Chapter 103
"Don't worry," Gu Ran said, waving goodbye to Xu Sanlang without even turning back. "I'll have the ingredients ready in a while and brew it for you."
How could she forget about such fast-growing businesses as red mushrooms and konjac sauce?
Although Gu Ran has decided to make citrus cultivation her main business, she cannot give up other side businesses that can generate income. So now her business activities include:
The first is the herbal jelly business. The profits are shared by three stores in the county, one store in the port of the prefectural city, and one store in the market of the prefectural city. Although the total profit of this item fluctuates every month, it generally remains at around ten taels of silver.
The second is the cultivation of grass jelly and konjac, which is dependent on the production of burnt grass jelly. However, this depends on the amount of dried grass jelly produced each time and the amount of konjac harvested. The average income each quarter is about 6 taels.
The third is the business of making a lot of money from red mushrooms and konjac, which are both valuable. Both have a fixed amount of profit. Red mushrooms can make about 60 taels of profit a year, while konjac sauce is even more. Brewing ten jars can make 100 taels of profit.
As for skins and wild delicacies, since hunting in the mountains is less common, these wild products cannot be regarded as a fixed trade. Sometimes when hunting bamboo rats in the mountains to try them out, the skins are kept to sew bedding or jackets for myself.
In this way, not counting the profits from the main citrus business, Gu Ran's total income for that year could reach around 200. It can be said that even if he didn't mess around with Dunzi Island, Gu Ran could just lie back and enjoy himself.
However, since we have already bought Dunzi Island and successfully planted citrus fruits with great effort, why shouldn’t we continue?
Besides, who would complain about having too much money?
At least Gu Ran doesn't mind and even hopes for more!
And it was precisely because she had earned so much money before that she dared to make such large investments as building a ferry on Dunzi Island, hiring workers, continuing to build houses, and repairing roads.
With Xu Sanlang's reminder, Gu Ran made the konjac jam that he had reserved with the one hundred taels of silver he had spent in advance, and placed it in space grid No. 7 in advance. Not long after the New Year, Gu Ran used his points to give space grid No. 7 the property of maintaining the constant state of objects placed in the space. The batch of orange jam and canned oranges produced after the New Year were all placed in here.
In addition, this space No. 7 also stores a lot of citrus fruits that Gu Ran bought in advance, in preparation for the possible reduction in production this year due to environmental changes and incompatibility of the newly planted citrus trees with the soil and water.
Soon, September arrived.
On Dunzi Island, there is a field of early-ripening citrus fruits in front of the valley, all of which are laden with golden fruits of all sizes.
After being busy for more than half a year, the fruit farmers and their workers who were hired to take care of the orange grove have been celebrating for days after finally seeing the oranges mature successfully.
Okay, okay, this Dunzi Island is really suitable for growing orange trees. Seeing how many oranges have ripened this year, the lady from the Gu family’s orange forest is indeed viable, and their job is stable.
Seeing such a large orange grove, Gu Ran smiled and said, "Sixth Mother, we used to be hired to pick oranges from the Liu family's orange orchard. This year, it's our turn to hire someone to pick oranges."
Pei Liu looked at the tree full of heavy oranges and nodded with a smile, "Second Mother is right."
Not only that, we can also invite Xu San and Manager Xu from Fusheng Trading Company to come to the island to look at the oranges that will be sold to them.
Manager Xu had been to Dunzi Island when he delivered the orange tree to Gu Ran, but this was Xu Sanlang's first time here.
Nowadays, most of Gu Ran’s citrus products are produced in cooperation with Fusheng Trading Company. This was the first time that a large quantity of tangerines was sold. To show caution, Xu Sanlang also came with Manager Xu.
After the Fusheng Trading Company's boat docked at the ferry, a coachman and a donkey cart were waiting there to invite them to get on and go to the orange grove.
When they arrived, the guys in the orange grove were picking oranges!
Although we hired people to pick the oranges, there were only about 150 trees, and if the islanders worked together, they could pick all the oranges in a few days, so we didn't hire any outsiders that year.
When they weighed the oranges they harvested, they found that although they were not very productive, the normal yield of an orange tree of the size they transplanted was about 300 kilograms of fruit, and the highest was more than 500 kilograms.
