Volume 1 Chapter 110 Heading South (11)

  Yao Cunhui smiled and slowly repeated it again, with a calm expression, clear articulation, and without missing a single word.

  Looks quite normal, shouldn't be any problem! Lord Zhao glanced at Yao Cunhui with a bewildered and sympathetic expression, shook his head slightly, and chuckled: "Do you still need to buy those lands? Just go ahead and circle them off!"

  "That's not possible, what if you regret it later and I have no one to turn to?" Yao Cunhui didn't want to leave any future troubles, so he said half-jokingly, then added: "Name a price! It would be best to invite the village head and landowner to witness it, I want an official deed from the government!"

  Magistrate Zhao's eyes scanned the people beside him, Lin Zhanggui, Yi Guanshi and Fan Li. Seeing their serious expressions, he also became solemn: one person going mad can be tolerated, but it's impossible for a whole group of people to go mad! It seems that this matter is true! After suffering for so many years, I finally encountered an opportunity to make a fortune!

  Director Zhao's eyes lit up and he said: "You, how much are you planning to buy?"

  Yao Cunhui hesitated for a moment and smiled: "It depends on the price!"

  Magistrate Zhao's eyes narrowed, his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, and the excitement that had just risen in him immediately sank by more than half. He knew that this broken place couldn't be so generous with wealth.

  However, this is a rare opportunity after all these years! Even if a mosquito's legs are thin, they're still meat, aren't they?

  "Cough," Lord Zhao raised his hand to cover his mouth: "As for the price, let's discuss it, hmm, anyway, there are many wastelands here, and if they're left unused, they'll still be unused. How about one silver coin per mu?"

  "What!" Yao Cunhui's eyes widened in surprise. One coin of silver per mu, was it really that cheap?

  "If you think it's expensive, we can still negotiate the price." Mr. Zhao smiled a bit awkwardly, as if he was taking advantage of someone.

  "I didn't mean it that way." Yao Cunhui smiled and said, "It's so cheap, can the master really give me the land deed?"

  Magistrate Zhao nodded immediately: "Of course it can be done!" Who would want this kind of place anyway!

  "Alright, then at the price the adults said," Yao Cun's eyes sparkled with a shocking sentence: "I want 300,000 mu."

  Magistrate Zhao's left hand grasped the armrest of his chair, his body almost collapsing. Thirty million mu, what a staggering amount! Three million taels of silver, as white and pure as snow!

  "Really? Really?" Lord Zhao couldn't believe it, his heart racing violently.

  "Really."

  "Alright, tomorrow we'll go to circle the land, call up Li Zheng and Di Bao, 500,000 mu is yours to choose wherever you like! No, if it's convenient for you, hehe, we can go this afternoon! The sooner the better." Zhao Da Ren was afraid that Yao Cun Hui would change his mind.

  Yao Cunhui smiled and said, "Everything will be done according to your wishes. To be honest, I bought this land with the intention of opening it up for rice cultivation. At that time, I'm afraid there will be many things that will require your assistance. From now on, please take care of me!"

  "Alright, alright! As long as it's useful, I'll be at your service anytime!" Zhao didn't care what she was going to do with the land. He only knew that her intention was to ask for his help again in the future, which meant that his road to wealth had been paved and would continue uninterrupted.

  A win-win situation, why wouldn't he be delighted?

  "Then I'll thank you first, sir!" Yao Cunhui led Fan Li in making a bow.

  "Really? Really!" Mr. Zhao stood up and smiled as he returned the courtesy, and then both parties set a time, and a big thing was settled.

  When she walked out of that humble courtyard, looking at the dazzling sunlight outside, Yao Cunhui had a moment of dizziness, as if still in a dream-like unreality.

  Is that it? Is it really that easy? Is this for real? Did she just get lucky?

  "Second Miss, there are still many things to be done next, let's go back and calculate them first!" said Yi Guan Shi with a smile.

  300,000 mu, the young lady from a noble family has a big tone, however, the cost is only 30,000 taels, not much. Yi Guanshi's mood also improved somewhat, thinking that even if he loses everything, his losses will be limited.

  "What you said is true, we need to plan carefully." Yao Cunhui smiled.

  After spending a whole day, the deed was finally in hand. When it came to the moment of "one hand exchanging money and the other hand exchanging goods", both parties felt a strong sense of unreality when they got what they needed.

  Yao Cunhui planned to develop 100,000 mu of land first. The first thing to do was to open up water channels and drainage ditches, while recruiting workers, purchasing farm tools, buying oxen for plowing, and building temporary accommodation for the workers. All these had been carefully written down on paper beforehand. When Yao Cunhui brought out the plan to discuss with Yi Guanshi and Fan Li, Yi Guanshi was surprised that she wasn't just talking big, but had already taken action and made preparations, which greatly relieved him.

  This way, his errands will be easier to manage.

  Yao Cunhui has indeed undergone modern ideological baptism, with a long-term vision, overall planning, and holistic thinking. Each item is clearly listed in detail, and there are many unique aspects that make it easy for managers to appreciate.

  Yao Cunhui explained things clearly, left 30,000 taels of silver tickets for Yi Guanshi to manage, and entrusted another 30,000 taels stored in the Nanjing money house, which can be exchanged with a seal, and entrusted everything here to Yi Guanshi.

