Chapter 73

Magistrate Yang’s notice was posted only in the villages and towns under his jurisdiction. The notice stated that people could set aside a small portion of their land to plant grapes or plant one or two vines in their yards. Regardless of the amount, the grapes would be purchased once they matured.

Within a few days, the news spread to other villages, including Shunxi Village. The Wan brothers from Shunxi Village, who sold milk to Xu Qinyu, heard about it. The Wan family primarily raised oxen for farming, and their business was thriving. Since Xu Qinyu started buying milk from them every month, each brother earned an additional two to three taels of silver, totaling thirty taels a year.

Not every household could afford to buy oxen, and those who did were few. Sometimes, they might only sell one or two oxen a month, and after deducting the cost of raising them, the profit wasn’t much. However, selling milk became a stable source of income for them.

Knowing that people around Yuanbao Town were planting grapes, Elder Brother Wan wanted to set aside a small portion of their land for grapes. Their parents disagreed, saying that even if they could earn an extra sixty taels of silver a year, they couldn’t use the farmland, which was needed for growing grain.

Elder Brother Wan compromised and asked his younger brother to buy some grape seedlings to plant in the yard. Younger Brother Wan said, “We already have to take care of so many calves every day. Who has the energy to take care of these delicate plants? Besides, I’ve heard that grape seedlings aren’t cheap, costing about a hundred wen each. If they don’t survive, we’ll lose a few hundred wen. If you want to do it, do it yourself.”

The Wan family hadn’t split up, so the brothers had to hand over their monthly earnings. However, since they started selling milk, their parents gave each brother five hundred wen a month. Elder Brother Wan had some money saved.

Seeing that his parents and brother were unwilling, Elder Brother Wan, being honest and straightforward, didn’t argue. He bought three seedlings and planted them in the backyard.

Xu Qinyu also wanted to buy some land. With the money she had, she could stockpile some land, using half for grapes and half for grain. Even if she didn’t want to grow grain herself, she could lease the land to tenant farmers.

She discussed her plan to buy land with her family.

Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er naturally supported the idea. Even the nobles in the capital liked to stockpile land, with most owning dozens or even hundreds of acres, and some owning thousands. Land could be used as a dowry for daughters, as family property, and leased to tenant farmers, providing multiple benefits.

Now that Yuniang had earned some money, buying land was a good way to secure their future. Collecting rent would ensure they never went hungry.

With her family’s agreement, Xu Qinyu asked someone to find where land was for sale, preferably large contiguous plots rather than scattered pieces.

Such land was hard to come by, so Xu Qinyu asked Xu Feng to look into it first.

Now that Cheng Ge’er had started cooking fish, Xu Feng handled most of Xu Qinyu’s errands.

Xu Feng spent two days searching and finally found a large piece of land for Xu Qinyu.

It belonged to a wealthy family. Two years ago, when the new emperor ascended the throne, he opened the imperial examination. The family’s son passed the examination last year and became a jinshi, so the whole family moved to the capital, leaving behind over a hundred acres of land.

Although the land wasn’t contiguous, it was spread across two villages, with several plots of ten or so acres each. Initially, the family didn’t plan to sell the land, thinking it would be good to keep it in case they returned. However, the southwest was too far from the capital, and they had already acquired a lot of land near the capital. So, they decided to sell the land in the southwest and started looking for buyers after the New Year, which was just a few days ago.

The family had a lot of land, over a hundred acres, and didn’t want to sell it in small parcels, as it would be too troublesome. They wanted to sell at least one plot at a time, with each plot being around ten acres. Most people couldn’t afford it, as good land cost ten taels of silver per acre, and poorer land cost five or six taels, with some costing seven or eight taels. Ten acres of land would cost nearly a hundred taels of silver, so no one had bought it yet.

Xu Qinyu asked Xu Feng to negotiate with the family, as she wanted to buy all the land, nearly a hundred acres, in one go.

Xu Feng inquired and found that the total value of the land was around eight hundred taels of silver. If she wanted all of it, the family would sell it for a flat price of eight hundred taels.

Xu Qinyu agreed and went to the county office to transfer the ownership and write the documents. The family handed over the land deeds for the hundred acres to Xu Qinyu.

Holding the thick stack of land deeds, Xu Qinyu felt very satisfied. This must be what it feels like to be a landowner.

Most people here had land, which gave them a sense of security. Xu Qinyu realized that having land meant she wouldn’t lack food or drink, as long as there were no disasters. Land was a form of security.

The land had previously been leased to nearby tenant farmers. Only a few acres were left uncultivated due to poor location and infertile soil. Xu Qinyu planned to plant grape seedlings on those acres.

