After Zhen Wen Ze was effectively expelled from the Liu family's main branch, he went to find Concubine Chai and Liu Fang. He had already brought all those things with him, and it would be awkward to carry them back. He felt that something was amiss between the Liu family's main branch and the third branch. They had split up, but there was no need for such apathy.
When Aunt Chai heard Zhen Wen Ze say that Marquis Jingning asked him to bring the things over, she immediately thought that Zhen Wen Ze might have been treated coldly by the eldest wife.
"The Marquis has no other choice," Aunt Chai explained. "Everyone knows that the Marquis' wife and Princess Rongning are basically the ones in charge of the main house. They don't like us, so the Marquis has no choice but to listen to them. The most the Marquis can do is to help us privately."
Of course, Father Liu didn't help them privately, and Aunt Chai said this deliberately. Since it was a private help, who knows whether Father Liu actually came? Isn't it Aunt Chai's decision?
"The Marquis must be very pleased with you," Aunt Chai said. "When we went there before, he was forced not to see us and wouldn't let us in. But he saw you, which shows he's different. He asked you to send the things over because he saw that our family wasn't doing so well. After the restoration of the title, the Marquis's wife kept everything under control and didn't dare let the Marquis give away anything."
Anyway, all the faults are the fault of the wife of Marquis Jingning and the fault of County Lady Rongning, not the fault of the third house.
Aunt Chai could see that Zhen Wenze was after the power of the Jingning Marquisate. Before the Jingning Marquisate was confiscated, the Marquis had a say in the court. The Jingning Marquisate was confiscated, the Liu family was exiled, and now their titles have been restored, so the Jingning Marquisate is naturally not bad.
"You don't have to worry, the Marquis remembers you." Aunt Chai said with a smile.
"..." Zhen Wen Ze frowned, feeling something was not right.
"Those culture media were developed by County Lady Rongning." Aunt Chai gave another reason.
"Does Sister Fang have a bad relationship with Princess Rongning?" Zhen Wenzhe asked.
"Sister Fang is just a concubine's daughter, while Princess Rongning is a legitimate daughter and is very arrogant." Aunt Chai said.
"That's all." Zhen Wenze understood that the relationship between Rongning County Lady and Liu Fang was not good. As for whether Jingning Marquis had secretly helped the third wife, Zhen Wenze had no idea.
But he and Liu Fang were already engaged, so he couldn't just go back on his word. Otherwise, others would think he was playing with the concubine's daughter of the Marquis's mansion.
Zhen Wen Ze only hoped that Marquis Jingning could help him a little when the time came. He had also heard from Prefect Zhen that Marquis Jingning was quite capable.
"There will be plenty of opportunities to honor my father-in-law in the future." Zhen Wenze thought about visiting the Liu family's main house more often. If it was difficult to get in, then Liu's father would always come out. Seeing Liu's father more often might soften his heart. After all, Liu Fang was Marquis Jingning's biological daughter. Zhen Wenze didn't believe that Marquis Jingning didn't want his son-in-law to get promoted and become wealthy.
"That's right." Aunt Chai said.
After Aunt Chai calmed Zhen Wenze down, she thought to herself that the eldest wife was truly abominable. Who would treat their future son-in-law like this? It was clear that the eldest wife was trying to ruin Liu Fang's marriage.
After Zhen Wen Ze left, Aunt Chai went to find Liu Fang.
"Remember, don't be too arrogant, act a little more pitiful." Aunt Chai said, "It's extremely rare for you to have such a marriage now."
"Mother." Liu Fang was not very satisfied with Zhen Wen Ze. She always felt that this marriage was not a good one and that she should marry a better family. "How long do you want your daughter to endure this?"
"Just wait until you marry him," Aunt Chai said. "He can't divorce you after you marry him."
"He doesn't dare to cancel the engagement now." Liu Fang curled her lips.
"He doesn't dare," Aunt Chai said, "but he can give you some more things. When you get married, you can touch those things more often, and he won't need to give them to you anymore."
Aunt Chai doesn't want Liu Fang to cancel the engagement. You know, some people in the village think that Liu Fang is not a good person just because she caused her sister-in-law to have a miscarriage.
"It's so troublesome." Liu Fang said.
