Shuiqingzhuang!
Su Luo had someone pick the last batch of chili peppers and eggplants.
After two months, the chili peppers and eggplants were almost sold out, so some were kept as seeds.
There are still five acres of small chili peppers left to sell. They're all ripe now, so we'll pick them, dry them, and store them to eat slowly.
"Butler Shi, have you taken care of everything I asked you to do?"
Butler Shi always carries a notebook and a pen, so he can jot things down whenever he needs to. Sometimes, though the things are so small, he forgets them.
"Everything is settled. I have already spoken with the owner of the courtyard where Young Master Nangong stayed in Yongle County and paid the rent."
The courtyard and rooms were very large; they could hold all our cotton.
That was the biggest courtyard in the county; otherwise, Su Luo wouldn't have rented it.
"Now we've picked all the red peppers. In mid-September, we'll find more people to harvest the rice, and in late September, we'll harvest the cotton."
In mid-September, about ten days from now, the seedlings for the second crop of rice will be cultivated, and they can be planted directly in early October.
Su Luo had too many things to manage, so she could only delegate these tasks to Butler Shi.
"Yes, I understand."
As they were getting into the carriage to go home, Su Luo said again, "After we finish harvesting the cotton, we still have to pull up the cotton plants, which is both laborious and time-consuming."
"When the time comes, you should talk to the people in the nearby villages about the uses of cotton, and also tell them that if the cotton trees in Qingjiang Village are pulled aside, they can pick the remaining cotton for free."
It benefits both others and ourselves. By getting people from several villages to work together to pull up the cotton trees, it won't take more than three days to remove every single cotton tree in Qingjiang Village.
"Yes, Madam Su, we can finish picking the chilies and uprooting the chili trees within ten days."
After harvesting the chili peppers, we'll harvest the rice, then the cotton. Am I right, young man?
"That's right!"
The two returned to the village that evening. Zhang Xiujuan and several villagers were waiting at the village entrance. When they saw Su Luo and Steward Shi's carriage, they quickly came forward.
"Yan Chuan's mother, you're such a busy person these days. You're only getting back to the village so late. Have you not eaten yet?"
Su Luo had already eaten at Fu Man Lou.
"I've already eaten, Aunt Zhang. Have you eaten yet? Were you waiting for me?"
Everyone came up to her carriage, and Su Luo asked, puzzled.
"Yes, didn't you say that the seedlings for the second crop of rice should be cultivated around mid-September? We've never grown a second crop of rice before. Our village has built several seedling sheds. Could you go and take a look to see if there are any problems?"
Everyone waited for her at the village entrance, and Su Luo got off the carriage.
“Aunt Zhang, I’ll go with you to take a look. Actually, the seedling cultivation for the second season of rice is similar to that of the first season. As long as the seeds are not mixed up, they can all be planted.”
"Yan Chuan's mother, you should go and take a look. Only after you've seen it can we feel at ease. Otherwise, we won't be able to rest easy."
"Yes, Yan Chuan's mother, please take a look."
Since everyone said so, Su Luo had no choice but to go with them to see the seedling shed they had prepared.
Along the way, seven or eight families in Changping Village had built new houses, and there was more cow dung on the road.
I heard that nowadays in Changping Village, apart from Li Xingye's family, every household has bought cattle. Even if they don't have big cattle, they've bought calves to raise.
After inspecting all the seedling sheds in the village, Su Luo found almost no problems. She told them that as long as the humidity was controlled, there would be no issues.
Back home, A-Zhao emerged from the shadows and handed Su Luo a letter.
"A letter from the young master."
After saying that, he left again. Before Su Luo could even ask why the letter wasn't brought by a messenger this time, he had disappeared.
Back in her study, Su Luo opened the letter. Inside was Nangong Qing's handwriting and the imperial seal.
No wonder they didn't send a messenger; this is tantamount to a secret decree.
Nangong Qing said that her cotton could be used in cooperation with the imperial court to make cotton-padded clothes for the 300,000-strong army on the border.
The fabric is provided by the Shen's Chamber of Commerce, and the manufacturing process can be completed jointly by the two companies.
This is a windfall. Even if Su Luo were to do it alone, she wouldn't be able to find anyone who could make so many cotton-padded clothes in a short period of time, especially without machines.
Adding the Shen Clan Chamber of Commerce changes everything; the Shen family can be considered a commercial empire in Nanning.
If this deal goes well, over time, Su Luo will be able to become a well-known businesswoman in Nanning.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Su Luo called Chunhua in from outside.
"Chunhua, Chunhua, come in!"
Upon hearing the sound, Chunhua quickly went to the study.
"This servant is here. Please give your orders, Madam."
"Go to the embroidered tower and summon Master Xie to see me, right now."
"yes!"
Not long after Chunhua left, Xie Wanwan arrived.
"Lady Su, you were looking for me?"
Su Luo asked her to sit down and poured her a cup of tea.
"Wanwan, haven't you always wanted to learn how to do business with me? Now that the opportunity has come, are you willing to accept it?"
"Of course, of course I'd like to."
Xie Wanwan was very happy. Su Luo had rescued her, returned her indenture, and even paid her a monthly allowance.
Although she returned the twenty taels of silver from the indenture to Su Luo, she could never repay this debt of gratitude.
"Okay, then take a look at this!"
Su Luo showed the letter to Xie Wanwan. When Xie Wanwan saw the jade seal, she was so frightened that she almost dropped the letter.
"Is this a secret letter from the imperial court?"
Xie Wanwan would never forget that imperial seal; it was the mark on the imperial edict that confiscated their property.
Seeing this again, the eunuch's hoarse and unpleasant voice seemed to still echo in my ears.
"Yes, you know needlework, clothing making, and embroidery. In the future, we will also make our own cotton and clothing."
Don't worry about this order from the imperial court; Young Master Shen will handle it. Observe how he conducts business and learn from him."
With Xie Wanwan's intelligence, learning a new skill is no problem at all, but doing business often requires a strong mentality.
Xie Wanwan isn't even afraid of death, so what is there to fear in her current situation? People like her are suited for business.
"Okay, I'll learn everything."
I talked to Su Luo about Yi Huan's teaching situation. I'll probably be busier in the future and won't be able to teach Yi Huan much, only in the evenings.
However, after more than a year, Yi Huan had basically learned all the characters, and Yan Chuan would sometimes teach her what he had learned at the academy.
Xie Wanwan also taught etiquette, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Yi Huan was an ambitious child, and she studied very hard even when no one was watching her.
She once said that she absolutely could not be worse than her brother.
"Since that's the case, we won't be harvesting cotton until the end of this month. Take these books and read them first; they're all good books for learning how to do business."
Young Master Shen will be here soon, and then we can discuss making cotton-padded coats.
"Wanwan, I'm entrusting the development of cotton and fabrics to you from now on. We'll become business tycoons as powerful as the Shen family."
Of the books Su Luo gave Xie Wanwan, only two were about business management, while the other five were about human nature, communication skills, and psychology.
There is also the contrast between the person's facial expressions and actions and their psychological reactions.
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