Chapter 30: I Don’t Have Enough Money!

"I know, even so, you are being taken advantage of!" Sun Zhi gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"But I also want to provide a way for the others in the village to survive!"

"If you run into any trouble in the future, I will definitely do everything in my power to help you solve it!"

Sun Zhi shook his head helplessly and added, "The people of Twin Waters Village are living a hard life!"

Lu Chuan fell silent instantly.

To be honest, he was the type of person who responded better to a soft touch than a hard one. If Sun Zhi had taken a tougher stance or tried to force him, he would not have hesitated or felt conflicted at all. But given the village head's tone, he truly did not know what to say. Moreover, the village head was not coercing him, but rather pleading.

"Fine!" Lu Chuan pondered for a moment before continuing, "However, Village Head, let's get the unpleasant things out of the way first."

"A hunting team can be formed. But, only one person per household is allowed. Furthermore, who is qualified to join and who is not—that will be decided by me."

Lu Chuan's voice was soft.

"Agreed!" The village head nodded quickly, a flash of pleasant surprise appearing in his eyes. He had not expected things to go so smoothly. However, his smile faded quickly.

"There is a second condition!"

"Every month, I will set aside five days to organize the villagers for a hunt in the mountains. All game caught during that time will be distributed according to the ratio you mentioned earlier."

"But, outside of those five days, any game I catch while hunting in the mountains on my own belongs solely to me. No one is to lay a hand on it!"

Lu Chuan didn't actually mind letting the villagers live a little better, and he was willing to contribute a bit of his own effort. But the condition was that it must not affect him personally. Five days a month was already quite a lot. If they were lucky, the game caught would be enough for them to divide up.

"Isn't that a bit too little?" Sun Zhi asked with a hint of hesitation in his voice. "How much game can be caught in just five days a month?"

"Village Head, it's not little!" Lu Chuan replied with a smile. "Setting aside the busy farming seasons and the time needed to take care of one's own affairs at home, five days is enough to accomplish a lot. Besides, going into the mountains isn't easy. Preparing enough dry rations and staying out for five days is already a lot; any longer and it might become a matter of life and death!"

"Fine, I'll do as you say!" Sun Zhi thought it over carefully and agreed. He understood that he had no room to bargain. It was a kindness for Lu Chuan to help the villagers, and perfectly normal if he chose not to. After all, when things were tough in years past, few people had helped Lu Chuan.

"Lu Chuan, thank you so much for doing such a big favor for the village! If you have any requests, just say so."

Lu Chuan paused, then nodded. "I want to buy the land title. I plan to expand my house, but if I extend further, the plot belongs to Landlord Zhang. I want you to help me inquire with him about how much it would cost to acquire the title for that plot. Of course, not right now."

Lu Chuan had no money at the moment. In this era, most land was private. Most of the plots in this area had already been bought or sold; they belonged to powerful clans or landlords. The villagers might call it farming, but in reality, it was just tenant farming. They had to pay a portion of the harvest as rent, then pay the annual food tax, and only then would what remained be their own. In a good harvest year, they could barely scrape by, but once a famine year hit, they would fall into deep debt, sometimes unable to even pay the rent, let alone the annual food tax.

"That's not a difficult task! I'll ask for you." Sun Zhi asked with a hint of concern, "With your family growing, you do need to expand the plot, but land isn't cheap. Do you have enough money?"

"You don't need to worry about that!" Lu Chuan smiled. "I'll figure out a way."

"Alright." Sun Zhi nodded and agreed. In this world, a plot of land was just a plot of land; there was no distinction between industrial or agricultural use. Whatever you did on your own land, no one would interfere. But if you built a house on someone else's land, it might be fine if they ignored it, but if they decided to take issue with it, they could tear your house down, and you would have no recourse. That was why, if he wanted to expand, he had to find a way to buy the land.

After a few more brief words, Sun Zhi left. Only then did Sun Laizi approach and ask, "Brother Chuan, are you really going to buy that land? Actually, if you want to expand your house, you can just go ahead and do it! As long as you aren't planting crops, those masters above won't really care what you do."

Lu Chuan smiled. "That's because they can't be bothered to care." He didn't feel like explaining that he intended to build a brick-and-tile house, which would be very comfortable. To avoid trouble, it was better to buy the land outright.

"Su Ruan!" Lu Chuan called out. "Get half a jin of meat for Sun Mian so he can have a little something to nourish himself..."

"Brother Chuan, I can't take this..." Sun Laizi stood up. Having spent a long time in the world, he knew what Lu Chuan meant—the meat was real, but it was also a sign for him to head home.

However, just then, Su Ruan walked out carrying the half-jin of pork.

"Hello, Sister-in-law!" Sun Laizi said respectfully upon seeing her.

"Hmm." Su Ruan nodded.

Sun Laizi didn't stand on ceremony; he took the meat and left, feeling quite happy.

"My dear, is this the brick kiln?" Su Ruan asked, looking with surprise at the strange structure Lu Chuan had built.

"That's right, this is the brick kiln!"

"It's the first time I've ever seen one!" Su Ruan's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Lu Chuan shook his head helplessly. "It's just that I still need some coal." If he only used charcoal, the temperature might not be high enough. It wasn't easy to control, and it wouldn't meet the standards he wanted.

"Coal might be hard to find," Su Ruan said after a pause. "But you could try your luck at the black market, though coal isn't cheap. I don't think we have enough money at home," she added with a wry smile.

Lu Chuan hugged the toddler in his arms and laughed. "The village head was right about one thing: money is hard to earn, and s*** is hard to swallow!"

"Pfft!" Su Ruan covered her mouth and giggled, looking as bright and lovely as a blooming plum blossom.

The toddler frowned, staring at Lu Chuan with curious eyes, a look of confusion on his face as if he were thinking, "Money is hard to earn? But... the other thing is okay..."