The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 361 - 349: Agreement

Chapter 361: Chapter 349: Agreement

Old Zhou’s mouth fell open in shock; it was clear he hadn’t anticipated that children nowadays played games on such a grand scale, casually staking a hundred acres of land for the sake of play.

Do keep in mind that the Yongye Fields owned jointly by him and his five sons only amounted to a hundred acres in total.

Ms. Qian asked her daughter, "So, what now?"

Manbao said, "I think it shouldn’t just be them contributing land and money, I should also put something forward."

When Manbao said this, she was looking at her father.

Old Zhou, squatting and smoking, took a while before saying, "How can our family compare with those two families?"

"Dad, contributing our own things puts us at an advantage, if we don’t contribute, that’s where we lose out." Manbao faintly sensed something but couldn’t articulate it, she asked Keke again in her mind, realizing Keke still didn’t answer, but for some reason, she suddenly envisioned the classroom.

Manbao wondered, Is Keke suggesting that she should ask Teacher Mo?

So, while Old Zhou was deep in thought, Manbao sent an email to Teacher Mo.

Old Zhou wasn’t too keen on getting involved. He said, "Just play along with them; our family has less land and no money, how can we get involved in this?"

Zhou Dalang and Zhou Sanlang nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Zhou Erlang, on the other hand, glanced at his mother instinctively.

Ms. Qian then asked Manbao, "How do you calculate the yield of the crops you grow?"

"Each family’s input is different, we haven’t negotiated that yet, but I think Grandma Liu means to let them split it equally."

So, if she wanted to gain something, she would also need to put something forward.

Ms. Qian was curious, "Is the way you farm different from how our family does it?"

"Yes, it’s different; even the farming tools are not the same, and so are some of the methods. He also told us to raise more chickens and ducks to fatten up the land. To use his words, it’s called ’ecological cycling’," Manbao said. "A hundred acres is the very least; actually, the larger the land, the better the ecological cycle, and the greater the yield will be."

Manbao’s words were partially understood by the members of the Zhou family, but they were rather lost on the latter part, especially on what ’ecological cycling’ meant.

Old Zhou said, "We also raise chickens at home, even geese, if you want to play, use the ones from home."

"But our land is scattered, not connected."

"My goodness, my ancestor, so you really want to contribute land to play along with them?" Old Zhou glared at her.

Manbao nodded and enticed him, "Dad, if it’s a success, I could share a lot of grain and money, and what’s mine is yours!"

Zhou Silang immediately said, "Dad, I think it’s worth a try, mainly because Manbao is clever and has read a lot of books, if it’s written in the books, then it should be right."

Old Zhou asked, "How do you know it’s right?"

"Could something that’s wrong be written in a book?"

"Not necessarily," Manbao said. "A book is just a record of one person’s or some people’s understanding of knowledge; it can contain both right and wrong."

Old Zhou then looked at his youngest son triumphantly, "You see!"

Zhou Silang looked at Manbao with a you-should-have-known-better expression, "I was speaking up for you, we’re on the same side!"

"That’s also wrong, just because we’re on the same side, I shouldn’t turn a blind eye to your mistakes."

Zhou Silang turned his head away, ignoring her.

Ms. Qian, after pondering for a long time, finally asked, "We have quite a few plots of land, but not a lot, which do you want?"

Old Zhou whirled around to look at his wife, astounded, "You, you’re causing a ruckus, how can you give land to a child to play with, how old is she again?"

Land was Old Zhou’s lifeline.

Ms. Qian said, "Don’t forget, our daughter is a reincarnated fairy, perhaps this is a blessing from Heaven Master bestowed upon her?"

Old Zhou fell into contemplation.

Manbao’s mouth fell open; how did this get connected to Heaven Master?

Zhou Sanlang, who was not too supportive at first, nodded repeatedly, sharing his opinion, "Dad, I think what mother says makes sense. Since Manbao is a fairy under Heaven Master, she can’t always live this hard life with us, right? What if this is the time she finds a treasure?"

Zhou Dalang looked around, feeling that this was a bit far-fetched, so he turned to look at Two.

Zhou Erlang pondered before saying, "The main thing is, if our family only contributes a part of the land, the cost isn’t much. The young master’s family will provide labor and seed and the like. After all, it’s just farming; at worst, there will always be some yield from the land, and we could also keep a close eye, it shouldn’t result in a big loss."

Old Zhou objected, "We had a poor harvest this year, and I was planning on sowing more land next year. I already found our existing land insufficient for planting; how could I let it go?"

Zhou Erlang disagreed, "Dad, our family’s land isn’t exactly small. Plowing it once and then sowing doesn’t yield much, it’s better to put in more effort and cultivate meticulously. Haven’t you noticed that the fields that are plowed a couple of times yield better?"

Zhou Dalang also nodded, having experienced this firsthand, "A single acre does not show much difference, but when you add up twenty or thirty acres, the total can produce a lot more."

"Exactly, when our family only had eighty acres of Yongye Fields, we had enough to eat. Now that we have an extra share from Four’s portion... if not for the disaster this year, we could have sold a fair amount of grain after the autumn harvest."

"But can you compare to before?" Old Zhou said. "Third’s wife is going to give birth, and Four’s wife will have a child next year; the family will grow by three people all at once, and we’ll be down one laborer. If I don’t plant more, what will we do if the family’s granary is empty?"

This year, the family had added Ms. Fang, and by the end of the year, Ms. He would give birth. By next year, Ms. Fang would be expecting as well. For at least two years, a woman from pregnancy to childbirth would only be half a laborer.

Old Zhou, somewhat disappointed with his sons, said, "Have you all forgotten what it was like to be hungry? Why were we starving back then? It was because we had no grain stored!"

Ignoring him, Ms. Qian turned to Manbao, "Have you thought it through? Which lands do you want?"

Manbao hesitated, "I would like Four’s mountain."

Old Zhou immediately agreed, "That’s fine, is Four’s mountain enough? If not, give them Three’s mountain too."

Everyone: ...

"And the plots near Four’s mountain, I remember a lot of them are Old Master Bai’s lands, and several pieces are even adjacent to theirs, right?"

Old Zhou refused, "Those plots amount to thirteen or fourteen acres, planted with beans and rice this year, and we plan to plant them again next year, so no."

Manbao said, "Dad, we’re planning to plant fruit trees on the mountain and also raise chicken; both the saplings and small chickens will be provided by Shanbao’s family. The eggs they lay will be divided among the three of us. If our family doesn’t participate, it would just be the two of them dividing. Don’t you want to eat eggs and chicken meat?"

"Then let’s give the mountain," he conceded.

Ms. Qian said, "Do you think that cloud up there will turn into a pie and fall down?"

Old Zhou: ...

"So, don’t expect to be on the good end of every deal; first, you need to contribute something. The more you put out, the more you’ll get back. There’s no such thing in this world as getting hit by a pie without moving an inch. Your daughter might be a reincarnated fairy, but she isn’t a fairy yet."

Old Zhou fell silent, puffing on his pipe even more vigorously, and after a long while, he grudgingly said, "Fine!"

Manbao, delighted, said, "Then Dad, you should swap for a few more acres, enough to make up twenty for me."

Old Zhou: ...

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