Dayuan dynasty’s attitude towards gambling was to turn a blind eye to it. Since the forces behind the gambling dens were not small, they all had hired thugs specifically for debt collection. Therefore, unlucky individuals who fell into the trap of owing gambling debts generally didn’t dare to report it.

 

The Wang Shitou family could only obediently repay the money, shamelessly borrowing from their neighbors. Few people were willing to lend them money, as they believed in helping in times of emergency but not in times of poverty. Once involved in gambling, who would dare to lend you money?

 

Later, Sigouzi’s mother even targeted the three married daughters.

 

These three daughters had been raised in a harsh environment since childhood, so they didn’t have much affection for their parents.

 

When they got married, their parents demanded high dowries. The men they married were either elderly or disabled, which made the family resentful. Now that this incident had occurred, they didn’t even allow Wang Shitou and his family to enter their houses.

 

Wang Shitou and his wife tried to use filial piety to pressure them, but the daughters who had married off were like water poured out.

 

They had no money from anywhere. In the end, they had no choice but to sell the land.

 

In Dayuan, the land was generally divided into good farmland, ordinary farmland, and newly cultivated land.

 

Good farmland was mainly used for growing crops such as wheat, rice, and corn.

 

Ordinary farmland had average yields, so people would grow various crops on it. Even families with less land would choose to grow crops, taking care of them meticulously. Families with more land would choose to grow crops such as soybeans, mung beans, and yellow corn.

 

As for the newly cultivated land, there was no need to mention it. The yield was poor, but the government encouraged its development, so the price was extremely cheap.

 

Sigouzi’s family was leading a comfortable life. Although their characters were not admirable, they knew how to work hard, and they had earned a considerable amount of money from marrying off their three daughters. They had also purchased some land, totaling twenty mu of good farmland and ten mu of ordinary farmland.

 

After listening to the whole story, Jing’s father hesitated. They lived in the same village, and he knew some things about the Wang Shitou family. From Old Wang to his daughter-in-law, none of them were good people.

 

Before, they had been restrained by Old Wang and his wife, but after they passed away, they became even more outrageous in their actions.

 

Jing’s father didn’t want to get involved with such a family.

 

But Jing Yi didn’t think so. Their family had no close relationship with the Wang Shitou family, and they lived far away. When it came time to buy and sell land, they would complete the procedures properly. Even if they lived in the same village, they would be unrelated.

 

“Uncle Sheng, considering our current situation, we have a shortage of labor for farming, and we have a large number of mouths to feed. We only want to buy the good farmland. Do you know which plots of land Uncle Wang is selling?” Jing Yi asked the village chief.

 

“I’m not sure about that, but this year, no one in the village is able to buy a large amount of land. Even if he sells one or two mu, it would be difficult for them,” the village chief replied.

 

The village chief could see Jing’s father’s concerns and continued, “Why don’t you go back and discuss it with your family? I’ll arrange for Sigouzi’s father to take you to see the land tomorrow, and then we can talk about it.”

 

“Alright, thank you, Uncle Sheng.” Jing’s father immediately felt relieved when he heard that they could go back and discuss it.

 

“Thank you, Grandpa Sheng. We’ll go back now,” Jing’s father and Jing Yi left the village chief’s house after expressing their gratitude.

 

When they returned home, Jing’s father couldn’t wait to explain the situation to Jing’s mother and then anxiously said to Jing Yi, “Xiao Yi, it’s not easy to buy this land. The Wang Shitou family is not a good one. They sold their own daughters for dowry. We shouldn’t get involved.”

 

Jing’s father said this and saw Xiao Shu sitting on a small stool in the courtyard, eating a piece of cold cake. He looked adorable and lovely. He couldn’t help but curse, “They are a heartless family!”

 

Jing Yi understood his father’s mentality very well. His deep love for each of his children seemed to be engraved in his father’s bones, which was extremely precious in the countryside.

 

“Although they are not good people, the land is good land,” Jing Yi said and quickly explained when he saw his father glaring at him, “We have no relatives with their family, and we are not neighbors. If we buy their land, it will be purely a business transaction. After the money and goods are exchanged, we will have no further ties.”

 

“I’m afraid they won’t acknowledge the transaction!” Jing’s mother joined the discussion at this point, expressing her concern as well.

 

(T/N: The author uses ‘his’ and ‘her’ interchangeably for gèrs. Throughout the novel I haven’t found an explicit description of gèr but it is the third gender where men can also conceive a child.)

 

“We’ll have two copies of the land deed, one in our possession and one filed with the authorities. They wouldn’t dare to deny it. I don’t plan to wait until the end of the year for the village chief to handle it. We’ll spend some money and go directly to the government office,” Jing Yi reassured them.

 

If the Wang family wants to cause trouble, they will definitely find a loophole to exploit. For example, even if they receive the money, if the land deed is not properly processed during this time, once it is recorded at the government office, they would think twice before causing trouble.

 

“But is that feasible?” Jing’s father and mother were worried. People in the countryside tremble at the mention of government offices.

 

“It can work. We’ll just need to bribe them a little, give gifts. We won’t go wrong with that. It’s worth taking a little loss,” Jing Yi thought that this matter could probably be accomplished.

 

The next afternoon, Jing’s father and Jing Yi returned home and immediately hurried to the village chief’s house to go with him to see the land with Wang Shitou.

 

“It’s these six mu. Such good land. If those damn swindlers hadn’t deceived my son, our family would never sell,” Old Wang stood in the field and said.

 

Then he started muttering and cursing, cursing the gambling dens, cursing his relatives’ daughters, cursing the neighbors, but not a single curse directed at his own son.

