Transmigrated as a Peasant Girl with Prophetic Dreams: Using My Space to Become the Richest Person - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Buy Only Low-Grade Land

Seeing that they didn’t quite understand her reasoning at first, Yang Xue patiently explained: “Now that our family has money, people are bound to target us. Especially after the flood—everyone’s crops are gone, and no one knows how long their food reserves will last.”

“Grain prices have already gone up, and they’ll only go higher. When people have no money for food and see that we have some, they’ll definitely come to ‘borrow’ from us.”

“Some might even try to steal it outright.”

“That’s why this money must be spent.”

“We’ll tell the outside world it was twenty tales. In a moment, Dad, you’ll go find the Village Chief and use those twenty tales to buy land. Once we have no cash on hand, no one will have anything to scheme for.”

The family nodded in realization.

Yang Laosan said urgently, “Then I’ll go find the Village Chief right now to buy the land.”

“Mhm. Dad, I’ll give you twenty taels, plus this extra one tael for ‘social expenses’ with the Village Chief. As for the rest of the money, I’ve hidden it in a safe place, so I won’t be giving it to you or Mom to keep.”

“Is it definitely safe?”

Yang Xue was certain: “I guarantee it’s absolutely safe. Even a mouse couldn’t find it.”

Yang Laosan and the others figured that if a mouse couldn’t find it, it must be very safe indeed.

Yang Laosan hesitated for a moment before saying, “Does the ‘social expense’ really need to be a whole tale? Normally, it should only be…”

Yang Xue knew what he was going to say and cut him off gently: “Dad, I know you hate to waste money. But if we want things done quickly and correctly, we have to pay a little extra.”

“By giving more for ‘fees,’ the Village Chief will get things processed faster for us. Isn’t that better?”

“Dad, the Magistrate and the Secretary are still in the village. Mention it quietly to the Village Chief—hint that he should go directly to the Secretary instead of making a special trip to town.”

“Will… will that work?”

“It will. The Village Chief is a smart man; he’ll know how to handle it.”

“Alright, but how do I bring it up?”

“Just pretend to ask casually. Say something like, ‘Hehe, Village Chief, since the Magistrate and the Secretary are both here in the village, do you think the land purchase can be processed faster? We’re so excited to have our own land,’ and so on.”

Yang Xue taught him as if she were instructing a primary school student, but she wasn’t impatient. These people had lived in this environment their whole lives; you couldn’t expect them to suddenly become master strategists without being taught. It was perfectly normal for Yang Laosan and the others to be slow on the uptake and seek help when facing a problem.

If she weren’t afraid of people suspecting she had changed too much, Yang Xue would have done everything herself. But if she didn’t let the family participate, they would never grow. If she carried everything on her own shoulders forever, she would work herself to death.

This was better—she provided the brains and the plan, and they executed it. It saved her energy and allowed them to mature.

“Okay, I’ve got it.”

“Here is the money, Dad. You must settle this with the Village Chief today. Grandpa and the others know I received a reward; they’ll definitely come to demand it. We need to get this to the Village Chief as fast as possible to lock the deal in.”

Yang Laosan took the money as if he were receiving a top-secret mission, his expression solemn and grave. “Understood! I’ll find the Village Chief right now.”

He turned and hurried off. Yang Xue called after him, “Dad! The Village Chief is up on the mountain, near the coal mine!”

“Got it!”

After he left, Yang Xue looked at Qian Yue’e. “Mom, tomorrow I plan to go to town to buy two enforcers.”

Qian Yue’e stammered, “En… enforcers?”

Yang Xue inwardly bit her tongue. Oops, slip of the tongue. “Hehe, I mean helpers. Helpers. A slip of the tongue, hehe.”

“Buying helpers already?”

“Yes. After we buy the land, we’re bound to run into problems. Some issues we can’t solve easily ourselves, so we’ll let the helpers handle them.”

“Mom, when the time comes, just say they are your distant relatives. Say that since we bought land and need to plant things, we’re too busy, so they came to help out.”

Qian Yue’e felt that every decision Yang Xue made lately was logical, so she nodded. “Then Mom will go with you tomorrow.”

“No need. Tomorrow the Village Chief will surely come to measure the land; you should stay with Dad.” For their first land purchase, Yang Xue wanted Qian Yue’e to experience the feeling of spending money to get something they truly owned.

“Mom, I’ll go with Xue’er,” Yang Shuang offered.

Yang Xue quickly declined. “Sister, no need. I’ll go alone; I can make it a quick trip.” Having Yang Shuang along would just slow her down. “You stay and watch the house. I’m afraid Uncle and the others might come looking for trouble tomorrow.”

“Remember, do not get into a direct confrontation. If they come, just go get someone to mediate and uphold justice.”

In this era, filial piety was absolute. Yang Shuang and the others were too honest; in a direct fight, Yang Xue feared they would lose. If the reputation of “beating one’s elders” got out, the whole family would find it impossible to live in this society.

“Alright, I’ll watch the house. Be careful on your own tomorrow.”

Yang Yu and Yang Tian piped up immediately: “Big Sister, don’t worry! We’ll help you deal with Uncle and the others!”

…

Over on the mountain, Yang Laosan found the Village Chief and told him he wanted to buy land. The Village Chief wasn’t surprised; in the countryside, the first thing anyone did with money was buy land, followed by building a house.

However, he was surprised when Yang Laosan said he wanted to buy low-grade land. Even to save money, most people would at least buy hillside plots. Low-grade land was infertile, hard as a rock, and often filled with small stones that were a nightmare to clear.

“Yang Laosan, are you sure you want all the low-grade land? Your family isn’t short on cash now; you should really consider some fertile fields.”

Yang Laosan shook his head firmly. “Village Chief, just low-grade land is fine.” He felt that as long as he followed his second daughter’s lead, things would work out.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Village Chief, we aren’t planting rice. We plan to grow vegetables, and low-grade land is enough for that.”

The Village Chief was even more shocked. “Twenty acres of land, all for vegetables?”

“Fifteen acres for vegetables. The remaining five acres we’ll keep for building a house later.”

“So, Village Chief, I’ll have to trouble you to find a plot that connects to a residential site. We plan to build our house near our fields so it’s easier to manage.”

This had all been decided by the family beforehand.

“There are plots like that, but you’d better be sure. Once the deed is processed, there’s no backing out.”

Yang Laosan nodded heavily. “Yes, I’m sure.”

The Village Chief sighed. “Fine. I’ll make some time tomorrow to measure the land for you.”

“Great, thank you, Village Chief!”