Chapter 107

When Gu Ran heard that Mr. Shen wanted to buy land on Dunzi Island, he was stunned.

"We, the Shen family, have bought some land and can build our own house. We don't need to rent your house, Gu Erniang."

"this……"

Gu Ran thought about it and finally felt that selling land was not a good business.

She bought the entire Dunzi Island. If she sold the land on Dunzi Island to Mr. Shen now, even if it was only one or half an acre, it would mean that the island would no longer belong to her completely.

That won't work.

The entire Dunzi Island must belong completely to her.

"Master Shen, I bought this entire Dunzi Island. I never intended to sell it to anyone else from the beginning. Besides, if I sold it to you, others would hear about it and come to me to buy land. If I sold too many of them one by one, would this island still be mine?" Gu Ran said. "So, the land on this island won't be sold, but it can be rented. For Master Shen's sake, the rent can be lower, and the lease term can be extended. It's up to you, Master Shen. What do you think?"

"Master Shen, you came to the island to seek refuge, so I rented it. You can build a house yourself, whatever you want. When things are over and you want to leave Dunzi Island, you can sell the house to me. That would be convenient for both your Shen family and me. How about that?"

Mr. Shen thought for a moment and said, "It's rare for Gu Erniang to be so thoughtful."

"Then I wonder which pieces of forest land Mr. Shen has taken a fancy to and how many years he plans to rent them for?" Gu Ran smiled and rubbed his hands.

"Let's rent it for twenty years. If our Shen family ends up staying in Xiaxi Village in the future, the courtyard on this island can be used as our family's annex," said Mr. Shen. "As for the woodlands, could you please let me take a closer look?"

"Okay, no problem at all."

Finally, Mr. Shen designated a living area in the orange grove behind the valley - in fact, it was near the cave where Gu Ran and others lived when they first came to the island to open up wasteland. Because there was a spring near the cave, he selected two acres of land and built a house.

They didn't choose the front of the valley because, firstly, they didn't want to get involved in the orange grove planting and cause trouble for Gu Ran, and secondly, their Shen family was accustomed to living in seclusion, so as to avoid the troubles they brought upon themselves from affecting others.

They had previously adapted to life in Xiaxi Village, where the houses of each household were separated and they all liked to live their own lives at home, which was exactly what they wanted.

Mr. Shen planned to move the entire Shen family to Dunzi Island, and all the servants would be taken along except for those who had to stay in Xiaxi Village to manage the Shen family's real estate.

As for the things in the mansion, just leave them there for now and only take the necessary items.

Mr. Shen then signed two deeds with Gu Ran. One was a deed for renting two acres of forest land. The annual rent for one acre was one tael of silver, which was two taels. After twenty years, it was forty taels.

The other one was a lease for a large house for two months, which cost only two taels of silver.

Although the mosquito meat is a little less, it is still meat, right?

Gu Ran accepted the contract signed by both parties and put the money in his pocket with a smile.

After Mr. Shen instructed his steward, he said goodbye to everyone in Xiaxi Village on a sunny afternoon, said he was going on a long journey, and took a carriage to the county town. Then he sailed away from the county town pier in front of many passengers and merchants.

Of course, in the end, they transferred to the small boat customized by Gu Ran and quietly went to Dunzi Island.

But there is one exception, Shen Erlang.

He still lived in the official school in the county town and continued his studies. If there was any disturbance, he would serve as a sentinel.

Shen Erlang was delighted to hear that he didn't have to move out of Xiaxi Village.

After the Shen family moved to Dunzi Island, they used their servants and guards to start building houses on the land they rented behind the valley. Originally, Gu Ran also planned to ask Uncle Wu to build a few more large houses and drying platforms at this time. In the future, they would need workshops to dry tangerine peels, make orange jam or canned oranges.

But the Shen family lived in the house, and the construction noise was loud on weekdays, which was not good to disturb others.

So Gu Ran put the project on hold, planning to wait until Master Shen and his family moved into the new house - by then he could also hire Master Shen's servants and guards to help build the house!

