In the courtyard of the Liu family's main house, He Xiyuan was not in a good mood after learning that the workers of the wool mill had been poached. Although Liu Yulian was not unhappy, He Xiyuan was not very happy.
"Who is so bold as to poach your people?" He Xiyuan asked.
"They're not my people, and they haven't signed any contracts to sell themselves." Liu Yulian said, "Some are paid daily, and some work for a few days and then stop."
"If others learn this..."
"It's okay. There are so many rouge sellers out there, not just one." Liu Yulian interrupted He Xiyuan, who was trying to defend herself. "They're poaching people now, but they won't be poaching people later. There's really not much technical stuff involved with this kind of thing, besides the ingredients."
At first, some people might offer high prices, but later, when they realize that high prices are unnecessary, they start to lower them. Those who are willing to change jobs at will may become dissatisfied, and some people have bad tempers and may even cause trouble.
"Those who leave now aren't particularly good people themselves," Liu Yulian said. "After a while, everything will settle down."
"Are you going to make it public again and let others do it together?" He Xiyuan just felt that his fiancée was a little silly for telling them everything.
"If we don't make it public, they'll still come and snoop around, and who knows, it might even lead to other problems." Liu Yulian thought the wool industry wasn't a secretive place, and there was really no need to make it that way. What was the point of her making money alone? "Let more people sell wool, and they'll earn more, and have a better life. Isn't that great? It's also a good deed."
Liu Yulian wanted to make the information public, as it wasn't particularly important. When more people went to collect wool, some people would be willing to raise sheep with more wool, and those people would earn more money. Ordinary people could buy more wool to knit sweaters, making it easier to survive when the weather gets cold.
She could even travel through time. Perhaps there really was merit in this world. If she did more good deeds, what if she traveled through time again? What if she ended up in the world of cultivation? She might even become a woman of destiny.
In this life, she has a cheat, which is not bad.
Liu Yulian didn't offend Su Qiuya excessively, mainly because she felt it was unnecessary. It wasn't because she thought Su Qiuya was the original heroine that she couldn't offend her. Liu Yulian thought that Su Qiuya was self-reliant after all. Liu Yulian had actually liked reading that novel, not because she was the heroine's self-reliant self-reliant self.
"After a while, I'll collect some duck feathers." Liu Yulian said, "Duck feathers are also fine."
"Where are the chicken feathers?" He Xiyuan asked.
"Chicken feathers... I haven't heard of them... I don't know. The book says duck feathers, so maybe duck feathers are okay." Liu Yulian said, "Ducks can swim in water, but chickens can't. There's still a difference."
"That's right, ducks can indeed swim in the water." He Xiyuan nodded, "Geese can too."
"Yes, I'll give it a try when the time comes." Liu Yulian said, "If I can make it well, I'll give it to you."
"There's a lot of cotton growing over there at the military camp." He Xiyuan had seen the cotton fields and even sowed cotton seeds there. Liu Yulian had given most of the seeds from her autumn cotton planting to the Northwest Military Camp, which had planted them and harvested a good crop.
The barracks didn't have much land, but fortunately they had culture medium, so they used it to plant cotton. The cotton grew well, and they harvested a good amount. This way, the soldiers in the barracks could wear cotton clothes.
There were too many people in the military camp and the cotton grown was not enough, but those who went out to stand guard at night could wear cotton clothes.
"Well, plant a little every day, and slowly you'll have more." Liu Yulian thought that growing cotton in the northwest was also good. In areas with more sand and gravel, they should first plant some forest protection trees like Haloxylon ammodendron. "You are in the barracks, you have to protect the country, so you should dress warmly."
"Recently, those tribes have sold a lot of wool and transported away a lot of grain." He Xiyuan's uncle is General Xu, so he knows something about it.
They all kept an eye on the border to prevent those tribes from attacking them.
Then, they discovered that those tribes started selling goat milk and wool, which they had sold before. But they hadn't sold them at such a high price before, and they had always sold them at a very low price. Those tribesmen couldn't exchange them for more food, so they were short of food and clothing, so they thought of robbing them.
Those people made a lot of money by selling goat milk and wool, and the court did not prevent them from buying food.
The imperial court meant that since the country's grain production was high, it would be fine to sell some grain to the tribes. As long as the tribes did not launch surprise attacks, it would be fine.
The imperial court did not want to go to war. If they did, many people would die on the battlefield, and conscription would be necessary. If the able-bodied men from the common people were conscripted, the common people would not be able to cultivate as much land and produce as much food.
Taking all factors into consideration, the imperial court believed that some food should be given to the people in those tribes.
"My uncle has sent people to guard the trading area to prevent any disturbances," He Xiyuan said. This matter also had the emperor's permission, and they had communicated with each other about whether there was anything. In the past, when small forces launched sneak attacks, there were also trading places, but now the number of transactions is higher.
"Very good." Liu Yulian didn't understand foreign trade, but she thought it was pretty good.
"But we still have to be careful and pay more attention," He Xiyuan said, "lest we let our guard down and get into trouble."
"Then you have to be careful." Liu Yulian hopes that Liu Yanjing and He Xiyuan are safe.
"Of course you have to be careful. If you lose your life, Sister Lian will marry someone else." He Xiyuan looked at Liu Yulian with burning eyes.
"Yes, it's impossible for me to remain a widow for you forever." Liu Yulian laughed.
"Well, you have to work hard to survive." He Xiyuan said, "Sister Lian has to be well too. If Sister Lian dies, I will... I will become a monk."
"Don't say that." Liu Yulian said.
