Chapter 168: Chapter 168: “Lucky Koi” Attribute

“It should be all right. I’ve heard that although Tabei Prefecture is cold, the soil is good, even better than ours, not bad at all.”

Qi Zheng spoke reassuring words to his wife, but his heart was also anxiously uneasy.

On the other hand, Yi Meng overheard and said with a smile, “Dad, Mom, actually, even in winter, you can tell if the soil is fertile.”

The elder couple immediately looked at Yi Meng.

Yi Meng pointed to a hoe lying across the doorway: “Later, let Brother Jin clear away the snow. If you can see the color of the soil, that’s best; if you really can’t, let’s see how much wild grass there is.”

“Think about it, if there’s a lot of wild grass growing well, then the soil’s fertility can’t be bad. If it’s barren land, even wild grass wouldn’t want to grow on it!”

Speaking of farming, Yi Meng wasn’t as experienced as the family, but it didn’t stop her from finding some half-baked logic to comfort the two elders.

Sure enough, upon hearing her words, the elders’ faces instantly looked much better.

“Yes, Meng Niang is right! We just need to see if there’s a lot of wild grass.”

Mrs. Qi nodded vigorously, showing full agreement.

Qi Zheng glanced at his fourth daughter-in-law, then at his wife, and finally also nodded.

Forget it, no matter what, we have to buy this land.

If we find out come spring that the land isn’t fertile enough, we’ll just cultivate it for a couple more years!

We still have a lot of silver at home, so the whole family shouldn’t starve.

With a Government Official guiding the way, although the road became less apparent, some signs were still visible.

After over an hour’s journey, the Government Official finally called out, “We’re not far ahead.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Quanjin couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the reins.

Oh my goodness, finally we’re here.

A round trip takes three hours, and the location they chose for this new village is really far.

Qi Quanjin sighed inwardly.

He did want to pick a place closer to the city, but those spots were already owned by others. Forget about buying; even asking about it would earn glaring looks from the government clerks.

And that’s after greasing some palms with silver. Without that, it would have been more than just a glare.

“This is probably it, just this area.”

Following the Government Official’s words, the carriage finally stopped.

The Government Official pointed to a bare tree not far away and said, “See that big tree? That’s where it starts, and the vacant land on both sides is unowned.”

“Officer, I saw on the map that it doesn’t look like much space. Do we know how big it is?”

Qi Quanjin had already asked before, but still wanted to confirm.

The Government Official, not knowing what Qi Quanjin had discussed with the clerks, thought for a while and gave a conservative number: “About a hundred or so acres.”

“That’s not small at all!”

Qi Quanjin feigned astonishment.

The Government Official nodded: “Alright, if you want to look, do it quickly. We need to head back early; it’s hard to travel in the dark.”

With that, the Government Official jumped off the carriage, holding a hand warmer, and signaled for Qi Quanjin to let the people in the carriage get off.

“Hey, hey!”

Qi Quanjin hurriedly called his parents and wife out with their child.

As soon as they stepped out of the carriage, a cold wind hit them. Yi Meng quickly buried their daughter’s small face in front of her, fearing the little one might catch a chill.

But Qi Manman wriggled her head, breaking free from her mother’s restraint, her big eyes darting all around.

Upon seeing the Government Official standing aside, her big eyes suddenly lit up: “Such a red uncle!”

“What?”

The four adults of the Qi Family didn’t understand.

The Government Official was also taken aback, but when faced with the bright eyes of the little girl, he burst into laughter: “This little one is really good-looking! Just like a doll in a new year painting.”

“Hello, Red Uncle!”

Qi Manman grinned, giving the Government Official a big smile.

This title made Qi Zheng’s heart skip a beat.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the first time Qi Manman saw Doctor Qin.

What did the girl call him back then?

Grandpa Jin?

This girl, could she be seeing something again…?

Qi Zheng cleared his throat and cupped his fists toward the Government Official: “Officer, sorry for the embarrassment.”

“No worries, but you adults have some nerve, bringing a child out in such cold weather.”

The Government Official waved it off, seemingly unbothered.

Mrs. Qi, worried her little granddaughter could catch a cold, urged Yi Meng to hurry up and look around, then get the child back on the carriage.

Yi Meng thought the same, and with a slight nod to the Government Official, she carried Qi Manman to the front of the carriage.

Qi Quanjin walked in front with the hoe.

Without a big broom, they couldn’t sweep away the snow, but a hoe could at least clear a path, making it easier to walk than directly trudging through snow.

The distance from the front of the carriage to the tree wasn’t far.

If it hadn’t been for the Government Official not wanting to walk further, Qi Quanjin wouldn’t have stopped there.

Fortunately, with four people and a child, the walk wasn’t too difficult.

Standing beside the tree, Qi Quanjin pointed to the vacant land on both sides: “This area is all unowned. I asked the clerk before, and from here to the riverside in front, you can buy it. Together, it should be about two hundred acres.”

Hearing this number made Qi Zheng’s brow furrow: “How much is the land price?”

“The homestead is expensive, twenty taels of silver per acre. But the other land is considered barren, six taels per acre.”

Qi Quanjin quickly replied.

Qi Zheng’s heart jumped again: “Even barren land is so expensive?”

Previously they didn’t have enough silver, plus the weather wasn’t good, so Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai hadn’t asked about the land price until today.

Qi Quanjin sighed: “Yes, even for inferior fields, if you can’t find a reliable agent, the price can reach ten taels.”

This price is truly not something ordinary people can afford!

Qi Zheng patted the tree beside him, causing all the snow on the branches above to fall down.

“You old fool, what are you trying to do?”

Mrs. Qi was startled, hastily stepping back while brushing off the snow and cursing.

Qi Zheng awkwardly retracted his hand.

It was just an unconscious action; he didn’t do it on purpose.

“Alright then, let’s, let’s head back first!”

Qi Zheng also brushed off the snow on his clothes.

Yi Meng held her daughter by the side and watched, her heart also feeling uneasy.

Just now, she really wanted to walk with her daughter under the tree to talk with everyone, but her daughter wriggled wanting to go down, and when she forbade it, the two of them just stopped in their tracks.

If it weren’t for her daughter’s fussing, she and her daughter would probably have been covered in snow like her mother-in-law.

Even though it was a small incident, Yi Meng became more convinced of her daughter’s “lucky charm” trait.

So Yi Meng softly asked, “Daughter, tell mama, is this place good?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep