Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 292 - 290

Chapter 292: Chapter 290

These days, Xiao’er spent most of her time with Shangguan Xuanyi and Di Shaowei, traveling back and forth between several bridges.

Constructing such grand bridges was not a simple task, and Shangguan Xuanyi had invited all the talented craftsmen and engineers he knew to help solve some of the technical difficulties they encountered.

Fortunately, the water level continued to recede daily. To facilitate the construction, Xiao’er had ordered the piling up of numerous sandbags to divert the water flow.

We had to block the flow in four different locations to create a workable environment.

The time was pressing, and the project was enormous. The nights were growing longer, and the days were becoming shorter. Every worker started to work at dawn and continued working into the night, aided by the light from torches.

Everyone knew that if they didn’t finish the work before the heavy rains arrived, all their efforts would be wasted, even potentially all for naught. Therefore, everyone worked conscientiously and with all their might. Luckily, the wages were good, forty coins per day plus three meals!

During this time, Xiao’er asked Manager Xie to go to Taiping County to see if anyone was willing to sell the flat fertile land there.

Manager Xie arrived in Taiping County and, after speaking with a well-known local broker, found that several hundred acres of land were for sale.

He had not expected this many fields to be on the market and became uncertain whether to buy or not.

These fields were inundated by floods every rainy season. If the weather gods were kind, the Huai River either did not break its banks or the breaches were minor and fields were only under water for a day or two. But when fate was unkind, the floods would wreak havoc on the crops, leaving not even a trace behind!

After the flood, if there was sufficient time left before the harvest, the fields had to be replanted. If there wasn’t enough time, the yield would be zero.

Farming these fields was a headache, and many tenant farmers were reluctant to continue working them after a year or two.

Consequently, many landlords wanted to sell their land. They would use the silver from the sales to buy land elsewhere. Even mediocre land seemed more manageable compared to this supposedly fertile land!

Upon receiving Manager Xie’s report, Xiao’er decided to personally visit Taiping County.

First, she accompanied the broker to have a look at these fields.

"Miss, these are indeed good fields. However, they are prone to flooding during the rainy season. Hence, their prices are a bit lower. It’s not that they flood every single year or have zero yields each time they do flood. The price for which you can acquire these fields is indeed a bargain!" The broker’s words were not entirely false. Xiao’er approved of the notion of a "bargain." Not for the present, but for the not too distant future!

"Which of these fields are adjoined?" It would be more convenient if a large piece of contiguous land could be purchased.

"They’re all connected! How many acres do you intend to buy, miss?" Finally, there was an inquiry about the fields which have been on hold for several years. Even if he were to make a little less, he wanted to sell! There may not be another such opportunity in the future!

Awaiting the arrival of another unsuspecting buyer could take ages!

"I want to buy as much as I can!" Looking at the vast fields of hope, Xiao’er was more than satisfied.

Buy as much as possible? Good heavens! She had encountered a big fish today! No, a big lobster! She must seize this lobster that had come knocking on her door!

The broker tried hard to conceal his excitement. "Since you’re so generous, miss, I’ll ask the owners of the lands if they can lower their prices."

"I would appreciate that! Can I get an answer by this afternoon? I have something to do and need to leave early in the morning." She had to keep a close eye on the bridges being built; she didn’t want to encounter problems that led to delays in progress!

"No problem!" In the face of her willingness to buy, there were no problems!

Xiao’er had barely finished lunch when the broker came to find her at the inn.

All the landlords have agreed to reduce their prices by half a tael per acre, making it five and a half taels of silver per acre.

Xiao’er was overjoyed! Without hesitating, she agreed to the price and bought all five hundred acres!

After the bridges were finished, they would concurrently construct a dam and then build the necessary waterways for these fields.

The cost of these hundreds of acres would at least double! At that time, one probably would not be able to buy an acre here even for ten taels of silver!

The broker saw that Xiao’er was an easy buyer. While he was checking the prices, word spread that someone was willing to purchase the land. Two more people showed an interest in selling. There were a total of a hundred acres. He asked Xiao’er if she was interested.

Without a second thought, Xiao’er agreed: "The more, the merrier; every bit counts!"

Once all the formalities were completed and it was still early, Xiao’er, along with Manager Xie, left Taiping County.

After Xiao’er left, word got around that someone was willing to buy more land. People rushed over to find the broker, only to be disappointed once they realized they were late!

Upon her return to the Post Station, Di Shaowei asked her what she had been doing in Taiping County.

"Buying land!" Without raising her head, Xiao’er responded while studying the map to figure out how to construct the waterways.

"Buying land? What kind of land?" Suddenly, a thought struck Di Shaowei, and he exclaimed in alarm: "Don’t tell me that you bought the fields that get flooded every year!"

"Yep." Xiao’er was busy sketching something on the map.

"Girl, do you know the conditions of those fields? Almost every year, they are flooded. The Imperial Court has even exempted those fields from taxes! But many people still don’t want to farm there!"

"I know."

"Knowing this, why did you still purchase them? Did a donkey kick you in the head? Wait, what are you doing with this map? Is this a routing map you’re drawing? Are you planning to reconstruct this land?"

"Yep."

"Girl, how many acres did you buy? How much silver per acre?" Di Shaowei sensed something was wrong. It seemed he had missed something crucial.

"Six hundred acres, five and a half taels of silver."

Five and a half taels? So cheap! Heaven! He needed to buy some, too.

"Is there any more land for sale?" Di Shaowei asked without much hope.

"I bought it all. However, there should still be others willing to sell." She had left in a hurry, and the broker had mentioned that if she wanted more land, she could contact him. There were probably many landowners willing to sell.

"Right. That blasted land, whoever owns it, suffers! Ah! I must also buy a piece. Otherwise, what will my children eat in the future!"

After hearing this, Xiao’er finally gave him a look: If owning it brings misfortune, then why are you still buying!

Di Shaowei responded with a look that said, I trust you.

"Someone! Yang Zhong! No, what’s the name of my errand boy?... Someone! Where have you all gone! Have you gone deaf? Can’t you hear your master calling!" Di Shaowei had just hired a new servant, but he couldn’t remember the boy’s name.

Xiao’er: "..."

The next day, Di Shaowei also sent someone to Taiping County to buy land. He acquired another four hundred acres at the same price of five and a half taels of silver per acre.

Upon witnessing this, the magistrate of Taiping County shook his head. Recently, people seemed to be making foolish decisions!

Once they owned this land, they would regret it! However, he didn’t want to get involved anymore. He had spent a great deal of money to smooth the path for his transfer order, which had finally arrived! Whoever wanted to take over this hot mess of a situation was welcome to do so! He’d had enough!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.