At noon on the second day, not long after Su Family finished their lunch, there was a knock on the door outside. You Jin took the handkerchief to dry her hands before answering it: "Coming!"
She was thinking at this time, it should be Broker Chen.
Sure enough, the person standing outside the door was Broker Chen who came from Houjiawan.
Seeing You Jin, he cupped his hands with a smile and greeted, "Miss Su, it's sorted."
The owner of Houjiawan's sixteen mu of fertile land was waiting for money. Although You Jin had lowered the price, it was still within his acceptance range. So he reluctantly nodded and agreed: "Just one thing, the crops planted in the field belong to his family. The land will not belong to you until after the autumn harvest. What do you think?"
You Jin wasn't the kind of person who counted to the last grain. Since the family sold the land before the grain was harvested, it must be because there was an accident at home and they need money urgently, right? She nodded in agreement.
Since both the buyer and the seller agree, the deal was completed. You Jin went back to her room and took out a one hundred silver liang note and ten silver liang for Broker Chen: "Also, I must trouble Uncle Chen to help me run this trip to exchange the red deed back."
Broker Chen didn't expect Su Family to have bank notes when their place was in a tattered state. So he was stunned for a moment. Hearing what You Jin said, he hurriedly took the money: "Miss Su, you are being polite. This is what we brokers should do, no?"
Broker Chen was very efficient in handling affairs. He delivered the red deed in the afternoon of the second day as well as refunding a few silver liang: "Miss Su, the land money was one hundred and forty liang. The red deed exchange tax is one liang and six coins. I will be charged three silver coins for the broker fee. So the total was one hundred and five liang and nine coins."
Dafeng's custom of buying and selling broker's fee was paid by both buyers and sellers. Like this sixteen mu of land, Broker Chen Sixteen received half a liang from both parties.
You Jin smiled and accepted the change and the red deed handed over by Broker Chen. Seeing the three big characters 'Su You Jin' written straight and upright on the red deed, she narrowed her eyes in delight: "Thank you, Uncle Chen."
Broker Chen smiled and said: "If Miss Su needs anything in the future, just come to me. I will naturally do my best to find a good land with a suitable price for Miss Su."
You Jin nodded with a smile and sent Broker Chen away.
She put the red deed on the table in the main room and showed it to everyone in Su Family. Everyone stared at it with wide eyes, as if a flower would pop out of it.
Mrs. Su swallowed her saliva, and asked in disbelief: "You bought all these sixteen mu of land?" When Broker Chen came to the house, Mrs. Su did not show up to avoid suspicion. She had vaguely known that her daughter was going to buy it. Who would have thought that she would buy sixteen mu of land in one go!
You Jin jollily nodded before putting away the land deed, "Even if our family have no money in the future, we at least have more than ten mu of land in our hands, right? We won't be short of food, right?"
Little Seventh in her arms was no longer withered and had yellow hair. She smilingly stated: "I have to accumulate some dowries for my younger sisters!"
Hearing what You Jin said, the younger sisters who didn't understand worldly affairs all coaxed into cheers. While Mrs. Su was surprised that Eldest Daughter was paving the way for the future of the children! She recalled when she entered Yue Family without dowry and how they lived more than ten years with tight hands. She wholeheartedly agreed with daughter's approach: "Do we still have money in our hands? Should we buy more land?"
Having grown up in the countryside all her life, she naturally felt that land was the most secure. After such an explanation from Eldest Daughter, she had the thought of accumulating more land.
"Mother, we now have sixteen mu of fertile land. Plus, there are four mu of wasteland in front our house and several mu of swale land!" You Jin pointed out: "The money in your hand must find a way to continue to produce more money. We can't just sit and empty out the mountain."
Now there was more than five hundred silver liang in hand. In Luohe Prefecture, this can buy a small shop facing the street. Her family consisted of weak females. If they can sell things to make money, it will be easier than digging in the ground.
After hearing what Daughter said, Mrs. Su didn't express any objections anymore. After all, the money was earned by Daughter. So You Jin can spend it as she like.
***
Let's talk about Xiao Lin Yu's side. This time, he came back to Luohe Prefecture to repair the ancestral graves so that they could return to their hometown next year to worship their ancestors. The second was the establishment of inland waterways for Luohe Prefecture. Although Xiao Family didn't make a fortune in shipping, their family had been involved in inland waterway shipping since Xiao Lin Yu's father's generation. Right now, Xiao Family's Second Uncle was an official of the Imperial Ministry of Revenue. Under his protection, Xiao Family's inland waterway shipping was a bigger slice of cake. This time Xiao Lin Yu went north from the capital to Luohe Prefecture because there was news from the court that his Majesty was going to connect the inland waterway to Luohe Prefecture. That was why Xiao Family rushed back to Luohe Prefecture first.
Excluding the unsuitable River Luo, the widest waterways that weren't too rapid near the towns and cities in Luohe Prefecture was Wuliqiao which was only four or five meters wide. If inland waterway shipping were to happen, it was to select another site or dig a canal. Before Xiao Lin Yu came, his second uncle had said his Majesty wanted to dig the canal. However, it would cost a lot to dig one. For a period of time, a decision couldn't be made. Due to this, Xiao Lin Yu had been in Luohe Prefecture for the past ten days, waiting for a letter from the capital as he searched for places near Luohe Prefecture where inland wharves can be opened.