At the Liu family's main house, Father Liu went to the melon fields again. The melons were growing very well, some of them were huge, weighing over ten or twenty pounds. Fortunately, the melons weren't any bigger. If they were, they might not taste as good and would be hard to sell.
"There are still quite a few birds in the fields." After Liu's father came back, he told Liu's mother what he saw and heard in the fields. "Some of the melons have been pecked."
"It's okay as long as they peck less," said Mother Liu. "How can we completely stop those birds from pecking at the watermelons?"
"That's exactly what happened." Father Liu nodded. "Those restaurants also ordered quite a few watermelons. Some of them even went to the melon fields to pick them themselves."
Father Liu had originally planned to have the watermelons delivered to the restaurants, but who would have thought the restaurant staff would choose the watermelons themselves? They thought the watermelons were well-grown and delicious, and wanted to see them for themselves.
In fact, those watermelons are all similar, the only difference is size.
"That's good, it can save some money." Father Liu said, "People are coming from the capital."
"That's because the melons are growing well." Mother Liu chuckled. "You must keep the culture medium recipes safe. You might even be able to pass them down to future generations. If someone has good cooking skills, they can also make a living."
"Leave them all there." Father Liu said. There should be no one else in the family to learn how to prepare the culture medium for the time being.
After all, the imperial court sells culture medium, and unless it is absolutely necessary, who would prepare the culture medium by themselves?
Father Liu thought of the cotton Liu Yulian had planted before. In the spring, his daughter had another batch of cotton planted. Those cottons were now in bloom, but this batch of cotton did not grow as fast, so only a few flowers were in bloom.
According to Liu Yulian, unless it is an emergency, it is better to let these crops grow according to the normal schedule, so that they can grow better.
As for crops like wheat, the imperial court naturally wanted them to grow faster. The main reason was that the people didn't have enough food, and people were starving to death every year. If wheat could mature earlier and increase production, many people could be saved.
After the wheat harvest, it is not advisable to plant wheat immediately. It is better to plant wheat twice a year and let the fields rest for a while. Wheat straw should also be left in the fields to make the fields more fertile.
Father Liu didn't know how to prepare the culture medium, but he gradually learned a little. The emperor hadn't given him a real job, and Father Liu knew that the emperor wanted them to farm for the next two years and then discuss other matters after they returned to the capital.
"These things aren't secrets," Father Liu said. "We're just worried someone might find out the formula, mix it incorrectly, and falsify it, selling fake culture fluid."
The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds.
In this world, there are actually people who make fake culture medium. The imperial version sells for 40 wen, while the fake version sells for 20 or 30 wen, and there are always people who buy it for the bargain. This kind of fake stuff is hard to spot immediately, and by the time you do, it's been over half a month, or even a month or two.
"You don't need to worry about this," said Liu's mother. "Will the imperial court still care? Right now, only the imperial court and our family are selling culture medium. Culture medium sold by other families is mostly fake."
"Yes." Father Liu didn't worry about these things. If someone bought fakes, it had nothing to do with the Liu family.
Summer is a good time to shear sheep, as some sheep have very thick wool.
Liu Yulian wanted to make wool yarn and knit a sweater later. She prepared the materials now so that she could use them in winter. Liu Yulian was not very familiar with the northwest and did not know where to buy more wool. After much deliberation, she decided to go to Liu's father.
Father Liu had been to the battlefield and was a man, so he would definitely be able to get information better.
"There's some wool for sale in the city," said Father Liu. "But few people buy it. They don't think it's worth much, unless it's a whole sheepskin with the wool on."
"No need for leather, just wool will do," Liu Yulian said. "Wool is just like cotton. You can make wool into silk thread, and then make clothes."
In ancient times, people rarely used wool to make things. Even if some people wanted to sell wool, it was based on the principle of recycling waste. If someone bought their wool, they could also make some money.
Some nearby villages also raise sheep, but they don't specifically raise sheep with a lot of wool.
"Okay, I'll ask someone to go to the capital to buy some, and then see if anyone else wants to sell it, and then I'll buy more for you." Father Liu didn't say that wool had a smell, but since his daughter said so, then the wool must be useful.