But the orange trees in front of them weighed at least a hundred pounds each, and most of them were around two hundred pounds. Fortunately, there were many plants that also reached the average weight. Calculated in this way, the final total weight was almost four thousand pounds.
But before delivery, Gu Ran, Pei Liu and the farmers picked out all the ones with poor appearance and bad taste. Finally, there were about 3,000 kilograms left, and according to the agreement with Manager Xu, they were all sold to Fusheng Trading Company.
Of course, before that, the quality of the oranges must also be tested.
Manager Xu and his men randomly picked a few tangerines from each basket piled in the warehouse to taste. After confirming that the tangerines were sweet and juicy and of top quality, they bought them all at the price stated in the deed.
Xu Sanlang was very happy as he watched the baskets of oranges being loaded onto the cart.
He came to Minzhou to contact an orchard for growing citrus. He encountered many twists and turns in the first two years. Until this year, after Gu Er Niang made a big investment to buy an island to grow oranges, he finally had a way to transport the oranges back to the north to sell every year.
In order to maintain this stable supply of goods, Manager Xu signed for the oranges outside, while Xu Sanlang was in the house, drafting a long-term cooperation agreement between Fusheng Trading Company and Gujia Xiaoju with Gu Erniang and Pei Liuniang. In the future, Gujia Xiaoju's citrus products (including orange marmalade, canned oranges, and dried tangerine peel, etc.) would be supplied to Fusheng in a fixed quantity, and Fusheng would also purchase the citrus products at the best price.
Gu Ran was more than happy to establish a supply and marketing relationship with Fusheng Trading Company, with which he had cooperated many times.
On this day, the two parties officially confirmed the alliance business of sending oranges from south to north, and Fusheng became the most important and stable partner of Gujia Xiaoju.
"Second Aunt Gu, wait for me to come back and look forward to the next batch of marmalade and canned oranges."
When Xu Sanlang and Manager Xu left Dunzi Island with this batch of oranges, they did not forget to remind him.
"No problem. As long as your Fusheng merchant ship comes back, just tell my Gu Er Niang." Gu Ran smiled and nodded repeatedly.
This is a business that can make a lot of money, so Xu San doesn't need to say anything, of course he has to do it well.
After the first business was completed, in order to reward the farmers and workers who had worked hard for more than half a year, Lin Erlang was asked to take money to the county dock that day to buy a lot of meat as a snack for everyone.
After a sumptuous dinner, the first bonus of the year was distributed to everyone.
"After the second and third batches of oranges are sold, we'll have a few good meals and give you some rewards." Gu Ran sat at the same table with Pei Liu and Li Ji, raising his glass to address all the employees present.
"good!"
"Boss Gu is so generous!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Gu. Starting tomorrow, we will double our efforts to keep the orange trees lush and healthy!"
"Let them hit the most and best oranges!"
…
When Lin Erlang went to the county town to buy meat, Gu Ran took out ten taels of silver and asked him to exchange it for some small change and copper coins at the money shop. After they had a good meal and a good drink, he rewarded the men on the spot according to their merits and distributed the reward money to them.
Most of the guys who received the silver were young men from Xiaxi Village. They were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling as they received silver in addition to their ten-day wages for the first time.
Even Grandpa Lu, who has lived on Dunzi Island for many years and is now considered a half-worker in the orange grove, received a reward.
Although Grandpa Lu still didn't speak and his expression was dull, his hoarse voice and the gesture of tightly holding the silver coins revealed that he was as excited as everyone else at the moment.
Yang Jinling and Yang Yinling were also very excited as they held the reward money in their hands.
"Sister, I also got a reward!" Yang Yinling was surprised. She touched the reward money she received and it was a hundred coins.
"Sister, how much money did you get?"
"I won't tell you." Yang Jinling smiled so hard that her face turned red.
This Gu Er Niang is really capable. She has only been on the island for a short time, but she can already earn more money than she did working elsewhere before.
It was the right decision for me to come to the island to work.
After everyone received their reward money, the banquet ended for the day.
When Gu Ran returned to the house, it was time for her and her two partners, Pei Liu, to divide the profits.
