Ling Manshuang tapped Qin Junyao's forehead with her index finger. "You're overthinking it. What's to stop a member of the fifth branch of the Sui family from turning hostile? An accident could solve everything."
"In this world, whose family doesn't lose a few people?"
Qin Junyao linked her arm with Ling Manshuang's. "Sister Manshuang, if Sui Ren is gone, another Sui family member will appear. Aren't the later branches of the Sui family notoriously difficult to deal with?"
"I believe if they can't profit here, they won't send anyone else. Wouldn't it be better to deal with Sui Ren then?"
Ling Manshuang suddenly sat up straight, looking at Qin Junyao with surprise. "Junyao, you have quite the ambition. You want to control all the grain in the northwest?"
"Not to that extent, I just want to have a voice here and not be bullied."
"Good," Ling Manshuang slapped the table. "Sister supports you. How do you plan to do it?"
"Buy land."
Qin Junyao had formulated a rough plan on her way back from the northwest city.
After two years of observation and experimentation, Qin Junyao had fully grasped the effects of the spatial well water.
The spatial well water could maximize the alteration of soil structure, turning sandy soil into something more cohesive and better at retaining moisture. With continuous watering, the land could even become black earth.
From the Qin family's vegetable patch, which was the first to use the spatial well water, it was evident that land watered by it would not degrade. That is, the land wouldn't revert to its original state if not watered by the spatial well water.
This gave Qin Junyao considerable room to maneuver.
Due to the scarcity of water in the northwest, there was very little first-rate land.
If she could control a large amount of first-rate land and lease it to the common people of the northwest at favorable terms, she would have influence among the populace and an inexhaustible supply of grain for those in power.
Of course, a single tree cannot make a forest. Qin Junyao's first ally was Ling Manshuang.
"So that's it. Sui Ren is so eager to make a move because you've grown grain in the Gobi, right? Everyone has their specialties. I thought anyone could grow grain with enough effort."
Ling Manshuang chuckled. "I was too narrow-minded. Don't worry about the land. I'll help you with the paperwork, but officials' families should not own too much farmland. It needs to be registered under the names of household servants."
Qin Junyao's smile widened. "Then I'll trouble Sister Manshuang."
Ling Manshuang waved her hand. "Don't mention trouble. Just don't forget your sister when you have plenty of grain. I have many shops, and I need all sorts of things."
Leaving the Ling family, Qin Junyao went to the Qin family to find Zhang Dani. Zhang Dani was very pleased with the prospective husbands Qin Junyao had found for her two younger sisters.
She didn't mind that the family had elderly parents or many siblings. No family was perfect. Zhang Dani was grateful to Qin Junyao for finding good military officers for her sisters.
With Zhang Dani's agreement, she could send people to propose marriage to the families. These were all families they had discussed before, so there were no surprises. Zhang Dani's two sisters were soon engaged.
With the autumn harvest approaching, every household was sharpening their sickles, preparing to cut wheat.
However, Qin Hou Zhao San's family, whose wheat ripened earlier than others, had already started harvesting. But a problem had been plaguing them.
"Junyao, how many did you catch yesterday?" Qin Fu came to the Zhao family early in the morning to find Qin Junyao.
Qin Junyao pointed to a chair. "Dad, please sit down first. I've caught twenty-five people, and I've already sent Yan Song to the salt lake to get reinforcements."
"That's good. Your uncle and I discovered over thirty people yesterday, and that's just from our land. What will we do in a few days?"
Qin Fu sighed. "In previous years, we only guarded against birds stealing grain. This year, people are stealing even more brazenly than those little pests."
"We've hit them and scolded them, but it's no use. Yesterday I caught one, and he still wouldn't admit it even though his pants were bulging with wheat ears."
"Junyao, I heard there's already fighting in the northwest city?"