Chapter 239 Unexpected Visitors to the Cabin
Two days later, Tu Licai came back from Shangouzi Village and wrote "bad land" on the land deed, with the note "sand and stone wasteland" and "two taels per mu". Su Ruojin bought a total of 200 mu and received the land with the seal.
After the purchase, she immediately went to Shangouzi Village at the foot of the West Mountain and made the land into what she wanted.
Little did she know that after she left, the land deed on file had been tampered with by Tu Licai and turned into medium-sized farmland. The former chief clerk said to the county magistrate, "Take it and quietly go to the capital to find someone to sue County Magistrate Su for profiting for his family and get him out of Weizhou County."
Tu Licai said worriedly, "I heard that the Minister of Personnel is Su's close friend. I'm afraid it's not easy to report him."
"Humph." The former chief said, "We are not stupid. Of course we will try another way."
Tu Licai asked, "What's the secret?"
The former county magistrate said, "Of course we have to go through the Imperial Censorate. Don't forget that the emperor's favorite was once the Supervisory Censor. If we file a complaint here, we'll get it right."
After receiving the advice, Tu Licai nodded and said, "I will immediately arrange for people to go to the capital."
When Su Ruojin arrived at the foot of the West Mountain, he showed the land deed to the mayor and the head of the village. He then asked the villagers of Shangouzi Village to dig up stones and clear the wasteland to see what could be planted. He also used money to buy the wood, adobe bricks and thatch that the villagers had stored at home.
When the village head saw the young lady buying these, he was surprised and asked, "Does the young lady want to build a small thatched house around the wasteland?"
"You really guessed it, Dad."
Su Ruojin wants to build four small houses around the 200 acres of wasteland to guard the vegetable fields. As for the warm vegetable shed, it cannot be built so quickly and will have to wait until the time is right.
The village head asked, "Do we need to find a craftsman to build a thatched house?"
"Is anyone there, Dad?"
"Yes, yes..." The village head was so happy that he could not stop smiling. "I will help you find a craftsman."
The old man said he was looking for it, but his feet did not move. Su Ruojin was very knowledgeable and did not hide it. He smiled and said, "Don't let your father run in vain. Find ten craftsmen and give you 200 coins."
"Well, great." The old man happily ran to find the craftsman.
Huaping and Mangzhong stood beside her, looking towards the poor and barren foot of the mountain. To be honest, if there were no forests behind, even birds would not come to shit.
"Second Madam, this piece of land will cost a lot of money. How many years will it take to earn back the money just by growing radishes and cabbages?"
Su Ruojin turned to look at them and said with a smile, "Just think of me as someone who has nothing better to do than to eat and have too much money to spend."
Huaping:......
Why does this girl feel like she deserves a beating?
Money makes things easier. In nearly ten days, people of all ages in Shangouzi Village worked together to dig three feet into the two hundred acres of land with rakes and shovels, and all the stones, big and small, were picked up.
Not only that, those pebble-sized stones were paved into criss-crossing paths, instantly turning the gray and dilapidated ravine into a scenic spot.
The head of the village stood on the widest cobblestone main road, stamping the ground constantly, feeling that it was unreal. "Mrs. Jin, how did you come up with this idea?" How come it was made to be like the bluestone roads in the city? It would be so convenient for people to walk on in rainy and snowy days.
Su Ruojin looked at the cute old man and smiled, "It's not how I came up with it, but how my money came up with it."
"Ah!" The old man stopped and looked at the young lady, who stretched out a hand. "I have already spent so much."
"Five..." The village chief wanted to say ten. The wages in the village alone were almost that much. "One hundred taels?"
Su Ruojin nodded, "Yeah."
"Hiss." The old man took a breath. He had never seen so much money in his life. "I heard that you only grow cabbages and radishes?"
"There are also spinach, mustard greens, kohlrabi, and cabbage."
"That's all?"
"Um."
The old man looked at the young lady with the eyes of a landlord's stupid son, thinking, this child must have been kicked in the head by a donkey. Who will eat the vegetables she grows in the remote mountains? In their village, who doesn't grow vegetables in front of and behind the house? If they can't eat them, they feed them to chickens and pigs.
Speaking of pigs, the village head looked sad. There was no food this year and he couldn't even afford to raise pigs.
Su Ruojin had no idea what the old man was thinking of her in secret. She dug up stones and spread three inches of forest rotten soil. After being exposed to the sun, the soil became half dry and half wet, loose and soft, just like good land.
The young lady's actions made the villagers in the valley exclaim in amazement. "I didn't expect that the young lady is more capable than us, the peasants who have been sowing seeds for decades. There is no need to cultivate the land. We can sow seeds now and it will sprout in a few days."
