Chapter 23 - Chapter 23

Although Li Wang turned a blind eye to it, he was still worried about Yong-ge's innocence, so he let him go out once but started restricting him afterwards.

At this time, the spring seedlings had been planted for some time, and the weeds in the fields were growing wildly. It was the time when the village was busy with farming. Some households couldn't keep up with the work, so they hired Li Wang and his son to remove the weeds. After removing the weeds, they also had to water and fertilize, which kept them busy for a long time.

Meanwhile, the Li family was getting anxious and frustrated. Under the repeated urging of Young Master Yan, they lowered the price of each mu of land from fourteen or fifteen taels to twelve taels.

But there was still no interest from the villagers. It wasn't that they didn't want to buy, but they couldn't afford it. Twelve taels was not a small amount for them, and Li Mancang's four mu of land was contiguous. If they wanted to sell it separately, they would have to remeasure the land.

Remeasuring the land would require breaking apart the land deed, and that would cost a substantial amount of silver when taken to the yamen for processing.

If they didn't have the land deed, would Wu Guihua cause trouble and reclaim the land after three to five years? Even if there was an elder of the clan overseeing it, Wu Guihua wouldn't do such a thing. However, in these times, everyone valued security, and not having a land deed was always uncomfortable.

There were few families who could afford to pay, and due to various reasons, the Li family had been unable to conclude the land sale.

Cheng Duo, on the other hand, thought that he could buy it. Firstly, he wasn't afraid of Wu Guihua causing trouble. Secondly, he had enough money to buy all four mu of land and then exchange it for a land deed at the yamen.

What's even better was that all four mu of land had already been cultivated, so he didn't need to do the farming himself. He could just learn from others when it came to weeding and fertilizing. As for next year… either hire someone to farm or rent it out, they could decide later.

However, Cheng Duo felt that he could still negotiate the price. After all, Wu Guihua had previously accused him of killing their cow and then insulted him behind his back. Why should he be polite to her?

But Li Mancang was still Yong-ge's uncle…

After thinking about it, Cheng Duo felt that he should inform him. He was a very proactive person, so when he thought of something, he would go ahead and do it.

He learned from Shanzi that Li Wang had taken Yong-ge to help a family remove weeds in their field, so Cheng Duo went home and brought something before making his way there.

Yong-ge was busy removing weeds when he suddenly felt something touch his head. He looked up and quickly saw Cheng Duo gesturing for him to come over from behind the bushes.

"…" Yong-ge didn't want to acknowledge him. Going into the woods with a man in broad daylight would be seen by others, and he wouldn't be able to live anymore!

But Cheng Duo seemed to have something important to say, and it wouldn't be good if he didn't go…

Knowing Cheng Duo's personality, Yong-ge knew that he must have something to say, so he wiped the sweat off his forehead and shouted to his father, "Father, I'm going to rest over there for a while."

Li Wang didn't even lift his head but reminded him, "Don't go deep into the grass, be careful of snakes."

"Understood, Father."

Yong-ge knew that even if his father saw him entering the small forest, he would assume he went to relieve himself, so he boldly went in.

Cheng Duo was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, with one leg propped up and absentmindedly chewing on a dogtail grass, swaying back and forth… Yong-ge didn't know where he learned that from.

"I brought this for you." Seeing him approach, Cheng Duo raised his hand and handed him a dumpling wrapped in a vegetable leaf.

"What is it?" Yong-ge felt that it was warm inside. Curiously, he opened one corner and smelled a mixture of rice and the fragrant aroma of lard.

"Grilled rice dumpling, I made it myself."

Yong-ge's expression was a bit complex. Going into the woods was one thing, but Cheng Duo also brought him food. This was getting more and more like a secret meeting…

But Yong-ge didn't refuse. Cheng Duo was the type of person who didn't like to beat around the bush. He had some free time, so he planned to dig a basket of spring bamboo shoots for Yong-ge. The mountain mustard was also sprouting, so he could pick some and make scrambled eggs for Yong-ge…

As Yong-ge silently contemplated, he sat down next to Cheng Duo, leaving a person's distance between them. "Do you need something from me?" he asked.

