Chapter 78
Yichun Camp, Wangjia
Suddenly, the Wang family was moved from the Yichun military settlement to the Yichun camp, and even settled into a large house in the military family area. The Wang family was still stunned. When they came to their senses, they were all overjoyed. They had finally been cleared of their charges, and finally, they would no longer have to endure the hardship of forced labor!
"It's better to move to the Yichun camp. What kind of life did we have in the military settlement before? His second uncle is really something. He has so many bargaining chips in his hands, but he is reluctant to use them."
"Now that his biological daughter is born, he's willing to give her up. As expected, biological children are biological children, and a father can't bear the reputation of a traitor's daughter. Mother always says we're family, and asks us to be understanding and considerate of his difficulties. Now, it seems that even though we understand him, he might not necessarily treat us as family," Zhang muttered, a hint of resentment in her words. Back in the Yichun camp, only his second uncle had a respectable job; everyone else's work was tough.
No wonder she complained. After all, in Zhang's view, the trump card in the hands of Second Uncle Wang Lang was the Wang family's trump card. Why was he the only one who could decide whether to use it and when to use it? The prince valued the Wang family as a whole, not just him.
Madam Wang, who was also packing her luggage nearby, said, "Can you please talk less? Can't you shut up now?" In fact, Madam Wang felt a little unhappy with her brother-in-law Wang Lang, who had bypassed her husband and was in charge of the family.
Unable to find a sympathetic ally, Zhang immediately became discontented. She tossed the old mattress in her hand. It was just such shabby stuff, what was the point in organizing it? "Sister-in-law, the military dependents' quarters in Yichun Camp are nice, but they can't compare to the capital. I don't understand. Now that our injustices have been redressed, why don't we just go back to the capital? Could it be that our second uncle can't bear to leave here?" Zhang had no idea that Wang Lang and Yao Chunnuan had truly fallen out, with no chance of rekindling their relationship. She assumed Wang Lang had chosen Yichun Camp as his new post because he couldn't bear to leave Yao Chunnuan and her daughter.
When Mrs. Wang heard her mention returning to Beijing, she felt quite tempted.
The conversation between Madam Wang and Zhang happened to be overheard by Wang Lang, who had just returned. He slowly walked out from the shadows and said, "Fourth Master, do I need you to teach me how to do things? If you don't want to stay in Yichun, you can return to Beijing on your own. After all, we Wang family members are all good citizens now. Anyone who wants to leave can do so. You can stay or leave as you please here."
Seeing him, Zhang was speechless.
Wang Lang glanced at her one last time, then slowly walked towards the study.
Wang Lang hadn't imagined that, having freed his family from punishment and forced labor, he would instead be resented. It was truly ridiculous. Did they understand his panic over having played so many cards at once, his fear of starting a new household, and the torment of prematurely exposing himself? Did they know this? The cards the prince had given him weren't given for the sake of the Wang family, but because Wang Lang had some value. It was an equal exchange; he had taken them, and he had to pay them back. Staying in Yichun was the beginning of repaying his debt.
Return to Beijing? What could they afford to do? Did they really think that after returning to Beijing, they could return to the days before they were imprisoned and exiled? They didn't understand. They didn't understand. He could only walk this path alone. His family was not as beautiful as he imagined. They were even less united than the Yao family, who came from farming families.
Only when she could no longer see his figure did Zhang let out the breath she had been holding in her chest. Her second uncle Wang Lang became more and more gloomy and terrifying.
*******
Little Yao Xi's third-day bathing banquet was very lively. Many elders came to add gifts to her basin, most of which were small silver ingots. There were also handfuls of new copper coins added to the basin. The midwife was so happy that she smiled from ear to ear, said many nice things to her, and did her best to do things attentively.
At the moment the basin was struck, the crying sounded loud and clear, causing the guests to laugh in good faith.
Little Yao Xi has a good temper and doesn't like to cry. He only makes noises when he is hungry or has diarrhea. He is a little fierce when feeding and looks like he wants to finish eating early and go to bed early. The nanny says that it is rare to see such a well-behaved child.
