Chief Zhou was familiar with everything here.
"These are indeed uncultivated lands. Our clan members only cultivated up to this point," he explained.
Mo Jiuye asked further, "To purchase these uncultivated lands, do we simply go to the government office to complete the procedures?"
"Yes, over the years, the government has been selling uncultivated lands for one or two silver coins per mu. Once you choose the desired location, you can apply at the government office. They will send an official to survey the land, and after paying the fee, they will issue a land deed," Chief Zhou replied.
Having understood the market situation for these lands, they planned to visit the town and apply at the government office on another day.
With Meng Huaining present, they believed everything would go smoothly.
After examining the land, the group arrived at the abandoned houses.
These houses were once owned by three different families and were not concentratedly purchased by the Zhao and Zhou families, just like the lands.
The houses were in a state of disrepair, necessitating demolition and reconstruction. Therefore, they only needed to assess the size of the area and make a plan.
They were not in a hurry to plan the area as the Cui family's courtyard had not been acquired yet.
Having spent several days in Xi Ling Village, He Zhiran took a careful walk for the first time.
While inspecting the houses, she noticed that there was at least a hundred meters of distance between the back of the houses and the foot of the mountain.
The land in this distance was not as flat as the uncultivated lands to the north; it had a slight slope.
Moreover, judging from the soil, it seemed to be darker than the soil in those uncultivated lands.
If her guess was correct, this area should have a similar soil quality to the mountain.
Behind these uncultivated lands was the West Mountain.
It was already deep winter, and the tall trees on the higher ground stood tall and bare.
In contrast, the lower ground was different. Perhaps due to the villagers cutting trees for firewood, there were hardly any robust trees left.
And even if there were, their numbers were scarce.
He Zhiran couldn't help but ask, "Chiefs, were all the trees in the lower part of the West Mountain cut down for firewood?"
Chief Zhao replied, "Indeed, that's the case. Xi Ling Village is cold in winter, and we need a lot of firewood for heating. Most of the nearby trees have been cut down."
As expected.
At this moment, He Zhiran thought that this mountainous area, devoid of trees, would be convenient for her to plant some fruit trees.
Not only could it prevent sandstorms, but it could also bring in some profits.
"Chief Zhao, is it possible to buy this mountain?" she inquired.
Upon hearing about buying the mountain, Chief Zhao frowned.
"Oh, young miss, if you buy this mountain, it would cut off the livelihood of everyone in the village."
He Zhiran was puzzled, "Why would Chief Zhao say that?"
Chief Zhao explained, "The villagers of Xi Ling Village rely on the West Mountain for their firewood. During the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, people also go up the mountain to hunt or gather wild vegetables to sustain themselves. If you buy this mountain, it would mean that we, the villagers, would have no means of survival."
He Zhiran hadn't expected Chief Zhao to mention all these points.
Even if she had thought about it, she had a better solution to resolve the issue.
However, in order to acquire this mountain, she would have to be more selfless.
"Chief Zhao, what if I only buy a part of the mountain and leave a portion for you all?"
Furthermore, I acquired a special crop from a foreigner. This crop not only has a high yield, but after harvesting, the remaining parts can all be used as firewood."
She remembered in her past life when she followed the troops to the countryside to experience life there. The villagers would burn corn cobs and stalks during the winter.
The farmers there said that as long as they had enough corn planted, they wouldn't have to worry about firewood throughout the winter.
In other words, if these villagers could trust her, she could sell them the high-yielding corn seeds produced in her space and have everyone in the village plant this crop.
She believed that once they planted it, they would experience the benefits of this crop.
In He Zhiran's mind, although cornmeal wasn't as tasty as white flour, it had the advantage of high yield and was much better than the rough flour that scratched one's throat in this era.
On this journey, she also realized that there was a significant wealth disparity in the Da Shun Dynasty.
A small minority of people could be described as dripping with wealth, while the majority of the common people struggled to fill their stomachs.
Take the people of Xi Ling Village, for example. Before the Cui family arrived, they could be said to have trampled over the other two families in terms of clothing and food.
And when you looked at the Zhao and Zhou families, most of them wore patched-up clothes and, in terms of physique and complexion, were not as well-off as the Cui family.
It's easy to imagine how tight the lives of the Zhao and Zhou families were.
When the two clan chiefs listened to He Zhiran's words, they exchanged glances. Both of them knew that the Mo family had a deep heritage, but they had never heard of high-yielding crops despite a lifetime of farming.
Chief Zhao asked skeptically, "Are you sure that foreigner didn't deceive you, Jiu Jia?" It wasn't surprising for someone who had been farming their whole life to have such doubts.
At present, she was not yet twenty years old and had never been involved in agriculture. No matter how she explained it, she wouldn't be convincing.
Therefore, this matter needed to be substantiated with facts.
"Both clan chiefs, next spring I will cultivate this high-yielding crop here. After the harvest, you can see if you're satisfied before making a decision."
The two clan chiefs didn't really take He Zhiran's so-called high-yielding crop seriously.
"Alright, we'll wait and see the results of your cultivation next year."
Clearly, Chief Zhao's tone carried a sense of perfunctoriness.
As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. He Zhiran didn't owe anyone anything, and if it weren't for her desire to buy this mountain, she wouldn't have voluntarily shared such excellent seeds with others.
In any case, she had made up her mind to buy this mountain. Even if it was only for the sake of those villagers, she would buy a part of it.
Glancing at the sky, it was already close to noon.
They had finished inspecting the purchased property, so everyone started heading back.
Just as they entered the village, they heard commotion coming from the Cui family's side.
Because of this, instead of going their separate ways, they followed the source of the noise.
To their surprise, Meng Huaining had come in person today.
He immediately spotted Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran walking over from the village and took the initiative to greet them.
"Brother Jiuye, Sister-in-law Nine."
Mo Jiuye took a step forward. "Brother Meng, why did you personally come here today? Is it because of the Cui Family's matter?"
Meng Huaining nodded. "These past few days, we have been working tirelessly to investigate the Cui Family's case, and now everything has been revealed.
Since there are many matters regarding compensation involved, the officials in the yamen are merely eating free meals and can't be of any help. So, I had to personally make a trip."
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Huaining turned around and instructed the government officials to gather all the members of the Cui Family together.
The efficiency of the government officials these days was remarkable. In less than five minutes, all the members of the Cui Family had been summoned before Meng Huaining.
