The happy little days of the Ye family

After dinner, Ye's mother sent the three children back to their respective houses, and went to the house of Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye with Father Ye.

Mr. Ye motioned for the two of them to sit down, and then said: "People in the town don't have land like us in the countryside. It costs money to buy a green onion or a vegetable. I didn't think about it before. Ever since I sent it to the Li family restaurant I brought wild vegetables and spring bamboo shoots, only to realize that the people in this city are in short supply of everything.”

"Yes, who would have thought that people in the town would rush to buy bamboo shoots, a wild vegetable that is not worth much in the village."

Old Mrs. Ye thought about the money she had earned from selling wild vegetables and spring bamboo shoots some time ago, and she was full of confidence and prepared to do something big.

"Dad and mother want to buy Xiaohoushan, right?" Seeing Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye preparing to have a fight, Ye's mother knew that she was right.

Mr. Ye nodded and said without further ado: "Since you all have guessed it, let me tell you straight away. Your mother and I really want to buy Xiaohoushan."

Seeing that he and his daughter-in-law had no objection, Mr. Ye continued:

"We went to Xiaohou Mountain to take a closer look. There are more than a dozen Chinese toon trees there, and a large bamboo forest. Honeysuckle can also be planted on the mountain. The price of barren hills is not high. If you take good care of it, you can probably get your money back in a few years. And Xiaohou Mountain Buying the mountain will also be a permanent asset, and it can leave an escape route for the children in the future."

Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye have experienced a lot, and they think about things in a longer term. If you buy this mountain and take good care of it, you will be more productive than in the fields. Moreover, the mountain has a guaranteed harvest despite droughts and floods. You can make a living by relying on the dozens of toon trees and the bamboo forest.

Mr. Ye took the tea handed over by Father Ye, moistened his throat and said:

"In March, when the harvest is low, the town is most short of food. Take Chinese toon as an example. People in the village think that Chinese toon has a strange taste and costs eggs, but people in the town like it. I went to the market specially. I’ve seen it, a small handful of toon costs 5 cents at the market, I estimate it’s around [-] taels per handful.”

Mrs. Ye on the side thought for a while and then added: "Except for the lean period in March, although there are fewer people in the town eating wild vegetables, there are still many people who like to eat them. To put it more to the point, Even if you can’t sell them, you can still dry them into dried vegetables and bamboo shoots, and sell them at a high price when there are no vegetables in winter.”

"The women in the village often go to the back mountains to dig wild vegetables and spring bamboo shoots. Occasionally they go to the town to sell delicacies and the family's produce. I'm worried that the villagers will follow suit and sell wild vegetables and delicacies after knowing that these can make money. If there are too many people selling wild vegetables, we won’t be able to sell anything.”

The family had made a lot of money some time ago, and Ye Mu was very excited, but she was also afraid that the produce inside the mountain would not be sold after she bought it. The mountains behind were full of these wild and wild vegetables, and the people in the village didn't stupid.

"In case they cannot be sold, wild vegetables, bamboo shoots and mushrooms on the mountains can be dried into dried goods. If there is a shortage of vegetables in winter, these will not be sold." Mrs. Ye has already thought about these.

"Don't forget there are honeysuckles. I've seen them on the mountain. Although the soil quality in Xiaohoushan is not as good as that in Houshan, it's not bad. There are honeysuckles in many places on the mountain. I think it's no problem to plant honeysuckle in Xiaohoushan. Yes. Plant honeysuckle all over the mountain, and if you take care of it, it will become a money tree."

Mr. Ye thought about the future and didn't care about the trivial things like wild vegetables and spring bamboo shoots. Fruits and herbs were expensive and they could be planted by then.

"Dad, the town has a small population and not many rich people. In fact, we can sell the products in the mountains in the county. The wages in the county are high, and the prices of the things sold there are also high."

Father Ye works as a clerk in a grocery store, and occasionally follows the shopkeeper to the county to purchase goods, so he knows the county fairly well.

Father Ye suddenly thought of the newly built wharf in the county: "A few years ago, a new wharf was built in the county. The boats on the wharf can transport goods to other provinces by water. Many businessmen from other places will take ships to bring goods to our county. Sell ​​it here, or buy it from the county and sell it back to your hometown.”

"I followed the shopkeeper to buy a batch of goods at the dock last year. The dock was bustling with people coming and going. Then we can also take our products to the dock and sell them to businessmen from out of town."

Knowing that there is a dock in the county, Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye are also very happy and plan to find time to go to the dock to have a look. Mother Ye has no worries.

"You don't have any objections, so it's settled. I'll go to the village tomorrow to ask about the price of Xiaohoushan and what the regulations are for buying the mountain."