There is plenty of manpower.

Gu Ran, who was busy calculating, stopped building houses and started to work on another thing: she wanted to build a road.

Build a road from Xiaxi Village directly to Wujiang River.

Then, like Donglin Township, a ferry was built on the bank of Wujiang River.

This happened a few days ago when something happened to the Shen family. The county constable used the official boat to reach Xiaxi Village as quickly as possible, but he still had to go to the Donglin Township ferry first, and then get off the boat and requisition a donkey cart to reach the village.

If she had not called Pei Liuniang and Li Ji to deal with the assassin, and if Village Chief Wu had not organized a group of militia with Lichang Weng, the entire Shen family would have been killed by the time the soldiers arrived.

The transportation in Xiaxi Village is really inconvenient.

That's why she thought of building a ferry.

The ferry crossing in Donglin Township was built by Liu Dongjia after he made a fortune selling oranges.

Although all the money she earned last year was spent on repairing the ferry, building houses, and ordering small cargo ships on Dunzi Island, almost all of it was spent, otherwise she would not have thought of making a fortune from Mr. Shen.

But now that she had such a large reward from Mr. Shen and the forty taels of silver she had just earned, it was still possible for her to hire someone to build a road from Dayu Lin to the bank of Wujiang River and build a ferry.

After the construction of this road, not only is it convenient for villagers to travel in and out, but even if they want to go to Dunzi Island, they can go directly from the ferry in Xiaxi Village without having to take a detour to the ferry in Donglin Township.

Of course, it is still necessary to think about how to build this road and how to cross the island forest in the shortest possible way.

Gu Ran immediately found Pei Liuniang and planned to discuss the matter with her.

"Build a road? Across the miasma forest?"

Gu Ran nodded vigorously, quickly took out paper and a brush, and based on his experience of going in and out of the Lantau Forest over the years, he drew a route through the Lantau Forest.

"We'll just find the shortest route. We don't need to build a particularly good road. Like we did on Dunzi Island, we can start paving the road from the forest in front of us. Once we get into the shallow woods, we'll level and fill in any bushes and thorns, and cut down any trees that are in the path. Going straight this way, it probably won't take more than half an hour by donkey cart. Isn't that much more convenient than going to the Donglin Township ferry and then taking a boat?"

Pei Liu looked at the route Gu Ran had drawn on the blueprint and pursed his lips: "But, but, we need to hire someone to do this, right?"

"Now that farming is off-season, we can ask the villagers to help pave the road and cut down trees!" Gu Ran nodded. "Of course, we have to ask Village Chief Wu first."

When Village Chief Wu heard that Gu Ran was going to build a road through the miasma forest to the Wu River and also to build a ferry crossing on the Wu River, he was stunned for a while, and then looked at her with admiration: "Second Mother, this is a good thing!"

The big market near the ferry in Donglin Township didn’t exist at the beginning!

In the past, that piece of land was a wasteland and wild forest. It was only after the ferry was built and more people came that a big market was formed.

If there was a road in front of Xiaxi Village that led directly to the Wujiang River, and a ferry for getting on and off the boats, wouldn't it be able to slowly accumulate popularity like Donglin Township, and then drive the prosperity of the village?

"But, that road requires digging into the miasma forest, and we have to cross the miasma forest to get to the river. Even if we are not afraid of any big or small beasts in the forest running out, we are still afraid of the miasma coming out!"

"Well, village chief, I think this isn't a big problem."

Gu Ran was now considered a well-informed figure in the village, so he dared to explain the causes of miasma to Village Chief Wu. Finally, he said, "Now that the road is open, the air on this side will circulate, and there will be very little chance of miasma forming. If you're worried, you can go into the woods on both sides of the road, pick up the rotting carcasses of wild animals, cut down some trees to make the forest looser, and if you come across any swamps, fill them up to reduce the root cause of miasma. Didn't I open up an orange grove on Dunzi Island? The miasma on Dunzi Island has decreased now, and that's the reason."

When it comes to Dunzi Island, Village Chief Wu is immediately convinced.