The land leased to tenant farmers was divided equally, with a fifty-fifty split. This was considered fair, as some landlords took seventy percent, leaving only thirty percent for the tenants.

Even with a fifty-fifty split, Xu Qinyu felt embarrassed, as she didn’t provide seeds or do any work. The tenants provided the seeds and took care of the crops, and when the grain was harvested, she would take half. This seemed unfair to her. She planned to find a manager and tell the tenants that the future division would be sixty-forty.

She was even willing to do seventy-thirty or eighty-twenty, but Madam Wen advised her, “Yuniang, that’s not advisable. A sixty-forty split is already very generous. If you go for seventy-thirty or eighty-twenty, the tenants might think you’re too kind and take advantage of you. They might become lazy or dishonest. Even with a sixty percent share, they can still have some surplus after covering their expenses. Most people only go for a sixty-forty split during times of disaster.”

Xu Qinyu understood and smiled, “Thank you, Mother, for teaching me this.”

Madam Wen looked at Yuniang with a kind and loving expression. She truly liked Yuniang and wished she could become her daughter-in-law. But she could see that Yuniang and her son interacted like siblings. Yuniang called her son “Fourth Brother” and genuinely treated him like a brother. As for her son’s feelings, Madam Wen could never quite figure them out.

With the land secured, Xu Qinyu needed to find a manager to oversee it.

The manager would collect rent, allocate land to tenants, and keep records. Xu Qinyu was busy with the restaurant and couldn’t manage these tasks herself, so she needed a manager. She would only check the accounts at the end of the year.

Xu Feng volunteered to manage the land, as it didn’t require daily attention. He could check on it once a month and during harvest time and keep records in his spare time.

Xu Qinyu agreed.

Xu Feng informed the tenants that the new owner had bought the land and would only take a forty percent share of the harvest for the first year. If the crops were good, they might continue with a sixty-forty split.

The tenants, who were usually poor and couldn’t afford land, were grateful and worked even harder, hoping for a good harvest and a continued sixty-forty split.

There were still a few acres of land without tenants, so Xu Qinyu asked Xu Feng to buy a few hundred grape seedlings and have someone plant them. This cost another few dozen taels of silver.

Managing the land and planting the grape seedlings took several days.

Around Yuanbao Town, Xu Qinyu planted the most grapes.

Most of the land was still used for growing grain, as stated in Magistrate Yang’s notice. People were reluctant to plant too many grapes, but some who trusted Xu Qinyu set aside a small portion of their land for grapes, while most bought one or two seedlings to plant in their yards.

Xu Qinyu understood that if grain production was high and people had enough food, planting more grapes wouldn’t be a problem.

However, in this era, grain yields were low, and people prioritized growing enough food. Few were willing to plant large quantities of fruit.

This would be a gradual process, and Xu Qinyu wasn’t in a hurry. It would be great if high-yield crops like soybeans and sweet potatoes could be introduced.

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In the past half month, with Zhen Wu overseeing the winery construction, everything went smoothly.

Madam Lu didn’t have to worry about anything and came to Xu’s Food Mansion for breakfast and dinner every day.

Xu Qinyu continued to focus on the restaurant.

After the beginning of spring, the weather gradually warmed up, and people switched from thick winter clothes to lighter ones. Fewer people ate hotpot, and more diners ordered stir-fried dishes.

Xu Feng was busy buying grape seedlings and finding people to plant them, so he wasn’t at the restaurant.

As usual, Xu’s Food Mansion stopped serving diners after the last table in the evening. Xu Qinyu returned to Osmanthus Alley. After washing up and accounting, she went to bed early.

In the middle of the night, when yin and yang intersected, Bai Yu emerged from under Xu Qinyu’s bed. Her bed was always clean, with an oilcloth underneath and her money box stored there. Bai Yu usually stayed by the money box, as it liked to sleep there.

Sensing the time, Bai Yu prepared to go to the workshop to switch shifts with Mo Yu. As it emerged, Xu Qinyu and Ning Jie’er were sound asleep.

Bai Yu, now over two meters long, nudged Xu Qinyu gently with its head. Seeing Ning Jie’er sleeping beside her, it also nudged her lightly.

To Bai Yu, Xu Qinyu, who had fed it for three months when it was young, was like a mother. The other family members were like siblings, friendly but not as close as its “mother.” It always wanted to be close to her.

After nudging Ning Jie’er, Bai Yu nudged Xu Qinyu again. Hearing her mumble something, it coiled its body, realizing it had disturbed her, and quietly slipped out.

The doors and windows were closed, but the hall’s wooden door was left ajar for Bai Yu and Mo Yu to come and go. Only the courtyard gate was locked.