Father Liu thought it would be great to find more things that could be used to make warm clothing. Although their family relied on culture medium to restore their nobility, if they could make more things, they would make more.
"This area is close to the border, and there are people selling things nearby." Father Liu said, "We just need to have someone keep an eye on it."
"Well, we'll take as much wool as we can." Liu Yulian thought that they were not afraid of taking too much wool. If they took too much, they could make it back by selling wool yarn. "My daughter still has some money."
"Okay." Father Liu thought to himself how long his daughter's money could last, that is, when the watermelons are ripe, she will have some income again.
Father Liu did not say that Liu Yulian should not spend more money, because money is something outside of one's body.
When Widow Zhang learned that the Liu family's eldest wife wanted to collect wool, she made a special trip to the eldest wife's house.
"County Lady, many people in my mother's family raise sheep. Even in this hot weather, they still shear them. In the past, they always worried about how to sell the wool," Widow Zhang said. "Sometimes they even threw it away. It's useless. If you want it, just ask them to send it to you. You can pay for it. It's better than having them throw it away for nothing."
"Let them deliver the goods." Liu Yulian nodded. "We'll weigh them that day and pay them that day. Three cents per pound, I guess. We'll have to adjust it later."
"Okay, okay." Widow Zhang thought to herself that the wool was not cheap at all. The county lady was kind-hearted. If she asked her to sell it for a penny a pound, someone might sell it to her.
For most sheep farmers, the wool they shear off is of little use. Shearing off a single sheep might not even yield a pound of wool. From all the sheep, you can only shed a few pounds to sell for a bit of money, or buy a pound of meat.
The main reason is that few people in this dynasty used wool to make things, and no one used wool to make thread. Those nomadic people basically used whole sheepskins. Some people even raised sheep for their entire lives without killing them, guarding their sheep for their entire lives. This may be related to religious beliefs.
This led to wool becoming waste. Some really poor families, unable to afford better warming fabrics, would try to sort out the wool and stuff it into their quilts. Chicken feathers, duck feathers, and wool were all used to make quilts and clothes.
Widow Zhang thought that if the sheep had more wool, she would make a profit.
"You don't need to dry the wool in the sun for a long time, but you don't need to soak it in water before weighing it." Liu Yulian reminded Widow Zhang to prevent someone from deliberately soaking the wool in water to sell it.
Liu Yulian had some money, but she didn't want to be taken advantage of. Once she successfully made wool and others could make it, even if the price went up, it wouldn't matter to her. She figured the price wouldn't go too high; if it did, many families wouldn't be able to use it.
As for whether or not to raise sheep with more wool at home, Liu Yulian hadn't thought about it. The breeding technology in the game is slower because there are various fences and disinfection technologies in the game, which can be purchased in the mall.
If you want to raise those small animals in reality, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort.
Liu Yulian couldn't keep an eye on the small animals all the time, so she didn't raise any. She thought that since she had built a manor, it would be okay for the people there to raise some chickens, ducks, and sheep, but cattle were under the control of the court.
Cows can plow the land, and the imperial court does not allow people to kill cows at will. People raise cows in farms to use them to plow the land, not to eat them.
"It's fine if it's almost there, there's no need to be so particular." Liu Yulian said.
"If you put it that way, then there's really nothing we can do. Just have them shear the wool and bring it here." Widow Zhang had an idea. If they raised sheep with lots of wool, they could shear them every year and make money. "County Lady, can you make money from the wool by raising sheep?"
"It should be possible." Liu Yulian had never raised sheep in real life, but she thought it should be possible to make money. "If you want to sell wool, you have to find the kind with abundant wool and good quality. Such good wool will not be three cents per pound, the price should be higher."
"Can it be sold?" Widow Zhang was surprised. "No, if you say so, it should be sold."
"When I make wool, you can take a look." Liu Yulian smiled. She was thinking that she would let more people accept wool and let them know the benefits of wool.
"You are such a good person." said Widow Zhang.
“…” Liu Yulian smiled. When the ancients said a person was a good person, it probably meant that the person was good.
When Su Qiuya arrived, she happened to see Widow Zhang leaving. She still had a bad impression of the first wife's family. The first wife would rather let Widow Zhang and her family manage the manor than let the fourth wife manage the manor and did not help the fourth wife.
