Chapter 1534: No wind, no waves

Time flies. The autumn harvest seems to have just begun, but it is over in the blink of an eye. There is no joy of the autumn harvest. After paying taxes, the people feel heavy in their hearts. The harvest has been poor for two consecutive years.

The only thing that makes people happy is that last year there was a serious decline in production, and for fear of continuing to go hungry this year, half of the fields are planted with high-yield sweet potatoes.

Zhulan would visit the orphanage's farm from time to time during the autumn harvest. The orphanage's fields were not taxed, and the harvest was stored in the warehouse, with the most abundant crops being sweet potatoes and potatoes.

There are too many sweet potatoes, and no matter how careful you are when digging them, some are bound to be bad. Recently, Zhulan found a woman who knows how to make sweet potato flour and taught the children how to make sweet potato flour, so as to deal with the bad sweet potatoes as much as possible.

The weather was getting colder, so Zhulan brought the eldest son and his wife to the farm to see the pigs. The eldest son, Zhou, didn't want his mother to go see the pigs because it was too dirty, but his mother wanted to go and see the pigs raised by the children in person, so the eldest son, Zhou, had no choice but to listen to his mother.

When they arrived at the manor, Zhou Lao Da supported his mother and said, "Mom, please be careful."

Zhulan, "I heard that the children clean the pig pen every day. Hmm, it doesn't smell good."

Boss Zhou often comes here, and he has the final say. "We clean every day, and we are most diligent in the summer. We disinfect every few days, and all the feces are cleaned out."

"So there is no such thing as the dirt you are talking about."

Boss Zhou choked and said, "Mom, even if we clean it, the pigpen is still dirty."

Zhulan, "We also came from the village."

Boss Zhou muttered, "That's different."

They soon arrived at the pigpen. Zhulan frowned. Alas, the pigs that were raised with great care didn't grow very big. They looked to be over 130 kilograms, less than 150 kilograms.

Seeing his mother frown, Zhou Laoda said, "Mom, you have raised the pig well. The pigs on our farm are about this size."

Zhulan hummed, "When the weather gets cold, kill half of them and burn them over charcoal, and keep the rest to kill and eat slowly. The children have worked hard for a year, so they should eat some meat to nourish themselves in the winter."

Boss Zhou wrote down, "Mom, let's go out."

"good."

Lee interjected, "Now that the temperature has dropped, are the chickens still laying eggs as diligently?"

The manager replied, "She's pretty diligent. She can pick about a hundred eggs every day. She keeps ten for later use and makes egg drop soup with the rest for the children."

Zhulan nodded. A hundred eggs were good. Some of the chickens raised by the children died halfway through, and a batch were killed during the autumn harvest. Now there are about two hundred chickens left. After the autumn harvest, there are fewer insects, so they don’t lay eggs as diligently.

Zhulan took the eldest son and his wife to see the children in class, and then went to the cellar to take a look. It was full of food, which would be the children's future food.

On the way back to the city, Li asked, "Mom, does the orphanage need food donations this year?"

Zhulan shook her head. "If the number of children does not increase, the food is enough. These children are very good at saving food. In spring and summer, they dry vegetables and wild products. There are quite a few dried fish. Add the food harvested in autumn, and they can not only meet the eight-point fullness, but also have nutrition."

Lee, "Eight-tenths full is already very impressive."

Boss Zhou went on to say, "These children have changed a lot in just over a year. After the chickens were able to lay eggs, they have been fed with eggs. The boys have grown taller, and the girls have become stronger."

Zhulan smiled and said, "They are all good kids and they study very hard."

I was thinking that I would go back to the warehouse and refashion some of the donated old quilts, and try to give some quilts to the children as the weather is a bit cold this year.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren was very surprised that Ning Xi came to see him, "Why is Lord Hou here?"

"Can I disturb Lord Zhou's errands?"

"No, it was just an accident that you came."

Ning Xu's whole mind is on Xiaer, and what she cares about most every day is Xiaer's physical condition. She actually divided her attention to him. Is she a little overwhelmed by the favor?

Ning Xu cleared her throat and said, "I came to see you for a personal matter."

"Please speak."

Ning Xu didn't know how to start, so she organized her words for a while, "Hey, my nephew who is in poor health has been begging me for many days. I couldn't bear it, so I came here shamelessly."

Zhou Shuren knew what was going on and said calmly, "Since you know how shameless you are, how about drinking tea instead of talking?"

Ning Xu was speechless and said, "No, since I'm here, I have to say a few words even if it's shameless."

Zhou Shuren didn't even raise his eyelids, he just lowered his head to make tea. The weather was cold, and drinking hot tea was best to warm the body.

Ning Xu sighed in his heart. He didn't want to care, but he had no choice. He was the only elder in the Ning family who could take care of things. "My niece's wife is too thoughtful. She has wasted her own luck. The imperial physician said she won't live for many days. Ning Ming is such a pitiful child."

Zhou Shuren raised his hand, "If Ning Ming is pitiful, then there is nothing in the world that is not pitiful."

Ning Xu twitched her lips, "Okay, okay, let's not talk about how pitiful he is. Let's talk about the heart of a mother. Yu Shi has no faults, but her heart for her child is genuine. When a person is about to die, his words are kind. What she cares about most is Ning Ming's marriage. Let's be honest. If Yu Shi was not going to die, she would not dare to think about the granddaughter of the Marquis. Now that she is going to die, she can't control her son's daughter-in-law. After she gets married, she will be the housekeeper and have the most power."

Ning Xu knew what to say to impress Zhou Hou.

Zhou Shuren was silent. It was a pity that his Yuwen was so lazy that she didn't want to be a housekeeper. She was obviously a very smart girl, but she was unwilling to put in any effort. She was so old, but she was still lazy.

Ning Xu continued, "Ning Ming is a good child. He is loyal and responsible. He will be able to support himself in the future. He has been in charge of the family since he was young. He is a really good child."

If the child wasn't good, Ning Zhixiang would not be willing to interfere no matter what. To put it bluntly, among his two nephews, the eldest nephew Ning Zhiqi is the most important.

Zhou Shuren pushed the brewed tea and said, "Drink some tea."

Ningxu frowned, then relaxed, "Good tea."

"The prince brought it."

"Prince?"

"Um."

The prince wanted to hear him explain his doubts, so he had to give him good things. Recently, he had received a lot of good things from the prince, and he had made a small fortune, which he gave all to his youngest son.

Ning Xu's eyes changed, and she drank the tea in silence. When she finished the tea, it was almost time to leave. "Can Lord Zhou give me a promise?"

Zhou Shuren smiled, "I'll give you a definite answer if you come once. It doesn't make sense. How the two children will perform depends on their fate."

He would never let his granddaughter suffer because of outsiders. It doesn't make sense for the Ning family to get the engagement done if they want.

When Ning Xu came, she knew that the possibility of success was slim, "Then I will go back first."

"Slow down."

After leaving the government office and returning home, Zhou Shuren told Zhulan what Ning Xi meant, "Yu is really persistent."

"She has calculated everything for herself."

"Yes, by the way, I heard that the Queen is ill, is that true?"

Zhou Shuren frowned, "I stayed in the palace for a while after the court session these days, and I didn't hear any news. The emperor looked fine, so it must be a rumor."

"Where there is wind there is no wave."