  In private, I also entrusted Fan Li brothers and sisters to respect and take good care of Yi Guan Shi, let Fan Shuang Shuang entertain Yi Feng well, and not to be lazy. Fan Li brothers and sisters agreed, and the master and servant said goodbye.

  With the silver ticket in hand, he had a bottom line and was able to arrange things with ease. Borrowing from the Xie family's reputation in Jiangnan, and since it was not yet the busy farming season, hiring workers was relatively easy, and soon they were all assembled and work began. Digging canals for irrigation, purchasing sand and stone to pave roads and build ditches, selecting a location for the farm and making initial preparations, buying oxen, and ordering farm tools, the once quiet Huxiang suddenly became bustling with activity.

  The local residents have long been accustomed to making a living by fishing, and it's hard not to be curious about them. However, the vast majority of people are watching this lively scene with a mindset of watching a joke.

  Yao Cunhui took Xiaoxing and Xiaotao back to Jinling, while Lin Zhanggui and several others went ahead to Shanghai. Since Lin Zhanggui was not familiar with farming, he needed to buy grain, so Yao Cunhui had no choice but to bring him along.

  "Is everything still going smoothly for Hui'er?" Yao Cun Jia was delighted to see his sister return, and he carefully observed that the spirit between her eyebrows was still flying high, and his heart felt at ease.

  "Fortunately, there's Yiguan Shi helping out, everything is fine! Sister, please thank your brother-in-law for me later!" Yao Cunhui said with a smile.

  Yao Cun Jia smiled: "No need to thank me, no need at all! As for the harbor side, there's still no news coming in, you take a good rest these few days!"

  Yao Cunhui smiled and agreed, and the two sisters chatted idly.

  Xie Fu returned, and the three of them were together. Yao Cunhui detailed the situation on the other side of Lake Town, saying that the land there was opened up to be exceptionally good, and curiously said that it wasn't far from Jinling, so why hadn't it been developed in all these years?

  Xie Fu smiled and said, "Jinling is not without land, there's no need for that. Who would have the mood to go open up new land? The other side relies on fishing for a living, that water town filled with wild grass, for thousands of years it has been like this, who would think of changing it? It's just you, I don't know what you're thinking in your head!"

  Yao Cunhui was suddenly speechless, and then smiled tentatively: "But, that place has developed into a big granary, brother-in-law, the land there is only one silver coin per mu, it's ridiculously cheap! Why don't you also go there to buy a piece?"

  Xie Fu Yun listened and said with a smile that was not quite a smile, "My family doesn't lack land either, what's the point of buying that place? Tell me the truth, I'd actually like to hear it!"

  Yao Cun Jia didn't know what kind of riddle the two were playing, and listening to it made him pause in confusion, looking at one then the other in bewilderment.

  Yao Cunhui's face was slightly embarrassed, and he said: "As my brother-in-law said, the people there are content with the status quo and do not think about making progress. Just our family buying land there is not enough. We need more people to invest there to develop it faster! My brother-in-law must have many friends, I want to ask for his help to spread the word, let more people buy land and open up the wasteland there, and develop the place! Brother-in-law, this is not just for my own benefit, the land there is really good, water transportation is convenient, and it's close to the Grand Canal. If we take action first, we will definitely not suffer losses in the future!"

  "Ghost girl, you've got a good calculation!" Xie Fu couldn't help but burst out laughing and said, embracing his loving wife's shoulders, leaning in with a smile: "What do you think, my dear? Should we also buy some land somewhere?"

  "Since it's Ermei's idea, it must be correct!" Yao Cun Jia thought for a moment and smiled: "Alright, I'll put out 2,000 taels to buy 20,000 mu of land first! Don't bother calculating the public share, just consider it my own."

  Yao Cun Hui's eyebrows opened with a smile: "That's settled then! Let Yi Guan Shi take care of it conveniently while he's at it!"

  No matter what, Yao Cun Jia is always the big madam of Xie's family, and her entry will make more people focus on that side.

  "As for those friends of mine, I'm not convenient to tell them in person, but I can find a way to get their attention. As for whether they're interested or not, I dare not guarantee!" Xie Fu Yun smiled and said.

  Those who socialized with him were all people of great status, how could he let others do such unreliable things? It would be strange if others didn't laugh at Xie Da Gongzi!

  Although Yao Cun was slightly disappointed in his heart, he thought again and felt that it was already difficult for him to help himself to this point, so he still thanked him generously.

  After staying at the Ruhuatang for another two days, Yao Cunhui set off to Shanghai Pu. The person sent by Xie Fu Yun returned with news that a fleet of ships would be heading south in seven days' time, and Yao Cunhui happened to be able to catch up just in time.

  Yao Cun Jia didn't know much about the ocean and wasn't aware of the great dangers that might be encountered while traveling by sea. When she asked, Xie Fu Yun only said that the water route was vast and endless, just like when she took a boat from the capital to the south on her wedding day, and that the journey might be lonely. So she prepared many writing materials, books, and snacks for Yao Cun Hui to comfort her loneliness during the trip.

  She didn't know that Yao Cun Hui was also secretly in love with her, so she accepted the things she had prepared and left with her entourage, bidding a reluctant farewell. As she was about to leave, she couldn't help but turn back and gaze deeply at her once more, her eyes hiding deep longing and reluctance to part.

  This time, maybe I'll be back safe and sound soon, or maybe I won't come back at all! Everything is unknown.