"Of course, it’s feasible, otherwise I wouldn’t have made a special trip here."
As he spoke, Uncle Liu looked around and asked, "How come I don’t see Brother An around?"
"He should almost be at home." Yang Chuxia said before turning to the housemaid, "Go and call for Brother An, tell him that Broker Liu is here."
"How is it, isn’t it more convenient to have a maid to help around?" Broker Liu laughed when he saw how naturally Chuxia handled the maid.
"Indeed, she’s quite helpful with a lot of things." Yang Chuxia nodded with a smile.
Brother An returned after a while, quickly followed by Yang Dachuan, who had gone to the fields in the morning. After exchanging greetings with Broker Liu and sitting for a bit, they went to inspect the lands together.
The ones who went with Broker Liu to inspect the lands were Ye Zi’an and Yang Dachuan. Yang Chuxia did not go since she was not particularly knowledgeable about the quality of the lands. Such matters were better handled by experienced farmers like Yang Dachuan.
By the time Yan Chuxia and the others returned, it was already noon. Naturally, they invited Broker Liu to stay for lunch.
Yang Chuxia took the opportunity to ask Ye Zi’an, "How’s the land you looked at?"
"It’s indeed good land!" Ye Zi’an immediately replied, "But it’s too expensive!"
"Whose land is it? How much do they want?"
Ye Zi’an shook his head. "The landowner is not someone else, but Teacher Li from Qingrui’s family. They’re asking for ten taels of silver per mu."
"Their family? Why are they selling the land?" Yang Chuxia was more concerned about this than the price.
"Didn’t you know about this year’s autumn examination? Teacher Li plans to sell the land to fund his journey for taking the examination. He seems very confident this time, almost certain that he can pass, and he even plans to go to the Capital City for the spring examination next year."
"My god, he’s not young, is he?" Yang Chuxia exclaimed, "A man in his thirties or forties is still taking examinations? He’s even selling everything the family relies on for a livelihood."
Yang Chuxia was speechless, this was really a desperate move. But then she remembered something about Fan Jin passing the examination and didn’t comment any further.
"So, does this mean Qingrui and Qingtong will have to change schools?" Yang Chuxia asked.
Ne Zi’an nodded, "Teacher Li is a responsible person. When I asked him this morning, he said he’s recommended his students to the town school. The good students can go to the school in the town. From what I understood, Qingrui and Qingtong should be included."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia started to admire Teacher Li. Of course, her feeling was not because he recommended her brothers, Qingrui and Qingtong.
"What about the other piece of land?"
"It’s just as Liu had said, slightly inferior, but cheaper, seven and a half taels. The land is less, only fifteen mu, but it’s near the water." Ye Zi’an thought for a moment and said, "Actually, if we had to choose, the seven and a half taels is more worth it. Good lands are cultivated slowly. Besides, this land isn’t very poor!"
After some thought, Yang Chuxia suggested, "If it’s genuinely good, why don’t we both buy it? My family will buy one plot, and your family will buy one."
"Me?" Ye Zi’an said, "But I don’t have the money. I already spent the hundred taels you gave me on those things." A grown man being so readily honest about his financial situation was quite telling of Ye Zi’an’s character. "I used the rest of what was left as labor costs for those items."
"You didn’t save anything?" Yang Chuxia thought it was strange, as the total should only have been around fifty or sixty taels. Of course, she wasn’t asking about Ye Zi’an’s silver. She was just a bit confused.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zi’an answered, "The things were difficult to get, and we were short on time, so I used the remaining money to pay for their labor."