Half a month later, all the fruit trees in Yan Qingqing's ecological orchard were planted, and Yan Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief. The fruit in this orchard might not generate much profit in the next two years, but it was a long-term business.

Yuan Huiniang asked someone to buy several thousand more chickens and ducks, and Yan Qingqing told her to keep buying them, since there were plenty of people at the orchard to take care of them.

Yan Qingqing hadn't seen the children since they went into the mountains. Xiao Mochen said he would train them to be real guards. Yan Qingqing didn't know how much confidence her impulsive decision would give her for the future of dominating the Great Yan.

However, during this period, the family's finances were depleted, with more money going out than coming in. Plus, there were many people to support, so Yan Qingqing checked the accounts and still only had a few thousand taels of silver left. She had planned to use her silver to generate more money recently, but she'd been too busy to do so.

Yan Qingqing sighed inwardly, realizing that she had indeed fallen into depravity. With that thought, she got up, went out the door, and took Ruyi to her family's orchard.

The weather is gradually warming up, and the saplings planted in the orchard have a high survival rate due to proper fertilization and watering, and they are already showing signs of lush greenery.

Wei Laosan was leading a few people to spread chicken manure on the saplings. While working, he said to the others, "Some of the chickens and ducks from last year have already started laying eggs. After we finish this work, I will take the chicken and duck eggs we collected in the past two days to the owners."

You guys clean up the droppings in the chicken and duck coop later, and sprinkle some wood ash to prevent pests. These chickens and ducks are too small to be compared to the adults, so we need to take good care of them.

The others quickly agreed, and one of them sincerely praised, "I never imagined there were so many intricacies to raising chickens and ducks. I've learned a lot from Brother Wei these past few days."

After listening, Wei Laosan chuckled and said modestly, "I figured this out slowly. Many of the things were taught to me by my benefactor. You will be able to figure it out after you've been here for a while."

Just then, someone with sharp eyes spotted Yan Qingqing and called out, "The boss is here."

The person speaking was not from this village and had no relation to the Li family, so he addressed Yan Qingqing as "Master". Other workers who worked for Yan Qingqing's family were also influenced and started calling her "Master". Yan Qingqing thought this was good, as it would be more conducive to group management in the future.

Yan Qingqing greeted them with a smile, then said to Wei Laosan, "Brother Wei, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Wei Laosan quickly put down his work and said to Yan Qingqing, "If there's anything you need, you could have just sent someone to tell us. Why did you come all the way here in person?"

Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "I had nothing to do at home, so I came over to take a look."

Wei Laosan gestured to Yan Qingqing to invite her, and then followed her toward the breeding farm.

As they walked, Wei Laosan introduced the situation of the orchard to Yan Qingqing. He also told her that some of the chickens and ducks had started laying eggs. Yan Qingqing listened and nodded, knowing that she didn't need to worry about the orchard much.

When Yan Qingqing arrived at the small courtyard where Wei Laosan and his family lived, there was a table outside with several stools around it. After sitting down, Yan Qingqing directly explained her purpose. She said, "I remember Brother Wei mentioned that your daughter-in-law's family used to raise mushrooms, right? I recently had an idea to raise a batch of mushrooms, but I lack someone who knows how to raise mushrooms, so I wanted Brother Wei to go back and ask your daughter-in-law if she would be willing."

If he's willing, we can partner up. I'll provide the capital and manpower, and she'll provide the technical expertise. We'll split the profits 30/70.

Wei Laosan never expected such a good thing to happen. His family could get 30% without contributing any money or effort. Only a fool would refuse such a good deal. However, Wei Laosan was an honest man and had received a great favor from Yan Qingqing. He refused to accept the 30% and only said that Yan Qingqing could pay his daughter-in-law's wages later.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Let's not talk about profit sharing for now. Go back and ask Baoyou's mother if she's willing. If she's interested, have her come to Canghe Village so we can talk."

Old Wei readily agreed, eager to go home immediately. With an extra person's wages, his grandson's future education would be much more secure.

Finally, Yan Qingqing and Wei Laosan agreed that he should go home as soon as possible, while she and Ruyi each took a basket of chicken and duck eggs home.

Yuan Huiniang was doing the accounts when she saw Yan Qingqing bring back so many eggs. She knew they were from her own chickens and ducks, and said with a smile, "Looks like we can add an extra dish tonight."

Although the Li family isn't particularly wealthy, they still have quite a few people to support. Including the children on the mountain and their own family, there are over sixty people in total. These children are still at the age where they're young and can eat their fathers out of house and home, so their daily food rations are quite high.

The only source of income for the company right now is the shop, and it's starting to fall short of its goals. Yuan Huiniang is quite worried and sometimes even thinks about using her share of the profits from her embroidery workshop to help make up the difference.

Yan Qingqing was aware of this situation, which is why she was also anxious to make money.

We don't know how things are going with the Wei family yet. Even if the mushroom cultivation is successful, it won't be profitable in a short time.

So she had to think of another way. Just as Yan Qingqing was thinking about this problem, Li Xiangping walked in happily and said, "Mom, can those potatoes and sweet potatoes be transplanted? I just came from the manor. The seedlings are already quite big, and we've already turned over the soil there."

Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Then let's begin. Go to the county town and tell the magistrate that the seedlings are ready. Ask him if he wants to send an agricultural official to record the process."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangping quickly agreed, saying he would go to the yamen the next day.

Yan Qingqing hadn't forgotten that Li Kaishan had specifically asked her about this matter before, so she instructed Li Xiangping, "Go to the village chief's house and ask your village chief grandfather to come over when he has time."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangping quickly agreed and went to the village chief's house. Unexpectedly, the village chief came with Li Xiangping. As soon as the village chief entered the door, he said, "I was just relaxing at home. When I heard you needed to see me, I came over right away."

In Li Kaishan's view, Yan Qingqing doesn't contact him easily; if she does, it's definitely because she has something to say, and most of the time it's something good.

Yan Qingqing said with a smile, "Actually, it's nothing big. The sweet potato and potato seedlings that Uncle Village Chief mentioned before the New Year have been successfully cultivated and can be transplanted soon. If Uncle Village Chief wants to plant them, he will bring the seedlings to you in the next couple of days."

Upon hearing this, Li Kaishan exclaimed excitedly, "Plant it, plant it! It's kind of you to still think of your uncle!"

Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Of course. I can tell Uncle Village Chief that these two things will definitely be bought and kept for seed after they are grown today. If we can seize this opportunity, we can make a small fortune."

We're all from the same village, so I won't discriminate. Anyone who wants to plant can buy seedlings from me; it's 500 coins per mu (unit of land area).