Chapter 411: Buying Land
Seeing her son’s att.i.tude, Mdm Fang knew that he did not believe her.
“Don’t doubt her. She earned a few hundred taels a day ago. Now, she earns more than a thousand taels a day. She earns more than that big restaurant.”
“A small restaurant can’t accommodate many guests, right?”
Tao Jia still did not believe it.
“She prepared three meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ve been there once. The long queue of customers looked scary!”
“Enough.”
Li Zheng said helplessly, “Stop arguing. Lu Sheng is still here. Can’t you just ask her?”
“Is that so?” Tao Jia asked Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng smiled faintly. “More or less.”
Tao Jia was shocked. “I wonder what’s sold there such that so many people would eat them?”
“They’re all new types of food.”
Lu Sheng found a chair and sat down. She continued, “If Brother Tao is curious, you can go and take a look tomorrow. I’ll treat you to anything you want.”
“How can that do?”
Before Tao Jia could speak, Mdm Fang had already spoken. “You’re doing a business. Lu Sheng, you can’t do a losing business. Your Brother Tao doesn’t lack money. There’s no need to help him save.”
Tao Jia shrugged. He did not know if this was his biological mother or Lu Sheng’s mother.
Lu Sheng chuckled. “It’s just a meal. I can afford it.”
Tao Jia smiled and nodded. “Then, Brother won’t stand on ceremony tomorrow!”
Tao Jia and Li Zheng looked similar. They were handsome and had strong bodies. Although they were businessmen, they exuded a gentle aura.
“Oh right, girl.”
Li Zheng smiled and said, “I’ve already told them about your matter.”
“Really?” Lu Sheng was elated. “I came here to ask you about this.”
She had previously wanted to buy a hundred mu of land with Li Zheng to plant potatoes and tomatoes.
After visiting it, she found a plot of land.
However, some of the land nearby belonged to other families. She wanted to buy them all, so she asked Li Zheng to discuss with those families. If they were unwilling to sell, they could rent them to her instead.
“They have agreed to rent it to you, but the asking price might be a bit high.”
Speaking of the price, Li Zheng was in a difficult position.
“How much for one mu?” Lu Sheng asked.
“Five taels a year for every mu of land.”
“What?”
Mdm Fang’s eyes widened. “Five taels a year? Why don’t they rob instead?”
Li Zheng sighed softly. “I’ve already told them, but they insisted on not giving in after knowing that it was Lu Sheng who wanted it.”
They did not even give him face. He could not force them, right?
Since they were from the same village and he was Li Zheng, he could not say anything else.
When Mdm Fang heard that, she snorted coldly. “One mu of land can earn three taels at most. That is during harvest time. When there’s a drought, they can’t even earn one tael. They really dare to ask for high prices.”
If they sold the land, the could earn at most two to three taels a year per mu of land.
This included labor fees. Now, they did not have to work hard themselves but actually wanted more.
They were obviously treating Lu Sheng like a fool.
“Lu Sheng, since they won’t give in, forget it.”
Mdm Fang persuaded, “At most, you can buy other plots elsewhere. We can’t spoil them. Who are these people?”
They were all from the same village. How could they cheat others like this?
Lu Sheng’s heart warmed and she nodded hurriedly. “Okay!”
She looked at Li Zheng and said, “Uncle, I wonder which family those fields belong to? Ask them to come over later. I have something to say to them.”
She wanted a hundred mu of land. Twenty mu belonged to someone else. There were only eighty mu without an owner.
However, after she bought them, they would be hers from now on.
The eighty mu of land had been settled. There were only twenty mu left.
Speaking of which, eighty mu should be enough.
However, she still had some sweet potatoes and purple sweet potatoes in her s.p.a.ce Bracelet. She had planted them on the mountain in her previous life, so she wanted more land to plant them.
“I know.”
Li Zheng nodded. “Uncle will get them over for you later.”
Lu Sheng smiled and thanked him. “I’ll go with you.”
If she went alone, those people might not come over. They might even raise the price. It was best if Li Zheng was there as well.
Tao Jia stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Mdm Fang nodded. “Okay, go ahead. I’ll cook.”
—————
Lu Sheng, Li Zheng, and Tao Jia went to meet the dozen families. In the end, each family sent a representative over.
Most of them could speak on behalf of their families.
There were more than ten people, both men and women. The land they possessed varied.
“Li Zheng, why did you call us here?”
Seeing Lu Sheng around, everyone knew the answer. However, someone still asked the obvious.
Li Zheng coughed and said lightly, “You still remember what I told you last time, right? Lu Sheng has something to tell you.”
Then, he turned back and glanced at Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng walked forward and greeted everyone before saying, “I’m sure everyone knows why I invited you here today.”
“Lu Sheng, it’s not that I want to cheat you. It’s just that it’s not easy for everyone these days. If you insist on it, just pay us five taels a year for every mu of land as per what we said. If not, forget it.”
A woman spoke with a smile, but a scheming glint flashed across her eyes.
“Very well!”
Lu Sheng smiled faintly. “I can only afford three taels a year for every mu of land. Those who agree can stay. Those who don’t can leave now.”
Although she was not short of money now, it did not mean that she could be scammed.
“Ah…”
The boastful woman was momentarily embarra.s.sed.
She looked around and saw that everyone was hesitating. She could not help but frown.
They had agreed that if Lu Sheng did not agree, they would reject her together. Why were they hesitating now?
Wasn’t this obviously cheating her?
She could neither leave nor stay. If she left, she would lose the money. Her family had three mu of land, which was the most among the dozen families. If there were three taels for each mu of land, she could earn nine taels a year.
In the past, her three mu of land only earned four to five taels a year at most. In addition to the taxes, there was not much left.
In order to stay, she could only smile dryly and say, “Lu Sheng, isn’t three taels per mu of land a little too little?”
“Aunt, if you think it’s too little, you may go back.”
Lu Sheng still had a faint smile on her face, looking very amiable.
However, no one could retort.
“Heh, I just think that it’s a little too little. Actually, three taels per mu of land is fine too.”
She had no choice. Since no one was moving, she could not possibly suffer alone.
Lu Sheng smiled and raised her eyebrows at the crowd. “It’s not that I must have your twenty mu of land. It’s just that the twenty mu of land is at the edge of the land I bought. That’s why I want to buy it or rent it. If you want to continue farming yourself, I won’t object.”
“Let’s do as Lu Sheng says.”
An old man stood up with his hands behind his back. He looked at Lu Sheng and chuckled. “My grandson’s words previously don’t count. If Lu Sheng likes my plot of land, you can buy it as well. I just wonder how the price will be calculated then?”