"Hmm, I know. Next time I need anything, I’ll ask Dad and Brother An to buy it."
"You don’t hold back in bossing Brother An around, do you?" Ms. Wang playfully scolded Xiaxia with a glance.
Ye Zi’an timely spoke up, "Auntie, it’s no trouble at all. I’d be happy to help Xiaxia buy whatever she needs."
"Mom, you hear that? Brother An is willing."
"You’re just bullying Brother An!" Ms. Wang said, then teased Xiaxia by poking her forehead. Then she turned to Brother An, "Good boy, don’t spoil her too much in the future, or she’ll keep taking advantage of you. By the way, let’s have lunch at our home. Auntie will cook your favorite dishes."
"No, Auntie, I can just go home and cook." Ye Zi’an declined, already feeling embarrassed about eating dinner at their place the night before, let alone stay for lunch today.
"What are you being polite for with your Auntie? Just eat at our place. Otherwise, your Auntie will get upset. It’s so much trouble for you to go home and cook alone. I’ve always treated you like my own child, so don’t act like a stranger around me."
Ms. Wang insisted on his staying, so Ye Zi’an had no choice but to thank her and accept.
After lunch, Yang Dachuan took some silver taels with him to find Land Officer Yang to measure the land, while Xiaxia and Ms. Wang started preparing the preserved food.
By the time Yang Dachuan came back in the evening, he had brought back the land deeds for the dozen acres of land, which cost twenty-seven taels and five hundred wen for fifty-two acres of uncultivated land. Normally, uncultivated land costs five hundred wen per acre, so fifty-two acres should have only cost twenty-six taels of silver, with maybe a few extra hundred wen at most.
As for why Yang Dachuan spent an extra silver tael, Xiaxia was genuinely touched. Her usually reticent father had actually divided the fifty-two acres of land into four equal portions, acquiring four separate land deeds for each of his children. The other three received a slightly smaller share, with each getting twelve acres, while she got the most with sixteen acres.
Xiaxia couldn’t help but be moved as she looked at the land deeds. In this backward-thinking era, it was rare for Yang Dachuan, without anyone’s guidance, to have his children share their inheritance equally.
Although cultivating the uncultivated land was laborious, troublesome, and less productive, it was still land after all. If they took good care of it for a couple of years, it would gradually improve. This would become their private property in the future. While this might not mean much to the two boys, for Xiaxia and Xia Yun, this would essentially be a substantial dowry, a luxury most families couldn’t afford to offer their daughters.
In a rural household, a daughter with such a dowry would certainly enjoy a high social status, regardless of which family she marries into.
Yang Dachuan had already started considering the futures of his daughters, warming Xiaxia’s heart even more.
Ms. Wang, being a traditional rural woman herself, was initially somewhat uneasy about Yang Dachuan’s decision. In her view, it was enough for sons to inherit the family property, while daughters only needed a modest dowry. She couldn’t fathom giving away land just for a dowry, as they weren’t some wealthy family. Furthermore, giving at least twenty to thirty acres to the daughters, even more than their sons, pained her. However, Yang Dachuan talked to her that night, explaining how daughters were also their children and deserved equal love. This helped her understand and come to terms with the decision.
Now that land had been purchased, the most important task was to cultivate it.
For several consecutive days, Xiaxia and Yang Dachuan worked together on the land, with Ye Zi’an occasionally helping out. As for Ye Zi’an’s own land, he had rented it out.
Of course, although Xiaxia was busy working the land, she hadn’t forgotten about one particular thing.