the land, and I'll pay them."
“That’s right!” Nanzhi suddenly stood up. “How come I didn’t think of that?”
Nan Zhi rushed to Zheng Xinghai's house, calling out, "Uncle Zheng, Uncle Zheng!"
Zheng Xinghai had just lain down in bed when he was forced to get up again.
"Coming, coming," he said, putting on his clothes as he came out. "Why are you here again?"
Nan Zhi said, "Uncle Zheng, I plan to hire people from the village to help me reclaim the wasteland. Could you help me decide how many people to hire and how much to pay them?"
Zheng Xinghai initially thought Nan Yatou was just playing around, but he didn't expect her to actually plan to farm there.
“One hundred acres of land can be cleared in three days, but we need to hire more than ten people. According to the village’s standard, each person is paid twenty coins a day.”
Nanzhi waved her hand and said, "Uncle, I'll pay thirty coins a day. Could you please help me find a few people?"
"Hey, it's nothing, no problem."
“Nan girl, have you thought this through? If you farm by the river, you might lose everything.”
Nan Zhi smiled and said, "Uncle Zheng, don't worry, I never do anything I'm not sure I can do."
Zheng Xinghai stared at Nan Zhi's light and carefree figure, pondering deeply.
Could it be that this girl has discovered some new and excellent crop?
He went back to bed and tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally gave up on sleeping altogether.
Under the blazing midday sun, they knocked on doors one by one.
As soon as Nanzhi returned to the courtyard, Wu Nanshuang rushed out in a hurry.
"Master, he's awake! He's awake!" Wu Nanshuang was extremely excited that someone who had been lying in bed for so many days had woken up, after all, this was a patient she had been caring for.
Everyone in the courtyard rushed towards the small room where Pei Nanqing was.
"This young man is quite good-looking."
"Teacher, when did another person join your family?"
"Brother, has he gone mad? Why isn't he saying anything?"
"Children shouldn't talk nonsense."
Pei Nanqing opened his eyes groggily, and it seemed as if countless people were talking above his head.
His vision gradually cleared, and he looked up, where several faces came into focus.
"Brother, look, you didn't believe me when I told you he was stupid."
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