After breakfast, Lin Luoluo had Lin Da go to the town to rent several larger houses for everyone to stay in temporarily.
As for herself, she took Lin Zhong along, bringing some bolts of cloth, pastries, and other gifts to the village chief’s house.
Knock, knock, knock…
“Who is it? Coming—” a woman’s voice answered.
Creak—
The door opened in response.
“Who are you looking for?” The person who opened the door was a woman in her thirties. Seeing that she did not recognize the visitors, she asked.
“Qiuniang, who’s here?” the clan leader’s wife called loudly from inside the house.
“Mother, I don’t know them. I’ve never seen them before,” the woman called Qiuniang replied before turning back to them with a smile.
“Hello, Auntie! We’ve come to see the Clan Leader about something. Is he at home?”
Hearing that they had asked for the Clan Leader rather than the village chief, Qiuniang knew they were members of the Lin clan. Since she had never met them before, they could only be Uncle Qing’s daughter and her party, who had returned yesterday.
“You’re Uncle Qing’s daughter, aren’t you? Come in quickly. My father-in-law is at home.”
Qiuniang stepped aside to let them enter.
When they reached the main hall, the Clan Leader was sitting there, taking slow puffs from his pipe.
As soon as he saw them enter, he hurriedly set the pipe aside.
“Child, it’s you! Come in and have a seat.”
After Lin Luoluo sat down, Lin Zhong placed the gifts they had brought onto the table.
“You silly child, it would have been enough for you to come. Why bring so many things?”
Although he said that, he felt secretly delighted that a younger generation member was showing him such respect.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, this is just a small token of my appreciation. They’re nothing valuable, only some pastries and dried fruits. The color of this cloth would be perfect for you and Grandmother to make new clothes.”
“Very well, then. This old man will shamelessly accept them.”
“Old woman! Old woman!”
“Coming—” the Clan Leader’s wife answered from inside.
A moment later, she and Qiuniang entered one after the other.
Qiuniang brewed several cups of tea and brought them in.
“Miss, Elder Brother, please have some tea.”
“Thank you, Auntie! Just call me Luo’er. He is Uncle Zhong.”
“Luo’er, Elder Brother Zhong, please enjoy your tea.”
After handing the last cup to the Clan Leader, Qiuniang quietly left.
“Old woman, this is Qing’s daughter, little Luo.”
“Hello, Clan Leader Grandma!”
“Just look at this girl. She’s so beautiful—she looks just like Qing.”
“Good, good.”
The Clan Leader’s wife held her hand and looked her over.
“Alright, old woman. Take this cloth inside, and give the pastries to the children. We have something to discuss here.”
“Why did you bring so many things? Child, next time just come yourself.”
“Clan Leader Grandma, this is simply a little gift from a junior to show respect. It isn’t worth much. I only hope you won’t dislike it.”
“Listen to this child! How could I dislike it? I’d be happy with anything you youngsters give me.”
“As long as you like it.”
Lin Luoluo smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
“Just looking at you makes Grandmother happy. You all go ahead and talk.”
After the Clan Leader’s wife left, the Clan Leader got straight to the point.
“So, what brings you here so early this morning?”
“Clan Leader Grandpa, here’s the situation. I want to buy a piece of land for a residence, build a larger house, and also purchase some farmland.”
“Where do you want to build the house?”
After getting up that morning, Lin Luoluo had looked around and found her current location quite satisfactory. It was far from the village, close to the mountain, with no neighboring households nearby. If anything happened, she wouldn’t have to worry about others finding out.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, is the land around my current house for sale? Does it belong to anyone?”
“That area is all wasteland. It’s full of rocks and difficult to cultivate, and nothing grows well there, so no one wants it.”
“Clan Leader Grandpa, how is that land priced? I’ll buy all of it. I’ll build my house beside my current one, and it’ll also be convenient to manage the fields.”
“All of it? There are fifty mu of land there. Wasteland is cheap—two taels of silver per mu. Residential land is more expensive, at three taels per mu. How large a house are you planning to build?”
“Hmm, let me think… Ten mu, perhaps? Clan Leader Grandpa, would ten mu of residential land be enough for so many people? I want the kind with a large courtyard.”