Despite being over two meters long, Bai Yu was slender and could slip through the gap under the gate. Mo Yu, being more agile, could jump over the courtyard wall.

Bai Yu quickly reached the workshop. Its movements were quiet, but Mo Yu’s ears perked up, hearing Bai Yu’s approach.

Mo Yu immediately got up and went to the workshop entrance.

The workshop was usually locked, but the agile leopard could easily jump over the wall. Bai Yu slipped through the gap under the gate, while Mo Yu jumped over the wall.

Mo Yu knew Bai Yu was coming but wouldn’t leave immediately. It waited for Bai Yu to enter, then jumped down like a dog, wanting to play.

Bai Yu glanced at it and continued towards the room with the hams.

Mo Yu followed, hopping along.

When Mo Yu jumped next to Bai Yu, it acted just like when it was a cub, playfully jumping on Bai Yu’s back, wanting to play.

A bit annoyed, Bai Yu coiled its body tightly around Mo Yu. Mo Yu let out a pitiful whimper, and Bai Yu finally released it.

As Bai Yu grew older, it became even more composed than when it was young. It never enjoyed playing with Mo Yu, and now it was even less inclined to do so. However, Mo Yu, still as forgetful as ever, pounced on Bai Yu again as soon as it was released.

Bai Yu, irritated, was about to coil around Mo Yu again when it suddenly froze, raising its body and looking towards the workshop’s gate.

Mo Yu did the same, its ears perked up, and its deep, beastly eyes fixed on the gate.

At the gate, someone was indeed trying to pick the lock. It was the three hooligans who had seen Xu Qinyu and Madam Lu leaving the workshop more than half a month ago.

These three were from the north side of Yuanbao Town, from poor families, and spent their days idling. Two were around seventeen or eighteen, and the other was in his early twenties, but still unmarried due to his poor reputation and habit of petty theft.

Half a month ago, they had smelled the aroma of cured meat from the workshop but hadn’t thought much of it. However, in the past half month, they hadn’t found any work, and their families had grown tired of them. After a quarrel with their families, they hadn’t returned home for several days, had no money, and were starving. A couple of days ago, they passed by the workshop again and started thinking about the cured meat inside.

They had learned that the workshop belonged to Xu’s Food Mansion, which was well-known in Yuanbao Town. The young owner was known for being kind, and the food was said to be delicious, though they had never tasted it. Since it was Xu’s Food Mansion’s workshop, they figured it must store a lot of cured meat for the restaurant.

After starving for a few days, they decided to steal some cured meat from the workshop. They had scouted the place and found that no one entered or exited during the day, and it was unguarded at night. They planned to steal a few pieces of cured meat, just enough to sell for a couple of days’ worth of food.

They chose to break in at midnight. With no one around, they boldly picked the lock. After a while, they finally managed to open it.

The young man picking the lock smiled and said, “It’s open.”

The noise was a bit loud, and the other two quickly whispered, “Stop shouting, be careful not to be heard. Let’s get inside quickly.”

The three of them entered the workshop and didn’t forget to close the gate behind them. The workshop had about ten rooms, and they didn’t know where the cured meat was stored. They started checking from the first room, which was empty.

As they entered the courtyard, they looked around but found nothing, only the moonlight shining down. They checked each room one by one. When they reached the seventh room, they saw the door was open, and there were cured pig legs hanging from the beams. Each leg weighed at least ten to twenty jin. They realized that the room with the cured meat was left open.

The room needed ventilation, so the door and windows were left open.

Even before entering, they smelled the rich aroma of the cured meat, which was different from ordinary cured meat; it was much more fragrant. After being hungry for several days, they couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

Seeing the pig legs hanging in the room, they were delighted. “Let’s go in and take a look. If each leg weighs twenty jin, we can sell one for a few hundred wen, enough to feed us for a few days. Just take one.”

The three of them entered the room, but as soon as they did, the wooden door behind them slammed shut.

Startled, they turned around and saw a pitch-black leopard inside, half-crouched in an attack stance. The leopard had closed the door behind it.

When they entered, their eyes were only on the cured meat, so they didn’t notice the leopard lying behind the door.

“How, how is there a leopard here?” The three of them panicked.

One of them stammered, “I, I heard that the owner of Xu’s Food Mansion keeps a leopard. People on South Street know about it. No wonder no one comes in and out of here. It’s guarded by the leopard.”

“I told you, how could a workshop storing cured meat be unguarded?”

“Hurry, this leopard looks dangerous. We don’t want to get killed by it. Let’s go out through the window. The window is still open.” Now, they didn’t care about stealing; they just wanted to escape.

