A Good Country Wife
Chapter 230 - 228: Having Doubts_1

Chapter 230: Chapter 228: Having Doubts_1

Zhao Erhu took Lin Yue toward the valley, leading her from the cave into the depths of the valley. "How about this place? Isn’t it nice? Actually, I discovered it when I was a child, which is how I found the exit yesterday. The temperature here is much cooler compared to outside. In the future, we can even build a little cabin here and live here when the summer heat becomes unbearable."

"It is indeed beautiful. I never expected Zhao Family Village to have such a wonderful spot. It’s like a paradise here. Besides building a little house, we could plant flowers and trees, fruit trees too, and even create a pond here, covering it in lotus flowers. If I’d known, I would have called the kids over too—they would definitely love this place."

Upon hearing his young wife prioritize the children over him, Zhao Erhu felt very displeased. Especially recently, those damn brats had become even clingier to his wife than before, impossible to shoo away, which annoyed him greatly. How could he agree to let those damn kids come in and compete with him for his wife’s attention?

"Forget about those damn brats. They’re always following you around like a bad smell, they’re not babies who haven’t been weaned yet. Don’t tell them about this place. From now on, this will be a place just for the two of us. No one else is allowed to know," Zhao Erhu commanded with a rare display of authority.

In fact, there was another thing he didn’t say, ’so they won’t come and ruin our world for two’. Zhao Erhu was now firmly convinced that in the future, it would be better for him and his wife to have a soft and delicate daughter, who would not only be cute and lovable but also wouldn’t be like those damn sons who knew how to defy their father. They really needed a lesson, yet his wife still stopped him from beating them.

After visiting the valley, Lin Yue, with a spirit of grand finance, decided to buy the entire expanse of wasteland, including the valley. The Court was already encouraging land reclamation, and the policy was quite lenient. The land was cheap at only one or two taels of silver per mu, and it even came with a fifteen-year tax exemption. In Lin Yue’s estimation, it couldn’t be more cost-effective, and it would be even better if they could purchase more of the better locations.

Although the wasteland was vast, it wouldn’t exceed a hundred mu in total, and it could be bought for no more than a hundred taels of silver. Buying the valley would require a bit more money, probably two to three hundred taels of silver for the whole lot, not to mention gifts and favors for the village chief. However, those were just minor expenses. The real costs would come later. Such a vast wasteland could obviously not be cultivated by themselves; they’d have to hire others to do it, plus there were the expenses for seeds and fertilizers. Calculating all this, it was quite a sum, yet their family income was quite substantial at the moment, making the expenses manageable.

As for Lin Yue’s personal savings, she wouldn’t touch them just yet. Since Zhao Erhu had already said he would provide the silver, Lin Yue naturally wouldn’t be polite with her own husband. After all, whatever they bought was actually for both of them; it would just be registered in her name. Her private fund had to be kept intact, as the plan for the kids to enroll in school next year could not change, meaning a fixed amount of silver had to remain untouched.

Zhao Erhu bought wine, meat, and homemade foodstuffs, and went to find the village chief, explaining what he intended to do. The village chief, Zhao Youfu, was very surprised to hear that Zhao Erhu wanted to buy those dozens of mu of wasteland.

Village Chief Zhao Youfu was sharp and calculating. Initially, he was quite happy to hear about the potential land purchase, as it would bring income to the village. Although most of the silver from the sale would have to be paid to the government office, a small portion could be kept as public funds for the village, to be used for repairs of ancestral halls and roads for the benefit of the villagers. However, when he considered Zhao Erhu’s purpose, Zhao Youfu became suspicious, suspecting Zhao Erhu had an ulterior motive, and thus hesitated, unable to decide whether to agree.

The situation was different from when Zhao Erhu had previously bought those ten mu of wasteland. Back then, Zhao Erhu had been swayed into buying them. At that time, the Court had tasked each village with a quota, and Zhao Youfu had no choice but to turn to Zhao Erhu, almost tricking him into purchasing the land.

That piece of wasteland was in a poor location, with lots of rocks in the soil making it difficult to cultivate, and it was far from any water source. Carrying water to the fields required traveling a fair distance, wasting a lot of time, and the poor soil produced mediocre crops. No one was willing to buy the land, and after planting for just one year, Zhao Erhu had abandoned those ten mu. Somehow, he had begun to cultivate them again this year.