In Xiao Family's villa, Xiao Lin Yu carefully read the urgent letter from the capital in his hand. Then he lit it on a candle. With a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, he said to the middle-aged man standing in the middle of the hall: "His Majesty had made up his mind. Second Uncle mentioned in the letter that a river will be dug along the south of Luohe Prefecture. Right now, the river is only about a few meters wide. It is estimated fifteen-eighteen meters wide and twenty-five kilometers to the south is needed to connect to the canal leading to the capital for the inland waterway transportation in Luohe Prefecture to work."
That middle-aged man was one of Xiao Family's right-hand men in business. His name was Xiao Han. He served at Xiao Lin Yu's father's side from a young age. This time when Xiao Lin Yu came to Luohe Prefecture, the head of Xiao Family sent Xiao Han over to assist a bit. After hearing what Eldest Young Master said, Xiao Han responded, "Didn't Second Master say the imperial fund is short. Why is the canal getting dug?"
"Second Uncle said his Majesty intends to allow private merchants to get involved in inland waterway transportation and raise funds to build the canal. After the canal is opened, anyone who participates in the construction of the canal and invests more than 150,000 liang will be exempted from taxes for inland waterway shipping for ten years and overseas shipping taxes for five years." Xiao Lin Yu told Xiao Han all the things mentioned in Second Master Xiao's letter: "For inland waterway shipping, there's not much tax in a year. However, overseas shipping, my Xiao Family alone pays nearly 30,000 liang in taxes a year. This transaction is only a gain, not a loss."
Although the risks of oversea shipping were high, the profits were even greater. A large part of Xiao Family's income came from oversea shipping. If the taxes of oversea shipping can be reduced for five years, it will be a considerable amount. Xiao Han cupped his hands: "Since the court requires 150,000 liang in one go, those small shipping companies will naturally not be able to afford it. In this way, only a few old familiar households like us can get a share of the pie here."
Xiao Lin Yu nodded and spoke, "Once the news that Luohe Prefecture is going to dig a canal comes out, the price of land along the coast will also rise. Uncle Xiao Han, it'll be hard work for you these two days. The land along the coast within two kilometers radius of Luohe Prefecture can be collected first"
Currently, the land outside Luohe Prefecture wasn't expensive; collect them for a few silver liang per mu. It will be tens of times the price when the news of the canal digging spreads.
Xiao Family's movements were quick. The other families involved in inland waterway shipping weren't slow either. Within three to five days, the fields along both sides of the river outside Luohe Prefecture were acquired by these few families. Initially, the fertile land that used to be only eight silver liang per mu had now been sold at twenty liang per mu. Even the four mu of wasteland that You Jin's family originally bought had now risen to ten silver liang per mu. The news that Luohe Prefecture was going to dig a canal was spreading inside and outside the city. Many people who had sold their fields earlier were beating their chests and stamping feet, feeling very vexed. For a while, the entire Luohe Prefecture fell into a frenzied land rush.
***
Su Family now sold sour plum soup in the city. So news like this will naturally not be missed. Today was the seventeenth time You Jin had heard a customer mention to her that the Wuliqiao was about to have a canal dug out: "Su Family's lass, have you heard that a canal is going to be dug at Wuliqiao! If your family have land by the river, you must be able to earn a lot of money!"
This time, the person who was gossiping with You Jin was a familiar woman. She probably knew Su Family lived at the other side of the Wuliqiao.
You Jin smiled and sighed: "If our family has land, I would be waiting for someone to serve me with my legs crossed. Why would I sell sour plum soup under the sun here? Don't you agree?"
When the woman heard this, she agreed. Then she lamented, "That's right. What you say is really everyone has their own destiny. Who would have thought that those wastelands can be sold for more than ten silver liang per mu? If I knew earlier, I would have told our family head to buy a ten or twenty mu long ago."
After drinking the sour plum soup, the woman got another bamboo tube of it for take away and left with a sigh.
As for have-no-land You Jin, she was glad about buying sixteen mu of fertile land in Houjiawan a few days ago and the six mu on the edge of their family's original wasteland. Initially, she wanted to collect ten mu. At that time the news that Luohe Prefecture was going to dig a canal hadn't yet spread. So You Jin bought it at a low price of two silver liang per mu. It was really unintentional.
A total of ten households participated in the construction of the canal. Within half a month, 1.5 million silver liang were collected and handed over to the imperial court. The fund was enough and the construction of the canal outside the Wuliqiao became a priority. Once the summer is over and the autumn's dry season arrives, the canal can be dug.
For merchants, the construction of the canal was convenient for business. But for the imperial court's border defense, Luohe Prefecture was the fortress in the north of Dafeng. Once a war breaks out, transporting grain through water channels will take half the time of transporting by land. Although his Majesty was old now, he was very successful in military affairs. For the sake of great prosperity for thousands of generations, it was imperative to dig a Luohe Prefecture Canal.
However, ordinary common people didn't understand this, they only care about whether they can earn money and whether they can have enough food. The imperial affairs had little to do with them, such as You Jin.