Xie Linzhou was efficient; he transferred the person over in just a few days.
With the people recruited by the county magistrate and those sent by the imperial court, the construction of the city wall was quickly put on the agenda.
Meanwhile, Song Ning's preparations were almost complete; he had recruited more than a dozen people from the two counties, which was enough for the time being.
After telling everyone what needed to be done, Song Ning took on the role of supervisor.
Several hundred acres of land are mostly used to grow cotton, with the remainder used to grow melons and fruits.
None of them had ever seen cotton seeds before, and they didn't know what they were planting. They just did whatever the boss told them to do.
The people Song Ning recruited were mostly from villages in Jiangning County and Yongning County. They were used to farming and didn't need her to worry about many things.
Now the western part of the city is bustling with activity, with every household starting to farm. Spring has arrived, bringing them new hope.
These people all came from the village. They felt uneasy if they didn't farm, always feeling like they had no way out.
As long as you can farm, you won't have to worry about not having food.
Song Ning didn't let Song Dahai get involved in her two acres of land either. Since she was going to hire people anyway, why bother?
But Song Dahai couldn't stay idle; whenever he had nothing to do at home, he would secretly run to the fields.
Every time, Song Ning would catch him and bring him back.
What surprised Song Ning the most during this period was Yunniang.
Yunniang actually knows needlework.
She's almost fully recovered now, though she still has trouble walking, but she can still do her work without any problems.
The things they made were better than those made by Luo Yingying and Ma Chunyan.
Both of them were extremely envious: "Yunniang, I always have trouble getting this right, can you teach me?"
"Yunniang, do you think this place is feasible? Is there anything that needs to be changed?"
This is the topic Song Ning has heard most often these past two days.
Yunniang is only in her early twenties, a few years older than Luo Yingying and the others, so there are no problems communicating with her.
Seeing that the three of them got along well, Song Ning smiled knowingly.
After picking up Zhaodi from next door, Song Dahai drove the two sisters in a mule cart to Jiangning County.
Recently, Song Xiu'e and her husband have been busy making braised food and farming, so they haven't had time to take care of their child. Fortunately, Zhao Di hasn't been to Jiangning County yet, so Song Ning took her along today.
Song Ning was already quite familiar with Jiangning County. When they arrived, Song Dahai went to deliver the braised food, while Song Ning took Zhao Di for a stroll.
Zhao Di has now changed her name to Xiao Tao.
Zhao Di was the name given by Old Mrs. Zhu in hopes of having a grandson. Song Xiu'e now felt that the name was not good, so she changed the child's name accordingly.
The stalls, big and small, on the street had already started hawking their wares, and Song Ning bought a lot of delicious food for the children along the way.
Xiao Tao held Song Ning's hand, looking around curiously.
"Sister, is this Jiangning County?"
Song Ning nodded: "Yes, this is Jiangning County. I'll bring you here often in the future."
Children are very curious; if Song Ning hadn't been holding his hand the whole time, he probably would have flown away by now.
Xiao Tao usually likes to stay by Song Ning's side, and she has gradually become bolder.
Song Ning pointed to a banner hanging at the front door and asked, "Little Peach, do you still recognize that character?"
Xiao Tao nodded proudly: "I know it, it's a flower."
"And do you remember those two lines about flowers?"
Xiao Tao nodded: "I remember, 'A few peach blossoms bloom outside the bamboo grove, and the ducks are the first to know when the spring river warms.'"
“Little Peach is so smart, that one, and that one too.” Song Ning pointed to the sign not far away.
"That was the year when the general died in a hundred battles, and the soldiers returned after ten years." After saying that, she asked, "Sister, is this the same general we met before?"
"Hmm... I guess so, but it doesn't just refer to him."
When Song Ning was at home, she would teach Xiao Tao to recognize some characters and recite a few lines of poetry that Xiao Tao had learned before.
There are no schools here now, and even if there were, girls wouldn't be allowed to attend.
Although her handwriting isn't good, she's learning to read, and this is something that needs to be taught from a young age. Xiao Tao is still young and has great potential.
The two walked along, and Xiao Tao kept repeating it the whole way.
As expected of someone with an unpolluted brain, they memorize things very quickly. Song Ning only needed to read it twice to remember it.
Worried that the child would get tired from walking, Song Ning took her to Yunxiu Workshop. The goods for today hadn't been delivered yet, so it was a good opportunity for her to rest.
As soon as she entered, the proprietress took a liking to Xiao Tao: "What a lovely little girl."
The proprietress happened to have a granddaughter who was about the same age as Xiao Tao. Xiao Tao looked at her longingly, wanting to go play with her.
Song Ning didn't stop them, only gave them a few instructions, and then sent the two children to the backyard.
Song Ning went upstairs and handed the hair accessory to the proprietress. The proprietress happily took the accessory, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "Oh my, today's accessory looks even more exquisite than the ones from a few days ago."
“A very skillful person came to our house, and she made all of these.”
After the proprietress paid, Song Ning was about to go downstairs when the waiter came up: "Boss, that young master is here again."
The proprietress knew who he was talking about. She glanced at Song Ning, who then went behind the curtain on the second floor.
A moment later, I heard the sound of someone coming upstairs.
The proprietress placed the hair accessory on the counter and greeted the man with a smile as he approached: "Young master, is there anything you wish to buy today?"
Xie Linzhou's gaze swept towards the counter, where the proprietress introduced, "This is a new style recently. Would you like to buy one as a gift for the girl you admire?"
The hair accessory was indeed much prettier than the previous one, but Xie Linzhou's expression darkened when he thought of Song Ning's attitude last time: "They're all low-class stuff."
The proprietress's smile froze for a moment, then she said ingratiatingly, "Yes, young master is right."
Hearing this from behind the curtain, Song Ning got angry. What did he mean by "low-class"?
They make such beautiful things! Now all the women in Jiangning County love them.
Pshaw, you really don't know how to appreciate things.
I don’t know what Xie Linzhou came here for. Is it just to belittle her hair accessory?
Her hair ornaments are now one of a kind in Jiangning County. She doesn't know what kind are sold in the capital, but hers is definitely not available in the capital either.
Song Ning pursed her lips and waited until Xie Linzhou left Yunxiufang before coming out from the back.
Looking out the window, Song Ning saw that Xie Linzhou and his men had already left, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that Song Ning looked unhappy, the proprietress quickly said something nice: "We're all in business, it's normal to get some unpleasant things said by customers sometimes."
Song Ning wasn't afraid that customers would say her food was bad; after all, everyone has different tastes.
But Xie Linzhou's words made her furious.
This person always finds fault with her; even if he doesn't know she made it, he'll still say something sarcastic.
The one he offered to compensate her last time wasn't even as nice as this one, yet he had the nerve to say her stuff was low-class.
Song Ning didn't say much. She went downstairs to look for Xiao Tao. Just as she went down, a maidservant rushed in from behind: "Master, something bad has happened! That little girl is missing!"
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