Chapter Twenty: How Much Was Spent in Total?

The construction of the homesteads in Jiang Village was truly progressing at a brisk pace. With the combined efforts of An Jianmin and Jiang Wenlin, several plots, including the silkworm house, were being developed simultaneously. After two weeks, the silkworm house was already completed and ready for use.

The homesteads, however, were at a different stage. The newly finished foundations were clearly visible to Bi Lizhu as she stood there. An Songxiang felt extremely nervous, casting glances repeatedly at her father and brother, who seemed entirely unfazed. In her heart, she grumbled once again that her older sister could not be there to see it.

Yuan Qionghua, who had accompanied the group, was secretly observing the expression on her sister-in-law’s face. Since the third brother had decided to return to Jiang Village, start building houses, and restore the mulberry-dike fish ponds, this sister-in-law of hers had only visited once before. Back then, the plots had just been marked out, and the workers hadn't even been fully hired. Unless someone had brought it up, it was hard to say for sure if she knew what was going on. Judging by the reaction of the second niece last time, perhaps the third brother hadn't just been keeping this a secret from one or two people.

Yuan Qionghua always felt she knew her own family well and considered herself to understand her sisters-in-law. Yet, the families of her two younger brothers—who, like her, valued their sons but had never been harsh toward their daughters—had suddenly taken such a turn. It made her own household seem unusually biased toward the sons. For several days, Yuan Qionghua had observed the youngest sister-in-law, trying to see if she was truly willing to go along with what the youngest brother was doing. But with that person rushing in and out every day, coupled with the construction, she hadn't managed to see her much, let alone observe anything. Now that she had finally caught sight of her, Yuan Qionghua did not believe the third sister-in-law was truly happy about it. After all, she had always seen how the woman treated her children.

Bi Lizhu was indeed shocked, even momentarily unable to process the situation. But once she regained her composure, her first reaction was not the shock of her two daughters suddenly having homesteads of their own, but rather the fact that An Jianping had hidden it from her. She understood him better than her two daughters ever could. If, while constantly hearing him talk about leasing the village’s mulberry ponds, he could manage to stir up something this massive without ever mentioning it, then just how many ponds and fields had he actually leased? And by what means had he managed to secure them?

Yuan Qionghua waited for a long time, but she didn't see Bi Lizhu’s expression change. Instead, when An Jianping and the others prepared to inspect the mulberry fields, she followed them without hesitation. Yuan Qionghua sighed to herself; it really is different when it’s your own property. In the past, this sister-in-law from the city had returned to the village countless times, but after the initial curiosity had faded, she had almost never visited the fields again.

Today, however, she didn't need anyone to remind her; she took the initiative to follow along. Walking out from the village, the first things they saw were the well-tended vegetable and fruit gardens. Beyond this area were scattered flower fields, some still growing shrubs, while others held discarded pots—some with neglected plants, others broken or empty. Beyond that lay flower fields that had obviously been abandoned for some time, overgrown with a mixture of weeds and flowers.

Moving past this, they reached the mulberry-dike fish ponds and the orchards. Compared to the flower fields, these lands were largely occupied. Yet, upon closer inspection, it was clear they hadn't been meticulously maintained. Weeds had grown over in wave after wave. The fruit trees and mulberry bushes, once carefully managed, had clearly gone unpruned for a long time, left to grow wild. The weeds around the various fish ponds were exceptionally lush; in some places, the edges of the ponds were no longer visible. A stranger would not only lose their way but could easily fall in.

However, in the midst of these neglected fields and ponds, a large section stood out. The mulberry trees had clearly been pruned, though perhaps the timing had been missed, as new shoots were growing alongside the old branches. Most of the weeds between the rows had been cleared. Although tender grass continued to sprout in the spring, it was no longer enough to swallow anyone up. The roots of the thick, sturdy mulberry trees were piled high with fresh pond silt. At the adjacent fish ponds, most of the weeds had been cleared, finally revealing their true shape. Some ponds were left to dry, while others had been refilled with water.

A short distance away, atop a larger fish pond, stood a spacious silkworm house—partly built on the bank, with the majority suspended over the water. Figures could be seen moving in and out, busy with their work. Bi Lizhu looked up and saw familiar figures: "Dad? Mom?"

Grandma An, Shi Youqin, turned at the sound and saw almost the entire family of her third son. The wrinkles on her face seemed to smooth out for a moment. An Jianping, who had clearly expected them to be there, asked directly, "Dad, Mom, how is it going with the silkworm house?"

"Everything is ready," An Shunhe replied earnestly after nodding to his daughter-in-law.

"That's good!" An Jianping said, greeting the two people who emerged from behind. These were the workers he had specifically hired for the silkworm house. Though they were from out of town and had raised silkworms back home, they weren't exactly professionals. Once An Shunhe and his wife saw that their son was truly building the house and kept coming by to help, An Jianping simply handed the management over to his parents, telling them they would be responsible for teaching the hired workers. He even promised them a share of the net profits once the cocoons were produced.

However, the silkworm house was still empty. Even though it had been finished for several days, the silkworms had not yet hatched from their eggs. After leaving, Bi Lizhu saw several other silkworm houses of various sizes elsewhere. This was, after all, the specialty of the mulberry-dike fish pond system. Naturally, she also felt this was likely part of An Jianping's preparations for the upcoming demolition and relocation.

After walking through the mulberry fields, Bi Lizhu followed An Jianping and his father to the nearby orchard. Unlike the mulberry fields, this area hadn't seen much precise management—after all, it was spring, and no longer the ideal time for heavy orchard work. Even so, the weeds had been cleared, overgrown branches had been trimmed, and fresh pond silt had been added to the base of each tree. It was clear that while An Jianping was letting them be, he didn't intend to let them go completely to waste.

As she walked, Bi Lizhu realized the area of the orchard was quite substantial, and the trees were almost entirely in their peak fruit-bearing years. Due to years of neglect, the spacing was somewhat irrational. As for the varieties, because the orchard had been planted long ago, they weren't grouped in neat, monolithic blocks, but rather small patches of different fruits combined into one large orchard. Bi Lizhu counted roughly five or six different types of fruit trees, not even including the papayas and bananas planted in the corners. This… it seemed to contain every variety common to the Shuncheng area!

In this season, most of the trees were in bloom. It was a good thing this orchard was quite a distance from the village, or their family would likely not have been able to keep it for themselves.

On the way back, Bi Lizhu couldn't help but ask, "How much did it cost to lease all these mulberry ponds and orchards?"

"It didn't cost much!" An Jianping’s eyes flashed with a hint of guilt.

Bi Lizhu didn't believe his nonsense for a second and pressed on, "This whole area must be several hundred acres, right? How much per acre?"

"It's not that much!" An Jianping refused to admit it.

Bi Lizhu gestured casually toward the orchard behind them. "I just counted the longan trees back there; there are ten rows, with ten trees in each row. The number of other fruit trees varies, but if you take an average, it should be about the same. Do you want me to ask how many fruit trees can be planted on an acre of land?"