Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 10 Buying Wasteland (Please continue reading)

A burst of laughter and chatter filled the pavilion.

Footsteps sounded outside the side courtyard.

The three stopped laughing, and Zhang Xian released his arms from the shoulders of the two men and walked down from the pavilion.

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and Guo Fu, the steward of the Guo family, entered the courtyard with about thirty servants.

The servants carried the huge wooden boxes in pairs.

"Haha, Mr. Zixu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Please forgive me."

Guo Fu walked up to Zhang Xian with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

"these are?"

Zhang Xian's gaze fell on the group of servants behind Guo Fu.

"These, haha, Mr. Zixu, are truly skilled. It is only natural that we should prepare a small fee for your consultation."

As he spoke, he bowed solemnly to Zhang Xian: "Thanks to your medical help and protection of my young master, sir, I would like to ask you to accept this hundred taels of gold."

Zhang Xian looked at Guo Fu and asked hesitantly, "But didn't I also ask Patriarch Guo for a favor?"

Guo Fu straightened up: "One thing at a time. The busy head of the family has already promised that this is a friend's help, but the Guo family must also pay for the consultation fee. Otherwise, how can we have the face to ask you for help again in the future?"

"Therefore, please do not refuse, sir. This is just a small token of the Guo family's appreciation. You are new to the world and will need to spend money in many areas."

Seeing the seriousness with which Guo Fu spoke, Zhang Xian could not refuse, so he nodded and said, "Then I am ashamed to accept your offer, but with such a large number, I am afraid I will not be able to bring it back to the small mountain village safely."

"Haha, of course, of course. Sir, you are currently outnumbered and outgunned. Before leaving the manor, the patriarch specifically instructed me to make proper arrangements. This million coins is not a small amount. The Guo family will arrange to send it to your residence. Please do not worry about this."

"Then I'll trouble you." Zhang Xian smiled and cupped his hands, then seemed to remember something and asked, "Manager Guo, there's something I'd like to ask you about."

"Please just say the word, sir," Guo Fu readily agreed.

Zhang Xian considered his words carefully before speaking, "I wonder if there are any geomancers for sale in the rural areas within the jurisdiction of Zhen Ding County? And how many acres of land can I purchase with my million in medical fees?"

"Hmm," Guo Fu pondered for a moment, his hands tucked under his sleeves, as if deep in thought. After a while, he finally spoke:

"If you wish to purchase existing land, sir, the price for a small plot of land is between six and eight thousand coins, while a better plot will cost between fifteen and twenty thousand coins. Zhen Ding County is different from other places; it is considered a major town and therefore safer, with fewer bandits and robbers. As a result, land prices are slightly higher than in other places."

Zhang Xian nodded, quickly calculating in his mind that, based on the highest land price, his one million coins could only buy a maximum of 125 mu of poor land or 50 mu of cultivated land.

Guo Fu was right. Although Zhen Ding County was just a county, it was the seat of a prefecture. It was located in a strategic location on the north bank of the Hutuo River, controlling Jingxing Pass, one of the eight passes of the Taihang Mountains. It was a vital passage connecting the North China Plain and the Shanxi Plateau.

It was also a crucial frontline for defending against northern nomadic tribes and suppressing local rebellions.

This is also why Zhang Xian chose to settle in Zhengding. It was a safe and secure place, at least before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He had expected the land prices here to be high, but he didn't expect them to be this high. One million coins could only buy about a hundred acres of land here.

Perhaps sensing Zhang Xian's disappointment, Guo Fu added, "However, if you are willing to put in the effort, you can buy some wasteland. There are quite a few wastelands for sale in Zhen Ding County right now, with an average price of around 2000 coins. However, I do not recommend that you do so, as it takes too much effort to cultivate an acre of wasteland."

"If you really need a large amount of land, I, Guo, can ask the head of the family for you."

"No need." Zhang Xian waved his hand in refusal. The Guo family had paid the consultation fee, and the household registration matter was a favor he owed to the Guo family. Favors are easy to incur, but repaying them is not so easy.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Guo Fu, "I appreciate Steward Guo's kindness, but if I trouble Patriarch Guo with everything, it would make me seem like a petty person who has achieved his goal."

"If Steward Guo doesn't mind the trouble, Zixu would like to ask Steward Guo for a favor."

"Sir, please speak."

Zhang Xian considered the matter carefully before speaking, "There's no need for Steward Guo to waste his servants' and guards' efforts on this million coins. I'll only take one hundred thousand coins, and leave the rest in the Guo residence. In addition, I'd like to offer Steward Guo a reward of twenty thousand coins to purchase two hundred acres of wasteland near the small mountain village for me. With the rest, I can purchase some grain, cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks. Is that acceptable?"

The purpose of buying land is not for food production but for training agricultural skills. Wasteland has the highest cost-effectiveness, so wasteland is the natural choice.

When I first arrived in the small mountain village, my initial agricultural experience came from helping Zhao Yun's family cultivate their land, even though Zhao Yun's family repeatedly said it wasn't the right season for plowing.
Wasteland is still land, and there's no reason why turning it into farmland wouldn't give experience points. Right now, his [Homestead Farmland] area is still too small, only nine square meters, and he can only plant nine seedlings per square meter. If he relies solely on the 18 experience points produced by his [Homestead Farmland] every day, it will take him almost a month to accumulate enough to reach level 2 [Agriculture].

If you have a large area of ​​land that you have cultivated yourself, then the speed at which you gain experience points will naturally increase many times over.

Based on my experience in a small mountain village, you get 20 experience points for cultivating one mu (500 square meters) of land. This is because the land itself does not belong to you; you get the experience points as an employee, which is almost half the value.

If you are cultivating land that belongs entirely to you, you can get 40 experience points. This is only for cultivating land. You can also get experience points when planting, and you will also get experience points when harvesting the land.

This is also why I want to buy land.

Logically speaking, I don't need to buy so much land. Cultivating 200 acres of wasteland would take one person years.

Cultivating land is different from farming. Even if you work quickly, it will take several days to cultivate an acre of wasteland well. Of course, I still have some money. If I buy an ox and a good plow, I can shorten the time to about a day. That's the best-case scenario. If I encounter a plot of land with lots of rocks and tree roots, I don't know how much time it will take.

Zhang Xian thought of the refugees outside Zhen Ding County.

Now that we have some spare capacity, it should be possible to shelter some people, right?

Based on the calculation that a large plot of land in the Han Dynasty could support a family of five, surely it wouldn't be a problem to cultivate all 200 acres of wasteland that I bought into farmland to support 50 people.

Besides, I also have my own [Homestead Farmland].

Even in winter, the farmland can still produce crops every two weeks.

If I put in a little more effort and work a little harder, I can save one more refugee from starving to death!
　Please vote, please read on, I'm begging you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)