The development of things was better than what he had planned before. Mr. Ye's face was glowing and he was ready to do something big.

"Mom, is there enough money in the public account? If not, we still have some here." Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye treat Mother Ye like their own daughters. Mother Ye also respects them very much and puts them first in everything. .

The house was built eight years ago, and all the family's savings were spent at that time. In recent years, she has to support her two sons in school. Mrs. Ye probably doesn't have much money.

"The money in the account should be enough. Currently, there are more than 50 taels of silver in the account. Xiaohoushan is not big, and it should be possible to buy it for about 30 taels. It is estimated that it will cost a few taels of silver to buy it from the government in exchange for the red deed and to establish relationships. Set aside a few taels of silver to hire someone to clean up the back yard, and the remaining ten taels should be enough to cover the family expenses."

In fact, Mrs. Ye still had dozens of taels of private money on hand, but she couldn't tell her son and daughter-in-law this. No matter what, she had to leave a way out for herself.

People cannot stand the test, no matter how close they are, they still have their own selfish motives. Mr. Ye and his wife are both smart people. If they have money, are they still afraid that their children will be unfilial?

"It's getting late. You go back and rest first. Tomorrow, let dad go to the village chief to ask about the regulations." Old Mrs. Ye waved her hand and asked Father Ye and Mother Ye to go back.

Mr. Ye went to the town early in the morning and bought two packs of snacks and two pounds of meat. He kept half at home to eat, and the other half was packed in a basket and taken to the village chief's house.

Village Chief Ye is over 50 years old, he is smart, capable and fair, and everyone in the village admires him.

As soon as Mr. Ye walked into the courtyard of the village chief's house, he saw the village chief Ye chopping firewood in the yard.

As soon as Mr. Ye came in, Village Chief Ye saw it, put down the ax in his hand and said, "Brother Guitian, why are you so free to come here today?"

"I just bought some snacks in the town this morning to give sweet treats to the children at home." He has a soft mouth when eating people, and a soft hand when taking others. Let's establish a good relationship first so that we can talk about buying the mountain later.

"Let's talk about what's going on first." There were not only snacks but also meat in the basket. Village Chief Ye didn't dare to collect it randomly. It was okay to make a small fuss. If something big happened, he wouldn't cover it up.

"Aren't you still worried about me? When has my little brother ever harmed you?" Mr. Ye put the basket into Village Chief Ye's arms and said, "I want to buy Xiaohoushan."

"You guys can do it. You must have made a lot of money delivering wild vegetables to Li's restaurant before."

People in the village still don't know about the old man delivering wild vegetables to Li's restaurant, but this matter cannot be hidden from the sharp eyes of Village Chief Ye.

"People in the town have no land, so they have to buy every green onion and every vegetable. I didn't expect that these wild vegetables can be sold for money. But the mountain behind this belongs to the village, and I can't keep taking advantage of it, so I thought I’m going to buy the small back mountain.”

Mr. Ye didn't want to hide it from Village Chief Ye. This old guy was very shrewd.

"There are only a few crooked-neck trees on Xiaohoushan. They are not worth much. If you want to buy them, just buy them. But in the future, you can't stop people from the village from going to town to sell wild vegetables."

People in the village have been living in the fields for generations, and they can only make half a living after working so hard all year round. The village chief also wants to provide some benefits to the people in the village, and encourage them to bring the output from the mountains or fields to the town. Change it to some silver.

"You old guy, am I the kind of person with a black heart? I have already thought of a way out for the output of the mountain. I have no control over whether the village wants to sell wild vegetables and delicacies."

"My brother said something wrong. Don't you want to buy a mountain? Let me tell you the rules for buying a mountain first." Village Chief Ye has a good relationship with Mr. Ye, so he is not worried about him being really angry.

"The wasteland in the village is 500 taels per acre. The barren hills are cheaper and you can buy one acre for 200 taels. The small back hill is not big, it is only about 100 acres. It is estimated that you can buy it for about 30 taels."

As he spoke, Village Chief Ye took out the policy clauses copied from the town and said while flipping through them: "In recent years, the imperial court has strongly supported wasteland reclamation. The first three years of wasteland reclamation are tax-free, and the long-term planting cycle of barren hills can be exempted from tax for five years." Tax."

Mr. Ye nodded with satisfaction. These are similar to what Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye discussed at home. The money prepared at home should be enough.

"Since you have no objection, let's go to the town to find paperwork and report it while it's still early, and have someone from the Yamen come over to measure the actual size of Xiaohou Mountain."

Village Chief Ye brought out the family's oxcart and motioned for Mr. Ye to get on the oxcart.