On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Daohua left the city in a carriage and went with Yan Shouhou to see the fields and pastures in the photo.

Ganzhou Wei is located in the far west of Xiliang and has a large area under its jurisdiction. The landforms in this area are very diverse.

There are plains suitable for farming, sparsely populated Gobi deserts, deserts filled with yellow sand, and vast green grasslands, but most of them are barren mountains.

Xiliang is generally short of water, and Ganzhouwei has the least rain among the nine.

The city of Ganzhou is located on the plain, and almost all the good fields are designated as military fields, and a few are the property of guards officials.

For people like Daohua who have just moved here, it is basically impossible to buy any good land.

Daohua followed Yan Shouhou to look at the two fields and felt dissatisfied with both.

The reason why she likes Zhuangzi is because Zhuangzi generally has a large area and can be planned and managed centrally. The two fields Yan Shouhou took her to see are considered medium-sized fields, but the area is too small, only about a hundred acres.<

/p>

"Let's go and look at the pasture again!"

When she heard that the largest plots of land were no more than 200 acres, Daohua didn't want to continue and went directly to see the pasture.

......

Renxin Ranch.

When the ranch steward saw Daohua and his party coming, he immediately greeted them enthusiastically.

When Yan Shouhou came over to test the pasture, the master happened to be there. After learning that Yan Shouhou was the new servant of Mr. Xiao's family, he immediately told him to sell the pasture to him.

The ranch steward took a look at Daohua, who was wearing a curtain hat and a white fox fur cloak. He guessed that this person must be the mistress of Xiao Mansion, and the attentiveness on his face became stronger.

"Our pasture is the largest pasture around Ganzhou City, covering an area of ​​50,000 acres. At its peak, we raised tens of thousands of cattle and sheep."

Daohua didn't negotiate with the ranch owner, Yan Shouhou was talking to him.

"Since it is the largest ranch around Ganzhou City, why do you want to sell it?"

The ranch manager sighed: "It's not that the owner's family is in urgent need of money, so there is nothing we can do."

Before coming here, Yan Shouhou had done enough homework and said immediately: "It seems to me that your pasture has been abandoned for a long time."

The ranch manager's smile froze, and when he was about to think of a way to get back, Daohua suddenly spoke.

"Is there a river flowing through this pasture?"

The ranch manager nodded instinctively: "Yes, the Dan River at the foot of Yunlian Snow Mountain flows through this ranch." After saying this, he was surprised to realize that Mrs. Xiao in front of him knew so much about this place.

Daohua: "Since there is a river flowing through it, why is the pasture so barren?"

"Uh..."

The manager of the ranch did not expect that the people in the Xiao Mansion were so well prepared. He inquired about the situation of the ranch clearly and knew that he could not hide it, so he could only tell the truth:

"Mrs. Dissatisfied, since the upper reaches of the Dan River were occupied by the Xiliao people ten years ago, the water in the river flowing through Ganzhou Wei has become less and less. Without the moisture of water, the pasture is getting less and less every year. Naturally,

It became deserted."

Daohua frowned: "Danhe?"

She remembered that it was mentioned in the geographical annals of Ganzhou Wei that the Dan River could be said to be the mother river of Ganzhou Wei. The source of this river was cut off by the Xiliao people. No wonder this land is getting drier every year.

"Yunlian Mountain belongs to Xiliang territory, how come it was occupied by Xiliao people?"

The ranch manager can't handle this.

Why else can Xiliang not beat Xiliao!

Daohua didn't expect a ranch manager to answer her: "I want to see where the Dan River flows."

The ranch manager was a little unhappy: "Madam, the Dan River is to the west of the ranch. Let's go there. The distance is not close."

Daohua: "Then take a carriage."

Now, the ranch manager stopped talking.

Yan Shouhou waved towards the entrance of the ranch. When Cao Chuan saw it, he immediately drove a carriage over with his bald head.

Daohua and Meilanmeiju sat on it directly.

Yan Shouhou looked at the ranch manager: "Can you please show me the way, steward? Since we want to buy this ranch, we naturally have to take a look. After all, your asking price is not low."

The ranch manager had no choice but to fetch horses and accompany Daohua and his party on a trip.

The carriage was not moving very fast, and Daohua sat in the carriage and looked at the pasture carefully. The edge of the pasture was fenced with wooden stakes and wires, and the houses and barns where herders lived could be seen from a distance.

