Chapter 266: A Grain of Rice is Hard to Find
"Are you stupid? There are so many delicious foods in Fengchunlou. If you only have nourishing soups, and you change one every day, you can have a different one for a hundred days!" Luokui counted on his fingers. He knew all the dishes in Fengchunlou like the back of his hand!
Jin Wen instantly looked up at Xiao Jiuyue. After receiving Xiao Jiuyue's affirmative nod, he said, "Then, what dishes should be delivered every day? What if Lord Rong doesn't like it?"
Xiao Jiuyue's gaze fell on Luo Kui who was standing beside him. He said, "Ask Luo Kui. Luo Kui knows so much about food, she'll definitely know."
"Don't worry, miss. I will make sure everything is arranged properly for every day." Luo Kui assured, patting his chest.
On the way back to the Xiao family, Xiao Jiuyue reminded them not to mention the matter of the theater, let alone the fact that they were almost injured, otherwise, their grandmother and mother would be worried again, especially their beautiful mother, because once she started crying, she would not comfort her!
Xiao Jiuyue returned with two thousand taels of silver this time. She directly explained the matter of the two hundred acres of land, saying, "Grandmother, Mother, although two hundred acres is a lot, we need to send it to Lingnan in the future, and we need to eat. Furthermore, we can't just grow rice on these two hundred acres; we also need to plant firewood and charcoal."
"Yes, we have to plant it." The old lady nodded slightly and said, "The weather is getting colder now. The charcoal fire has been used up. If it gets colder, I'm afraid the charcoal fire will not be enough."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Although there's plenty of wood in the back mountain, I've asked Shi Lizheng and the others about wood suitable for burning charcoal. We either have to go to a distant mountain or chop firewood nearby, which is extremely inefficient. If we plant a firewood forest, it will be different. We'll never be short of charcoal in the future!"
Xiao Jiuyue expressed her thoughts and said, "The charcoal we sent to Lingnan this year is almost not enough. Even now, the weather is good. If the harvest is bad and there is a cold and snowy winter, I'm afraid we won't be able to buy any."
Xiao Jiuyue is a person who likes to be prepared for any eventuality, and prefers to take all the initiative into his own hands!
"Yuer." Aunt Xiao didn't think anything was wrong when she heard Xiao Jiuyue bought 200 mu of land. But when she found out Xiao Jiuyue wanted to use 20 to 30 mu of land to plant firewood and charcoal, she became worried and said, "Charcoal is hard to buy, but you can buy it. But grain is not."
"If there is a flood or snowstorm, it will be hard to find rice." Aunt Lan also spoke up. She was from Yizhou, and there were always a few floods of varying sizes every year. In her heart, food was the most important thing!
"Isn't there plenty of firewood for burning charcoal on this mountain? Spending twenty or thirty acres of land to grow firewood for burning charcoal is a bit... a waste, isn't it?" Aunt Xiao explained with a smile, "Mother, I just think growing firewood in the fields is a bit of a waste. It's better to grow food and give people peace of mind."
Old Madam Xiao twirled her Buddhist beads, raised her eyelids slightly to glance at Third Aunt Xiao, and then closed them again.
Aunt Xiao said guiltily, "Yuer, you are the head of the family now. I have no objection to whatever you want to plant."
All the money was earned by Xiao Jiuyue. If she and Aunt Lan worked in the embroidery workshop, they would only earn a little money. Forget it, as long as there was no shortage of food, Xiao Jiuyue could grow whatever she wanted.
"Aunt San, Aunt Lan, we are a family. It's good to just speak frankly if you have something to say." Xiao Jiuyue was not angry at all about the objections they raised. If they kept things secret and dared not say anything, but were full of resentment in their hearts, that would be difficult!
As time goes by, how can a family with so much resentment unite and move forward?
"I've already calculated the grain. Based on the Xiao family's current land, plus the land they've purchased, we have 150 mu, which adds up to over 200 mu. The yield per mu is, at least this year, 580 kilograms. The grain we grow, minus the tenants and the Xiao family's servants, will be enough to feed the Xiao family and my grandfather and father in Lingnan for five years!"
Xiao Jiuyue directly presented the data and stated the facts. Although they had to set aside twenty or thirty acres to plant firewood and charcoal, the Xiao family would not lack food!
"Well, there are still more than ten acres. What do you plan to plant, Yue'er?" asked Aunt Xiao. When she heard Xiao Jiuyue calculate the amount of grain, she felt relieved instantly.
"Grow mulberry and hemp." Xiao Jiuyue said, "We will expand Zhiyun Tower to the capital city in the future. The demand for cloth will only increase. Besides, we can still be self-sufficient in some ordinary linen and ramie cloth."
"Mulberry trees can be used to raise silkworms, and hemp can be used to make even more things. Ramie can be made into both clothes and shoes, and it lasts all year long. There's also flax and jute..." Shang Lan began as soon as she mentioned this: "In Yizhou, every household grows hemp, and there's so much that can be made from it."
Aunt Xiao was a bit confused, but she grasped an important point: "So, these are all necessary things, right? Yue'er is really thoughtful."
"Hmph." Madam Xiao snorted lightly, seeming dissatisfied, and asked, "Who was questioning Yue'er's decision just now?"
"Mother, I am short-sighted and not as smart as Yue'er." Aunt Xiao apologized decisively and praised Xiao Jiuyue.
Xiao Jiuyue was so flattered that she could barely hold back her smile. When it came to sweet talk, Third Aunt Xiao's words were truly more beautiful than the last. She cleared her throat and said, "Third Aunt, Ting Wu and He Lian have made quite a few silk flowers and hair ornaments together. I'm thinking of sending them to the county to sell starting tomorrow."
"Is it possible?" Aunt Xiao's first reaction was not that the status of a businessman was too low, but whether it was possible!
If Xiao Jiuyue had not led everyone to make money, it is hard to say whether everyone can have a full meal now, not to mention that they now live in the village. Except that they don’t have to attend various banquets such as plum blossom viewing banquets and chrysanthemum viewing banquets every now and then like in Shengjing, there is not much difference between them and the Xiao Mansion in Shengjing!
With servants serving her and enough food and clothes to eat, her life was much better than she had expected!
"Of course." Xiao Jiuyue said affirmatively. After she explained the matter, Aunt Xiao San and Aunt Lan took the initiative to mention the income of Zhiyun Tower. She said, "Yuer, if the money is not enough to buy the land, Zhiyun Tower will deliver another batch of goods starting next month, and there will be money then."
"Okay, Third Aunt and Auntie are really awesome." Xiao Jiuyue praised.
Aunt Xiao said, "The amazing ones are Aunt Lan and your mother. Sister-in-law's clothing styles are the most popular. Aunt Lan manages Zhiyun Tower and is very skilled in accounting and receiving guests. I am the only one who can only bury myself in the embroidery workshop and do some menial work."
Aunt Xiao San was very self-aware. Although her embroidery skills were good, they were not as good as her elder sister-in-law's, and her brain was not as flexible as her elder sister-in-law's. When her elder sister-in-law made a few random styles, the ladies and young ladies would rush to buy them.
Her eloquence is even worse than Aunt Lan's. She is okay at praising people, but when something happens, she doesn't know what to say.
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