Chapter 270: Chapter 270: Planning
Bai Suihe, "I wonder if I could trouble the village chief to take us over to the mountain nook to have a look. If the place is suitable, we’ll buy a little more."
Zhu Ziqiang certainly had no objections. Although the silver would not fall into his pocket, it could still leave a good impression at the county yamen.
"That’s certainly not a problem, there is still some wasteland over there, but it will take a lot more time to clear."
When they arrived at the place, Bai Suihe finally understood why the village chief said that. The so-called wasteland was rather a small forest, and clearing it was much harder than the lands in the village.
On the other hand, the location over by the mountain nook wasn’t bad. Although surrounded by mountains on three sides, the plot was large enough to build a two-entry courtyard relying on the terrain here.
Zhuang Datou and the others cautiously opened the way ahead, discovering that the land here was also quite solid, and they all wanted to persuade the young lady to change location.
"The land here is a bit hard, but the soil is quite good. Cutting these trees can be used for firewood, and after removing the roots, there will surely be a good harvest in a couple of years."
Zhu Ziqiang received Su Daquan’s hint and started introducing, "Although it looks dry here, it’s not far from the river. At that time, a small canal can be opened to lead river water for irrigation; this is more suitable than living in the village."
While speaking, he pointed to the mountain not far away, "That’s where the mountain spring water flows down from; if it weren’t too far from the village, everyone would come here to fetch water."
Bai Suihe was already fond of the place, and it was the most suitable location. She quietly discussed with Gu Kaiyuan, and the two decided.
"We won’t need to allocate land separately to build a house. Zhuang Datou and the others will buy this entire plot, and it’s okay if the clearing is chosen to be further away." Gu Kaiyuan took over at this point and began measuring the land with the village chief and Su Daquan.
Incorporating this whole small forest in front, a complete 30 mu.
Actually, it’s not just the 30 mu; Su Daquan and the village chief knew how to work things out, including all the corners around without counting the area, and it added up quite a bit.
When it came to discussing the price, Gu Kaiyuan thought it was incredibly cheap, thirty taels of silver, not even enough to buy one mu of land in Shangjing.
"Later this young man will go with me to the yamen to get the contract done," once the two received a tael of crushed silver each, Su Daquan arranged for the next steps.
The village chief also chuckled and said, "If you need labor from your side, many families in the village can spare manpower, I will help you find some diligent and honest ones."
Gu Kaiyuan expressed thanks repeatedly, and the two then left.
"Young lady, this place can’t really accommodate people; why don’t we go to the county town first?" Dongmei looked at the chilly small forest and realized that cutting down these trees would take days to complete.
"No need, since we’re here, we’ll naturally settle down here. Drive our carts over, and let’s settle down first."
After sitting for such a long time in the bullock cart, Bai Suihe really didn’t want to move around any more, walking around with a belly was tiring for her.
Dongmei and the others knew they couldn’t persuade her, so they started to get busy, needing to clean up the place quickly so the young lady could rest properly.
Gu Kaiyuan also instructed Zhuang Datou, besides handling the land contracts in the county town, to find a house-building master in the county. Now it’s time to throw some silver around to get things done well.
After everyone had settled down, it was dark.
This time not everyone was living together, everyone was on their own plot, making this month seem particularly quiet.
The sounds of animals on the mountain were so distinct.
Combined with the weather, the sky was particularly gloomy, so the night was exceptionally dark.
Everyone set up their fires, discussing their plans. Apart from the children who were sound asleep, not a single adult felt like sleeping.
Bai Suihe and her group leaned against the mountain face, using oilcloth to wrap around a windbreak, Gu Kaiyuan had already cleared a space with Huang Pingguo.
Bai Suihe kept studying the rear mountain wall, the cliff behind was somewhat steep but fairly even, with a certain slope...
"What are you looking at?" Gu Kaiyuan stopped to rest, seeing Bai Suihe holding up a torch lighting the mountain body, he felt curious.
"These three sides are relying on the mountain; I want to see if there might be falling rocks."
At the time of selection, this place seemed far from the village, but now faced with reality, "I’m afraid building a house here is not very ideal."
Although there are natural shelters here, it’s actually not that great, apart from fears of falling stones, there are issues with sunlight; though cool in the summer, living long-term can pose health issues.
"What’s the matter," Gu Kaiyuan smiled and pointed to the small forest in front, "This whole plot is ours, we can build the house on the outside and make this inside into a small warehouse."
Bai Suihe, "In this village, there’s no need for such a big warehouse, that would be too conspicuous.
I think this place can set up a warm greenhouse to grow vegetables."
Gu Kaiyuan, "A warm greenhouse?" What is that?
Bai Suihe realized that maybe this technology didn’t exist here, but it didn’t matter, she knew it; she grew up in rural areas, worked on building new villages, and had done a lot of things, this greenhouse was one of them.
"Let me tell you about the warm greenhouse..."
Gu Kaiyuan became more and more intrigued, "With this, we won’t fear not having vegetables to eat in winter."
Previously in Shangjing, once winter arrived, the cellars were full of cabbage and radishes, and you would eat them for over half a year. If they could truly be grown, that would be quite enjoyable.
"They can even be sold at high prices," Bai Suihe envisioned silver flying toward her, "Then this place is settled."
The place she once thought had some regrets now seemed like a treasure, and as long as they kept the front entrance secured, anyone wanting to peep or cause damage would have to think carefully.
Gu Kaiyuan, "That does seem feasible..."
Gu Kaiyuan didn’t mention that with their current identity, any exposure would attract attention, now wasn’t the time to dampen the mood.
Bai Suihe chuckled while making plans, even determining where to build the house, right at the front of the mountain nook, perfectly hiding everything behind.
Gu Baijiang also couldn’t sleep all night, Xu Shuanghong stayed close by him, "Baijiang, now that we’re settled down, we should handle our matters too..."
Only by formalizing things could she establish a firm foothold in the Gu Family, managing the sons of the Gu Family. Otherwise, she would feel awkward everywhere here, as if she and her daughter were like half servants in the Gu Family.
"There’s no hurry; there isn’t even a house now, it would be too much of a grievance for you," Gu Baijiang knew this day would come, but continued to delay.