The total profit from selling this batch of oranges was nearly 160 taels of silver. After deducting the 80 taels of deposit that Xu San paid in advance and the silver he just gave to his fellow employees as tips, there was still 70 taels left.
He and Pei Liu divided it equally, each getting 35 taels.
If the remaining batch of late-ripening oranges can be sold for a certain amount of money, taking into account the loss, there will still be at least fifty taels of income. In addition, there are those oranges that don't look good but taste good, and they can be used to make orange jam and canned oranges. In this way, an individual can earn at least two hundred taels a year.
The huge amount of money invested before can be recovered in just two years.
"What do you think, Liu Niang? When I asked you to partner with me in running this orange orchard, was it sincerely inviting you to make money together?" Gu Ran asked happily, holding the money he had just officially earned since planting oranges.
Pei Liu looked at the silver ingots he and Gu Erniang had earned together and smiled at her, "I never doubted you, Erniang!"
"Then you have good taste!" Gu Ran was proud.
After the first batch of tangerines were sold, the tangerines in the large forest behind the valley also matured in batches. In October, the second batch of tangerines matured and were harvested. This time, there were only 900 kilograms of fruit, so Gu Ran transported them in batches to the county town and the provincial capital for sale.
Because of an accident at the Liu and Zhu family orange orchards the previous year, there were not many oranges on the market. As soon as the oranges came on the market, many families rushed to buy them, and 900 kilograms of oranges were sold out in just two days.
At the end of October and the beginning of November, the third and fourth batches of tangerines came on the market. Seeing Gu Ran selling such a large number of tangerines, many managers of large households and merchants also noticed the Gu family's small tangerines, which had not been well-known in previous years but had suddenly become popular this year. Many people began to inquire about the Gu family's tangerine production, and the tangerine grove on Dunzi Island gradually became known to the public.
Some merchants who specialize in citrus business and transport tangerines to nearby Southeast Asia also gradually came into contact with Gu's tangerines.
Soon, the Liu and Zhu families in Donglin Township learned that the wife of the Gu family in Xiaxi Village had bought Dunzi Island, reclaimed wasteland on the island, and planted large tracts of citrus groves.
"What a great woman, Gu Erniang! She took advantage of the situation at our orange orchard and seized the opportunity to come from behind and take over."
"Buying an island to make a living from citrus? How dare she think of that."
However, the orange grove planting on the island was successful, and the Gu family's oranges that were continuously transported to the dock and sold at the harbor were proof of this.
They were harmed by the yellow shoot disease and did not dare to buy forests in the villages around Donglin Township to replant citrus. They did not expect that oranges could be grown on a deserted island, so Gu Er Niang got there first.
"Then, can we also buy an island to isolate ourselves from the yellow shoot disease and grow abundant citrus trees?"
"Go explore the other deserted islands in the Broken Islands to see if you can cultivate them and plant orange trees there. If so, ask the village head Weng how much silver the island would sell for."
"But, Boss, it's said that there's miasma, poisonous insects, snakes, and flies on that deserted island. Ordinary people wouldn't dare go there, would they?"
"Then why did Gu Erniang dare to bring people to the island?"
"It is said that when Gu Erniang led people to the island, she relied on her family's unique secret recipe to protect them from the harm of miasma. Even the orange grove on Dunzi Island now has a tall tower built specifically to dispel the miasma."
"What tower?"
"Don't you know? They're like the five tall towers that have been built in Xiaxi Village. They're what everyone calls windmills."
"Then why don't we build a few on the island?"
"Of course, but first, we have to figure out how to get to the island without getting harmed by the miasma!"
Can the miasma problem be solved?
It seems that it is not possible.
At least not for now.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be the case that after so many years and generations, only Gu Er Niang in front of him dared to bring people to the island.
The Liu and Zhu families looked at Gu Er Niang's Dunzi Island and sighed in despair, but they could only give up.
As for Gu Ran, the second daughter of the Gu family, she has been falling asleep every night with the huge amount of money she earned in her arms lately. She feels extremely happy.
Unfortunately, the yield of the later batch of citrus trees was not as high as that of the early-maturing varieties. There were also more than 30 citrus trees that, probably because they had not adapted to the changing environment, produced fruits that were golden in appearance but tasted bitter and astringent and could not be sold.
I'm afraid I'll have to see how to improve it next year.
