Chapter 301, Understanding the Situation
After entering the house, Mrs. Li and her three children sat down one after another. After the maids served tea, they stepped aside.
"Brother, what are you doing with a box?"
Seeing Yan Wenxiu holding a box in his hand, Daohua couldn't help but ask.
Yan Wenxiu smiled and said, "When I was strolling around the provincial government before, I passed by a pharmacy and saw this box of high-quality white fungus. I thought of buying some to nourish my mother." As he said that, he smiled and walked forward to put the box on the table next to Mrs. Li.
Mrs. Li was surprised at first, and then she opened the box with a look of joy. She looked at the white and transparent white fungus inside, which looked like a blooming chrysanthemum, and felt very happy.
This was the first time the eldest son had been so considerate to her!
"Okay, big brother, I was wondering why you left us alone that day. It turns out you went to buy white fungus for mom. Why didn't you call me so I could buy something for mom too."
Yan Wenkai muttered dissatisfiedly.
Yan Wenxiu glanced over and asked, "Do you have any money on you?"
Yan Wenkai choked and suddenly fell silent.
He was a person who could not save money. He spent all his monthly allowance every time. Sometimes he even had to ask his third brother and eldest brother for help.
Seeing her second son frustrated, Madam Li smiled and said, "Mother knows how filial you are. You are all still studying now, so there is no need to spend so much money. You can keep your monthly allowance for yourselves. I have everything here."
Daohua sat down next to Madam Li and disagreed, "Mother, this is a gift from my brothers, how can you say it's a waste? You're always thinking about their food, clothing, housing and transportation. When they find something good outside, they think of bringing it back to you. Isn't that what they should do? Why are you pushing it away?"
Traditional parents are like this. They are obviously very happy about their children’s filial piety, but they still pretend that their children don’t need it. After this happens many times, their children take it seriously and stop buying things for them.
This person's emotions require interaction.
No matter how insignificant the gift is, knowing that someone is thinking of you will make you happy.
If one party only knows how to take, while the other party only knows how to give, people are not perfect, and over time, the emotions are bound to become unbalanced, creating a lot of trouble.
It is better to happily accept the other party's kindness from the beginning, and then compensate them to the best of your ability.
Madam Li tapped Daohua's forehead and said, "You are such a perverted girl."
Daohua glared: "How could this be wrong? Brothers are filial, and this kind of behavior should be encouraged. Are you unhappy that your eldest brother gave you white fungus?"
Mrs. Li glanced at her daughter with a smile, but this time she didn't say anything more.
After that, Daohua sat for a while and then returned to her own yard.
The yard was much larger and its layout was similar to that of the provincial government office, but there were a few more osmanthus trees in the yard.
Daohua looked at the houses everywhere. Lixia did not follow her to the provincial government. She was the one who arranged the furnishings in the house, almost all of which were arranged according to Daohua's previous instructions.
Daohua nodded in satisfaction, and seeing that there was nothing that needed to be changed, she returned to the main house.
"Go call Brother Xiaoliu over here. I have something to ask him."
Wang Maner glanced at the sky and saw it was already mid-afternoon. "Now? Miss, do you want to rest for a while?"
Daohua shook her head. "I need to quickly learn about the situation in Ningmen Prefecture. If there are suitable farms and fields, I need to buy them immediately, otherwise I will miss this year's spring plowing."
Wang Maner nodded and quickly turned around and left.
After a while, Qin Xiaoliu came.
Before Daohua went to the provincial government, she specifically instructed Qin Xiaoliu to inquire about the situation there as soon as he arrived at Ningmen Prefecture.
Qin Xiaoliu has been running out every day recently. Sometimes, when he goes to far places, he even spends the night outside. After all this busy work, he finally finished the tasks assigned by Daohua.
"Miss, Ningmen Prefecture governs three states and eighteen counties, and its jurisdiction area is at least three times that of other prefectures. However, despite its large area, more than half of its counties are lower-level counties."
"Many areas are quite barren, especially the counties near the border between Fenxi and Jiguang. Much of the land is idle and uncultivated."
Daohua asked, "Why is that?"
Qin Xiaoliu: "The counties adjacent to Fenxi were plagued by banditry a few years ago. Many people had their belongings robbed, and anyone who resisted would lose their lives."
"I heard from the elderly people there that everyone was scared and moved away. Even though Governor Guo has eliminated the bandit problem in the past two years, people still don't want to go back."
"The counties adjacent to Jiguang are deserted. Firstly, the farmland itself is very poor; secondly, due to last year's floods, many refugees who lost their homes have flocked there."
"As more refugees arrived, more trouble arose. The local people suffered terribly. Some who had relatives elsewhere simply fled."
Without people, there will naturally be no one to farm the fields.
After hearing this, Daohua silently sympathized with her adoptive father in her heart. The situation in Ningmen Mansion was quite complicated and difficult to govern!
"Tell me about the conditions in the fields here!"
Qin Xiaoliu quickly handed over the booklet that recorded the conditions of fields in various places.
Daohua took it and flipped through it, then smiled and said, "Brother Xiaoliu, it's quite good. The records are very complete."
The idle farmland in each county and the conditions around the farmland are clearly described.
Qin Xiaoliu scratched the back of his head and said a little embarrassedly, "I borrowed the county annals from Master Xiao. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to gather much information."
Daohua still said with admiration: "You knew to ask for help, and you found the right person. That's great."
Although Daohua is smaller than him, Qin Xiaoliu was very happy to hear her praise. He felt that all the hard work and running around these days were worth it.
"Man'er, give ten taels of silver to Brother Xiaoliu."
Wang Maner went to get the silver with a smile on her face.
After following Daohua for a few years, Qin Xiaoliu knew that the girl was generous, so he thanked her happily: "Thank you for the reward, young lady." This was a recognition of his ability to do things.
"Sandy loam"
Daohua carefully looked through the booklet in her hand, and her eyes flashed when she saw the land situation in Shahe County.
Qin Xiaoliu quickly said, "Shahe County is adjacent to the border between Ji and Guang. The land in the county is almost entirely sandy loam. It is the poorest county among the eighteen counties under the jurisdiction of Ningmen Prefecture."
Daohua asked, "How long does it take to get from the city to Shahe County?"
Qin Xiaoliu thought for a moment and said, "If we take a boat, it will only take half a day. If we go by land, it will take longer."
Daohua nodded, pondered for a moment, and then walked towards the main courtyard.
"mother!"
As soon as Daohua arrived at the main courtyard, he pestered Madam Li, "Mom, I want to go to Shahe County tomorrow to see the situation of the fields there."
Mrs. Li looked helpless: "Aren't you tired? You just came back, and you didn't even ask for a two-day rest."
Rice Flower shook her head: "I'm afraid of delaying the spring plowing."
Madam Li was silent for a moment. "I really can't help you. Let your third uncle accompany you. Our family also needs to add land. Let your third uncle go over and take a look at the situation."
(End of this chapter)
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