"Of course, itās feasible, otherwise I wouldnāt have made a special trip here."
As he spoke, Uncle Liu looked around and asked, "How come I donāt see Brother An around?"
"He should almost be at home." Yang Chuxia said before turning to the housemaid, "Go and call for Brother An, tell him that Broker Liu is here."
"Yes"
"How is it, isnāt it more convenient to have a maid to help around?" Broker Liu laughed when he saw how naturally Chuxia handled the maid.
"Indeed, sheās quite helpful with a lot of things." Yang Chuxia nodded with a smile.
Brother An returned after a while, quickly followed by Yang Dachuan, who had gone to the fields in the morning. After exchanging greetings with Broker Liu and sitting for a bit, they went to inspect the lands together.
The ones who went with Broker Liu to inspect the lands were Ye Ziāan and Yang Dachuan. Yang Chuxia did not go since she was not particularly knowledgeable about the quality of the lands. Such matters were better handled by experienced farmers like Yang Dachuan.
By the time Yan Chuxia and the others returned, it was already noon. Naturally, they invited Broker Liu to stay for lunch.
Yang Chuxia took the opportunity to ask Ye Ziāan, "Howās the land you looked at?"
"Itās indeed good land!" Ye Ziāan immediately replied, "But itās too expensive!"
"Whose land is it? How much do they want?"
Ye Ziāan shook his head. "The landowner is not someone else, but Teacher Li from Qingruiās family. Theyāre asking for ten taels of silver per mu."
"Their family? Why are they selling the land?" Yang Chuxia was more concerned about this than the price.
"Didnāt you know about this yearās autumn examination? Teacher Li plans to sell the land to fund his journey for taking the examination. He seems very confident this time, almost certain that he can pass, and he even plans to go to the Capital City for the spring examination next year."
"My god, heās not young, is he?" Yang Chuxia exclaimed, "A man in his thirties or forties is still taking examinations? Heās even selling everything the family relies on for a livelihood."
Yang Chuxia was speechless, this was really a desperate move. But then she remembered something about Fan Jin passing the examination and didnāt comment any further.
"So, does this mean Qingrui and Qingtong will have to change schools?" Yang Chuxia asked.
Ne Ziāan nodded, "Teacher Li is a responsible person. When I asked him this morning, he said heās recommended his students to the town school. The good students can go to the school in the town. From what I understood, Qingrui and Qingtong should be included."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia started to admire Teacher Li. Of course, her feeling was not because he recommended her brothers, Qingrui and Qingtong.
"What about the other piece of land?"
"Itās just as Liu had said, slightly inferior, but cheaper, seven and a half taels. The land is less, only fifteen mu, but itās near the water." Ye Ziāan thought for a moment and said, "Actually, if we had to choose, the seven and a half taels is more worth it. Good lands are cultivated slowly. Besides, this land isnāt very poor!"
After some thought, Yang Chuxia suggested, "If itās genuinely good, why donāt we both buy it? My family will buy one plot, and your family will buy one."
"Me?" Ye Ziāan said, "But I donāt have the money. I already spent the hundred taels you gave me on those things." A grown man being so readily honest about his financial situation was quite telling of Ye Ziāanās character. "I used the rest of what was left as labor costs for those items."
"You didnāt save anything?" Yang Chuxia thought it was strange, as the total should only have been around fifty or sixty taels. Of course, she wasnāt asking about Ye Ziāanās silver. She was just a bit confused.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ziāan answered, "The things were difficult to get, and we were short on time, so I used the remaining money to pay for their labor."