Although it is a bit old, the infrastructure is still good.

Two-quarters of an hour later, Daohua and his party stood in front of the dried-up Dan River.

At this time, the ranch manager said with some anger: "The Xiliao people are so hateful. After occupying the upper reaches of the Dan River, they cut off the water flow to Ganzhou Wei. There may still be some water flowing near Yunlian Mountain.

, but Ganzhou City is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Dan River, and the river water disappeared four or five years ago."

If the Dan River had not dried up, there would be no need to sell the ranch.

Daohua looked in the direction of Lianyun Mountain and murmured: "I will take it back."

The ranch manager didn't hear clearly: "What did the madam say?"

Daohua ignored it, but turned his attention to the barren slopes with crisscrossing ravines on the other side of the river: "Isn't there anyone planting the land over there?"

When the ranch manager heard this, he couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Sure enough, he was from the capital, and he didn't even know that the mountains were barren and unsuitable for planting.

However, in order to sell the ranch, the ranch manager still explained with a smile: "There are barren mountains over there, with steep slopes, dryness and drought, and it is not easy to take care of them. Even if you plant food, you won't be able to harvest much."

Get up."

Daohua: "Let's go over and have a look."

Hearing this, the ranch manager was really speechless.

Of course, no one cares what he thinks.

The stones at the bottom of the Dan River are exposed, and you can reach the other side by stepping on them.

After Daohua arrived on the other side of the Dan River, she checked out the situation on the slopes. It was a bit dry, but she didn't mind. It was just right for growing drought-tolerant corn, potatoes and cotton.

After looking around, Daohua and his party returned to the ranch.

The ranch steward looked at the expressions of Daohua and the others, but unfortunately saw nothing. He could only smile and ask: "Madam, this ranch is really nice. Spring is about to begin. It's the time to raise cattle and sheep. Buy now."

, just right."

"If the owner hadn't been interested in raising animals, he wouldn't have sold such a good pasture. The pasture is a bit deserted now, but with so many powerful people under my wife, I can definitely run the pasture well."
p>

Daohua was too lazy to talk to the steward, so she left the bargaining to Yan Shouhou, then got on the carriage and left the ranch.

Not long after, Yan Shouhou came out.

After years of honing, Yan Shouhou's eloquence and negotiation skills have long been developed, and it is still very easy to negotiate with ranch managers who have never been to other places.

"Girl, the final price of the ranch is twenty-five thousand taels of silver."

Daohua nodded. An acre of lower-class land in Xiliang costs about three taels of silver. Twenty-five thousand taels of silver for 50,000 acres of pasture is considered very cheap.

"Tomorrow when I go to the guard station to register and get the title deed, I will buy the five desolate mountains on the other side of the pasture together."

Hearing this, Yan Shouhou was stunned: "Buy five seats together?"

Daohua: "Yes, just do as I say."

Yan Shouhou nodded, suddenly thought of something, and spoke again: "By the way, girl, the owner of this ranch seems to be Xia Jianren, the commander of the guard station."

Daohua was stunned for a moment: "Who? What did you just say that fellow intellectual is called?"

Yan Shouhou: "Xia Jianren."

Daohua was speechless: "You bitch, you really know how to choose names!"

......

After Daohua agreed to purchase the ranch, the ranch manager came to Xia Mansion and told Xia Jianren the news.

After hearing this, Xia Jianren was very happy: "I finally got rid of the ranch."

The situation of Renxin Ranch, no, it should be said that the ranches around Ganzhou City are almost deserted because there is no water source and the grass does not grow well.

If the pasture cannot be used for grazing, then what else can it be used for?

Nowadays, few people raise cattle and sheep on a large scale. The reason is that they can no longer afford it.

The herdsmen now only raise dozens and hundreds of them to support the sky.

People who have lived in Ganzhou Wei all year round know the situation of the ranch, so no one will buy it. Only owners like Xiao Mansion who come from the capital, do not understand the actual situation of Ganzhou Wei, and have deep pockets will buy it.<

/p>

Xia Jianren clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Xiao Yeyang is a bit arrogant, but judging from his military training, this man is actually quite capable, but I didn't expect that he would marry such a wife who is not very smart."<

/p>

"Fifty thousand acres of pasture, I want to see what Xiao Yeyang's wife is going to do with it?"
To be continued...