Chapter 816: Compensation

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The following day, with the assistance of Chunyu and the maids, the plant harvesting was swiftly completed within half a day.

In the afternoon, Manager Qin personally arrived to collect the medicinal materials. As he didn’t have sufficient cash on hand, he had to arrange for the funds from the province. To acknowledge his debt, he wrote an IOU note for Qiao Xuan.

Qiao Xuan happily accepted the note, showing no concern over the matter.

This marked Manager Qin’s first visit to Qiao Xuan!s garden, and as he walked through, he couldn’t help but be astonished and feel a tinge of envy. He couldn’t help but praise what he witnessed, noting the abundance of snow fungus, sugarcane, pineapples, papayas, grapes, pears, lemons, pomegranates, and various other fruits. He even emphasized his desire for a few more bergamots and expressed his anticipation for the upcoming harvest season.

Qiao Xuan responded cheerfully, feeling a hint of guilt. She realized she had forgotten to share fruits with Manager Qin during her last visit to town.

They had hired ten individuals to work on opening up the 20 mu of barren land. Each worker received a daily wage of 35 won.

Opening up the barren land was no easy task. Firstly, they had to clear away all the weeds, shrubs, and miscellaneous trees that occupied the area. Most importantly, the roots of these trees and shrubs needed to be eradicated, which proved to be a challenging endeavor.

The area was thoroughly cleaned before they began the process of opening up the land. Fortunately, it wasn’t a busy farming season, so Qiao Xuan and her family were content to follow the lead rather than feeling rushed. It became apparent that the initial 20 mu of land was not sufficient for their purposes. The lipstick business couldn’t remain a secret, so they decided to increase production, along with the cultivation of cassavas.

Qiao Xuan estimated that 500 mu would be an appropriate size, as exceeding that would exceed her management capabilities. The additional fields would be connected to the existing floral fields, allowing for better management on a larger scale. With 200 mu already assigned to others, the remaining 500 mu would significantly enrich their land.

Qiao Xuan sought the company of her mother-in-law and gathered sixteen families together to discuss the acquisition of the land, with assistance from the Land Officer. It was a small- scale meeting regarding land acquisition compensation.

The field itself held little monetary value, and the individual harvests would be limited. By working together, they could ensure a more substantial yield. Qiao Xuan didn’t say much during the meeting, but she expressed her intentions to the villagers. She desired their land and planned to provide them with abundant compensation in return.

At present, the market value for one mu of good land stood at four liang, while hills and steep terrain were priced at three liang. Well-opened land in mu was valued at five liang, and excellent land commanded a price of six liang.

However, the majority of the available lands had already been opened, with only 20-30 mu remaining unopened. Therefore, Qiao Xuan decided to purchase these lands at the cost of well-opened land, offering 12 liang for one mu.

The villagers were left astounded by this proposition.

“What?”

“How much?”

“12, liang for one mu? Did I hear that correctly?”

“No, no. 1 also heard it was 12 liang!’

“Is she joking?”

“That’s unbelievable!”

Even well-opened land was not valued this highly. As the confirmation from

Qiao Xuan resounded through the crowd, the villagers erupted in excitement.

Of course, they were more than willing to offer their land. Only foolish individuals would pass up such an opportunity!

With 12 liang for one mu, they could use the money to purchase unopened land themselves..