This is a variety that bears fruit before the New Year. By mid-November, the fruits are fully ripe. After picking the last wave, all the fruits in this citrus grove for the year have been picked.
Gu Ran thought this was perfect.
Everyone can take a break and go home to celebrate the New Year. During this time, only a few people will remain on the island to guard the orange grove.
When those who made a small amount of money from the orange grove left Dunzi Island happily, Gu Ran and Pei Liu, who made a lot of money, also left Dunzi Island happily. However, they did not return to Xiaxi Village. Instead, they took a boat directly to the county town to attend the He family's wedding banquet.
He Qinghuan participated in the student examination held in the provincial capital in September this year. She ranked among the top in the red list announced in October and was recommended to study at Shenghua Academy in Damao City. The He family was very happy, so they held a banquet to celebrate for their daughter recently and invited all the acquaintances. As loyal partners of the He family, Gu Erniang and Pei Liuniang would naturally not be left behind.
Not only He Qinghuan, but also Xiaxi Village's Cao Lin Sanlang has passed the examination to study at Shenglin Academy, and will soon set off for Damao City to study.
Both of them were in high spirits.
It is said that the two families have arranged a marriage for their wives and husbands, so that they can take care of each other after arriving in Damao City.
Gu Ran had attended the banquet hosted by Village Chief Wu's family for Lin Sanlang in the village, and then came to the He family's banquet.
During the banquet, we met Village Chief Wu's family - Lin Dalang and his wife, as well as Lin Sanlang.
Yes, now that they are engaged, the two families will be in-laws in the future.
At the lively banquet, Gu Ran also met people from Uncle Yang's family.
It’s not surprising that such a big happy event would require the presence of He Qinghuan’s maternal grandfather’s family. Not only Uncle Yang’s family was there, but also Father Yang and other members of the Yang family.
After three rounds of drinks, everyone was concentrating on eating. Those who came to congratulate left and dispersed, but Gu Ran and Pei Liu stayed.
He Qinghuan was about to leave the county town. It was said that Uncle He and Aunt He were worried about their daughter living alone in such a faraway place, so they planned to go to Damao City with their daughter to live - just like the many parents she had seen in her first life who went to study abroad but were worried about their children so they traveled across the ocean to accompany them.
As for the business that the He family and the Yang family are cooperating on, no matter whether it is a stall or a shop, how to set it up, as the main manager, I have to give an explanation to all the partners.
He Qinghuan had already made arrangements for this.
The stall in the county town was handed over to the families of Aunt He and Uncle He.
As for the shop at the port in the city, it will be handed over to Uncle Yang and his family to manage in the future. With Uncle Yang's ability, there is no need to worry about the shop going bankrupt.
As for the herbal jelly shop in the city that had just opened not long ago, the business had been very good since it opened after the New Year. Although the commission from this shop was only 20%, the silver delivered to Gu Ran every month was no less than five taels.
The largest roasted grass jelly shop was handed over to Shen Erlang for management - in fact, it was managed by the Shen family. After all, all the shops in the city were set up by Master Shen after he heard that his son was going to start a business in partnership with others, so he sent a manager to help. The manager was the shopkeeper and a servant of Master Shen's family.
Shen Erlang also participated in this student assessment, but was not on the list.
Through this kind of student selection examination held by the government office, students are directly recommended to study at Shenglin or Shenghua Academy in Damao City and become the emperor's disciples. A student can only participate in this examination once.
Other scholars who failed to pass this selection test could only take the ordinary imperial examination path, from the scholar examination to the Jinshi examination, before they could obtain the qualification to serve as officials in the court.
Since Shen Erlang wanted to stay in the county to continue studying for the college entrance examination, it would be appropriate to hand over the store to him as one of the partners.
This is considered to be a complete explanation.
"Also, we thought that since my parents were going to Damao City with me, they would also need to find work there, so we decided to open a He's Herbal Grass Jelly shop in Damao City."
Everyone was shocked when the far-sighted He Qinghuan said this.
Gu Ran was also convinced.
He Qinghuan, he has such a smart mind at such a young age, he can make a living wherever he wants to go!
For the first time, she felt that choosing to join Aunt He in the roasted grass jelly business was the right thing to do. Otherwise, how could she have met such an intelligent person like He Qinghuan!