Lin Luoluo was somewhat at a loss. She didn’t have much concept of what ancient houses were like.
“It would be more than enough. You could even build several rows of smaller houses inside the courtyard.”
“Alright then, let’s make it ten mu.”
Lin Luoluo made the decision.
“Then let’s go measure the land now.”
“Youcai! Youcai! Bring the measuring tools and come with me.”
“Alright, Father! I know. I’ll be right there.”
Lin Youcai answered and went to fetch the tools.
The group arrived near Lin Luoluo’s house and began measuring the land. Since the area was quite large, the Clan Leader called over several young men from the village to help.
After the measurements were completed, the total area came to fifty-eight mu. The ten mu of residential land cost thirty taels of silver, while the forty-eight mu of wasteland cost ninety-six taels.
After Lin Zhong paid the money, he followed the Clan Leader’s son, Lin Youcai, to the county town in a horse carriage.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, you’ve been working all morning. Come inside and have a cup of water.”
After they left, Lin Luoluo noticed that the Clan Leader’s face had turned red from the sun and invited him inside to rest before going home.
The Clan Leader was indeed rather thirsty.
“Very well, then. I won’t stand on ceremony.”
As he spoke, he walked into the courtyard and sat down at the stone table to rest.
“Chun Tao, pour a cup of tea for Clan Leader Grandpa.”
“Right away.”
Chun Tao worked quickly and soon returned with a pot of tea.
She poured a cup each for the Clan Leader and Lin Luoluo before going back to her work.
The Clan Leader lifted the cup, smelled the aroma, and took a sip. His eyes immediately lit up.
“Mmm… Excellent tea.”
He quickly finished the cup, and Lin Luoluo poured him another. By the time the entire pot was gone, he still looked reluctant to stop.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, try these grapes.”
“Mmm… They’re delicious!”
“Luo girl, not only is your tea excellent, but even your grapes are sweeter than anyone else’s.”
The Clan Leader praised her with a thumbs-up.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, if you like them, take some home and let Grandmother and the others have a taste as well.”
“How could I do that? I’ve already eaten some, and now I’d even be taking some away. That’s rather embarrassing.”
The Clan Leader politely declined, though only in appearance.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, please take them. I don’t have much else here except plenty of food. If there’s ever anything you’d like to eat in the future, just tell me.”
“Hehe… Then this old man won’t be polite anymore. And if you ever need any help, don’t be polite either. Just say the word.”
This girl really knew how to conduct herself.
“I actually do have another matter. We’ve only just arrived and aren’t familiar with the area. Clan Leader Grandpa, do you happen to know any good builders?”
“There is a stonemason in the town with an excellent reputation. Tomorrow I’ll have your Uncle Youcai go and ask him.”
The Clan Leader thought for a moment before replying.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, can we hire workers from our own village? I’ll pay the men thirty-five wen a day with lunch included. For clearing the wasteland, men will receive thirty-five wen a day and women thirty wen a day, with lunch included. What do you think?”
“That’ll do. Leave it all to this old man.”
“Clan Leader Grandpa, how about we renovate the school and the ancestral hall as well?”
Lin Luoluo asked tentatively. Before he could respond, she continued,
“I’ll donate five thousand taels. Will that be enough? I want the school built larger, like an academy. How about it? If the money isn’t enough, just come ask me for more.”
The Clan Leader was startled when he heard her mention a donation of five thousand taels and asked worriedly,
“It certainly would be enough, but Luo girl, your father was an honest official all his life. It’s impossible that he would have left behind so much money. Where did you get all this silver?”
She was buying land, donating money, and would also need a great deal of silver to build a house afterward.
Naturally, Lin Luoluo wasn’t going to tell him that she had earned it by selling grain and through robbery.
“Clan Leader Grandpa, don’t worry. After my husband passed away, he left me quite a large sum of money. It’s more than enough to support me and my children. Besides, we’ll continue earning more in the future.”
“Very well then. This old man will head back now.”
Before leaving, Lin Luoluo had him take the tea leaves and grapes she had prepared for him.