How long has Gu Erniang been growing oranges on Dunzi Island?

Not only did she grow so many oranges, but people in the village also scrambled to work on her island.

"Okay, since you're right, Second Mother, then of course I support you in building this road." Village Chief Wu rubbed his hands vigorously for the first time in excitement, his face flushed. "I'll help you find people to pave the road. Besides, building the road and the ferry will benefit us in Xiaxi Village, so it's embarrassing to ask you to pay for it all. In short, just like with the windmill, everyone should contribute money and labor."

Therefore, at the call of Village Chief Wu, all the idle men and women in the village learned about Gu Erniang's proposal to build a road. With the previous experience of the Donglin Township ferry, the villagers did not think about the prosperity of the village, but thought that after the road was built and the ferry was constructed, it would be convenient for them to travel, so they did not object.

Furthermore, Gu Erniang now has some influence in the hearts of the villagers.

Don’t ordinary people just want to live a good life?

What does it take to live a good life?

Money.

Gu Erniang came to Xiaxi Village alone at the beginning. Now, in just over two years, the money she has saved is enough to buy an island.

He also planted orange trees on the island and sold a lot of oranges.

Families with sons working on Dunzi Island were very envious, and families without sons working on Dunzi Island were also very jealous.

How could Gu Erniang be so capable? How could I become so capable too?

Besides, not long ago, people spent money to treat them to a banquet just to save their lives!

So under the influence of these two factors, knowing that it was Gu Er Niang's idea, everyone unanimously agreed and did it.

Why not? I heard you can even get paid!

As for the danger of entering the miasma forest to cut trees, they were not too worried.

There is Gu Er Niang!

Since Gu Erniang wants to invite them into the miasma forest, she must have made all the necessary preparations, right?

yes!

Before starting the construction, Gu Ran and Pei Liu made a lot of masks together and gave them to the villagers who entered the miasma forest to cut trees and pave the road.

As a result, the road construction project in Xiaxi Village soon began in full swing.

At the beginning, only the people who were building the road dared to enter the miasma forest. After the road was built into the forest, seeing the road builders going in and out every day without any danger, other people in the village also bravely followed them to the forest for a walk: it’s scary to enter the miasma forest with a few people, but not so scary when there are a lot of people!

As a result, after the road was repaired, more and more villagers dared to enter the miasma forest.

When the people of Xiaxi Village were busy building the first road since the village was founded, a guest came all the way to this small village in the mountains to look for his uncle.

Well, this guest is Li Si, and the uncle he is looking for is naturally Li Ji.

After asking, they found out that he was looking for Li Ji, so the villagers took Li Si to the Gu family's small house to look for Gu Er Niang.

Li Ji basically stays on the island now. Gu Er Niang is Li Ji's boss, so who else can he turn to if not her?

So Gu Ran met an old acquaintance again.

"Oh, it's you, Mr. Li Si!"

"You, you, you..." Li Si was shocked when he saw Gu Ran, "You, you, aren't you the powerful woman who broke the thief's leg?"

"I am your uncle's boss now. Isn't that more powerful?" Gu Ran asked with a grin.

Li Si opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He nodded vigorously, "By the way, where is my uncle? He works for you as a clerk. Where is he?"

"I'm going to the island too, so I'll take you with me!"

"Island? What island? Is my uncle on the island?"

Li Ji was naturally on the island.

Since he was hired by Gu Ran, he gave up the wing room he rented in Uncle Wu San's house and moved directly into the big house. After the small house outside was built, he also moved out.

He was single in Xiaxi Village and had a stable job on Dunzi Island with food and clothing provided, so he seldom returned to Xiaxi Village.

The last time he went back was to join forces with Pei Liu to kill the assassin who was the number one thief in the world. Of course, he also received a generous reward from Mr. Shen for this.

Logically speaking, now that he has become rich, Li Ji could quit his job and choose other jobs, but he didn't.

Still patrolling and guarding the orange grove, working diligently.

Today was the same. I just took a walk along the orange grove and when I came back and saw my eldest nephew, I almost thought I was seeing things.

