Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 615 - 572 Eldest Young Master Chai Had Already Made Preparations (2)
Li Xingmao said loudly, "E Ying’s parents passed away early. Back then, when the siblings were young, their parents’ land was managed by the Second Master Chai. Now E Ying and her elder brother have established themselves and are capable of managing their parents’ land. If the Second Master Chai returns the land of the main family to them, I’ll ask Lord County Magistrate to release Chai Erniang."
Chai Eying looked surprised and turned to look at Li Xingmao.
Mu Yuanxiu nodded in admiration towards Li Xingmao.
Li Xingmao held Chai Eying’s hand and then asked the Second Master Chai, "This land originally belonged to the main house of the Chai Family. The Second Master has been holding onto it without returning it. Is this reasonable?"
The Second Master Chai was very conflicted.
The land left by Chai Eying’s parents was over 200 acres, roughly half of the Chai family’s land.
If returned, he would have much less harvest.
Seeing the Second Master Chai remain silent, Chai Eying sneered internally, "Second Uncle, you don’t want to return it, do you?"
The Second Master Chai truly did not want to give it up, and he frowned.
Old Mrs. Chai was worried for the Second Master Chai and spoke first, "E Ying, you’ve already married, what do you want with land? Your elder brother does not understand land matters. If he ruins it, what then? We are doing this for your own good."
"You were the ones who asked us to propose conditions. We did, and now you say no. What’s the point of talking?" Li Xingmao took Chai Eying by the arm and turned to walk back into the house.
"Wait!" After hesitating for a while, the Second Master Chai gritted his teeth and said, "I agree, but the land has been managed for quite some time. I need to go back and sort it out."
Li Xingmao and Chai Eying turned back.
He said indifferently, "Alright, on the day the child is one month old, prepare the land deeds for E Ying and her brother."
The Second Master Chai nodded, "Then it’s settled. On the child’s full-month day, I’ll bring the land deeds, and you’ll publicly agree to rescue my second daughter."
"Agreed," Li Xingmao replied.
Old Mrs. Chai disagreed but was mumbling softly and was pulled away by the Second Master Chai.
The two got into a carriage and left the Li Family.
Li Jing ran to Li Xingmao, "Dad, they were just now scolding Jingjing and Guoguo."
"Scolding without reason is not likable. Jingjing shouldn’t learn from them." Li Xingmao patted Jingjing’s head.
Li Jing blinked, "Guoguo scolded them back."
Standing next to Chai Eying, Guoguo replied, "They are bad!"
Li Xingmao raised his eyebrows and patted the heads of the two children, "Of course, when others scold first, we can retaliate."
Li Jing grinned, "Yes."
Guoguo followed, "Yes."
Chai Eying smiled at the two children and beckoned, "Come, let’s go see the little brother."
Guoguo and Jingjing ran happily towards Chai Eying, pulling her hands on either side and went into the house.
Li Xingmao and Mu Yuanxiu stood at the entrance, talking about the land matters.
After chatting for a while, they went to the Li family’s fields together.
Mu Yuanxiu didn’t farm, sustaining himself through hunting.
His archery was excellent, never returning empty-handed.
Although he didn’t farm, he understood crops very well.
He would often remind Li Xingmao of what crops to plant in various seasons and suggest who to hire as labor workers and who to have plow the fields.
March had arrived, rice seeds were soaking, paddies were being turned over, and seedlings of various vegetables and beans in the drylands were thriving.
Li Xingsheng, along with several temporary workers, was watering the cotton seedlings in the fields.
Li Xingmao and Mu Yuanxiu approached and lent a hand.
Chai Eying took the two children back to the South Courtyard House.
Watching events at the door earlier, Li Yuzhu, lying by the window, had already seen everything.
She said, "Sister-in-law, take this opportunity to reclaim all the land."
When Chai Eying and her brother lost their parents at a young age, the land was taken by the Second Master Chai. Neither knew how much land their parents had or where it was.
Only Old Mrs. Chai and the Second Master Chai knew.
However, Old Mrs. Chai was biased, always indifferent towards the Eldest Young Master Chai and Chai Eying.
The siblings’ wish to reclaim the land had never been realized.
Chai Eying smiled slightly, "I hadn’t thought of this before, good thing your elder brother brought it up. But..." After a while, she appeared worried, "I don’t remember how much land my family has, nor does my brother. He’s been quietly inquiring, but there hasn’t been much progress."
Li Yuzhu comforted her, "Don’t worry, sister-in-law. Maybe the Second Master Chai thinks you two already know? When you receive the land deeds, don’t agree easily. After all, they need something from us. If they’re not sincere, we won’t agree; let the Chai Erniang remain detained."
