**Chapter 3: Farming**
Thirty acres of grain is generally enough to feed more than ten people.
The remaining money could be saved to buy an inner strength manual.
There were advantages and disadvantages to inner strength manuals, of course. A high-level martial arts classic was vastly different from a low-level one.
Xu Chuan guessed that the manuals ordinary peasants could buy were deliberately priced to keep them out of reach—similar to the impoverished scholars of his past life. The noble families controlled martial arts, but they also allowed commoners to attend martial arts halls.
To achieve anything in martial arts, you needed at least ten years of training. During that time, you couldn't skip the medicinal foods and other supplements that bolstered your blood and energy. It was a long, slow drain—like cutting meat with a dull blade.
Xu Chuan didn't want to be constrained. Now that his family had the means to buy, he naturally wanted to start with a good inner strength manual, laying a solid martial foundation for his children's future.
As for the more precious innate-level manuals—those would have to wait until the family produced an innate warrior.
*"Is it rare for the chief registrar to handle matters in person? Official business?"*
After making up his mind, Xu Chuan checked the time and headed straight for the village.
At this hour, in Cave Village, ordinary peasants were busy with all sorts of post-harvest tasks. The wealthy families with strong connections, seeing how hot the weather was, preferred to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.
In Dongxi Village, Xu Chuan spotted two soldiers wearing black uniforms and a green-robed scholar not far away. He hurried over, and after exchanging the necessary formalities, requested to buy the Yu family's rice fields.
"You want to buy fifty acres of rice fields?" The Qingjiang County chief registrar looked surprised.
He studied Xu Chuan—rough clothes, a linen vest—and concluded the man before him was likely an ordinary peasant from Dongxi Village. Fifty acres of rice fields was no small sum for a common farmer.
"Are you sure you want to buy them? Don't toy with this official, or you won't like the consequences."
The registrar wasn't in a good mood, and his tone was harsh.
"How would I dare, sir?"
The registrar, Yang Zhao, thought for a moment and named a fair price.
Xu Chuan paid for the rice fields on the spot.
If a greedy registrar had still held the post, they'd likely have raised the price by twenty or even thirty taels per acre. But if that had happened, Xu Chuan wouldn't have bought. His money didn't grow on trees—every bit had to be used wisely.
The August weather was truly scorching.
Yang Zhao glanced around, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and felt much better now that he'd finished half of the tasks the county magistrate had ordered. Though he knew the magistrate was deliberately making things hard for him, the new registrar, his superior's rank crushed him.
If he didn't finish today, he'd be targeted the moment he returned.
"What is your name?"
"Xu Chuan."
"Check him."
"Yes, Registrar Yang."
A tall soldier took out the land registry to find Xu Chuan's property records. Another, with a rounder face, pulled out the household registry to find Xu Chuan's name.
"Yes, here. Xu Chuan, a man of Dongxi Village, age twenty-six, one wife, two children."
The round-faced soldier looked at Yang Zhao and showed him Xu Chuan's entry in the household book.
"Sir, I've found it too. Xu Chuan owns ten acres of rice fields and ten acres of mountain forest."
The tall soldier also pointed out the contents he'd found to Yang Zhao.
"Good. He is indeed a resident of Dongxi Village and has the right of first refusal."
Yang Zhao collected the silver notes, then helped Xu Chuan register the purchase, asking him to sign his name and provide his fingerprints.
"This is your certificate of rice field purchase. From now on, the fifty acres of rice fields belonging to the Yu family are yours."
"Thank you, Registrar Yang."
Xu Chuan tucked away the certificate and was about to leave when Yang Zhao unexpectedly stopped him.
"Xu Chuan, you and I happened to meet at the village entrance—that's fate. Since you're from Dongxi Village, do you know where the Hou family's fields are?"
*Lead the way?*
*No guilt in assisting an official.*
Xu Chuan nodded and offered to take Yang Zhao and his men to inspect the fields.
With Xu Chuan's help, Yang Zhao completed the tasks the county magistrate had assigned in just half a day. The remaining thirty acres of good rice fields and thirty acres of mountain forest now had new owners.