"Four dogs?"

"Uncle, it's me, uncle!" When Li Si saw his uncle, his eyes turned red and he almost shed tears on the spot.

Li Ji brought Li Si to the room where he lived, asked him to sit down, and waited until he had rested and recovered before asking him other questions.

"Why are you in Jianzhou? Are you escorting a prisoner?"

Li Si nodded.

"I finally got the chance to escort the prisoner to Damao City, so I wanted to come to Jianzhou and see how you were doing..."

Li Si wiped the corners of his eyes vigorously, looked around at the wing room, and thought: I thought my uncle would be full of hatred and bitterness after being exiled to such a place, but now it seems that he is living a good life?

"Uncle, you don't know, uncle, ever since you got into trouble, I've been bullied in the government office. I can't do anything. Even if I manage to get something done, people will always find fault with me."

Talking about his own affairs in Zhengzhou, Li Si originally wanted to come and comfort his uncle, but seeing that his uncle was doing well, he completely forgot his original intention and instead complained gloomily: "And that Feng family, I was suppressed to death by Feng Tongpan and his gang in the government office. Even those who used to be on good terms with you have not had a good life. It's miserable."

"Also, the Feng family is particularly targeting our Li family. They come to our house from time to time to make indirect accusations. Whenever we go out, we have to avoid the Feng family."

When talking about these things, Li Si's eyes turned red again: "Uncle, you don't know, uncle, after you do this, our Li family will have less and less room to make a living in Zhengzhou."

Li Ji was silent.

"Also, and..." Li Si wiped his eyes, glanced at Li Ji, and suddenly hesitated, "That is, Auntie, she remarried."

Li Ji's face darkened. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and then unclenched them again: "She remarried. What about Song Ge'er?"

Song Ge'er is Li Ji's only son.

"Song'er is a son of our Li family, so naturally he will stay in our Li family."

"That's good." Li Ji looked up at Li Si and asked, "How many days can you rest?"

"I can't rest. I have to leave tomorrow."

Officials who are responsible for releasing prisoners from custody must return to their original place of duty within the specified time limit, even if they are not on official business.

"Then when you return, resign from this official position and come to Jianzhou!"

Li Si widened his eyes.

"Even if you continue to do this, you will never get ahead. What's the point of keeping that job?" With Feng Tongpan putting pressure on him, how could Li Si have any career in the government?

"Quit your duties, bring Songge'er, your father, mother, grandpa, and grandma, and come to Jianzhou."

Li Ji made the decision instantly.

It was impossible for him to return to Zhengzhou. As a prisoner exiled to Fujian, although he had been restored to a good citizen because of the assassination, he was still just a citizen of Fujian and could not leave at will.

Otherwise, the government's efforts to exile criminals to Fujian and increase the local population would be in vain.

Since he can't leave, just let his family come to Jianzhou.

"If we have no jobs, we will all come here, to this place? Then how will we make a living?" Li Si hesitated.

"Don't worry about that. Just tell your parents and grandparents to come without worry. Once we get here, I can find you some work and buy you a big house."

He now had a sum of gold that he could not earn even after working in the Zhengzhou government office for many years, and he also had a well-paid job. Now that the Li family had moved in, he was fully capable of providing them with a place to live.

Besides, his Li family members are not lazy and incompetent, so it is easy for them to find a job that can do work.

He still had 20 acres of land under his name in Xiaxi Village, and he also followed Gu Erniang's example and rented it out to the local villagers to grow rice.

If all else fails, we can take back the 20 acres of land and let my eldest brother and his wife farm in Xiaxi Village. They are farmers anyway.

"Hey? Then, then, uncle, are you serious?"

"You think I told a lie?"

As Li Ji spoke, he fished out a jar from under the bed, rummaged through it, and pulled out a lot of ingots and small change, stuffing them all into Li Si's hands. "Take these back and use them to cover your expenses from Zhengzhou to Jianzhou. Find an escort agency and hire two escorts. Also, it's best to go by water, as it's faster."

