Union

Chapter 104 Tea Mountain Acquired
Two days later, all of Chang Shun's property was confiscated by the county government.

Part of this property was to be given to the people who "paid their debts by working," another part to the people whose families had been abducted by Chang Shun, and the remainder...

There's none left!
After all, the wages paid to those laborers alone would amount to a considerable sum over more than a decade. Then there's the compensation paid to those who lost their families, which would also be a substantial amount.

Chang Shun was just a small tea merchant. He had no reputation in Yungui County, so it's conceivable that he didn't have many businesses under his name.

After Changshun's incident, his family fled with the cash in the house, leaving Changshun with only some outstanding payments, his well-hidden silver, and fields, tea plantations, estates, and shops that he couldn't deal with for the time being.

Because of the lack of cash, the county government urgently needed to sell the real estate under Chang Shun's name to raise money.

Yungui County has many poor people and very few rich people. In addition, Changshun is destined to die, and most people are very superstitious about things related to the dead.

Given all this, the estates, shops, and tea plantations under Changshun's name are being offered at very low prices.

It was so cheap that Yunying only spent a hundred or so taels of silver to buy the tea plantation that Changshun had been running for a long time.

And these tea mountains are not just one, nor two or three, but a total of five!

Because it was sold as a package, Yunying only learned of this "good news" after she received the contract.

Yunying was so happy she didn't know what to do.

Let's leave aside the tea plantation and talk about the contract.

Because Yunying was a slave, according to the laws of the Xia Dynasty, slaves were not allowed to own large amounts of private property. Even if they did, it would be confiscated by their master after being reported.

Yunying naturally didn't want to do the work for someone else... and "someone else" specifically refers to that second wife.

Therefore, when she bought the tea plantation, she begged the Second Master to register it under Suiyun's name first.

The reason it wasn't registered under Second Master's name was to prevent outsiders from gossiping if the matter were exposed. This could damage Second Master's official reputation and cause further trouble.

Leaving aside these trivial matters, let's just say that although the tea plantation is temporarily registered under Suiyun's name, the land deed has been given to Yunying.

Yunying examined the land deed from every angle, almost scrutinizing it. There was nothing particularly special about it—just some official county documents and a large red seal—but she just found the deed so appealing.

Yunying finally shifted her attention from the land deed and looked at the Second Master, saying, "Second Master, can I ask for a day off tomorrow?"

"What for? To check on your tea plantation?"

Yunying nodded repeatedly. "Sui'er told me earlier that this tea plantation is very close to her home, only two hills away. I'm planning to have Sui'er take me there to take a look."

After a pause, Yunying continued, "I've heard that the tea on that tea mountain can be harvested twice a year. Spring tea is from March to May, and autumn tea is from September to November. I've never grown tea before, and everything I know about tea is hearsay, so I want to see it for myself first."

After reviewing the information, she had a better understanding of the situation and then decided whether to simply harvest and sell the tea leaves this year, or to process them into tea bricks and cakes. She also needed to assess the yield and quality of the tea leaves and consider whether to replace them with new tea plants.

Yunying had many things to do, but whether she was working on the tea plantations or the terraced fields, she had more important things to do.

That is, she was still the manager of the Second Master's courtyard.

This is your main job; everything else is a side job. There's no reason to put your side job before your main job.

Furthermore, if building the terraced fields was done at the behest of the Second Master, and she was doing a favor for him, then the tea plantation was her own business.

Disregarding official duties and only doing personal things, if she were the master, she would sell such a servant to get rid of him.

Yunying also felt that her request was a bit excessive.

She knew that it would be best to send someone to manage the tea plantation. But she needed to have a clear understanding of the situation before handing it over to someone else.

Otherwise, if the other party talks to her about income and tea varieties, and she knows nothing about them, wouldn't she just be waiting to be fooled?

Yunying had reasons why she had to go out, but she didn't have the confidence to do so.

Seeing that the Second Master was silently looking at her without saying a word, she assumed that he was also unhappy, so Yunying tentatively said, "How about... I give you half of the tea plantation? If that doesn't work... we can consider the tea plantation a partnership, and I'll give you a share of the future profits?"

Second Master thought the word "partnership" sounded nice, but what the heck was "profit sharing"?

Second Master's face darkened. "Do I look like I need your measly trifles?"

