Chapter 108: Plan to Buy the Entire Mountain 

After storing the two roe deer in her space, Xiang Xinyao hesitated for a while before returning to the others.

She gave a sheepish smile. “Let’s go, we’ll head back. After lunch, we’ll go to the county.”

“Did you release those roe deer?” Mo Jinnan asked.

“Yeah, I woke them up and let them go.”

“Alright, let’s go then, back home.”

The three of them hurried down the mountain.

When they returned to the Ji family house, Aunt Ji, Ji Chunhua, and Ji Chunlan were cooking in the kitchen, and everyone else was out.

Aunt Ji told Xiang Xinyao that the others had gone with Uncle Ji to the small pine forest.

Xiang Taifu looked at the large piece of land that Xiang Xinyao had bought. The framework for the courtyard was already in place, and the pigsty and chicken coop had almost been completed. A large area of the wasteland had also been cleared.

Fifteen acres in all now belonged to Xiang Xinyao.

Once it was built, this place would definitely be a feng shui treasure.

It would be an ideal place to retire, where one could live for many more years.

The more Xiang Taifu looked at it, the more he liked the place, and even Xiang Yanzuo and Xiang Yanchen liked it very much.

If they could stay here forever, working from sunrise to sunset, it would be so perfect.

Xiang Xinyao was walking around the newly built pigsty and chicken coop, pulling Aunt Ji’s wife aside to ask, “What’s this for?”

Aunt Ji’s wife smiled and explained, “This is the pigsty, where we’ll raise pigs. And this is the chicken coop…”

“Wow! You’re going to raise pigs and chickens? That sounds so fun! I’ll come back to stay with you in the future,” Xiang Xinyao’s younger sister, Xiang Xinyu, said eagerly.

Aunt Ji’s wife laughed. “Zhaodi even planning to raise fish, too.”

Xiang Xinyu immediately corrected her with a serious face, “My sister’s name is Xiang Xinyao, not Zhaodi. You can’t call her that anymore, big sister!”

“Right, right! I’ll call her Yao’er from now on. Yao’er is going to raise livestock, not just chickens, ducks, and pigs. She might even raise other things,” Aunt Ji’s wife laughed.

Xiang Xinyu pouted. “What should I do? I don’t want to go back to Bianjing. I want to stay here! But wherever my sister is, I’ll be there.”

“Yao’er said she’ll come back here every year to stay for a while, so you can come back with her then,” Aunt Ji’s wife said kindly.

“Mm-hmm,” Xiang Xinyu nodded enthusiastically.

On the other side, Xiang Yanchen was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Father, after I return to Bianjing, I’ll move our important businesses to Yun City. That way, I can still take care of my younger sister when she comes back. We can leave only the smaller businesses in Bianjing.”

Xiang Taifu nodded. “No problem. I was actually thinking of doing that myself. This place is great. When I retire, I’ll come here to live out my days.”

Xiang Yanzuo asked, “Father, if you retire here, what if Yao’er marries Prince Xian? Will she still be able to come here often?”

Xiang Taifu smiled mysteriously. “She will come. Don’t worry,  you can go ahead and do what you need to.”

Xiang Taifu knew Mo Jinnan well. Mo Jinnan hated staying in Bianjing. If it weren’t for his mother, he would have left the capital long ago and traveled the world.

Xiang Yanzuo understood. He had grown up in Bianjing and knew a bit about Mo Jinnan’s past.

But rescuing his mother from the palace was no easy task.

After thinking for a while, Xiang Yanzuo quietly suggested to his father, “Father, how about I request to serve in Yun City when we return to Bianjing?”

Xiang Taifu gently shook his head and whispered, “Zuo’er, this matter cannot be rushed. Don’t act hastily. The Emperor is suspicious by nature, and rushing things may make it worse.”

Xiang Yanzuo nodded. “I understand, Father.”

At the Ji family house, Xiang Xinyao had already started busying herself in the kitchen.

