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“Is it Jinhe?” The village chief asked Wang Jinhe. “What brings you here today?”
“I do have something to discuss,” Wang Jinhe replied. “Village Chief, do you have any water fields or sandy fields for sale in the village?”
The village chief looked surprised. “Are you planning to buy land for your family?”
“Yes, we don’t have much land left, and now that we’ve built a house and have some extra money on hand, I thought it would be a good idea to buy some land,” Wang Jinhe explained briefly.
The news of Wang Jinhe’s family becoming prosperous had already spread throughout the village. They had sent their son to school, built a house, and now they were buying land. It was clear that their future was looking bright.
“Well, there are some options,” the village chief replied. “There are ten acres of sandy land not far from your house, about a fifteen-minute walk away. As for water fields, we have three locations. One is closer to your house, but it’s average quality. The other two are high-quality water fields, but they are quite far away, requiring one to two hours of travel to and from the fields every day. That might be too far for your family.”
“How many acres of those average-quality water fields are there?” Wang Jinhe considered and asked.
With her family’s resources, especially her possession of the spiritual spring, and her father and grandfather’s expertise, they could surely make good use of the land.
“There are thirteen acres of average-quality water fields, and it’s six taels of silver per acre,” the village chief replied.
“What about the sandy fields? How much per acre?” Wang Jinhe inquired.
“Sandy fields are less expensive, three taels of silver per acre. How many acres are you interested in?” the village chief asked.
“I’ll take all the nearby sandy fields, and I’ll also take the water fields,” Wang Jinhe decided and stated.
The village chief was shocked by her decision and asked with surprise, “Aren’t you planning to discuss this with your parents first? After all, this is not a small amount of money.”
Those twenty-three acres of land would require a total of one hundred and eight taels of silver. Could her family afford it?
“No problem, it’s settled then.”
“Alright, I’ll get in touch with the sellers, and you can negotiate with them.”
When the seller of the water fields heard that Wang Jinhe wanted to buy the land, their eyes shifted with a sly glint, indicating they might not have good intentions.
The village chief looked at them with a slightly furrowed brow and asked, “What’s your family’s intention?”
“It’s fine if the village chief wants me to sell, but I won’t sell for six taels per acre. I want eight taels per acre now,” the seller stated, raising the price abruptly.
“Eight taels? Are you trying to rob us? That’s the price for top-quality water fields. You’re selling a medium-quality water field, and you want this price? Have you no shame?” the village chief angrily retorted.
The seller seemed unfazed. “Village chief, that’s not your concern. It’s my family’s land, and I’ll sell it for whatever price I want. Eight taels of silver per acre, take it or leave it.”
The village chief stormed off, infuriated by this price gouging. He detested dealing with people who unreasonably raised their prices. However, he understood that this family’s land might indeed be unsellable at this point.
When Wang Jinhe came in the afternoon with the money, the village chief sighed and said, “Jinhe, the family that’s selling the water fields doesn’t want to sell for six taels of silver anymore. They’re asking for eight taels per acre, and I heard it’s because you’re buying. What do you think?”
Wang Jinhe raised an eyebrow and smiled at the village chief, “They’re raising the price out of nowhere?”
“That’s indeed what they’re doing. If your family isn’t in a hurry, I suggest you consider buying the sandy fields instead. Eight taels is already the price for top-quality water fields, and it’s not cost-effective to use it for medium-quality ones,” the village chief advised. “It’s better to buy the sandy fields.”
Wang Jinhe nodded, “Alright, I’ll take the ten acres of sandy fields. Thank you, village chief, for helping me with this.”
The village chief waved his hand, indifferent. “No need to thank me. Although you’re not technically from our village, you live here, so helping each other is only natural.”
Wang Jinhe was surprised by the village chief’s kindness. She didn’t expect him to be so accommodating, unlike his daughter, who had a difficult personality.
“Village chief, if there are water fields near my house for sale in the future, please let me know,” Wang Jinhe said, handing thirty-five taels of silver to the village chief. The village chief looked at the extra money and asked in a dissatisfied tone, “What’s this for?”
“The village chief will need some money to help me with the land deed, and the rest is for him to buy some drinks,” Wang Jinhe explained.
The village chief tried to decline but couldn’t refuse, so he reluctantly accepted the money. “Alright, I’ll get the land deed sorted out and bring it to you.”
“Thank you so much, village chief.”
As Wang Jinhe left, she couldn’t help but think about the family that raised the price unreasonably. While it was true that she had some money, it didn’t mean she was willing to let others take advantage of her.
When she returned home, she told Grandpa Wang and the others, “Grandpa, we couldn’t buy the medium-quality water fields. They wanted eight taels of silver per acre, which isn’t worth it. I only bought the sandy fields. But I made an agreement with the village chief to inform us if there are any water fields for sale near our home.”
“Eight taels? That’s the price for top-quality water fields. Selling medium-quality fields at that price is taking advantage of us, isn’t it?” Grandpa Wang expressed his concerns.
“Exactly. That’s why I didn’t bother with them. The village chief also advised against it, suggesting that we wait for better opportunities,” Wang Jinhe replied. “But after spending some time with him today, I found the village chief to be a good person. Mom, on the day we treat him, let’s send him a little something as a token of appreciation.”
If the village chief were like his daughter, she wouldn’t even want to associate with him. However, she found the village chief to be genuinely nice and considerate of the villagers. People like him could be useful to be on good terms with, as they make things easier.
“Sure.”
“Dad, Grandpa, you’ve both been less busy lately, right? I’m planning to make something, and once it’s ready, it will simplify things a lot during the autumn harvest,” Wang Jinhe explained, thinking about the foot-operated threshing machine and grain winnower she had used before.
“What is it?” Wang Dagui asked with curiosity.
“I’ll draw it in a few days and show it to you. It might even help us earn some extra money,” Wang Jinhe said with a smile.
Grandma Wang couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. “You’ve become quite money-minded, my child.”
“I want to earn more money to ensure you all have a good life,” Wang Jinhe replied with determination.
“We’re already very happy that you have this intention. As long as you’re leading a good life, that’s the greatest filial piety for us,” Wang Dagui said. They had been most worried about their child in recent years, as she had gone through a lot of hardships.
Wang Jinhe looked at her family with mixed emotions and a smile in her eyes. “I’m not suffering, with you all here, I’m the happiest child.”
“You just know how to make us happy.”
“I’m serious, I’m not trying to please you.”
The news of Wang Jinhe’s family purchasing the sandy land quickly spread throughout the village.
The family selling the paddy fields heard about this and felt something was amiss. Weren’t they supposed to buy the sandy land and paddy fields together? How come they purchased the sandy land and then went silent?