Buying Land
Last time, the wild vegetables in the vegetable garden were picked clean by Fu Da. After returning, he took the wild vegetables and several types of vegetables to an authoritative institution for testing. Unlike He Fu, he didn’t have connections to test the produce really fast. It was only last night that he received the test results.
During this period, he didn’t forget about the agreement between them. It’s just that there have been a lot of things lately, and he couldn’t find time to contact her.
After returning from the countryside to the city, he went to the police station to deal with Aunt Wang’s matter. Because his father hadn’t suffered substantial harm, Aunt Wang was only detained for a few days and then released. However, her situation had spread throughout the city, and no household was willing to employ her anymore. Being old and worn out, with no strength for other work, she could only go back to her hometown with her tail between her legs.
The Fu family had few members, and Fu Da was busy with the company’s affairs. He didn’t have much time to accompany his father. Plans to find a caregiver had been put on the agenda. Additionally, since his father suffered so much this time, he needed to go to a large hospital for a full-body examination before he could rest assured.
With all these matters, contacting Su Mu was postponed until now.
“Mu Mu, I’ve already drafted the contract. I’ll send you the electronic version to take a look. If there are no issues, I’ll personally deliver the paper contract to you.” Fu Da’s voice was as steady and serious as always.
Speaking of this matter, Su Mu was a bit annoyed. As someone about to cooperate and particularly as the party of the first part, his long absence was truly displeasing.
She wanted to ask proactively, but she was afraid he’d think she was seeking favors. Yet, not asking would mean that the vegetables in the field could change by the day, and she might miss the best harvesting time.
Thus, her tone was no longer as soft and gentle as before. She coldly said, “So Mr. Fu still remembers our agreement? I thought people of your status often forget, and our cooperation was over just like that.”
Fu Da pinched his brow, realizing he hadn’t thought it through. “I’m sorry, for making you wait so long.”
Su Mu wasn’t the type to cling to a matter. His apologetic tone was sincere, and she sighed and said, “Send me the contract to take a look. I’ll get back to you later.”
“Okay, goodbye.”
After hanging up, the electronic version of the contract arrived on her phone. She opened it and scanned through it briefly. It was identical to the version they had discussed before. However, just to be safe, Su Mu forwarded the contract to Chen Guo to have her take a look.
Remembering that she hadn’t contacted her for a while, and since it was the May Day holiday, a national statutory holiday, law firms were likely to be closed, so she called the firm.
When she heard Chen Guo’s groggy voice, she knew she was in for it. Sure enough, a flurry of words came from the other side, “Who’s this? Disturbing someone’s sweet dreams is like killing their parents. Do you know that it’s a criminal act? I can’t even get five hours of sleep a day, spare me, okay?…”
Su Mu moved her phone away from her ear and glanced at the time displayed on it. It was 8:02 in the morning, indeed a bit early…
Apologetically, she said to Chen Guo, “Sorry, Guo Guo, I didn’t pay attention to the time when I called you. You can go back to sleep now. Have a peaceful rest.”
Being a lawyer was truly tough. Chen Guo used to be so lively and energetic, but her current voice sounded full of exhaustion. It was clear she was worn out.
The Su household was quiet at this moment, except for Su Mu and her parents. The others were still sleeping.
Su Mu found a square cardboard box in the warehouse. She intended to pick some vegetables from the garden and send them to Chen Guo as a token of gratitude for helping with the contract last time.
Nourished by her supernatural ability, the vegetables not only had a crisp and sweet taste but also possessed the effect of promoting clear vision and healthy hearing. Long-term consumption could silently heal minor ailments and pains, achieving the purpose of strengthening the body.
During the time she was back home, her parents’ white hair had decreased, and their health had improved. All of this was attributed to the vitality and vegetables.
Su Mu mainly picked leafy vegetables. Chen Guo wasn’t skilled in cooking, so these greens could be quickly blanched in water and then seasoned with salt and soy sauce to eat, or used in salads.
She also gathered a small heap of sweet potatoes, which were convenient to steam and consume.
After sending the package out at the logistics point near the village entrance, she thought of the task entrusted to her by Gu Shi. She took a detour and arrived at the village chief’s house, where she was familiar.
At this time, the village chief was naturally up early. Their older generation was diligent and worked tirelessly, like this every day, getting up before the sun.
The village chief was sweeping the yard with a broom. As soon as he saw her figure, he smiled and said, “Mu Mu, you’re up early. Is there something you need?”
Su Mu nodded. “Still for the matter of leasing the land.”
If possible, she intended to buy all the nearby land around her home. If she couldn’t buy it, then leasing would work too.
One reason was to repay Gu Shi’s kindness, and the other reason was that building the greenhouse required a large area of land that couldn’t be too far from home. Otherwise, safety wouldn’t be guaranteed. Additionally, selling the Fairy Lips had brought in a significant amount of money, and she wanted to use that money to build her own house.
