Secrets cannot be kept in a small mountain village. The unpleasant incident between Qin Zhao and the Chen family had spread throughout the village last night.
The Chen family clearly didn't want to rent the house to Qin Zhao anymore, so many people were discussing privately, wondering what Qin Zhao would do in the future.
Li Dali had received favors from Qin Zhao and wanted to help him.
But last night, he just asked his wife if he could clean up the small house in the backyard and rent it to Qin Zhao, and he was scolded by his wife.
So I never dared to mention it again.
After hearing Qin Zhao's intention, Li Dali asked curiously, "You want to rent a field?"
Qin Zhao: “Yes.”
Li Dali was a little surprised.
Everyone knows that Qin Zhao is a well-known sickly person in the village. Going up the mountain to collect herbs can cost him half his life, so he can't do any farm work.
Why did you change your mind now and want to rent the land
Li Dali thought about what happened yesterday and suddenly thought of a possibility: "You don't want to build a house in the village, do you?"
Linxi Village has its own rules. The village allows outsiders to live here, but they cannot build private houses in the village at will. They can only rent them.
Unless there is a title deed or lease.
Once you have a land deed, you have to pay land tax, and then you are considered half a villager.
Therefore, if outsiders want to live in the village permanently, the first thing they do is to find a local to buy or rent a piece of land.
After all, for farmers who make a living by farming, even if the land tax is taken into account, renting land is much more cost-effective than renting a house.
This is how Li Dali's wife's family moved to Linxi Village.
Qin Zhao did not hide it and nodded: "Yes."
Li Dali looked at Qin Zhao and couldn't help feeling a little curious.
Renting land and building a house will definitely cost a lot of money. I heard that this man takes medicine every day and is so poor that he can hardly afford to eat.
How can there be money to do this
Li Dali half-jokingly asked, "Did you get lucky and make some money recently?"
Qin Zhao shook his head: "No."
He said this, but subconsciously glanced at the fish basket in his hand.
Ever since the Chen family left, this little fish has been sinking to the bottom of the water and refusing to pay attention to anyone. From Qin Zhao's perspective, he could only see its bright red dorsal fin.
… He is still angry.
However, it seems that his luck has indeed improved a lot since he got it.
Moreover, if it weren't for Xiaoyu helping him find rare herbs, he wouldn't be able to afford the deposit even if he wanted to rent the land.
It's not bad to say that I'm lucky.
Qin Zhao thought to himself.
Li Dali's words were originally just a joke, so he didn't ask any more questions, but said, "However, I still advise you to think about it for a few more days."
He was an honest man, and said truthfully: "Let me be frank with you. My two acres of land is not very good. The yield per acre has not increased in recent years. Otherwise, I would not rent it out as idle land, right?"
Qin Zhao: "But now in the village, only your family has idle land."
Land is a hot commodity wherever it is, especially for villages that rely on farming for their livelihood. As long as there is enough labor, the more land the better.
As for whether the soil is fertile and the yield is high, although these are important, they are definitely better than having no land to cultivate.
Moreover, as long as you are diligent and grow half crops of grain and half of vegetables, not only can you solve your own food problem, but you can also send the excess to the town to sell.
After a few years of this, the rent will basically be nothing.
Li Dali naturally knew all this. If someone else asked him to rent land, he might not be so hesitant.
But it happened to be Qin Zhao.
… Can this sickly plant really work in the fields
Li Dali did not ask any more questions, but said: "My family's land is rented annually. Including taxes, the rent per mu is three bushels of wheat. The rent will be collected in late June next year."
The main crop grown in Linxi Village is wheat. The winter here is not too cold, so wheat is usually planted in autumn and matures in late June of the following year.
The land tax was also paid around that time.
Li Dali said, "It's only the middle of March now. Since you saved my life before, I won't ask you for more rent for these three extra months. Go back and think about it for a few days. If you are sure you want to rent it, let's go to the village chief to sign the lease tomorrow."
Qin Zhao cupped his hands: "Thank you very much."
"No need." Li Dali waved his hand. "I don't understand what you are planning. You don't really want to work in the fields, do you?"
Not to mention that he didn't understand, Jing Li couldn't figure it out either.
He couldn't even imagine the scene of Qin Zhao working in the fields.
This guy probably can't even lift a hoe
Moreover, he originally thought that Qin Zhao stayed here only because of his poor health and could not leave for the time being.
He rented a house in the village to live in temporarily. Once he recovered, he should leave here to investigate his life experience. Why did he want to rent land and build a house here
Has he decided to settle down in this village and not continue to explore who he really is
Jing Li looked up at Qin Zhao from the bottom of the water, totally unable to guess what this man was thinking.
As if noticing his gaze, Qin Zhao lowered his head and looked over.
Jing Li didn't expect that he would suddenly lower his head. He was so scared that his whole body trembled, and he quickly swung his tail and sank to the bottom of the water.
He's still angry!
Naturally, his little trick did not fool Qin Zhao, who smiled secretly.
Li Dali looked up and happened to see Qin Zhao's smile: "..."
No, what was so funny about his words
"I will find a way to deal with the farmland myself," Qin Zhao said. "I will come to sign a lease with you in three days."
Seeing that he was so determined, Li Dali stopped trying to persuade him and nodded in agreement.
Anyway, his field will have to be left idle for the time being, as he is already busy with the few acres of land he cultivates.
