Having returned from Liu Yang Village, it was already pitch-dark outside, and Liyan and her grandson had the dinner ready and waiting in the pot for Mo Yan and her family to come back to eat.
After dinner, Mo Yan gathered her family in the room, as it seemed there was something important she needed to discuss. Liyan, not lacking in tact, knew it wouldn’t be appropriate for an outsider like her to listen in, so she went to another room to play with her grandfather instead.
Mo Yan took out a key and opened the large wooden chest at the head of the bed, actually taking a small wooden box out from the Space within.
Seeing the small wooden box, the gazes of the father and his two sons were drawn to it - it was the box their family used to store Silver Coin.
When the small wooden box was opened, revealing the thick stack of silver notes and a pile of loose Silver inside, the two little ones’ mouths formed an ’O’ and their eyes widened in disbelief as they looked at their father and sister: Did their family really have so much Silver Coin?
Mo Yan found it amusing to see, then she took out the account book from the bottom, which clearly recorded every single expense and income of the family since they had started building the greenhouse.
"Dad, we’ve been in the vegetable business for a month and six days. After deducting the Helpers’ wages and the cost of constructing the greenhouses, the total net profit is two thousand and fifty-six taels."
Initially, there hadn’t been so much, but in the past couple of days, vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and loofahs had come onto the market, one after another. Also, as it was the end of the year, whether it was rich households or commoners, everyone wanted to stock up on some vegetables for the New Year, so in the last few days, the business was exceptionally good, and sales tripled.
"Ss, so much?"
Mo Qingze stared blankly at the silver notes lying in the box. He was usually indifferent to wealth, but even with his detachment, the sudden accrual of such a large sum of Silver in just over thirty days was too much for him to remain calm.
Xin Er was already eager to pull out all the silver notes and count the loose Silver twice to make sure they weren’t dreaming. For a moment, she stared at the silver notes, lost in thought.
"With so much Silver, think of how many candied haws we could buy!"
Zhenzhen said naïvely before his sister rewarded him with a flick on the forehead. Seeing the amused expressions on their father and sisters, the little boy’s face turned beet-red.
After the family’s laughter and commotion, Mo Yan spoke seriously, "Besides these earnings, adding the previously saved up one thousand three hundred taels of Silver, our family now has nearly three thousand four hundred taels. I’ve made a rough estimate that building a house next spring will cost about eight hundred taels."
"Eight hundred taels? Does it really cost that much?"
Just as he was coming to terms with "three thousand four hundred taels of Silver," Mo Qingze fell into the pit of "building a house will cost eight hundred taels of Silver," his face turned various shades, looking rather comical.
"Dad, eight hundred taels is just a preliminary estimate; it might even cost more," Mo Yan added calmly, anticipating her father’s inability to accept the figure.
They wanted their own home to be as nice as possible. In this era, labor was cheap - it was the green bricks and tiles used for construction that were costly.
If they wanted to spruce up the interior with decorations, the expenses would be even greater. If they were to build according to her desires, eight hundred taels might not suffice.
"We purchased seventy acres of land for our family’s foundation. I plan to reserve ten acres at the front for a fruit orchard, and enclose the rest, leaving it for future gradual planning."
In her previous life, her family was not short of money; their ancestral home resembled a Suzhou garden. Not to mention its artistic and imposing architecture, the key appeal lay in its uniquely beautiful scenery, making it a very comfortable place to live. Now that they had Silver, she wanted to build a home that, while not exactly like the one from her past life, should at least be suitable for comfortable living.
Mo Qingze furrowed his brows, troubled. He had seen the architectural plans for the house and really liked the layout, but the thought of spending so much Silver made it hard for him to accept.
The two little ones looked eagerly at their father, unable to interject, but the thought of living in a spacious, bright, and beautiful house filled them with joy, as they began to fantasize about what the house might look like.
Then, Mo Yan dropped another bombshell, "Also, Dad, once the house is built, we should find you an Academy so you can continue your education!"
"What?"
Poor Mo Qingze was so stunned by his daughter’s words that he became dazed as if he were in a dream.
Mo Yan did not rush him; she had planned all these things long ago and chose to disclose them today to prepare the family!
After Mo Qingze finally digested the two matters, he said, "Yanyan, now that we’re not lacking Silver, you take care of the house construction. But attending the Academy is not as simple as you think," he stated, his voice tinged with a note of bitterness.
Was it really that difficult to attend an Academy?
Seeing the look on her father’s face, Mo Yan didn’t understand but also knew it wasn’t urgent. There were two official learning institutions in Jing City, plus several private ones. After the New Year, they could inquire slowly and find a suitable one.
Setting aside this matter for now, Mo Yan brought up another plan she had been contemplating for a while, "Dad, let’s buy the barren hills behind our plot to plant fruit trees and start a breeding business!"
With the previous two issues, Mo Qingze readily accepted the idea of buying barren hills to plant fruit trees, "Yanyan, you handle it. If you need Dad’s help, just say so. But speaking of fruit trees, first let’s not worry about how challenging they might be to grow; where are we going to find the saplings?"
When it came to saplings, that was indeed a difficulty that Mo Yan faced, but she wasn’t particularly worried, "Let’s start with common ones like peach and pear trees. As for the rest, we’ll keep looking. If Jing City doesn’t have them, we can look elsewhere. We will find them eventually."
Given that fruits from the South were unlikely to grow well in the North, but with the Space and the Spiritual Spring, it wasn’t an issue for her. The real challenge was finding the right types of trees.
Seeing his daughter full of confidence, Mo Qingze didn’t want to dampen her spirits and decided that once spring arrived, he would thoroughly search the markets and villages. Perhaps he would indeed find what they were looking for.
The family went on to discuss further details of the house construction, and as it was getting late, keeping in mind that they had to rise early for the Lunar New Year’s Eve, they wrapped up the conversation and dispersed.
In the deep silence of the night, cradling his warm and soft little son, Mo Qingze’s mind was a whirl with countless thoughts. It took him until the first crow of the rooster to force himself to sleep...