"If there is a frost, I will probably freeze to death."
As long as it's not as cold as in the Northeast, Su Ruojin has a solution, "From today on, I will charge you ten cents for thatched curtains. I'll charge you as much as you make."
The people in Shangouzi Village had made a lot of money and were feeling disappointed because they had no money. Unexpectedly, they heard more business coming. They were so happy that they called their relatives and friends to go to the mountain to cut straw to make curtains.
Mao Ya saw that the young master had not returned home for many days after leaving the house, "Second Madam, the master and the mistress must miss you."
Su Ruojin was about to go to the newly built cabin when she heard Sister Mao Ya remind her, "How long have I been out?"
"Almost ten days."
"So it's almost September 15th now?"
Oh, it’s time to go back. I promised Yang Si Niang to attend her engagement party!
The old man in the village hoped that this little god of wealth would never go back. When he heard the maid urging her to go back, he quickly asked, "Mrs. Jin, the land has been prepared. Is it time to sow the seeds?"
She nodded.
The old man was no longer polite to him, "Do you want to hire some help too?"
"Yes, Dad."
He patted his chest and said to the four small wooden houses: "Are these four small houses built quickly and well?"
Su Ruojin smiled, "Thank you for your hard work, Dad."
"No, no!" The old man was embarrassed by the young lady's praise, but in order to make money, he still said, "Let me find you a good farmer who sows seeds."
The business of making money from the two hundred acres of wasteland was so eye-catching that the headmen, skilled farmers and craftsmen from the nearby villages came to the young lady every day to recommend themselves, which made the people in the valley live in fear, fearing that the business they made money from would be snatched away by others.
Su Ruojin didn't know what he was thinking, but in order to prevent them from becoming too powerful or forcing her to stop working without them, she also found ways to make a living for the surrounding villages, such as buying their vegetables and grains to cook, and collecting various vegetable seeds from them.
In short, she had to focus on Shangouzi Village, but she couldn't let the people in the surrounding villages earn nothing. Otherwise, once they became disgusted with the business, her 200 acres of vegetable fields would be wasted.
The village head happily ran off to look for a skilled farmer.
Mao Ya looked at her young lady helplessly. She used to like growing vegetables in the yard, but now she bought land to grow vegetables. Why did she like farming so much? But her master and his wife were both scholars and concubines, and neither of them had ever grown crops before. Why did she like it so much?
If Su Ruojin knew what Mao Ya was thinking, she would definitely laugh a few times. Chinese people love farming and growing vegetables. It is ingrained in their bones and is innate.
Really, she wants to live in a small thatched house now, then open the door to grow vegetables, go home to cook, and enjoy the pastoral fun of "leisurely seeing Nanshan".
"I'll go back when they all sprout."
After saying that, Su Ruojin returned to the cabin happily.
She lived in a tent for the first few days, but after the mini cabin was made, she moved in. Although the cabin was small, it had everything she needed. Not only that, she also dug up wild flowers and orchids and planted them around the house, making it like a paradise.
Back in the cabin, she plopped down on the sofa-like bench and said, "Uncle Hua, can we have barbecue tonight?"
While farmers were busy in the fields and craftsmen were building houses, Huaping and Mangzhong often went to the mountains to look for pheasants and other animals, and bringing them back was considered meat.
Hua Ping held up two pheasants and said, "There are only two of them. The meat from killing them is not enough for me to fill my teeth."
Su Ruojin: ...
Looking at the pheasant that is not as big as a pigeon, it is really... Finally, I stewed a big pot of soup and prepared to serve it with coarse flour steamed buns.
In mid-September, the weather is not cool, but gradually getting colder. The sun sets early and it gets dark early.
Su Ruojin and his group gathered around a small round table, some serving soup, some taking steamed buns, and closing the door. The space was small, but the earthen stove was quite warm.
Just as everyone was picking up their bowls and preparing to eat, there was a knock on the door.
Su Ruojin glanced at the people at the table and said, "Could it be that the village head came to discuss the sowing of seeds tomorrow?"
Hua Ping didn't think so. If it was the old head of the village, this guy would have started yelling and chattering long ago. He wouldn't have knocked three times without saying anything. He put down his bowl and chopsticks vigilantly, reached out to pull out a dagger from his leg pocket, and walked behind the door.
His nervous movements made everyone fall silent.
For a moment, the room was so quiet that it was hard to breathe.
"Who?" Hua Ping hid by the door frame.
The door was knocked three more times, but still no one answered.
Hua Ping glanced at Su Ruojin.
Su Ruojin gave him a look that told him to figure it out. If he wasn't the head of the village, then he might be a villager who might want to make some money from her in private, but was afraid of the crowds during the day, so he came at night.
