The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 359 - 348: Plan

Chapter 359: Chapter 348: Plan

Bai Erlang was finally persuaded, because Bai Shanbao had said, "If everything written in the agricultural books can be achieved, then you’ll definitely make big money. With money, maybe we can go to Yizhou—do you know Yizhou? When I was returning to Longzhou this time, I passed through Yizhou, and it was really bustling there."

Manbao also chimed in, "With money, the next time your dad beats you, you can just take the money and stay in the town, buy lots and lots of tasty food, eat a bowl and throw it away, and your dad wouldn’t be able to beat you."

As it turned out, Bai Erlang was actually tempted.

So, he was incited to go home and ask his old man for land, for people, for oxen...

Old Master Bai nearly fell off his chair when his son said he wanted a hundred acres of land just for fun.

He widened his eyes and demanded, "Say that again?"

Bai Erlang cowered and immediately shrank his neck, quickly responding, "Dad, just pretend I was joking, I don’t want any land."

Old Master Bai’s expression grew even more stern, and Bai Erlang was about to cry from fright, decisively betraying his friends, "It’s all Bai Shan and Zhou Man’s doing; they told me to come back and ask you for land to play with."

Unexpectedly, Old Master Bai’s face relaxed a bit, and he softened as he asked, "What do they want the land for? No, what are you all going to use the land for?"

"To plant crops," Bai Erlang said, still feeling quite apprehensive.

"What to plant, how to plant it? Why do they want our family’s land?" Old Master Bai fired off three questions in a row, yet Bai Erlang couldn’t answer any of them.

No, he could have answered the third one, because both of them didn’t want to end up drinking bitter potions from failures, which is why they wanted our family’s land.

But Bai Erlang wasn’t stupid enough to say such a thing out loud, of course.

Seeing his foolish son hang his head as if he knew nothing, Old Master Bai’s irritation grew, and despite trying to hold back, he couldn’t help but roar at him, "If you don’t know anything, what’s there to play with?"

He chastised him with vexation, "Since it’s going to be a collective effort, you should at least know what you’re dealing with, what is this play, and how are you going to play? If you don’t even know the basics, how can you play?"

Bai Erlang asked in a small voice, his neck still retracted, "So, does this mean you’re agreeing?"

"I haven’t agreed!" Old Master Bai took a deep breath and said, "To persuade me, it’s not as simple as just talking about play. You have to answer the questions I’ve asked."

Seeing his silly son still standing there, Old Master Bai couldn’t help but slam the table, "What are you spacing out for? Go ask your playmates for answers!"

Bai Erlang turned and walked out, planning to find his pals for some fun, but as soon as he stepped outside, he grasped his old man’s meaning, pouted with indignation, and in the end, went next door to consult Bai Shanbao and Manbao.

The two were reading.

Of course, what they were reading was the agricultural book Manbao had brought. As for Bai Erlang’s martial arts fiction, Mr. Zhuang had confiscated it.

Bai Shanbao was a quick reader, and he wasn’t particularly interested in the agricultural book. Also, since this was an agricultural book written in plain language, easy to understand, he flipped through the pages quickly.

Whereas Manbao was curious and thus read it more slowly. The two were sharing a single book, one tilting his head to read the latter part while the other tilted his head to begin reading from the start.

By the time Bai Erlang sheepishly approached them, not only had Manbao finished the latter content, but Bai Shanbao had already gone through the book once.

Then the two looked up at the displeased Bai Erlang and asked, "Were you scolded by Uncle Bai?"

"You knew and still sent me to him!"

Manbao sighed, "This is the price of growing up."

Bai Shanbao said, "Who doesn’t get scolded in handling matters? Just tell us, did Uncle agree?"

"No," Bai Erlang replied, "My dad asked you, what are you planning to plant, and how are you going to plant it?"

After tilting his head in thought, Bai Erlang continued, "Also, why does it have to be my family’s land?"

The two looked at him as if he were mentally challenged, "Didn’t we already tell you?"

Bai Erlang grumbled, "Can any of those reasons be told to my dad? Can’t you guys find a more palatable excuse?"

Manbao said, "It’s wrong to lie."

Bai Shan added, "And we need Uncle to believe us."

Bai Erlang glared at them with bulging eyes and said, "Well, I’m not going to say that reason, if you have the guts, you go."

The two continued to look at him with disdain, one saying, "You’re really not smart. Who told you to say it just like that? The same excuse can be put in many different ways."

The other one said, "You should tell Uncle like this: ’This is a decision we have made after discussion. Manbao’s family doesn’t have much land, and it is somewhat tight. My family’s land isn’t around here, and after much consideration, your family’s land is the most suitable. If we fail, your family can withstand the loss. If we succeed, not only will your household have more grain and silver, all the other fields could do the same in the future. Your family would be the primary beneficiary.’"

Manbao nodded repeatedly, "Swap ’your family’ with ’our family’, see, doesn’t that sound much better?"

Bai Shanbao encouraged him, "Why don’t you go talk to Uncle again?"

Bai Erlang was stunned and then said in frustration, "I won’t go, if you’re so capable, go yourselves!"

Bai Shanbao and Manbao stared at him.

But Bai Erlang had clearly been upset, and he was unwilling to approach his father again no matter what. So, Manbao and Bai Shanbao had no choice but to consider going themselves.

But of course, they couldn’t just prepare a mere speech. They spread out a large sheet of paper and each took a pen to start making notes, "Do you think the fattening recipe in the book is good?"

Manbao said, "It sounds quite trustworthy."

"Then the land we’re asking for can be used for two crops a year, hmm, or even three crops in two years if the soil isn’t fertile enough."

Manbao nodded, "If Uncle Bai agrees, then we’ll have to modify the ploughing tools. The book says it’s more efficient that way. This is something my family can experiment with."

His family used a man-drawn plough, so if the modified plough turned out to be much more efficient, it would save his older brothers a lot of energy.

Bai Shanbao nodded, "We’ll need a carpenter."

Manbao then reached for the cloth bag he’d placed aside, saying, "Carpenters are expensive."

Bai Erlang, having edged closer without realizing, couldn’t help but interject, "I have money!"

Bai Shanbao’s eyes lit up as he asked, "How much money do you have?"

Bai Erlang hesitated, "Quite a lot, I guess. Plus, my mother is still holding on to my New Year’s money. If we need more, I’ll ask her for it."

Manbao added, "Buying seeds will cost money. Do you need money to hire people?"

"Let my dad pay for that."

Bai Shanbao and Manbao looked at him together, "You go talk to your dad."

On that point, Bai Erlang didn’t object; his dad was quite generous with money, and he generally got what he asked for every time.

Bai Erlang hadn’t read the agricultural book, nor was he interested, but he was quite intrigued by what Bai Shanbao and Manbao were planning; he listened with eager interest and naturally understood as well.

They really were planning to use the hundred acres of land to grow crops, not letting any go to waste.

The wheat for this season, the rice and beans for the next year...

Manbao said it was best to rotate crops; the same piece of land shouldn’t grow beans this year and beans again next year.

She said, "I never knew that after growing beans on a plot, you can’t grow beans again; you have to plant wheat."