Chapter 30: Not Enough Money!

“I know, even so, you’re still at a disadvantage!”
Sun Zhi gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“But I also want to give the others in the village a way out!”
“If you ever encounter any trouble in the future, I will definitely do everything I can to help you solve it!”
Sun Zhi shook his head helplessly. “The people of Shuangshui Village are suffering!”

“…”
Lu Chuan was suddenly speechless.
To be honest, he was someone who responds well to gentleness but not to pressure.
If Sun Zhi had been more forceful or had tried to coerce him into agreeing, Lu Chuan wouldn’t have hesitated to refuse.
But with the village chief speaking in such a tone, Lu Chuan wasn’t sure what to say.
Moreover, Sun Zhi wasn’t forcing him; it could only be considered a plea.

“Alright.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Chuan responded, “But let’s make things clear first!”
“The hunting team can be formed!”
“But each family can only send one person. Also, who can join and who can’t is something I’ll decide!”
Lu Chuan’s tone was light.

“Good!”
The village chief quickly nodded, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.
However, his smile quickly faded.
“There’s a second condition.”
“Every month, I will spend five days organizing the villagers to hunt in the mountains. All the game we hunt will be distributed according to the ratio you suggested earlier.”
“But beyond those five days, if I go up the mountain alone and hunt, the game belongs to me alone!”
“No one else can touch it!”

Lu Chuan wasn’t opposed to helping the villagers a bit, and he was willing to contribute in some small way, but only if it didn’t affect him.
Five days a month was already a lot.
If they were lucky, the game would be enough for them to share.

“This is a bit too little, isn’t it?”
Sun Zhi’s voice held a hint of hesitation. “How much game can you catch in just five days a month?”
“Village chief, it’s enough!”
“Taking into account the farming season and the fact that we still have to take care of things at home, five days is plenty of time for many tasks. Besides, going into the mountains isn’t that simple!”
“We’ll need to pack enough food and supplies, and five days is already pushing it. If we spend more time, it could be dangerous!”

Lu Chuan responded with a smile.
“Alright, I’ll trust you on this.”
Sun Zhi thought it over for a moment and then agreed.
He understood that he didn’t have much room to negotiate. Lu Chuan was doing a favor for the village, which was his duty, and if he didn’t want to help, that was also understandable!
After all, when times were tough in the past, few people had helped Lu Chuan.

“Lu Chuan, thank you so much for helping the village!”
“If you have any requests, just tell me!”

After pausing for a moment, Lu Chuan nodded and said, “I want to buy land. I plan to expand my house, but if I continue building outward, the land will belong to Zhang Yuanwai.”
“I want you to ask Zhang Yuanwai how much I would need to buy the land contract for this plot!”
“Of course, I don’t need it immediately!”
At the moment, Lu Chuan didn’t have the money.
In this era, most of the land was privately owned. This area’s land had mostly been bought and sold.
It belonged to the local wealthy or landowning families.
They claimed to farm, but in reality, it was more like renting land.
You had to pay a portion of the harvest as rent, and then hand over a part for taxes. Whatever was left, you could keep.
In years of abundance, it was enough to live on, but in years of famine, you’d end up in deep debt.

Some people can’t even pay the rent for their grain.
Let alone the annual tribute.

“This isn’t a difficult task! I’ll ask around for you!”
“Now, your family has many people, and you’ll need to expand your land a little, but this land might not be cheap. Do you have that much money?” Sun Zhi asked with some concern.

“Don’t worry about it!”
Lu Chuan smiled and replied, “I’ll figure it out!”

“Alright.”
Sun Zhi nodded in agreement.

In this world, land is just land—there’s no distinction between industrial or agricultural land. As long as you’re on your own land, no one cares what you do with it.
But if you try to build on someone else’s land…

If no one notices, it’s fine.
But if someone does, and they tear down your house, you wouldn’t be able to say a word.

So, if you want to expand, you need to find a way to buy the land.

After chatting for a bit longer, Sun Zhi left.

At this point, Sun Laizi approached and asked, “Brother Chuan, are you really going to buy land?”

“Actually, if you want to expand your house, just do it! As long as you’re not planting crops, those officials won’t care much about it!”
Sun Laizi spoke up.

Lu Chuan smiled and replied, “That’s because they can’t be bothered!”
He wasn’t interested in explaining. He was building a brick house, and comfort was key.
To avoid trouble, it’s best to just buy the land outright.

“Su Ruan!”
“Give Sun Mian half a pound of meat! Let him go back and get a little supplement…”
Lu Chuan shouted out.

“Brother Chuan, I can’t take it…”
Sun Laizi immediately stood up. He had been around long enough to understand what Lu Chuan meant. The meat was really for him, but it was also a way of sending him off.

At that moment, Su Ruan came out carrying half a pound of pork.

“Hello, sister-in-law!”
Sun Laizi quickly greeted her respectfully.

“Mm!”
Su Ruan nodded.
Sun Laizi didn’t linger, took the meat, and happily left.

“Master, is this the brick kiln?”
Su Ruan looked at the strange thing Lu Chuan had built, her eyes showing some surprise as she asked.

Sun Laizi nodded, then sighed helplessly.

“Yes, this is the brick kiln!”
“I’ve never seen a brick kiln before!” Su Ruan’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Lu Chuan shook his head helplessly. “But, I still need some coal!”
Burning charcoal may not produce enough heat, and it’s not easy to control. It also won’t meet his requirements.

“Coal might be hard to find!”
Su Ruan paused before continuing, “But we could try the black market, though the price of coal isn’t cheap!”
“Our family probably doesn’t have enough money!”
Su Ruan added with a bitter smile.

Lu Chuan held his clueless companion in his arms and smiled, saying, “The village chief said it right—money is hard to earn, and eating crap is even harder!”

“Ha!”
“This phrase is so crude!”
Su Ruan covered her mouth and laughed, looking as bright as a blooming plum blossom.

Meanwhile, the clueless one furrowed his brows.
His curious eyes stared at Lu Chuan, and his small eyes seemed to be asking:
“Money is hard to earn?”
“Crap… that’s fine…”