While things were busy on the other side of the valley, Jiayin was not idle either. In the nursery in her space, after transplanting the watermelon seedlings, she planted cantaloupe seeds.
To be honest, she didn't even expect it to sprout. After all, the melon seeds were ones she had thrown onto the mud wall years ago, and they were shriveled beyond recognition. She just picked them off and threw them into the nursery as a trial.
Unexpectedly, the magical nursery once again showed her great favor.
On the riverbank, we planted winter melons, then peanuts, then sweet potatoes, and finally left four or five acres, which we used for cantaloupes.
With Young Master Ye's prestigious reputation, no one in the village felt anything was amiss. They all served him with utmost care, and even though building the valley and the new village was exhausting, they didn't allow a single weed to grow in the melon field.
The nursery is now filled with various flower seedlings: petunias, marigolds, phoenix tail flowers, and bougainvillea. They are not rare or expensive varieties, but they are beautiful and easy to care for.
In her past life, she collected these flower seeds, intending to decorate her courtyard, but she got lazy and forgot about them. Now they've come in handy.
Bougainvillea, in particular, takes shape in just two or three years once planted.
It has a long flowering period and abundant flowers, which look like a flower wall from a distance.
If planted on a mountainside next to a hot spring, paired with a waterfall, it would be absolutely stunning.
That evening, Dongmei made another trip to the valley, just like she always did.
When everyone got up early, they had an extra task: planting flowers!
The petunias are a rare deep crimson, the marigolds are a dazzling yellow, and the phoenix tail flowers are a brilliant red, bringing joy to everyone who sees them.
Young Master Yan walked all over the valley, calling on everyone to plant in various places.
Finally, looking at the whole thing, the valley becomes even more beautiful and vibrant.
The stone tablet was completed the next day.
The front is engraved with the three large characters "Suijintan" (碎金滩), below which is written a heartfelt expression of gratitude for the imperial court's bestowal of such a precious land. The back bears the names of Lord Zhou, Young Master Yan, and numerous craftsmen, neatly and clearly written.
Even after they had received their wages, all the craftsmen still rushed over to touch the stone tablet.
The villagers did their best to prepare food and wine, and invited them to stay for a meal as a thank-you feast.
The craftsmen were all half-drunk. You see, in the past, if they did a good job, it was expected; if they made a mistake, they would be scolded and have their pay docked.
This kind of respect, even to the point of being engraved on a stone tablet and becoming famous throughout the world, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Young Master Yan had also drunk too much. He climbed onto the carriage and insisted on returning to the city. I wonder if he was going to show off to his family.
The valley has been completely sealed off, and it will be ready to open for business once the new village residents have moved in.
In the past few days, people have been placing deposits, planning to visit the store on the first day.
In the hot spring valley, there are four courtyards and twelve wooden houses, all of which have been booked out.
The villagers were ecstatic; they could foresee grain and silver flowing into their pockets.
The women in each household also had another important task: needlework.
Although our distinguished guests usually bring their own luggage, we still need to be prepared for those who haven't. We also provide various cushions, futons, simple items, tea sets, and so on.
But what keeps everyone even busier is tomorrow's housewarming banquet.
Madam Cui specially had a pig and twenty jars of wine bought as a housewarming gift.
The villagers were both happy and amused, because Madam Cui's courtyard was also newly relocated, so this was like giving herself a gift.
But if you're family, arguing so much will make you seem distant.
Therefore, the village chief decided to accept the gift, and Madam Cui didn't need to arrange anything else; she only needed to invite the guests.
Madam Cui had no parents or relatives, so she only sent invitations to Mr. Liu and his son Liu Zhiheng.
After all, she plans to live here permanently in the future, so she feels more at ease knowing that they might come to visit.
As for Mr. Wen, he's family, so there's no need to invite him at all.
Mr. Wen even went so far as to invite Lord Zhou and several of his subordinates, who had all helped with the surveying work in the valley.
In addition, the village heads of Dahuaishu Village and Xiaowang Village should not be overlooked.
