I traveled through time, starting with two acres of land and a dog

"Brother Du, Brother Du, is Brother Du at home?" the old man began to shout at the edge of the yard.

When the mother heard someone shouting, she hurried out of the house.

"Oh, it's Uncle Ma, come and sit down," my mother wiped the dust off the long bench with her sleeve.

"How is the scholar's wife? Has Scholar Du returned from school?" The old man asked while making a bowing gesture with both hands and walked to the long bench and sat down.

"Uncle Ma, please sit for a while. Your husband has to hurry. He usually comes back at this time. I guess it's because it rained today and the road is slippery, so he walks slowly." The mother squatted slightly to the left as a return gesture and answered.

"I'll go get you a glass of water!"

"No, no, I'm not thirsty. I'll sit here and wait for the scholar to come back." Old Man Ma said politely while waving his hand.

My mother brought out a bowl of water in a dark brown ceramic teacup and placed it on the bench.

"Have some tea!"

"What a hassle! This is your son, he's grown up so big now and so well behaved. The last time I saw him was in May when he was herding sheep on his grandfather's back." Old Man Ma looked at him and said with a smile.

In order to talk less in front of outsiders, Du Chenyu yawned and reached out for his mother to hug him.

"He is very well behaved, doesn't cry or make trouble, and can play alone for half an hour (an hour)." My mother said as she picked me up and walked into the inner room.

There were footsteps behind the house, probably my father coming back.

Mother held Du Chenyu in her arms, walked through the kitchen, came to the back of the house, and saw her father coming down the back path.

"Dad, Uncle Ma is waiting for you," mother said to father.

"I didn't expect that he would come in person," said the father with a smile, and he knocked the mud off his sandals with a wooden stick on the stone under the eaves, then rinsed them with water from the hose, and soon the mud on his feet was cleaned.

"Hold Huzi for a while, he's sleepy. I'll go feed the pigs and sheep, and then I'll cook," said the mother.

The father rolled up his clothes, wiped his hands, and took Du Chenyu.

"Old man Ma, he must be here to borrow money and ask for help. Leave him alone for a while, and then take the opportunity to lower the price and rent the land." Du Chenyu said in his ear.

"How do you think we can lower the price?" asked my father.

"If he sells his wasteland, it would only be worth 40 taels of silver. He is in a hurry to sell it now because no one has bought it. He thinks that he can either extend the lease for eight years and pay annually, and cut down the trees that are smaller than the size of a bowl, or rent it for five years for about 7 taels of silver and pay it off in two installments." Du Chenyu said

"Well, I'll hold you, don't say anything, you can poke me in my arms if you have anything to say." The father instructed, turned around and let Du Chenyu climb on his shoulders and walked towards the front yard.

"No problem, I know what to do." He then closed his eyes and prepared to go to sleep.

"Oh, Uncle Ma, you are still willing to leave. I kept you waiting for so long. If you need anything, just tell me and I will come right over and do it. Why would you have to run there in person?" My father walked quickly to the front door and said at the door.

"Hey, Mr. Du, you are too polite. I just got here too. You know, what happened to the clerk? The child's mother is so sick that she is vomiting. What should we do? You have been smart since childhood. You have read a lot of books and have a wide range of knowledge. You and the clerk have grown up under our care. Please give me some advice." Rich Man Ma stood up, leaning on a bamboo pole, and said anxiously.

"Please sit down first. There is no rush for this matter. We should think of a solution slowly and make a long-term plan." My father pulled over the broken bamboo chair where I slept every day and sat next to Mr. Ma. He continued:

"Wenshu, I know his character well. He has always been cautious and careful and dares not do anything reckless. Isn't his third uncle the manager in the school? Has he sent back any news? Can you help him get in touch with him?"

"You don't know, his third uncle was implicated and his position as manager was removed. Now the principal has promoted a new school manager, and he hasn't sent back any news. He just said that the problem is not that serious and it will be resolved slowly." Mr. Ma answered anxiously, tapping the ground lightly with a bamboo pole.

"Oh, I see," the father paused, lying quietly in his arms, listening to their conversation.

"This matter is neither big nor small. The society is very turbulent right now." The father thought for a moment and said something meaningless.

"Rebellion is a minor crime. It is a capital crime that will punish all of your clan," said Mr. Ma, looking up at his father.

"Uncle Ma, listen to me," my father said softly, leaning his chair to the left.

"It's not that serious. There's a railway protection movement going on in Chengdu. People waving the banner of revolution are everywhere. Some of the inspection officials and the regiment leaders are also watching the situation. Do you understand?" said my father, tilting his head to the left.

Du Chenyu opened his eyes wide and looked at his father. He didn't expect that his father could see the situation so clearly. No wonder a hundred-year-old dynasty or a thousand-year-old family, as long as the dynasty is in its last years, many people actually understand it very well. A small scholar knows it clearly. Those who are in high positions have a clearer view of the current social situation, allowing these families to prepare in advance, and various forces begin to place their bets.

"Are you saying that there are many people rebelling now? Wasn't the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom destroyed?" Mr. Ma asked uncertainly with his eyes narrowed.

"Talented people emerge in every generation. In a word, money makes the world go round. You know the purpose of those adults. They also know whether the clerk is a revolutionary or not." With his right hand, my father tapped the armrest of the chair.

"That's right, that's right. I know this. As long as he doesn't get beheaded for the time being, I'll sell all the land at all costs. Two years ago, I spent all our family savings to find him a job in the school. Yesterday, his mother took all her jewelry to the village pawnshop, but still couldn't get much, so she had to sell the land," said Ma Laitou with a sigh.

