In the morning, the Song family made braised food as usual. Li Xingwang unloaded the meat he had brought back, and the three families got busy.
Luo Yingying and Ma Chunyan also arrived, and Xiao Mei ran over from next door to learn how to make hair ornaments from Yunniang.
As the kitchen bustled with activity, the aroma of braised dishes slowly wafted out, filling the entire courtyard with a delightful fragrance.
Song Ning added some more ingredients to the pot and then prepared to go check on the fields.
In the courtyard, Xu Feng was still sitting there. When he saw Song Ning come out, he glared at her unfriendly, but Song Ning clearly saw him swallow.
Arriving so early in the morning, they must not have eaten breakfast. Judging from their appearance, they probably don't have anything valuable on them, otherwise they would have gone out to find someone to exchange for food.
Song Ning ignored her and went out without paying any attention.
The land in the west of the city was not far from where they lived, which was one of the reasons they built their house there.
She has already planted her cotton, and she waters the field with spring water every few days.
These cotton plants have been planted for over half a month now, and the tender green shoots have grown quite a bit taller. It seems they have been successfully planted.
The people who now farm for her have built houses at the foot of the mountain and settled down here with their families.
As long as she can take good care of her crops, she can afford to support these people.
Song Ning selected a manager from among these people, named Boss Liu, who was from a village under Jiangning County and was honest and capable.
Old Liu was working in the field not far away. He slowly walked over and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Boss, is Tianxiang County still short of people?"
"Yes, the construction site is short-handed, and I'm also short-staffed at my place. Do you have any people there?"
Old Liu laughed: "Boss, there are other people in our village who want to come. They asked someone to inquire yesterday, but I didn't dare to agree directly. If you need people, I'll let them come over."
Approximately how many?
“There are more than 400 people in our village. Half of them are already in Tianxiang County, and the other half want to come.”
That's about two hundred people. If these two hundred people can come, it can really solve the current shortage of people in Tianxiang County.
"Alright, send everyone over. I'll talk to the magistrate about this."
“Yes, I’ll send someone back with a message right now.”
Old Liu was overjoyed. When they first came, the villagers said they had never seen such a fool abandon his own land to farm for someone else.
But now, everyone is extremely envious.
The landlord said that from now on, the grain grown in the fields should be enough for them to eat, and the rest should be used for other purposes.
They farm here, and not only do they get food, but they also get paid every month, which is much better than farming in the village.
Moreover, the women in the family can earn money here. Now, they can earn at least two taels of silver a month, which is more money than they could earn in a lifetime in the village.
Those who laughed at them for being foolish back then are now envious, and they've started having people come to ask if they need any more people.
Song Ning left the west side of the city and passed by the construction site.
The underground passage was still under construction in an orderly manner. I stood by and guided the bricklaying. When it looked about right, I headed towards the county government office.
Zheng Gaoyi had just returned from the dock, and Song Ning immediately agreed after explaining the matter.
"To be honest, all those who left before want to come back now, but I refused them."
Those who left now understand that it was those few officials in the court who sent people to offer benefits and made empty promises.
These people actually believed it, after all, one was a county magistrate from a remote area, and the other was an official in the imperial court. It was obvious which one was more convincing.
"But don't worry, now that Ying Huai is back, they'll be in big trouble."
Speaking of Xie Linzhou, Song Ning thought of Xu Feng from her family. She knew without even thinking that this matter was his doing.
"By the way, according to what you said, a rough outline has been built near the dock. Would you like to come with me to take a look?"
When we arrived at the dock, we walked around inside. The foundation had already been laid, and once the dock was completed, houses could be built.
According to the plan, this place should be a food stall, so Song Ning's solution is to leave a window facing out in each shop to make it easier for customers to buy things.
Shops also come in different sizes. Those that sell snacks can be relatively smaller, so that the snacks are easy for people to carry in their hands and still have time to stroll around the street.
“We built it exactly as you instructed, but because we don’t have enough manpower, this is all we can do right now.”
After leaving the food street, you'll reach the market across the street. There's only the foundation of the market yet, but it's expected to supply some vegetables and fruits in the future, making it more convenient for people living nearby to buy groceries.
For passenger ships that have access to the area, it would be much more convenient if they needed to pick up cargo.
The two streets together occupy a considerable area, but once built, the future profits will be enormous.
Recently, boats traveling on this river have started stopping at the dock, and seeing that the dock is still under construction, people are urging them to hurry up.
As Zheng Gaoyi emerged from the dock, he gazed at the flat expanse before him. Just a few months ago, this place had been a jumble of rocks and overgrown with weeds.
Song Ning couldn't help but ask, "Lord Zheng, why are you so persistent about Tianxiang County?"
Generally speaking, it is only when the imperial court takes the initiative to bring it up that officials are sent to take over.
It is obvious that this place was a wasteland before. After it was occupied by the enemy country, the people here either died or fled.
Although it was occupied by an enemy country, it was not taken seriously, and not many people lived here. I heard that it was abandoned after only a few years.
Later, it was taken back by Xie Linzhou, and the county magistrate volunteered to come to this place.
Zheng Gaoyi gazed into the distance, as if remembering something, and murmured, "This...is my home..."
Zheng Gaoyi gazed quietly into the distance, a faint sadness in his eyes, like the passing of time.
This was the first time Song Ning had learned that the county magistrate was from here; she had assumed he was from the capital.
She then recalled the name that Lord Zheng had called out when he was drunk. Could it be a relative of his?
Song Ning didn't want to upset him, so she felt apologetic and remained silent.
After standing there for an unknown amount of time, Zheng Gaoyi regained his usual composure and said with a smile, "Alright, let's go back."
Just as I was about to leave, I heard the sound of wheels behind me, and a horse-drawn carriage was approaching from a distance.
Zheng Gaoyi chuckled: "Well, it seems the matter has been resolved."
Song Ning didn't understand. As the carriage drew closer, Song Ning finally saw the person inside: Zhang Ping.
Xie Linzhou has arrived.
Song Ning suddenly tensed up. Could this person really be here to settle accounts?
She really just wanted to use his name to scare the two Xu brothers yesterday; she didn't do anything bad.
If she had known he was back, she would never have said those things.
Xie Linzhou stepped down from the carriage, his gaze fixed straight at Song Ning without looking anywhere else.
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