Chapter 127
The first people to bring back the news that General Qiao was still alive from the capital were the group of sea merchants who broke the ice and sailed back to Jianzhou after the New Year.
At first, some people in Jianzhou didn't believe it. The adults from the capital had been messing around in their area for more than two years and hadn't found anyone. How come they suddenly said that General Qiao was alive?
When more news about General Qiao reached Jianzhou from the capital, especially the imperial decree issued by the emperor himself announcing to the world that General Qiao was reinstated as the General of the Southern Expedition and was given the title of Marquis of Pingze, people had to believe it even if they didn't want to.
"Did our Hangzhou prefect find the man? He's so cunning, how come he didn't leak a single word while in office?"
"I heard that it wasn't someone sent by the prefect of Hangzhou who found it."
"Who found it?"
"Didn't you hear what those people from the capital said? It was Hero Li and Hero Pei from Yongchang County who found it."
"It was found by the wife of the Gu family. They say it was found on the island where she now grows her orange trees."
"That's right, General Qiao was in a terrible situation. He was framed by Du Jiang and the Zhou family and was stranded on that deserted island. He actually endured ten years of suffering!"
"So who is General Qiao?"
"How would we know? Why not just ask the people on Dunzi Island?"
Mrs. Gu went to the capital to collect the reward, but her orange grove still has a manager and servants, right?
It's such a big thing, it's impossible that no one in the orange grove knows about it, right?
Gradually, more and more people came to Dunzi Island to inquire about General Qiao, and many people came just to join in the fun, wanting to go to the island and take a look at the deserted island where General Qiao had lived for so many years.
Dunzi Island immediately became a popular attraction that people in the surrounding area, no, the entire Jianzhou, and even people from all over the country who happened to come to southern Fujian after hearing about it wanted to check out. Every day, groups of people would take the boat to the Dunzi Island ferry to go ashore, and one group would leave and another would come.
Not only them, but many villagers in Xiaxi Village had also heard about this and were puzzled. Many of the men who remained in the orange grove, unaware of the truth, began to talk to each other, "Was General Qiao rescued by our boss?"
"Why haven't I heard of it?"
"Neither have I."
"Then how can we say that Mr. Gu is General Qiao's savior?"
The confused people outside had no place to ask, but the guys in the orange grove did, so they went to ask the manager, and finally, they asked the chief manager, Lu Bo.
Originally, the news of finding General Qiao was kept secret to avoid any trouble. But now that General Qiao had met the emperor and his boss had received the reward, there was nothing to hide. So Uncle Lu proudly told the guy who came to ask about it.
"That's right, General Qiao was saved by our Gu family."
"Who is it?"
"That's Grandpa Lu. Do you remember who he is?"
"Who? Who is Grandpa Lu?"
Some of the men were hired after the night raid by the number one thief and had never seen this Grandpa Lu before. However, some people from Xiaxi Village, who had been employed since the orange grove was reclaimed and transplanted, or even further away, since the construction of the mansion, suddenly realized: "So, it was him!"
"That old madman, is he General Qiao?"
“I didn’t expect that!”
"We really don't recognize the real talent!"
"Why, he was so mad at that time, who could have guessed it was him!"
However, guards who had participated in the resistance against the number one thief, such as Uncle Liang, had already vaguely guessed that it was this old man when the rumors began to spread.
After all, it could be said that he saved all their lives that night.
"He is General Qiao!"
"No wonder he has such good skills!"
After General Qiao's identity was confirmed, it caused a huge uproar not only in the orange grove, but also in Xiaxi Village. After it was confirmed that the Gu family had saved someone, more people wanted to come to Dunzi Island to take a look.
The guards at the ferry were almost impossible to defend against, and even if they bypassed the ferry, there were still many curious people coming from other places on the island.
When Uncle Liang and his guards were patrolling around the orange grove, they caught many thieves who came to the island.
But the man refused to admit that he was a thief, saying that he had just come to the island to take a look and had done nothing. Uncle Liang had no choice but to give him a scolding and let him go.
But after releasing someone the day before, someone else came to the island again. The two deputy guard leaders were so worried that they went to the steward for advice one after another.
Since Boss Gu is not here, all matters, big or small, naturally have to be decided by the steward.