She is simply my own money-giving boy!
"It's not impossible to open a roasted grass jelly shop in Damao City, but we need grass jelly, right? And konjac? Does Damao City have these two things?" These are the main ingredients in the store.
"Then we have to go to Damao City to see if there is any. Before we find it, or if there is none, we can bring it directly from here."
Gu Ran thought about He Qinghuan's proposal and found it feasible.
The grass jelly is dried before being cooked, so there is no need to worry about the grass jelly becoming stale or spoiling during transportation from the county town to Damao City. As for konjac, it originally needs to be processed and ground into powder before it can be cooked and eaten. It can also be processed at the production site and then sent to Damao City.
When Gu Ran was still in exile, he passed through Nanfeng County in Damao City. At that time, he walked overland to Puzhou in Fujian, which took more than a month. It took more than another month to take a donkey cart from Puzhou to the current Yongchang County.
It took more than two months.
However, Minzhou has convenient water transportation, and the journey by water is definitely shorter than by land. It is said that it only takes four days to take a boat from Jianzhou Prefecture to Lun Port, the nearest port to Damao City. From Lun Port, take a donkey cart to Damao City, which is about half a month's journey, which is much more convenient than traveling by land.
From this perspective, it is entirely possible to transport dried fairy grass and konjac from here.
Of course, issues like cargo transportation depend on how He Qinghuan, Uncle Yang and others solve them.
As the provider of the recipe and ingredients, Gu Ran didn't have to consider this problem at all, nor did he have the ability or connections to solve it.
"Once we open a store in Damao City, we must ensure that the fairy grass and konjac here can be supplied. Sister Gu?" He Qinghuan looked at Gu Ran.
The Yang family is now growing fairy grass. It is said that they have planted a lot of it, which is enough to supply all the needs of the shops and stalls. However, the cultivation of konjac is still the responsibility of Mai Xiang and Gu Ran.
"Konjac is also selling very well. The konjac we've purchased from the Mai family can only sustain the demand of the two stores in the city. But if Damao City opens another store, I'm afraid the Mai family will have to continue expanding their konjac cultivation. To be on the safe side, if the Mai family's supply is insufficient or unexpectedly cut off, Sister Gu will have to plant more." He Qinghuan said, "Sister Gu, do you think you should plant a few more acres or hire a few more people to increase production?"
Well, she was still thinking that if the konjac grown by Maixiang was in excess of demand, she would find a way out for her to cooperate with Fusheng Trading Company. Now it seems that just supplying the He family's livelihood is not enough.
The subsequent processing of konjac is troublesome. It is not enough to just grow it, it also needs to be ground.
Nowadays, the processing of konjac is handed over to the He family. There are large areas of konjac planted in Maixiang. In order to save costs, the He family taught the Yang family how to process it. Therefore, most of the konjac is ground into semi-finished products in Nanyu Village and then transported to the provincial capital.
Unprocessed raw konjac has a short shelf life and is easy to rot. Processed konjac slices or konjac powder can be stored for a long time like dried flour noodles.
If she expands production, the amount of konjac that needs to be ground will also increase.
"I'll ask the villagers to help me plant a few more acres." Gu Ran thought of the five windmills in the village.
From the beginning, she had imagined that the windmill could be used for two purposes, as a mill!
Since the konjac plantation is expanding, it's time to use the windmill.
So, as He Qinghuan and Lin Sanlang went to Damao City, the matter of opening a roasted grass jelly shop was decided that night.
The store's share of the profits was also adjusted accordingly with the change of the main decision-maker.
But Gu Ran's share did not change. As for the store in Damao City, thanks to the secret recipe of roasted grass jelly and konjac, Gu Ran could get a share of the dividends without investing any money.
The He family asked her to buy the fairy grass and konjac for a separate fee.
Gu Ran said he had no objection.
Damao City is so far away, and she stayed in Yongchang County, out of reach. The He family still remembered to leave a sip of soup for her to drink. How could she be ungrateful?
She also has her main business of Orange Island to take care of!
After returning to Xiaxi Village, before Gu Ran had time to think about this matter carefully, Village Chief Wu and Mrs. Lin Er came to his house, just to discuss the expansion of konjac production!
