Chapter 48 Buying Wasteland
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Qianhuan went to the village head's house to inquire about buying land.
When Qianhuan came to the headman's house to explain her purpose, Old Man Hu was surprised. Although he knew that Liang Laoer's family set up a stall in the city to do business, he thought they could at most earn some money to make a living, but he didn't expect that their family would have the money to buy land so soon.
"Qianhuan, your family must have made a lot of money from the sugar-roasted chestnut business, so you have enough money to buy land so soon." Old man Hu asked her curiously while smoking his pipe.
"Grandpa Lizheng, our family did make some money, but we spent it very quickly. We are going to the city right now to get my father's leg treated."
Qianhuan knew that she couldn't hide the fact that she made money from setting up a stall from everyone, so she simply answered the head of the village truthfully.
"What a filial and good child. How many acres of land does your family plan to acquire?"
"For now, I plan to buy 5 acres, but if the price is cheap, it doesn't matter if I buy a few more acres."
"Are you sure you want to buy so much? One mu of good farmland costs five or six taels of silver. Even if you only buy five mu, it will cost a lot of silver." Old Man Hu took a deep puff of his pipe and kindly reminded.
The head of the village thought that Qianhuan's family wanted to buy good farmland for farming. He felt that Qianhuan must not know the price of an acre of good farmland, so she said she wanted to buy five acres.
"Grandpa Lizheng, I'm not buying good farmland. I'm buying the wasteland next to my three mu of land. Others may not know, but you must know that when the family was divided, my family only got three mu of land, and those few mu of land were not very fertile and could not grow much food. So I plan to buy a few more mu of wasteland."
"Qianhuan, Grandpa Hu knows it all." As the head of the village, Old Man Hu certainly knows that the few acres of land in the west allocated to her family are barren.
"Qianhuan, don't blame your grandfather. Your father only gave birth to you, a girl, and it's already very good that your grandfather can give you three acres of land."
Old man Hu took another deep puff of his pipe and gave Qianhuan some advice.
People here tend to favor boys over girls, and the headman's family is no exception. Although he sympathizes with Liang Laoer's family, he doesn't think there is anything wrong with what Old Man Liang did.
"I know. I won't blame my grandfather." Qianhuan knew that most people in this village were like this, and she was powerless to change everyone's minds, so she didn't care about these things too much.
"Why don't you buy good farmland with your money, but buy wasteland instead?" asked the head of the village in confusion.
"Isn't this just a bargain? Good farmland is much more expensive than wasteland. My father's leg is injured and he can't farm for the time being. I won't feel bad if I buy this wasteland and leave it alone for now."
Qianhuan acted a little pitifully in front of the head of the village. She wanted to win his sympathy so that he would not raise the price.
"Grandpa Village Head, who owns that large piece of wasteland near my home? How much silver does it sell for per acre now?" Qianhuan asked about the matter that concerned her most.
"To tell you the truth, the large piece of wasteland near your home is not fertile at all, and you won't be able to grow much grain if you grow it. The land was inherited by Old Man Wang's ancestors, but by their generation, Old Man Wang's family was small, so the large piece of land has been abandoned and no one has planted it. If you really want to buy it, I think they will be willing to sell it to you for one tael of silver per acre."
I don’t know if it was because Qianhuan’s pity worked, or for some other reason, but Old Man Hu told her the truth.
"How many acres is that large piece of wasteland?" Qianhuan continued to ask.
"It's estimated to be around eleven acres. That piece of wasteland is even more barren than your family's three acres of land. Qianhuan, you have to think it over carefully. It's best to go home and discuss it with your father before making a decision." The head of the village couldn't help but worry about her. If she bought it now and couldn't grow crops when the time came, it would be too late to regret.
"Grandpa Lizheng, I appreciate your kindness. I came here to buy it after discussing it with my father. Don't worry, I won't regret it after buying it. Please help me be the middleman."
The head of the village cared about her like an elder in the family. Qianhuan was very grateful in her heart, but she had to get this wasteland.
"Okay, since you insist, it's up to you. Let me ask my eldest brother to call Old Man Wang over and ask him if he's willing to sell it to you."
Seeing that she didn't listen, the head of the village stopped trying to persuade her. He had already said everything he needed to say. If she regretted it later, she couldn't blame him.
"Thank you, grandpa village head." Qianhuan quickly expressed her gratitude.
After a while, the head of the village, his eldest son, called Old Man Wang over. Old Man Wang happened to be resting at home today and did not go out to pull the ox cart.