Yunying nodded twice, then quickly stopped, "But didn't you say a while ago that you were a little short of money and needed your family's help..."

Second Master was speechless, experiencing for the first time in his life what it felt like to lift a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

He rubbed his forehead. "I don't want your tea plantation or your share of the profits. You can manage the tea plantation yourself and keep the money as your own. As for going out... you can go whenever you want, just make sure you get back to the county office before dark."

Yunying dared not nod, because she was not sure if she could return that same day.

Sui'er did say that her home was quite far from the county government office.

Not to mention, she also needs to inspect those five tea mountains. How could she possibly finish inspecting them in just a few days? Climbing mountains isn't something that can be done in the blink of an eye.

When the Second Master saw that Yunying didn't respond, he looked up from his documents and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you want to go back?"

"It's not that I don't want to go back, Second Master, it's that I simply can't. I'm going there to make sure I understand everything before I come back. Otherwise, it's just a formality, a waste of energy and strength. What's the point?"

"So, how many days do you want to go away?"

"Five, no, three days, three days! I promise I'll be back within three days!"

Seeing that the Second Master's face had darkened, Yunying quickly swallowed the word "five" back.

Three days it is. One day is for the round trip, and she has two more days to inspect the tea plantation. Although the time is not enough for her, it should be enough.

Second Master finally agreed. Yunying, having received permission, didn't linger for a moment. She returned to her room, packed her belongings, and the next morning, she took Sui'er and Liu'er and went straight out to catch a carriage.

Unexpectedly, right at the entrance of the county government office, they ran into the Second Master who was waiting there.

Yunying had a bad feeling. "You're not coming with us, are you?"

"I'm not that free." The Second Master gave her a cold look. Then he said, "I don't trust you to go out by yourself. Let Suiyun go with you. If anything happens, Suiyun can handle it."

Yunying thought it was unnecessary, since it was near Sui'er's house, and even if something happened, Sui'er's family could probably handle it.

But considering that Sui'er's family only has a pair of honest and simple parents and elderly grandparents, and her younger siblings are still too young to be of much use, and although most of the people in the countryside are simple and honest, there are bound to be a few scoundrels among them.

If they had bad intentions, and the three women were all defenseless...

Yunying nodded decisively, "Then we'll have to trouble Suiyun to come with us."

Sui Yun nodded slightly. "No trouble at all."

Second Master was still going to Houtang Village, which was located at the eastern end of Yun Gui County, opposite Xi Wangmu Niangniang Village, where Yun Ying was going today. Therefore, the two parted ways at the entrance of the county government office.

The carriage traveled westward for a long, long time, until the sun was high in the sky, but they still hadn't reached the village of the Queen Mother of the West. The weather was too hot, and the journey was bumpy and difficult, so Yunying and the others had to stop to escape the heat and rest, have some snacks, and take care of their needs before continuing their journey.

The carriage set off again, and Yunying asked Sui'er, "How far is it from here to your home?"

"It's not far, young lady, at most seven or eight li away."

Liu'er said, "Then, adding the thirty-odd li we walked this morning, it's about forty li in total."

Sui'er said, "More or less."

"How long does it take you to get home from the county government office?" Yunying asked curiously.

"That takes a long time. I usually leave the city at dawn and by the time I get home, it's completely dark. But I don't have much money, so I walk home. It's just that it's slow."

Yunying then asked, "How many people are in your family? How much land do you own?"

Sui'er added that her family consisted of her grandparents, parents, and a younger brother and sister. As the eldest, she was the only one left to be sold because her family couldn't make ends meet. As for land, they didn't have much, only about three mu in total. However, at the beginning of the year, her second uncle ordered the clearing of wasteland, and her family cleared two mu of land, so they now had a total of five mu of land.

As the group chatted idly, time seemed to pass more easily, and the carriage ride became less bumpy.

Sure enough, after walking another seven or eight miles, a village appeared ahead.

It's a small village; even including those living halfway up the mountain, there are no more than fifty households in total.

Looking at the houses, they were all dilapidated. As far as the eye could see, they were all thatched huts, and they were all dusty and gray.

The carriage made several turns before finally stopping in front of a thatched hut.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Sui'er jumped down and shouted into the courtyard, "Father, Mother, I'm back!"

She reached out to help Yunying down, saying, "It's late afternoon, and there might not be anyone at home. At this time, my parents and grandparents are mostly weeding in the fields. My younger siblings might have gone to the fields or gone to the mountains to gather firewood."

