Chapter 202: Is It Too Late To Go Back On Your Words Now?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Rong Yan felt that he could not stay with this girl anymore. The back view of him bidding farewell to her was a little different from usual.
Xiaoxiao automatically interpreted it as shyness. She chuckled and went home to announce, “Father, Mother, Big Brother, Second Brother, I announce that our family is already a family with a mountain!”
Ning Fengnian choked on a mouthful of tea and coughed until he was out of breath. Madam Song was busy calming him down. Ning Ansheng frowned. Ning Anhui was the only one who asked normally. “What mountain?”
Xiaoxiao waved her hand with an imposing aura. “The section of the Dusk River from the river to our house at the end of the village.” She gestured a parabola with her hand and described it vividly. “It’s a mountain in this shape.”
The entire family fell into a strange silence.
“Sister, why are you so different from other children? Other children buy candy and flower ornaments for hair, but you buy shops. Other daughters buy jewelry and rouge, but you buy mountains!”
Ning Anhui seemed to be sleepwalking. “I can’t believe that we were still worried about starving to death a few months ago…”
Ning Fengnian and Madam Song’s concerns were more practical. “Didn’t you just buy land a few days ago and plan to build a house? How much did you spend this time?” That was a mountain!
Although they told their daughter not to tell them how much money she had so that they wouldn’t get into trouble if they were tricked by the old residence, they couldn’t help but be curious when they saw her spending so much.
Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. “350 taels and 10 acres of sand field.”
To be honest, the price was not high. Even if the sand field could not be planted with crops, it was still a lot of advantage to buy a mountain at this price. The problem was that County Magistrate Shen’s price was only for ordinary people, and the landowners and old money would all stand aside. He made this condition to prevent those people from stealing the benefits of the commoners, but there was a drawback—even if the price was really cheap and County Magistrate Shen said that many people could buy it together, ordinary farmers could not afford it. They could not bear to take the money out.
Only his sister/daughter, this little fool, was impulsive…
Ning Fengnian’s heart ached. “Is there still time to go back on your word?”
Xiaoxiao was puzzled. “Uncle Village Chief has already gone to the county office just now. Why should we go back on our word? This price is simply unprecedented. We won’t be able to get this deal again if we miss it!”
Ning Fengnian adjusted his emotions and did not let his heartache and regret be too obvious. “Xiaoxiao, you might not know, but the sand fields and mountains can’t grow food. It’s also very inconvenient to go up the mountain.” Xiaoxiao felt that her intelligence had been discriminated against. “Dad, I still know this common sense.”
She sighed. “I’m a farmer’s daughter after all. How can I go to the barren mountains to plant food?”
Ning Fengnian thought about the 350 taels that disappeared and didn’t know if he should heave a sigh of relief. “Then why did you buy the mountain?”
Xiaoxiao said to them, “Everyone should have realized that the resources of Dayan Mountain are far more abundant than we thought in the past. Of course, I don’t plan to make a fortune purely by relying on those mountain delicacies. You don’t have to worry. I want to plant trees.”
“Since so many things can grow on Dayan Mountain, at least it means that there’s no problem with the soil fertility. We only need to consider it carefully and not worry about production. When spring comes and the flowers bloom, the mountains will be filled with flowers, red willows, and greenery. They’ll compete for beauty. In a few years, the branches will bear the fruits of our labor. At that time, it’ll be a matter of earning money by selling fruits and wood. The more wood, the better. We can even use them to build houses for my brothers and for them to raise their sons. Who wouldn’t be envious when they see grand houses connected together? As for the manpower to plant trees, Little Big Brother Ah Yan said that we’ll leave it to Guard Yun and the others to deal with it in the early stages. In the later stages, we’ll hire someone to take care of it when we’re too busy.”
There was still a big difference between planting trees and farming. There was no need to remove weeds and insects like they did with the crops. They could harvest the entire land in a few months. Of course, it was still necessary to take care of it, but as long as the trees grew up, it would be much easier in the future.
Ning Ansheng and his brother were so embarrassed by her words that they temporarily lost their ability to speak. However, Madam Song could not help but be brought into Xiaoxiao’s beautiful imagination.
Ning Fengnian felt that he shouldn’t be convinced by his daughter so quickly, so he continued to ask seriously, “What about the sand field at the foot of the mountain? What do you plan to do with it?”
“Although our family’s few acres of land can still be handled, the sand field produces little. Even if we’re not afraid of hardship or tiredness, we can’t plant much food. We can’t use the sand field to plant trees, right?”
Xiaoxiao shook her head. “I’ve already planned that place. Let’s plant grass.” “Grass?” The entire family was puzzled. Only Ning Ansheng thought about her milk tea shop and had a vague guess.
As expected, she said in the next moment, “Father, Mother, you also know that I plan to open a milk tea shop. At that time, there will be a lot of demand for cow milk. It’s troublesome and unsecure to keep asking Mrs. Shen for help. If the supply can’t be met one day, it’s nothing to stop earning money, but won’t be easy to salvage my reputation if I lose it.”
She licked her lips. “The grass can be harvested in 40 to 60 days, so I plan to keep cows and sheep before the first batch of herbs ripens. I don’t need much. Let’s get familiar with them first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
Ning Fengnian couldn’t help but nod. Madam Song, who had come back to her senses, thought of an important question. “This isn’t a small matter. Do you still have money?”
Xiaoxiao herself was stunned for a moment before she said in a daze, “Aiya, the silver to buy the mountain seems to be paid by Little Big Brother Ah Yan.”
Her family was speechless.
At that time, he gave the banknotes too quickly. Later on, she was too excited and she forgot about it for a moment.
At the thought of this, Xiaoxiao hurriedly wanted to run next door, but when she reached the door, she saw that it was almost time for dinner, so she went to cook first.
People would be hungry if they did not eat. When it came to Xiaoxiao, they had to eat and drink well to not panic.
The combination of meat and vegetables, fish and prawns, and the rising standard of food made Ning Fengnian and his wife click their tongues. However, their daughter had said that it wasn’t like their family didn’t have the means now. Everything in the family would be better if they were in good health. Instead of eating chaff and vegetables and causing their bodies to collapse before buying medicine to eat, it was better to buy more fish, meat, eggs and milk.
How much did the medicine cost? How much did the vegetables cost? The vegetables were all planted by their own families, and the fish and prawns were caught by them. She needed milk to invent dishes to begin with. Meat did not cost many copper coins a day. It did not cost anything!
The couple did not have the self-awareness to follow in their second son’s footsteps at all. They slowly got used to Xiaoxiao’s feeding. Indeed, their bodies were getting more and more energetic every day. In the past, Ning Fengnian had to sit for a while and slow down when he came back from the canal. Now that he was full of energy every day, people could not help but wonder if he had gone to work or was just walking around to find someone to chat with.
On this bright afternoon, an unfamiliar and tempting fragrance wafted out of the kitchen where Xiaoxiao was.
This taste was salty and fresh, but Rong Yan, who favored sweetness, could not help but be interested. Of course, he would not rashly disturb and pry. He only greeted Madam Song and naturally helped feed the chickens. That’s right, he was feeding the chickens..
