Chapter 60 Obstinate

Qin Zian spent a sleepless night, and Qin Laotai, burdened with worries, didn’t sleep well either.

When they woke up the next day, both of them had dark circles under their eyes.

Each with their own thoughts, Qin Laotai couldn’t even muster the energy to clear the land.

Qin Zian wanted to apologize to Qin Laotai, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

So, he spent the entire morning circling around Qin Laotai, not saying a word, trying to get her attention.

Qin Laotai found it annoying and simply retreated to her room, out of sight, out of mind.

Until noon, someone from the village suddenly came to the Qin family to inform Qin Laotai to go to the head of the village. They said that Constable Yu had brought a notice regarding the reclamation of wasteland in Changhe Village.

Hearing about the wasteland reclamation, Qin Laotai couldn’t care less about her sorrows, and she rushed to the village entrance.

Qin Zian happened to come out of his room and saw Qin Laotai leaving, so he quickly followed.

He wasn’t interested in wasteland reclamation.

Last night’s words from Qin Laotai had made him uneasy.

He thought about it and, with a glimmer of hope, believed that Qin Laotai was just angry with him and would calm down eventually.

As for the hurtful things Qin Laotai said last night, he pretended not to have heard them.

Qin Laotai didn’t know that she had been “forgiven” by her grandson with his magnanimity.

When she arrived at the village entrance, Qin Ruo was leading Constable Yu and Clerk Qian, along with a group of villagers from Changhe Village, towards the Qin family’s direction.

Qin Laotai looked at the crowd and was confused.

Didn’t they say Constable Yu brought a notice about wasteland reclamation?

Why were they heading towards the end of the village, towards her family’s house?

Before Qin Laotai could speak, she was pushed aside by the villagers who were following closely behind.

One of the women who had helped cook noodles at the Qin family a while back saw Qin Laotai standing awkwardly by the roadside and quickly squeezed out of the crowd.

She ran to Qin Laotai and warmly took her arm.

“Oh, Auntie, you’re finally here. What are you standing there for? Constable Yu and the clerk are going to your house to measure the wasteland.”

“I tell you, your daughter is really promising, she bought twenty acres of wasteland right away…”

“What? You mean my daughter bought twenty acres of wasteland?”

Qin Laotai was stunned by this sudden news, her voice rose an octave, interrupting the woman’s words.

“Auntie… Auntie, you didn’t know?”

Seeing Qin Laotai’s reaction, the woman awkwardly let go of her arm.

“I… I knew. I was just teasing you.”

Qin Laotai forced a smile, trying to save face.

Qin Ruo bought such a large piece of land without consulting her, Qin Laotai wasn’t in a good mood.

The woman looked at Qin Laotai’s constantly changing expression and didn’t expose her, quickly changing the subject.

It wasn’t a secret that the Qin family daughter wasn’t close to Qin Laotai.

“Auntie, Constable Yu and Clerk Qian just said that from now on, as long as the land deed is transferred for the wasteland reclamation in Changhe Village, the reclaimed land will belong to the owner, and there will be no taxes for three years.”

“The notice is still posted at the village entrance…”

Qin Laotai responded in a distracted manner, occasionally replying with a few words.

Qin Laotai was preoccupied with the matter of Qin Ruo buying land, and coupled with the upsetting events from the previous night caused by Qin Zian, her mood worsened.

Upon reaching their destination, Constable Yu and the officers he brought began measuring the wasteland.

Clerk Qian was beaming with a wide smile, as Qin Ruo had just added another thirty acres to her purchase.

The Qin family’s move stunned the villagers.

Everyone felt a pang of envy. The villagers of Changhe Village could only earn ten or so taels of silver a year, barely enough to sustain their families.

According to Clerk Qian, the price was 300 copper coins per acre, meaning the Qin family had spent fifteen taels of silver just on buying the wasteland.

Therefore, everyone was secretly wondering how much silver the Qin family girl had earned during her trip to the mountains?

“Fellow villagers, under heaven, there is no land that is not the king’s. The land you reclaim after buying the deed is yours. With these three years, as long as you take good care of the wasteland, it will soon become fertile land. Why worry about not being able to pay taxes in the future?”

“Since this is the beginning of the new policy, the wasteland is only being charged symbolically at 300 copper coins per acre, but it may be different in the future…”

Clerk Qian knew how to create anxiety. As soon as he finished speaking, most of the villagers became restless.

After Headman Wang was overthrown, the villagers had thought about reclaiming wasteland, but they were afraid to act rashly after the previous lessons.

Besides, when the old headman was in charge, the wasteland in Changhe Village didn’t need to be bought.

Moreover, there was no need to pay any taxes.

But Clerk Qian’s words made sense, hadn’t they suffered from not having land deeds in the past?

Seeing the Zhou family, the Old Yang family, and several families including Mrs. Jiang lining up to register with Clerk Qian, the villagers who were still hesitant gritted their teeth and joined the queue.

If they hesitated any longer, they were afraid that the good spots would be taken by others.

The Qin family bought fifty acres, so they weren’t worried, they could squeeze out a few copper coins and buy one or two acres.

People have a herd mentality, and the number of villagers lining up to register gradually increased.

When Constable Yu and his group finished measuring the land and moved on to the next villager to register, Qin Laotai finally had a chance to talk to Qin Ruo.

“Ah Ruo, why did you suddenly decide to buy so much wasteland? I know you have your own way of making money, although the government won’t collect taxes for three years, but after three years, if there’s a natural disaster, I’m afraid our family won’t even be able to pay the taxes…”

Qin Laotai was full of worry, but she didn’t dare to yell at Qin Ruo like she used to with the original owner.

Qin Ruo bought fifty acres of wasteland without even consulting her, Qin Laotai was very uncomfortable.

“Since I can buy it, I have my own plans.” Qin Ruo didn’t want to say more, coldly interrupting Qin Laotai.

Although Qin Laotai’s attitude had changed a lot in recent times, Qin Ruo was still very clear-headed.

She wasn’t Qin Qiuxi, and she didn’t feel much about Qin Laotai’s deliberate closeness.

As long as Qin Laotai didn’t cross the line, she wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for her.

“Then the deed for these fifty acres…” Qin Laotai cautiously asked with a smile.

“The deed is naturally in my name, you don’t need to worry about it. Of course! Don’t try to use filial piety to pressure me, after all, I’ve died once, so I don’t care about other people’s opinions.”

Qin Laotai had indeed thought about taking the deed into her own hands.

Looking at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face in front of her, Qin Laotai’s lips trembled, her heart felt like it was being tightly squeezed by an invisible hand, making her want to cry.

Dalan resented her for being unfair, the eldest daughter had grown distant, Erlang wasn’t close to her, how did she end up like this?