Chapter 68 On-site Inspection
When you feel moved, you should take action. Zhao Xuan felt that she should figure out as soon as possible whether the land was really like what she had imagined.
She immediately made an appointment with her cousin, and the weather seemed to have improved slightly over the past two days, with little rain. She took advantage of the opportunity to rush to the scene to take a look. Since it was in Qingxi Town on the west side and by the river, she could just take a small boat along the waterway. The round trip would only take half a day.
That cousin was overjoyed when he heard the words, Zhao Xiu wanted to go and inspect the land, proving that she had a mind to buy. As long as this transaction was successful, not only would he get a sum of silver, but he would also reluctantly have established a relationship with Xiao Er Fang. In the future, whether it was learning to do business with the people from Liu Fang or in his own home, he would have some backing.
He immediately agreed, and the time was set by Zhao Xiu. Now that he had just moved out, apart from silver and land, he also got a house. Originally, it was a place for servants to live behind their own house, three small houses, forming a very small courtyard, which is an independent household. The house was a bit old, the roof leaked, and the wall collapsed halfway, so the steward who originally lived here would move elsewhere, and his mother-in-law simply gave him this yard. He had just found someone to repair the roof yesterday, and he didn't plan to renovate it. As long as he had a place to eat and sleep for a few days, he would be fine. When he made money in the future, he would consider repairing the house. However, using the excuse of cleaning up the house, he also moved out, so he didn't have to go to his mother-in-law and brother-in-law's place to wait for orders these days, and he had time to accompany Zhao Xiu on a trip.
Zhao Xun told him that if it didn't rain the next day, they would set off early, and then sent him back. As soon as he left, Lu Ma came up to persuade her: "Miss, do you really want to buy Yu Xiao Ye's land? It's only thirty mu, and it's uncultivated wilderness. Fortunately, Da Niang still claims to be a virtuous person, but treats her son so thinly that others can't see it. If this land were good, Da Niang wouldn't have given it to Yu Xiao Ye. Miss, if you pity Yu Xiao Ye, just give him a few taels of silver and be done with it, why bother buying his land?"
You Xiao Ye was that paternal cousin of his, whose name was Zhao You. His father, Zhao Hu, was a younger son of a secondary branch of the fifth generation of the outer family.
Zhao Xuan smiled and said, "Others may think it's useless land, but to me, it might still have its uses. Anyway, as long as it's ninety taels, right? Ninety taels can buy such a large piece of land, which is quite a bargain. And it's by the river, making irrigation convenient. If I tidy it up properly, who knows, it might become good land."
Lu's mother thought for a moment. This statement wasn't unreasonable either. But she still felt that Zhao Xun had been taken advantage of: "Wild and barren land, it's only worth one or two silver coins per mu. If the young lady really wants to buy it, just spread the word around and there will be plenty of people who'll bring the land right to her doorstep. Besides, if she's going to buy it, it's just thirty mu, why does she need to go see it in person? If Old Madame were at home, she wouldn't let the young lady run around outside as she pleases."
Zhao Xun had to coax her: "Good mother, let me go. It's just a dozen or so miles away, and I'll be there in no time by boat. I'm taking our family's boat, and I'll bring a few more people with me. You can come with me too, what's there to worry about? Besides, the ancestral lands of our clan are also nearby, aren't they? There are many tenant farmers from our household living in that area, what's he going to do?"
"Alright, Miss, you must remember what you said and bring enough people with you. Although I won't be going, tomorrow when you're not at home, there are still household matters that need attending to. Let our family's attendants accompany you, and let Bi Lian go with them too. You just sit on the boat and don't get off onto the shore, as it's all wilderness over there. Although our ancestral lands are nearby, they're still separated by a river, and most of the people living in Qingxi Town aren't even our tenants. They're country folk who don't understand etiquette, so don't let them scare you."
As long as she agreed, Zhao Xuan was easy to talk to and happily agreed.
On the second day, early in the morning, the weather was fine. Although there were clouds in the sky that blocked out the sun, there was no sign of rain. Lu Mu got up early and had the kitchen prepare breakfast, urging her husband to select the servants who would accompany them on their outing. She personally supervised the preparation of the sedan chair that Zhao Xiu would ride in when they left, and sent someone to the dock outside the city to arrange for a boat to be ready. She was busy with a happy flourish.
Zhao Xun ate her fill, changed into a convenient outfit, brought a sachet that could drive away mosquitoes, and went to the front hall to wait. Bi Lian wasn't going out for the first time, but it was her first time following the young master to a so-called "countryside", and she was nervous in her heart.
Although she was a maid, she had suffered hardships when traveling south with her mother at a young age. However, due to her mother being highly valued by Zhang's family as Lu Mama, she mostly lived a comfortable life without worrying about food and clothing. In recent years, serving beside Zhao Xiu, she has been living an even more luxurious life, almost like the second mistress. This year, at 14 years old, she is already a first-class maid with two younger maids under her command. Although she had accompanied her master on trips before, there were always specialized personnel taking care of food, clothing, and accommodations along the way, so she didn't need to worry about anything. However, this time was her first time being in charge of these arrangements, and she was afraid that something might be overlooked, so she kept reciting her mother's reminders in her heart over and over again.
Zhao Xun saw that she was wearing a light pink qipao uniform dress, with delicate embroidered shoes on her feet and a beautiful pearl hairpin on her head. She couldn't help but say to her: "Do you want to go back and change into another outfit? At least change into a pair of shoes that can get dirty? Is this the new embroidery? If it gets muddy, wouldn't it be a pity?" She herself was wearing a pair of plain thousand-layered canvas shoes.
