Chapter 38.2

After exchanging greetings with everyone, and extending respectful salutations to uncles and grandfathers, Song Dingxiang lowered her head and fell silent, pretending to be a shy and submissive young bride.

After chatting for a while, Song Xingyi took Song Dingxiang to another place and wandered around. Eventually, he said, "I found a good spot, not far from the vegetable patch we have at home, and it has a good low terrain for water diversion. The only downside is that if we buy that piece of land, it will be next to your uncle's land."

Even though it was considered to be next to each other, there was actually a distance of about ten meters, with a well-trodden dirt path in between.

Years ago, Song Xingyi wouldn't have had any concerns about buying land next to his third brother. However, in the past few years, he had some complaints about his third brother's household, fearing that Song Dingxiang might not get along with them. Hence, his hesitation.

After taking a few glances at the land, Song Dingxiang said, "It's not a big deal. It's not that far apart, right? We could build a dense and sturdy fence around this area."

The barren land was about five or six acres in size, so Song Xingyi thought that since it wasn't worth much, they should buy more. If growing lotus roots could indeed make money, they would expand the land the following year to prevent someone else from buying it.

After some calculation and observation, Song Dingxiang pointed to a nearby official road and said, "This spot is close to the official road. If we plant lotus roots and transplant some peach and pear trees around, build a small pavilion, it could attract people to come and rest. During summer, we could set up a tea stall here for some extra pocket money."

Interested in the idea, Song Xingyi walked around the area a few times and suggested, "Let's buy two more pieces of land. One for building a homestead, so when Zhouzi returns, you can build a house here. Buy a few more acres so your younger brothers can build a house here as well when they grow up. It'll be lively in the future. I think this place is really starting to grow on me."

"Sounds good, shall we settle on this then?" Song Dingxiang also agreed.

The location wasn't far from the village, and her two younger brothers were growing up - the eldest was thirteen this year, and the youngest was already ten. In a few years, the eldest would be married.

Once the eldest was married, the yard would be too crowded. The elders would live there, and the younger generation would have to move out eventually.

After discussing and reaching a decision, they went back to inform the family. The eldest uncle's family had no objections, as they could see that as long as they worked hard without being lazy or causing trouble, they could earn money.

Their physical strength was worth more than anything else; being able to exchange it for money was the best option.

"That piece of barren land is not small." Li shi calculated, "It must be around twenty acres, right? Clearing the land is a troublesome task. If we buy the land and leave it undeveloped, the authorities could reclaim it."

Song Xingyi said, "No need to worry about that. When the time comes, we can designate an area as a homestead, plant lotus roots near the pond, and plant buckwheat in other areas. After all, we won't have to pay taxes for the first three years, and even though buckwheat yields aren't great, they aren't picky about the soil."

Eldest Uncle, Song Zhicheng, also commented, "Spring planting is over, and with no major tasks at hand, my family has plenty of labor. Starting a new land isn't a big deal. But if we dig a lotus field, where will we put the soil?"

Song Xingyi replied, "Why worry about wastage? Hire a couple of apprentices from the masons, make bricks with the soil, and expand the house in the pig yard. Your children are growing up one by one; they'll need a place to live in the future."

Song Zhiyuan added, "I agree. In the summer, there's no place to slaughter pigs. I might stop looking for work in town and focus on the household first. It's a shame about the shop; it's been vacant for months now, and we're losing money."

Song Dingxiang suggested, "Why don't we utilize the shop? We could sell some goods there. Nowadays, the pork stalls are closed, and people come to us for pickled vegetables and soy sauce, which isn't very convenient."

"That's a good idea, but who will look after the shop?" Song Zhiyuan wondered.

The eldest uncle's family didn't feel comfortable intervening in this matter since the shop belonged to the married daughter. They didn't want to say anything that could lead to misunderstandings.

Song Dingxiang looked at Fang Shi, who hurriedly lifted her youngest son to hide her face, saying, "Don't look at me; I'm not going to manage the shop. I still have to take care of your younger brother."

After some thought, Song Zhiyuan suggested to Fang Shi, "Why don't we let Hutou look after the shop? He's already thirteen and recently mentioned that he doesn't want to study anymore. Even if he does keep studying, he won't become a scholar. So, why not let him manage the shop?"

Hutou had been studying for a few years, recognizing many characters, but struggled with writing. To pass the scholar's exam, one needed to be able to write well, a skill he lacked compared to his ten-year-old brother, Huzi.

