The Humble Family's Daughter Has A Spatial Pocket!-Chapter 1040 - 877: Buying Sloped Land, Pastures_2

At that moment, the ranch manager spoke with a hint of anger, "The people from Xiliao are despicable. After taking control of the upper Dan River, they cut off the water supply to the Ganzhou Guard. Near Yunlian Mountain, there might still be some water flowing, but here at Ganzhou City, which is at the middle and lower sections of the river, the water disappeared four or five years ago."

Without the drying up of the Dan River, there would have been no need to sell the ranch.

Daohua glanced toward Yunlian Mountain and murmured softly, "We will take it back."

The ranch manager didn’t hear her clearly, "What did Madam say?"

Daohua ignored him and turned her gaze toward the barren slopes crisscrossed with gullies on the other side of the river, "Isn’t anyone cultivating that land over there?"

When the ranch manager heard that, he couldn’t help but sneer internally. She really was from Beijing, clueless that the mountainous land was barren and unsuitable for cultivation.

Nevertheless, eager to sell the ranch, the ranch manager explained with a smile, "That area is all barren mountain land, with steep slopes, dry and arid, hard to manage. Even if you planted crops, you wouldn’t get much yield."

Daohua said, "Let’s go, we’ll take a look over there."

Upon hearing this, the ranch manager was truly speechless.

Of course, nobody cared about what he thought.

The stones at the bottom of the Dan River were exposed, making it possible to cross to the other side by stepping on them.

After reaching the other side of the Dan River, Daohua surveyed the condition of the slopes. They were dry, but she didn’t mind; they were just right for planting drought-resistant crops like corn, potatoes, and cotton.

After looking around, Daohua and her party made their way back to the ranch.

The ranch manager tried to gauge the expressions of Daohua and her companions, but unfortunately, he could discern nothing and could only ask with a smile, "Madam, this ranch really is quite good. Spring is just around the corner, the perfect time for raising cattle and sheep. Buying it now would be ideal."

"If the owner weren’t so disinterested in animal husbandry, such a fine ranch wouldn’t be up for sale. Though the ranch is a bit desolate now, Madam has many capable people under her command who will surely manage it well."

Daohua couldn’t be bothered to haggle with the manager, leaving the negotiation to Yan Shouhou and instead got into her carriage and left the ranch.

It wasn’t long before Yan Shouhou came out.

After years of honing, Yan Shouhou’s eloquence and negotiation skills had been well-developed. Negotiating with a ranch manager who had never been elsewhere was relatively easy.

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

Daohua nodded; in Xiliang, an acre of low-grade land cost about three taels of silver, so twenty-five thousand taels for fifty thousand acres was quite cheap.

"Tomorrow, when going to the guard station to register and get the deed, buy those five barren hills on the opposite side of the ranch as well."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shouhou was stunned, "Buy all five?"

Daohua said, "Yes, do as I say."

Yan Shouhou nodded his head, then something occurred to him, and he spoke again, "By the way, Miss, it seems the owner of this ranch is the commandant of the Gan State Guard, Xia Jianren."

Daohua was taken aback, "Who? What did you say the commandant’s name was?"

Yan Shouhou replied, "Xia Jianren."

Daohua looked incredulous, "Such a despicable man, and he certainly knows how to name himself!"

...

After Daohua agreed to buy the ranch, the ranch manager went to the Xia Residence to inform Xia Jianren.

Upon hearing the news, Xia Jianren was extremely pleased, "Finally, I’ve managed to unload the ranch."

The situation at Renxin Ranch was, no, in fact, the ranches around Ganzhou City were almost all barren due to the lack of water; the grass wasn’t growing well.

What was the use of a ranch if you couldn’t graze livestock on it?

Nowadays, very few people would rear cattle and sheep on a large scale, simply because they couldn’t afford it.

Herders were just raising a few dozen or maybe a hundred, at most.

Everyone who had lived in the Ganzhou Guard area for years knew the state of the ranches, which is why no one wanted to buy. Only someone like the Xiao Residence, who came from Beijing, didn’t understand the actual situation in Ganzhou Guard, and who was wealthy and spendthrift, would make the purchase.

Xia Jianren shook his head with a click of his tongue, "Xiao Yeyang may be arrogant, but from the way he trains his troops, the man certainly does have some ability. I just wouldn’t have expected him to marry such a senseless wife."

"Fifty thousand acres of ranch land, I really want to see what Xiao Yeyang’s wife plans to do with it."

"To have married such a wasteful woman, Xiao Yeyang really is pitiable!"

...

Due to the delay at the ranch, by the time Daohua and her entourage returned to the Xiao Residence, it was already mid-afternoon.

As soon as she entered the residence, the staff came to inform her: "Madam, Young Master Dong has arrived, and he is currently talking with the old master."