Wen Jinhe squatted down and brushed some soil aside. The soil was poor, but it was very suitable for planting corn and sweet potatoes.
These crops hadn’t been discovered in this era yet, but she had them in her storage space.
“How much silver per mu?” she asked.
The broker knew immediately that this could be a deal, and quickly replied, “Five taels of silver per mu.”
Wen Jinhe said, “I’ll take all one hundred mu in front. Four hundred and fifty taels of silver—go and negotiate with the owner.”
The broker bowed his head, smiling. “Honored guest, this is a very fair price. I’ll contact the owner and handle the paperwork at the government office.”
“Alas, what a harsh life ahead!” A fifty-year-old farmer carrying an iron hoe passed by the carriage, followed by several young men, their faces covered in dirt.
Seeing the lavishly dressed party, they immediately stopped in their tracks.
The lead farmer’s frown relaxed slightly when he noticed the broker, and he leaned forward. But upon noticing Zhao Bi and He Shi guarding Wen Jinhe, he froze again.
Wen Jinhe heard the voices and looked back. She could tell at a glance they were just farmers, watching her subtly as if concerned about something.
The broker, familiar with the situation, whispered, “These are hired farmers from landowners. Now that the land is for sale, they are no longer needed, so they’ve been let go.”
Wen Jinhe asked, “Do they all live nearby?”
The broker shook his head. “From downstream villages, about twenty li away.”
Since the Che Princess had purchased the land, she would naturally need to hire farmers.
They were hardworking people, and the broker didn’t want them left without jobs.
As the two spoke, the farmers overheard some of it.
The lead farmer, encouraged, bent low and approached Wen Jinhe, pleading, “Honored lady, if you take this land, could you consider hiring us if you need help? We are diligent and skilled at farming.”
He spoke nervously—most wealthy families employed servants bound by contracts for life or sold themselves as laborers. Even if hiring was needed, very few workers were required.
Wen Jinhe gave Man Qiu a glance and lightly nodded.
Man Qiu immediately guided the farmer aside.
Wen Jinhe said to the broker, “Now, let’s go look at the shops. If suitable, bring the owners to the government office today and complete the paperwork.”
The broker nodded enthusiastically, “Certainly.”
After a short wait in the carriage, Man Qiu returned. “Your Highness, it’s settled. Tomorrow I’ll finalize the contracts.”
“Good. Arrange for people to manage the land. Since it’s purchased, it can no longer lie fallow.” The amount of corn and sweet potatoes in her storage was limited; she would need to plant more.
The carriage didn’t retrace its route, instead skirting the farmland toward the east district.
Passing a forest, Wen Jinhe called out, “Stop.”
He Shi promptly halted the carriage. “Your Highness, what’s the matter?”
Wen Jinhe stepped down and stared at the towering trees by the roadside, eyes wide in surprise.
She hadn’t expected to see rubber trees here, and the area was quite large.
“Does this forest have an owner?”
The broker hurriedly replied, “This land is near the river and belongs to the government. If you wish to purchase it, you’d have to inquire at the government office.”
Wen Jinhe made a mental note of it.
Arriving at East Street, the broker first showed Wen Jinhe a two-story shop. “This used to be a restaurant, but business wasn’t good, so it closed.”
Then they looked at a second shop, just 200–300 meters away from the first. This one was smaller, a simple rectangular layout.
“After the harvest, if there’s any surplus grain, it can be sold here. Opening a grain-and-oil shop or a cloth store could bring considerable monthly profits.”
Listening to the broker’s pitch of instant riches, Wen Jinhe’s gaze rested on him. “If it were truly that profitable, the sellers wouldn’t be selling.”
The broker faltered, meeting Wen Jinhe’s half-smile, and awkwardly laughed.
In the end, Wen Jinhe purchased the two shops. Man Qiu accompanied the broker to the government office to handle the paperwork.
By the time they returned to the Che Mansion, it was already past mid-afternoon.
After resting briefly on the couch, Man Qiu returned with the property and land deeds. “Your Highness, here are the two shops, one hundred mu of farmland, and the deed for the forest by the river.”
“That forest covers at least three hundred mu. The government price is two taels of silver per mu.”
Wen Jinhe placed all the deeds into a box and instructed, “Not a single tree in the forest is to be cut. What I want are the rubber trees.”
Although Man Qiu didn’t understand, she still responded respectfully, “Yes, Your Highness.”
When it was time for dinner:
“Prince has been dining with me often these days—does he find me particularly appealing?” Wen Jinhe said, wearing a snow-blue robe with cloud patterns that softened Li Junche’s rugged presence, giving him a refined, gentlemanly air.
Man Qiu and Man Dong, attending nearby, subtly stepped back without a sound.
Li Junche held a mouthful of rice without swallowing. “You worry too much, Your Highness. Recently, the mansion’s expenses have been high. Dining together saves a table of dishes.”
Wen Jinhe’s smile froze mid-lift, twitching slightly before she snatched the fish in front of Li Junche. “How dull. No romance. Fine, starve, then!”
Li Junche didn’t respond to her complaints.
Earlier, when he went to the treasury to withdraw silver, Li Guan had informed him:
Since Wen Jinhe entered the mansion, expenses in the backyard had multiplied several times.
After checking the accounts, he realized that the princess’s life was far more comfortable than his own as a prince.
Three meals a day, never the same; fruits and snacks always available—her daily consumption was considerable.
Just the food and drink alone surpassed what Li Junche spent.
And that was before the seasonal addition of new clothing.
According to Li Guan, the women in the mansion needed new dresses each season, along with extra jewelry—far more than the men.
After tallying everything, Li Junche realized that Wen Jinhe’s remark that “he could only afford one woman” was not an exaggeration.
Even maintaining just one already strained the budget. Adding another would likely reduce the Che Mansion to the point of selling off servants.
At night, Zhao Bi and He Shi saw Man Qiu and Man Dong leave the room and closed the door behind them. “Has the princess gone to bed so early?”
Man Qiu shook her head. “No, Your Highness is on the couch reading and writing. She didn’t want us disturbing her, so she sent us out.”
Wen Jinhe held a copy of the Crop Cultivation Manual. After finding the information she needed, she picked up a brush and began copying it onto paper.
After more than five thousand years of improvement, modern cultivation techniques were far superior to ancient methods—not only increasing yields but also effectively preventing seedling deaths and pest damage.
Moreover, crops like corn and sweet potatoes had never been planted in this era. Without guidance, people would waste much effort going the wrong way.
The seeds in Wen Jinhe’s storage were limited, so she didn’t plan to use them for experiments.
An hour passed. Man Dong, looking at the still-burning lamp oil in the room, faintly saw the princess’s silhouette sitting and working diligently.