Li Si held the pile of silver and laughed, "Hehe!"

"Uncle, how come you make so much money here?"

"Ah!" Li Ji thought for a moment, then took out another ingot of gold from his body and showed it to Li Si.

Li Si's eyes widened with amazement.

"Go back and tell your family and grandparents that the entire Li family is moving here. I'll use the money I've saved to buy a large house and land so that the whole family can live comfortably."

"Oh, oh, okay, uncle, don't worry, I will definitely tell them when I get back." Li Si was happy. He no longer had any of the depression he felt when he first arrived in Jianzhou, and his face became cheerful.

Is it so easy to make money in Jianzhou?

Uncle has only been here for a short time and he has already made some money.

No, he had to go back quickly, move his whole family here, and then save gold here like his uncle.

The next day, Li Ji personally sent Li Si to the ferry to take a boat, and sent him directly to the port of Fucheng. He then personally spent money to buy a ticket for him so that he could travel the waterway himself and be familiar with the route when he came to Jianzhou again.

When he returned to Dunzi Island, Li Ji went to find Gu Er Niang.

Gu Ran came to Dunzi Island this time for two reasons: first, to take advantage of the good sunshine to dry the tangerine peels; second, to think about what other products he could make with the tangerines that Xu San could transport to the north to sell; and third, to improve the quality of the tangerine trees.

During the previous year's orange harvest, more than 30 orange trees produced fruits that looked good but tasted bad.

So at the beginning of this spring, Gu Ran planned to find a way to improve these orange trees, and at the same time improve the wild orange trees he saw when he first came to the island.

How to improve it?

Of course, it is the fruiting branches of grafted superior varieties.

At the beginning of spring, Gu Ran dug up all the more than 45 orange trees and transplanted them to another piece of mountain land specially set aside as an experimental field. They were planted in rows of nine trees, for a total of four rows. The fifth row of eight trees were wild orange trees. Each row of orange trees was marked with symbols in sequence.

Now that this batch of orange trees has grown well, it is time to begin the grafting process.

Gu Ran grafted the first four rows of orange trees with fruiting branches of early-maturing varieties, one row with fruiting branches of late-maturing varieties, one row with fruiting branches of seedlings, and the last row with fruiting branches of the red orange tree she transplanted into the house.

When it comes to wild orange trees, they are grafted in batches of two in the same category. Of course, a sign should be hung on the tree after grafting to indicate the type of grafting. When these fruit trees bear fruit in the future, it will be easier to judge whether the changes after grafting different varieties of orange trees are good or bad.

The chemical reaction between grafting and fruit trees can be fast or slow.

Some are grafted well in the same year and the effect can be seen during the harvest.

Some are grafted in the same year, but you have to wait one or two years to see the results.

After the grafting is completed, we can only take good care of them and wait to see whether the fruits of these orange trees have been improved during this year's harvest to know the results.

Now Gu Ran came to the island just for this batch of grafted orange trees.

When grafting, you must not only ensure that the scion and the rootstock fit perfectly, but also pay attention to the environment and take good care of them, so that the survival rate of the grafted seedlings will be high. Otherwise, all the hard work before will be wasted.

Gu Ran learned the grafting technique from her parents, and her skills are just barely passable. When she was doing this work some time ago, Pei Liu just came over to assist her and did not let her actually do it.

Now that everything has been grafted with great difficulty, I naturally feel at ease to come and take care of it myself.

Gu Ran checked each orange tree and found them all in good condition. She was about to leave the experimental field when she saw Li Ji walking towards her.

"Hey, Uncle Li, have you sent your good nephew off?"

Li Ji nodded: "Second Mother, let me tell you something."

"Speak?"

"Didn't you ask Uncle Wu San to build a small house outside the orange grove?"

"yes!"

Because it is not convenient to build a house near the main house nowadays, Gu Ran asked Uncle Wu to build the house outside the orange grove first.

By the way, I also plan to make a living by relying on my own customers in the future, and what types of shops I can consider building.

"Then please leave a small house for me to rent!"

Gu Ran was stunned: "Huh?"