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Chapter 81 Smashing the Pot

  Lin Jinyong did not know that Zhou Shi was paying attention to her, and all her thoughts were on asking Tao Shunqin to buy salt alkali land in the west of the city.

  Pingzhou City West is a vast expanse of salt alkali land that stretches as far as the eye can see.

  Summer has arrived, and after several heavy rains, the shiny salt crystals on the saline-alkali land have either been washed away or penetrated deep into the soil. The wild grass that is not afraid of salt has also sprouted out, covering the ground with a hint of green. This piece of land finally no longer has the dazzling and eye-piercing appearance it had when the salt returned in spring, but the alternating patches of green and exposed earth still look desolate beyond compare.

  Lin Shiquan cautiously hung his hands, honestly following behind Tao Shunqin. As soon as he saw Tao Shunqin stop or speak, he immediately gave it his all, perked up his ears, opened his eyes wide, and mobilized all his strength to listen, look, and remember what Tao Shunqin said and did.

  From the moment he decided to buy this salt pan, Tao Shunqin had been walking on it for several days. He knew that Tao Shunqin was selecting a location, and with the same piece of salt pan, due to the terrain, building dikes might be more laborious than other salt pans, or it might be chosen as a place to dig canals, or it might become a flooded land after reclamation, everything is a matter of study.

  He didn't understand how Tao Shunqin, a bookworm, could know so much. Tao Shunqin smiled and said, "There is beauty in books, there are golden houses in books. But it also depends on who the person is, what kind of books they read, and how they read them. Some people may spend their whole lives reading books but still not understand a simple truth, or even go hungry. On the other hand, some people can't recognize big characters but wear silk and satin, and eat delicacies. Why is that? Nephew, if you figure out this question, you'll understand." After several days, Tao Shunqin finally set his sights on a piece of land in the southwest corner, nearly 100 mu in size, and began to make contact with the officials at Pingzhou Prefecture. The entire city's western salt-alkali land, thousands of mu in size, all belonged to the government, and what the government lacked least were clever people. Almost as soon as Tao Shunqin revealed his desire, someone began to investigate, asking what he wanted to buy it for.

  Tao Shunqin then invited a few people from the government to have dinner and drinks. Lin Shiquan followed him into the flower hall for the first time in his life, where he saw half-exposed breasts of charming prostitutes and didn't dare to look up. He concentrated his spirit to listen to how Tao Shunqin interacted with the officials. When the wine was half drunk, everyone started calling each other brothers, and the prostitutes had charmed them into a state of softness. At this point, Tao Shunqin brought it up, saying that he had dreamed of buying that land and building a house there, which would bring good fortune. He clearly stated that he didn't expect any output from the land, but just wanted to buy peace of mind.

  Some people were not blinded by wine and lust, with the instinct of pulling out hair, they wanted to make things difficult, but were scolded by the most capable person. Under the enthusiastic invitation of brothers, this land was bought as naturally as water flowing into a ditch. The price of the land was naturally at the lowest price, and when measuring the land, 80% of the land actually got 100%. Tao Shunqin asked people to divide the land equally into two parts and set up boundary stones.

  Lin Shiquan didn't understand why Tao Shunqin wanted to divide the land into two parts. Just as he was about to speak, Tao Shunqin interrupted him: "Remember, there are two types of land transactions: one is absolute sale and the other is mortgage, also known as pledge. This contract must be stamped with a red seal by the government, which is called a red contract. If not, it's a white contract, which is easy to dispute and unreliable."

  Then Lin Shiquan saw Tao Shunqin hand over several silver letters to those people, with the one in charge getting the most. He hadn't experienced such things before and couldn't help but feel heartache: "Government officials buying and selling land is what they should do, yet they eat, drink, and take bribes, taking advantage of them for nothing."

  Tao Shunqin smiled and said, "Actually, I didn't lose out either." Then he calculated an account for him to hear, the land price was cheap, got more land, the key is that it's convenient to find these people again when something happens in the future.

  "If you really want to take this path, remember that there is a saying: 'Yan Wang is easy to see, but it's hard to escape from the little ghosts.'"

  Doing business is most important for personal connections, but for a little money, they'd rather avoid trouble than anything else.

  Besides, people have a debt of gratitude for meeting each other, and who knows when they might need their help in the future.

  Tao Shunqin said so.

  Lin Shiquan remembered it clearly in his heart, took advantage of the empty space to find lychees, and only hid the fact that he had gone to the flower building to drink. He told Lin Jirong about this matter from beginning to end: "The land was bought for 70 cents per mu, a total of 80 mu, but in reality it's 100 mu, and only 560 yuan was spent. I don't know how much Uncle Huahua spent on entertaining guests and giving gifts, but I estimate it won't be less than several tens of yuan."

  Lin Jinyong was both surprised and delighted. She was happy that this land was much cheaper than the one she had bought by the willow leaf river, but she was shocked that Tao Shunqin would be so generous. Now it's good, where can she find nearly six hundred taels to repay him?

  Last time selling silvers, she earned less than 58 taels of silver herself and 46 from Huang Niang.

  Two, Lin Jin-yin earned nearly 80 taels, adding to her original amount, a total of only 394 taels of silver, which is equivalent to 315 strings of cash. This shortfall was huge, and she had previously boasted in front of Tao Shun-qin that she didn't need him to buy it, saying she would find the money herself. Now where would this money come from?

