Since she wanted to head back to the village to buy land, Qi Qingyao did not dally. After they were done with breakfast, she called for a carriage on the road and they immediately left for Linquan Village. She bought some souvenirs for Ma Sanye on the way and when they returned to the village, they went directly to his house.

Ma Sanye was very happy upon Qi Qingyao's arrival. The child had previously given him another two catties of beef, a meat only eaten by the rich. What good deed had he done to deserve such a nice gesture from her?

​​

Matron Ma was so happy that she was grinning from ear to ear as she hurried to brew some tea for her guests.

She even asked the three children if they wanted to play with her grandchildren. Dabao and the others really wanted to play, but they turned to look at their mother instinctively. Only when Qi Qingyao nodded lightly did they run to the side of the house to play with Matron Ma's grandchildren.

In the central hall.

Qi Qingyao asked, "Village head, you said before that I am entitled to buy land and build a house in the village, yes?"

"Of course. You're not married and you have kids, the two boys of which are Qi. Even if you no longer have ties to the Qi family, you're still part of this village. Once your Dabao and Xiaobao are all grown up, they'll also be getting married so if you want, you can write in an application then," replied Ma Sanye.

"Is the size of the area fixed?" Qi Qingyao asked.

"You'd have to pay for the land you're applying for, so it depends on your financial situation," Ma Sanye replied swiftly.

Qi Qingyao rubbed her chin in thought, then stretched out her fingers.

....

Since Qi Qingyao wanted land, the village head immediately brought Qi Qingyao to take a look at the available plots. Qi Qingyao brought Jiang Yeqian and Si Jin along with her to follow the village head. After settling on a piece of land, Qi Qingyao handed the money over, quickly and with finality. The village head had also been quick with matters on his side, especially since Qi Qingyao had paid him an extra ten taels in handling fees. The next day, Qi Qingyao's land was approved. It was roughly a thousand square meters of land. With the addition of the front and back courtyard, there would be no difficulty in concluding that the total area was 1500 square meters. This area of land had given many of the villagers a fright, as the majority of them could only afford one or two hundred square meters. When a man became an adult, he would take a wife and the village would gift him a cut of the land that was worth a mace of silver. It was not cheap, but it was not expensive either…

Qi Qingyao had been able to buy such a large plot in just one go, so this naturally led to some feelings of resentment among the villagers. However, no one dared say anything. Now that everyone knew that Qi Qingyao had some ties with Heir Pei, it was better for them not to offend her.

However, when this matter finally reached Madam Wu's ears, it came as shocking news.

The members of the old Qi family were now akin to the scum at the bottom of a pot.

That lowly little girl was really going from a life on a farm to a life of luxury.

A lot of the people who had thought that Qi Qingyao would leave the village were also shocked.

After the land was approved, they gathered to discuss it.

"Is she actually going to stay in the village?"

"She'll always be one of us, there's nothing weird about her staying in the village. If the four of them, a single mother and three children, had gone to Qingzhou City, they'd be eaten up until no bones were left."

"That's true, it doesn't seem like she has any skills to survive in the metropolis. She doesn't know any needlework. Even if she's no longer a fool now, she still doesn't have a mind for business. She can't possibly earn money as a maid in some rich family's home if she goes to Qingzhou City. Who would take care of her three children?"

"Hey, but what can she do if she stays in the village?"

Everyone was lost in thought.

Suddenly, someone spoke up.

"Didn't she win the old Zhang family's land and farm? Doesn't that mean that she already has some property? She'll be able to survive if she does well in farming."

After all that has been said, they thought back to how Qi Qingyao had returned. She was all dressed and dolled up so exquisitely that they could not help but wonder, 'Does she know any farming?'

She did not look like someone who would farm the land herself...