During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"What do you two young kids know!"

Ye Youliang was still extremely unwilling, and said hastily,

"If you want to cultivate hundreds of acres of land, you'll need at least a hundred or eighty taels of silver! Add to that the cost of buying the land, and you'll have to spend a fortune!"

Second daughter, listen to your father. Even though your shop is profitable, we can't just waste it like this!

"Oh, Dad, I've got my eye on this one."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her father, Ye Qingqing dusted off her hands and said defiantly, "I'm going to buy it!"

Ye Youliang was immediately struck by a huge headache.

He was just dreaming of becoming a wealthy landlord, but who knew this land was even less than his previous fortune!

Hundreds of acres of land is no small matter; we can't let the money go to waste!

He sighed dejectedly and said,

"Second daughter, I'm not stopping you, I'm just worried you'll suffer! Our family has finally achieved a good life, we can't afford to go through this kind of turmoil."

Just then, the peasant woman who had led the way returned, followed by a fat man dressed in silk, his belly protruding as he called out from afar.

"Which one of you is buying the land? I'm Chen Fulai from the Chen family... I heard you've got your eye on my land?"

Ye Qingqing went up to her and said calmly,

"Manager Chen, we are from the Ye family of Kaoshantun. This land does seem rather barren; perhaps we could discuss the price further?"

Chen Fulai glanced at her, and seeing that she was a young girl, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"You're the Ye family's daughter, right? This land is mostly rocky, but it's not barren."

This is a hundred acres of fertile land passed down through three generations of my family. I'm asking for two hundred taels of silver, not a penny less. If I weren't in a hurry to get to the provincial capital, I wouldn't be willing to sell it.

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow and said,

"Two hundred taels? Manager Chen, your place is full of stones and there isn't even a proper irrigation ditch. How dare you ask for two hundred taels?"

I'll offer a maximum of eighty taels to buy that hillside and flat land. Will you sell it?

"Take eighty taels from me?"

Chen Fulai immediately reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, and complained angrily.

"Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? I could rent this land out for twenty bushels of grain a year! Eighty taels isn't even a fraction of that!"

Ye Qingqing spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Manager Chen, who did you rent this land to? Don't you have any idea how much your harvest was last year?"

Eighty taels is the price. I'll pay in cash and sign a contract. If you think it's too little, then wait for someone else to buy it.

However, I've inquired around, and I doubt anyone in the surrounding area, besides me, would want this land.

Chen Fulai's expression changed slightly.

He was indeed in a hurry to use the money to go to the provincial government to seek refuge with his in-laws, and he also wanted to invest money.

Nobody in the village wanted this land, and the only reason they could grow crops was because they had a lot of land and could barely produce more grain.

He hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying,

"One hundred and fifty taels, not a penny less, no discussion!"

Ye Qingqing shook her head and sneered.

"One hundred taels...not a penny more. If you don't agree, that's fine. I'll go look at other places. If you agree, we'll sign the contract right now."

Chen Fulai's face turned red with anger.

"One hundred taels? You...you're taking advantage of my misfortune..."

Before he could finish speaking, the villagers who had come to watch the spectacle started offering their own advice.

"Old Chen, one hundred taels is not a small amount. I think you should just sell it. Anyway, this land will just be left to waste."

"Exactly! You should be grateful if someone's willing to pay for it..."

"How much is too much? One hundred taels is more than enough. With this land, how much more do you want?"

……

Chen Fulai, his face flushed and neck red from the villagers' gossip, glared fiercely at them and said through gritted teeth,

"Alright! One hundred taels it is, but I want cash!"

The main problem is that the land is really not worth much, and he's genuinely afraid that once a buyer comes along, they might run away.

I don't know when I'll be able to sell them again.

Ye Qingqing couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, let's go find the village head to draw up the contract, and exchange the money for the land."

Ye Youliang was sweating profusely with anxiety, but seeing that his daughter had made up her mind, he could only sigh.

This is just throwing money away!

But what could he do? He'd never been able to make decisions about this girl since she was a child!

Ye Dazhuang silently looked at Ye Qingqing, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

……

The village head's house is located at the east end of the village.

The village head was an old man with a goatee, all smiles. When he saw someone come to sign a contract, he happily set up a table, ground ink, and wrote a crooked and messy piece.

Both parties pressed their fingerprints on the document. Ye Qingqing accepted the document and handed over the 250 taels of silver to Chen Fulai, a total of 100 taels.

The gleaming silver made Chen Fulai's eyes widen.

He opened his mouth, took a bite of the silver coin, and left a tooth mark to confirm it was genuine. He then instinctively kicked it into his pocket.

"Alright, the land is yours."

Ye Qingqing folded the documents and land deeds and put them in her bosom. Chong Lizheng nodded.

"Thank you for your help, village head."

The old village headman waved his hand with a smile.

"This is no small matter! Ye family girl, although this place is a bit remote, if you manage it well, you might still succeed."

Actually, he was quite worried for this little girl. Spending over a hundred taels of silver to buy this piece of land full of broken stones, with at most half of it suitable for growing crops, was like throwing silver into the river!

She's just a little girl and doesn't understand. The guy behind her is her father, right? Doesn't he understand either?

Is the whole family this reckless?

Ye Qingqing could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his eyes. She smiled faintly, took a piece of loose silver from her pocket, placed it on the table, and said politely,

"This is for you to have a drink. We won't bother you any longer, we need to get back to Kaoshantun."

"Oh, no need, no need..."

The old man spoke politely, but his eyes lit up when he saw the loose silver.

Rich people are so capricious; a casual tip can be worth a tael of silver!

After leaving the village head's house, Chen Fulai was about to leave with the silver in his pocket when Ye Qingqing called him back.

"Manager Chen, the land deed is already in effect, it's all in black and white, and no one can go back on their word later."

Chen Fulai snorted coldly and said disdainfully,

"What do you take me for? I, Chen Fulai, have always valued integrity in business; once I've sold something, I won't go back on my word."

In his heart, he sneered: "Just don't go back on your word!"

Look at your dad's face, it's practically hanging down to the ground!

……

After leaving the village head's house, at the gathering place of several idle men and women in Shili Slope, the way those people looked at Ye Qingqing changed.

I don't know if they were laughing at her for being silly, or what, but they were pointing and whispering, their voices just loud enough to be heard.

"To buy that piece of wasteland for a hundred taels of silver? Is this Ye family girl out of her mind?"

"That's right, even the Chen family can't grow it well themselves, yet she spent a fortune to buy it... a huge amount of money just went down the drain."

"If we hire people to reclaim wasteland in the future, who would be willing to do it if we didn't pay them at least ten or twenty copper coins?"

"Doesn't that old man know anything? He just lets people rip him off like that?"

……

Ye Youliang was already unhappy, and now his face was flushed with embarrassment. He turned around and glared at them.

"What are you looking at? Get out of here..."

Ye Qingqing remained calm, walking at a leisurely pace, treating it all as mere nonsense.

Just wait and see, the more disdainful you laugh today, the more astonished you will be in the future!