236 Fine

Li Yu cheered him on. “Yes! You have to believe in yourself. As the saying goes, one’s ambition doesn’t depend on their age! Gan Luo became a minister when he was 12 years old. In the future, Ah Wei will also be able to be the manager of a large farm.”

Seeing that Li Yu trusted him so much, Yang Wei puffed out his chest excitedly and said, “Thank you, Madam. After the winter wheat is planted, I’ll go take a look with Uncle Dashui.”

“Okay! Don’t be afraid. Just do it.”

Li Yu rushed back in the cart. She recalled that when the weather was cold last year, the vegetables on the street were expensive and few. It was not easy to take out and eat vegetables stored in the space openly. She thought about how to plant some vegetables that were not in season to eat.

The carriage slowly walked forward. When they were about to reach home, Li Yu finally thought of a way. She would build a small hut in the back garden. Then, she would build a big kiln inside and spread fertile soil to plant a few kinds of vegetables.

After Li Yu thought about it, she returned home and asked Old Madam Liu to hire a master to make a furnace. She set up a fire and pulled more than ten carts of fertile soil from the farmstead on top. She set up straw curtains and had them rolled up like blinds when the sun came out. On rainy days, they were let down.

After the autumn harvest, more than 20 stones of grains were harvested from the four acres of breeding fields. Ordinary rice produced five stones of grains per acre. The family’s granary was already filled with grains and wheat.

Thinking that there were still more than 20 acres of corn that had not been taken home, Li Yu felt a sense of accomplishment.

After the winter wheat was planted, it was mid-October. More than twenty acres of corn had been taken home, and the yield of each acre of corn reached more than a thousand catties.

Zhou Jia wrote about the corncobs, as well as the method to produce and plant them on a piece of paper. When Ruyi went to Qingzhou to buy goods, he brought the note and the corncobs to the Four Seas Bank in Qingzhou and handed them to Shopkeeper Chu Jiang in Qingzhou, asking him to send them to the capital.

Chu Jiang was deeply shocked to see the golden corncobs.

When he heard from Ruyi that an acre of cornfield had been prepared and that if nothing unexpected happened, they would be able to obtain eight to nine stones of food, he was even more overjoyed. He shouted, “God bless Great Yong. Your Majesty doesn’t have to worry about food in the future.”

Chu Jiang immediately got someone to send the corn to the capital.

After the winter wheat was planted, Yang Wei and the restless Mr. Wen went to Great Green Mountain to look at the wasteland.

Li Qing finally arrived at Phoenix Village the day before Zhaodi got married. Li Qing took out the gift Li Yu had brought back and handed it to Li Mei. “Aunt, this is the gift Sister asked me to bring back for you and Cousin.”

Li Mei took the sandalwood box and opened it. She looked at the exquisite jewelry in the box and exclaimed, “Ah Qing, these are too expensive.”

Li Qing took the jewelry and looked at it. There was a mark on them. He said to Li Mei, “Aunt, these are all jewelry bestowed by the emperor. I wrote on the gift list that you and my two cousins can have a pair each.”

Li Mei pulled Zhaodi’s hand and said, “I wouldn’t even dream of the jewelry bestowed by the emperor. Your cousin gave you the jewelry that represents supreme glory because she was afraid that you would be bullied by your in-laws. She wants to show her support for you!”

Zhaodi also shed tears of gratitude. She said to Li Mei, “Mother, Cousin used to tell me that this world is very harsh on women. She taught me that as a woman, I have to have self-respect. First, I have to learn to love myself and treat myself well. No one then will look down on me. Cousin knows that I’m weak and is worried about me!”

Madam Li was also extremely touched when she saw this. She smiled and said to Li Mei and her daughters, “Add in the dowry. Put the additional box gift from Xiaoyu at the top and carry it out. Let others see that the girls of our Phoenix Village have the jewelry bestowed by the emperor as their dowry. Let’s see who still dares to say that we’re country bumpkins from the mountains.”

Li Mei happily held Zhaodi’s hand and nodded. “Alright, we’ll listen to Auntie Li. Let’s show everyone that the girls in our Phoenix Cry Village are not to be underestimated.”

After a few showers of autumn rain, it became cold. Li Yu’s pregnant belly became obvious. Every day, she could feel the baby in her stomach moving around mischievously.

When Zhou Jia returned to the back office, Li Yu told Zhou Jia about the child’s mischievousness. She touched her stomach and said happily, “Little thing, you’re kicking and punching in my belly. You’ll definitely be a little naughty in the future.”

Zhou Jia smiled and said, “Yes! Our son will definitely be like you in the future. I’ve never liked to move since I was young. My mother said that I’m like a little girl.”

Li Yu smiled at Zhou Jia and held his chin playfully. She stroked Zhou Jia’s red and soft lips. “Yes! Our Xiao Xi is really more beautiful than a girl in a dress.”

Zhou Jia hugged Li Yu and muttered in her ear, “Yu’er knows best whether I’m a girl or not. Why don’t we try again?”

Li Yu pinched Zhou Jia’s waist. “You’re getting more and more glib-tongued…” Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Jia stopped her. Soon, the room was filled with lust.

The weather was cold, and Li Yu’s greenhouse finally came in handy. Yu Niang, Auntie Zhang, and the others scattered some rapeseed in the greenhouse. Pea seedlings, spinach, and cabbage were also planted. A few days later, tender green vegetable seedlings crawled out of the soil.

Old Madam Liu said happily, “The price of these vegetables has been high these few days. We can save a lot of money this time.” Yu Niang smiled and said, “Only Madam would think of such a method. These are much fresher than those in the market.”

Late in the winter month, the waiter in the inn, Xiao Shan, came to the county office to look for Zhou Jia and reported, “Master, at noon today, a few tall guests came to the inn. It was a cold day, and they were wearing thin clothes. They said that they were hunters from the mountain and had come down the mountain to sell fur. However, I saw that they were a little different from the other hunters. The fur they brought with them was casually placed and not cherished at all. When Ah Dong sent them food, they asked Ah Dong when the wall was repaired. When I went to serve the food, they asked if there were any soldiers in the city. They said that they were afraid that the soldiers would snatch their fur. Ah Dong and I felt that it was strange. Brother Ruyi was not around, so I thought of reporting to you.”

“Shan, you and Dong did well. Go back and continue to watch them. As soon as they leave, go to the city gate and get someone to report back.”

Xiao Shan said excitedly, “Got it, Master. I’ll go back and watch them.”

After Xiao Shan left, Zhou Jia called over Wang Cheng, who had already been promoted to a constable, and instructed him, “Find two brothers and dress up. Go to the inn outside the city. There are a few men dressed as hunters inside. Pay attention to their whereabouts and get your men to act according to the situation. Go to the mountain and tell Staff General Zhong the situation. Ask him to send a scout down the mountain.”

Wang Cheng accepted the order and left. Zhou Jia said to Mr. Qian, “Sir, do you think it’s a spy from Great Qi?”

Mr. Qian shook his head in worry and said, “It’s so cold on the mountain that you can freeze to death halfway up the mountain. It’s impossible for people from Great Qi to come from the Great Green Mountain now. It’s very likely that they’re here to gather information.”

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