Chapter 36: Joy 2/3

“I don’t want to give them money, but they said if we don’t pay, they’ll sue us… That’s a hundred taels of silver. We’d have to sell land to come up with that…” Mr. Yao said, feeling pained at the thought of selling land.

“Uncle Yao, do you want to inquire about Xuniang’s situation first? Once we have more information, we can gather more people and negotiate with them?” Jin Xiaoye suggested.

In fact, if it were her, she definitely wouldn’t pay. With a son as foolish as Yao Zhenfu, if he were arrested by the officials, so be it. She could take care of her grandson well in the future!

Moreover, she always felt that Xuniang was just trying to extort money. If Mr. Yao brought people from Miaoqian Village to confront them, they might not actually dare to sue.

Mr. Yao said, “Zhenfu doesn’t want this matter to be known to others…”

He had considered getting more people involved and going to confront them.

Although they didn’t have close relatives nearby, he had a good relationship with the villagers, and many would be willing to help.

But Yao Zhenfu disagreed. He felt that this matter was too embarrassing, and if it became known, he wouldn’t be able to live it down.

Mr. Yao  was naturally angry at his son, but seeing his son desperately begging him, he couldn’t help but soften his heart.

Mr. Yao seemed to have been holding back for a long time and he told Jin Xiaoye a lot. By the end, he was choking up.

After they went to Xuniang’s place today, her husband threatened that if they didn’t pay up within three days, they would take legal action.

At first, Jin Xiaoye wanted to give Mr. Yao advice, but after listening for a while, she decided not to say anything.

Mr. Yao clearly intended to settle the matter peacefully, so her advice wouldn’t be of any use.

In the end, Mr. Yao asked Jin Xiaoye, “Xiaoye, do you know anyone who wants to buy land? I want to sell four acres of paddy fields.”

Jin Xiaoye replied, “Uncle Yao, I’ll go inquire for you tomorrow. By the way, my eldest uncle might be interested.”

In recent years, her eldest uncle had saved up some money, so if someone in the village wanted to sell land, he would probably buy it.

Selling the land to her in-laws would be the best option, but her eldest uncle might not have enough money to buy all four acres of land.

“I understand… Xiaoye, please don’t tell anyone about what I’ve said,” Mr. Yao said.

“Uncle Yao, don’t worry. I won’t say anything,” Jin Xiaoye assured him.

With that, Mr. Yao left.

Jin Xiaoye returned home and saw Li Qingzhi waiting at the door.

She lowered her voice and asked, “Are the children asleep?”

“They’ve already gone to sleep,” Li Qingzhi replied. Four- or five-year-old children slept soundly as soon as they laid their heads on the pillow!

Jin Xiaoye asked again, “Have you taken a bath?” It was still hot, and if they didn’t bathe, they would smell bad.

“I haven’t bathed yet. Shall we go to the river together?” Li Qingzhi suggested.

Jin Xiaoye thought for a moment and agreed. There was a moon tonight, so they could see the way clearly.

Moreover, she had only wiped herself yesterday and wanted to take a good bath today.

The two of them went to the riverside, and Jin Xiaoye didn’t even take off her clothes before getting into the water.

Li Qingzhi felt a bit disappointed at first, but soon he smiled and said, “Xiaoye, I have good news to tell you.”

“What is it?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

Li Qingzhi said, “Today, Mr. Zhu gave me the payment for the letter I wrote for him.”

“How much?” Jin Xiaoye was curious. Mr. Zhu had already given quite a bit of money before, but she wondered how much he gave this time. If it were ten taels, that would be great!

Li Qingzhi boasted a bit, “One hundred taels of silver.”

“How much did you say?” Jin Xiaoye couldn’t believe it.

“One hundred taels. Master Zhu gave it in banknote, and I’ve put them at home,” Li Qingzhi said with a smile. Then, the next moment, a figure threw itself into his arms, accompanied by the sound of water, and planted a heavy kiss on his face.

Li Qingzhi felt a tingling sensation on his face, and a strange feeling spread throughout his body, causing him to involuntarily freeze.

“Husband, you’re really amazing!” Jin Xiaoye released Li Qingzhi, her happiness beyond words.

One hundred taels! This was one hundred taels!

Li Qingzhi regained his composure and coughed lightly, “I didn’t really do anything… Now that we have money, should we build a…”

However, before Li Qingzhi could finish his sentence, Jin Xiaoye interrupted excitedly, “With one hundred taels of silver, we can buy the land from the Yao family! Then our family will have six acres of land fields!”

Six acres of land! This was six acres of land!

They could eat rice to their heart’s content in the future, without worrying about going hungry. Even if their sons, Li Damao and Li Ermao, didn’t accomplish much in the future, they could still support their family with this land.

Li Qingzhi was stunned, “The Yao family wants to sell land?”

Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t tell others about the Yao family’s situation, but Li Qingzhi was her man… She briefly explained it to him.

Li Qingzhi asked, “Is Mr. Yao really planning to pay?” That was one hundred taels of silver! Mr. Yao actually intended to pay?

“If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t pay, but he dotes on Yao Zhenfu so much… I can’t persuade him. If I tell him not to pay and something really happens to Yao Zhenfu, he’ll definitely blame me,” Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Qingzhi also understood this principle; since ancient times, family ties were stronger than anything else.

As for Jin Xiaoye’s desire to buy land, then let her buy it!

Land provided a sense of security, and also, due to land consolidation, land prices in Chongcheng County had been steadily rising. This trend was likely to continue until war or regime changes resulted in a decrease in population.

So buying land was a good thing, and as for building a house… he could still earn money!

Jin Xiaoye was very excited, practically bouncing home.

Unfortunately, it was already dark, and she couldn’t see the appearance of the banknote clearly. “Husband, I never thought I would have so much money in my life!”

“In the future, our money will only increase,” Li Qingzhi whispered.

“Yes, our money will definitely increase!” Jin Xiaoye’s tone was firm. “I want Damao and Ermao to live a good life, preferably without having to farm!” Farming was really tiring. When Jin Xiaoye was young, she always dreamed of being able to live in the city without having to farm.

Jin Xiaoye set up the wooden bed next to their original bed.

The wooden bed wasn’t big; she would sleep on it, while Li Qingzhi and the two children would continue sleeping on the old bed.

As for sharing the same bed… they could talk about it when Li Qingzhi gained a bit more weight!

The two of them lay in bed chatting for a long time. Suddenly, Li Qingzhi spoke up, “Xiaoye, Mr. Zhu’s book is almost finished, and I want to write Mr. Ding’s book at home, but our home is a bit crowded…”

“I’ll find someone to build a house for you and buy you a desk,” Jin Xiaoye interrupted.

Li Qingzhi earned so much money from writing books… What was building a house? Jin Xiaoye now wanted to support Li Qingzhi!

Li Qingzhi was a bit worried. “If we buy land, then the money for building the house…”

“We won’t build a brick house. If we use mud to build the walls, it won’t cost much,” Jin Xiaoye said. “We can ask people from the village to help, without paying them, just providing meals.”

In their village, when building houses, they would ask villagers for help, not paying them, just providing meals.