As the three of them ate the melon seeds that Yun Zhourong had brought out, Old Madam Yun said with a smile, "Later, it was your father who said that you would definitely marry into a scholarly family in the future, and that the two of them should go as dowry maids. If they were illiterate, they would make you a laughingstock, so they agreed to go."
"Yes, they are all good girls, and it's the right thing for them to go to school."
Yun Zhourong was deeply moved after hearing this.
Although these two little girls suffered a lot from a young age and almost lost their lives, they are indeed very kind and well-behaved children.
She was also very grateful that she was able to save them.
Then she continued, "By the way, Mother, did you ask about the situation of those barren mountains around our academy that I asked you to inquire about before?"
"I asked around, and those mountains were unwanted and under the jurisdiction of the government. When the prefect heard that you wanted them, he sold them to us at the lowest price, which was practically a free gift."
After Zhao finished speaking, she got up and went to her room to hand the land deeds to Yun Zhourong. "The land deeds are all here, but why did you buy those barren mountains? I don't think they're suitable for farming!"
"I plan to use it to grow cotton."
Yun Zhourong put away the land deed before explaining, "It's the cotton filling the quilts we use now. Lord Snow Demon said that cotton doesn't have high requirements for the soil, and these barren mountains are just right. If we can grow it well, we can promote it on a large scale in the future."
"Oh, I see. That's great news!"
Upon hearing this, both the matriarch and Madam Zhao were very supportive, as they were among the first beneficiaries of cotton and knew best its benefits.
If cotton could be widely adopted in the Dasheng Dynasty, fewer people would freeze to death in the winters.
For example, during this cold wave, although many people starved to death, even more people froze to death.
Even on ordinary days, what people fear most is winter, because it is the most difficult time to endure.
"Well, now that the matter of the barren mountain has been taken care of, I have to go out for a bit. I probably won't be back for lunch. Just make me dinner."
After Yun Zhourong finished speaking, she hurriedly went out.
Knowing that she was getting more and more ambitious and that she had quite a few self-defense weapons on her, the two elders didn't stop her.
However, Yun Zhourong was still advised to put on her veil, as it was better for a woman to avoid showing her face in public when she went out.
Yun Zhourong had no objection to this, and also felt that this face was indeed prone to causing trouble, so covering it up would solve everything.
Once outside, Yun Zhourong flagged down a donkey cart and hurried off to the outskirts of the city.
"Miss Yun, you've arrived!"
Upon seeing her, Yang Sen was the first to run over and greet her, then happily asked someone to call the others over.
Yes, these people included not only wounded soldiers, but also slaves from illegal workshops rescued from Yazhou Ridge.
These slaves have been kept in captivity for many years, have no relatives in the world, have no other skills besides carving agarwood, and cannot speak. If they were released, they would have no chance of survival.
In the end, Yun Zhourong couldn't bear it any longer and accepted them all.
These people were saved by Yun Zhourong, and they all knew she was a good person, so they were all willing to follow her.
In fact, Yun Zhourong bought those barren mountains to grow cotton in order to provide these people with a place to settle down.
Apart from the wounded soldiers, these slaves were all capable of working. It was indeed troublesome to live outside without being able to communicate, but if they were just following orders and working as laborers, it wouldn't have much of an impact.
From clearing barren mountains to planting cotton, harvesting cotton, and spinning, all of these require a large workforce.
In this way, these people were given the best arrangement.
This was a plan that Yun Zhourong and Ji Minxiu came up with together overnight before leaving Yazhou Ridge.
Moreover, it was Yun Zhourong who first came up with the idea of planting cotton.
The main reason is that she really loves cotton. Ever since Ji Minxiu mentioned that cotton could be grown in the Dasheng Dynasty, she has been thinking about it.
Now, things are finally perfect.
Of course, planting cotton next to the academy was also to make it easier for Yun Hongcheng and the others to take care of each other in the future.
After everyone was gathered, Yun Zhourong led them to the desolate mountain.
Reclaiming the barren mountains is a matter for later; the most urgent task at hand is to build houses for these people to live in.
After arriving at a flat clearing on the barren mountain, Yang Sen looked at Yun Zhourong and asked, "Miss Yun, you said you wanted to build a house here, but we don't have any materials."
"No rush, it will be ready soon."
After Yun Zhourong finished speaking, she walked to a more secluded place and summoned Ji Minxiu, asking, "How is it? Are all the building materials ready?"
Ji Minxiu nodded, "Everything is ready, I'll go and bring it over right away."
When Ji Minxiu disappeared and then reappeared, countless bags of cement, like small mountains, and other building materials appeared out of nowhere on the open ground.
"Is this cement?" Yun Zhourong looked at it with eyes full of curiosity.
"Yes, let's go, you'll see how amazing it is in a little while."
After Ji Minxiu finished speaking, he led Yun Zhourong towards the slaves and personally instructed them on how to build houses.
Because there was no cement mixer, everything had to be done manually. To prevent injury to their hands and feet, Ji Minxiu prepared rubber shoes and gloves for everyone.
"Mmm..."
Seeing that their feet were completely dry even though they were in the cement, the slaves, though unable to speak, were clearly filled with astonished excitement.
Yun Zhourong herself was also very surprised, and put on a pair of shoes. "If we have these, wouldn't we not have to worry about rainy days or going to the fields?"
Ji Minxiu nodded, "That's right, but it will take a long time to manufacture the materials for this in the Great Sheng Dynasty. I can take some out for my own people to use, but it's not allowed to promote it to others."
"So that's how it is."
Although Yun Zhourong felt somewhat disappointed, she also expressed her understanding and couldn't help but sigh, "The future world is truly amazing. How exactly were such special things discovered and created?"
Ji Minxiu couldn't explain this either, after all, he was just a slightly smarter businessman, not a researcher, and he himself held these things in awe.
After that, everyone proceeded with the construction of the house in an orderly manner.
At night, they all stayed in tents for the time being. As for food, a temporary stove was set up and the female slaves who were good at cooking were selected to be in charge.
Although people still have doubts about why the building materials are never used up.
But thinking that Ji Minxiu must have brought it up when no one was paying attention, he didn't think much of it.
As for cement and such things, none of the people present were professional bricklayers, nor did they know much about them, so at first they didn't notice anything wrong.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhourong finally welcomed the family reunion banquet hosted by the prefect.
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