The head of the village told Old Man Wang that Liang Laoer's family wanted to buy his wasteland and asked him if he was willing to sell it.
Old Man Wang has a small family. His two daughters are married, leaving him with only one son, one grandson and one granddaughter. His grandson is still very young and cannot help with farm work. Usually, his sons cultivate the few acres of fertile land in front of the house, while the dozen acres of wasteland on the west mountain have been abandoned for several years.
Old man Wang usually earned more money from driving a ox cart than from farming, so he was naturally happy to sell the wasteland.
"I wonder how many acres you want to buy?" Old Man Wang looked at Qianhuan and asked.
"Grandpa Wang, if it's cheap, we'll buy it all. If it's expensive, we can just buy half of the land." Qianhuan immediately replied to Grandpa Wang.
"How about this, if you really want it, just give me ten taels of silver for the eleven acres of wasteland."
Because this wasteland is too barren, there is no yield for growing crops. When they were young, they would grow some soybeans, but it has been abandoned over the years.
He didn't expect that someone would be interested in his wasteland. He just wanted to sell it all, so he offered the lowest price.
"Okay, then let's take them all." Qianhuan didn't expect that she could buy it for ten taels of silver, so she took them all at once.
"Are you sure you want them all?" Old man Wang was shocked. Although ten taels of silver for eleven acres of wasteland was not expensive, it was not a small amount for country people. He did not expect that Liang Laoer's family could really come up with so much silver.
"Grandpa Wang, I'm sure." Qianhuan nodded decisively.
"Okay, then I'll go home right away to get the land deed for you. Please wait a moment." Old man Wang was very happy. He immediately got up and ran home, as if he was afraid that Qianhuan would go back on her word.
Qianhuan saw him jogging despite his age, and fearing that he would fall, she couldn't help but shout behind him, "Grandpa Wang, please slow down. I'll be waiting for you at the village head's house."
After a while, Old Man Wang brought the land deed and Qianhuan gave him ten taels of silver on the spot.
"Keep the land deed. From now on, the land will belong to your family. However, you must go to the county government as soon as possible to handle the land deed transfer procedures. Only after the official deed is exchanged, the matter will be considered truly completed."
After Old Man Wang took the silver and gave the land deed to Qianhuan, he kindly reminded her.
"Grandpa Lizheng, I don't know how to handle the land deed transfer procedures and official deeds?" Qianhuan looked at the village chief and asked.
"Take the old deed to the county government office, and the government officials will write a new deed for you. After paying a deed tax of more than one tael of silver, the government will stamp the deed with an official seal, and you will have the deed. The land will truly belong to your family."
The head of the village patiently explained the transfer procedures. When private land is sold, the transaction is not complete after the payment is made. One must take the deed to the county government office to go through the formal transfer procedures. The officials will paste the official unified deed end on the newly written deed and then stamp it with the official seal. Only then is the transaction completed. People call this an official deed.
Only with the official deed can the land be considered yours.
"Grandpa Lizheng, we are not familiar with all the affairs in the county government. You usually deal with people in the county government, so you must have some acquaintances there. Could you help us with the land deed transfer and the deed tax? Here is two taels of silver, and the rest is your errand fee."
Qianhuan took out two taels of silver and handed it to the village head as she spoke. She thought that although Old Man Hu was only the head of a small village, he was in charge of all matters in the village, and he had some contact with the government office. If he could handle this matter, it would definitely be smoother.
Take this opportunity to give him some money for running errands, and also to establish a good relationship with him, so that it will be easier to ask him for help when I need help in the village in the future.
"Okay, then I'll do it for you all."
Old Man Hu took the silver, put it in his arms, and agreed to the deal readily.
His grandson Hu Zhixiong's education costs a lot of money. He has calculated that the deed tax for eleven acres of land would be at most more than 1,600 coins. He can earn more than 300 coins by running errands. Why not do it?
"Grandpa Lizheng, thank you so much. With your help, I believe the official deed can be processed quickly, and we don't have to go to the county town ourselves."
Qianhuan said her words of thanks with a smile on her face. It was clearly the head of the village who took advantage, but she made it seem as if she herself had gained a lot of benefits.
"Grandpa Lizheng, my family will host a dinner tonight for those who helped build the house. I will go to town to buy meat and wine. You can also come to our house tonight to join us for a drink. When we divided the family property, it was thanks to you that we allocated land for the house."
"Okay, then I'll come to your house tonight for a drink." Old man Hu usually likes to drink, so when he heard that there was wine to drink, he immediately agreed.
"Okay, I'll go back first. I'll trouble you with the transfer of the title deed."