“Ah, forget it. I’m not going to waste brain power over this.” Guo Bing patted his head, then looked at Jiang Zhennan with bright eyes. He smiled and said to Jiang Zhennan in an attempt to please him, “boss, help us tell Miss Lin that we wish to eat carp soup, braised carp, and so on.”
Jiang Zhennan’s sharp eyes glared at him, and he said coldly in a low voice, “why don’t you tell lady Yue ‘Er yourself?”
With that, he left. He moved towards the hut.
When he entered the room, Lin Yuelan was calculating some silver on the table.
As soon as she saw Jiang Zhennan, she immediately waved him over and said, “masked uncle, how much land do you think I should buy?”
Jiang Zhennan pulled out a stool, sat down, and said, “According to the land trading law in the Long Yan Kingdom, one Mu of high-grade land is fifteen taels of silver, medium-grade land is ten taels of silver, and low-grade land is five taels of silver. Furthermore, when buying land, you have to pay taxes. The tax is one tael of silver for each Mu of land. Then, you have to get the official government stamp before the sale is completed.”
When Lin Yuelan heard this, she lowered her head and rested her chin on the edge of the table. She looked at the silver and said in frustration, “I received 100 taels of silver in advance from the young master of Yuelai Inn, Liu Qi. How much land could I buy with one hundred taels of silver?”
She planned to buy at least 10 mu of land and then expand further when she had the money.
Jiang Zhennan looked at Lin Yuelan’s lowered head and the lovely expression on her face. His expression under the mask also softened a little, and his voice subconsciously changed from cold to gentle.
Just as he was about to comfort Lin Yuelan, she suddenly thought of something and shouted, “Oh, right. I could get you guys to clear the land for me. How could I have forgotten about that?” Of course, Lin Yuelan didn’t really forget that. She was merely reminding Jiang Zhennan of it.
Jiang Zhennan’s mouth twitched.
Ever since he had met Lin Yuelan, the corners of his mouth had twitched a lot. It was because Lin Yuelan would always give them a lot of surprises.
Jiang Zhennan took the teacup on the table, poured a cup of tea, and placed it in front of Lin Yuelan. Then, he said, “miss Yue ‘Er, clearing the land is a small matter for soldiers like us. Besides fighting wars, we’re most competent at clearing land.”
When they were guarding the border, there was always a shortage of food. Therefore, they had to clear up the land and start their own farm. They had grain supply from the imperial court, but it was never enough.
Lin Yuelan had another concern. How about the ownership of the land around them? How would she go around claiming them? Lin Yuelan asked, “How does this work? Do I have to buy the land first before I can have you guys clear it for me?”
Jiang Zhennan shook his head and said, “There’s no need. Once the undeveloped land is measured by the village chief, the court, the land that is cleared will belong to the land reclaimer.”
Lin Yuelan nodded. In other words, the undeveloped land would go to the person who developed it. There was no need to pay taxes or money. It was perfect.
Instead of buying land, she’d save more by developing and clearing the land herself.
Lin Yuelan immediately clapped her hands and said excitedly, “Yes, let’s start that tomorrow!”
Thanks to her spirit water, most of the soldiers’ injuries had healed. Therefore, they were strong enough to work. Since they were there, she might as well put them to work.
The five were all soldiers and had great strength. They would clear the undeveloped land quickly. In one or two months, she’d have enough land to start her own farm.
Therefore, clearing the land was more worth it than buying land!
Lin Yuelan immediately held Jiang Zhennan’s hand excitedly and said, “let’s go, masked uncle. Let’s go and find Grandpa Village Chief.” After that, she took Jiang Zhennan’s hand and hurriedly walked in the direction of Li Zheng’s house.
Guo Bing and the others watched Lin Yuelan and Jiang Zhennan left hand in hand. They stared at their backs in surprise.
Guo Bing suddenly asked, “how many times has it been?”
This was a random question, but the subordinates seemed to have a tacit understanding and replied, “I think this is the third time.”