"Lan'er, you're finally back."
After a day and a half, Gao breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Wei Yunlan standing in front of her again in one piece.
On the side, Wei Mingxuan and Cheng Yue'e also visibly relaxed their expressions.
Wei Yunlan said apologetically, "Mom, I made you worry."
"That's not true." Gao shook her head quickly. "We've all heard about it."
She glanced at the girls behind Wei Yunlan who were getting off the carriages and mule carts with panicked expressions, and sighed, "You did the right thing. This is a good deed. If mother encountered this, she would definitely not stand idly by."
As she spoke, she instructed Nanny Wang behind her, "Clean up a few empty rooms, and ask the kitchen to prepare some easily digestible food."
Then he waved to Guixiang, smiled gently at the girls getting off the mule cart and said, "It's late today and you must be tired from the journey. This is Guixiang, you can go with her to wash and pack, have some food, and settle down for the time being."
Looking at Gao's gentle smile, the girls' anxious mood gradually calmed down.
Jiang Wu and Liu Qingxue took the lead and bowed to Gao in gratitude, "Thank you, ma'am."
Gao smiled and accepted the gift. "Okay, you guys go with Guixiang first. If you need anything, just tell him directly."
After the girls left with Guixiang, the yard suddenly became empty.
Only then did Wei Yunlan have the mind to look around the courtyard.
This is the front yard as you enter the gate. Through the hanging flower gate, you can see the flat ground paved with bluestone slabs behind it. There are almost no green plants or scenery, but it is extremely open and transparent, revealing the unique rugged atmosphere of the north.
Gao led Wei Yunlan into the front hall and took out two deeds. "These are the land deeds and land deeds of Tianwang Manor and Lihe Manor."
Wei Yunlan took it and scanned it. Tianwangzhuang had a total of 300 acres of good farmland and 300 acres of medium farmland.
The farmland in Lihezhuang is half the size of that in Tianwangzhuang, but all the dozen or so farmers in the village have signed property deeds. These property deeds, together with the land deed for a barren mountain to the north of the village, were also bought by Gao from the previous owner.
The courtyard they are in now is located in front of this mountain. It was originally a villa of the master's family. Because the master's family had moved to another state long ago, they only sent people here every year when they counted the accounts. It has been vacant for a long time and has been quietly occupied by the head of the village.
After Gao took over, he checked the account books for the past two years. After finding many loopholes, he directly hired a human trafficker to sell out the village head's family.
Gao also met with the remaining farmers and servants in the master's yard. She sold two households that had close ties with the head of the village and two dishonest maids, and kept the rest.
"Tianwangzhuang has a lot of good farmland, and the farmers are all local tenants. The annual rent is stable, which can be used as our food bag in the north. No matter what the future holds, we will never be worried as long as we have food in our hands."
After Gao finished speaking, she pointed to the pile of deeds of Lihe Manor next to her and said, "If you have any other plans, you can leave them here at Lihe Manor. People in the manor can also use them. After all, the deeds are in our own hands, so we can use them with more confidence."
In just a day and a half, Gao had taken perfect control of the two manors, and Wei Yunlan didn't have to worry about it at all.
After hearing this, Wei Yunlan couldn't help but admire, "You are really careful, prudent, and resolute."
Gao happily accepted her daughter's praise, pursed her lips, and smiled, "After all, you have been the mistress of the family for so many years. Two small farms are not a problem for mother."
"If you have any other ideas, you can discuss it with mother." Gao said with a hint of meaning, "And Mingxuan and your sister-in-law can also help. They have put in a lot of effort in taking care of the account books these two days."
Wei Mingxuan nodded vigorously, staring at Wei Yunlan with shining eyes, "Sister, take me with you next time you do something!"
Cheng Yue'e's cheeks turned slightly red, and she looked a little embarrassed.
This was really just flattering the mother-in-law. She just helped sort out the date order of the account books, and her contribution was not as much as that of her brother-in-law...
Seeing her mother-in-law and sister-in-law busy these days, she also wanted to do more and not just focus on taking care of the children.
Hearing that her mother-in-law had already spoken, she took the opportunity to speak: "Yunlan, Jiayan and Jiarong are very obedient now, so it doesn't take much energy to take care of them. Besides, there are maids to help them, and I'm idle anyway... Can you see if there's anything I can do for you?"
Wei Yunlan was slightly startled, and a thought flashed through his mind.
Then her eyes lit up, "There is indeed something that I need sister-in-law's help with!"
Now she had a "base" for purchasing property, and the things she had purchased previously could all be taken out.
My sister-in-law has a gentle personality and is not as capable as my mother in handling external affairs, but she does have some skills.
Before my sister-in-law’s family came to Beijing, they were from Luozhou in Jiangnan. In the Jiangnan area, there has always been a saying that “silk can be found in Danzhou, and embroidery can be found in Luozhou”, and the reputation of Luozhou embroidery resounds throughout Dayong.
Women in Luozhou are famous for their dexterity. Many women from large Luozhou families are good at embroidery. My eldest sister-in-law is also good at this. The convex embroidery she embroiders is particularly lifelike.
"Sister-in-law, do you still remember the hand warmer I asked you to sew?"
Cheng Yue'e nodded.
Wei Yunlan said, "In a few days, Tang Chuan and Tang Hai will deliver the silk for making hand warmers and prayer incense baskets. I would like to ask my sister-in-law to help keep an eye on this matter."
"Can I do it?" Cheng Yue'e said uncertainly.
"Of course it can be done." Wei Yunlan said in detail: "Sister-in-law can pick out some skilled women in the village in the next two days, teach them some simple skills, and wait for the goods to be delivered, so as to speed up the production of the first batch of finished products."
"In addition, the sister-in-law can also embroider two pieces with more elaborate patterns and use them as a gimmick when selling them to attract everyone's attention."
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Cheng Yue'e said seriously, "I will do my best to complete the tasks you have assigned me, Yunlan."
"Don't worry too much. Ningshuang and Tingxue will help you."
Wei Yunlan looked at Wei Mingxuan who was eager to try, "Mingxuan, there is something for you to do too. Write a few more poems related to blessing in the next two days."
“But do we have to put them in those little incense baskets?” Wei Mingxuan understood immediately.
Wei Yunlan nodded, "Yes, it's good as long as it's easy to understand and catchy."
"Okay." Wei Mingxuan agreed immediately, patting his chest and promising: "Big sister, you can leave this task to me. After all, I have not attended school for so many years in vain!"
"Okay, we've taken note of everything. Lan'er, you should take a rest first." Gao glanced at the dark circles under Wei Yunlan's eyes and advised with concern.
Wei Yunlan nodded and felt warm in his heart.
It's a nice feeling to have the whole family working together.
…
After leaving the front hall, she did not go back into the house.
Instead, he first called in Doctor Yu and asked, "How is Fourth Miss Bai doing?"
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