The He family and Gu Erniang kept the secret method of processing fairy grass and konjac in their hands and never passed it on to others, but it is possible to grow konjac!
Aren’t the Yang and Mai families both planting it?
Now the He family wanted to open a shop and asked Gu Erniang to expand the planting. But there was only one Gu Erniang, no, two people, and she also had to take care of the orange groves on Dunzi Island. Where would she find people to help her plant konjac? She still had to find people in the village.
Lin Sanlang, who participated in the meeting to expand the business territory, probably revealed this matter to his mother. Didn’t Village Chief Wu come to see Gu Er Niang?
Afraid that Gu Er Niang would not agree, he even asked Lin Er Sao to bring her little grandson to play the emotional card!
Mrs. Lin Ersao's precious son Qi Ge'er has finally grown strong enough to be brought out to meet people earlier.
Yutuanzi, who is over one year old, is white and chubby, has a quiet temperament and is very well-behaved. She is loved by everyone and is carried in every car wherever she goes!
Ever since Gu Ran and Pei Liu started going to Dunzi Island to plant oranges, the task of growing oranges at home was handed over to Lin Ersao, who also helped with drying the oranges.
For the three generations of the Daju family living together, Lin Ersao and Qi Ge'er are frequent visitors to the small house and are very familiar to them.
Qi Ge'er is the little brother of the new great-grandson Little Spot, Little Hawksbill and Little Black Ball. Mrs. Lin brought him here and often let him play with the three little cats. They have a very good relationship with each other.
Today was the same. I put Qi Ge'er on the mat next to the charcoal fire, and he crawled around and ended up sleeping with a few furry balls.
"You have so many cats at home, but you are not willing to give me one." Mrs. Lin scolded.
"This is Daju's family. Just like Qi Ge'er is your sweetheart, every cat is the sweetheart of every cat mother. Are you willing to be separated from your flesh and blood?" If she could afford to raise them herself, that would be another matter. She would have to find other shit scoopers, but if she could afford it, of course she would raise them herself!
"This is a cat." How can the little beast care about separating flesh and blood?
"I just love seeing the big orange cat family staying peacefully in the little house. I like it."
Mrs. Lin Er couldn't argue with Gu Ran, so she stopped talking and instead told Village Chief Wu that she was willing to help grow konjac.
"Your Erlang is now helping me with work on Dunzi Island. You, the village chief, should do the farm work for your family, right?" Mrs. Lin Er is mainly taking care of the children. Can she handle the farm work in the fields?
"We can do it! We have convenient farm tools, and farming doesn't require much manpower. Even without Erlang this year, we've managed just fine, haven't we?" Village Chief Wu said. "Besides, your orange grove is growing well now. Look, everyone's back in the village to rest now."
Yes, now the orange trees on Dunzi Island have grown vigorously and are bearing fruit smoothly. The first year, which was the time with the most work and the most trouble, has passed. The future growth will mainly depend on the weather and the care of the farmers and their workers, so everyone can have some free time.
As there is still more than a month to go before the Chinese New Year, all the people working in the orange grove can take a day off except those who stay behind.
Village Chief Wu nodded. "Besides, my eldest son comes back to help out when he has time! During the busy farming season, we can hire a few more helpers to help out during that period."
Gu Ran counted the fields on his side and nodded.
"It's not impossible. But the harvest can't be split 50-50. How about 40-60?"
"Okay, how do you plant it? When can you find time to teach us?"
Gu Ran agreed.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lin used to visit our small house frequently. Even when she was pregnant, she would often watch over Ran tending to the fairy grass or konjac by the side of the field. She was familiar with these two crops, so she got the hang of it quickly after being taught.
So Gu Ran simply handed over all his fields where he planted fairy grass and konjac to Lin Ersao to take care of, and planned to focus on planting orange trees on Dunzi Island.
Of course, she still had to go into the Lantau forest to harvest the seasonal products that could be sold for money.
For example, bayberry and red mushroom.
The saplings she planted by cutting off bayberry branches last year grew up, so this year Gu Ran transplanted the two grown bayberry saplings to the island, and also cut two branches from the male tree. She brought two more branches to Dunzi Island, chose a place and planted them all, hoping that they would grow well on Dunzi Island so that she could eat bayberries every year in the future.