By piecing things together like this, we actually ended up with two tables of distinguished guests.
The village chief declared that the banquet should be held at the Li family's house, firstly because it would be spacious, secondly because it would be respectable, and thirdly because it would show everyone that the Li family would be the future leaders of the new village.
Grandma Li didn't refuse, after all, Li Lao Er would take over as village chief in the future, so it was just a way to get used to it in advance.
The next day, before dawn, the heads of each household moved the iron pots that were placed outside the door into the kitchen, signifying that they had completely entered their new home and started a new life.
The Li family is large, with two large pots and two small pots, and a total of four stove holes in the kitchen. It took them quite a while to set everything up.
The large, fat pig that Madam Cui bought was thrown onto the chopping board outside the Li family's door, waiting to be slaughtered and its fat meat offered up as a dish for the housewarming banquet.
The mischievous boy was never well-behaved; one of them actually tore off a branch and poked the fat pig in the belly.
The fat pig sprang to its feet and stumbled away, rope in hand.
The naughty boys screamed in fright, chased after them but couldn't stop them. When the adults heard the commotion and came out, they were furious and yelled at them.
Fortunately, a group of about twenty or thirty people came running from a distance.
The one in the lead was none other than Young Master Ye. He took off his long sword, bent down, and struck the fat pig on the head with the scabbard. The fat pig screamed and fainted.
The mischievous boys couldn't help but cheer, and the villagers all laughed too.
"The Marquis is back!"
"Young Master Ye is back!"
Soon, the elderly and women also came out, all with smiles on their faces.
Young Master Ye's dust and exhaustion were instantly melted away by these sincere smiles.
Jiayin was overjoyed and stretched out her hands, shouting, "Uncle, Uncle Ye!"
Young Master Ye also wanted to hug her, but he was afraid that the smell of blood on her body hadn't dissipated and that she might have brought something bad with her.
So he gently patted the little girl's head and said to the village chief and others, "Is this a housewarming banquet?"
"Yes, Young Master Ye, I thought you wouldn't make it in time, but I didn't expect you to return just in time."
"We're slaughtering a pig today, young master, why don't you stay and eat the meat before returning to the capital!"
"Young master, your courtyard has been prepared. It would be even better if you stayed a few more nights before leaving!"
Everyone chimed in, loudly pleading for them to stay.
Young Master Ye said, "Then I'll go take a bath and change my clothes. Let's celebrate today and head to the capital tomorrow!"
"Great! Great! Young master, go bathe in the hot spring in the valley! The valley has been prepared and is as beautiful as a fairyland!"
The village chief personally led Young Master Ye and the others to the valley, just like a child showing off a toy to his parents, which made everyone laugh.
When Young Master Ye and his group returned, the pig had already been slaughtered and put into the pot, and the chicken and fish were also stewed.
Distinguished guests arrived one after another. The village heads of Dahuaishu Village and Xiaowang Village each brought a chicken and a basket of vegetables, which was a very generous gift in the countryside.
Mr. Wen arrived with Lord Zhou and others. Lord Zhou and his subordinates pooled their money to buy a lot of cotton and fine cloth, which was exactly what the village needed.
When Grandpa Liu and his son Liu Zhiheng arrived, they immediately arranged for an extra horse-drawn carriage to deliver two hundred catties of fine grains and two hundred catties of coarse grains.
It wasn't expensive, but it was the most practical gift, and the villagers all happily accepted it.
Before the banquet even started, everyone went to explore the valley.
Everyone was full of praise for the valley that had undergone such a dramatic transformation.
When Lord Zhou thought about how his brother-in-law had been attacked and belittled at home, he felt for the first time that he should speak up for his brother-in-law.
There are 360 professions, and every profession can produce an expert; studying is really not the only way out.
Just as things were getting lively, another carriage entered the valley; it turned out to be Mr. Guo with his nephew, Guo Qing.
The crowd was somewhat surprised by their uninvited arrival, but they quickly went to greet them.
This is the third update! I'm begging for more updates and five-star reviews! I'm working hard to write more.
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