The Yao family had no plans for a banquet for little Yao Xi's third-day bath. After all, they had just held a housewarming party, and they would have to hold a full-month banquet after the baby was one month old, so they kept the banquet simple.
When they heard that there would be no wine at the third-day bath banquet, Manager Wu came over in person to ask if they were short of money or something. If so, they could help.
Grandfather Yao and Father Yao hurriedly explained.
Manager Wu nodded and instructed, "Alright, if we don't have the third-day-old baby shower, we have to have a big full-moon banquet. So many people have asked about it, so many people want to come, and everyone wants to share in the little girl's happiness and blessings."
Neither Grandfather Yao nor Father Yao expected the people in the village to be so welcoming.
Grandfather Yao nodded repeatedly, "Okay, we'll definitely hold the full moon banquet. We plan to prepare twenty tables of food. General and Chief Steward Wu are welcome to come."
Butler Wu quickly stopped and said, "No, you have to prepare five, no, sixty tables."
Father Yao was stunned when he heard this. Sixty tables? That's a lot! "Are there so many guests coming?"
Manager Wu nodded. "Believe me, there is. I'm not wrong, and you heard it right."
These soldiers had already been planning the little girl's third-day baptism and full-moon banquets. They knew it wouldn't be possible for everyone to attend, so they were eager to show off their skills. If they hadn't stopped them and imposed relevant restrictions, there would have been even more people. So the number of tables really couldn't be too small.
Seeing the two men's embarrassment, Chief Steward Wu said, "Master Yao, while Chief Secretary Yao's daughter's third-day baptism banquet was simple, the full-moon banquet should be grand. Now that the Wang family has been cleared of all charges, Chief Secretary Yao is no longer implicated and is no longer the wife of a criminal, and the daughter is no longer the daughter of a criminal. Both mother and daughter have become legitimate citizens, so this is a great joyous occasion. With two celebrations under one roof, sixty tables of food is not excessive. If you're unsure, you can ask Chief Secretary Yao for his opinion."
Grandfather Yao thought about it and agreed.
Moreover, Manager Wu also said, "If the Yao family prepares 60 tables of banquet, the military settlement will pay for half of it. If the Yao family plans to prepare 100 tables, the military settlement will also pay for half." They even planned that if it was a buffet, the military settlement would also pay for half of the money.
"How can this be possible?" How can a private wedding be paid for by the government?
"Don't refuse. This is also what the general wants. Yao Zhubo has done a lot for the military settlement. The general has always wanted to restore her status as a good citizen, but he has never been able to do so. It's really..."
The difficulty in restoring Yao Chunnuan's status as a good citizen lies in her pregnancy with the Wang family, a family of criminals. Since the Wang family is a family of criminals, the child will be born with original sin. Therefore, in order to help Yao Chunnuan escape her status as a criminal, the Wang family must be cleared of their charges, a difficult task that the general cannot achieve. In the Daliang court, the relationship between military commanders and civil officials was not good. It can be said that the military commanders guarding the border did not have close relationships with those in the court. Therefore, it was difficult for the general to exert influence in the court. Unless he truly surrendered to a certain prince, he could help the Wang family and Yao Chunnuan clear their charges.
Wang Lang's ability to escape so easily this time was also due to the general's signal to them not to make things too difficult for him. Regardless, Yao Zhubo and his daughter benefited from this.
To be honest, the military colony's top brass didn't really care about Wang Lang's departure. Since Wang Lang had long harbored ulterior motives, his early exposure wasn't a bad thing. Furthermore, as he worked under Ji Ze, he had no access to the colony's confidential affairs. It was just a hardship for Ji Ze, who had poached many of his staff.
After Chief Steward Wu made the general's intention clear, he went back. Before leaving, he received a portion of wedding cakes, peaches and other items prepared by the Yao family.
The Yao family had no intention of holding a grand wedding banquet, so they returned half of the gifts from the guests and made some wedding cakes and peaches as return gifts.
Although there was no banquet, the Yao family invited a troupe of actors to set up a high stage and perform for three days, which entertained the villagers for a few days.