The second wife also knew how to help the third wife. Su Qiuya thought that if she didn't plan to buy some watermelons, she would not have come.
Su Qiuya thought that her family was different from those waiters in the restaurant. If they wanted to buy watermelons, it would be better for them to come to Liu Yulian or Liu's father to avoid buying them directly from the watermelon field.
"I'm here to buy melons." Su Qiuya did not state her identity directly.
"Just go to the melon field." The gatekeeper recognized Su Qiuya. Su Qiuya had been here before. She was the second daughter-in-law of the Marquis. However, the Marquis and his wife did not want to see these people and did not let them in.
The gatekeeper told Su Qiuya to go to the melon field and there was no need to come here. He looked at Su Qiuya as if she was looking for an excuse to see the Marquis and his wife, so of course he would not let Su Qiuya in.
Su Qiuya just felt anxious and anxious. Why didn't these people report it?
At this time, Liu Qingyun just came back from get out of class and saw Su Qiuya standing at the door.
"Second Aunt." Liu Qingyun didn't like these people very much, but he still called them. He couldn't let others think that he didn't respect his elders.
"Can I tell your aunt? I'm here to buy some watermelons." Su Qiuya said, "I've recently started selling stir-fried dishes, and some people like to give away two slices of watermelon. So, I thought I'd buy some watermelons and make some other things."
Su Qiuya had originally planned to buy watermelons from other families, but they weren't as sweet. The watermelons from the eldest branch of the Liu family were sweeter and had fewer seeds. Su Qiuya couldn't possibly be bothered by money; for the same price, she'd definitely buy the better one.
Su Qiuya took this opportunity to see if she could ease the relationship with the eldest wife. She didn't intend to take advantage of the eldest wife, but she also didn't want the eldest wife to be too cold to them, fearing that the eldest wife still held a grudge against the division of the family.
Some people appear to be very nice on the surface, but they actually hold grudges from the past.
Su Qiuya wasn't here to buy watermelons; she was clearly here to slowly negotiate with the eldest wife. She was willing to lower her status. As a businessman, she should be able to bend and stretch. Since ancient times, the people have never argued with the officials, and merchants are several levels lower than the officials.
Before Su Qiuya got married, she knew that when her family was doing business, her father had to smile and please some people.
A few days ago, Su Qiuya received a letter from her grandfather. When he learned that the Liu family's title had been restored, he wanted to let Su Qiuya and her family return to Beijing. Su Qiuya didn't want to return to Beijing so soon. She wanted to wait for Liu Yanbo to take the imperial examination and wait for him to pass the examination step by step.
If she and Liu Yanbo returned to Beijing in such disgrace, how would they live their lives?
There are many restaurants and delicious food in the capital, and the rent of shops is high. Su Qiuya is not sure whether she can make as much money as she did in the future. When she is not sure, Su Qiuya prefers to maintain the status quo to avoid being ridiculed by other people in her grandfather's family.
Su Qiuya knew what they would mock without even thinking.
"Isn't your husband the young master of the Marquis' Mansion? Why don't you live in the Marquis' Mansion?"
"Hey, how long are you going to stay in our house?"
"With your skills, it would be fine if you opened a small shop in a place like the northwest, but you chose to open one in the capital."
"When my friend asked me if I was the one selling noodles, I was too embarrassed to tell him."
…
When Su Qiuya went to her grandfather's house before, her cousins didn't necessarily like her very much. They all felt that her grandfather loved her too much and that they were his granddaughters.
For this reason, Su Qiuya will not return to Beijing for the time being. She is willing to bow her head more in front of the eldest wife.
"Then you wait." After hearing Su Qiuya's words, Liu Qingyun said, "I'll go ask my aunt."
Liu Qingyun thought these people were really troublesome. Why not just go to the melon field instead of coming home? However, Su Qiuya was Liu Yanbo's wife after all, so this made a difference.
When Liu Yulian learned that Su Qiuya came to buy watermelon, she was a little surprised and said, "Let her in."
"Aunt, are you really going to see her?" Liu Qingyun didn't like Su Qiuya, nor did she like the people from other families. "Is this what you adults mean by keeping a good appearance?"
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