Farmland

The grain from thirty mu of farmland was generally enough to feed more than ten people.

He could save the remaining money to buy an Inner Force Manual.

Inner Force Manuals varied in quality.

The price gap between superior martial arts texts and inferior ones was considerable.

Of course, Xu Chuan suspected those were the prices charged to commoners. The point was to keep them from buying the manuals, much as poor scholars in ancient times had been unable to afford books in his previous life.

The Aristocratic Clans controlled martial arts to drive people into Martial Arts Halls.

It took at least a decade to achieve anything in martial arts, and throughout those years, one could not go without Medicinal Cuisine and other things that replenished qi and blood. That expense was a slow, steady drain—a dull knife cutting flesh.

Xu Chuan did not want to be beholden to anyone. Now that his family could afford it, he naturally wanted a good Inner Force Manual to give them a solid foundation in the Martial Way.

As for the more precious Xiantian manuals, he would have to wait until someone in the Xu Household became a Xiantian Martial Artist.

"The Registrar came down here to handle matters himself? That's rare. Is there a struggle going on among the officials?"

Once Xu Chuan had made up his mind, he chose his moment and went straight to the village entrance to wait.

Meanwhile, in Dongxi Village.

The commoners were busy with the various tasks that followed the rice harvest.

The wealthier households had no wish to go out in the heat unless they had to.

At the entrance to Dongxi Village.

Xu Chuan spotted two Yamen Runners in dark uniforms approaching with a scholar in a blue robe.

He hurried forward, asked who they were, then said he wanted to buy Uncle Yu's rice fields.

"You want to buy fifty mu of rice fields?" Qingjiang's Registrar, Yang Zhao, asked in surprise.

He looked Xu Chuan over. In his coarse hemp vest, the man appeared to be an ordinary Dongxi Village commoner.

Fifty mu of rice fields was no small purchase for a commoner.

"Are you certain you can afford it? Do not toy with this official. You could not bear the consequences."

Yang Zhao was in no pleasant mood, and his tone was stern.

"How would I dare, sir!"

After a moment's thought, Yang Zhao quoted a fair price.

Xu Chuan paid for the rice fields on the spot.

Had it been one of the greedy Registrars of the past, a price of over twenty taels per mu would hardly have been surprising.

But if that had happened, Xu Chuan would not have bought them. His money had not blown in on the wind; right now, every last coin had to be put where it counted.

The August heat was truly hard to bear.

Yang Zhao glanced at him and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had completed half the task the County Magistrate's Deputy had assigned him as soon as he entered the village, and his mood improved considerably.

He knew the County Magistrate's Deputy had deliberately set this task for him, the newly arrived Registrar. But an official one rank higher could crush a man.

If he failed to finish today, he would certainly face trouble when he returned.

"What is your name?"

"Xu Chuan."

"Check the records."

"Yes, Registrar Yang."

The taller Yamen Runner took out the official land register and searched for Xu Chuan's recorded property. The other, whose face was rounder, took out the population register and looked for his name.

"Found him. Xu Chuan, a resident of Dongxi Village. He should be twenty-six this year, with one wife and two children."

The round-faced Yamen Runner showed Yang Zhao Xu Chuan's entry in the population register.

"Sir, I found him too. Xu Chuan currently has ten mu of rice fields and ten mu of woodland under his name."

The taller Yamen Runner pointed out the entry he had found.

"Mm. He is indeed a Dongxi Village resident, so he has priority to purchase."

Yang Zhao accepted the banknotes, registered the purchase for Xu Chuan, and had him sign his name and press his fingerprint onto the document.

"This is proof of your purchase. From this moment on, Yu Hou's fifty mu of rice fields belong to you."

"Thank you, Registrar Yang."

Xu Chuan tucked the deed close to his body and was about to leave when Yang Zhao unexpectedly called him back.

"Xu Chuan, was it? Our meeting at the village entrance was a stroke of fate. Since you're from Dongxi Village, you know where Yu Hou's fields are, don't you?"

He wants me to lead the way?

Forget it. I can't afford to offend an official.

Xu Chuan nodded and offered to take Yang Zhao and the others to inspect the fields.

