Chapter 149 A Bigger Plan

"Old man, the governor brought several people today. Don't you find it strange?" Gao asked her husband quietly at night.

Old Man Yang, tired from a day's work, was dozing off. He muttered, "What's so strange about that? They're either from the capital or Lingnan Province, all coming here for the land and things! There's no gain without gain! Anyway, we've got nothing to lose!"

How could such an important official of the previous dynasty not recognize the value of something?

Fertile soil, two-season rice, lime kiln, vermicelli, tea oil, artificial beekeeping, Jiangdong plow, and pedal thresher.

Any one of them is a major move, and as long as the brain is not damaged, even a mediocre person will know that it will be of great benefit!

It’s a pity that I didn’t meet them back then, otherwise I would have been able to defeat my political enemies and stand firm in the court with these, thought the old man Yang.

"Do you remember that Mr. Fu?" Gao pushed her husband again.

"Master Fu? Wasn't that the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the previous dynasty? I remember his last name was Chen, maybe Chen A-man.

"When the new dynasty is established, people like him will most likely leave the palace. Shouldn't leaving the palace mean returning to their family? Why did he change his surname?" Old Man Yang suddenly came to his senses.

Many distinguished guests came today. Fortunately, there were many people burning lime in Qingshi Mountain, and each family squeezed together to provide accommodation for the guests.

The governor, Wei Shutong, and Li Boyan lived in Old Man Yang's house, Fu Zhong and Fu Wang lived in Yang Chunhua's house, and Wang Yannian had always lived in Old Man Zheng's house.

The other officials and the common people were scattered among their families. Ah Hei and the others were at the lime kiln, and Die Xiu had returned to the village early after finishing her studies.

Jinfengzhai followed closely and got busy.

Ah Hei and his friends had agreed with Huanggou Village that they would borrow the lime kiln to burn lime, so there were now quite a few people from Jinfeng Village in the lime kiln.

Huanggou Village and Jinfeng Village now have a friendly relationship. Ah Hei apologized to Old Man Yang and others on behalf of Jinfeng Village. The two sides sat together and had a drink, and the previous grudges were wiped out.

Old Man Yang sat up and looked at his wife intently, "This Chen A-man must be someone very important!"

As for Wei Shutong and Li Boyan, Old Man Yang guessed that they were provincial inspectors or special envoys. The imperial court often sent special envoys to inspect a certain area, and the reason for Lingnan was probably because of the Li people.

So when he saw the people following Lu Zhaoshi, Old Man Yang guessed their identities at the first moment.

As for Fu Zhong, no one knew at the time that he changed his surname to Fu. People only thought that he was driven out of the palace during the change of dynasty and made a living by doing business.

During dinner, everyone called him Mr. Fu. Old man Yang just thought it was strange and didn't think too much about it.

Gao's special mention of this actually brought him back to his senses.

He changed his name on purpose and is doing business, which only proves that he is still a member of the palace!

Those sent by the palace must be capable, loyal and reliable! This shows that he is highly valued in the palace!

Traveling thousands of miles and trekking through mountains and rivers to this wild place, is it really just for vermicelli, tea oil and honey?

If it is true, he can just be open and aboveboard instead of hiding his identity!

All I can say is that vermicelli, tea oil, and honey are just appearances. They are very useful, but they are definitely not used in the palace!

Why? Old Man Yang racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

Without any news from outside, we cannot make any judgment based on these few things, but we can be sure that what is behind it is very important.

Old man Yang and his wife murmured that the Su family was not much better off.

"Mother, Third Aunt, I'll leave these cotton and cloth to you. Please sew a few quilts in the next two days!" Su Ying arranged.

"We owe Mr. Hu another favor!" Mrs. Du sighed.

Although they knew it was expensive, the Su family really couldn't refuse it. Such a good cold-resistant item couldn't be bought even with money, so how could they bear to refuse it?

Not only do we need to buy bedding, but we also need winter clothes. A large family will consume a lot of cloth and cotton.

