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After the first day of the new year, it was time to visit relatives. Wang Jinhe’s family didn’t have many relatives around, so they stayed at home until after the eighth day. It was only then that Wang Jinhe went to find Xie Kui.
“Why do you have time to come to my place today, Xiao He?” Xie Kui looked at Wang Jinhe with some surprise. She had come to see him right after the new year.
“Uncle, I want to buy the hillside behind the house.” Wang Jinhe didn’t conceal her intentions and explained the purpose of her visit.
Xie Kui looked at Wang Jinhe in shock. “You want to… buy the hillside behind the house? How much do you want to buy?”
“All of it.” Wang Jinhe didn’t want to go through more trouble later, so she directly stated a number. “If there’s any dry land at the foot of the mountain in our village that no one wants, I’ll buy that too.”
Xie Kui felt like a pie had fallen from the sky and hit him hard. “Why do you want to buy so much land? How much do you have already?”
“I won’t mind having more land. If the village has any land to sell in the future, please keep an eye out for me. I plan to plant high-yield rice this year, and the land we have right now is not quite enough.” Their family currently had only two or three hundred mu of land, and it wasn’t sufficient for growing a significant amount of crops.
She wanted to buy more.
“High-yield crops? Can it really be done?” The village head asked Wang Jinhe with some excitement.
“Of course, it’s possible. I’ll improve the rice planting method later, and everyone in the village can do it. Whether they believe it or not has nothing to do with me.” Wang Jinhe considered it and ultimately decided to share the planting method with all the people in Xie family Village.
Xie Kui looked at Wang Jinhe in surprise, feeling indescribable emotions. Looking at her, the village head sighed and said, “Xiao He, you don’t have to do this. Over there…”
“It’s okay. Village head, you can tell them later. Whether they listen or not is their business.” Wang Jinhe said casually.
She made this decision because of the recent conversations with Yu Qingfeng. She knew that the people in Xie family Village had been stimulated too harshly. Whether it was the people from Hululu Village or those from Xie family Village who grew vegetables for her family, they made quite a bit of money last year, and they didn’t get any benefits.
It was okay in the beginning, but over time, some people might start causing trouble. That was not what she wanted to see.
If a little favor could make the people in the village behave better, why not?
Xie Kui sighed lightly, looking at Wang Jinhe helplessly. “Xiao He, doing this will only make them have other thoughts. People are greedy. Once they get a little, they want more. You should think it through first.”
“It’s okay. If they don’t appreciate it, I won’t be polite either.”
“Okay, I’ll go with your decision then.” Seeing Wang Jinhe’s persistence, Xie Kui could only nod in agreement reluctantly.
“How much money in total do you need for buying the hillside and the dry land near our house?”
“There are thirty mu of dry land near your house, and it’s three or two silver coins per mu. That’s ninety-two. As for the hillside, it’s fifteen hundred taels.” This was the lowest price Xie Kui could offer to Wang Jinhe.
This price was acceptable for Wang Jinhe, so she nodded and agreed, “This price is fine.”
Wang Jinhe gave Xie Kui sixteen hundred and fifty taels. After deducting the money for buying the land and hillside, the remaining amount was for Xie Kui to enjoy some drinks.
“Every time, you give me so much, I feel embarrassed to take it.”
“What’s the fuss about? This is what Uncle deserves.”
“In that case, Uncle won’t be polite with you. After everything is arranged, I’ll send it to your house.”
“Okay.”
After settling the land matter, Wang Jinhe started cultivating watermelon seedlings. This time, a considerable number of seedlings were needed, and she had to handle all of them. It seemed that she would have to hire some laborers in the future; otherwise, their family wouldn’t be able to handle the growing workload.
Thinking about hiring people, Wang Jinhe felt that the current house was not enough. It seemed like she had to find the previous workers to help again.
Wang Jinhe asked Yuan Ji to accompany her in finding the previous workers.
“Why did the Wang family’s girl come?” The uncle who built houses was quite surprised to see Wang Jinhe coming over, seemingly not expecting her to come at this time.
“Uncle, it’s like this. I plan to ask you to help build a house for my family.” Wang Jinhe felt a bit embarrassed.
“Build a house? How big are you planning to build?” The uncle was not surprised at Wang Jinhe’s words at all.
“I plan to expand a bit next to the house you helped me build before. We have too many people, and it’s getting cramped.” It was okay on regular days, but once guests arrived, the space became insufficient.
“That’s fine. I’ll inform your aunt and then go back with you. We’ll start working after the construction of the brick and tile kilns on the fifteenth.”
“Thanks, Uncle.”
After discussing the arrangements for the house at home, Wang Jinhe took the uncle to the foot of the hill.
“Uncle, I also need to build some houses here. They don’t need to be too complex, just enough for living, cooking, and raising some chickens.” Wang Jinhe pointed to the hillside and said, “Later, I plan to use this area to plant fruit trees. I’ll need to hire laborers and buy workers. For the long-term stay here, I need to build at least thirty houses, including five places that can accommodate a family.”
“No problem, including labor and materials, it will be three hundred taels for both here and your home.”
“Okay.”
“Girl, do you need a recommendation for a laborer here?” After considering for a while, the uncle decided to speak up.
“Do you have a relative looking for work?” Wang Jinhe was curious.
The uncle who built houses sighed lightly, “It’s a sixteen-year-old boy from our village. He was picked up and raised by an old man in our village. Now, the old man is getting old, and the boy doesn’t dare to go out to find work. Their life is a bit tight. I was thinking that you have a place to stay here, and he can bring his grandmother along, so…”
He was worried that Wang Jinhe might not be willing to accept due to the old woman’s age.
“How is the old woman’s health? Can she do some simple cooking?” Wang Jinhe considered and asked.
“The old woman is still very healthy, and cooking is not a problem for her. She allows the boy to go out and work, and she can take care of herself at home. The boy is also filial and unwilling to go out.”
Wang Jinhe had a favorable impression of filial individuals. “Alright, Uncle, just let him come when the time comes. Or, when you’re building the houses, you can also bring him along. Being a laborer can also earn some money.”
“Sure, Xiao He, thank you so much.” The uncle building the houses said happily.
He originally thought this matter wouldn’t work out.
“For my family’s house, Uncle, you can build it later. First, finish building the houses here. In another month or two, I’ll start planting fruit trees here.” With the help of the spirit spring water, Wang Jinhe was not worried about planting fruit trees at the wrong time, which could lead to a low survival rate.
In the next two months, she also needed Yuan Ji to help find some fruit trees to bring back.