 

Currently, the crops in the field had just been harvested, but it was not in a mess. Wang Shitou and his wife had done a decent job with the farming. Jing’s father often walked around the village and was familiar with the fields there. After looking at this piece of fertile land, he turned back and nodded at Jing Yi.

 

Then he asked Wang Shitou, “Brother Shitou, are you selling all six mu?”

 

“All of it! Don’t you know those damn animals swindled my son out of over seventy taels of silver! They are cannibals!” Jing’s father’s question seemed to open his floodgates of words, and a continuous stream of curses filled the air.

 

“That’s enough! Get to the important point!” The village chief, seeing him endlessly spewing foul language, reprimanded him loudly.

 

Wang Shitou shrugged his shoulders, stopped the curses, and grasped the key point, saying, “Jing Rong, my friend, I’m selling all six mu of this land. Look at this fertile land. Whose land is better than mine? Besides, the money from selling the land, aside from giving it to the gambling den, I also have to buy some good food and drink to make up for your eldest nephew. You don’t even know what kind of state your eldest nephew is in!”

 

As he spoke, Wang Shitou’s eyes turned red, genuinely distressed for Sigouzi.

 

“Uncle Shitou, how much are you asking for this land?” Jing Yi noticed that the conversation was veering off track and interrupted Wang Shitou’s pitiful act, lest his father soften and the negotiation become difficult.

 

When Wang Shitou saw that Jing Yi was the one asking about the price, he felt somewhat dissatisfied.

 

Recently, everyone in the village had been saying that the Jing family had made money from doing business at the dock. Moreover, the majority of people were singing Jing Yi’s praises, saying he was capable, intelligent, and knew how to handle things.

 

Wang Shitou had already heard quite a bit, not to mention his wife, who loved to chat and had been gossiping about it since they returned home. So this couple didn’t hold Jing Yi in high regard.

 

Their two sons were about the same age, and it was inevitable that they would be compared. Comparing them, didn’t it mean that they were belittling Sigouzi and praising Jing Yi? Where was Sigouzi lacking? Jing Yi was just lucky.

 

If it weren’t for their urgent need for money, he wouldn’t have sold the land to Jing Yi’s family.

 

Wang Shitou’s displeasure showed on his face. “Xiao Yi, I heard your business at the dock is doing well. I won’t sell this six mu for less than one hundred taels.” Jing Yi realized that this negotiation wouldn’t be too smooth, but he didn’t expect Wang Shitou to be so audacious.

 

Without waiting for him to retort, the village chief spoke first, “Wang Shitou, when you entrusted me to sell the land, what did you say? Now that I’ve brought the buyer, is this the price you’re offering me?!”

 

The village chief’s expression was not pleasant, and Wang Shitou was clearly disrespecting him.

 

“Village chief, look at what you’re saying. My family needs money urgently, and besides, isn’t Xiao Yi capable? He doesn’t lack that amount of money,” Wang Shitou shamelessly replied to the village chief.

 

“Wang Shitou, I don’t need you to worry about my family’s affairs! We can’t afford this land, and we won’t serve you. Find a family who can afford one hundred taels!” Jing’s father, seeing that Wang Shitou dared to target his son, immediately refused and started walking back with Jing Yi.

 

“Hey, hey, Jing Rong, why are you in such a hurry? I was just praising Xiao Yi. The price is negotiable, very negotiable!” Wang Shitou, seeing Jing Rong and his son walking away, panicked and quickly caught up, grabbing Jing’s father’s clothes.

 

There were only a few villages nearby that could afford to buy their land, and if their son’s hand was delayed, it would be a disaster.

 

“What are you doing? Don’t bother me with your nonsense! We’re not buying anymore!” Jing’s father got angry and said they wouldn’t buy it.

 

Wang Shitou’s family began a tug-of-war over the land. In the end, Jing’s father saw Wang Shitou almost in tears, and his heart softened a bit, but he maintained a cold and stern expression, saying, “The good farmland in the entire Fuyang town is priced at twelve taels per mu. Our family never takes advantage of others. For the six mu of land, a total of seventy-two taels, it’s a take it or leave it deal.”

 

“Selling! Seventy-two taels, seventy-two taels it is. Jing Rong, you’re truly righteous!” Wang Shitou initially thought he had offended the Jing family and that the price would be suppressed, but unexpectedly, the situation turned around, so he quickly agreed.

 

Then he asked, “Can you pay the silver now?”

 

Jing Yi knew he was anxious, but he couldn’t let his guard down, so he had to ask the village chief for help.

 

“Grandpa Sheng, we can pay the silver today, but dealing with such a large piece of land, both the buyer and the seller are afraid of any mistakes. So, I thought, my family can give you the silver first, and Uncle Shitou can give you the land deed for his six mu as well. Then, I would trouble you to take both our families to the town tomorrow, directly transfer the land deed, and once the money and goods are settled, everything will be secure. What do you think?”

 

“Why so troublesome? Just give the land deed to your family, and that should be enough. It’s almost New Year in a few months. We can handle the transfer at the end of the year.” Wang Shitou found it troublesome and retorted.

 

“Shut up!” The village chief was already annoyed with Wang Shitou, and his head buzzed as he heard him speak. “The Jing family holds the land deed with your name on it, and even I don’t feel at ease!”

 

Then he turned to Jing Yi and said, “Alright, Xiao Yi, let’s do it this way. You two will meet me at the entrance of the government office in the town tomorrow afternoon.”

 

Afterward, Jing’s father and Jing Yi went home to get the money, while Wang Shitou went home to get the land deed. They completed the transaction at the village chief’s house and awaited the transfer at the government office the next day.

 

Whether Wang Shitou was willing or not, he had no say in the matter.