Farm Girl's Manor-Chapter 278 A Farce to Buy a Shop (7)_1

Having set her mind on buying the Zhang Family Shop, Mo Yan had to keep an eye on the Zhang family’s movements. However, it was impossible for her to go into town every day or to watch them personally, so she had to find someone to assist her.

Thus, she went to the Huixian Residence and found Xiao Zhu, hoping he could find someone reliable to keep tabs on this matter.

The task wasn’t a difficult one, and upon hearing the request, Xiao Zhu immediately agreed.

Mo Yan quickly thanked him and took out ten taels of silver from her purse to give to him. Five taels were to thank Xiao Zhu for his help, and the other five were for him to pass on to the person assisting them. She stated that an additional five taels would be given once the matter was concluded.

This favor was but a trifle, yet Xiao Zhu refused to accept the five taels meant for him. In the end, only after Mo Yan feigned anger and said she would find someone else if he didn’t accept the silver did he reluctantly take it.

When they returned home, neither of them told Lixiu about the Zhang family affair, as mentioning it would only add to her worries and remind her of the past she’d rather not recall.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of September. After a bout of autumn rain, the air had grown quite chilly, necessitating the wearing of thin cotton-padded jackets and trousers to stave off the cold.

After over half a month of digging, the Mo Family’s small pond had been completed just before the rain. The pond was not huge, approximately one mu in size and three meters deep. It appeared even deeper, about four or five meters, thanks to the mound of excavated mud that surrounded it. Once the channel from the spring to the pond was opened, the gushing spring water flowed into the pond, filling it rapidly.

After the pond was completed, they proceeded with reclaiming wasteland. The lowlands were filled with moisture-loving grasses that were easy to deal with. Their root systems were extensive and highly reproductive. Being winter, they wouldn’t grow back once cleared; but come spring, they would all sprout up again. Only by planting crops and regular maintenance could the grasses be prevented from competing for nutrients.

The one hundred and twenty mu of sloped land they had recently bought was also being reclaimed, but turning the slope into stair-like strips puzzled both Lizhong and the others helping with the reclamation. They simply couldn’t see what Mo Yan was planning.

Lizhong had asked her twice, but seeing Mo Yan’s reluctance to divulge her plans, he didn’t inquire further. Nevertheless, many villagers questioned her, suspecting the Mo Family had another lucrative plan in the works, which left Mo Yan somewhat vexed.

It wasn’t that she was unwilling to share, but rather that if she did speak, no one would believe her. Neither the original inhabitants of Liu Yang Village nor the villagers who had fled from other regions had ever heard of terraced fields.

Speaking rashly would only lead to more questions; it seemed better to let them understand once the terraced fields were built.

If she hadn’t discovered a spring, obviating the concern for a water source, Mo Yan wouldn’t have thought of buying sloped land to develop into terraced fields.

Building terraced fields couldn’t be done on just any slope; the gradient needed to be suitable. It generally shouldn’t exceed twenty-five degrees to prevent soil erosion. Moreover, irrigation and sunlight were crucial—without them, good crops wouldn’t grow.

The slope she had purchased was free from high mountains casting shadows, providing plenty of sunlight. Now with a water source, and a gradient of around twenty degrees, it was perfectly suitable for terraced fields. Finding another spot as ideal as this one would be nearly impossible.

...

When Xiao Zhu came rushing to Mo Yan’s place to discuss the Zhang Family Shop, Mo Yan was in the middle of tailoring new clothes with Lixiu and the others, using the leather that Lin Yong had prepared.

Seeing him, Mo Yan knew there must be news about the Zhang family. Not wanting Lixiu to overhear, she quickly led Xiao Zhu into the study.

"Little Brother Zhu, is the Zhang family going to sell the shop?" She had waited so long without news that she thought the Zhang family might stubbornly refuse to sell.

Xiao Zhu nodded and said, "The Zhang family has been reaching out to their business acquaintances recently, trying to sell the shop to gather capital for other ventures. However, seeing the Zhang family’s decline, those acquaintances have been lowballing them. Zhang Fugui thinks the offers are too little and is reluctant to sell."

Mo Yan wasn’t surprised by this turn of events. The business world was driven by mutual interests, and with the Zhang family in trouble and no longer advantageous to associate with, their so-called friends saw a chance to scrape off a final profit.

"How much silver does the Zhang family want to sell the shop? And how much are their friends willing to offer?"

Xiao Zhu held up four fingers: "Zhang Fugui said he won’t sell for less than this number, and his friends, at most, are willing to offer two thousand five hundred taels."

Mo Yan frowned, mentally calculating how much silver her family had available.

Initially, the family had earned three thousand six hundred taels of silver from selling vegetables. They received fifteen hundred taels in gratitude for rescuing Xiao Ruiyuan twice, and Yan Junyu had compensated them with over six hundred taels. In total, they had five thousand six hundred taels of silver.

Later, building the house cost one thousand seven hundred taels, buying land nearly two hundred, and the expenses before and during the father’s education were about one hundred. Altogether, this amounted to two thousand taels. Subtracting these expenses left the family with three thousand six hundred taels of silver remaining.

By this reckoning, it seemed they might not have enough to purchase the shop...