Now that Li Ji is not here, the two deputy leaders in charge of the guard work are Li Si and Liang Shu.
Li Si has two teams under his command, responsible for the security management of the orange grove in front of the valley. Uncle Liang also has two teams under his command, which are mainly responsible for the security management of the orange grove behind the valley and the other side of the wooden bridge.
"It's better to ease the pressure than to block it. Since we can't prevent it, let them come to the island and take a look!"
Uncle Lu said as he slowly sipped his tea and nibbled on his pastries.
Now, in the orange grove, apart from the three farmers' servants who are busy guarding, everyone else is idle. Moreover, it will take several months before the oranges are ripe and can be sold for money.
During this period, the orange grove had no growth, only expenditure.
Since those people like to come to the island to take a look, then let them come to the island to take a look, but they have to pay money. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to use this or that to make some income for Mr. Gu’s family?
A woman who can buy an island to plant an orange grove must be a boss who is not a stickler for convention. I'm afraid she would agree if he, the manager, uses the island to make money without any investment.
"No, Uncle Lu, are you serious?"
"Really? Why not? Instead of letting these people sneak onto the island, what if some bad-hearted people break into the orange grove and damage our trees? It's better to let them come to the island openly and take a look. On the one hand, it will satisfy their curiosity, and on the other hand, it will also provide more income for the orange grove."
"Of course, after we collect the money and let people onto the island, we can't let them walk around freely. They can go anywhere they want to the area outside the orange grove," said Uncle Lu. "Once we let them onto the island, if they try to sneak in again, it will be trespassing. First, we'll catch them and take them to the ferry for public display. Then we'll report them to the authorities and take them to the county government. Secondly, we'll tell them that if anything happens while they're sneaking in, we won't be responsible. Then..." Uncle Lu glanced at Uncle Liang, "Get them a few dogs, some stubborn ones. If you see someone sneaking in again, don't make a fuss. Let the dogs bite them first. Don't say the dog is one of ours, but rather a stray dog from the island. Okay?"
Once someone is bitten by a wild beast, they will know how powerful it is, and this will naturally deter many people who come to the island without permission.
"Okay, Uncle Lu, I'll do as you say."
"Also, if we don't deliver goods, we can still use the donkey cart to take guests who come to the island to see the world. We can make some money there." Uncle Lu said to Lin Erlang.
Lin Erlang nodded: "Okay, Uncle Lu, I'll get someone to do it right away."
So after a few days of planning, the news that you could pay money to go to Dunzi Island for sightseeing spread. Not only were there people at the ferry making announcements, but notices were also posted. As for those who were caught sneaking onto the island, some were sent for treatment after being bitten, while others were taken to the ferry for public display and then to the government office. Gradually, fewer people smuggled onto the island, and more people went to the ferry to pay money and land through official channels.
Lu Bo also specially asked people to build a temporary thatched hut outside the orange grove and find a cave.
The thatched hut was deliberately made to look dilapidated. It was said that General Qiao had a hard life at the time and had no roof over his head, so he could only use some thatch and dead branches to build a small shelter.
That cave - oh, that cave was where Gu Ran lived when he first came to the island to open up wasteland. It was indeed where General Qiao lived when he was down and out. There were some dry firewood and a few tattered clothes piled in it, and it was said that General Qiao had also stayed there.
There are also rumors that General Qiao hid in the mountain and worked for Mr. Gu, and worked as a hand in the orange grove. Therefore, a room was vacated in the small house built in front of the orange grove. It is said that this was the place where Mr. Gu settled General Qiao, and it is also worth visiting.
The tourists who came to the island originally came to see General Qiao. After this day trip, they cried when they saw the thatched hut where General Qiao lived, and felt sad when they saw the cave where General Qiao stayed. How sad!
After seeing that General Qiao had been rescued by Mr. Gu, the small house where he once lived finally looked better.
"Fortunately, Mrs. Gu saved General Qiao. Otherwise, General Qiao would have suffered so much more."
"That's right, Mrs. Gu, you are a good person!"
Everyone in the Orange Grove: ...
It turns out that Uncle Lu’s idea was really brilliant!
