Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Zhang Mo listened to the conversation between Lu Bu and the old farmer, but seemed to be lost in thought. She continued to ask, "Old man, how much grain can you harvest from this acre of land?"

The old farmer said, "In a good year, good land can yield two dan, usually a little more than one dan. If there is drought or flood, the yield may be reduced or even zero."

"How were the harvests in the first two years after the wasteland was opened up?"

"Less than a stone, and some as little as half a stone."

"If we use oxen to reclaim wasteland, how long will it take to reclaim an acre of wasteland?"

The old farmer said, "It would be much easier if we had oxen to plow. Burn the thorns clean, and if it rains and the plow is sharp, we can plow an acre in two days."

Zhang Mo understood and bowed to the old farmer. She took out a few copper coins from her messenger bag and said, "Thank you for your advice, old man. Please don't harvest the wheat. Use this money to buy some food to sustain you for a few days. I'll come back in a few days!"

The old farmer waved his hands repeatedly, "How can this be done? I just grumbled a few words, how can I take your money? No way."

Zhang Mo said, "I've benefited a lot from the old man's nagging. I'll leave the money here. Goodbye!"

Zhang Mo bent down and put the money on the edge of the field, bowed again, and pulled Lu Bu away.

"Amo, have you thought of any solution?" Lu Bu asked, looking at her cheerful steps.

Zhang Mo turned and looked at him, "I want to thank you, thank you for the inspiration you gave me."

"What did I do?" Lu Bu looked puzzled, as if he had done nothing.

Zhang Mo smiled and said, "You said opening up new land. Opening up new land is the best way."

"You want to reclaim the wasteland and then exchange it with them?" Lu Bu disagreed. "That's not possible, right? How long will it take to reclaim so much wasteland?"

"You're only half right. I want to trade the wasteland for good farmland, but they have to open it themselves."

"That's even more impossible. Even if you offered them ten for one, they wouldn't do it."

Zhang Mo said, "If it's just a land-for-land exchange, they'll certainly refuse, but I can provide subsidies and additional gifts. I'll work out the specific plan after I go back and calculate the accounts. If the funds are insufficient, we can even provide credit."

"On credit? Will they agree?"

"It should be called a mortgage to be more precise."

"mortgage?"

"I'll just give them my stuff as collateral first, and then pay them back when I have money from the mine."

"What are you going to pledge?"

Zhang Mo kept it a secret, "You'll know about this later. Let's go back to the city first."

When they reached the main road outside, Lu Bu lifted Zhang Mo onto his horse and asked, "Would you like to learn horseback riding now?"

Zhang Mo shook her head. "It's getting late today. Let's go back to the city and study another day."

Lu Bu turned over and sat behind her, flicked the whip lightly, and the horse broke into a trot.

"Amo, you have a mine and a farm, I'm afraid you can't hide it from your adoptive father. If he knows, he will definitely not agree. How will he punish you?" Lu Bu said worriedly.

Based on my understanding of Wang Situ in the dream, he looks down on everyone except scholars. I wonder how angry he would be if he knew that Amo was doing business?

"I don't know either. I can hide it for now. No matter how angry he is, he won't kick me out of the Wang family. I'll see if I can convince him later. The worst-case scenario is that I have to close the mine."

Lu Bu said, "Why not just leave the Wang family? He's not your biological father, so why bother to look down on him?"

"Leave the Wang family?" Zhang Mo was slightly surprised. From what Lu Bu said, he seemed to have a prejudice against the Wang family. Did his adoptive father offend him?

Lu Bu tightened his grip around her waist and said seriously, "Amo, come with me. I will treat you well and won't restrict your freedom. I won't make you learn singing, dancing, or etiquette. You can do whatever you want."

Zhang Mo didn't take his words seriously and joked, "Going with you to be a fugitive?"

Lu Bu said, "I will not be a fugitive all my life. I will carve out a world of my own and be granted an official title."

Zhang Mo didn't care. "That's yours, it has nothing to do with me. Besides, although my adoptive father and I are not related by blood, he treats me like his own son. How could I disown him just because of a mine? If it were you, would you leave Wei Xu for such a small matter?"

Lu Bu shook his head and said, "He is clearly using you. How can he treat you as his daughter?"

