Before spring plowing, Yinzhen was extremely busy and entrusted the task to Qingyan. She looked at the list in her hand, the items that Yinzhen had ordered to be purchased. (Please search on Baidu for the most complete list!)
She had basically bought all the seeds on the list. She thought hard about whether she should go with the children to do spring plowing when they had their spring plowing holiday.
"Master, the supervisor who went out to purchase supplies has returned!" Su Lan stood beside Qing Yan and reported softly.
Qingyan regained her composure, looked at Sulan's respectful demeanor, and smiled slightly.
"Hmm, give me the purchase list!" Qingyan reached out and took the list, noticing that it was full of seeds that Yinzhen needed. "Let the steward in; I have something to ask him."
Qingyan's short sentence made Sulan quickly agree.
A moment later, the steward knelt in the hall, waiting for Qingyan to inquire. Indeed, the list contained many seeds of imported goods.
"Are these all new?" Shu Yun looked at the names of the seeds, which were all translated by people from the Court of Colonial Affairs. On the far left, there was also an English label.
Qingyan looked at Ying and realized what these were. They were all planted in the small vegetable garden. The twins were taking a spring planting break after class today.
"Your Majesty, this item is the seed for the noodles. Each bag is marked on the outside." The steward had received Yinzhen's tacit approval to prepare these.
"Okay, you can go now." Qingyan nodded, indicating that she understood.
She looked outside the door and saw that the flower beds on both sides had been cleared out by Yinzhen, who said he was going to plant small vegetable gardens, one for each of the two children, and that they would use the vegetables to treat everyone to hot pot in the autumn.
The children were naturally overjoyed, feeling that their efforts would not be in vain. Upon learning that they could go directly to the ground this year, they rushed to the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi to express their gratitude.
"Have someone cultivate the seedlings, and make sure the signs on each side are written in English," Qingyan instructed.
"Master, this...it might be necessary for you to mark it yourself. If we servants do it, we're worried there will be mistakes." Su Zhu looked at Ying and felt utterly helpless.
Qingyan patted his forehead. How could he have forgotten about this?
“Go to the seedling nursery and get the labels. You should be able to understand these markings, right?” Qingyan pointed to the label on the bag and said.
"Yes!" Su Lan quickly replied.
Qingyan sat down in a chair, pondering how much to plant. Yinzhen would definitely go to the fields to plant grain. On the first day of spring plowing, even Kangxi would go to the imperial fields to plow, and the Empress would attend the silkworm ceremony.
"Suzhu, are the things needed for the silkworm-raising ceremony prepared?" Qingyan was going to attend the silkworm-raising ceremony. Since Empress Xiaozhao passed away, Consort Tong, as Imperial Noble Consort, had begun to preside over the ceremony, making Xiaozhao's position much more secure.
"Everything is ready." Su Zhu had made all the preparations well in advance, and even asked the head nanny to make sure that the two young masters' things were packed properly.
Qingyan smiled and said, “This year, the children will be attending the ceremony separately for the first time. Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen’s palace dress must be made to fit her better. She should not wear flowerpot soles; she should wear multi-layered soles instead. The soles of her shoes must be thicker.”
"Yes, this servant will go back and prepare." Su Zhu quickly replied.
To outsiders, the princesses of the royal family always wore platform shoes to attend various banquets, and Qingyan didn't want her daughter to twist her ankle.
It was a rule in the palace for the royal women to wear platform shoes, but the children were free to wear them or not. Qingyan hoped that they would stop wearing them.
"Master, none of the other princesses are wearing this... Would it be inappropriate for the young master to wear it?" Su Zhu was on the side of Hu Tu Li Feng Sheng Zha La Fen. The little girl liked to dress up, and seeing how Song Ke Li Yi Er Ha Gege was dressed, wouldn't the young master cry?
"Don't worry, I'll talk to her!" Qingyan didn't want her daughter to come back; she would need several days to recover before she could get up.
After giving a brief explanation, Qingyan began to receive the stewards in charge of spring plowing procurement and preparation.
She had a quick lunch, then called over the head of the kitchen and gave instructions on the dishes to be prepared for the day of spring plowing, all of which were done according to palace regulations.
After her lunch break, Qingyan tidied herself up and prepared for afternoon tea. The area outside the courtyard began to bustle as Yiken'e, Hutulifengshengzhalafen, and Batubuhe returned.
“Mother…” Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen saw Qingyan having afternoon tea and quickly walked in. Yiken’e was speechless. No matter where her younger sister went, she was always a foodie.
"Mother, it's time to go for spring plowing every day. Grandfather said we should stay in Beiyuan Mountain Village and take care of things. Have you prepared the vegetable garden?" The twins asked Qingyan.
At this moment, Batubuhe also had a good look on her face. She had never seen spring plowing on the grassland. When she passed through Ali, she was completely confused. Under the guidance of the twins, she hoped to participate in it.
"Mother, I want a vegetable garden too!" Batu Buhe knew that the grasslands were only the end of the animal husbandry industry, and that grains and vegetables could only be transported from here.
They don't care if things are expensive, as long as they satisfy their appetite.
“It’s all ready. We’ve divided it into four pieces. The left one is for Yiken’e and Batubuhe, and the two on the right are for Hutulifengsheng Zhalafen, me, and your father,” Qingyan said quickly.
Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen cheered, knowing that he could finally get out of bed tomorrow.
In the past, Yinzhen and Qingyan would not let them work in the fields. According to him, they were still young and would not be of much help if they worked in the fields.
"Some imported seeds were just delivered. They've just started to sprout, so they might not be ready to be planted tomorrow. However, we can plant them later," Qingyan quickly said.
The children looked at Qingyan and said in unison, "Mother has made up her mind."
Qingyan was relieved; it was good that the children knew in advance.
"Mother, we'll be very tired tomorrow, so we need to prepare plenty of meat and vegetables!" Yiken'e is definitely a carnivore, and Batubuhe is in mourning, so it's been a long time since she's had any meat or fish.
"Don't worry, everything is ready. Let's see if you can eat it all." Qingyan laughed unkindly.
When a person's body is exhausted to a certain extent, their appetite will be limited. Yinzhen had instructed in advance that the children should experience the hardship of farming and should not be reminded in advance.
Qingyan had no choice but to remain silent, hoping that everything would go well for the children tomorrow.
"Mother, are we going to attend the ceremony tomorrow?" In Hutulifengshengzhalafen's memory, the silkworm-raising ceremony was always very lively, so she was eager to participate after hearing about it.
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