Chapter 8 Buying land and building a house

Chapter 8 Buying land and building a house

Qin Zhi bought two pounds of fat meat at the pork stall. In those days, it was hard for people to get full, and they had less fat in their stomachs, so they preferred to eat fat meat. Fat meat cost 15 wen per pound, and lean meat cost 10 wen per pound. Qin Zhi also bought a strip of pork fat, which cost him 18 wen.

When they got home, Shen had just brought back a bundle of firewood from the mountains, and Qin Zhen was also at home, having dug up a basket of wild vegetables early in the morning. Lunch was already ready, a pot of rice porridge and a plate of cold wild vegetables.

Qin Zhi was really hungry, so he went out early in the morning and walked back and forth for ten or twenty miles.

"Mom, let's talk about today's achievements while we eat. I'm so hungry." Qin Zhi put down the backpack, washed his hands, and quickly picked up the bowl to eat.

Shen was heartbroken and told her not to worry and to talk about it after dinner.

Qin Zhi swallowed two bowls of porridge in no time, and the hunger in his stomach disappeared.

After everyone had finished eating and cleared the table, Qin Zhi took out today's income and put it on the table.

When Shen saw the copper coins and silver ingots on the table, she was so shocked that she was speechless.

It was Qin Zhen who spoke first, her tone excited.

"Xiao Zhi, are those herbs worth so much money? I have never seen so much silver in my life. Our grandma always gave our uncle copper coins, or at least a tiny bit of silver coins. When have we ever touched a penny?"

"Sister, ordinary herbs are of course not valuable. What I picked are life-saving medicines. We have money now, mother, we can prepare to build a house." After Qin Zhi finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Shen, and pushed the money to Shen, asking Shen to keep it.

Shen did not accept the money, but pushed it to Qin Zhi.

"Xiao Zhi, this money is earned by your hard work. You should keep it for yourself. It will be a dowry for you in the future. And if you keep it in the space, your mother will feel relieved."

Qin Zhen also agreed with Shen's statement.

"Yes, Xiaozhi, you risked your life to go into the mountains to collect herbs. I am proud of you."

Qin Zhi didn't force it. It was fine to put it away for the time being and take it out when needed in the future.

"Mom, I still haven't taken out the 100 taels of silver from selling ginseng. Don't worry about it in the future. We will have everything. My sister and I will save up a lot for the dowry."

Qin Zhen was so embarrassed that she pretended to hit Qin Zhi.

"Xiao Zhi, what are you talking about? I'm still young."

"It's none of my business, mom said it first, haha"

The family was playing and laughing happily. Ever since the Qin family left, Shen's heart had always been tense. First, Xiaozhi was beaten to death by Mei, and then she left home penniless with her two children and had no hope for the future. Now Xiaozhi has come back to life and made money by collecting herbs, and that tense string has finally loosened.

Shen took her two children to the village to ask the village head about buying land and building a house. It happened that the people who worked in the fields had returned home for lunch, so the village head should be at home.

The headman's house was on the east side of the village, and on the way he would pass by Lao Qin's house. Fortunately, Lao Qin's house was closed and he did not run into them.

The red brick house on the east side is the home of the village head. When Qin Zhi's family arrived, the village head's wife, Zhou, was sitting at the door teasing her grandson.

Shen called out "Aunt Zhou". Zhou looked up and saw the mother and her two daughters. She was excited and surprised.

"Is Xiaozhi okay?" Zhou pulled Qin Zhi's hand and checked it carefully from head to toe.

Zhou's brother's grandson got married two days ago, and Zhou and his wife went to help for two days. They just got home today. They heard that Mei killed Qin Zhi and Qin Erzhu divorced Shen. Zhou's family and Shen's family used to be from the same village, and the two families had a good relationship. Shen was the only daughter in the family. Later, her parents died of illness one after another. Zhou's brother's family helped Shen like their own children. Later, Shen also married to Shitou Village, and Zhou treated her like her own niece. There were several times when Shen's in-laws bullied her, and Zhou went to support Shen. But Shen's mother-in-law Liu was a scoundrel. Relying on the fact that her eldest son was the manager of the town restaurant and her youngest son Qin Wen was a scholar, she was fearless and didn't give face to anyone.

When Zhou heard that Shen's mother and daughter were temporarily staying at the foot of the mountain, she originally planned to go and see them in the afternoon. She was so good that her daughter was beaten to death. Now seeing Qin Zhi standing alive in front of her, her eyes suddenly became red.

"Grandma Zhou, I'm fine. I went to the gates of hell, but the King of Hell said my name wasn't on the Book of Life and Death, so he let me back. You see, I survived a great disaster, so I'm sure I'll have good fortune in the future, and I'll be fine in the future."

"Yes, our Xiaozhi will be fine and will make the Qin family mad." Zhou wiped her tears and went into the house.

The manager in the backyard heard the sound and hurried into the main room.

"Uncle Village Head, we are here to ask you something today," said Shen.

"As you know, we are now temporarily settled in the little hut at the foot of the mountain. We came here to buy a small piece of land next to it and build a few houses."

The village head didn't expect that the Shen mother and daughter came to buy land and build a house. After all, it was said that when they left the Qin family, they didn't take even a needle with them except for some spare clothes.

"The soil at the foot of the mountain is poor and you can't grow crops if you reclaim it, so the price is one tael of silver per mu. Although the land is cheap, it is far from the village and wild beasts may come down the mountain in winter. If something happens, we will be helpless. There is a vacant land next to our house, which costs four taels of silver per mu. You might as well buy it here so that you can take care of each other if anything happens. Your Aunt Zhou still has some money, you can use it to build a house first, and then return it to us when you have money." The head of the village felt sorry for this poor family and persuaded them to buy land in the village, which was at least safe.

"Yes, Magnolia," Magnolia is Shen's maiden name, and Zhou has called Shen so affectionately for so many years.

"I feel more at ease if you live next door to my house. As for the money, don't worry. I still have some money for a coffin from your aunt Zhou. I'm in good health and won't die in the next few years. You can use it first." After saying this, Zhou stood up and prepared to go back to the house to get the money for Shen.

Seeing this, Shen quickly stopped Zhou.

"Aunt Zhou, no need. We have money. Xiao Zhi went to the mountains to pick some herbs a few days ago. They are exactly the rare herbs that the clinic urgently needs. The clinic spent ten taels of silver to buy them." Shen did not tell the real amount. Ten taels of silver was an astronomical figure for a farmer's family.

"Yes, Grandma Zhou, our family still wants to buy the land at the foot of the mountain. It's quiet there and far away from the Qin family. As for the safety issue, don't worry. When the time comes, we will build a high wall and put pointed broken tiles on it. We will also raise two big wolfhounds. Wild animals and thieves will not dare to come to our door."

Seeing that Shen's mother and daughter had made up their minds, Zhou and the village head did not try to persuade them any further.

"By the way, I heard that Qin Erzhu divorced you and cut off relations with his two children. Is this true?" asked the head of the village.

Shen nodded.

"Then I will help you sign out your household registration when I go to the county government office to get the land deed for you tomorrow, so that the Qin family won't come to your house and threaten you with the household registration if they have any problems."

Qin Zhi looked at the head of the village with gratitude. She had just arrived in this dynasty and didn't know much about the laws and customs here. The head of the village's actions would save them a lot of unnecessary trouble in the future.

"By the way, grandpa head of the village, we should buy the vacant land next to the hut, and then build a big yard around it." Qin Zhi thought that since one acre of land only cost one tael of silver, it was not expensive. He could plant flowers and fruits in the big yard as he pleased, which would be a good opportunity to fulfill his pastoral dream in his previous life.

"Okay, that piece of land is only a little over three acres, I'll let you have three acres, and I'll go to the county government office tomorrow to get the land deed for you. No, we can't wait until tomorrow, I'll drive the ox cart to the county government office now to get it for you. You just came here, and many people must have seen you. I'm worried that the Qin family will find out that Xiao Zhi is still alive and try to do evil again. You just stay at my house, I'll be back quickly, and I'll be back in an hour at most."

After the village head finished speaking, he went out and drove his ox cart to prepare to set off. Qin Zhi quickly stuffed a five-liang silver ingot into the village head's hand. The village head collected it and left in a hurry.

Qin Zhi took out two packages of cakes from the backpack and handed them to Zhou.

"Grandma Zhou, I bought this when I went to town to sell herbs today. I brought it here to sweeten your mouth."

"You are such a sweet-talker, little girl. So Grandma Zhou shamelessly accepted it. But this won't happen again. Now is the time when you need money, so don't spend it carelessly." As she said that, Grandma Zhou opened the bundle of oil paper and gave a piece to everyone.

While eating cakes, everyone was teasing little Mr. Bean, who was Zhou's grandson. He had just turned one year old and was at the age of being cute and fun. Time passed by unknowingly while they were teasing him.

When the village head came back, less than half an hour later, he handed the freshly-made land deed and household registration to Shen, and handed the remaining two taels of silver to Qin Zhi.