Upon hearing this, Yunying nodded slightly, then looked towards the small courtyard in front of her.

The courtyard wasn't large, and it contained three thatched huts. The thatch on the huts seemed to have been recently replaced, making them look fairly clean and tidy. In addition, the courtyard was also very well-maintained; the weeds had been cleared away, the firewood was piled into haystacks, and a rope was strung across the yard, with two pieces of clothing covered in holes hanging out to dry.

Just then, the door of a thatched hut in the middle opened from the inside, and an old woman with gray hair, a wrinkled face, and a trembling figure came out.

"Is that Sui'er back?"

The old lady walked unsteadily with a cane, looking like she might fall at any moment.

Seeing this, Sui'er didn't care about Yunying anymore. She ran forward in a few steps and quickly helped the old lady up.

"Grandma, what happened to your leg? Did you fall and hurt it? Why didn't you send someone to tell me? I didn't even know you were injured."

When the old lady saw that Sui'er had tears in her eyes, she quickly wiped them away. "She fell while picking mushrooms on the mountain. Luckily, she didn't die, and someone carried her home."

"Grandma, don't talk nonsense. You won't die. You'll live to be a hundred years old."

"Oh, oh, may you live a long and healthy life. Alright, Sui'er, stop crying. These distinguished guests are..."

Sui'er then remembered Yunying and the others. She hurriedly wiped away her tears and began to introduce them to the group.

Then, the old lady realized that the girl in the middle, dressed in a blue dress but as beautiful as a celestial being, was the head maidservant her own daughter served.

The handsome man with a sword at his waist and a dignified appearance was a guard of the county magistrate.

Putting aside the guards around the county magistrate, let's just talk about that outstandingly beautiful girl. Why does she look so familiar?
The old lady racked her brains, but unfortunately, she was too old and her mind wasn't working properly. She couldn't figure out who the girl resembled.

But when she saw this girl, she wanted to kneel down and kowtow to her; she couldn't control this instinct.

The old lady's legs suddenly went weak, and she began to slide down, about to kneel on the ground.

Sui'er didn't know that the old lady wanted to kneel down and kowtow. She thought her mother-in-law's legs couldn't support her, so she quickly helped her mother-in-law steady.

Fortunately, Sui'er was used to doing chores since she was a child and had plenty of strength. With Liu'er quickly going over to help, they managed to steady the old lady and help her into the house.

After the old lady went inside, Liu'er came out, and Yunying then had Liu'er take the gifts for Sui'er's family, and together they went in to see the old lady.

Why would the old lady accept Yunying's gift?

She kept repeating "No, no," trying to get Yunying to take the things back.

Yunying said, "We will be staying at your house for a few more days. If you don't accept our gifts, it would be inappropriate for us to stay overnight."

"Yes, I want to stay at my house..."

The old lady was startled and was about to get up to tidy up their room again.

She was naturally held down by Sui'er.

Sui'er thought that her mother-in-law was timid and couldn't handle things, so she looked at Yunying for help, asking the young lady not to take offense.

How could Yunying find it strange?
The old lady is just a little timid, and she hasn't done anything heinous. Why is she blaming the old lady?
However, given how uncomfortable the old lady was in her presence, Yunying could only take Liu'er into the courtyard.

After settling her mother-in-law in, Sui'er came out and moved all the tables and chairs into the yard. She then busied herself boiling water and making tea for Yunying.

Yunying realized that her impulsive decision to stay at Sui'er's house had caused them a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, I didn't think of this when I came, and it would be inappropriate to go back now.

Next time, it's too late to go to the tea plantation.

Yunying simply took Liu'er and Suiyun out, saying she wanted to see the scenery of the village.

She gave Sui'er the time to tidy up the room and prepare the meal...

As soon as they left the house, Sui'er immediately got busy.

First, we cleared out the sisters' room, cleaned and tidied it up, and then laid out their luggage.

When she arrived, Sui'er had already decided that tonight the girl would sleep in her and her sisters' room, she and Liu'er would sleep on the floor, and her younger sister would sleep with their parents.

As for Suiyun and the coachman, they can stay at a neighbor's house. However, it's very hot right now, so they can stay outside even if it's just under the open sky.

It's just for two or three nights, and I think both Suiyun and the driver will understand.

Second update.

(End of this chapter)