As for Lu Bo himself, when the first group of tourists came up, in order to see the effect, he asked someone to push his wheelchair and observed quietly. Hearing the tourists who came up all praising Mr. Gu for his kindness, he couldn't help feeling proud: although he took the initiative to let people come to the island, he not only made money for Mr. Gu, but also earned a good reputation for Mr. Gu. Even if Mr. Gu came back, he would never blame himself for doing something wrong.
He raised his hand and told the waiter to push the wheelchair away, then waved his hand again to stop the waiter and called Lin Erlang over: "Go tell those idle gentlemen who come to the island that if they pay a little more money, they can have a meal that General Qiao once had in my house. Do you understand?"
"What meals did General Qiao have in the cottage?" Lin Erlang was stunned. "Which ones were they?" Why couldn't he remember them? "What if we didn't do a good job?" Will they have any complaints?
After all, those who come to the island nowadays are people with some money and can eat well.
"Hey, General Qiao has eaten so many things on the island, why not just prepare a few servings?" Lu Bo said, "They don't care about taste, they just eat the same thing, and we can just serve it to them. Who knows, the worse the food is, the more excited they will be."
"That's right, that's right." Lin Erlang admired and nodded repeatedly.
So when Gu Ran and Pei Liu came back, they were stunned to hear that their own Dunzi Island had become a tourist attraction.
When he heard that the caves and cottages on the island had become must-see spots for tourists, and even the waiters' canteen was now thriving in providing meals and generating revenue, he smiled at Uncle Lu, who looked a little nervous.
"Uncle Lu, I really didn't make a mistake in choosing you. Hiring you as the chief steward is the wisest choice for me, Gu Erniang."
Manager Lu has made full use of the celebrity effect and done a great job.
"No, no, I am just eating your salary and relieving your worries." Lu Bo secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.
"So what do you say? How about we put up another statue of General Joe at the ferry?"
Now that we have already utilized it, we can just amplify the effect in a fair and open manner!
General Qiao has lived on Dunzi Island for so many years. Moreover, General Qiao is good at martial arts. His titles of General Zhengnan and Marquis Pingze can somewhat intimidate some unscrupulous people who want to destroy the island.
"Huh?" Lu Bo was stunned for a moment, then nodded immediately after realizing what was going on: "Okay, okay!"
Later, Lu Bo actually used the money he had saved to ask a stonemason to carve a life-size and majestic stone statue of General Qiao, which he placed at the ferry to protect the island.
On the second day after returning to Xiaxi Village, Mrs. Lin and Village Chief Wu came to see Gu Ran.
Everyone in the village already knew that the lady of the Gu family went to the capital, not only to be recognized as a meritorious official who assisted the government in eliminating the number one thief, but also to receive a reward from the emperor as General Qiao's savior. They would usually pay more attention to Xiaocuo, so when Gu Ran and Pei Liuyi came back, the whole village knew about it immediately.
Village chief Wu originally wanted to come to the Gu family's cottage immediately. She had heard from Lin Erlang, who was working in the orange grove, who General Qiao was and how Gu Er Niang saved General Qiao, but she didn't know what happened after Gu Er Niang followed General Qiao to the capital.
Village Chief Wu had never been to the capital, so of course he wanted to hear what Gu Ran had to say about the capital.
But on the first day, considering that they had just returned and needed to rest, I didn't go to disturb them.
On the second day, I saw Gu Erniang and Pei Liuniang, whom I hadn't seen for a long time. I learned that they not only went to the capital, but also went to Damao City, and even brought back the things that Lin San bought for their family. I was so excited!
"Have you seen our Azhe? How is he? Is he studying well in Damao City?" Mrs. Lin asked excitedly.
"Yes. He's a very good man, studying hard, and even planning with Huanhuan to expand their grass jelly business!"
Gu Ran also mentioned the cooperation between the He family and General Qiao to open a branch.
"Village Chief Wu, please inform all the families in the village who grow angelica and konjac. The opening of this branch will undoubtedly increase the demand for dried angelica and konjac. They need to plant a few more acres."
When she passed Jianzhou on her way back to the city, she had already delivered the things that He Qinghuan had bought for the Yang family to Uncle Yang's home at the port.
