Chapter 946: Chapter 946: Young Master Jiang’s Thoughts

Young Master Jiang thought for a moment and asked Shu Yu, “What do you plan to plant after buying this land?”

“Won’t it be obvious once it’s planted?”

Young Master Jiang realized she wouldn’t reveal her intentions, but he didn’t press her. He only said, “I suppose you’ve already seen the surroundings and understand the state of the land. Yesterday, I told Brother Lu that this land isn’t suitable for growing grain.”

“I haven’t considered planting grain.” Actually, that wasn’t entirely true–melon seeds are technically a type of nut-grain, though likely not the type Young Master Jiang had in mind.

Young Master Jiang pursed his lips. “Since you’re aware, let me just lay things out for you. Grain yields on this land are low, which is why over the past few years, the tenants haven’t been able to pay their tenancy. Gradually, some have given up their leases, but there are still others who have no choice but to continue renting, even though life is extremely tough. I’ve had a few years of interaction with them, so there’s a bit of a bond there. Now that you’ve bought the land, regardless of what you plan to grow, I hope you’ll prioritize leasing it to them.”

Shu Yu pondered. Young Master Jiang wasn’t entirely a heartless merchant, it seemed.

But…

“That being said, I don’t plan to lease the land.”

Young Master Jiang’s brow furrowed. “Are you planning to cultivate all of it yourself?”

Shu Yu chuckled. “With over a hundred acres, even if I had eight hands, it wouldn’t be feasible. I’m planning to manage the land in a unified way, so I’ll be hiring workers instead of renting it out.”

Young Master Jiang fell silent. Clearly, she had bought the land with purpose, and he couldn’t force her.

Who would have thought Shu Yu would add, “But as my Third Uncle mentioned, this place is secluded with no villages or shops nearby. Hiring workers won’t be easy. From what I’ve seen, aside from this manor, it’s only the former tenants who live around here.”

Young Master Jiang’s eyes lit up. “You’re planning to hire them?”

That could work. Leasing land out wasn’t necessarily better than being hired for labor, especially since this land wasn’t suitable for growing grain anyway.

For the tenants, being hired to do work might even allow them to earn some money and improve their lives.

Shu Yu shook her head. “Don’t be too quick to celebrate. While I do intend to hire them, it’s not as though I’ll employ everyone.”

“That’s fine. Hiring one person per household should be reasonable.”

“May I ask how many tenant families are here in total?”

Young Master Jiang thought for a moment. “Between the manor’s front and back, there used to be about thirty households. Later, because yields were poor, some moved to the city for work or rented land elsewhere. Currently, there are just over twenty households remaining.”

See? Hiring one person per family might work. On this vast land of over a hundred acres, no matter what the crop, it’s unlikely fewer than twenty workers would be needed.

In fact, Shu Yu would likely need more than twenty workers. Although sunflower growth requires little attention during its early stages, harvesting the mature seeds would be a labor-intensive undertaking.

Moreover, with such a large field, people wouldn’t initially know what was being planted. Once the sunflowers grew, some might sneak in to steal melon seeds. Sunflowers grow tall enough to hide even ten or more people, making the risk significant.

Just hiring guards for patrol and surveillance alone would require quite a few people.

Still, when it came to hiring workers, it wouldn’t be as simple as Young Master Jiang suggested, nor could it be evenly distributed across households.

After pausing for a moment in thought, Shu Yu said to Young Master Jiang, “Alright, take me to meet these tenant families. If there are no issues, I’ll agree to your condition, and we’ll close the deal at fourteen hundred.”