Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 668 - 343: Rolling in Wealth_2
In the evening, the Lian Manman family was planning to return to their old home for dinner when Shopkeeper Wu and Woo Zhonglian arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. Woo Zhonglian asked Lian Shouxin to lead him to the vegetable garden to check out the corn, and after looking it over, they went back to the shop and immediately wanted to finalize a contract.
"Twelve sections a day is too little; that’s based on the needs of a single restaurant. My restaurants, each day, need at least ten times that amount," Woo Zhonglian said, "This Golden Corn, I plan to sell only in the largest restaurants in Prefecture City and each county city."
"That’s fine, then one hundred and twenty sections," Lian Manman thought for a moment and said. One hundred and twenty sections, which is thirty bundles of corn, could roughly meet the demand based on the maturing speed of the corn in the vegetable garden. But with this arrangement, her own family might not have any tender corn to eat. Initially, Lian Manman’s plan was to keep half for themselves. In her previous life, during the summer season when tender corn was available, at least one of her three meals a day would consist solely of tender corn.
After discussing some of the details, Lian Manman took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and this time Wu Lang was the scribe, drafting a contract. They made two copies, and once it was written, they let Woo Zhonglian review it.
Woo Zhonglian picked up the contract and read it from beginning to end, then looked down at Wu Lang who was packing the writing materials, and he couldn’t help but nod his head. Last year, when he first did business with the Lian siblings, it was to buy the recipe for garlic peanuts. At that time, these children could barely write their own names properly, but in less than a year, Wu Lang was already able to write contracts, and moreover, his handwriting was neat and had character.
The children of the Lian Family were diligent, eager to learn, and quick-witted; they were not the kind to settle for an ordinary life. Their parents, on the other hand, were honest, simple, hardworking, and prosperity for this family was only a matter of time.
Woo Zhonglian nodded repeatedly and then, acting as the contracting party, signed his name and stamped his seal on the contract.
"Please also sign, Miss Lian," Woo Zhonglian said, passing the brush to Lian Manman.
"My father’s signature is enough," Lian Manman replied.
Woo Zhonglian smiled, said nothing more, but still handed the brush to her.
After a moment’s thought, Lian Manman didn’t insist any further, and she added her name behind the two men. Then, they requested the presence of Wu Yugui, Wang Youheng, and Mr. Loo to act as mediators and witnesses, who also signed and sealed the document.
By this time, the banquet arranged by Shopkeeper Wu had arrived, and everyone took their seats in the teahouse to enjoy the feast.
Shopkeeper Wu was very thorough in his arrangements. He had brought two sets of meals; one for the male guests outside, and another inside for Lady Zhang along with Lian Manman and Lian Zhizhi. The two sets of meals were separated only by a curtain, allowing the voices of conversation to be heard by each other.
"Brother Lian Si, your cornfield is right behind the shop. It’s safe during the day, but at night, you might need someone to keep watch. I’ll ask Shopkeeper Wu to send someone over," Woo Zhonglian said during the meal.
"There’s no need," Lian Shouxin replied. "I’ll stay in the shop at night, and I was planning to build a shed in the vegetable garden. Starting tonight, I’ll stay in the shed to watch over the corn. We also have a helper in the shop who can assist."
Tenant farmers cherish their crops as if they were their own lives, and those who steal or ruin someone else’s crops are the most despised and hated by the farming community. In this era, people generally have simple manners, and most farming households wouldn’t do such things. But just as ten fingers are not all the same length, every village or town has a few individuals who are less honest.
Therefore, every summer, as the green stalks in the fields grow taller, to prevent sabotage of the immature crops and green stalks, farmstead households usually build sheds at the edges of their fields. They either watch over the crops themselves or join with others in shifts, and some landlords even hire people specifically to guard the crops. This custom, known as "watching over the green," was very common around Thirty Mile Camp.
"Still, let Shopkeeper Wu arrange for someone. It’s better to have more people, more care, and more thorough watch," Woo Zhonglian insisted.
"I’ll arrange for someone immediately," Shopkeeper Wu declared.
"Choose one of our old reliable helpers, someone diligent and trustworthy," Woo Zhonglian instructed.
Shopkeeper Wu naturally agreed wholeheartedly, and Lian Shouxin offered no further objections since the wellbeing of the corn also concerned the interests of Big Boss Woo.
After the meal and everyone had dispersed, the Lian Manman family finally had time to sit down and talk.
"It’s like a dream, how can this corn be so valuable?" Lady Zhang softly said, touching the ten ingots of silver left as an advance by Woo Zhonglian.
When Woo Zhonglian left, he took thirty bundles of corn and left an advance of two ingots totaling fifty taels of silver.
"It’s all about the value of scarcity," Lian Manman explained.
"Sis, let’s not eat it then, let’s sell the corn for money," Xiao Qi suggested. Although he had only eaten it twice, Xiao Qi had already developed a taste for corn. But Xiao Qi was a sensible child, willing to forego his cravings to help the family earn more money.
"Manman, have you calculated how much money we can make from the corn in the vegetable garden?" Wu Lang asked.
"I have," Lian Manman nodded. After settling on a price with Shopkeeper Wu, she and Xiao Qi had counted the corn one by one in the vegetable garden. The patch of corn in the garden, along with the few dozen stalks around the edges and corners, added up to about one thousand two hundred bundles. Lian Manman had only counted the bigger and more perfectly formed ears of corn, ignoring the smaller and less perfect ones.
Each ear of corn could be sold for four hundred Wen money, making one thousand two hundred bundles totalling four hundred and eighty taels of silver.
"At least four hundred and eighty taels of silver," Lian Manman whispered, announcing the figure.
***...***
There’s been a lot going on these past few days, sorry for the late update.
Here’s one update for now, Ruoyan dives back to typing, striving for a second update, and asking for everyone’s pink encouragement. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