The Su family’s small courtyard was built with money from her parents and brother. She hadn’t contributed any funds. Although her brother and sister-in-law hadn’t said anything, people’s feelings could change. To prevent future conflicts, building her own house would be better—freedom and comfort, it sounded great.
Upon hearing this, the village chief brought her a stool, and they both sat down.
“This time, which piece of land are you looking to lease?”
He looked at this pretty young girl with appreciation. In the past, he thought this young person was just playing around when she said she wanted to farm in the village. He didn’t think she could persist for long.
But unexpectedly, she actually had some skill. Yesterday, he passed by the twenty acres of farmland. The seedlings there were particularly vibrant, better taken care of than even him, an old farmer. This made the village chief truly admire her. The saying from earlier generations was indeed correct: “There’s a golden house in the book!” Educated people could scientifically farm and indeed create a successful path.
Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.
“I want to lease the land in front of my house.”
The village chief couldn’t sit still this time. That piece of land in front of the Su family’s house also included his family’s land, a full thirty acres. Added to the land of other households, it was about more than a hundred acres in total.
Rural land couldn’t be bought or sold; it belonged to the collective. However, transfers within the collective were allowed, and the transfer fee was much higher than renting the land.
He pondered for a moment, his thoughts complicated. “Transferring land is a bit difficult.”
Most of the land in the village was obtained through generations of cultivation, and the efforts put into it needed no elaboration. The older generation treated the land like their lifeblood and wouldn’t easily transfer it.
Su Mu responded, “Then could I trouble Elder Village Chief to help with this? Please tally up which families are willing to transfer and which families are willing to lease. For the leasing price, it should follow the rate Uncle Liu mentioned last time. For transfers, the price will be about 2%-5% higher than the market value.”
“I have a piece of unowned land at the foot of the mountain. I want to designate it as residential land. What procedures do I need to go through?”
The village chief replied, “Sure, I’ll talk to each household and give you an answer in a couple of days. As for the land at the foot of the mountain, it’s collective property of the village. If you want to use it, we’ll calculate the price based on the transfer method. It’s estimated that it would cost around a million.”
After all, once the land was transferred to an individual’s name, it would belong to her and her descendants for generations. Of course, it would naturally come at a higher cost.
After leaving the village chief’s house, Su Mu walked to the village entrance and checked on her vegetable plot.
She noticed an old cow in the field, happily munching on her vegetable seedlings, while the cow’s owner was nowhere to be seen.
Angry, she picked up a stick and gave the cow a few whacks. Only then did she manage to pull the cow away from the vegetable patch by its tether.
Before she could get the cow out of the field, an irate elderly woman rushed towards her, wailing and scolding.
“Damn you, Su family girl! How heartless can you be, hitting my old cow? I’ll kill you!” Old Lady Wang was advanced in years, but her movements were quite agile. She charged at Su Mu, seemingly intent on scratching her.
However, Su Mu wasn’t one to be pushed around. She extended her arm and used some skill to push Old Lady Wang, causing her to fall onto her bottom.
Before Old Lady Wang could react, Su Mu, full of grief and anger, raised her voice, “Grandma Wang, my place isn’t a cattle farm! How could you put your cow in my vegetable patch? I quit my job in the city and came back to focus on farming. I’ve invested all my savings here. Now, most of the vegetables have been eaten by your cow. How am I supposed to survive?”
The argument between the two quickly attracted several villagers working nearby. Hearing Su Mu’s complaints, they began discussing the situation.
“It’s true, what Old Lady Wang did isn’t right.”
“Absolutely, she’s known for being lazy. Her cow ate a lot of my corn seedlings before, but I let it go because of her age.”
“Indeed, my soybeans were almost ready for harvest, and they got eaten, too. I’m so heartbroken.”
“But no matter what, Old Lady Wang is still an elder. Su Mu shouldn’t have laid hands on her.”
“How could she have been the one to lay hands? I was right there, and I saw clearly that Old Lady Wang charged at her. Su Mu defended herself with her arm.”
“Maybe Old Lady Wang faked her fall to try to get compensation for the cow eating the vegetables.”
…
Old Lady Wang regained her senses and heard these words clearly, immediately causing a commotion.
“Nonsense! It’s this little brat who pushed me!”
“I’m hurt, you’ll have to compensate me for medical expenses!”
In a ‘helpless’ tone, Su Mu said, “Grandma Wang, how can you make baseless accusations? It was clearly you who rushed at me first. If I hadn’t blocked you, I might have ended up disfigured. And please, explain to me why your cow was in my vegetable patch. Who will compensate me for my losses?”
♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎
Go Su Mu! Fighting! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧ᕙ(＠°▽°＠)ᕗ