"Yes." Cheng Duo nodded, gesturing with his chin towards the rice ball. "Don't hesitate to eat it. If you take it back, your father will find out."

Yong-ge thought it through and agreed. He slowly unwrapped the rice ball and saw the crispy and golden-brown outer layer, with rice grains containing diced meat inside. Besides, Cheng Duo must have brushed it with soy sauce, making it incredibly fragrant.

Yong-ge took a small bite. The outer layer of the rice was crispy and fragrant, while the inside was soft, sticky, and oily. He had never known that rice balls could be so delicious when grilled!

Of course, Cheng Duo's rice ball was so tasty because he was willing to add various seasonings like pork, lard, and soy sauce. If he had simply grilled the rice ball, it would have been much less flavorful.

"Is it delicious?" Cheng Duo turned his head, still chewing on the dogtail grass.

Yong-ge nodded involuntarily. "It's delicious!"

Cheng Duo felt a bit proud. Indeed, he had picked out the best one from a pot of undercooked rice, and Yong-ge couldn't tell!

"What do you need from me?" Yong-ge asked again.

Cheng Duo explained his plan to buy the land.

"You want to buy the land from my uncle's family?" Yong-ge was a bit surprised. Cheng Duo had even helped with the vegetable garden, so how would he manage the land if he bought it?

Could it be that Cheng Duo thought he didn't even have land and he kept advising him to be frugal, so he decided to buy his uncle's land?

Some men cared about their reputation, but Cheng Duo seemed to bring up whatever was on his mind. Had he been annoyed by his constant nagging and felt humiliated?

Feeling a bit guilty, Yong-ge blinked his eyelashes and cautiously looked at Cheng Duo. "If it's convenient for you, buying the land is actually not a bad idea…"

"I know buying land is a good idea. You didn't understand what I meant… The point is not just buying the land. The point is that your uncle's family seems to need money urgently, and I plan to lower the price even further," Cheng Duo clarified.

Yong-ge understood. Cheng Duo was afraid of pushing too hard and making Yong-ge side with his uncle's family, refusing to help him.

Yong-ge had self-awareness. Cheng Duo didn't really need to ask him, but he did anyway…

Yong-ge felt moved and spoke frankly, "Because of the issues with my two brothers, my aunt often comes to our house to cause trouble. If I get involved in their land sale, she might even scold me."

Cheng Duo furrowed his brow. He thought Wu Guihua would be a bit more restrained when it came to relatives, but it seemed she had gone even further?

"Then your uncle…"

"My uncle doesn't really have a say. He listens to my aunt," Yong-ge replied, hanging his head. He felt a bit guilty, thinking that he had shared too much. He could have avoided telling Cheng Duo all of this, but he did anyway.

"I see." Cheng Duo's face darkened. He no longer had any favorable impression of that family.

With confirmation from Yong-ge, Cheng Duo immediately went to find Village Head Li and asked for his help as a middleman. He managed to negotiate the price down to ten taels per mu.

"Ten taels? Isn't that a bit too low?" Village Head Li exclaimed. After all, the land was still cultivated with crops. Just the seeds and wheat seedlings alone would be worth half a tael of silver.

"It's not low. I bought their four mu of land in one go, didn't I? And considering the additional fees for transferring the ownership at the government office, ten taels per mu is already quite generous."

"Do we need to transfer the ownership? It should be enough to receive the land deed. There's really no need for the transfer…" Village Head Li couldn't help but advise. The clerks at the government office always demanded bribes, and the county officials would also levy taxes. Cheng Duo was buying so much land, and the amount of bribes would be exorbitant.

Cheng Duo shook his head. "I'm an outsider, so I'd rather have the ownership transferred to my name for peace of mind."

To avoid any complications, he preferred to have the land deed under his own name. He didn't mind spending a little more money on it.