Chapter 78 - 078 Still Too Little Money
Chapter 78: Chapter 078: Still Too Little Money
Chapter 78 -078: Still Too Little Money
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
She knew that Zhou Dehai had a good relationship with her father because of his cousin, Zhou Deshun.
He was also aware of the situation regarding the Bai Family’s old mansion.
It was just that she never expected him to speak of it so directly.
Even though she understood that he meant well, she was still somewhat taken aback.
In her memory, Zhou Dehai was a rather cautious man.
Zhou Dehai scratched his head in embarrassment, saying, “I should not have been prying like this, and it’s not right to discuss with your father either.
But I’m genuinely afraid that you all might get victimised, especially with your imminent childbirth, and Chang Sheng not being here.
It’s quite worrisome.”
Hmm, this sounded serious.
Bai Ruozhu perked up and listened attentively.
“That day at your home during the feast, your uncle seemed to have drunk quite a bit and was talking to your Grandpa.
I was following just behind them, so I accidentally overheard their conversation,” Zhou Dehai even emphasised, with a hint of guilt in his voice, that he ‘accidentally’ overheard them.
“What did my uncle say?” Bai Ruozhu asked urgently.
Zhou Dehai lowered his voice a little and said, “Your uncle was asking why your family suddenly had money to build a new house and set such a good feast.
He seemed to suspect that you were living comfortably without much care for them.
He said that your father gave very little money each month, and asked your grandfather to question your father, fearing that your father might be led astray by his daughter and daughter-in-law.”
Bai Ruozhu noted that Bai Yibo referred to only the “daughters and daughters-in-law,” without mentioning the grandchildren.
It seemed clear that in their minds, daughters-in-law and daughters were outsiders and not part of the Bai family.
Zhou Dehai continued, “I didn’t realize your uncle could be so outrageous.
If he finds out that you have silver, he will surely want to get his hands on it without a care whether it was given to you by Chang Sheng.”
Bai Ruozhu showed Zhou Dehai a grateful smile, “Thank you for the reminder Uncle Zhou.
I will surely keep this to myself.
As for purchasing land, I dare only to ask for your assistance.
Chang Sheng is not expected back for a while, and this land is what we need to sustain us.
I cannot let it be snatched away for the sake of my child.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let the folks back at the old mansion get wind of this,” Zhou Dehai said seriously.
His own daughter, Zhou Taohua, was only 15 years old and not much younger than Bai Ruozhu.
Looking at Bai Ruozhu, he couldn’t help but think of his daughter’s carefree life and felt powerless.
“By the way, Uncle Zhou, what did my grandfather say after my uncle spoke in that manner?” Bai Ruozhu asked curiously.
“Your grandfather scolded your uncle right then, telling him not to chatter in public.
He told your aunt to take your uncle back home to rest,” Zhou Dehai said.
Bai Ruozhu went quiet.
Her grandfather had only told Bai Yibo to stop talking nonsense in public, but he hadn’t said that such scheming wasn’t right.
It seemed that her grandfather had actually taken those words to heart, thinking that they should also enjoy the fruits if the second home was doing better.
Always the pedantic scholar, they never wanted to work in the fields themselves but looked to extract money from the second son who had toiled like a beast of burden all his life.
But had the old residence ever thought of lending a helping hand when the second home was in a difficult situation?
In her previous life’s memories, before the Bai family was divided, they didn’t have much land.
Every busy farming season, her grandfather and Bai Yibo refused to toil in the fields.
Even when Bai Yibo did, it was just in a half-hearted manner.
Only Bai Ruozhu’s family worked desperately hard.
Her mother was almost as strong as a burly man, and her older brother was able to do as much work as a fully-grown labourer by the time he was 14.
Hence, many villagers praised her older brother for his hard work and perseverance.
The second brother, even though bookish, also worked in the fields every day.
Despite his thin stature, he was not far behind the eldest brother when it came to hard work.
After the second house split from the main family, the old mansion’s land couldn’t be fully tended anymore.
It should have been completely rented out for others to farm in exchange for regular rent revenue.
Combined with the rice received due to the grandfather’s scholarly status, it would have been enough to sustain the family.
But for some reason, the grandfather decided it was more profitable to farm the land themselves and so reserved half the land for self-cultivation.
The results were foreseeable.
Without the elder Bai Yihong’s hard work, farming was haphazard at best, and the crop was not very good.
During the busy farm season, they always ended up needing to ask Bai Yihong’s family for help.
Of course, it was usually Bai Yibo who would come over to ask, what a fine display of filial piety: taking care of their parents.
In the past, Bai Ruozhu was helpless in such a situation.
But now, she was unwilling to allow her father and siblings to suffer.
So she decided to buy land and collect rent from it.
“Uncle Zhou, help me look for lands in the outer village.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit far,” Bai Ruozhu said after making up her mind.
Zhou Dehai understood her intentions, “Okay.
I’ll help you look for land a bit further away.
Approximately how much land do you want to buy?”
“How much is the land per acre right now?” Bai Ruozhu was a bit distressed, as she had no concept of these things from her memories.
“It depends on the quality and location of the land.
There are those worth seven or eight taels, and those worth twelve taels.
Sandlands and forestry lands are much cheaper,” Zhou Dehai was very clear about these matters.
Bai Ruozhu did her calculations and realized that the silver she had earned would only be enough to buy a few acres of land at best.
After considering the cost of building a house for her big brother and the expenses associated with childbirth, what would be left was a meagre sum indeed.
She managed to squeeze out a bitter smile, “I can only afford to buy three or four acres, and it doesn’t need to be top quality land.”
Zhou Dehai realized her budget constraints immediately and said reassuringly, “Three or four acres is still good.
There will be a decent harvest every year.
Don’t worry, I’ll help you find a good piece of land over these few days.”
Bai Ruozhu quickly handed a bunch of copper coins to Zhou Dehai.
“The weather is still quite hot.
I’m sorry for putting you through this trouble, Uncle Zhou.
Please take these coins and have some tea.”
Zhou Dehai was embarrassed to receive it and tried to push it back, “I’ve watched you grow up.
How can I take your money?”
Bai Ruozhu avoided taking the coins back, smiling and saying, “Having a good relationship is one thing, but there are rules when asking others to do things.
Arranging a brokerage payment is simply the done thing.
If you are going to be like this, then I won’t feel comfortable asking for your help in the future.”
Zhou Dehai, seeing Bai Ruozhu’s decisiveness, accepted the coins finally.
After all, they were often together, and it definitely wouldn’t be a good thing if the news spread to the old mansion.
However, he truly admired Bai Ruozhu’s adeptness in handling matters and had in mind to complete this task exceptionally well.
Once Zhou Dehai had left, Bai Ruozhu was called into the room by her mother.
Lin Ping-Er, somewhat puzzled, asked, “Ruozhu, your mother seemed to see you giving Zhou Dehai some money just now.
What’s going on?”
Bai Ruozhu had been careful around the others who were there to help, but not her family members.
So it was not surprising that she was seen by her mother.
Thus, she explained to her mother about her intention to buy land and the conversation with Zhou Dehai.
“The money is what you earned.
You decide how to use it.
Your mother has no objections and will support you,” Lin Ping-Er originally thought that something had happened, that Bai Ruozhu was seeking Zhou Dehai’s help with.
When she realized that it was a good deed of buying a piece of land, she immediately sighed with relief.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she laughed.
“I’ll talk to Dad later about it.
When it comes to field matters, no one knows better than my father!”