  Borrow, can't return the principal in a short period of time, who will lend to her? Borrow from Lin Jianyin again, she doesn't have such a thick skin. Borrow from Tao's family, they haven't even paid off the money for buying the land by the willow leaf river yet, and the monthly interest is still being deducted. She's really too poor. Lin Jianyin was suddenly put in a difficult position.

  It would be better if Tao's family would let her handle the dowry prepared for her, but this is clearly impossible. Lin Jirong sat still for a long time, opened the jewelry box and pondered the gold and silver ornaments inside.

  She first picked out the things that must be worn during the New Year's festival, and couldn't be moved. She chose some simple hairpins and earrings and put them aside. When she opened the bottom layer of her makeup box, a red silk-wrapped eight-treasure golden necklace with a longevity lock, two pairs of adjustable golden bracelets and anklets appeared before her.

  She was stunned for a moment, and her heart felt a dull ache.

  This was what she wore when she was a child, blessed by a high monk, and later followed her to the Lu family. After Ning'er was born, she didn't use other people's gifts of longevity locks, but instead put it on Ning'er, hoping to bless Ning'er with a long life of one hundred years, free from illness, and peaceful prosperity. However, Ning'er still left her, no matter how much she called out, she couldn't wake up...

  Lin Jinyong's fingertips touched the Longevity Lock, and a bloody redness appeared before her eyes. At that moment, Ning'er's blood had stained the character "Shou" (Longevity), what an irony! She gritted her teeth fiercely, from now on there would be no more Ning'er, this thing couldn't guarantee Ning'er's safety either, what was the point of keeping it? It was just a reminder! She lowered her eyes, forcing herself to shift her gaze away from the Longevity Lock, personally wrapping the red silk around the object tightly and handing it to Lüzhi: "Take it to Third Young Master, let him think of a way to exchange it for money."

  "Litchi was shocked: 'Miss, other things are fine, but this one is not suitable.'"

  These things all have marks on them. If they are not destroyed, people will know about it and the rumors will spread far and wide. But if they are destroyed, then they will be sold at a lower price.

  She said calmly, "Have him dismantle it, first take out the gemstones and pearls inlaid on top, then find someone to melt the gold and silver, separate them and sell. This way no one will recognize it." What she most wanted to sell was the crystal lotus hairpin won from Dou Cha, Lin Yuzhen's thing, kept to show off to others.

  "Miss, this is what the mistress has begged for you, it's been blessed by a high monk. If the mistress knew, she would be heartbroken. Besides, even if we sold this, it wouldn't be enough. Uncle said he was going to buy it for you...”

  Lizhi couldn't understand why Miss wanted to buy this so badly, even to the point of desperation. She had been serving Lin Jianrong for a long time and had discovered that beneath her calm exterior, she hid deep anxiety. When they were at the villa, Lizhi thought Lin Jianrong was better, but now it seemed that she was actually getting worse, just hiding it more deeply.

  As for the reason, it all started after that incident when Miss got scared and fell ill. Lizhi felt a bit guilty about it.

  She trembled with her voice and carefully asked Lin Jinyong: "Miss, you don't lack food or clothes, the madam has been preparing dowry for you all along. What are you worried about? Even if you don't want to tell me, slave, for fear of worrying the madam, you should say something to Third Miss, she will definitely help you."

  "Parents and siblings are close, but there are some things that can't be let them know." Her worries were too many, but she couldn't tell outsiders, Lin Jin was silent for a moment, then smiled: "Lychee, scared you? I'm not worried about anything, I just don't want Uncle's money. Sister is getting married, and I'm not a kid anymore, it's already embarrassing to ask Uncle for help, let alone his money, how will our cousins in Qingzhou look at us sisters? This bit of face I must have." She paused, asking Lychee who was hanging her head: "You won't tell others about this, right?"

  "Just like osmanthus, apart from believing in you, I don't know who else to believe."

  Lychee's eyes darted around, she had just wanted to go and talk to Lin Jianyin, asking Lin Jianyin to come and persuade Lin Jianrong. But since Lin Jianrong had already said so much, Lychee naturally didn't want to disappoint her either, so she reluctantly nodded: "Miss, if you don't mind, I still have some money on me, would you like to take it for emergency use?" Lin Jianrong smiled wryly: "I have other ways, I don't need yours, hurry up and go." After Lychee left, Lin Jianrong lay on the couch, staring blankly into space for a long time before finally thinking of a plan. She then called out loudly: "Cherry!" Cherry was a new servant girl selected by Old Lady Gong, nine years old, wearing a green top and blue skirt, with single eyelids, bright eyes, long hands and feet, a pretty face, and a clean appearance. She walked in quietly and stood before the couch, smiling: "Miss, what orders do you have?"

  Lin Jinrong smiled and said: "I'd like to invite a few young ladies over for tea, go prepare some pastries and fruit."

  Cherry went out at the sound, Lin Jinrong called in Gui Yatou, opened the clothes box and took out that newly made jade-colored lotus-flower-patterned thin gauze dress, lightly applied some rouge, inserted that crystal lotus hairpin, and told Dou'er to follow her, personally going to invite Lin Wu, Liu, and Qi.

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