Traveling to another world and becoming a local owner

After Zhang Ling finished his chores, he went straight to the thatched shed behind the yard. Daniu, Li Liulang, and another young man surnamed Huang were napping on a wooden bed in the corner, while Zhao Fengnian, a dark-skinned farmer, was busy with two other young men.

"The young master is here. All the fermented wine is used up. Once we finish steaming this jar of wine, we can finish work soon. The three brothers Da Niu have just finished their work and have just lay down not long ago." Zhao Fengnian explained with a naive smile.

"Well, everyone has worked hard. Call them to have breakfast together after you are done, and then come back to rest. I will ask Aunt Wang to prepare more meat for you to replenish your body." Zhang Ling nodded and said with a smile.

"It's not hard, not at all. This job is not tiring, and I can eat delicious food. I have lived for most of my life, but I have never seen such a good host as you." Zhao Fengnian had a grateful look on his face, and while speaking, he did not forget to change the wet cloth on the bamboo tube in time.

"Once the new distillery is built, it won't be so troublesome. We will just need to keep an eye on the temperature. How much distilled liquor have been produced now?" Zhang Ling checked the distillation device and nodded and asked.

"Put them all in the wine jars over here. Each jar weighs ten pounds. There are a little more than eleven jars in total. When the wine in this vat is distilled, there will be more than twelve jars." Zhao Fengnian replied quickly after hearing this.

"Well, you did a good job. Here is one copper coin as a reward for your hard work. You can share it among yourself after you are done." Zhang Ling was very happy when he saw this. He took out the copper coins he had prepared long ago and handed them to Zhao Fengnian.

"Young master, you can't do that! We are the servants you bought. We are already satisfied with having food and drink. Working hard is also our job. How can we ask you for money?" Zhao Fengnian waved his hand to refuse when he heard this.

"Just take it if I tell you to. This is not for you alone. Now that you are in my Zhang family, you have to follow our family rules. There will be punishments for mistakes, but there will be rewards for merits. It's so early in the morning, don't say anything more, just take it." After Zhang Ling finished speaking, he stuffed the penny into the other person's hand and walked out the door without looking back.

"Thank you, Master!"

"Thank you, Master..."

Ignoring the voices of gratitude from the people behind him, Zhang Ling waved his hand with his back to them, walked away with a smile on his face.

After having breakfast with Zhang's mother, Zhang Ling planned to go to the wasteland. As soon as he left the yard, he saw Ye Qingmei hesitating not far from the door.

"Miss Ye, why are you here? Is your mother feeling better?" Zhang Ling stepped forward and simply greeted her, then asked.

"Brother Ling, I, I want to borrow some money from you. My mother's illness is getting worse and worse. The doctor at Ci'an Hall said that if she is not treated within three days, I'm afraid she will..." The girl couldn't help crying as she spoke.

"Miss Ye, don't cry. I heard about this from Daniu. You can use this money first. I hope your mother's illness will get better soon." Zhang Ling said as he took out a silver note of one hundred taels from his sleeve.

"This, this is too much. Twenty taels will be enough." Ye Qingmei looked at the banknote clearly, feeling a little helpless and hurriedly refused.

"Money is something outside of one's body. Take it first. You need money to see a doctor and buy medicine. After your mother recovers, you should also buy more nutritious food so that she can recover as soon as possible." Seeing this, Zhang Ling stuffed the banknote into her hand without caring whether she accepted it or not.

"Brother Ling has been so kind to me that even if I work like a slave, I will never be able to repay you." Ye Qingmei's tears kept falling. She was so moved that she knelt down and kowtowed immediately.

Zhang Ling was quick to pull her back and said, "Miss Ye, please don't be like this. Our two families had been planning to get married before, but I felt that men should focus on their careers, so I refused three times. This time, just consider it as an apology!"

"No, Brother Ling, you are a man of great things, it's normal for you to look down on me. When mom recovers from her illness, we will find a way to return the money to you as soon as possible." Ye Qingmei's eyes were filled with tears, but her stubborn little face was full of determination.

"Well, let's talk about this later. If you have any problem, just come to me." Zhang Ling was most afraid of girls crying. He didn't know how to comfort them at this time, so he could only say this.

"Thank you, Brother Ling! Well, I'll go back first." Ye Qingmei bowed, lowered her head and hurried away.

Zhang Ling didn't say anything, but just stood there in a daze, looking at the girl's desolate back, feeling a little reluctant in his heart.

After Ye Qingmei left, Zhang Ling went to the wasteland near the village alone.

The land is covered with gravel and weeds. There is a stream on the west side, rolling hills on the east and north sides, and a few cultivated fields on the south side. Although the wasteland is not flat, it is open.

After walking around the wasteland, Zhang Ling stood on the northern hillside and began to make plans in his mind.

"If we want to build a winery, we definitely can't use earth bricks. We can dig two caves under this hillside to make blue bricks. We can build the winery by the stream, build a wall, and build a few dormitories. Two or three acres of land will be enough. The rest of the place will be left empty for now, and we'll make plans later." Zhang Ling thought silently in his heart...

After going down the hillside, Zhang Ling went straight to the old family in the village. He wanted to ask them to help contact some people to dig caves and make blue bricks at the foot of the mountain on the east side of the wasteland.

Originally, he was going to make red bricks, but blue bricks are strong and durable, and not easily weathered. Nowadays, water sources are convenient and labor is cheap, so it is naturally better to make blue bricks.

When Mr. Yang heard that Zhang Ling had arrived, he thought there was something wrong with the land. Unexpectedly, he just asked him to find someone to help with the work. He immediately happily agreed to the matter and his attitude improved a lot.

He immediately asked someone to find the most famous bricklayer in the village, "Lame", and put him in charge of the construction of the brick kiln.

Zhang Ling was overjoyed and immediately took out a hundred taels of silver and gave it to the clan elder, asking him to take care of it. He also told the villagers not to treat them badly in terms of wages and food.

Although Mr. Yang was in his twilight years, he was happy that everyone in the village had something to eat, so he immediately asked his sons and daughters to contact the villagers and prepare to start work today and start digging kilns to make bricks.

Zhang Ling would not ask about these matters. Everyone has their own expertise. He only needs to pay the money and he does not need to worry about the subsequent matters.

After this matter was accomplished, Zhang Ling was in a good mood. On the way back, he casually broke off a grass stem, held it in his mouth, hummed a little tune, and swayed all the way, looking leisurely and carefree.

Before he got home, he saw a carriage parked outside his yard. When Xiao Cui saw him coming back, she hurriedly greeted him and said, "Master, two young masters are here. They say they are your good friends. Madam is asking Xin'er to entertain them in the living room!"

Zhang Ling heard this and immediately smiled and said, "I see, Sister Xiao Cui, you go ahead and do your work, I'll be there soon."

The visitors were naturally Zhou Yixing and his companions. Zhang Ling arrived at the living room and immediately greeted them, "Brother Zhou, Brother Xia, I just went to the village to do some work. I didn't know you were coming. I'm sorry for not welcoming you. I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting for so long."

"Brother Zhang, what are you saying? We came here uninvited. I hope you won't mind." Zhou Yixing bowed and said with a smile.

"Brother Zhang is very busy, so it is we who are being presumptuous. Brother Wang is busy with his poetry collection today, so he cannot visit you. I am asked to apologize on his behalf, and I hope you will not blame me." Xia Wenshan also spoke.