Magistrate Lu asked, "Where is the cassava?"
Ye Caiping said, "Come on, I'll take you there."
Ye Caiping quickly had Ye Daquan bring out the oxcart, and finally went to her own fields with Magistrate Lu.
Half an hour later, I finally stood on the edge of the field.
Magistrate Lu looked at the cassava stalks that had already sprouted tender leaves, and then looked up at the endless fields, and couldn't help but nod.
Then, they returned to Ye Caiping's house and saw the cassava plants that Ye Caiping had planted in the vegetable garden.
Immediately, Magistrate Lu ordered a yamen runner to dig up a plant, cook it, and confirm that it was indeed yellow-fleshed.
Magistrate Lu was overjoyed, his face beaming with smiles.
After Ye Caiping treated them to lunch, Magistrate Lu and his entourage finally left.
Madam Du came out of the kitchen: "Who are these people?"
Ye Caiping didn't explain much, after all, with so many people knowing, she was afraid of letting it slip, so she said, "He's an important client of mine, and the sisters-in-law will know soon enough."
Du nodded and asked no further questions.
...
Li Zhiyuan and Li Ziming had just finished school and were riding home in a donkey cart.
From afar, they saw Magistrate Lu and his entourage riding past them on horseback.
After they had walked a distance, Li Zhiyuan asked, "Was that the magistrate?"
Li Ziming had also met the county magistrate; they had even caused a scene at the yamen last year when they left the Sun family, so he naturally recognized him: "It seems so."
"What is the magistrate doing here? Judging from that direction... could it be... heading to Qinghe Village?" Li Zhiyuan frowned.
Li Ziming was holding his breath: "Ahead are He'an Village and Qiaotou Village. After crossing the bridge, there are Qiaowei Village and Wangjia Village. Finally, there is Qinghe Village."
The implication is that there are plenty of villages ahead, and the county magistrate isn't one of them, so who would be keeping an eye on Qinghe Village all day?
Besides, they might not even enter the village; they might just be passing through.
Li Zhiyuan felt uneasy. No matter what the big thing was, Ye Caiping was the first person he thought of.
That bitch, how come her workshop is so successful? Just passing through Lijia Village, he sees countless merchants coming and going to pick up goods every month.
Since that grain harvest, the Li family has settled down.
He was a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, and his 50 mu of land was exempt from land tax. Originally, he had already used 15 mu of land for his own family, and the quota for the other 35 mu was given to Zhang Fuhu's family.
After that grain harvest, Li Zhiyuan also came to his senses.
We can't use all those tax-free slots to please our fathers-in-law.
He took back the quota of 10 mu of land from the Zhang family and gave it to Li Gouwa's family and another villager's family, asking them to help him cultivate and harvest the land. However, the usual tasks of weeding and watering were not included.
Fortunately, Li Jiaojiao has Li Gouwa, her devoted follower, who occasionally helps Li Zhiyuan water and weed his fields. Although he doesn't manage them very well, it's better than having no one at all.
With Li Gouwa in charge of the fields and Gu Han handling the housework, Li Zhiyuan and Li Jiaojiao are quite relaxed, except that they are really short of money.
...
After Magistrate Lu left, Ye Caiping prepared new fish bait at home.
"Auntie, another carriage is here!" Xiao Yan ran in again.
Ye Caiping looked up: "Chen Manman?"
She went outside and saw a servant she didn't recognize. The carriage was very new; it wasn't Shen Manman's.
As soon as the servant saw Ye Caiping, he stepped forward with a smile:
"Madam Ye, I'm from the horse trading company in the prefectural city. This is the carriage you ordered! I'm so sorry it took so long to arrive."
Ye Caiping suddenly realized that she had ordered a carriage: "It's a month later than expected."
The servant smiled and said, "I'm so sorry, you ordered the horses on February 24th, and you should have received them before March 15th. But at that time, all the horses were sent to the Northwest. This is an order from the government, and we have to postpone it."
Ye Caiping nodded. Ye Daquan had gone to the horse trading company in mid-March to inquire, and received the same answer then.
They also said that if I didn't want it, I could get my 10 taels deposit back.
Ye Caiping did not back down, since the government had given the order and the horse shop had no choice but to wait.
The servant said, "To compensate Madam Ye for her losses, our horse shop is willing to reduce the price by one tael of silver."
Ye Caiping nodded: "Alright! But you'll have to stay here a little longer and teach my older brother how to drive a horse."
Unexpectedly, the servant was even happier: "No problem. Since you want to learn, after you've driven a few laps around this village, I'll be taken back to the capital. That way I can learn for a longer period and also properly test the horse's stamina, how about that?"
Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Okay."
At this moment, Madam Du and Old Lady Ye, having heard the news, came out and chattered excitedly as they looked at the carriage in front of them.
"This horse is really handsome! It's tall and big!"
"Can I touch it?"
"Of course, Auntie, feel free to touch it."
"Wow, you can really touch it."
"This fur is so smooth!"
The group stroked the horse's body and head, and the horse didn't get angry; it had a very good temper.
Ye Caiping was increasingly satisfied with the horse. It was a very ordinary dark brown horse with smooth fur and bright eyes. Not only was it strong, but it was also gentle in temperament.
Ye Daquan got into the carriage, sat in front of the shaft, and followed the servant to learn how to drive the horse, driving around the village.
"Wow, it's a horse-drawn carriage. Uncle Daquan, is this yours?" The village children's eyes lit up when they saw the carriage.
"Yes, it's my little sister's!" Ye Daquan proudly tugged at the reins.
Although many horse-drawn carriages came and went from the Hulatang workshop, none of them belonged to the village, and the children were too afraid to approach them.
Now we're listening to Ye Caiping's song. The village children are passing it around, laughing and joking as they chase after the carriage. It's quite a lively scene.
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