Song Dingxiang smiled, "I agree. Since we don't have much to lose, let him gain some experience. Pay him a monthly salary, and if he does well, give him a bonus."

Zhao Di, the eldest son's wife of eldest uncle wanted to say something but ultimately looked at her husband and remained silent.

Song Dingxiang observed everything and suggested, "Hutou alone may not handle everything; since Huzi is also studying well, we can't stop him. Our Tudan is already nine years old; if he's up for it, he can help out."

"Aunt, I'm not afraid of hard work!" Tudan puffed his chest out, saying, "I can do it, and I can read too!"

He had also studied for a year, and because the educational expenses were paid from the family's pocket, there wasn't much benefit to continuing. Now, he helped with various odd jobs at home.

Song Dingxiang smiled and said, "Then Tudan'er will also go with us. When we arrive, you must listen to your uncle's words, understand?"

Song Zhiyuan said, "In that case, I will tidy up the shop tomorrow and then bring back the tiger head. We will gather all the things we can sell."

With the shop arranged, Song Zhiyuan finally relaxed, his expression looking much happier.

Song Xingyi then said, "In the afternoon, I will go to the village chief to discuss buying land, and then I will have an old acquaintance write a letter to bring some lotus seeds. Then our family will clean up the wasteland, no need to be too meticulous, just dig out the lotus pond. Those at home can use straw and branches to make a fence around the lotus pond."

After lunch, Song Xingyi hurried to the village chief's house, and soon after, he went to the town with the village chief to measure the wasteland with surveyors from Yanxing.

"Why are you opening up more land again, Fourth Old Song Si? Can you manage to plant on so much land?" Seeing Song Xingyi starting on the wasteland again, others were curious.

If there was money, everyone preferred to buy good land to plant directly. Though the wasteland was tax exempt for the first three years, if the land did not yield good crops after three years, the same amount of tax had to be paid.

If one wanted to sell the land to others, it could only be sold at the lowest price, hardly making any money and wasting time and effort.

Song Xingyi laughed, "Oh, I'm just idle anyway. I bought this piece of land to build a house for my granddaughter to live in. Zhouzi has been out for two years, and it is estimated that he will come back in another two years."

Military service has a fixed term, usually three to five years before returning home. Unless there was no one at home and nowhere to go, one would spend a long time in the barracks, but at least there was no worry about food.

"It's been over two years in the blink of an eye. In another two years, Zhou Tiezhu should be back too. But with such a large piece of land, what kind of house is your family planning to build?"

Song Xingyi just smiled. Only after all the contracts were settled did the villagers know that their family was planning to dig a lotus pond.

Just Song Xingyi's family labor alone couldn't dig out the lotus pond, so they needed to hire people to work, dividing them into those digging the soil and those carrying the soil. Those digging would earn thirty copper coins a day, while those carrying would earn fifteen copper coins a day, including food and drink.

Digging and carrying soil were labor-intensive tasks, especially on wasteland, where those digging would be even more exhausted.

As soon as they heard there was money to be made, those who hadn't gone to serve in the army to repair the water canal all came running, both men and women, adding a lot of liveliness.

People from Song's eldest, second, and third son's families all came, as they could earn a day's worth of copper coins per day, even if they went to find work in town, it would only be for these silver coins. Furthermore, peasant households were not afraid of hard work.

How could they farm if they were afraid of hard work?

Song Xingyi took charge of this matter, as his seniority in the Song family was somewhat higher, so the younger ones couldn't slack off. His reputation in the village was also good, and everyone knew the situation of each family member.

Twenty people were selected on the first day, and after a day's work, a few more were changed.

The ones who were taken off the job and given their coins didn't complain. They just made excuses like a strained back or bumped leg, not pushing themselves forward to work more.

Third Old Song's two sons and several grandsons worked hard; his family was indeed poor, and with a bit of the characteristic cunning of poor people, but they really put in the effort when working.

It took Song Dingxiang ten days to design the lotus pond in a crescent shape, and it took a large sum of money to dig out the lotus pond. Then Song Xingyi's old friend also brought the lotus seeds, and the whole family woke up early and went to bed late to plant the lotus seeds according to the method brought by that person.

They also dug a ditch connecting to the water puddle. Soon, the clear water filled the entire lotus pond.

——— Author's Note: Other daughters-in-law: serving parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, and husbands, having children, doing chores, and enduring the suffering.

Song Dingxiang: eating, drinking, playing, earning, buying!