We Are Big Landowners Now

After some time had passed and autumn arrived, the village grew busy with farm work. Lily Evans noticed that most villagers wore worried expressions, and when she glanced at the fields, she saw the crops were not growing well. As Leonard Li had predicted, this year's harvest was indeed terrible.

However, things at Lily Evans’s house kept getting better and better, especially since Phoenix Academy was scheduled to open on the day of the Winter Solstice.

Once the news got out, students from all over flocked to the area. Many wealthy families even sent their stewards ahead of time to prepare for their sons to attend Phoenix Academy.

The houses Lily Evans owned were suddenly in hot demand—there were far more people than available homes, and she simply didn’t have enough to rent out.

Most of those looking to rent were wealthy families who didn’t care about the cost—they just wanted their sons to live comfortably.

So the rent at Tenmile Hill soared, multiplying several times over. What used to cost five taels of silver per month shot up to thirty taels.

Even at such a steep price, demand far outstripped supply—many people wanted to rent, but couldn’t get a place.

Lily Evans had rented out every single house she owned, earning a tidy profit. Even the shops followed suit, and the rent just kept pouring in!

As for the shops, Lily kept the best-located one for herself, planning to open a restaurant and become the boss when she found the time.

Over at Phoenix Academy, even the village chief made a trip for his grandson, but when he asked about tuition, he found it outrageously expensive—completely out of reach for ordinary farming families.

Since the village chief’s grandson couldn’t attend Phoenix Academy, he had to settle for Greenfield Academy instead.

But after his trip to Tenmile Hill, the village chief truly realized just how valuable the houses Lily Evans had bought there were.

Now the whole village was filled with envy and jealousy. Those who used to mock Lily Evans for wasting her silver were suddenly silent.

Instead, they started regretting not buying property with Lily Evans and missing out on the chance to get rich.

With poor harvests, many villagers couldn’t make ends meet and had to sell some of their land. The village chief, remembering that Lily Evans wanted to buy land, quickly registered the sellers and went to find her.

This time, a total of 150 mu of land was put up for sale—100 mu of dry land and 50 mu of fertile land.

With plenty of funds at hand, Lily Evans spent over 2,900 taels of silver and bought up all the land, instantly becoming the village’s biggest landowner.

"Wife, we have so much land now!" Lucky said at night, clutching the thick stack of land deeds, his eyes shining.

"That’s right, we’re big landlords now!" Lily Evans replied, feeling absolutely elated. She muttered to herself, "The dry land doesn’t yield much, but that’s fine—I’ll just use it to build mushroom houses. As for the fifty mu of fertile land, I’ll set up greenhouses and grow off-season vegetables. Tsk, we’re bound to make a fortune again!"

"Wife, what are off-season vegetables?" Lucky, ever the curious one, leaned in and planted a kiss on Lily’s cheek, beaming with pride. "You know so much, wife."

Lily Evans grinned and pinched Lucky’s handsome cheek. "Off-season vegetables just mean using greenhouses to control the temperature so the veggies ripen in winter. Fresh vegetables in winter fetch a high price!"

But Lucky’s mind was already wandering. "Wife, I like winter."

"Why’s that? Because the snow looks pretty in winter?" Lily Evans turned to face him, smiling as she admired his handsome face—she never got tired of looking at him.

Lucky swept her into his arms. "Because it’s cold! I’ve noticed that when it gets cold, you love to snuggle into my arms at night."

Lily Evans blushed bright red: ...What kind of silly reason is that!