Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 66: Buying Land to Prepare for Building a Brewery

Feng Xuxu arrived at the Village Head’s home in Luo Family Village, where she was greeted by Luo Village Head’s eldest son. "Miss Feng! Please come in," Luo Da stepped aside to let Feng Xuxu in, then closed the gate and led her to the front of the main house. Before they could enter, Luo Da called through the door in a soft voice, "Dad, Miss Feng is here."

Inside the house, Luo Jiabao was smoking dry tobacco. Hearing his son announce Miss Feng’s arrival, he hurriedly snuffed out his tobacco pipe: "Miss Feng, come in, please take a seat."

"Uncle Luo, how have you been feeling lately?" She sat down and looked at Luo Jiabao, who was seated at the head of the table, and greeted him with a faint smile on her lips.

"Hehe, I’m still quite healthy, thanks to your kindness," said Luo Jiabao, grinning from ear to ear.

"Uncle Luo, I pay for the labor, and you lend the strength. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship, so there’s no need to talk about owing anyone’s kindness," Feng Xuxu said with a smile, shaking her head. Then she raised her eyes to look at the Village Head and added, "Uncle Luo, I would like to buy the wasteland right next to mine. According to our Village Head, past my land is the boundary of Luo Family Village."

Luo Jiabao nodded: "Indeed, that wasteland belongs to our village. Nearly all our fertile land has been bought by Officer Xiao, with only a few families not selling theirs," he sighed, then paused. "Miss Feng, wait a moment, let me check how much that wasteland amounts to." He got up to find the ledger recording the village’s land deeds. Moments later, he returned with the yellowed ledger, sat down in the Taishi Chair, and said: "Miss Feng, there are seventeen mu of wasteland." After closing the ledger, he looked up at Feng Xuxu.

Feng Xuxu nodded after hearing the Village Head’s words and said with a light smile, "Uncle Luo, then I’ll buy those seventeen mu. Here is twenty silver, is that enough?" She pulled two pouches of silver from her sleeve and placed them on the Eight Immortals Table in front of the Village Head.

The Village Head, looking at the gleaming silver pouches, exclaimed, "That’s too much, too much. One silver per mu of wasteland, so seventeen silver would suffice."

"Uncle Luo, just accept it. I still have to handle the land deeds in town, consider it a treat from me for a cup of tea."

"Uncle, there’s another matter. I’d like to hire some villagers to pick fruits for me in the mountains. For every ten pounds of fruit, I’ll pay five copper coins." Luo Village Head quickly did the math; one hundred pounds would make for fifty copper coins.

"Ah, that’s good news! I’ll notify them right away," the Village Head said, slapping his thigh and starting to get up.

"Uncle, wait for a few days. I’ll come back to inform you later. I’ll need about twenty people, all men for labor, and then a few diligent women," she said.

Upon hearing he had to wait a few days, the Village Head sat back down: "Ah, okay, I’ll definitely take care of it for you."

Feng Xuxu left Luo Family Village with a light heart and returned to her villa. As the sun set, the dining hall was set with delectable dishes.

Feng Xuxu picked up her chopsticks and served her elder brother his favorite braised pork ribs: "Big brother, I went to Luo Family Village today and bought the land next to ours. I’ll build the distillery there."

Feng Xi also served his sister a piece of fish with his chopsticks: "You’ve been losing weight lately, eat more to regain your strength," he paused before adding, "Du Fu is heading back to town tonight to find more craftsmen, it won’t take long to finish building."

Feng Xuxu nodded upon hearing this and continued to eat her meal quietly. Feng Xi, noticing that his sister wasn’t picking much food, added a generous helping of vegetables to her bowl. Feng Xuxu looked at the small mountain of food in her bowl, her mouth twitching, but she also felt the affection from her big brother.

After dinner, she took a stroll in the courtyard, feeling a bit overfull from the meal. Feng Xuxu walked ahead while Xiaobai followed, stretching lazily and yawning, squinting its eyes into slits, then looking up with its moist, tiger-like eyes at Sister Feng, melting Feng Xuxu’s heart with motherly love. She picked up Xiaobai, alternating between petting its fur and stroking its whiskers, until Xiaobai, unable to tolerate her fondness any longer, with an anguished yowl, retreated into its space.

After washing up, Feng Xuxu also stepped into her space and saw Xiaobai cuddling a wine jar, gleefully licking it. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, and with a swift slap on Xiaobai’s tiger bottom, she admonished it.

"Ouch... Sister Feng!" Xiaobai stretched out his paw and rubbed his tiger butt, looking at Feng Xuxu with a wronged expression.

Watching from the space, the grains and peppers had all matured. With a wave of her small hand, they instantly entered the grain storehouse. She then planted cherry tomatoes in the field.

After a good night’s sleep, early the next morning, Village Chief Luo’s eldest son, Luo Da, delivered the deed for seventeen acres of wasteland. Good things come in pairs; Du Fu also led people to the manor. They picked up their tools and started working on the newly purchased wasteland. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Feng Xuxu watched from afar as everyone worked with great zeal. She turned and instructed Xia Lan at her side to tell the kitchen to use more meat in the cooking and not to skimp. Xia Lan, having received her orders, turned around and headed back to the manor.

Feng Xuxu went to the field and looked at the sprouting watermelon seedlings, lush and green. She then noticed the pepper seedlings had started to bloom and believed it wouldn’t be long before they bore fruit. The long-term worker who was whittling bamboo poles in the distance stopped his work and approached to greet her: "Miss Feng." Luo Shan, the eldest of the three brothers, greeted her with a bashful expression.

Feng Xuxu held back a smile with pursed lips: "Don’t be nervous; I don’t bite."

Luo Shan touched the back of his head sheepishly: "Miss Feng, don’t worry, we’ll take good care of the field."

Feng Xuxu nodded upon hearing this: "The peppers will be fruiting soon; pay extra attention to that. The watermelon seedlings don’t require watering too often; once every few days is enough."

"Got it, I’ve got it all down," said Luo Da with a serious face when it came to farming. He silently noted the owner’s instructions.

Feng Xuxu watched as the other two brothers inserted bamboo poles into the field, to support the climbing long beans.

Xia Lian hurried over from the other end of the field to Feng Xuxu: "Miss, someone has come to the manor looking for the Young Master, saying they’ve brought rock sugar, but the Young Master just left."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xuxu turned and went back to the manor with Xia Lian, thinking to herself that it might be time to find a butler.

After settling accounts, Feng Xuxu thought it over and decided to go to town to find Wang, the intermediary, to see if there were any capable individuals. After she gave orders to the maidservant, she rode the horse to town and found Wang.

"Miss Feng, please come in," Wang recognized her at a glance as someone who had recently bought quite a few servants from him. He was very enthusiastic about hosting this important guest.

"Do you have anyone here who has previous experience as a butler?" Feng Xuxu asked as she settled herself.

At this, Wang furrowed his brows and spoke with difficulty: "There is one, but... this person is very arrogant."

Feng Xuxu’s interest was piqued: "Oh? What’s the story behind this arrogance?"

Wang sighed: "Not to offend you, Miss Feng, but I have some history with this man. We both passed the imperial examination at the same time. He sold himself to become a butler for a wealthy household in town, in order to pay for medical treatment for his mother. He is astute and very capable. When I was at my lowest, he offered me a meal. Later, because he was falsely accused of having an affair with the family head’s wife, he was sold off. He told me that if someone were to buy him, they must pay an annual wage of five hundred silver, and he would only work as a butler for five years. After that, his indenture agreement must be unconditionally returned, and he must be allowed to leave."