Chapter 186: Nanny Rong’s Wages

“Just how much is in this bag?”

Yan Yu wanted to open it and check but was stopped by her father.

“Don’t! The seeds are tiny. If you open it, a few might spill out. What a waste that would be! Let’s check it at home.”

Yan Yu: …

Wow, Dad, you’re really stingy!

“Oh, right! There are also the handwritten books and bamboo slips!” Yan Yu hurriedly went to check the basket Nanny Rong was carrying.

Seeing the neatly stacked books and bamboo slips instantly lifted her mood.

“So many!” Yan Lao’er peeked inside and exclaimed.

“But it’s still not everything I wanted,” Yan Yu said with slight regret.

However, she quickly cheered up.

Plans always struggle to keep up with changes—nothing could be done about that.

They hadn’t anticipated the time constraints this time, nor had they expected selling trees to be so troublesome. Trees don’t just line up waiting to be touched. Some grew in clusters, while others were sparse. By the end, she had recklessly cleared out a large area, and now she felt a bit of regret.

She made a mental note: Next time, don’t do that.

“Dad, next time we can’t sell trees in the forest—wait, no, if we’re selling trees on this scale again, we should go to the mountains instead.”

Yan Lao’er glanced around. The area was now filled with holes, making his scalp tingle. Leveling the ground again would be a massive job.

Not to mention replanting.

“Nanny Rong, how many trees did I touch in total?” Yan Yu asked.

Nanny Rong held up her fingers—one, two, six.

126 trees!

Yan Yu started sweating.

“Dad! Where are we supposed to plant them? Can we even finish planting them all?”

The joy of selling trees was directly proportional to the misery of replanting them.

First, they needed a good location—somewhere people rarely visited. Otherwise, if they planted the trees today and someone pulled them up tomorrow, all their efforts would be wasted.

“We have to plant them in the mountains. The forest won’t work; too many people from the village come here for firewood,” Yan Lao’er said seriously.

“We’ll have to spend all day planting trees.” Yan Lao’er gritted his teeth and added, “Nanny Rong, we’ll need you to help us plant them too.”

Huh?

Yan Yu glanced at the kind and gentle-looking Nanny Rong.

“Can she do that? Does planting trees count as household service?”

Yan Lao’er raised his voice. “Why wouldn’t it? It’s landscaping for our home! We’re marking this land as ours.” Even as he spoke, he felt like he was pushing it.

Thick-skinned, he turned to Nanny Rong and asked, “So, uh… you can help plant trees on our land, right?”

Nanny Rong smiled and nodded.

Yan Yu’s eyes darted around before she said, “Aunt Rong, I now declare this piece of land as ours. Please start clearing the weeds.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Nanny Rong pointed at the land and shook her head.

Father and daughter: …

Yan Yu asked anxiously, “Write it down! Why are you shaking your head? Is it not okay?”

Nanny Rong picked up a tree branch and wrote on the ground: This is not family land.

Yan Lao’er: …

Yan Yu: …

Holy crap! Nanny Rong, you’re amazing!

How did she even figure that out?

She actually knew this wasn’t their land!

“This is bad. What do we do now? Without Nanny Rong’s help, how can the two of us plant nearly two hundred trees?” Yan Lao’er was panicking.

They couldn’t skimp on replanting either—there was also the survival rate to consider.

Yan Yu was also panicking.

Selling trees was fun; replanting them was a nightmare.

Determined to find a solution quickly, Yan Yu’s mind went into overdrive.

“Dad! I got it—haha! Didn’t I get assigned that five-acre plot of land? It’s still empty! Let’s plant the trees there!”

Yan Yu spoke rapidly: “We don’t need to clear out the rocks and weeds right away. We just need to dig the holes, stick the branches in, and water them—that’s it!

If we plant them on our land, we can at least ensure they survive.”

Yan Lao’er was overjoyed at first but then frowned and shook his head. “That won’t work. If we start sticking tree branches into the ground, people will think we’ve lost our minds. No one hoards wood for their daughter by planting over a hundred trees.

Unless… they’re fruit trees!”

Yan Yu eagerly flattered her father. “Dad! You’re a genius! That’s brilliant—fruit trees are perfect! Let’s do it!”

“I wonder if we can buy saplings,” Yan Lao’er said, thinking they might have to make a trip to Yongning City.

“What if we can’t?” Yan Yu looked at her father with puppy-dog eyes.

“No saplings? Then we just plant the seeds.” Yan Lao’er shrugged. “What fruit doesn’t have seeds? Apples, pears, persimmons, jujubes… they all do. As long as they grow, they’re still trees.”

Yan Yu was in awe.

She clapped her hands so hard they turned red.

Her dad was a genius!

What a fantastic idea!

“If we say we’re planting fruit, no one can say we’re wasting land. That five-acre plot will be our orchard! From now on, whenever we sell trees, we’ll replant there—and only fruit trees. None of those useless ones with no economic value,” Yan Lao’er said enthusiastically, even starting to dislike non-fruiting trees.

Yan Yu nodded furiously in agreement.

Having settled their plan, father and daughter felt the urgency of time. They quickly packed their belongings onto the cart.

A huge pile of snake meat had been traded away, making it look much less intimidating.

They decided to turn most of the remaining meat into jerky and eat the fresh parts over the next few days.

No time to waste!

Sanbao got to work processing the meat again.

This time, however, it only used one mouth to spit out the finished product, which slowed things down a bit. But neither Yan Yu nor Yan Lao’er minded.

They got to work leveling the ground. Fortunately, Yan Yu was now quite strong, and with Sanbao stomping down the earth, the two of them—plus one ox—managed to get the area in decent shape after two hours.

Yan Yu separated the cotton-padded clothes, coats, and shoes and said, “These need to go to Nanny Rong’s place. I remember she knows how to sew—she can take them apart and remake them when she has time.”

Thick clothes could be made thinner, and one garment could become several.

Yan Lao’er nodded.

Since Nanny Rong’s basket couldn’t fit everything, they had no choice but to carry the basket, the clothes, and Nanny Rong herself to a secluded spot near her home.

She would have to make multiple trips to carry everything back.

“Once we’re done planting trees, we’ll build Nanny Rong a house!” Yan Lao’er declared.

“With bricks?” Yan Yu asked.

“No, with rammed earth,” Yan Lao’er replied. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll hire people with money—wait, no, she will hire people with her money.”

He felt a sharp pang of reluctance—every copper spent came from their private stash.

“Dad, I think we should do what Uncle suggested and start paying Nanny Rong wages,” Yan Yu said, recalling how she traded pancakes for shrimp and fish. “If she has her own money, she won’t spend recklessly, and it’ll be easier for her to buy things in the village.

If her money has a legitimate source, no one will gossip.

Besides, her five-acre plot will be taxed in three years, and she has daily expenses like food and clothing.

We can start with one room, but the priority is building a wall. Since she lives alone, everyone will understand if we build that first.”

Yan Lao’er thought it made sense.

“Alright, we’ll pay her wages and let her keep the money herself.”