Outside the city, on a dilapidated estate, muddy earth and crumbling courtyard walls were everywhere. If not for the three tiled-roof houses standing in the middle, anyone would think the place was deserted and uninhabited. How could this possibly be an estate for sale?
The agent stepped into a patch of mire, and foul-smelling muddy water splashed all over his clothes.
He looked at Song Jinzhao with a troubled expression, fearing she might turn and walk away immediately.
"Though the estate is rundown, its advantage is its size. The farmland in front plus the small hill slope at the back totals two hundred mu. You can grow anything you want."
Fushun pushed open the main door, revealing a room full of cobwebs, with daylight even leaking through the roof.
He looked speechlessly at Song Jinzhao. Young mistress, are you really going to buy this estate?
By all appearances, it was an unwanted piece of junk, abandoned for who knows how many years.
Song Jinzhao planned to buy an estate outside the city to build a farm for raising poultry.
The butcher shops in the city could no longer supply enough goods. If she wanted to open a branch store, unless she shipped supplies from other cities, she would face a shortage of raw materials.
Seeing the state of the interior, the agent regretted not having sent someone to clean it up beforehand. Mainly, he hadn't expected Song Jinzhao to be interested.
If the deal fell through now, wouldn't his effort (and potential commission) be wasted?
"The place is dilapidated, but when it was built, they used genuine, solid materials. Once cleaned and repaired, it will stand firm against any storm."
After inspecting the houses, Song Jinzhao took a stroll around the small hillside.
The slope wasn't large; one could walk its entirety in half a shichen.
"The soil on the slope is exactly the same as the farmland in front—extremely poor drainage. With no river nearby, rice can't be grown here. What did the previous owner of this estate do with it?"
The agent stealthily wiped sweat from his brow with his elbow. "I heard it was rented out to tenant farmers. Later, a drought led to poor harvests, so no one rented it. It's been empty for several years."
Song Jinzhao turned her head and stared at him. "I suspect there were no harvests at all. They probably couldn't even afford the government grain tax."
The agent coughed awkwardly twice. "Actually, they could have harvested some millet, but they stubbornly planted rice instead. Naturally, there was no yield."
Song Jinzhao confirmed, "The deed states two hundred mu?"
The agent nodded rapidly, afraid any delay might ruin the deal.
"Exactly two hundred mu. The annual grain tax is levied as dry land. The main point is it's cheap—only one tael of silver per mu."
This estate was mortgaged to the agency by a merchant at the end of the year before last. They originally intended to sell it, but who knew they couldn't find a single buyer?
Stuck with it for two years, just on grain taxes for last year and this year, the agency had lost five taels of silver, not to mention the original two hundred taels the estate was mortgaged for.
Now selling it for two hundred taels, the Jinyun Agency was actually taking a loss.
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "Too expensive. I think it's only worth one hundred taels."
The agent's face stiffened like a brick, his heart filled with bitterness.
"Miss Song, you must be joking. One hundred taels would mean our agency loses half."
Song Jinzhao rubbed the toe of her shoe on the ground. Sandy loam soil was best for planting sweet potatoes and potatoes, but unfortunately, they weren't available here.
"Leaving it empty means losing even more. I offer one hundred taels. At least you can recoup a loss of one hundred taels."
The agent shook his head vehemently. "Really can't do it. One hundred taels is far too little. At most, we can lower it by ten taels."
The agency had never done business at a loss; this was the first time.
If that merchant back then hadn't been left with only this estate, they wouldn't have agreed to take it as debt payment.
Song Jinzhao pointed at the house and courtyard walls, which were practically ruins. "It's already in this state. I'd have to spend over ten taels just to tear it down and rebuild."
The agent waved his right hand dismissively. "No need to tear it down. Only the courtyard walls need rebuilding with a fence. The house just needs a good cleaning and minor repairs to be livable."
Song Jinzhao said, "How about your agency repairs the house first, then I'll pay one hundred and fifty taels."
The agent pursed his lips, thinking hard for a long while, before finally speaking with difficulty, trying to close the deal.
"No repairs on the house. One hundred and fifty taels as is. The original price of this estate was two hundred taels. Our agency is already selling at a loss."
Song Jinzhao walked another half-circle along the ridge. The two sides remained deadlocked for a long time, and the agent refused to lower the price further.
"This estate belongs to your agency. Does that mean the commission fee is waived?"
The agent's soles were already aching from walking. He clenched his jaw and said firmly, "Naturally."
Early the next morning, after completing the transfer at the magistrate's office, Song Jinzhao went to the slave market again.
Qian Sanya saw her and greeted her with an enthusiastic smile. "Back to buy servants, miss? A new batch arrived just yesterday. Several have skills, and one is even literate. You're sure to like them."
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "The requirements aren't as high this time. Preferably refugees sold into servitude, the cheaper the better."
Upon hearing this, Qian Sanya led Song Jinzhao to sit in the courtyard and called a group of people over.
"These are all five taels each. Pick as you please, miss."
Song Jinzhao took their deeds of sale and looked them over. They were all displaced farmers, some even from the same village.
She selected eighteen male slaves and two female slaves, all between thirty and forty years old.
First, clean up the estate, then immediately start building the chicken coop, duck pen, and pigsty.
The two female slaves were left at the shop for Chunxing and Qingshuang to train, while Fushun went to oversee the estate.
Lan Xi sat cross-legged on the bed, slightly tense. Song Jinzhao stood beside him, watching.
"Relax, don't be nervous. Just like going to sleep, don't think of anything. Shixue, proceed."
Song Shixue took a deep breath, picked up a silver needle, and inserted it into Lan Xi's Baihui point, Fengchi point, Hegu point, Taichong point...
A drilling pain in his head made Lan Xi frown tightly. The longer it went on, the more sweat beaded on his forehead and neck.
His limbs had mostly recovered, and he would be able to walk normally before long.
Fushun couldn't manage the estate alone, and he wasn't very literate. Song Jinzhao planned to cure Lan Xi's eyes as soon as possible so he could go help at the estate.
Although the boy was young, he was mature for his age. With Fushun there, she could worry less about the farm herself.
Every four days, silver needles were used to clear the meridians in his head, combined with decoctions to invigorate blood circulation and dispel stasis. If all went well, results would be seen within a month.
At the Guo residence, Guo Yiyao looked at the table full of various mutually incompatible dishes. Her expression had shifted from initial shock and grievance to now numbness and hatred.
"The wedding is in one month. Liu Fufeng is growing increasingly impatient."
Qiu Ye's hand holding the chopsticks trembled. "Raw ginkgo nuts paired with river clams... how did they even come up with that?"
"Young mistress, I've recorded all these days' menus and snacks on paper. The evidence is solid. Should we tell the master?"
Guo Yiyao shook her head, saying solemnly, "If we expose this ourselves, for the sake of the family's reputation, Father will certainly protect Liu Fufeng, not letting her bear the stigma of harming her stepdaughter."
"Since they set this trap, they must be the ones to fall into it."
Qiu Ye gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. If the mistress were still here, how could she let the young mistress suffer such injustice?
For nearly ten years, she had endured humiliation to preserve the peace. Finally enduring until marriage, and now they want to ruin her wedding.
Childbearing is a matter of great importance for a woman. How can they be so venomous, determined to ruin her entire life?