Qin Zhao was about to leave when he saw the shallots that Li Dali was planting in the yard. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Are you selling these shallots?"
Li Dali turned around and went back to chopping wood, waving his hand nonchalantly: "It's just a few scallions. They'll grow again after we cut them, and we can't even finish them. If you want, just cut a couple. I won't charge you."
Qin Zhao thanked him and bent down to cut a handful of green onions from the ground.
After returning home, Qin Zhao put the green onions on the stove, took out the things for medical examination in the backpack and put them away, and finally emptied the fish basket and poured the little koi back into the wooden barrel.
The little koi fish wagged its tail, swam to the bottom of the barrel, shrank into a small corner, and remained silent and sullen.
Stupid Qin Zhao, he actually didn’t coax him before going home.
He's running away from home tonight!
Qin Zhao fiddled with the water and asked, "Are you still refusing to pay attention to me?"
Jing Li did not respond.
"What happened? Are you blaming me for not coming back in time to save you?" Qin Zhao paused and asked softly, "Or are you unhappy because you saw that kitten getting close to me?"
Jing Li: “!”
The little koi's secrets were exposed and it trembled visibly, with its fins moving uncomfortably.
Qin Zhao understood: "So you are jealous."
I'm not jealous!
Jingli shook his fins in protest.
Qin Zhao may not have thought too much when he said this, but he has a human soul. How could he not know what jealousy means
He just couldn't change back to human form, so he was staying at Qin Zhao's place, and in essence, he was just a landlord and a tenant. Was it reasonable for a tenant to be jealous of a landlord
What's more, the other party is a cat.
Why would he be jealous of a cat for no reason? Isn't it shameful!
"Okay, I know." Qin Zhao reached into the water and touched his head soothingly. "I didn't know my little fish cared so much about this. I will pay attention to it in the future and not get close to other small animals. Is that okay?"
My little fish.
Jing Li's heart trembled.
Qin Zhao looked very gentle and serious when he said this, as if he was making a serious promise and not just doing it perfunctorily because he was just a fish.
That’s so foul…
Jing Li stared at the face blankly and felt a little short of oxygen.
Qin Zhao was extremely talented in coaxing people. He said in a gentle voice, "Don't be angry. I'll make you scallion pancakes, okay?"
Scallion pancake!
Jing Li felt greedy when he saw Qin Zhao holding the onions just now. When he heard him mention scallion pancakes, Jing Li instantly heard a gurgling sound from his stomach.
Not only does the little koi eat the most among all fish, but it also gets hungry very quickly.
Although he didn't exercise much, he wanted to eat all the time, and the two meals a day in the village could not meet his needs.
With the beauty and the delicious food, Jing Li was no longer angry.
"Are you not angry anymore?" Qin Zhao touched him for a long time. Seeing that Xiaoyu did not resist, he retracted his hand a little, and his pale fingertips hung on the edge of the wooden barrel: "If you are not angry, prove it."
The little koi hesitated for a moment, swung its tail, glided out of the water, and kissed Qin Zhao's fingertips.
Bo —
With a slight sound, the little koi fell back into the water.
They have done this action many times between them. The little koi cannot speak, so he has to rely on these actions to express his joy and anger.
For example, when Qin Zhao extended his hand to him, if Jing Li was in a good mood, he would lean over and kiss him to express his love.
But if you are in a bad mood or don’t want it, just go up and bite him gently.
He did this simply to show that he was no longer angry, nothing else meant.
The little koi's cheek felt a little hot, and it hid in the water, thinking silently.
He didn't notice that Qin Zhao was also a little absent-minded.
There was still a moist and tingling feeling on his fingertips. Qin Zhao lowered his eyes and looked at the few crystal drops of water remaining on them, not understanding the reason for the throbbing in his heart just now.
But... it felt pretty weird.
Qin Zhao didn't think any more about it. He gently touched Jing Li's head, got up and walked to the stove to knead the dough.
Chop the green onion, wrap it in the kneaded dough, and then fry it in a pan over low heat for a while.
A plate of scallion pancakes came out of the pot quickly. Qin Zhao brought it to the table, but saw that the little koi had fallen asleep in the water.
…That’s right, he must be very tired after being chased by that wild cat across half of the village today.
But no matter how tired it was, the little koi fish wagged its tail unconsciously when it smelled the aroma of the scallion pancake, as if it was about to wake up.
Qin Zhao laughed secretly in his heart, turned around and put the scallion pancake back on the stove to keep it warm.
It’s better to wait until it wakes up before eating.
Yesterday, in order to help Chen's grandmother with her illness, Qin Zhao went to see Doctor Ge. In addition to asking about her medical history, he also asked about the news of Wushan ginseng.
Doctor Ge is very efficient. He spread the news of selling black mountain ginseng yesterday morning, and many clinics in the town wanted to buy it.
Although it has not yet been determined who it will be sold to, the matter is basically a foregone conclusion.
Because of this, Qin Zhao felt confident to talk to Li Dali about renting land.
In fact, Jing Li and Li Dali both thought that building a house was too complicated. Qin Zhao did this for only two reasons.
The first is that I don't want to live under someone else's roof anymore, and the second is that now that I have some money, I naturally want to improve my living environment. Why should I live in this cramped little house
besides…
If this little fish could really bring him good luck, he couldn't always let it live in a small wooden barrel.
He needs to build a yard with a pond for his little fish.
Qin Zhao poked the little koi that was sleeping on its belly on the water, thinking this in his mind.