Chapter 189: Fruit Tree Saplings

By the time they arrived at the estate, they could see rows upon rows of neatly planted fruit trees from a distance.

Following the mountain’s slope, the trees were planted all the way up to the mid-mountain level.

Yan Lao’er grinned.

They had found the right place!

This time, he got straight to the point and told the estate steward that he had come based on the old lady’s recommendation.

The steward asked rather casually how many saplings he wanted to buy.

Yan Lao’er rubbed his hands together and said, “Two hundred.” Afraid the man would find it difficult to accommodate, he quickly added, “As long as it’s a tree, I’m not picky.”

The steward walking ahead nearly tripped.

Not picky? Even if you wanted to be picky, I’d have to have that many saplings for you to choose from!

He turned around, his expression a little less pleasant than before.

“Are you messing with me?”

Seeing that the steward misunderstood, Yan Lao’er hurriedly explained, “My bad, I didn’t explain properly. My family wants to buy them, and when the villagers heard about it, they all wanted to join in. After pooling together, we need this many. We’re really not picky—any saplings will do. Once they bear fruit in the future, everyone can share and taste them together.”

The steward still looked doubtful. He had never heard of country folk buying this many saplings all at once.

“These saplings are sold by age. Even the one-year-old ones cost thirty wen each. You want two hundred—do you have enough money?”

Yan Lao’er felt the pain as he pulled out his silver, quickly showing his purchasing power before just as quickly tucking it away.

The steward’s expression softened considerably.

As long as he wasn’t here to cause trouble.

As for how stingy these rural folk were, he didn’t mind. Farmers were like this—most had never seen much silver in their lifetime.

“There aren’t that many saplings available, only about a hundred or so. The exact count needs to be checked. Since you’re not picky about the variety, I won’t take you over there. I’ll take a deposit of one hundred wen first. Three days later, you bring people over to collect the saplings and pay the remaining amount.”

“Why not enough? There are so many trees on the mountain!” Yan Lao’er glanced at the lush greenery covering the mountainside.

Right now, the trees were fruiting, and the mix of green and yellow fruit was particularly eye-catching.

“Those are accounted for and can’t be touched.”

The steward explained his business model openly. “These hundred or so saplings were planted last year from cuttings, and only this many survived. If you want more, I can sell you two-year-old ones, but those cost eighty wen each.”

Yan Lao’er pitifully shook his head. “Too expensive. I can’t afford them.”

The steward thought to himself: Good. You’re not supposed to afford them.

“Big brother, we can’t wait three days. Can we take them today? The elders in our village say today is an auspicious day—perfect for bringing saplings home.” Yan Lao’er said mysteriously.

The steward was speechless.

What kind of village is that, with so many superstitions? Bringing saplings home?

Why don’t you just say you’re inviting gods home?

“You think it’s like pulling radishes from the ground? The saplings need to be carefully dug out, making sure the roots aren’t damaged…”

“Big brother, please help us out?” Yan Lao’er clumsily tried to stuff a few copper coins into his hand.

The steward couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation and shoved the coins back.

“These fruit trees aren’t just planted in a hole and left to grow. Does your village even know how to plant them? Transplanting saplings needs to be done at the right time—you can’t just dig them up whenever you feel like it.”

Yan Lao’er didn’t care about that. He continued to plead, repeating the same reason—the village elders were superstitious and believed in this kind of thing…

The steward was stuck. He couldn’t leave, nor could he chase the man away. He couldn’t very well beat him up either.

Unable to tolerate the pestering any longer, he finally relented and told him to come back in the evening. He would find people to dig up the saplings.

Yan Lao’er expressed his endless gratitude and, before leaving, sheepishly asked if he could buy some fruit for the kids.

That was no problem.

The fruit trees were accounted for, but the fruits were not. The landowner had already said that if villagers wanted to buy some, they could be sold. The estate grew fruit trees to make a profit, after all.

And so, Yan Lao’er bought a basket each of plums and apricots.

He promised to return the baskets in the evening…

Back home, Yan Lao’er was still grumbling to his wife and daughter. “So stingy! They wouldn’t even give us the baskets. Now I have to return them tonight.”

Yan Yu’s hands were covered in blisters.

Li Xuemei was applying medicine to them—nothing fancy, just diluted alcohol.

The sensation was… excruciating!

Yan Yu bared her teeth, her little face scrunched up in pain, looking utterly miserable.

She didn’t even hear what her father was saying.

Baskets? What baskets? Were they more important than her poor hands?

Wu wu wu!

The cost of recklessly pulling trees was too high!

Li Xuemei, feeling sorry for her, wrapped her hands in clean cloth.

She didn’t say anything discouraging.

This tree replanting effort wasn’t something they could half-heartedly do.

At least they had learned a lesson—

They had to be rational when spending money.

Even Yan Lao’er fell silent, his face twitching in sync with his daughter’s.

Unable to watch any longer, he grabbed the two baskets and headed to the riverbank.

He washed the plums and apricots for his daughter.

Yan Yu’s hands, now wrapped in layers of cloth and cotton, felt like she was wearing padded gloves.

Once the alcohol sting faded, she thought she could bear it.

But after tasting the plums and apricots from the estate, she immediately regained her motivation!

The plums were sweet and juicy, and the apricots were delicious.

She gobbled down several in one go, her mouth full of juice.

Carefully setting aside the pits, she eagerly asked her father, “Dad, can I just plant these?”

“You can’t plant them directly. They need to be processed first.” Yan Lao’er shook his head.

Li Xuemei also looked at him, puzzled.

Well, that made sense. Both mother and daughter had grown up in the city. It was normal for them not to know.

“You have to dry the pits first. If you plant them as they are, they won’t sprout. Before planting, you also have to crack them slightly to create an opening, or the little shoots won’t be able to break through.” Yan Lao’er explained.

Li Xuemei and Yan Yu suddenly understood.

They weren’t entirely clear on the science behind it, but that didn’t matter. As long as they knew what to do.

That evening, Yan Lao’er gathered the villagers who could drive carts and took them to fetch the saplings after dinner.

The two baskets of fruit were too much for just the Yan family to finish.

So, Li Xuemei asked Nanny Rong to make some plum soup and planned to dry some apricots into snacks.

Yan Lao’er glanced at the remaining apricots and said, “There aren’t many. Since it takes effort to make, why don’t I buy more? Apricot preserves last a long time, and you and the kids can have them as snacks.”

Li Xuemei was tempted but, knowing how much money they needed, she restrained herself. “Don’t buy too much. This isn’t a staple food, and making it takes time and sugar.”

Yan Lao’er understood her well. He knew she was worried about money, so he secretly squeezed her hand and grinned. “Wife, eat without worry. I made a good deal today! Besides finding the saplings, I also got an unexpected bonus…”

Hearing that he had secured deal for another 1,000 catties of charcoal, Li Xuemei was delighted, her eyes full of joy.

But then she noticed something off and asked, “Why is it selling for three qian now? Did the price go up?”

“No, we’re still selling at 2.8 qian. But you have to pay to enter Yongning City, so I included that in the cost.” Yan Lao’er chuckled. “Besides, that’s the provincial capital. You can’t expect the prices to be the same as our countryside. Judging by that lady’s reaction, I probably even undercharged her!”