The Yao family hired none other than the Yuxiang Troupe, which had fled to the military settlement after being expelled from the palace by Marshal Zhu on the day of the general's triumphant return. Although the Yuxiang troupe's leader gritted his teeth and decided to go to the settlement, he felt uncertain. He hadn't expected to receive an invitation from the Yao family the next day to perform for the entire settlement for three days.
He immediately jumped up and led the troupe into the military settlement, helping them to set up a high stage next to the canteen. At the same time, he instructed the actors and actresses to perform for him for the next three days.
During these three days, he and his troupe were the most popular people in the entire military settlement.
When they left, they received not only the wages they had agreed to receive, but also a small reward from the military village. Finally, they agreed that the military village would invite them to perform an opera every month.
The troupe owner came to his senses, tears welling in his eyes. It seemed their Yuxiang Troupe wasn't the cause of bad luck; their arrival in the Yichun Military Village had transformed the place into a festive place. Instead, it was Marshal Zhu's residence that conflicted with their Yuxiang Troupe's aura, so every time they went there to perform, they were plagued by misfortune. In fact, the troupe owner felt that Marshal Zhu himself was the cause of bad luck, bringing trouble upon his troupe.
******
Afterwards, Yao Chunnuan rested peacefully during her confinement period without worrying about anything.
It's not that she didn't work during the confinement period. If Yu Chen, Manager Wu and others encountered something they were unsure about, they would come to the Yao family to consult her opinion.
During Yao Chunnuan's confinement period, the general's family finally arrived in Yichun. They did not live in the general's mansion, but in several large houses in the center of Yao Chunnuan's area.
Because Yao Chunnuan had not seen the Xing family during her confinement period, the two families did exchange local specialties as a routine.
At this time in Yichun, spring is gradually approaching. The snow is melting, the ice is thawing, and the fields are gradually turning green.
A year's plan begins in spring. As soon as the ground thawed, Yu Chen quickly organized the villagers to start preparing the land.
Before preparing the land, Yu Chen specially visited Yao Chunnuan to tell her about the sweet potato seedling cultivation.
Yao Chunnuan was a little bit unbelievable. It had only been a short time since she handed over a few kilograms of sweet potatoes and a pot of sweet potato seedlings to him, and he told her that he had cultivated sweet potato vines that could be transplanted into two acres of land?
"The stems of the seedlings can't be too short," Yao Chunnuan said quickly, then emphasized, "They can't be shorter than nine inches." Nine inches is 27 or 28 centimeters, and the ideal length for sweet potato seedlings is 30 to 50 centimeters. I was worried he'd use cuttings at 10 centimeters, and what if they were too short and wouldn't survive?
Yu Chen said, "Don't worry, I'm not that unreliable. I just calculated based on the nine-inch long vine."
Breeding expert. Yao Chunnuan gave him a thumbs up.
Yao Chunnuan was thinking that if he planted these sweet potato vines for one season, mainly to grow the seedlings and care for the vines, he would be able to harvest about one thousand to two thousand kilograms of sweet potatoes in the summer. If the sweet potato vines were not harvested but only turned over, they should be able to produce two to three thousand kilograms.
After the summer harvest, the vines are pinched and all the sweet potatoes are planted as seeds. This can cover about 600 to 700 mu of land. After planting twice, there is no need to worry about sweet potato seeds later.
"The sweet potato crop is a secret of our military settlement. You must keep it confidential," Yao Chunnuan warned.
Yu Chen nodded and said, "Don't worry." He would arrange for someone he trusted to plant this treasure later.
If the sweet potato yield was really that high, by the time of autumn harvest, these six or seven hundred mu of land would yield about two million dan of sweet potatoes, plus another one or two million dan of sweet potato vines. Thinking of that yield, he couldn't help but grin.
Although he hadn't witnessed the full fruiting of the sweet potatoes, the vines he cultivated were incredibly resilient. Furthermore, Yao Chunnuan had told him that not only could the tips of these vines be used for cooking and cooking, but they could also be used as fodder for cattle, sheep, and pigs. In short, they were truly valuable from head to toe. Before the spring snow melted, looking at the lush, tender vines filling the room, he'd been tempted to pick a basketful and try them. But when he realized how few seedlings there were, he couldn't bring himself to do so.
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