Ziying and Lin Kangping were naturally unaware of everything that had happened in the old house, and they were enjoying each other's company. Because for the next few days, they didn't need to go out to visit relatives anymore, Lin Kangping accompanied Ziying every day. Ziying's two feet were injured, but her right foot was more serious, and whenever she went out or came in, it was always Lin Kangping carrying her. Shen saw this and felt both happy and worried, happy that Ziying had found someone who truly cared for her, but worried that the two would get too close and do something to tarnish their reputation, given what had happened with Ziping before. Fortunately, Lin Kangping still knew how to be discreet and would restrain himself a bit when there were guests around, so Shen just turned a blind eye.

  Zi Fu is preparing to go to Beijing for the exam, and Shen Shi can't idle around. Originally, Lin Kangping wanted to send Zi Fu over, but there are still some things that haven't been taken care of here. Zi Fu said he had already made an appointment with his fellow students, and this time four people from Bai He Academy passed the imperial examination, so they agreed to travel together. Lin Kangping suggested that it would be best for them to divide the silver tickets into small denominations, each piece of clothing sewn with two tickets. Shen Shi listened and was busy disassembling clothes, sewing silver tickets, fortunately, the guests at home were gradually decreasing, and it wasn't too tiring.

  On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zifeng set out on his journey to Beijing. The distance was far and he was worried that something might delay him along the way, so he left early with plenty of time to spare. The four of them rented a horse-drawn carriage together. Lin Kangping asked Zifeng to take a letter with him, inviting Zifeng to stay in his house, where there were two young servants who would make it convenient for him to come and go.

  As they were about to leave, Zeng Rui-xiang solemnly told Zi-fu: "Regardless of whether you pass or not, you must keep a calm mind. Studying is not something that can be accomplished overnight, and exams are not necessarily going to go well just because you study hard. There are many external factors at play, and people have different opinions on the same thing - don't force it. After all, this is the imperial court, so be careful in everything." Zi-fu repeatedly nodded in agreement. Shen-shi was crying too much to speak.

  After a few more days, Ziqing's foot was able to walk, and Lin Kangping wanted to take her out, saying that he wanted to show her around. It turned out that Lin Kangping had taken pity on Ziqing and had promised Zeng Ruijiang when he proposed marriage earlier. He wanted to buy land nearby and build a house so that Ziqing would be closer to her mother's home and could return whenever she wanted.

  Lin Kongping once again discussed this matter with Zeng Ruixiang and Shen, who were both willing and overjoyed. Which parents in the world would be willing to have their children far away? The two of them also helped think carefully about which places nearby were more suitable.

  Actually, the east side of Zi Qing's house is a bit behind, and there is a piece of wasteland with about 20 mu. However, most of it is uncultivated reed marshes, overgrown with reeds as tall as half a person, scattered in patches. There isn't a large continuous area, and the actual usable dry land is less than 10 mu, which is also fragmented. Additionally, there's a small patch of bamboo forest, so it has been abandoned all along.

  This time, Zi Qing is going to visit the maternal home of Ah Po Tian's family, Ling Shang Village. It is said that behind the village there is a large wilderness mountain. The village has few people and has been empty for a long time. Because of the good weather, Zeng Rui Xiang invited Shen Shi to go out for a walk together. Zi Yu Zi Xi also wanted to follow along, in the end it became a whole family outing. The rapeseed flowers by the roadside had already begun to bloom sporadically, and farmers had started working in the fields in twos and threes.

  Ziying really likes this simple rural life, of course, on the premise that she doesn't have to work personally. Thinking that her own landlady-like rice worm career is about to begin, her heart is even more filled with longing.

  The village on the ridge has a relatively flat small road from the town, just near the private school in the town. From Zi Qing's house, it takes only two or three minutes to walk past. There are only about ten households in the village. Behind the village, there is an abandoned ditch. On the other side of the ditch is that piece of barren mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there is a large area of flat land with sparse pine trees at the edges. The red soil needs to be fertilized well for planting fruit trees. Watermelon can't be grown here, not because it's sandy, but because it's full of wild grass and not too barren.

  "This is also too big, it's almost a hundred acres. Such a large piece of wasteland, even if a whole family moves in, it's still too remote." Zeng Rui Xiang immediately vetoed.

  "What if Wan Yi Kangping is not at home, and Qing'er dares not live alone? There are also jackals coming and going at the foot of the mountain on this side." Madam Shen said.

  Zi Qing and Lin Kang didn't say a word, but Zi Xi spoke up: "Father and mother, you're being too hasty. Sister hasn't said whether she's buying or not, nor what she'd do with it if she did buy it. You're worrying before anything has even happened."

  Lin Kangping took a look at Ziying and said to go back and discuss. After the family went back, Ziying led everyone to stand by the reeds again and said that she still liked this place, but the key was how to design it. If designed well, they could plant lotus flowers, raise fish, and also raise ducks and geese, which would be a great deal. However, the project would be huge, requiring them to dig up the reeds and clear the silt from the pond, which sounded quite troublesome.

  Zeng Ruixiang also expressed his opposition, saying: "This land is too wasteful, it's better to just buy a piece of barren land. Moreover, the cost of clearing this land is even more than the silver needed to buy the land, it's not worth it."

  Ziying listened without comment, and after returning home, she discussed with Lin Kangping that the land on Ling Shang Village could be bought first, and it would still be possible to build a courtyard wall and plant orange trees. As for the land in Lüweitian, Lin Kangping said not to rush, and they should find an expert in gardening to take a look before deciding. He still understood Ziying's thoughts, and having their home next to her mother's made it more convenient for them to come and go.