The letter written by He Qinghuan arrived much earlier than they set out. The Yang family probably got the news long ago. They heard that not only did they expand the planting of fairy grass, but they also asked the Mai family in the same village to expand the planting of konjac.
"I know about this, too. The He family sent someone to tell us. We've divided the plants and are planting them. We'll see how much we can harvest. But as for the konjac, if we plant too much, we'll have to figure out how to deal with it." Village Chief Wu nodded. "Second Mother, I plan to put the other windmills in the village to use."
Seeing Gu Ran about to speak, Village Chief Wu immediately said, "But don't worry, the secret method of how to deal with konjac is only known to me and your second sister-in-law. We will just let others handle the follow-up, okay?"
Gu Ran nodded, "No problem."
At first, Gu Ran handled it himself, but later, when he saw the konjac production increasing, he was too busy on Dunzi Island to take care of it. After negotiating with the He family, he told the secret method to Village Chief Wu and Mrs. Lin Er, which meant that the Lin family also knew about it.
Now that the windmill is needed, it is Village Chief Wu who should handle this matter.
Previously, Gu Ran’s windmill was used to grind the dried konjac into powder. She built the windmill herself and paid for it in full. She could use it however she wanted without asking anyone else.
But the other windmills in the village are owned by all the villagers, so only Village Chief Wu has the power to use them.
"However, I still plan to borrow the Shen family's windmill." Village Chief Wu also considered that some villagers might be dissatisfied with his appropriation of the windmill for other purposes. "The Shen family has two windmills. With yours, Second Mother, we can still handle it even if we have more."
"Too."
She handed over the task of planting fairy grass and konjac in the village to the Lin family, so she naturally didn't interfere with what the Wu family wanted to do.
Now that she is back in Xiaxi Village, the most important thing for her is naturally to settle Maotuanzi, who she has not seen for half a year, and the orange grove with a new family.
Especially the orange groves.
She was now directly connected with the palace and doing royal business, so she naturally could not take this year's orange harvest lightly. After seeing off Village Chief Wu and her mother-in-law, she went to the Dayu Lin intersection in front to take a donkey cart to the ferry.
Only a few months after leaving, I heard from Village Chief Wu that more and more people and households had moved into Xiaxi Village. While she was away, ten more families had moved in from nearby villages.
Of course, these families were still hampered by the residual power of the miasma forest and did not dare to buy residential land near Dayu Forest like Li Ji and his group. Instead, they chose the land at the northwest entrance of the village, which was originally the way to the county town and the destination of Donglin Township.
After Village Chief Wu reported to the county government about improving the village's living environment, five new families moved in.
Although it is slow, Xiaxi Village is also expanding little by little.
The road that connects Xiaxi Village to the ferry and crosses the Lantau Forest is now called Lantau Forest Road. Because more and more people pass through this road, and over the years, except for two incidents of people being bitten by big beasts that broke out of the Lantau Forest, there have been no other dangerous accidents. Therefore, more and more people choose to take this road to the Xiaxi Village ferry to take a boat.
When Gu Ran came back, he saw that the originally small ferry crossing had been reclaimed into several acres of land.
The brave ones settled down at the ferry, and some built it to be used as a warehouse to store and retrieve goods.
As for the fishermen and boat owners who come to this ferry to pick up passengers and cargo, there are also quite a few more.
Especially after the news of General Qiao's rescue spread, pedestrians who arrived at the Xiaxi Village ferry from the land route and wanted to go to Dunzi Island made this small ferry suddenly lively.
Some people even bought land from the county government and built pavilions for people to rest and provide a place to rest and drink tea.
When Gu Ran was riding in a donkey cart passing through Dayu Forest, he occasionally saw people going into the mountains to hunt.
Probably because after this passage was opened, people no longer had to worry about miasma when entering the neighboring forest from here, and even if they encountered wild beasts, it would be much easier to escape - wild beasts generally did not dare to run to places where there were many people!
From the Xiaxi Village Ferry to the Dunzi Island Ferry, when Gu Ran got ashore, he saw many passenger ships and small boats parked at the ferry. There was also a small room next to the landing place in front, which was said to be the place where the permit to go to the island was sold.