"In a large family, even a biological daughter is merely a tool for marriage. Just because he might send me to the imperial palace or marry me off as a concubine doesn't mean I should deny his love for me. Without him, I'd be an orphan helpless against even the bullies of the local thugs. He saved my life, provided me with food, clothing, and a good education. Isn't that enough?"

"Furthermore, putting aside the feelings, I was willing to follow him in the first place for a purpose. He was attracted by my beauty and intelligence, and I was attracted by his family background and status. In the beginning, he and I were just a business deal."

But people have emotions, and the nature of this transaction has long since changed.

Lu Bu then thought that he and her were only in an employment relationship now, but unknowingly, in his heart, she was more than just an employer!

Love grows over time. The love between friends, the love between men and women, and the love between father and daughter are indeed not something that can be easily cut off.

"Amo, I understand now. You really treat that old man as your father."

"You seem to have a prejudice against my adoptive father?"

"No!"

…………

For Zhang Mo, exchanging land was not too difficult. The difficult part was that no one helped her with the construction of mining infrastructure and the subsequent coal mining and sales. Pretending to be sick and skipping classes to work was not a long-term solution after all, and Lu Bu was obviously not capable of doing sales work.

Also, if the manor and mining area cannot be linked to the Wang family, even if no one covets them, the tax alone will be enough to make her suffer. Merchants without background will be sucked dry by those in the government.

As for the partner, Zhang Mo had already locked on the third son Wang Ding when she was planning.

Wang Ding had lived in Jinyang until he was thirteen years old and was very familiar with the place. He did not like studying and had no idea about the classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. In addition, he was Wang Yun's favorite, so it was perfect for him to cooperate with him.

Wang Ding's yard was right next door. At the moment, he was leisurely lying on a rattan chair in the yard, enjoying the cool air, his clothes half-open, his black hair draped over his shoulders. Seeing Zhang Mo come in, he slightly straightened his clothes and said lazily, "Aren't you practicing the piano today?"

Zhang Mo moved a chair and sat across from Wang Ding. She smiled and said, "Isn't it just what you want if I don't practice piano? You don't have to plug your ears anymore."

"Nothing, brother. At most I can stay at Xiangju. With good wine and beautiful women by my side, the day will pass by."

"Third brother, don't you feel depressed wasting your time like this all day long?"

Wang Ding glanced at her and asked, "Why? Father asked you to be a lobbyist?"

Zhang Mo waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, I came here to discuss something with you."

"What's the matter?"

"You have to promise me first that you won't tell my adoptive father about this."

Wang Ding said angrily, "Brother, do you think I'm such a disloyal person?"

Zhang Mo smiled flatteringly, "Isn't this just to communicate first?"

She leaned closer and asked mysteriously, "I want to partner with you to do a big business?"

"What big deal can you have?"

Wang Ding picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth, saying casually, "If you have nothing to do, go run or practice boxing instead of teasing your third brother."

Zhang Mo grabbed a handful of peanuts and ate them while saying, "When have I ever made fun of you? Just listen to me first."

Seeing that there were no one around, she lowered her voice and said, "I found a coal mine outside the city. It can be used as fuel. It burns more durable than firewood and charcoal, and the reserves are very large. I estimate that it will take several years to mine it all. I would like to cooperate with you."

"Coal? What?"

"It's a black substance that can be burned as firewood. I compared the price of firewood and charcoal and did a simple conversion. If one stone sells for fifty coins, then in the early stages we can dig 200 stones a day, and earn 10,000 coins a day. Later, with the investment of funds and manpower, I believe digging a thousand stones a day will not be a problem. Just think about it, if we can dig for several years at this rate, how much money will we make?"

"You mean coal?"

Zhang Mo then remembered that this thing seemed to be called coal in ancient times, and nodded hurriedly.

According to archaeological discoveries, China actually began to use coal in the Neolithic Age. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, coal wells of a certain scale and corresponding coal mining technology appeared. This is no longer a new thing. Wang Ding grew up in Jinyang since he was a child, so it is not surprising for him to have seen it.

Knowing it was coal, Wang Ding poured cold water on it and said, "No one wants to use this, otherwise someone would have dug it up long ago. Why are they waiting for you?"