With Xu Chuan's help, Yang Zhao finished the task assigned by the County Magistrate's Deputy in half a day.

Buyers had been found for Yu Hou's remaining thirty mu of fine rice fields and thirty mu of woodland.

"That settles this trip. You need not accompany us any longer."

Xu Chuan nodded his assent.

Back home, Xu Chuan told Bai Jing what had happened that day.

"Fifty mu? Husband, weren't you planning to buy only twenty or thirty?"

"Fate brought them my way."

Xu Chuan made the cryptic remark and took out the deed.

Bai Jing looked it over, delight spreading across her face.

"Wonderful. We won't have to worry about grain for a long time, and we can even sell the surplus for silver."

"Put it away in the usual place. In a couple of days, we'll need to hire some help. Fifty mu of fields will keep us busy for a while."

That afternoon.

Xu Chuan went to the Grain-Drying Ground to check on the harvested rice.

He checked how well it was drying so it would be easier to thresh later.

Without modern industry, they had to use the old methods. Every household did the same.

Then he went to inspect his woodland.

The Jade Pears there were his chief concern. In a little over a month, they would be ready to pick.

To keep people from peering in or entering, he had planted a great many Thorn Vines around the plot from the start.

The vines grew easily, and their thorns could cut skin and leave the body numb.

Twining around bamboo poles, the Thorn Vines had formed a wall over the years, four or five meters high and about a foot thick, with only one gate.

Xu Chuan had set a few crude traps.

Every evening, after his final inspection, he locked the gate and armed the traps.

At night, the woodland was pitch-dark, and visibility was poor.

If anyone turned thief and forced their way through the gate, they would very likely get caught.

Several days later.

All the work on the harvested rice was done, and the grain was stored at home.

Xu Chuan began hiring people to work the fifty mu of rice fields he had bought.

Apart from the portion owed in taxes, all the rice growing in those fields belonged to his family.

That evening.

Chen Ergou suddenly rushed into the rice fields and shouted between gasps, "Brother Chuan... Brother Chuan! Sister-in-law's about to give birth!"

Xu Chuan's face lit up. Without a word, he took off running for home.

"Wait, let me catch my breath first!"

Chen Ergou could barely breathe, but seeing Xu Chuan race away, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow, arms pumping as he scrambled along like a dog.

Before Xu Chuan reached the door, he heard Bai Jing's cries of pain from inside.

Chen Ergou's wife, Xu Yan, was helping her. She came out just as Xu Chuan tried to enter and hurriedly stopped him.

"Cousin, the Midwife is already here. Don't go in."

"It's unlucky for a man to be there when a woman gives birth."

"Go boil a few more kettles of water. The more, the better."

Xu Chuan had only wanted to see how Bai Jing was doing, but this was no time to argue.

He immediately ran to the kitchen, lit the firewood, and began heating water.

This was not Bai Jing's first childbirth, yet Xu Chuan still could not help feeling anxious.

After Chen Ergou arrived, he poured himself a bowl of water and gulped it down in one go.

Seeing the worry on Xu Chuan's face, he said, "Brother Chuan, don't worry. Sister-in-law has always been healthy. She'll give birth safely."

"And I brought a Qi-Blood Pill from home, just in case."

Chen Ergou handed Xu Chuan a Small Porcelain Bottle containing the Qi-Blood Pill.

"You're thoughtful."

Xu Chuan did not refuse it. He took it.

Having been through Bai Jing's previous births, Xu Chuan had also prepared some medicinal herbs to replenish qi and blood.

But none of them came close to a Qi-Blood Pill.

He felt a little more at ease, then remembered something. "Where are Shitou and A Yuan?"

"I took them to my place. I expect they're having a grand time playing with my boy."

Xu Chuan nodded and looked up at Chen Ergou. "Er Gou, I'll remember this favor. If there's ever anything I can help you with, just say the word."

"Actually, there is something I'd like your help with, Brother Chuan."

"But... Sister-in-law giving birth matters most right now."

"All right."

Xu Chuan answered, but his mind was elsewhere.

Nothing under heaven mattered more than his wife giving birth!