chapter 51

Although Moju didn’t fare much in cleverness, she won in terms of loyalty. When she felt Mama Shen’s action was extremely unusual, she immediately told Yuxi.

Yuxi could roughly guess what Mama Shen was up to. So, she told Moju, “Whatever Mama Shen ask you to do in the future, you do it. Then, tell me in private.” She used to think that it didn’t matter if she let Mama Shen be around her, but now she hated it. This kind of life, in which she was always under the surveillance of others and had no freedom at all, made her very uncomfortable. So, she had to find a way to get rid of Mama Shen without offending the Old Madam.

Meanwhile, having honed his skills as a steward for many years, Steward Xiang had been very cautious. Once he got the orders from Qiu Shi, he did not go directly to the shop, but he first went to find out what happened to the owner of the shop. This inquiry, indeed, revealed something.

Yuxi felt that it was unthinkable when she heard that Steward Xiang had been offered two thousands six hundred taels price for the shop. “This can’t be.” They were given the price of four thousands, while Steward Xiang has been offered two thousands and six hundreds taels? She felt that this was somewhat abnormal.

Steward Xiang said, “Miss, don’t you know, the shop owner had offended the people of yamen, so, common people don’t dare to buy the shop from him because of that.” Powerful people looked down on the shops in that area and people with a little money had their own sources. Once they knew that the shop owners had offended the yamen, it was unlikely for them to buy the shop, to avoid being the replacement for the yamen to vent their anger on.

Yuxi was a bit worried as she said, “Who did the landlord offend? If the crime isn’t small, then, we shouldn’t buy his shop.” She didn’t want to cause any trouble.

Steward Xiang said while smiling, “It’s not a big deal. The store is ours. The other party is afraid to change his mind. Miss, in fact, if this shop didn’t have this incident, it would have cost three to four thousands taels of silver. The price we offer is not low either.” Just because ordinary people didn’t dare to buy this shop, did not mean that the state residence did not dare to buy it.

Yuxi felt relief, “It has been hard for the steward.”

However, Steward Xiang was very calculating, “Fourth Miss, I heard that you bought this shop to open a grocery store. If Miss doesn’t have the right person yet, I have one here.”

The person recommended by Xiangyang was his brother-in-law, surnamed Meng who was fifteen years old this year.

Yuxi had no problem with his age and the grocery store she would run was not large either. As long as the other party was smart and could manage the store well, she would accept that person. “Since he is recommended by the Steward Xiang, he must has his own strength. However, my grocery store will not be big, so I’m afraid his talent will be wasted there.”

Steward Xiang said with a smile, “He had been learning in a silk and satin shop at a very young age. Also, since Mama Fang will be by his side, teaching him, this make me dare to open my mouth recommending him.”

Naturally, Yuxi was willing to give Steward Xiang some face.

When Steward Xiang left, Yuxi asked Hongshan to give him twenty taels of silver, “You’ve been working hard for the past two days. Take this money to buy some wine.”

After receiving the reward, Steward Xiang went out of the state residence. When he got home, he told his wife, Meng Shi, to let her tell her family about it.

Meng Shi was somewhat unease. The grocery shop would not be big and with her younger brother ability, he would not achieve much from working there!

Xiangyang said, “Why are you view so shallow, staring only at these three melons and two dates (Northern spoken language, a metaphor for something insignificant, or a limited amount of money. In this case, it means something insignificant.)? The grocery store may be small, but did you forget that Fourth Miss is currently studying with Teacher Song? Do you think her future will go worse? If Third Brother follow her now, after Fourth Miss fully developed, do you still think she can’t reuse him?” Now, he could manage a silk shop. Apart from his own ability, his mother was his Master’s confidant. Otherwise, he would not be able to get that position.

Meng Shi was still somewhat worried, “Third Younger Brother is already fifteen years old, and in the future, he will reach a marriage age. This job is not enough. Will his marriage has to be delayed?” Fourth Miss would finally developed for at least another ten years. If her younger brother had to work in the grocery shop for another ten years, it would be equal to her brother delaying his marriage.

In response, Xiangyang could only tell her the truth, “As long as your Third Brother does a good job, once he got Fourth Miss’s attention, there will be no problem to find him a wife.” Seeing Meng Shi’s bewildered face, he continued saying, “Fourth Miss is actually very intelligent, but she has a shallow background, so, it is not convenient for her to act in the residence. If Third Brother does well, Fourth Miss would surely pull him under her wings. Don’t you remember that two personal maids of the Fourth Miss who will reach the age of marriage in two years?” If you wanted to win the hearts of the people, by betrothing the maids around you was the best way to do it.

Meng Shi’s eyes lit up. Unfortunately, she seldom went to the inner courtyard now, so she had no impression of the two maids, Moju and Motao.

Xiangyang poured cold water on her, “If Third Brother can’t get into her eyes, everything is in vain.” This meant to ask Meng Shi to persuade her younger brother properly.

That evening, Yuxi got the deed of the shop. Holding this deed, she felt delighted. This was her property. She also has her own property which made her felt really good.

It was also Yuxi’s good luck. A few days later, after their talk, Qiu Shi found out that the Lu family of Marquis Zhongyong’s residence was going to sell a land property, which was also linked with a mountain forest and exactly met Yuxi’s requirements.

Qiu Shi said to Yuxi, “The hamlet is not far from the capital. It’s about two hours walk. I think you can buy it.”

Yuxi asked doubtfully, “Aunt, why do the Lu family sell such a good property?” Land property was something that could be passed on to future generations and was generally not sold.