Zhao Youfu might have had his self-interests, but he was considered fair-minded and, as the village head of the Zhao Family village, he always put the welfare of the villagers first, something he did remarkably well. Even his own family was not allowed to do anything that would be detrimental to the village.

He recalled a story he’d heard before about some people who bought land in a village for nefarious and illegal activities. When the Court launched an investigation and started to settle accounts, the whole village suffered the consequences. So, when he heard that Erhu wanted to buy the deserted wasteland, along with the mountain valley behind it, Zhao Youfu couldn’t help but suspect Erhu’s intentions, fearing he might be harboring some ill designs.

Zhao Youfu knocked his smoking pipe and said, "Erhu, you must tell me, what are you planning to do with that wasteland and mountain valley? We were both born and raised in Zhao Family village, we grew up here, and we must not do anything to let the village down."

Erhu didn’t take offense to the village head’s words; instead, he felt a degree of admiration. He knew not everyone would forgo personal gain to think first of the welfare of the village. So he partly shared his plan.

"Look, Uncle, what else can we farmers do with land but cultivate it? Your nephew is now providing food and vegetables to the Government Office and some landlords’ houses. We’d need to plant a lot more if we’re to meet demand. My wife also wants me to make some money to build her a manor on that wasteland," said Erhu.

Listening to Erhu, Zhao Youfu remembered that Erhu had indeed asked him for help in purchasing land before, but they hadn’t found anything suitable - either the land was too far away, too small, or the price wasn’t right. He had heard that their family had successfully cultivated the ten acres of wasteland they had bought before. Could it be true what he was saying? But they didn’t need that much land, especially since it was difficult terrain to cultivate.

"You rascal, you do know how to care for your wife. Do you do everything she says?" Zhao Youfu teased Erhu, though he wasn’t completely convinced.

"Actually, it’s somewhat my own idea too. Who doesn’t want to earn some more property when they’re young, especially since my sons are all grown up now? I have to plan for them, too. Speaking of buying the land, there’s something else I need to ask for your help with, Uncle."

"Oh? Let’s hear it." Zhao Youfu didn’t reveal what he was thinking.

"You know our family is small, Uncle. If we buy that wasteland, we’ll definitely be short on manpower. We’ll need to hire people to break the ground. And I’d like to get the land cultivated as soon as possible, as quickly as we can, which means hiring more hands. I’m afraid we’re going to need your help to spread the word in the village so everyone knows there’s work available," Erhu explained.

Zhao Youfu truly believed Erhu upon hearing this and took it more seriously. If it was as Erhu had said, it would benefit the village as well. "That’s not a problem, but you have to give me a plan. How many people you want to employ, how much you’re willing to pay them for a day’s work, any requirements for the workers; you have to make it all clear so I can explain it to everyone."

"Of course, we can set the daily wage at thirty coins, including lunch at midday. The requirement for the workers is straightforward - it’s tough physical labor, working the land needs real strength, no crafty slackers allowed. That’s about it." Erhu had thought it all through already, and spelled out his terms to Zhao Youfu without hesitation.

"Your requirements are fair; who doesn’t expect to get their money’s worth when hiring labor? If you’re paying, people have to work hard! But this wage seems a bit high. Thirty coins a day plus lunch – even landlords don’t pay that much for labor without meal included; they only pay twenty coins a day. You’re going to be putting yourself at a loss. Why not adjust the wage to twenty coins and consider the extra meal as a bonus, a way to show community spirit among fellow villagers?"

Without touching upon anything fundamental, Zhao Youfu was still inclined to consider the favors Erhu’s family had extended in the past, and he offered his nephew some thoughtful advice.

"Uncle, I’ve considered this wage carefully. Firstly, the work for our house isn’t easy; the laborers will be busy from dawn till dusk. Secondly, you’re aware that our family has earned a bit of money these days. Since we’re all from the same village and community, we want to recognize the goodness of our fellow villagers and let them share in some benefits. But our capacity is limited, raising the wage to thirty coins a day is already the utmost we can do.

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