He has a spatial ability and saves three children on his escape route.

Chapter 62 Inspecting the Farm

As Xiao Zhang drove the mule cart, he chattered on and on, saying, "Miss Wen, if the money is plentiful, we can buy a couple more farms."

Farms around Xinchuan County rarely list their properties for sale through real estate brokers. This time, the farm and fertile land being offered for sale is by Master He from Biyun Town.

Master He only had one son in his life. His son was very promising; he passed the imperial examination at a young age and is now working in the capital.

Reluctant to be separated from his son, Master He entrusted his old house and properties to a manager two years ago and went to the capital with his son.

Rumor has it that the steward embezzled the He family's money, which is why Master He returned to Biyun Town from the capital with his men to deal with his family's assets.

Xiao Zhang told Wen Yuxia that the He family's fertile land had just been put up for sale when it was snapped up by his colleagues at the brokerage firm. He bought five acres of fertile land at 14 taels of silver per acre in one go.

"Brother Zhang, could you tell me in detail how many farms are for sale and at what price?" Wen Yuxia asked with a smile.

"Five farms, besides the largest and smallest, the other three each have a small hill with 50 acres of mountain land..."

The three farms have roughly the same amount of fertile land: 1 mu, 90 mu, and 80 mu, and are all located near Biyun Town.

The farmland on the estate was cheaper than buying fertile land separately, costing 12 taels of silver per mu, while the mountain land was 3 taels of silver per mu. After calculating in her mind for a moment, Wen Yuxia spoke up:

"Brother Zhang, shall we go and see these three farms with 1 mu, 90 mu, and 80 mu of fertile land first?"

“Okay,” Xiao Zhang readily agreed.

Yesterday, Master He sent someone to the brokerage to list his farm and fertile land for sale. His colleagues at the brokerage were all busy buying land and didn't have time to find buyers for the farm.

He planned to visit Wen Yuxia today because she had previously asked him to keep an eye out for farms, as his other colleagues probably didn't have any suitable customers.

The thought of being the first person to sell his farm, and the commission he would receive, filled Xiao Zhang with boundless energy.

If Wen Yuxia were to suggest visiting all five farms at this moment, he would agree without hesitation.

On the way back to the city, Wen Yuxia cheerfully cracked her whip and urged the mule forward, while Xiao Zhang slumped in the carriage, staring blankly at the three sales contracts in front of him.

温玉霞一口气买下1百亩良田、90亩良田与80亩良田的那三个农庄，90亩与80亩的两个记在她名下，1百亩的那个记在了温云鸿的名下，

Xiao Zhang was stunned, unable to believe that he could sell three farms in one go and earn nearly 50 taels of silver in commission.

"Brother Zhang, we're home," Wen Yuxia called out as she parked the mule cart in front of the brokerage firm.

Wen Yuxia arranged with Xiao Zhang to go to the gate the next morning to transfer the property, and drove the mule cart south of the city.

"Sister, you said you bought three farms, and the largest one has my name on it?" Wen Yunhong asked uncertainly.

When they first settled in Xinchuan County, he was registered as the head of the household. Wen Yuxia registered the house they now live in under his name, and has now also bought him a farm.

How much grain can one hundred acres of fertile land yield? How much silver can the harvest be sold for each year? Oh my, I don't even want to think about it, it's terrifying! He, he's a small landowner with a farm now!

“Okay, come with me to get the land deed tomorrow,” Wen Yuxia said happily.

After the transfer of ownership, the land deeds of the three farms, as well as the indentures of the 63 servants in the three farms, were handed over to Wen Yuxia.

The siblings, who were owning a farm for the first time, took Lu Zhigang's family to Biyun Town. They planned to spend some time organizing the three farms, as it would take some effort.

The farm closest to town was the one registered under Wen Yunhong's name. Wen Yuxia directed Lu Zhigang to catch the bus, and they arrived at the farm just before dinner.

"Lingyuan Manor," Wen Yunhong said, enunciating each word clearly.

"The name is nice, and the wall is quite impressive," Wen Yuxia commented.

Lu Xiaogang nimbly jumped off the mule cart, ran over, grabbed the door knocker, and banged on it several times, shouting loudly, "The new master is here! Open the door quickly..."

A small door next to the vermilion gate opened in response, and an old man said in a hoarse voice, "Please come in, I'll take you to the main courtyard to rest."

The old owner of the farm returned this time to settle the business. Last night, he sent someone to inform them that the farm and they themselves had been sold to the new owner, Wen Yunhong.

The man knocking on the door said their new master had arrived. Although the old man couldn't tell which of the men was Wen Yunhong, he still showed a respectful expression.

After opening the door, the old man led them to the main courtyard, which was the master bedroom. When they bought the farm, Xiao Zhang had mentioned that Master He had built a master bedroom in every one of his farms.

Passing through the long corridor, we arrived at the main hall, which was fully furnished with a long table, an offering table, an eight-immortal table, chairs, and so on.

