【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

"Great! Courageous! I had the grain seeds sent by Patriarch Li planted last spring, and I received news a few days ago. One acre of land is producing over 900 kilograms of grain, nearly double the yield from before. It's truly gratifying. I've already submitted a memorial explaining this, and I'll write a detailed memorial along with the rice."

Magistrate Wang was in a good mood, mainly because the rice was not only of high yield but also tasted excellent, without sacrificing quality for the sake of quantity.

"Thank you, sir." Yun Xi had a happy look on her face, looking like a helpless and money-hungry peasant woman.

He wondered what reward the emperor would give him, hoping for more money so that he could lie down and relax.

In fact, the original rice seeds with an annual yield of about 500 kilograms per mu were Champa rice introduced from the south, but these people didn't know it, so she told a little lie, as long as the result was good.

With the promise from the prefect, Lijia Village worked non-stop for more than half a month to transport all the rice to be sold to the government office. Fortunately, the government office was worried that they would be slow to react, so they sent mule carts to help with the transportation.

They were busy until the tenth day of September. Except for the 1,600 kilograms of rice sold to Xiaowangzhuang, the rest of Yunxi's family's rice was sold to the government office. A total of 88,400 kilograms were sold for 884 taels of silver.

Li Chunsheng's heart was pounding. He kept rubbing his hands, slumping his shoulders and lowering his brows, thinking everyone he saw was a thief.

"Mom, we make so much money from farming, no wonder everyone wants to be a landlord."

"Don't be surprised. It's only this year that the rice can be sold at such a high price. In the future, the rice will become cheaper and cheaper. First, the government collected the rice for seeds. Second, corn and other grains were harvested later than rice and have not yet entered the market. Third, if high-yield crops are planted in the future, low grain prices will hurt farmers. In two years, it will be good if a pound of rice can be sold for two cents. Maybe it can be reduced to one cent per pound." Yun Xi understood clearly that this time it was just a matter of taking advantage of the right time, place and people.

"One cent per catty, ninety thousand catties can be sold for ninety taels of silver. The cost is about ten taels of silver, so there is still a profit." Li Xiaqing counted on his fingers.

"It's not that simple. We have to live our lives and pay taxes. I also want to send you to school, which costs even more."

One can imagine the pressure Yun Xi is under.

"Let's go. We happen to be in the provincial capital. The housing prices are low now. Let's buy a few houses and rent them out later." Yun Xi saw a dental clinic at the corner and walked in with the children.

A middle-aged man received them and said warmly, "Please come in, sir. My surname is Lu, and you can call me Lu Yaren. May I ask if you are buying the land and the house, or the servants? Or renting?"

Yun Xi looked around to see if there was anyone else in the room and asked quietly, "How many servants can a farmer buy?"

Lu Yaren shook his head and nodded, "Farmers can't buy people, but they can register them in name only."

Yun Xi frowned, "Just in name only?"

"Yes, some families with achievements do not need so many servants, so they will rent out the quotas, 500 coins per quota. Another option is to register the servants' household registration under the name of your distant relatives, not as slaves, and then sign a lifelong labor contract." Lu Yaren explained it very clearly.

"So that's it."

There is really a countermeasure for every policy.

"Give me two servants, registered with my branch household registration. Two strong-aged women, the kind that can work." Yun Xi thought for a moment and said, "I want two strangers."

"to make."

Soon, Lu Ya Ren found two strong and sturdy maids. From Yun Xi's perspective, they were indeed very strong. However, "Lu Ya Ren, these two must have served in wealthy families before. Can they farm? Don't bring back two ancestors for me."

She was a little dissatisfied.

"Of course, if you don't work hard, just come back to us and I'll replace you. These two used to work in wealthy families, doing cleaning and emptying nightshades. They don't have so many pretentious ideas." Lu Yaren vowed.

Yun Xi thought to herself that this must be found out clearly, as it was not uncommon for slaves to be jealous of their masters. If they bring disaster to their families, it would be the end of them. She would rather buy people like peasant women who had never seen the world and could endure hardships.

"Forget it, let's wait until the child passes the imperial examination before buying someone. Mr. Lu, do you have any houses for sale? I want to buy a house and a shop." Yun Xi, who is always cautious, glanced at him sideways, "There are no restrictions on buying houses, right?"

"Houses? No limit. I'll bring you a picture album." Lu Yaren was not disappointed. He waved and had the two maids taken away. He took out a picture album from somewhere and said, "Sir, please look. These houses are all for sale."

Yun Xi flipped through the shops and found that the most expensive were those on East Street, with prices ranging from one hundred to one thousand taels, depending on the size and quality of the shop. Those on West Street were slightly cheaper, ranging from eighty to six hundred taels. The prices were lowest in the north, where ordinary people gathered. The south had the most convenient water transport facilities, and the housing prices were comparable to those in West City.

"South Street, let's go there. I want these five connected shops and the five small houses behind them." Yun Xi pointed at the album.

"Okay, each shop is eighty taels of silver, and each house is ninety taels of silver. Do you want to go to the shop and take a look?" Lu Yaren was secretly happy. It was really a big deal.

"Okay, let's go."

Yun Xi's family drove three ox carts. Lu Yaren picked one at random and jumped on it, then pointed the way to the south city.

It is visibly that South City is much more lively than before, even surpassing North Street. This should be because the canal transportation has returned to normal.

A quarter of an hour later, the group arrived at the door of the shop. Lu Ya found the key to open it. Yun Xi followed him to see whether the shop was clean and the building was solid. Fortunately, Lu Ya was a legitimate business man and did not cheat people with a house that was only for show.

"I'm very satisfied with this house. That's all. Shall we go transfer the ownership now?"

Yun Xi carried the household registration card and travel pass with her in case of emergency. Look, isn’t it useful now?

"Let me explain in advance that this shop and house are for each of the five of us. That should be fine."

Lu Yaren looked at Li Yanran alone. Li Yanran nervously hid behind her mother and said, "Okay, just put this little girl in the dowry."

In this way, everyone got a shop and a house.

"Mr. Lu Ya, I'd like to entrust you to help me rent out this shop, and keep one house and rent out the others as well." Yun Xi took out eight hundred and fifty taels of silver and paid him an additional one tael as a reward for his help.

"No problem, I'll definitely get it done for you."

Lu Yaren readily agreed. Yun Xi didn't bother to look at his money-grubbing behavior and asked another question, "Lu Yaren, how many schools are there in the city now?"

"School? There are five schools now. There is one near the house you bought. It was opened by a scholar named Chen. Chen Xiucai is quite knowledgeable." Lu Yaren said.

"Go and have a look."

Things were going so smoothly, Yun Xi felt that today was also a good day to get things done.