When we were buying them bit by bit, we didn't think the cost was big, but now that the family has nothing, we realize the amount of cloth and cotton needed is staggering.

After making bedding from several large bundles of cotton and cloth, what was left was only enough to make cotton clothes for a few people.

"Mother, make a few quilts first. For the rest, you and Third Aunt can make cotton-padded clothes for Grandma, Xiaotao, and Alu." Su Ying calculated that the materials needed were just enough.

"Ah? That won't do. Let your grandmother, father, second uncle and third uncle do it first! We are not cold." Mrs. Du declined.

"That's right, Aying, your father, second uncle, and third uncle cannot go out without clothes!" Wei also disagreed.

"Don't worry, mother, Third Aunt! In the next few days, let's count the number of people in the whole village who need warm clothes. We can ask Shopkeeper Zhu to help buy them and bring them when we pick them up. This will save us the time of going to the county town and also help the Hu family do some business." Su Ying said with a smile.

Several grown men run in and out every day, and if the weather is not too cold, they can last for two days.

Women are naturally afraid of the cold, so Su Ying naturally gives priority to taking care of women and children.

"Is the money enough to buy more?" Mrs. Du was worried because she wanted to buy piglets tomorrow.

"Don't worry, mother, there will be enough money!" Su Ying said affirmatively.

"Tea oil and honey are very valuable. With so much of them, each family can share a lot. It should be enough to buy a set of warm clothes.

After saving for a while, I can buy another set, which will be enough for this winter."

"Okay! Mother can't argue with you! Just know what's going on!" Mrs. Du felt that her daughter's words made sense and stopped refutation.

It would take several days to sew so many quilts and cotton clothes. Maybe before you finish sewing, the next batch of fabric would arrive.

Life is getting better and better. I am so busy every day that I almost fall asleep as soon as I lie down. I have no time to feel sad about the passing of time.

After sending Xiao Qin and Su He away, their lives became more and more prosperous. Du and Wei had the illusion of going to the countryside to experience farmers' life.

"Aying, take a rest. What are you still thinking about?" It was late at night, and Su Bucheng urged his daughter to go back to the old lady's room.

"Father, do you know any of the people here today?" Su Ying looked at her father.

They all spoke with the Beijing accent, but appeared as common people, which was so lame.

Lingnan, where no expatriate officials were willing to come, suddenly received a large number of visitors, each with different focuses.

"I don't know him!" Su Bucheng smiled.

"I just wandered around the countryside, the county government, and Jingzhao Prefecture, all in Chang'an City. The rest of the places are imperial institutions, not places we can go to at will.

Even your second and third uncles are low-ranking officials who are only responsible for doing things for the lower ranks. Their most common boss is Yuanwailang, and at best they can even meet Shilang."

"Then what do you think they are doing?" Su Ying asked.

"It's definitely not because of our Su family! Maybe it's about governing the Li people, and taking a look at the experimental fields." From the perspective of an official, these were the first things Su Bucheng thought of.

The Su family was just a group of low-ranking officials from a humble background, with no connections in the court. No one would go out of their way to evaluate them and overturn their case.

"Go and have a rest!" Su Bucheng chased him away.

"Yeah!" Su Ying got up and went back to the old lady's room.

The old lady had already fallen asleep, but Su Lu was awake. When she saw her cousin come in, she moved to the side.

Su Ying lay on the cold bamboo bed, with Fu Zhong and his son constantly on her mind. She always felt that these two were weirder than Wei Shutong and his companions.

Not to mention tea oil and honey, which are only for the nobility.

Currently, vermicelli is indeed something only the rich can afford, but its source is grass roots and tree roots, and its original intention was to provide ordinary people with an extra thing to fill their stomachs.

Once this thing is known to the world, everyone can make it. There are also raw materials in Jiangnan and the capital, so it can be produced locally. Why do they still have to come here and recruit Hu Erlang to join?

Su Ying intuitively felt that there must be a bigger conspiracy behind this.