CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: RECLAIMING WASTELAND

"Good girl, you should just stay at home, that work in the field is not something you can do." Yang Dachuan shook his head, disagreeing with bringing Yang Chuxia along.

"Dad, I can do it. Let me try. If I can’t handle it, I’ll just come back, okay?"

"Tsk, you really don’t act like a proper young lady. Which girl would willingly go to the fields and dig the earth? If your hands get calloused and your skin turns dark, and you can’t get married, I’ll be happy then." Hearing Yang Dachuan and Yang Chuxia’s argument, Yang Ruoqiu came out of the house and mocked Yang Chuxia.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia glared at her fiercely and retorted, "Hmph, if someone with such a malicious mother can get married, what do I have to be afraid of? Just mind your own business."

"Yang Chuxia, who are you talking about?"

"Whoever answers, that’s who I’m talking about."

"You..."

"You what, you!" Yang Chuxia said annoyed, "If your mouth isn’t slick enough, don’t try to stir up trouble. You’re just wasting my time."

Speaking, Yang Chuxia spotted the Yang Family’s idle shovel in the yard. She grabbed it and shouted to the house, "Grandma, I’m borrowing your shovel! After all, Uncle Four is resting at home and doesn’t need it."

After saying this, Yang Chuxia didn’t wait for Old Lady Hua’s approval and dragged Yang Dachuan out of the yard. By the time Old Lady Hua came out, Yang Chuxia was nowhere to be seen.

Enraged, Old Lady Hua was about to scold Ms. Wang, but Yang Qingrui was quite clever. To save his mother, he lied that the Land Officer’s grandmother wanted to see her, sending Ms. Wang out. This left Old Lady Hua staring angrily.

Meanwhile, Yang Chuxia and Yang Dachuan walked towards the foot of the mountain, just in a different direction this time.

"Dad, this isn’t the same place we went to last time, right?"

"The unfinished land from last time wasn’t assigned to our family. Last time, I saw a large empty space at the bottom of West Mountain, and no one went there to open up the wasteland. So let’s go there now."

"Dad, if we clear the land, it’s ours, right?" Is it that simple during this time? If so, wouldn’t every family go and clear wasteland? After the wasteland freezes for a winter season, killing all the wild grass roots and insects, they could start planting crops the following year.

As expected, Yang Dachuan shook his head, "It’s not that simple. First, I’ll clear the land, then go find Grandpa Land Officer to pay for it and get the deed. Wasteland is cheap, only 500 coins per acre."

"Dad, since wasteland is so cheap, why don’t the villagers open up the wasteland?" Yang Chuxia noticed that there weren’t many villagers clearing wasteland.

"Silly child, opening up wasteland is tiring. It takes a lot of time to dig up an acre of land, shovel by shovel, and then even more time to cultivate it. It’s troublesome, so villagers prefer not to dig. Instead, they have more time to find work in town. After earning money, they can even buy paddy fields."

"Oh, I see. Once our family earns money, we’ll buy a paddy field too."

Yang Dachuan smiled upon hearing this.

After about half an hour, they finally arrived at the so-called foot of West Mountain. At first glance, the vast wasteland had waist-deep wild grass. To open up the wasteland, they would definitely have to cut the grass first.

"Dad, I think it would be better to clear this land in the fall. By then, the grass can be burned off easily, saving a lot of effort compared to cutting it now."

"I work slowly, and if we wait until the fall, who knows when we’ll finish? Let’s start now, I’ll dig slowly. Besides, if we wait until the fall when it’s easier to work, who knows if someone else will have already claimed this land."