She transplanted the branches and cuttings of the Li Mengzi to Dunzi Island, but she didn't know if they could survive in such a different environment.
In addition, she also transplanted the red tangerine tree in the small house. Not in the tangerine grove, but in the middle of the courtyard in the house, leaving a special place for it.
With an environment that allows it to grow fully, the red tangerine finally grew taller and stronger, which made her very pleased to see.
As for the red mushroom, it cannot be cultivated artificially, so if Gu Ran wants to harvest this precious mountain delicacy, he can only go to the basswood forest in Dayu Forest to pick it in June and July every year.
After handing over the cultivation of fairy grass and konjac to Village Chief Wu and Mrs. Lin, she had more free time besides taking care of the orange grove.
In the blink of an eye, the new year has passed.
After the Lantern Festival, Lin Sanlang and He Qinghuan's family set off for Damao City.
It was a beautiful day. Gu Ran, Pei Liu, Village Chief Wu and others went to the dock to see them off.
Lin Sanlang and He Qinghuan set out with the prepared fairy grass hay and konjac. After they took a boat from the county town to the provincial capital, they had to change boats to go to Lun Port.
There were a lot of things to carry and the journey was long, so we hired a bodyguard team to escort them.
In addition to Village Chief Wu and Lin Dalang, there were also people from the He and Yang families who saw them off, and other classmates from the county official school also came to see them off at the dock.
After all, they are the only two disciples of the emperor who can go to Damao City to study, and they are also honored.
After the boat that Lin Sanlang and He Qinghuan were on slowly left, the people who came to see them off at the port gradually dispersed, and Gu Ran saw that Shen Erlang and Master Shen were also among them.
"Gu Erniang!" Shen Erlang saw Gu Ran and jumped over. He glanced at Pei Liuniang beside her and suddenly became reserved. "Liu Niang, are you following Gu Erniang into the city too?"
Pei Liuniang originally looked pretty and delicate, but who would have thought that after so many years, she had grown so tall that she was almost as tall as me.
Dressed like a gentleman, to those who don't know the truth, he really looks like a handsome gentleman!
Shen Erlang touched his nose, not knowing what he was thinking about.
Pei Liu glanced at Shen Erlang and ignored him.
Seeing his son approaching Second Lady Gu, Master Shen also walked over to them: "So it's Madam Gu and Madam Pei, are you here to see Third Lady Lin and Miss He off as well?"
“That’s right!”
As Gu Ran spoke, he found a place at the He family's grass jelly stall to sit down and rest.
Now the grass jelly stall at the dock is run by He's second uncle.
It is estimated that after Uncle He decided to follow his daughter to Damao City, he passed on his porridge cooking skills to his brother. Now Uncle He took over the stall and also sells roasted grass jelly and porridge at the same time.
Gu Ran and Pei Liuniang often went to the He family and were familiar with Uncle He. As for Master Shen and Shen San, they also made a living with the He family and knew each other. When he saw them coming, Uncle He came over to greet them personally, "Hey, Master Shen and Master Shen, and Madam Gu and Madam Pei, are you here to see Sanlang Lin and our niece off?"
"Yes, Sanlang Lin and Miss He are both classmates of our second son. It's only natural for them to give him a ride." Master Shen laughed heartily and glanced at his second son. "Unfortunately, our son is not as smart as them."
"No, no, maybe Master Shen came to our county too late and didn't learn enough. If he could study for a few more years before taking the exam, he would probably be able to pass." Uncle He said, "It doesn't matter if he can't go to Shenglin Academy. Maybe Master Shen can even become the top scorer in the exam in the future!"
"Thank you for your good wishes, thank you for your good wishes!" Mr. Shen laughed.
Shen Erlang also chuckled beside him, glanced at Pei Liu, and pretended to be reserved.
Gu Ran drank a bowl of cold porridge and asked Uncle He about the stall in the county town. Then he asked Shen Erlang: "What about the shop in the prefecture city now?"
Shen Erlang smiled: "Didn't I ask my father to help watch over there?"
Gu Ran looked at Master Shen in surprise: "Oh, you want Master Shen to take action?"
