Chapter 85: Chapter 51: Qin Feng’s Departure

Yang Family thought for a moment, then asked Zheng Changhe and Qingmu, “How about we buy twenty mu of fields first?”

Qingmu mulled it over for a bit before answering, “Let’s not be too hasty. I’ll go to the village chief’s house and ask how much it costs per mu to buy and clear wasteland. It’s definitely cheaper than buying existing farmland, and that way, we can buy more.”

Juhua nodded repeatedly, praising Qingmu. “Wow! Brother, you’re different now that you’ve studied. So what’s this about buying and clearing wasteland?”

Qingmu blushed, embarrassed by Juhua’s praise. It was indeed rare for him to voice his opinion like he had today.

Zheng Changhe asked worriedly, “That’s a good idea, of course. But Qingmu, once we buy the land, it’ll be registered at the government office, which means we’ll have to pay taxes on it. If we don’t clear it quickly, won’t we be paying taxes for nothing?”

Yang Family shot him a look and said, “How can you not figure this out? It’s all the same principle. You pay taxes on farmland. I don’t have time to clear land and farm it right now, but aren’t I selling pig offal? We can just consider the money from that as profit from farming the cleared land, right? We’ll buy the land first, clear a bit each year, and we’ll be done in two years. If it comes to it, we can just spend money to hire people to help clear it.”

Juhua quickly added, “Mom’s right. Hiring people to clear the land might seem expensive, but it frees us up to do other things. It works out the same.”

Zheng Changhe waved his hand, concluding, “Alright, it’s settled then. In a couple of days, Qingmu and I will go to the village chief’s house to ask about it. His sons, Changfeng and Changyu, are back home right now, so he probably doesn’t have the mind for anything else.”

The family discussed it a little more before going to bed.

「The next day」

Juhua soaked a good amount of acorns, planning to have Qingmu help her grind them into flour when he came back in the evening. She wanted to make some acorn tofu to eat, as she hadn’t had the free time to do it before.

After taking care of her chores, she brought out a small stool and sat in the courtyard, sunning herself while stitching a shoe sole. ’I wonder if the wooden tub brother ordered from Li the carpenter is finished yet,’ she thought.

Bathing in the winter was a real ordeal for her. Although the family had plenty of firewood and water, there was nowhere to actually wash up. So, when her mother earned some money from selling pig offal, she had quickly sent her brother to order a large wooden tub. Then she could boil a big pot of hot water, pour it in, and have a nice, long soak. ’Ah, that would be so comfortable!’

Thinking about the money she earned from selling the recipe yesterday, she felt a special sense of security.

’Money in hand, peace in mind!’ Although she was just as busy with work as before, she herself seemed more composed and unhurried. Life at home had become more orderly, and that heavy, oppressive feeling of anxiety was gone.

Lost in thought, her hands never stopped moving. Using a thimble, she pushed the needle and thread through the sole, then pulled the thread tight with a SHHHHHK sound, cinching the stitch. Her fingers felt unusually nimble today. In just a short while, she had stitched two rows; her shoe-making speed had increased considerably.

This large sole belonged to Qingmu. Held in her small hands, it made her look especially pitifully thin and well-behaved—normally, a girl her age wouldn’t be able to stitch such a thick sole, not having enough strength.

’After I finish this pair for my brother, I’ll make a pair for myself to wear next spring.’ She lifted her face, letting the warm sunlight fall upon it, and smiled unconsciously. The breeze stirred her face covering, making it tremble softly!

Standing at the courtyard gate, Qin Feng saw Juhua with her eyes slightly narrowed, an image of a gentle, brimming smile. It was incredibly strange. Most of her face was hidden beneath the covering, and he couldn’t see it at all, yet he could clearly sense her soft smile.

Walking softly toward her, Qin Feng called out with a smile, “Juhua?”

Juhua jumped, nearly poking her hand with the needle. Looking up at the tall young man before her, she said reproachfully, “Doctor Qin, when did you get here? Why didn’t you make a sound?”

Qin Feng smiled, grabbed a small stool for himself, and sat down beside her. He placed a packet of medicine in the sewing basket next to Juhua and replied, “I saw you were lost in thought, so I didn’t want to disturb you. What were you thinking about just now?”

It was rare for him to be so curious, and he watched Juhua with interest.

Juhua lowered her head and continued stitching the sole, murmuring, “Oh, nothing much! Doctor Qin, is my father’s leg better now? Does he still need to change the dressing?” ’I can’t very well tell him I was just gloating over the money I made yesterday!’

Qin Feng said, “Uncle Zheng’s leg is healed; he doesn’t need to change the dressing anymore. As long as he’s careful to rest it for a while and doesn’t do any heavy labor, it’ll be completely fine by next spring.”

Juhua stopped her work, looked up at him, and asked, “Then this medicine is…” Her gaze shifted to the packet of medicine in her sewing basket.

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