The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 2047 - 2022: Want to Buy Land

Zhou Lichong had really saved quite a bit of money. Upon hearing that the wedding date was set for June 28th, Manbao immediately wrote a letter to her parents, asking them to come and see their eldest grandson get married.

Then she carefully selected fabrics from the shelves in her space, choosing those she thought suitable for Liu Sanniang, and took them to Junior Ms.Qian.

Seeing Manbao carrying an armful of fabric, at least five or six pieces, nearly touching the ground, Junior Ms.Qian quickly went forward to take them, asking, "Are you planning to make clothes?"

"No," Manbao replied, "These are for Lichong’s bride price." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Junior Ms.Qian was slightly surprised. She counted the fabrics in the house, finding a total of six pieces, each with good material and color. Manbao seldom bought fabrics outside; in this year and more, she hadn’t seen Manbao buy fabrics or clothes from outside. They all came from home or were made and sent over by Old Madam Liu.

"Are these from palace rewards?"

Manbao nodded, "These two pieces are from the Empress, this one from the Empress Dowager, this one from Mingda, and these two from the Crown Princess. I think the colors are nice and suitable for Liu Sanniang, so they can be used for Lichong’s bride price."

Junior Ms.Qian smiled, "Your big brother and I can buy them. Datou has saved quite a bit, and we calculated that it’s enough to manage a good bride price. You can take these back."

Manbao shook her head and said, "Big Sister-in-law, you just keep them. Anyway, I’ve received a lot of rewards. Originally, half of the fabric I received was given to Fourth Brother to exchange for tea and medicinal herbs to sell. These pieces weren’t taken out because they are good."

"Good fabric, as long as it’s well preserved, can last without color change for twenty years or so, which is why fabric can be used as money. Adding these pieces of fabric to Lichong’s bride price not only makes it look good but also saves some money for other things."

Manbao had plans of her own, reminded by Bai Shan too, that a family’s development needs to be looked at least twenty years into the future, and a clan’s development should be considered fifty years ahead.

So Manbao quietly told Junior Ms.Qian, "Saving some money will help Lichong to manage after their marriage. We can also buy some fields for them."

Junior Ms.Qian was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "Datou has divided the land in the village."

"Has the village’s Yongye Fields been sufficient this year?"

"Still enough."

"What about the separate fields?"

Junior Ms.Qian laughed, "Still in the mountains, and there’s a large piece of land at the foot. This time, it was his luck during allocation; he got a small mountain, and because it was insufficient in number, the Land Officer gave him a large piece of wild land at the foot. Because it occupied a large count, the village even cleared the wild land for him. Your Second Brother and Third Brother planted it with Ligustrum this year..."

The family’s land is pooled together, and harvests and the like belong to the communal pot, but in the future, when the family splits, unless the Zhou Family is so poor that it needs to sell land to support the parents, each piece will definitely return to its owner. Whoever’s it is, it will be theirs.

Junior Ms.Qian mentioned this to tell Manbao that they didn’t lack land now, nor did Datou.

Manbao said, "There’s never too much land, and that’s in the village. It’s still too far from the capital. If Liu Sanniang stays in the capital in the future, what will Lichong do there? He can’t have no land at all."

Junior Ms.Qian laughed, "He has skills now. Even with just the family land, he can support himself and a whole family."

Manbao understood she was referring to Zhou Lichong going into trading with Zhou SiLang. In the worst case, he could now work as a bookkeeper, which was better than farming in the village.

Manbao then took her elder sister-in-law’s hand and said earnestly, "Big Sister-in-law, for the long-term, Lichong should still buy some land; trading can be done twice a year like Fourth Brother now, not more."

"Currently, the government is lenient to merchants, not strict, but if in the future the treasury is in great need of money, the current rulers may levy more merchant taxes, and there will be stricter requirements otherwise. Therefore, land is necessary, at least, we are farmers, not merchants."

"That’s for the long term. In the short term, it’s also good for the couple to have a piece of land near the capital. Not just for farming, but growing some fruits and vegetables can save a lot of money a year."

Now many of the fruits and vegetables at Zhou’s Restaurant are sent from Pu Village. Those that can be stored, like winter melons, pumpkins, and cabbages, were grown by Zhou Dalang himself last year. Common beans were paid by tenant farmers as rent.

Not only does the restaurant use them, but the family also eats a lot from the village, and the Bai Family often sends some seasonal fruits and vegetables. They are not extravagant, so family expenses are not high.

Junior Ms.Qian has lived in the capital for over a year, often interacting with nearby vendors, primarily because the food she makes is well-received.

Even its ingredients are frequently bought by others.

Although she is mainly in charge of purchases, after frequent interactions, she sometimes hears about the expenses from those in charge, and they truly aren’t small.

So, hearing this, Junior Ms.Qian could understand. Though she couldn’t fully grasp the long-term plan Manbao mentioned, she knew it benefited their family.

So she was quickly persuaded, thinking, "But land in the capital is expensive. Previously, Father wanted to buy some land near the capital with money. He had your big brother inquire, but the prices were high as soon as they asked, and soon, the land was sold even before they could make any decisions."

It was completely different from where they had to inspect a piece of land repeatedly for ten or twenty days before buying.

Manbao couldn’t help but laugh, "Big Sister-in-law, it’s hard to buy in the capital; we can look in Yongzhou. There is a lot of land there, and the prices aren’t very expensive."

"That’s the only way; we’ll set aside some money and buy a few acres in Yongzhou when the time comes. But land is hard to buy;" Junior Ms.Qian asked in puzzlement, "But I see lots of land in the capital and Yongzhou, much more than back home. There’s so much open flat land. How can there not be any for sale?"

Manbao explained, "There are regulations. The Yongye Fields given by the court can only be sold when unable to support the elderly or when there are no burial funds for elders. Separate fields are reclaimed when the owner dies."

"So ordinary people seldom sell land. Those with family wealth sell even less unless they are moving away. Like our family, if we don’t reside in the capital in the future and have just a few acres nearby, it might as well be sold; otherwise, keeping it without farming is troublesome for renting."

"There are also cases of family mishaps," Manbao said, "Although there are many people in the capital and Yongzhou, such families aren’t many, so that’s why land is hard to get."

But there’s an upside to this; since it’s hard for them to buy, it’s equally hard for others, so ordinary people seldom lose their land. From the court’s perspective, this is a good thing.