"Alright, you don't need to accompany me any further."
Xu Chuan nodded in acknowledgment.
---
When he got home, Xu Chuan told Bai Jing about the day's events.
"Fifty acres? Didn't you want to buy only twenty or thirty?" she asked, surprised.
"And at such a good price."
Xu Chuan said nothing—just gave a mysterious smile and pulled out the rice field certificate.
When Bai Jing saw it, her face lit up with joy.
"Wonderful. From now on, we'll never have to worry about food. We can even sell the surplus for silver."
"Put it away in the usual place. In two days, I'll need to hire some help. Fifty acres to tend to—we'll be busy for a while."
---
**Afternoon.**
Xu Chuan went to the valley to check on the harvested rice, examining how dry it was so he could plan the threshing.
Without modern industry, he had to rely on traditional methods—just like every other household.
Then he went to check on his mountain forest.
The Green Jade Pears were the top priority. They'd be ready to pick in just over a month.
To keep out thieves and intruders, he'd planted a large number of thorny vines around the perimeter from the very beginning. These vines grew easily, pierced the skin, and even had a mild paralytic effect.
The thorny vines had wound themselves around bamboo poles. Over several years, they'd formed a thick wall of thorns four to five meters high, leaving only one entrance.
Xu Chuan had also set up a few simple traps.
Every evening, after his final patrol, he would lock the gate and arm the traps. At night, with darkness blinding anyone who came, any would-be thief bold enough to force their way in would most likely fall into trouble.
---
**A few days later.**
Once most of the rice processing was complete and the grain stored at home, Xu Chuan began hiring people to tend the fifty acres of rice fields.
The rice grown in those fields, after taxes were deducted, would all belong to his family.
---
**Late one evening.**
Chen Erzheng suddenly rushed to the rice fields, shouting breathlessly, "Chuan, brother Chuan! Sister-in-law is about to give birth!"
Xu Chuan's face lit up with joy. Without a word, he ran toward the house.
"Wait—let me catch my breath—"
Chen Erzheng was gasping for air, but seeing Xu Chuan already far ahead, he could only grit his teeth and run after him, pumping his arms like a dog paddling.
Before Xu Chuan even reached the door, he could hear Bai Jing's pained cries from inside the house.
Chen Erzheng's mother, Auntie Xu, was helping. When she came out and saw Xu Chuan trying to go in, she quickly stopped him.
"Cousin, the midwife has already arrived. You can't go in."
"Women giving birth—men bring bad luck."
"Go boil a few more pots of hot water instead. That'll help more."
Xu Chuan had only wanted to see how Bai Jing was doing, but this wasn't the time to argue. He ran to the kitchen, lit the firewood, and started boiling water.
This wasn't Bai Jing's first time giving birth, but Xu Chuan's heart still tightened with anxiety.
When Chen Erzheng finally arrived, he poured himself a bowl of water and gulped it down. Seeing the worried look on Xu Chuan's face, he immediately said, "Chuan, don't worry. Sister-in-law has always been healthy. She'll have this baby smoothly."
"Also, I brought a Qi-Blood Pill from home—just in case."
Chen Erzheng handed Xu Chuan the small porcelain bottle containing the pill.
"Much appreciated."
Xu Chuan didn't refuse and took it directly.
Bai Jing had given birth several times before, and Xu Chuan had prepared some blood-tonifying medicine himself. But compared to a Qi-Blood Pill, his medicine was far inferior.
He felt a little more relieved and asked, "What about Shitou and Aiyuan?"
"I brought them to my place. I think they're having fun with my little boy."
Xu Chuan nodded and looked at Chen Erzheng. "Erzheng, I owe you for this. Anything I can help with in the future—just say the word."
"Well, actually, there *is* something I'd like your help with."
"But right now, your sister-in-law giving birth is the most important thing."
"Alright."
Xu Chuan responded, but his mind was elsewhere.
*The land can wait. Nothing is more important than the birth of your own child.*
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