"Hey, it's rare for him to start a business with someone else. Since Sanlang Lin and Miss He have entrusted him with the management of the store, as his father, I can't just stand by and watch when my son speaks up, right? Otherwise, this kid will ruin everyone's business while they're gone."
"Father, I'm not that useless, am I?" Shen Erlang said angrily, "I just want you to help me manage the store when it's convenient for you. The owner of the store is still me."
"Okay, okay, you can do it. Dad will go over and help you."
Everyone laughed.
"Is the store in the capital city doing well lately?"
As one of the partners, Gu Ran had also been to the newly opened He's Grass Jelly Restaurant, but because he was only concerned about getting the profit share, and he was also busy with the orange grove recently, he rarely went to the provincial capital.
"It's not bad, especially since the Imperial Censor from the capital returned a few days ago to report back. Many of the officers and soldiers in Jianzhou Prefecture were withdrawn, and martial law was lifted. It's busier than ever, and the store has seen a lot more customers."
"Are you talking about Censor He who came to investigate the case?" Gu Ran asked curiously.
Pei Liu on the side also pricked up his ears.
Mr. Shen nodded. "He was ordered to investigate the Zhou family's murder case and he even apprehended the assassin in our county. You've heard about that, right?"
Gu Ran nodded vigorously.
"Later, he took the assassin to Jianzhou Prefecture. It's said that the assassin spilled a lot of dirty laundry about the Number One Thief. He's been in Minzhou for almost a year now, and it's said that he followed the clues and busted the lair in Puzhou. It's truly satisfying!" Master Shen laughed heartily as he spoke, stroking his beard and sighing, "A cancer like the Number One Thief shouldn't be allowed to exist in this world."
Shen Erlang glanced at his father, and his expression darkened imperceptibly.
"That's right. This number one thief is all about buying people's lives. It's so unethical." Gu Ran said, glancing at Pei Liuniang. Seeing that she looked calm, he continued to ask, "Has that gentleman found out anything about the Zhou family murder case?"
"Oh, the family annihilation case is said to be committed by the number one thief in the world, and it was indeed done by an assassin hired by Du Jiang with a large sum of money. As for the truth and the inside story, I haven't heard it revealed by the government." Master Shen said.
When the government investigates a case, there is little information released to the public, and ordinary people have no way to obtain intelligence. What Mr. Shen knows is mostly widespread and fragmentary information spread by the people.
"So, what about General Qiao?"
"I haven't heard anything about General Qiao's whereabouts."
Mr. Shen shook his head.
"All the members of the Zhou family are gone. Few people knew General Qiao. The assassins who killed the Zhou family are also dead. There is no concrete evidence whether they killed General Qiao at that time."
"Is this the end of the matter?"
"It's been so long that many things can't be traced back! However, these two gentlemen have been investigating the case separately. They've carefully screened everyone who was friendly with Du Jiang, had close ties with the Zhou family, and may have been involved in the murder of General Qiao. Following the clues, they've also uncovered many ruthless and cruel people. It's very gratifying." Master Shen said happily, "I'm afraid the officials in Minzhou, from top to bottom, will need to be replaced."
Everyone chatted for a while with both relief and sighs, then stood up and said goodbye.
Mr. Shen was going to take a boat to continue to the provincial capital, Shen Er was going back to the official school, and Gu Ran and Pei Liu were preparing to return to Xiaxi Village.
Shen Er left first. Master Shen was still waiting for the passenger ship at the dock, but the boat that Gu Ran and Pei Liu were going to take back to Donglin Township slowly arrived at the shore.
They stood with a group of people at the ferry, waiting for the passengers on the boat to disembark before getting on board.
The passengers got off the boat one by one. Pei Liu, who was standing next to Gu Ran, was startled when he saw one of the passengers who looked exhausted. His expression changed slightly, but he immediately suppressed his emotion and quickly turned his head to look elsewhere.
That was the assassin he had seen in the inn he often visited.
Mr. Jia.
Didn’t they say that the censor wiped out all the assassins’ lairs in Puzhou?
How come such a person was missed?
Since Mr. Liu was able to betray the Puzhou branch, it was impossible for him not to betray Mr. Jia who was working on the mission with him.
So, was it Mr. Jia who was lucky and escaped?
But why did you dare to come back?
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