Since Qiu Shi was planning to buy these land property, she surely had made a clear inquiries on it. She said, “The Lu family has set up a business line with the Li family, the imperial merchant, and they are planning to do business with them. It is said that the business operation is very large which requires a lot of capital, so Lu family is going to sell some industries to convert to cash. This is also our opportunity. “

Yuxi was not familiar with the outside market, so, she asked, “What’s the background of this Li family? They let the Lu family sell their land?” If it wasn’t for sure that the Li family would make a lot of money, the Lu family would never sell these inheritable properties.

Qiu Shi said, “Madam Li is Minister Song’s illegitimate younger sister.” So to speak, Li family’s backer was Imperial Consort Song and Song family.

Yuxi’s heart was somewhat a little cold. The Song family could still sit at ease as they enjoyed riches and honour after committing such evil deeds. While, those soldiers and civilians who died unjustly all had died in vain.

Qiu Shi didn’t know what Yuxi was thinking, so she told her in detail about the situation of the said land production, “There are 460 mu (unit of area equal to one fifteenth of a hectare) paddy fields in that hamlet, of which 230 mu are the best paddy fields, 160 mu are the middle paddy fields, 70 mu are lower paddy fields, and more than 680 mu are the mountain forests.”

Yuxi was immediately pulled back out of her thought and asked, “How much is the asking price?”

Qiu Shi replied, “The asking price is eight thousands taels.”

Yuxi frowned as she asked, “Aunt, isn’t the price too high?” More than six hundreds mu of mountain forest was only worth not more than one thousand taels, which was equivalent to 14.05 taels per mu of paddy field. If it was all good paddy fields, it was a good deal, but only about half of them were good paddy fields, so eight thousands taels for her, personally, was too expensive.

Qiu Shi smiled and said, “They want this price for a reason. They planted a lot of fir in that mountain forest a few years ago, and they will be able to sell them in a few years time. In addition, there are quite a few red jujubes, chestnuts and other fruit trees planted on the mountain, which is not too bad for us.“

Yuxi still felt that the price was too expensive. Who knew how many Chinese fir were there and when they could be sold? Furthermore, how many red jujubes, chestnuts and other fruit trees had been planted? There are too many uncertain factors.

Qiu Shi was not anxious, rather she supported Yuxi carefully by saying, “Yuxi, this eight thousands taels of silver includes this season’s rice harvest, which should be able to sell at the price of four to five hundreds taels. In addition, the hamlet is close to the capital city and many people want to buy it, so that’s why the price is this high. The other reason is because of its good location. If Lu family is not in urgent need of money, they will not be willing to sell it.”

Yuxi thought it over in her mind and asked, “Does aunt think it’s a good deal to buy this hamlet?”

Qiu Shi nodded and said, “It is a little expensive, but this hamlet is close to the capital city and the river, and with the price of eight thousands taels, it is worth buying. If you don’t buy it this time, it will be very difficult to find something that suits your heart next time. “

Yuxi thought of her past. If she had such a place outside the capital, she would not have nowhere to go and eventually be burned to death in the wild. In case she fell into the same situation as in her previous life, she at least had a place to stay. Thinking of this, she immediately said, “Then, I’ll buy it!”

Qiu Shi thought of Yuxi only had merely seven thousand taels of silver in hand. She was ready to help her to make up the difference.

When Yuxi heard this, she immediately refused, “Aunt, I haven’t touched the whole year profit of the baozi (steamed stuffed bun) shop from last year! With that profit, I can make up to eight thousands taels.“ In addition, she also received several hundred taels of gifts during the New Year Festival. As for the whole two thousands taels of silver tickets in her hand, Yuxi did not want to use it for the time being, since she saved it was for urgent use.

Qiu Shi was not reluctant either. She told Yuxi about another matter, “Don’t you want to buy a maid with great strength? I have already found her for you. The girl is only six years old, but she has a lot of strength.“ It was not so easy to find someone who had the strength, family background, innocence and age. It took her more than half a year to find that type of maid.

Yuxi’s eyes lit up at once, “Where?”

Qiu Shi said with a smile, “She just entered the residence today. I’ll let her learn the rules first these few days. When she has completely learnt the rules, she will be sent to your yard.”

Yuxi knew this was a normal process, and she didn’t want to be special either. So, she said, “Aunt, when we have bought the hamlet, I want to find a chance to see it.” This was her property alone. She felt not at ease if she didn’t set her eyes on it.

Qiu Shi smiled and said, “It’s not a problem. You can go when you have a holiday. The place is not far away either. Go early and you can come back in the evening.“ It was normal that one wanted to take a look at one’s own industry. It was not something surprising.

Yuxi was looking forward to that day.

Qiu Shi’s work efficiency was very high. On that same day, Yuxi got the title deed of the land property with the mountain forest. She held the title deed like the apple of her eyes and put it together with the title deed of the store. From now on, she was the owner of both land and real estate.

After Moju knew about this, she asked doubtfully, “Miss, did you really buy the farmland?” In the past, Mama Fang always worried about money. Suddenly, her Miss had bought shops and farmland. She felt that the world had changed so much that she couldn’t keep up with the pace!

Yuxi smiled and said, “Now that I have shops and land property, then I can provide you a thick dowry later on.”

Moju stamped her foot and said shyly, “Miss now knows to tease this handmaiden.” After that, she ran out with a red face.

Yuxi’s face was beaming with joy. Moju and Motao did not marry well in her last life. In this life, she would not let them make the same mistake again.