Xiang Yanlin and Mo Jinnan were busy helping to process the meat.

Xiang Xinyao planned to stew the wild chicken and wild rabbit for lunch and save the wild goat for an afternoon stew.

She still had some wild mushrooms she had collected from the mountains earlier, but she had dried and stored them in her space.

If she were to take out fresh wild mushrooms in the middle of winter, it would surely raise suspicions.

She soaked some mushrooms to rehydrate them and began to make a pot of wild chicken and mushroom soup.

The wild rabbit would be made into spicy rabbit cubes.

As for the wild chicken eggs, she placed them in her space, in the nesting boxes where she kept the wild chickens, so they could hatch into little chicks.

She also swapped out a few eggs to fry up two plates of scrambled eggs.

She would make two more vegetarian dishes to accompany the meal.

In the rural countryside, these dishes were already quite a feast.

Before lunch, Uncle Ji returned with Xiang Taifu and the others.

After lunch, Uncle Ji’s family went to the small pine forest while Xiang Xinyao, along with her family, set off for the county.

Three luxurious carriages slowly made their way toward the county.

Xiang Xinyao, her parents, and her sister were riding in one carriage.

Xiang Xinyu kept holding onto Xiang Xinyao’s hand, so tightly that Xiang Xinyao could feel her hand getting sweaty.

“Sis, this place is so beautiful, so picturesque! I want to follow you from now on. Wherever you go, I’ll go too. Is that alright?”

Xiang Xinyao smiled and nodded. “Didn’t I already promise you?”

“I’m just afraid you’ll change your mind,” Xiang Xinyu said.

“What’s there to change my mind about? If you want to follow me, then follow me,” Xiang Xinyao replied.

Xiang Xinyu pouted, a trace of disappointment flashing in her eyes. “You didn’t try on the clothes I gave you yesterday.”

“Big sis, it was so busy yesterday! I didn’t have time to try them on. You’re not leaving today, so why not try them on tonight?”

“Alright, but you better not forget,” Xiang Xinyu said.

“I won’t forget. Don’t worry!” Xiang Xinyao reassured her.

Only then did Xiang Xinyu smile sweetly.

Xiang Taifu’s wife, holding Xiang Xinyao’s other hand, said, “Yao’er, I really like this place too. When you come back, you have to bring your mother along!”

Xiang Xinyao glanced at her father. “That would depend on Father’s approval.”

Xiang Taifu smiled lovingly. “Of course, I approve. If your mother is with you, how could I not trust her?”

“Dad, coming with me means facing the wind and sun, living a life that’s much harder than in Bianjing. It will be a lot of work here,” Xiang Xinyao warned.

Xiang Taifu’s wife patted her hand. “Your mother isn’t so fragile. Honestly, I also want to live here with you, grow vegetables, raise pigs, and live a free and easy life.”

Xiang Taifu gazed at Xiang Xinyao with a loving expression. “Yao’er, when I retire, I plan to come here and live. How about I give you some silver, and you buy the entire mountain behind the small pine forest?”

“That’s not out of the question,” Xiang Xinyao said with a smile. “Father, you don’t need to give me silver. I have enough myself. I’ll go to the county office later and buy the mountain.”

“Ah! Buying a mountain requires me to pay the silver. Otherwise, how could I face you when I come to live here?” Xiang Taifu said, half-jokingly.

“Why would it be embarrassing? Am I not your daughter? It’s only natural for children to be filial,” Xiang Xinyao teased.

Xiang Taifu’s face was full of guilt. “Yao’er! Ever since you were lost at the age of three, I haven’t been able to fulfill my responsibility in raising you. Please don’t argue with me.

But I can’t reveal my identity in the court. For buying the mountain, you’ll have to take charge.”

Xiang Xinyao nodded. “Alright, I’ll take care of it.”

Xiang Taifu pulled out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and pressed them into Xiang Xinyao’s hand. “Keep these. Spend them as you like, and if they run out, just tell me, and I’ll give you more.”