Wen Yuxia nodded in satisfaction. Excellent, all the furniture was about 80% new, saving her money by not having to buy additional pieces.

"Master, please have a seat. I'll go and fetch Manager Lin to see you right away!" The old man said, then turned and left.

Just as Wen Yuxia and her brother sat down, a middle-aged man rushed into the main room, panting. He was slightly taken aback when he saw Wen Yuxia and her brother sitting in the chairs, and then knelt down on the ground. "Zhuangtou Lin Youmu greets Miss and Young Master!"

Wen Yunhong looked at Wen Yuxia somewhat helplessly. This burly man was kneeling before him, and he was so nervous. If his sister hadn't told him to stay calm in the face of trouble, he would have jumped off the chair long ago.

Wen Yuxia calmly said, "Get up and answer."

"Miss, I should have gone to pay my respects to you, but alas, I cannot visit your home, so I can only wait here for your arrival," Lin Zhuangtou said respectfully.

In fact, the servants on the farm are not allowed to leave the farm without their master's permission. Lin Youmu's words were merely an attempt to curry favor with Wen Yuxia.

"Chief Lin, the owner of this estate is my younger brother, Wen Yunhong. He's still quite young, so I'm temporarily managing it. Could you tell me about the situation here?" Wen Yuxia said expressionlessly.

To manage the farm well, the servants need to be won over. Wen Yunhong doesn't have that ability yet; getting the farm in order will depend on her.

"Miss, the estate currently has 100 mu of fertile farmland and 50 mu of mountain land. All the fields have been plowed and prepared. After the beginning of spring, 40 mu of wheat will be planted, and after the spring equinox, 60 mu of rice will be planted. On the mountain land, there are 20 pigs, 4 cows, and 150 chickens..." Lin Youmu recounted the situation of the estate in detail.

When he recounted how, before Master He went to the capital, Master He took 60% of all the profits from the estate, while they took 40%, the steward said that after Master He left Xinchuan County, the steward made them hand over 70% of the profits annually.

Wen Yuxia couldn't help but complain, "The servant is even more ruthless than the master."

"Miss, you may not know this, but tenants and landlords usually split the profits 30/70. Master He is kind and generous, which is why he gave us an extra 10%. We're not greedy; 30% is enough for us," Lin Youmu quickly explained, fearing Wen Yuxia might resell them.

As the saying goes, "A new emperor brings a new court," and in many farms, after a change of ownership, nine out of ten servants are sold off by the new master. The farm manager is especially vulnerable. Lin Youmu, who has worked at Lingyuan Farm for over a decade and now has a wife and children, doesn't want to end up with a broken family.

"Everything at the estate will remain the same for now, and the profits will still be split 40/60 as before," Wen Yuxia said calmly.

"Yes." The head of the village was overjoyed; as before, it meant they wouldn't be sold out.

“Miss, all the villagers are waiting outside the gate, wanting to kowtow to their new master. What do you think…”

Wen Yuxia calmly said, "Let them in." She wasn't used to being knelt to, and she was even less used to kneeling before others. In the rigidly hierarchical ancient society, if she didn't want to kneel, she had no choice but to have others kneel before her; she had to endure it regardless of her discomfort.

A group of people, dressed in patched clothes and with sallow complexions, entered the courtyard one by one. Upon seeing Wen Yuxia and her brother sitting on chairs, they all knelt down.

"Greetings, Miss! Greetings, Young Master!"

"Get up, everyone!" Wen Yuxia said calmly.

Wen Yunhong hadn't uttered a word since sitting down. He couldn't handle today's situation, but seeing the ragged, sallow-faced servants, he still felt a pang of sympathy. They were starving and cold; these people were so pitiful.

After the audience, Lin Zhuangtou dismissed all the servants. Wen Yuxia, accompanied by Lin Youmu and the Lu family father and son, went to see the fields and the livestock raised in the mountains.

The endless fields all belonged to her family; the chickens roaming freely on the hillsides, the fat pigs that ate and slept in their pens, and the docile and sturdy yellow oxen—all of these belonged to her and her brother.

After calming her slightly agitated emotions, Wen Yuxia said, "Chief Lin, it's not good for the small hill in the village to remain empty like this. Let's plant fruit trees there."

Now that there's space to plant fruit trees, we need to arrange for people to learn how to graft them as soon as possible.

Back in the main courtyard, Granny Lu had already prepared dinner. Lin Youmu, with great tact, took his leave, reminding Wen Yuxia to bring the estate's account books to her the next day.

"Sister, the house has two courtyards, and it's fully furnished. You'll stay in the largest room; that room has a magnificent canopy bed," Wen Yunhong had already familiarized himself with the layout of each room, and the best one was definitely reserved for his sister.

"A two-courtyard house, with an impressive canopy bed," Wen Yuxia couldn't quite understand what Master He was thinking. If he wasn't going to stay at the farm long-term, why build such a nice house and furnish it with such high-end furniture?

Forget it, why think so much? As long as she's the one who benefits, that's all that matters.