"It's probably too little this time, so it won't work. We can only smooth things over first, stabilize the situation, and not rush to the trial. Then, when the storm has died down, we can bail him out," said the father thoughtfully.

"This is the only way. We need to collect some money from home and borrow some money. Scholar, how about I sell you the semi-cultivated wasteland near yours at a low price? My family doesn't farm anything anyway. It has been fallow for two years. You have a large population now, so you have to rent land to farm anyway." Mr. Ma said with a sincere and tentative tone.

"We can't afford it. We don't have the money. How much do you plan to sell it for per mu? I can help you find someone who wants to buy it." At this market price, Yu Baochang sold dry land at 3 liang per mu and paddy field at liang per mu.

"But Captain Yu bought land from the common people at a low price. He always paid one tael of silver for one acre of good land," my father continued.

"Hehe, you know that Captain Yu loves land, so let's not talk about him. Scholar, you really can buy a few acres. You have helped me so much. I will sell you a few acres at a low price. Don't tell anyone else. It's Captain Yu who said that I lowered the market price." said the rich man Ma, and took out a pipe and started rolling a cigarette in his arms.

"Yeah... Yeah..., you're right. Our family does need farmland. In recent years, there have been droughts and floods. The yields from the land are low and our children are almost starving." The father thought for a while and said.

"Or I can rent the barren mountains from Qinglongliang to Erdaoliang, and use the wasteland to grow crops, and the other steep slopes can be used to graze sheep." The father continued.

"I'll go light a fire. It's okay to rent it. It's a wasteland anyway." Rich man Ma rolled a cigarette, put it in his pipe, got up and went to the fire pit in the house to light it.

"How long do you plan to rent it for and how much land do you plan to rent?" After a while, Mr. Ma lit a cigarette, came out of the inner room, and asked at the door.

"Come on, have a puff," Ma handed the pipe to his father.

"I haven't smoked yet. You can smoke first. I want to rent the entire ridge for four or five years. What do you think about the rent?" My father waved his hand.

"The whole mountain ridge is for rent, from the river to Shijialiang, including Shuijingwan, which is about 20 mu. The rent for dry land is 5% of the income per mu, but we are uncle and nephew, and we don't talk about those. It's a barren mountain and wasteland. I'll give you a discount. % to % per year is enough. Scholar, I still hope you buy it. You know I need cash." When talking about money, old man Ma became shrewd in an instant.

"How about this? I'll give you five years' rent in cash."

"That's great. 3-4 cents per mu of land per year. The ten mu of arable land will be rented at about 5 taels per year. The forest land will not be reclaimed and you can use it to herd sheep. How about 10 taels of silver for five years? 20 taels of silver is also fine. This is the lowest price." Mr. Ma thought for a few seconds, calculated, and said, finally holding up a finger.

"It's too expensive, Uncle Ma. You know, we don't have 10 taels of silver. Four or five taels is enough." My father shook his head and said.

"This can also be paid in installments, and I can pay it back later," Old Man Ma began to bargain.

........

After some bargaining,

It was finally decided that the lease would be for five years at 7 taels of silver, with 5 taels given at first and 2 taels in the third year. The land could be reclaimed for farming on 10 mu, sheep could be raised on the forest land, and trees smaller than the size of a bowl could be cut down.

After the discussion, grandpa also came back from the fields. They exchanged greetings for a while. Father wrote the land lease document, signed it, put his fingerprint on it, and handed it to the rich man Ma. Ma took it and looked at the document carefully, then took it to the edge of the courtyard. There was still some light in the evening sky, so he held the document flat with both hands and read it again and again.

"Well, that's it. It's written very clearly. Xiucai's handwriting is getting better and better." Then Ma put it on the bench and signed his name.

Then his father took out a small cloth bag from his arms, counted it, and heard a rustling sound. It was filled with small change and three Longyang silver dollars (two silver dollars = 3 tael of silver at that time), and handed it to Ma Jingui.

"5 taels, keep it and weigh it."

"I'll obey your command and take the money. It's getting dark and I'll go back!" He folded the land lease document and put it in his arms.

"Uncle Ma, come and have dinner before you leave. It's almost ready," my mother heard the conversation in the inner room and then heard a voice.

"Then eat something before you go," grandpa also tried to persuade her to stay.

"No, no, I have to continue to think of ways to go to Baizhang Inspection Office tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," said Ma Jingui, then turned around and walked out with the black bamboo stick.

"Well, Uncle Ma, take care. Don't worry too much about the paperwork. The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. As long as we find the right person, the problem will be solved. Maybe everything will be fine in two months." My father said as he walked me to the edge of the yard.

"I hope so. Xiucai, you should go back soon. I will come to you as soon as there is something. I am sorry to trouble you. Come to my house next time and we will have a drink." Ma Jingui waved his hand and said.

The father turned back with a smile on his face.

"Finally, we don't have to rent land from Yu Yuedong anymore. That Zhou Paopi's rent is even higher than the harvest," said the grandfather with a smile.

"I'm hungry, time to eat," I suddenly said in his arms, because I knew the whole cause and effect of this matter, and I was afraid that my father would say too much and let the cat out of the bag. After all, it was my father and I who framed and planned this, and we were just following the script.

"Get ready to eat, my grandson is hungry." Grandpa walked back into the house with a smile.

Now that I have the land, I can finally start working hard. Now I just lack manpower, but with land I will have everything, Du Chenyu thought to himself.