Chapter 73 This Will Do. Not Bad at All.

As soon as Deng, the land broker, heard they were relatives of Doctor Jin’s apprentice, his tone became noticeably more polite.

“What kind of land are you looking to buy? In which area, and how much?” Deng asked with a smile.

Wen Xiuyi cupped his hands in greeting. “We’ll have to trouble you, Master Deng. The thing is, we’re from Gutong Village. Some time ago, our family ran into trouble, so my parents sold off a few mu of our farmland. Now that things have improved, we’d like to buy it back to make the elders happy. So I’d like to ask, is it possible to buy back the original land?”

Deng considered for a moment and replied, “That could be a bit troublesome. If you want to buy back the original plots, first you’d need to find the broker who handled the sale, and you’d also need to see if the buyer is willing to sell. If the land was sold off at a low price, I’m afraid it’ll be hard to buy it back unless you offer more than it’s worth. In that case, it might be better to buy an even better piece elsewhere.”

Father and daughter exchanged a glance, then asked, “What are the current land prices like?”

Deng signaled to his assistant for the registry, flipped through it, and found Gutong Village’s boundary. Pointing at the register, he explained, “Here’s a list of all the land currently for sale in Gutong Village. Top-grade land is going for fifteen taels per mu, mid-grade is ten taels, and lower-grade land is only six taels a mu. Which type are you interested in?”

Fifteen taels for top-grade land—so the silver they had was only enough for ten mu. But even so, having ten mu of such land was already quite good for a family at this time.

Previously, to pay off Wen Xiuyi’s debts, Old Wen and Madam Luo had sold two mu of top-grade land and two mu of mid-grade land. They had to sell in a hurry and got pushed down on price—top-grade only fetched thirteen taels, mid-grade just eight. Together with their household savings, they barely managed to gather fifty taels to clear his debt.

Seeing their hesitation, Deng continued, “If you have enough silver, I recommend this plot here. The fields are all connected, which makes them easy to tend. There are four mu of top-grade, three mu of mid-grade, and the only downside is four mu of low-grade land. The seller insists on selling them as a bundle—all or nothing. But they said, if you buy everything, they’ll take one hundred and ten taels for the lot.”

Wen Yao quickly did the math in her head and murmured, “That’s only four taels off the total.”

Deng glanced at her in surprise; he had barely finished quoting the price and this young lady already had the sum worked out.

He closed the register. “Of course, since you’re friends of Shopkeeper Qiu, I can try to negotiate the price down further for you.”

Wen Xiuyi considered for a moment. The location was just on the edge of Gutong Village, quite convenient—just across a small grove, and more importantly, a river ran alongside, making irrigation much easier than with their old fields.

What mattered most was that the plots were contiguous, which would make management so much simpler.

“Master Deng, how much lower could the price go?” Wen Xiuyi inquired.

Deng held up five fingers. “I can probably knock off at least another five taels.”

One hundred and five taels for thirteen mu—not bad at all. The only concern was the four mu of low-grade land. Since arriving, Wen Xiuyi hadn’t had a chance to study the local soil and didn’t know how they classified quality, but he assumed it was much like in his previous life—based on fertility.

Still, after years of research into soil and crops, Professor Wen was confident he could turn any land into top-grade. And if all else failed, he had his daughter’s “cheat”—surely they could secretly buy a bit of fertilizer.

After his inner struggle, Wen Xiuyi made up his mind. “We’ll take this parcel, then. Master Deng, I’ll have to trouble you to bargain for us.”

Deng smiled and assured them it was no trouble. “I’ll do my best, but I doubt the seller will agree to more than a five-tael discount. If you have time now, shall I take you to see the land? We can call the seller over as well, so you can discuss everything face to face.”

Wen Xiuyi glanced at the time, uncertain if Wen Nong could manage the stall alone, but he didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Gritting his teeth, he nodded. “Let’s go now, then. I still need to get back to the stall before noon—my nephew probably can’t handle it on his own.”

“Alright, I’ll have someone ready the carriage and send for the seller. Please wait a moment,” Deng said, cupping his hands to the three of them before heading to make arrangements.

Seeing that negotiations were settled, Shopkeeper Qiu decided his part was done and prepared to return to the pharmacy.

“I won’t go with you. Just take a look yourselves—if it’s suitable, buy it; if not, wait a bit. Master Deng is a friend—just mention my name,” he said.

Wen Xiuyi bowed. “You’ve been a great help.”

“No need for such formality. Since Wen Jun is apprenticed to Doctor Jin, we’re like family now. No need for such ceremony. I’ll head back—just you two go and have a look.” After taking a few steps, Shopkeeper Qiu turned and added, “If you’re short on funds, just let me know.”

He waved goodbye and left.

Soon, Deng had the carriages ready—one for them to visit the land, the other to fetch the seller.

On the way, Deng introduced other available plots, but none were as suitable as the one they’d picked. The others were either too far away or the fields were scattered, making them inconvenient to manage.

The carriage sped along the road. Occasionally, they encountered villagers from Gutong Village, and Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao kept their faces down, afraid of being recognized.

When they arrived, Deng pointed out the land. It stretched out in a single sweep—indeed, a fine plot.

Wen Xiuyi got off the carriage and listened as Deng described which portions were top-grade, which were mid-grade, and which were low-grade.

“May I have a look in the fields?” Wen Xiuyi asked.

“Of course. The seller isn’t here yet, so let’s take a look,” Deng replied, accompanying them into the fields.

Wen Xiuyi wandered, pausing to pick up and examine the soil every few steps. Deng waited patiently.

When they reached the low-grade land, Wen Xiuyi squatted for a long time, studying the soil.

Wen Yao crouched beside him and whispered, “Is it salvageable?”

Wen Xiuyi nodded. “The soil isn’t great, not fertile enough—no wonder it’s classed as low-grade. It’ll take some time to improve it.”

He glanced at Deng, who was a little distance away, and whispered, “Can you buy fertilizer with your... resource?”

Wen Yao nodded. “I can, but how do we use it without being noticed?”

Knowing it was possible reassured Wen Xiuyi. He tossed the soil back and said, “We’ll deal with that when the time comes. I really think this plot is good—and it’s close to home. See that little path over the hillside? Walk that way and you’ll be back in our village.”

Wen Yao looked off into the distance. Across the vast fields she could indeed see a low hill and a bamboo grove—it was close by, just as he’d said.