Chapter 36: Starting Infrastructure

Yan Ning looked at the piece of land she had chosen; at the current pace, the houses would certainly be finished in a month, the reclaimed wasteland could have water diverted to it to grow Rice, and two mu of land could be specifically fenced off to grow vegetables.

Aside from that, it seemed only a Watchtower was missing.

Yan Ning still had to find a few reliable carpenters to come and build the Watchtowers; one near the wharf, and another one behind, closer to the fields.

The carpenters would still have to be found in Shawan County.

At this moment, a youth wearing clothes full of patches came to find her.

This youth had delicate features, and although his clothes were old, they looked very clean.

After the youth came over, he started chatting in a very familiar manner: "Miss, I observe that you all don't seem to be from Lingnan; you look like you came from the North."

Yan Ning smiled and said: "Yes, we came from the North."

She was a bit unsure of what this youth was actually trying to do; she even wondered if this youth had guessed their identities and was here to probe for information.

Who would have thought the youth would start by saying: "Miss, I figure you are unfamiliar with this place and might find it hard to get your hands on certain things. I am very familiar with this area; I often go to Shawan County to sell fish, and occasionally I go to Haicheng, so I am very familiar with the goods there. If you are willing, Miss, I can run errands for you."

He wasn't here to probe for information, but to do business.

Yan Ning recalled her earlier suspicion and thought to herself that the Crown Prince and the Gou Huangdi family were not acting like human beings, making her live in constant fear every day.

Yan Ning began to consider the youth's words.

Indeed, having someone familiar with the area to help with some trivial matters would be quite good.

Yan Ning tossed him a money pouch containing some copper coins and a few pieces of broken silver, and Yan Ning began to make promises: "Take these for now; if you do well, there will be rewards."

The youth began to get a little excited, his eyes filled with irrepressible joy.

Yan Ning asked: "What is your name?"

"Miss, you can just call me Er Gouzi; everyone in the village calls me that."

Yan Ning: "... Alright, Er Gouzi."

Yan Ning was still worried that Er Gouzi might be illiterate, but fortunately, he said he had secretly learned a bit at the School, and he recognized most characters.

Yan Ning saw that he was sharp; he was a bit restless, but he did things quite well.

Yan Ning found a random table and leaned over it to start writing a list:

1. Skilled carpenters, as many as possible.

2. Goats, ten.

3. Fish fry.

4. Grain.

6. Various vegetable Seeds.

7. Twenty jin of pork daily.

8. Plant lychee trees, coconut trees, and mango trees in the surrounding area.

9. Piglets.

Yan Ning handed the list to Er Gouzi, "Can these be done? You inquire about the prices, and I will give you the money to buy them."

Er Gouzi saw the carpenters at a glance, "Miss, how much does this carpentry work pay?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment; she needed to build several more Watchtowers, and the roof beams and such would also need to be done by experienced carpenters.

"Ten taels of silver per month."

Er Gouzi was stunned, "Th-that much?"

Afterwards, he immediately said: "I will go find them right away. If I can't find them in the villages near Shawan County, I can go to Haicheng to look."

After Yan Ning handed over all these troublesome matters, she discovered that Er Gouzi's efficiency was truly high.

Er Gouzi immediately contacted the local pig butcher to deliver twenty jin of pork every morning, and the fish fry were also found very quickly; as for the fruit trees...

They were expensive to buy in the city, so Er Gouzi specifically went to find fruit farmers and had them prepare a batch of saplings, with the condition that all saplings be delivered within a month. The saplings here were not only cheap but also available in large quantities, saving Yan Ning quite a bit of money.

As for the little goats, Er Gouzi only found one place that sold lambs.

The tasks assigned in the morning were already mostly done by the afternoon by Er Gouzi.

The sheep pens and pig pens were all arranged, each taking up a lot of land, and lychee trees had to be planted around them, so a large piece of land was gone all at once.

Yan Ning thought it over and decided to take advantage of the low prices to buy more land, leaving more empty space to build houses later when there were more people. So the next day, she went directly to the County Government Office.

Yan Ning had a dagger encrusted with jewels hanging at her waist, and she walked into the County Government Office in such a swaggering manner.

As soon as County Magistrate Lin saw her, his scalp went numb.

Coupled with the fact that the dagger was truly gaudy, County Magistrate Lin saw it at a glance, and he was terrified that Yan Ning would use the dagger to press against his neck to make him refund the money.

After Yan Ning arrived, she asked County Magistrate Lin: "We bought land a few days ago; don't we need to sign and affix our seals?"

County Magistrate Lin hurriedly said: "Everything is prepared."

As he spoke, he began to flip through a stack of documents on the Table Desk, found the contract, and handed it to Yan Ning.

Yan Ning took a rough look, signed and affixed her seal directly, and took the land deed away.

However, Yan Ning had not left yet; County Magistrate Lin's heart was pounding, and his gaze could not help but look at the dagger at her waist, so County Magistrate Lin asked: "Is there anything else?"

Yan Ning nodded: "I want to buy a few hundred more mu of land; how much can I buy at most?"

County Magistrate Lin was a bit surprised: "Three hundred mu of land isn't enough for your family to live on? Why do you want to buy more?"

Yan Ning widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief, "Only three hundred mu of land, do you call that a lot? A single manor of mine is already three hundred mu, and with a fruit orchard and Rice planted around it, there is basically no space left."

Poverty limited County Magistrate Lin's imagination; he did not expect that those who were truly wealthy, even if they were exiled, were still wealthy enough.

County Magistrate Lin reported a number: "You can buy at most five hundred mu."

Yan Ning nodded, took out Silver Notes worth fifty thousand taels, and slapped them directly onto the table.

County Magistrate Lin's habit of feeling heartache for others flared up again; he always felt that this was simply too much money.

County Magistrate Lin tentatively asked: "Do your parents know you came to buy land? In case they regret it later..."

"Rest assured, my parents know."

Seeing that County Magistrate Lin was straightforward, Yan Ning took the land deed directly, "Thank you, I will be leaving now."

County Magistrate Lin was a bit dazed behind her; Yan Ning was unusually polite today.

However, selling this much land, there shouldn't be any problems, right...

County Magistrate Lin began to fret over how this money should be used; perhaps he should send a few oxen to the commoners in each village, and also repair the roads and the embankments.

Just as he was pondering, Yan Ning returned.

Yan Ning asked with a smile, "Lord County Magistrate, you wouldn't happen to reveal the location of my family's home to others, would you?"

County Magistrate Lin felt a bit apprehensive, "No, certainly not."

Only then did Yan Ning leave, satisfied.

Now that she had fooled County Magistrate Lin as well, she reckoned everyone would think her father moved away because Shawan County was not safe enough; no one could guess that they were secretly planning a rebellion.

At noon the next day, Yan Ning finished her meal and prepared to go take a look at the new home.

Er Gouzi had already brought five skilled carpenters, and all the other things were also prepared; the prices were cheap, and she saved over twenty taels in total.

Looking at the five carpenters today, they had all brought the exquisite little trinkets they had made, which looked very impressive at first glance.

Yan Ning gave Er Gouzi another bag of money, containing five taels in copper coins and broken silver.

After Er Gouzi received it, he became even more sycophantic, "Miss, just say the word if there is anything you need me for; I will certainly get it done for you!"