Hua Ping understood the look in the young lady's eyes, but his judgment was completely different from hers, because he knew better than anyone else what was in the West Mountain, but he had clearly told them that only he would go to look for people, and they would not come down the mountain.
Who could be the one knocking on the door? Could it be, as the young lady guessed, a villager who wanted to make money?
With cautious guesswork, he gently removed the bolt and opened a gap.
The man dressed as a guard outside bowed and said, "I smell the broth here. Ask for a bowl of soup for my master."
It was almost mid-month, a night of bright full moon, but it was likely to rain. Dark clouds obscured the moon, and if it were not for the oil lamp in the cabin, one would not be able to see clearly outside.
Hua Ping suddenly opened the door and looked outside, his eyes passing the young guard and looking behind him.
"Your Highness the Prince of Yan?" He was startled and hurried out to kneel down.
Inside the house, Su Ruojin and others also heard Hua Ping's exclamation, and hurriedly followed him out and knelt down to pay their respects.
King Yan smiled slightly and said, "Sorry to bother you."
Talking to her? When she raised her head, her eyes met with the King of Yan. As expected, he was talking to her, his master.
Su Ruojin stood up quickly and said, "Welcome to my humble abode, Your Highness the Prince of Yan. If you don't mind, please come in and have a bowl of hot soup."
"Then I am sorry to bother you."
As Su Ruojin led the people inside, she wondered, wasn't it said that His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan was guarding the imperial mausoleum? How did he get here? Could it be that the Zhao family imperial mausoleum of the Dayin Dynasty was nearby? Why had she never heard of it?
Subconsciously, I looked towards Hua Ping.
At this moment, the room was so small that Hua Ping didn't dare to give any hint.
Su Ruojin had no choice but to put aside her questions and respectfully invited King Yan to sit in the main seat. She quickly took out a pair of clean bowls and chopsticks, personally served him pheasant soup, and also took out a steamed bun and a small dish of pickles.
"Your Highness, please—"
"Then I'll be welcome."
It was mid-September and the weather in the mountains was still quite cold at night. Prince Zhao Jing of Yan picked up the bowl, drank most of it in one breath, put the bowl down, and took a piece of meat from the bowl and ate it, looking very delicious.
Su Ruojin: ...
This is the prince of Dayin Dynasty! How come he looks like he hasn't eaten meat or drunk meat soup for three months?
As if he heard what Su Ruojin was thinking, after finishing one bowl and signaling for another, he said, "The tomb keeper is a vegetarian."
Su Ruojin: ...
Then, Your Highness...what are you doing now? Sneaking?
Seeing the young lady's surprised and disdainful look, His Royal Highness Prince Yan smiled and said, "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know, but no one else knows."
Others in the room: ...
Aren't they human?
Su Ruojin smiled fakely, "Your Highness, you are joking." She served him another bowl of pheasant soup and put all the good meat in the pot into his bowl.
The King of Yan looked down and saw a bowl of pheasant soup. He smiled and said, "I wonder how Madam Su made the soup. It's so fresh and delicious, and it makes me hungry."
Pheasant itself is a delicious dish. If the fishy smell and foam are removed properly, and ginseng, wolfberry, red dates and other ingredients are added, what soup would not be delicious?
However, some people really have no talent in cooking, and no matter how good the ingredients are, they can turn them into bad dishes.
Su Ruojin is different. Even without all the seasonings, she can make simple ingredients into delicious food.
The Prince of Yan drank three bowls in a row before putting down his chopsticks. His attendant handed him a towel. His movements were dignified and calm, and it was obvious that he was a man who was immersed in great wealth.
No matter how mediocre he was, he was still a nobleman and the son of the emperor. But today, when Su Ruojin saw the late emperor's most inconspicuous son again, she no longer had the same thoughts as other people.
mediocre?
Would a man who sticks to the old ways come out to eat dinner with a commoner? He must know that the county magistrate of Weizhou County is Su Yanli, and he must also know what kind of connections Su Yanli has.
This is not Su Ruojin's dinner, but Su Yanli's dinner!
After the meal, Chunxiao immediately took Maoya and Ye Huaizhen to clear the dishes on the table.
Prince Yan's guards also left. In a blink of an eye, Prince Yan, Su Ruojin and Hua Ping were the only ones left in the cabin.
He was as gentle and elegant as Su Yanli, and smiled slightly, "It seems that the young lady's vegetable garden is almost ready, right?"
I don’t know how long he had been paying attention to it, but he actually found out that her vegetable garden had been cultivated.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I want to plant some vegetables in front of the house. Can Madam Su Er give me some vegetable seeds?"
Su Ruojin: ...
She came all the way from the mausoleum, just to eat some vegetables? Why did she not believe it?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