As they spoke, they rushed towards the open window, but halfway there, they stopped abruptly. They saw a giant white python, at least two meters long and as thick as a calf, slithering out from behind a jar, blocking the window.

Moonlight shone through the window, and the white snake flicked its tongue, its cold, red eyes staring at them. This creature was even more terrifying than the leopard, making them shiver and break out in goosebumps.

“Oh my god, how is there a snake here?” And such a big one, the largest and longest they had ever seen. Even in the wild, encountering a snake was normal, but they were usually as thick as a finger, at most two or three fingers thick. They had never seen a snake as thick as a calf, and it was white. Although the white snake looked better than other snakes, it was still a cold-blooded animal, a snake that could attack people.

“Ahhh!” One of them, more timid, wet his pants and collapsed to the ground.

The other two were also trembling, standing still, not daring to move.

The leopard behind them let out a deafening roar.

Bai Yu glanced at Mo Yu, thinking how this dumb leopard could make such a sound. Usually, it meowed like a cat with their mother.

The three were even more terrified, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Wasn’t the owner of Xu’s Food Mansion supposed to have a leopard? How was there also a white snake?

Is this white snake really raised by the young chef of Xu’s Food Mansion? How could a snake and a leopard be raised together without attacking each other? If they weren’t raised together and the white snake was wild, why did the black leopard not attack it but instead focus on them?

The three even hoped that the two might start fighting each other, but unfortunately, the white snake and the black leopard remained still, coldly staring at them.

Finally, the three couldn’t hold back any longer. They exchanged glances and rushed towards the window.

Bai Yu and Mo Yu moved as well. Mo Yu almost instantly pounced, knocking two of them to the ground with its front paws. The two let out a piercing scream, feeling a moment of relief, thinking the leopard had let them go. But as they turned over, the leopard pressed its paws on their chests, revealing its sharp claws, making them too scared to move.

When one of them rushed over, Bai Yu swiftly coiled around his legs, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud, his face bruised, and his nose bleeding.

Mo Yu, holding down the two, meowed at Bai Yu.

Bai Yu glanced at it.

Finally, Mo Yu released the two, biting their clothes and dragging them over to Bai Yu, piling the three together. Mo Yu would roar and swipe at them whenever they dared to move, making them too scared to move. Like a rope, Bai Yu coiled around their waists, tightly binding them.

The three, pale-faced, were too terrified to move, tightly bound by the white snake.

Seeing Bai Yu had secured them, Mo Yu dashed out of the workshop and headed back to Osmanthus Alley.

Back at home in Osmanthus Alley, Mo Yu saw Xu Qinyu still asleep. Hesitating for a moment, it sat by her bed, watching her sleep.

Xu Qinyu slept until the hour of Yin. When she woke up, she saw Mo Yu sitting by her bed. Usually, when Mo Yu and Bai Yu switched shifts, Mo Yu would sleep on the floor. It was the first time she saw it sitting by her bed, staring with its beastly eyes. She couldn’t help but laugh, “Mo Yu, why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing here?”

Mo Yu meowed at her. After she got dressed and put on her shoes, it bit her clothes and dragged her outside.

Dragging her to the door and continuing towards the courtyard gate, Xu Qinyu initially found it amusing, thinking Mo Yu wanted to play. But seeing Mo Yu persistently dragging her towards the gate, she finally realized and asked, “Mo Yu, did something happen at the workshop?”

Mo Yu released her clothes and meowed.

Xu Qinyu understood. Something had indeed happened at the workshop. Could it be that thieves were trying to steal the hams?

Without further ado, Xu Qinyu hurriedly drove the donkey cart to the workshop, with Mo Yu running behind.

Upon arriving at the workshop, Xu Qinyu saw the gate wide open.

Entering, Mo Yu led her directly to the room with the thieves.

Inside, Xu Qinyu couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

The three were lying on the ground, almost piled on top of each other. Bai Yu was tightly coiled around their waists.

Bai Yu looked at Xu Qinyu with a bit of grievance, having been coiled around them for two hours.

The three had been terrified. Initially, after the black leopard left, they tried to struggle, but the more they struggled, the tighter the white snake coiled around them. Eventually, they stopped moving, realizing the snake wouldn’t harm them if they stayed still. But being tightly bound by a thick white snake for two hours was unbearable, both physically and mentally.

Seeing Xu Qinyu, they recognized her as the owner of Xu’s Food Mansion and immediately pleaded, “Young Lady Xu, we were wrong. We won’t dare to steal your cured meat again. We didn’t plan to steal much, just a few pieces, because we hadn’t eaten well for days. We smelled the cured meat when we saw you leaving the workshop over half a month ago and got the idea. We won’t dare to do it again. Please forgive us.”