Chai Eying smiled slightly, "You’re right."
.
Second Master Chai and Old Mrs. Chai had a dispute over the matter of the fields after leaving the Chai Family.
"Eying’s demands are too excessive!" Old Mrs. Chai growled, "A married daughter still thinking about her family’s land!"
"She’s asking for her brother." Second Master Chai replied.
"Is her brother someone who can manage land? He only has one shop and is already busy, so how could he have time to handle the fields? Managing those fields won’t earn him any profit, only disdain." Old Mrs. Chai grumbled and smacked her leg.
She said with dissatisfaction, "If Eying’s sister-in-law had a better temper, I wouldn’t mind returning the land to them, but that Xiang is clever. If this land is handed back to them, I’m afraid it would soon be coaxed away by Xiang and given to her family’s side. The Xiang family is full of merchants, cunning as thieves."
When Eldest Young Master Chai was unmarried, although he did not get along with Second Master Chai and Old Mrs. Chai, he still maintained surface-level politeness and did not tear down the facade.
During holidays, Eldest Young Master Chai would give gifts to Old Mrs. Chai and Second Master Chai.
But since Eldest Young Master Chai married Xiang Yunniang, also known as Sister-in-law Chai, his gift-giving became less frequent.
After Chai Eying got married, Eldest Young Master Chai simply stopped visiting the Chai Family.
This New Year, Eldest Young Master Chai and his wife did not visit the Chai Family either; they spent half the time at the Li Family and half at Sister-in-law Chai’s family.
Old Mrs. Chai was furious and scolded Eldest Young Master Chai for the entire first month.
Of course, Second Master Chai did not want to part with the two hundred acres of land income, which he was unwilling to hand over.
Yet if he didn’t give the land, the second daughter would remain locked away.
He was angry with this daughter, determined to disregard her, but the maternal family of the second daughter frequently urged him.
The third wife is the younger cousin of the second daughter’s and eldest daughter’s biological mother.
The current wife doesn’t dare to offend the main family and is urging him to quickly rescue the second daughter.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be licking his face to plead at Chai Eying’s place.
Despite the old lady’s complaints, he still said, "If we don’t rescue Er Ni, will her maternal family let it go?"
When the subject of the second granddaughter’s maternal family was broached, Old Mrs. Chai refrained from complaining.
She said angrily, "Don’t give it all at once, and don’t hand over the good land, otherwise Xiang will benefit!"
Second Master Chai had already made plans, "Understood, mother."
.
Taking back the land was a trap that Second Master Chai had set.
Li Xingmao couldn’t afford to be careless.
That night, after consulting with Chai Eying, Li Xingmao wrote a letter the next morning and entrusted Mu Yuanxiu to deliver it to Eldest Young Master Chai in the county.
Eldest Young Master Chai saw the letter and greatly appreciated Li Xingmao.
He had long wanted to reclaim his family’s land, but was struggling to find an opportunity. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Eldest Young Master Chai immediately wrote a reply, which Mu Yuanxiu carried back to the Li Family.
Chai Eying saw the reply and felt relieved.
She smiled at Li Xingmao and said, "I was worried that us siblings would be trapped by our second uncle, but it seems I was overthinking; elder brother has already prepared."
Li Xingmao took the letter she handed over, unfolded it and read it.
The letter stated that Eldest Young Master Chai had long investigated the quantity and location of his family’s land, but lacked opportunity to recover it. Now that Second Master Chai volunteered to give it, he would present the evidence he collected and bring witnesses, verifying everything and not falling into the trap laid by Second Master Chai.
.
The time arrived for Chai Eying’s child’s one-month celebration.
In the county, Eldest Young Master Chai and Li Xing’an had already returned to the village the day before.
Accompanying them was Li Lixing.
Li Lixing was entrusted by his parents to bring gifts.
The Li Family was bustling with activity that day.
The invitations spread even wider than during Li Xingmao’s wedding.
At the time of Li Xingmao’s wedding, the Li Family had little fame.
Nowadays, the Li Family is well-known with Prince Luling, a renowned scholar, known for his excellent writing skills, often helping others by writing letters and couplets for free, earning much respect.
The eldest daughter married Pei Shenyan, known as a virtuous man at the marketplace, and the second daughter married the Magistrate’s youngest son.
The Li Family is also distant relatives of the County Magistrate.
At this full-month banquet, the pavilion chiefs from three nearby townships attended, along with all village chiefs of this township.
The old lady of the Zhao family’s big household in the county also sent her trusted nanny to bring gifts to Chai Eying.