  "But such a large piece of wasteland planted with fruit trees, must hire people to take care of it, let alone raise thousands of chickens and dozens of sheep. If conditions permit, put in a few wild rabbits, a few wild chickens, best also come a few sika deer, later you can go hunting or something." Zi Qing began to fantasize.

  Lin Kongping thought for a moment and said: "In the past, when I was at the Wen's house, Wang Shu, who was in charge of the flower garden, and I were quite good. His wife had always been in the kitchen, but this year she is getting older. The old servants of the Wen family usually leave when they are around 50 years old. Why don't I go find them? If they are willing to come over, that would be best. Their children are all at the Wen's house, and after so many years, the old couple has some silver to support themselves in their old age, so it might not be easy to invite them."

  "Give it a try, it's up to us, no need to sign a contract, just hire them directly. When we're busy, we can ask for temporary workers."

  "I have two young servants by my side, who have been with me for two years and are now staying in the capital. I am currently relying on them to manage my jade business in the capital, so using them to look after the orchard might be a bit of a waste of their talents. Moreover, I think that maybe someday I will open my own shop or something, and they might still come in handy."

  "You said open a shop, I think that one thousand two silver coins would be better spent buying two shops or some paddy fields, this is more stable."

  "It's better to buy a house instead, I'm not at home, and collecting rent is quite inconvenient."

  The two of them had discussed and agreed, and then chatted for a while. Lin Kangping would be returning to the capital after the Lantern Festival, and except when sleeping, he was almost always by Zi Qing's side. Fortunately, the Zhen family no longer treated him as an outsider, and apart from occasionally teasing him with a few words, Shen Shi had observed them for so long that she knew they were both discreet, and didn't say anything more about it. Moreover, there were always many people in the house, coming and going, so nothing improper could happen.

  The Lantern Festival passed quickly, and on the first day Lin Kangping opened his office, he spent 100 taels to buy the small slope land under the wild mountain. The area of the wild mountain was too large, and it was impossible to take care of it. Zi Qing was not a person with great ambitions either. Things had to be done step by step. Lin Kangping also worried that Zi Qing would work too hard, so they both gave up without hesitation.

  Zi Qing took a look at the deed and asked, "Isn't it one hundred mu? Why did you only spend this little silver?"

  Lin Kangping spent some loose silver to grease the wheels, so that piece of land was bought at the price of a barren mountain, one or two silver coins per mu, and it's said there are 100 mu with some extra.

  Ziying glanced at Lin Kangping with a slanted gaze, smiling as she said: "No wonder people often say that businessmen are treacherous. You're indeed someone who has rolled around in the business world and knows how to take advantage of loopholes. That piece of land is situated between barren mountains and wasteland, spending a small amount of money to save a large sum. You should know that according to the price of wasteland, it's worth over 200 taels of silver."

  Lin Kongping saw Zi Qing's smiling face, his heart itched, and he deliberately gritted his teeth and pinched Zi Qing's cheek, saying: "Well, I've been running hard for most of the day, and I finally managed to save over a hundred taels of silver. If my wife doesn't praise me, that's fine, but how can she scold me?"

  Zi Qing's face turned red after hearing this, and she retorted: "Don't talk nonsense, Zimei heard you scolding her, who is your wife? It's too early to say, no one can predict the future."

  Lin Kangping's face sank after hearing this, and he said: "Qing'er, I don't mind what else you say, but just can't say that we won't make it. My heart aches when I hear that. This life, I've only recognized you as the one, you can't escape, and don't even think about escaping."

  Ziying saw that he had really changed his face, and hurriedly pulled at his clothes. Just then, Zeng Rui Xiang came in to ask Lin Kangping if he was going to Anzhou or not. Lin Kangping happened to be planning to go to the pawnshop, so he followed along. Ziying's heart still felt uneasy, worried that he was still holding a grudge.

  Lin Kongping's luck was good, and in less than two days, he bought two shops for a thousand taels of silver. The shops were located in a busy area, but there was no backyard, and the annual rent was fifty taels. Shen Shi also bought a shop and 100 mu of paddy fields. Last year, the income from the family's watermelons and fruit trees was over three thousand taels, while the income from raising chickens and growing rape and vegetables was two hundred taels. The income from the shops and paddy fields was almost one thousand taels. Because Zeng's shops and paddy fields were all rented out and scattered around, outsiders couldn't imagine that the Zeng family now had a considerable amount of assets: ten shops and 320 mu of paddy fields.

  Lin Kangping handed over the rent of 100 taels to Zi Qing, who didn't want it at first. Lin Kangping insisted: "My own daughter-in-law is raised by herself, and you can buy some new and interesting things. Listen, take it. And these."

  Because the 1,000 taels of silver had been used to buy a house, Lin Kangping knew that Ziying no longer had any money on hand. This time, he left all the deeds and contracts with Ziying. In Lin Kangping's opinion, these should all be registered under Ziying's name, but according to the laws of this dynasty, unmarried women did not have their own household registration and could not own property. When Ziying found out, she was quite disdainful.

  "This holiday, we didn't even have a chance to talk alone, and someone followed us when we went up the mountain to pick eggs. Be good and wait for me at home. The wall of the orchard will be built next time I come back, and as for the land by the reed pond, I'll talk about it with you after I find someone who understands these things. Don't worry about any of this, I'll take care of everything, don't worry, I'll definitely give you the home you want." After saying that, he tightly held Zi Qing's hand for a long time, then said "wait for me to come back" and hastily returned to Beijing.