They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 256 Loujia Village Relying on Friendship
Xu Zhichun now has sweet potatoes and potatoes, rewards from the county magistrate and even the imperial court, as well as silver. If he wants fertile land, why can't he get it? Does he really have to take those three hundred acres from Loujia Village?

If Loujiacun tries to use this to manipulate her, she would rather not have it than suffer such injustice.

While inwardly cursing the two unreliable men in his village, Lou Lizheng hurriedly said with a smile, "Oh, oh, Madam Xu, you are too modest! With Madam Xu's abilities, managing a mere three hundred acres of fertile land is nothing. Even a few hundred more acres would be a piece of cake. Madam Xu, please rest assured, your fertile land is in our village. If you need any help, Madam Xu, just ask, and we will definitely help if we can."

"Yes, yes, that's right."

"Please don't be so polite, Madam Xu!"

"The people in our village actually really like Madam Xu!"

"Yeah yeah."

Xu Zhichun knew when to stop, and she didn't intend to trample them into the mud in front of them. She believed in making money through harmony, and she was only after money. As long as things were going well, there was no need for her to be vengeful.

Xenophobia exists in every village, it's the same everywhere.

The favorable situation in Loujia Village had been hard-won, and she certainly wouldn't give it up easily.

Wouldn't it be better if everyone lived peacefully and harmoniously?
So she had long anticipated that the people from Loujia Village would come knocking on her door because of the sweet potatoes and potatoes, and she had already planned how to deal with them. Now they have finally arrived.

Ignoring the slight unpleasantness, everyone exchanged pleasantries and jokes for a while before Lou Lizheng finally got to the point.

Xu Zhichun wouldn't bring it up herself, but since Lou Lizheng brought it up, she didn't keep them hanging. She smiled and said, "Lord Lizheng, you're too kind. If someone else asked, I definitely wouldn't have any. After all, I don't keep much for myself. I have so much land to cultivate. As you know, Lord Lu bought up the vast majority of the land. Our village head personally went door-to-door to collect it. Nobody dared to keep anything for themselves, otherwise it would affect the village's chance to receive the imperial plaque. Wouldn't that make us the sinners of the whole village? Nobody can bear such a responsibility, right? But Loujia Village is different. Since Lord Lizheng came to our door in person, I couldn't refuse him no matter what."

“I won’t beat around the bush with the village head. I’ll give you 100 catties each of sweet potatoes and potatoes, according to the government’s purchase price. The village head will take them back, and you can divide them among yourselves. As for the sweet potatoes, once they’re planted and the vines grow, you can just cut the vines and plant them. You don’t necessarily have to plant them in clumps. They’re very easy to grow.”

"It's okay if you don't understand. A few more people will come to our village and they'll understand in no time."

The villagers of Loujia Village were taken aback and began whispering among themselves, clearly dissatisfied.

One of them laughed and said, "Madam Xu, doesn't this seem a bit too little?"

"Yes, there are so many people in our village, how can this amount be enough to go around?"

"It's simply not enough."

"I also said too little."

"According to the government's purchase price? Ten coins per pound? That seems a bit too expensive. How can we compare with the government? We simply can't afford that much money."

"exactly!"

"."

Xu Zhichun smiled slightly, "This is the most I can provide. If it were someone else, I wouldn't be able to sell even a single pound. Why don't you ask around the village and see if anyone is willing to sell some more?"

The Lou family was speechless for a moment.

Who would want to sell this? Unless you're a very close relative or have a life-or-death relationship with someone, no one would even bother with it.

If Xu Zhichun's land hadn't been in Loujia Village, they wouldn't have had the chance to come here.

Someone muttered, "But I heard that Madam Xu planted so much last year, can't she give us a little more?"

"Yes, yes, we're not greedy, just give us an extra two hundred catties each."

"Two hundred catties is fine too."

Xu Zhichun shook her head and remained silent. "Madam Xu—"

Lou Lizheng sighed, "Since that's the case, then forget it. We won't put Madam Xu in a difficult position. As for the price..."

Xu Zhichun shook his head decisively: "Village head, we sell to the government for ten copper coins a pound. If we sell to you for even less, wouldn't that be disrespecting the government? That's absolutely unacceptable. Just ask around in our village; many aunts, grandmothers, and sisters-in-law are asking for the same price when they come back to their parents' homes or their married daughters' homes. Apart from such close relatives, the price will only be higher for anyone else."

Lou Lizheng and the others had nothing to say. "That's true, that's true. Then, let's go with this price."

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "It's fine if the village headman settles the money with me, or he can write an IOU. I'll treat these sweet potatoes and potatoes as a business transaction between the village headman and me. The village headman can take them back to the village and you can settle the accounts in detail. I'm really busy here and don't have time to do the small details. You're all from the same village, so it'll be easier for you to do the accounts."

Everyone except Lou Lizheng said it was good.

"That's a good idea."

"Yes, it's convenient."

"Then let's do it this way, village head, what do you say?"

"Yes, yes, that way we can bring the potatoes and sweet potatoes back today. The sooner the better."

"To avoid any unforeseen complications."

Several pairs of eyes turned to Lou Lizheng.

Lou Lizheng cursed inwardly: These cunning people, aren't they just trying to get me to pay? He's paid now, but when he asks for it back from one household after another, who knows when he'll get it back.

The most cunning one was this Madam Xu; she made things easy for herself by pushing all the responsibility onto herself.

The total number of people in Loujia Village is fixed. From today onwards, she can refuse anyone who comes to her in the village—with a clear conscience.

So he's the only one who's unlucky.

But what they said made perfect sense, and he really couldn't refuse.

Lou Lizheng had no choice but to force a smile and agree.

He didn't bring that much money with him, so Xu Zhichun readily asked Mu Xiang to invite Liang Lizheng over and write an IOU on the spot.

As a respectable village head, Xu Zhichun was not afraid that he would renege on his debts.

He himself couldn't bear the shame.

After the villagers from Loujia Village left, Liang, the village head, asked, "They didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

Xu Zhichun shook his head. "They wanted sweet potatoes and potatoes, but they were still quite polite to me."

"That's good," Liang Lizheng said with a smile. "If anyone makes things difficult for you, just tell Muxiang to tell me. No one should try to bully the people of our village."

Xu Zhichun smiled and said okay.

Look, that's the difference. The village head of Loujia Village is so petty and stingy. Compared to Liangjia Village, he's far inferior.

Having settled things in Loujia Village, Xu Zhichun really had nothing else to do.

The next day, Yang Ming and Yang Xiaoan came to her to discuss the land reclamation. Xu Zhichun thought for a moment and said with a smile, "The people in our village are probably busy with their own land reclamation these days. Aren't you also going to reclaim five mu? Why don't you wait a bit and go ahead and do your own thing first? We can start here after everyone else has finished, and we can hire people from the village."