Bilian's face showed a shocked expression: "Miss, didn't you say that I would only stay on the boat? Then how did my shoes get muddy?"
Zhao Xuan silently turned her head. Should she honestly say that if the situation required it, she would still go ashore to conduct an on-site investigation?
Bilian had been by her side for five years, how could she not be clear about her temperament? Seeing her expression, she was shocked in her heart. Her first reaction was not to change her clothes and shoes, but to go find her mother to tattle, asking her mother to come over and persuade Zhao Xuan.
Unfortunately, before she could take a step, Zhao You arrived. Zhao Xuan was afraid that Bi Lian would find Lu Ma and tell her everything, so he hastily called out to everyone: "Everyone's here, let's hurry up and leave!"
Then Zhao Xun sat in the sedan chair. Zhao You walked alongside to escort them, and after they left the city gate, they boarded a boat prepared by Xiao Er Fang at a dock not far from the city gate. Along the way, Bi Lian was sitting in the sedan chair and didn't have a chance to talk to her mother privately.
The boat of Xiao Er Fang was not big, it was the kind of awning boat commonly seen in Jiangnan water town, but it was more spacious than the one used by ordinary people, and the awning was also higher and larger, so the space inside the cabin was bigger. Inside, there were tea tables with tea and snacks on them. The cabin door and small windows all had fine bamboo screens hanging from them, and looking out from inside the boat, you could see the scenery on the shore clearly.
Zhao Xun sat beside the low table, sipping tea and nibbling on snacks while enjoying the cool breeze brought by Bi Lian's fan, as Zhao You introduced the situation of his land in front of the fish-scale map.
Zhao You had a simple map of the area in his hand. This traditional old map didn't have accurate proportions or distances, but it could give him a general idea of what was around that area. The thirty mu of land Zhao You owned wasn't actually independent; to the south, it was right next to the private field that Zhao Hua had bought for himself, and all the other fields were well-cultivated and planted with cotton. Only this thirty mu of land remained untouched because of a large forest of wild trees. It would take a lot of effort to clear it out, so when they first bought it, the price was very cheap. Zhao Hua's wife thought it was too much trouble, and since their family didn't lack for that little bit of land, she just left it unmanaged.
These thirty mu of land are distributed along the river, with a total length of about 600 feet and a width of about 300 feet. The wild fruit tree forest occupies almost half of it, and the remaining empty land can also be reclaimed as good fields. The soil quality is not bad, but it just happens to be separated from Zhao Hui's other private fields by the forest, and borders on someone else's field.
That family is not a member of the Zhao clan, but also a prominent household in the county, with ties to the Zhao family. Zhao You's friend provided confidential information: The mistress of that house and Zhao Hui's wife are cousins, who have been at odds since childhood, only maintaining a superficial relationship. The husband of the opposing party had repeatedly asked Zhao Hui to buy this land, but was rejected each time by Zhao Hui's wife on various pretexts. However, Zhao Hui thought it was all within the family and that selling the land to them would be acceptable. Zhao Hui's wife wanted to continue playing the role of a virtuous wife in front of her husband, so she didn't openly object, but intentionally left the land uncultivated, allowing weeds to grow, wanting to cause trouble for the mistress of that house. That family encountered difficulties two years ago and had financial troubles, so they no longer brought up the matter of buying the land. When it came time to divide the property, Zhao Hui's wife gave this piece of land to her youngest son.
Zhao Xun inquired about the family's name and indeed it was a well-known family in the county. During festivals, she would accompany her grandmother to visit relatives from other branches of the family, occasionally running into his wife. However, this year she hadn't appeared at all. Rumor had it that his brother had offended a noble in Jiading, not only landing himself in prison but also accumulating massive debts. Although they hadn't reached the point of losing everything, it was getting increasingly difficult for them to make ends meet. Even families with some reputation in the county had already cut ties with them.
This was originally someone else's business, and after listening to the gossip, Zhao Xun no longer paid attention. The boat had already passed Qingxi Town and arrived at the river section where Zhao You's allocated land was located. Zhao Xun lifted the bamboo curtain and looked towards the shore, and indeed saw a large orchard, with trees growing disorderly, including fruit trees and ordinary miscellaneous trees, and wild grass as tall as two feet. The half of this land facing west was almost all covered with wild grass, separated from an adjacent paddy field by a small ditch. That paddy field was probably owned by the family rumored to be at odds with Zhao Hui's wife, planting rice. Now it was May, and the crops in the fields were growing well, but the rice in their field looked somewhat wilted and lacking in spirit. Could it be because the master of the house was suffering misfortune and had no heart to tend to it?
No matter what, Zhao Xun had confirmed that this was the modern version of the Peach Garden she had visited after conducting a field survey. The wild fruit tree forest also had wild peaches, which showed that this place was suitable for growing peaches. When she returned, she would send people to tidy up this land and then think of ways to get some water peach saplings from Shanghai Lu Xiang Yuan. Finally, she would find a few experts who knew how to tend fruit trees, and then she could start the peach cultivation business on her own land!
Zhao Xuan happily gave the order to return, and Bi Lian saw that she didn't go ashore, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. Zhao You was also overjoyed, because Zhao Xuan bought this land and generously gave him one hundred taels of silver, more than he had expected.
When they returned to the Zhao family's old house, they were in high spirits and hadn't even had time to sit down and catch their breath when Lu Ma came to report some shocking news: "The county magistrate's father suddenly died, and the county magistrate is going into mourning. I wonder who the new county magistrate will send?"