Gu Ran had heard from Village Chief Wu that Uncle Lu was charging money for sightseeing trips to the island. He smiled and asked the boatman to ferry him to the shore where he usually landed by boat.
"Are you the boss?" Shi Er, who was in charge of guarding the ferry, was surprised and happy when he saw Gu Er Niang.
Everyone said that the hostess was General Qiao's benefactor. She had gone to the capital to meet the emperor and received a reward. In everyone's eyes, the hostess Gu was very remarkable, and they all hoped for her safe return!
Now, I have returned safely!
"Hey, I'm back." Gu Ran smiled. Before she could say anything else, the boatman who had taken her to the boat also started smiling: "My brother-in-law is from Xiaxi Village. I heard from them that Madam Gu came back yesterday, right?"
"That's right, that's right." Gu Ran continued to smile.
She got a large sum of money, and when she came back she found that Dunzi Island could not only sell oranges, but also scenery, and she herself became a celebrity. Wow, she was in a very good mood.
"Why, are you alone?"
"Hey, Chief Li Ji has gone back to his hometown for some business, and Miss Pei has some business to attend to in the little house. I'll just go see how the oranges are growing first."
Pei Liu stayed in the small house to help look after the growing family of big orange Nth generation Maotuanzi.
It has been taken care of by Mrs. Lin and the Li family for so long. Now that they are back, they naturally have to take over the follow-up. Pei Liu is not very knowledgeable about the orange grove, so he can only rely on Gu Ran himself to come and check on the situation.
"Oh, that's it."
"I've also brought back your reward money. I'll have the steward give it to you later."
At the beginning, Shi Er was willing to stay and fight with Li Ji and others against the guards of the number one thief. Luckily, he survived and is now the third deputy leader of the guards who is responsible for the security at the ferry.
"Oh, okay, okay, thank you, Mr. Gu." Shi Er was immediately happy when he heard that there was a silver reward.
Gu Ran changed to a donkey cart and went all the way to the entrance of the orange grove, then went straight to find the manager.
Uncle Lu also heard from people in Xiaxi Village early in the morning that Gu Ran had returned. He estimated that the boss would come to the island in the next two days, so he had already cleaned up the office to await his arrival. When he really saw him, he smiled.
After making clear arrangements for matters before leaving, Gu Ran called Lin Er and took out all the money he had earned in the capital as a reward for the guards. He asked Lu Bo and Lin Erlang to distribute it together and then send it to each guard.
I went into the orange grove to check the growth of the fruit trees.
After getting in touch with Eunuch Ren in the capital and obtaining the bid certificate, Gu Ran had already talked it over with Xu San and paid a deposit in advance. He asked him to send a letter to Manager Xu, asking him to go find another 500 orange trees. He also wrote a letter to Uncle Lu, asking him to plant them as soon as he received the mature trees.
The business with the palace and the cooperation with Fusheng Trading Company both require early-ripening varieties of oranges.
Fortunately, many of the big customers who came to order oranges last year came after the early-ripening varieties of oranges were sold out, so most of the orders were for late-ripening varieties of oranges. Therefore, the early-ripening varieties of oranges that the palace wanted this year were what she could provide based on actual conditions, which was enough to meet the needs.
But Eunuch Ren said that if the oranges delivered to the palace this year were good and pleased the masters, then the number would be doubled next year. Gu Ran certainly wanted to make a living from this, so he quickly expanded the orange trees and asked Steward Xu to find 200 orange trees of the same origin that were of good quality.
In addition, orange jam and orange trees that are supplied out of season also need to be supplied. The original small orange saplings may take another one or two years to bear fruit, so Manager Xu had to buy another 300 late-ripening varieties.
I just heard from Uncle Lu that according to her instructions, the batch of early-maturing trees are still planted in the woodland reclaimed in front of the valley, while the late-maturing trees are planted in the back mountain. The area of the orange grove has now expanded a lot compared to the original area.
In other words, her orange grove now covers nearly 18 acres and has thousands of orange trees.
Fortunately, she is now considered wealthy, and as the owner of a large orchard, she can still afford all these expenses.
However, if so many orange trees can produce delicious fruits in the future, the yield will probably be quite large, and how to deal with them will be a problem.
Fortunately, she had already made some plans on the way back.
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