Picking Up a General to Plow the Fields

Chapter 107 Reclamation (1)

Zhao Liu knew that they were coming and didn’t go out.
Seeing them arrive, he smiled and enthusiastically invited them into the house.

Lian Fang Zhou had already thought about the matter through last night and had discussed it with Lian Ze and Ah Jian an the way there, making some deliberations and supplements.
Basically, there was no reason to hide anything.
She quickly explained to Zhao Liu.

Lian Fang Zhou intended to hire 30 young, strong laborers and rent twelve cows.
After this, they would personally oversee the workers, take care of lunch, and pay them according to an agreed wage.
In addition to renting the cows, they also wanted to rent two full ploughs.
The owner of the ploughs and cattle would be paid the wage of one worker plus two dollars a day but paid two days later than the workers.
As an intermediary, Zhao Liu would be paid a total of four taels of silver for the introduction.
As for the hired workers, she didn’t care how he hired them.

She only asked the people Zhao Liu found to work hard.

Introducing her in such business, a middleman like Zhao Liu should have only taken two taels of silver but Lian Fang Zhou was offering him double the money.
He was naturally very happy in his heart and promised to find everything she asked for.
The people he promised to find would be reliable, please rest assured!

The two parties agreed that Zhao Liu would take the hired people and cattle to Shi Touping the day after tomorrow and the three of them left the Zhao house.

After coming out of Zhao’s house, Lian Fang Zhou smiled and said, “Let’s go and look at the donkeys! If it suits us, we can buy them today! Also, let’s buy some white noodles, pickles, meat, and soybean paste.
I will cook lunch for someone the day after tomorrow.
We should also buy two more big tin teapots, fill them with hot water, and pour it on the ground.”

Making lunch, naturally steamed buns and pancakes were the most convenient and cost-effective option, but rice and noodles were very troublesome.

Ah Jian and Lian Ze had no objections and the three of them inquired about the location of the livestock market, heading that direction.

Lian Fang Zhou did not know much about the selection of livestock but she didn’t want Ah Jian to know.

The animal seller saw them and asked if they wanted to buy a common donkey, waving the donkey’s owner to step forward to speak.

Naturally, his speech was eloquent and full of lotus tongues, boasting that his donkey was called a sky with nothing on the ground.

Ah Jian didn’t speak and didn’t seem to listen to what the seller said, just moving to see the donkey.

The donkey seller watched him and his expression fell when he saw which parts Ah Jian examined, this was not someone he could deceive!

The three of them made one round in the livestock market, and finally spent twelve taels of silver to buy a very strong donkey.

“Sister, now we also have a donkey in our house!” Lian Ze looked too adorable, touching the shiny black fur, pulling the long donkey ears, and grinning.

Lian Fang Zhou smiled and said, “I will leave it to you and Che’er in the future.
There is not much forage in winter.
Don’t let our donkeys go hungry! Don’t forget, we will buy two big cows soon!”

Lian Ze nodded happily, and promised that he would never leave the donkey go hungry.

The three of them laughed and went to the dealership to examine the carts.

The dealership had many carts in various styles and you could either buy one that was ready-made or a custom one.

Lian Fang Zhou didn’t want to be too troublesome and there was no reason to have a custom-made cart, so she bought one that fit her needs for a couple dollars on the spot.

Their cart was different from Liu Jia’s.
Liu Jia’s cart was a carriage type.
Lian Fang Zhou’s cart was bought mainly for conveniently transporting things, so it had an open wooden bed, which was more refined and firmer than the manual flat carts in the countryside.

Next, the three of them went to the blacksmith’s shop.
Hoes, shovels, picks, axes, hatches, sickles, etc, all were made to order.
Naturally, the material used was the best.

There was a saying that a workman must first sharpen his tools if he wanted to do his best.
The money for the tools could not be too little, it should not be saved.

After finishing, they ate lunch in the town, bought noodles, miso, and some other odds and ends before going home.

Ah Jian drove the cart very easily.
The whip in his hand was raised high and put down gently, it did not fall heavily on the donkey.
The hand holding the reins on the other side was flexible.

Lian Ze sat beside him, watching with envy.

Ah Jian smiled slightly and said to him: “There is no time today.
How about I teach you when we go back?”

“Really? Thank you, Brother Ah Jian!” Lian Ze nodded with surprise and joy.

Back home, when Lian Che and Lian Fang Qing heard that this was their own donkey and cart, they looked happier than Lian Ze.
They climbed into the cart and sat in the back for a while before jumping down.
They looked around the donkey and smiled so hard their eyes curved.

After unloading the cart, Lian Fang Zhou asked Lian Ze to lead the donkey to the backyard to be tied, and Lian Fang Qing and Lian Che followed along with him.

The family hasn’t raised cattle for many years and there was no shed to close the animals.
Lian Ze felt sorry for the donkey.
For fear of freezing at night, he tied it to the corner of the sundries shed against the wall and came back to talk to Lian Fang Zhou, suggesting that they build a barn.
“Otherwise, how can it live being so cold in winter?”

Naturally, Lian Fang Zhou didn’t disagree, and said with a smile that she would call someone to pick him up when he was free these days.
Not only should it be done, but it should also be a good quality one.
In addition to the area for the livestock, there must be a place for stacking food and parking the cart.

If the cart was left in the open air, it would break down quickly in the wind, rain and sun.

Also, the sundries shed needed to be rebuilt stronger, and firewood, farm tools, equipment, and other miscellaneous things had to be put in place.

Early the next morning, the three brothers and sisters led the donkey to the riverbank next to the village to graze.
Lian Fang Zhou saw that they did not stop smiling and only reminded them to wear a few more clothes.

After breakfast, Lian Fang Zhou went to the entrance of the village alone.

There was a small stream that surrounded the edge of Dafang Village.
The narrowest part was no more than one meter and the shallow stream was filled with tall stones to cross the river.
The widest part was only more than three meters.
At the entrance of the village, it made a big bend and flowed along the east.

 

Just at the back of this bend, ten meters away from the riverbank, was a flat wasteland three to four meters above the creek.

Lian Fang Zhou went there for a walk and looked around.
This wasteland was about 20 acres, and it happened to be backed by a small hill with many camphor trees and wild magpies growing on the hill.

Entering Dafang Village from the outside and bypassing this hill, you can see the whole picture of Dafang Village.
In a sense, it can be said that this hill is the barrier of Dafang Village.

Lian Fang Zhou has inquired about this wasteland and learned that it also was a land with no owner.

She was thinking about buying the land.

After the cotton was harvested next year, you must find a place to store it.
Where can there be such a large space in that little house? So a large row of warehouses would have to be built here.

In addition to the warehouse, there must be a workshop for processing cotton, a spinning room for spinning cotton yarn, a warehouse for stacking cotton threads, and housing for workers.

If possible in the future, she also wanted to build a cotton weaving workshop.

Of course, selling cotton after processing is more valuable than simply selling cotton.
However, things must be done step by step.
All these things were just ideas, she didn’t have any plans yet.

Just as Lian Fang Zhou was starting to imagine it, she heard someone calling “Fang Zhou!” behind her.
She smiled slightly and knew it was Ah Jian without looking back.