"I have an older brother at home, so it doesn't matter." He Xiyuan thought there was nothing wrong with him becoming a monk. He thought Sister Lian was such a good person. If he lost Sister Lian, he would never meet someone as good as her again.
In the capital, at the Ouyang family, Mrs. Huo is pregnant.
When the old lady of the Ouyang family learned that her daughter-in-law was pregnant, she was very happy and even rewarded the servants. The children left by Lord Ouyang's first wife were even more afraid to approach Mrs. Huo. Firstly, the girl had hit her head in the yard earlier, leaving a scar; secondly, Mrs. Huo didn't want to see her stepchildren at all.
After Mrs. Huo became pregnant, she hoped it would be a boy. If it was a boy, she wouldn't have to worry about whether he had a stepson or not. Everything in the family would be inherited by her son, and she couldn't even think about a stepson.
"Today is such a good day! It's the Mid-Autumn Festival and you're pregnant." The old lady was very happy. "This can be considered a reunion. You should take good care of yourself. If you want to eat anything, ask the kitchen to make it."
Outside, little Ouyang heard the conversation between her grandmother and stepmother. She knew her stepmother didn't like her. She had bumped into something last time, and it would have been possible to avoid a scar, but her stepmother treated her badly, always looking at her in a bad light, and she got angry at the maid's instigation, so she got a scar.
After Miss Ouyang's brother learned about what happened to his sister, he told her not to go to Mrs. Huo and not to pay attention to Mrs. Huo's bad attitude.
But Miss Ouyang usually stayed in the backyard, so it was inevitable that she would see Mrs. Huo. For example, if she stayed at the old lady's side, she would be able to see Mrs. Huo when she came.
Mrs. Huo was pregnant, and the old lady was so happy that little Miss Ouyang felt that her grandmother had never been so happy.
Normally, the old lady was very kind to Mrs. Huo and often asked Miss Ouyang to avoid Mrs. Huo. Miss Ouyang's mood was even worse. Now that Mrs. Huo was pregnant, Miss Ouyang knew that her future would be even more difficult.
If only Mrs. Huo hadn’t gotten pregnant.
Little girl Ouyang wanted to rush in, but was stopped by the wet nurse beside her.
"Girl." The wet nurse held Miss Ouyang tightly and shook her head gently at her.
The eldest daughter of the Huo family was a daughter of the Bo family, and she was betrothed by Old Lady Ouyang. The wet nurse did not allow the little girl Ouyang to rush in at this time. She did not want her master to do anything stupid at this time. The master was just a little girl, and the old lady did not like her that much. The wet nurse thought that if the little girl Ouyang did not do well, the old lady might send her to the farm.
"Don't go." The wet nurse pulled the little girl Ouyang away and talked to her for a long time before she calmed her down.
In the northwest, one day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, He Xiyuan followed Liu Yulian to a woolen mill to see how wool yarn was made. He was initially quite curious, but after watching, he felt that Liu Yulian was amazing.
From the first step to the last, if you don’t see it with your own eyes, it’s hard for ordinary people to believe that there is a relationship between wool and wool yarn.
Liu Yulian also took He Xiyuan to see the wine cellar, where there was a lot of wine.
"Wine isn't that strong." Liu Yulian doesn't drink, and she hasn't paid much attention to what ancient wine was like. "It tastes good, too. Oh, and if white wine is distilled, that means it needs to be more concentrated, which can disinfect it."
Liu Yulian had distilled white wine when she was treating Liu Yanjing's leg injury, and used the high-concentration distilled white wine to disinfect Liu Yanjing's wound.
"It's very useful." He Xiyuan has a deep understanding of this. The most serious injury he suffered in the military camp was the arm injury, and he was also injured during training later.
He Xiyuan used the disinfectant alcohol and blood-stasis-removing medicinal wine that Liu Yulian gave them. Those things were very useful.
"In the future, you may be the one to support the family," said He Xiyuan.
"I support the family?" Liu Yulian wondered.
"I don't know much, and my salary isn't much, so I can't make that much money." He Xiyuan said, "The things in the family are mainly inherited by my eldest brother."
"Even so, you can still support the family." Liu Yulian didn't think He Xiyuan was a gigolo. "Too much money is useless, that's all. I spend more money, and I always have to deal with this."
"It's okay to do that." He Xiyuan said hurriedly, "What Sister Lian did is all good things."
Liu Yulian chuckled, "Don't be afraid that I'm better than you. From now on, when people talk about you, they will add my name in front."
"That's good too," He Xiyuan said. "I don't want to be remembered in history."
He Xiyuan hadn't considered the consequences of Liu Yulian becoming too strong. In his eyes, Sister Lian was still the same Sister Lian she had always been. It was because of her family's experiences that Sister Lian had become so strong. He wanted to protect Sister Lian and let her breathe a sigh of relief.
When He Xiyuan and Liu Yulian returned home together, they saw Liu Yanjing standing in the yard.
"Brother." Liu Yulian didn't expect that Liu Yanjing would be standing here, holding his little niece's hand.
"Auntie." As soon as little Liu Jia saw Liu Yulian, she ran over hurriedly, "Auntie, where have you been? I haven't seen you since early this morning."
"What's wrong? You never thought of me like this before, but you miss me so much today?" Liu Yulian took her little niece's hand.
"I just miss my aunt." Xiao Liujia said, "With Daddy around, and eating the cakes made by my aunt, I'm so happy."
"Okay, I'll make you something to eat later." Liu Yulian simply took her little niece to the kitchen.
He Xiyuan looked at Liu Yanjing. He suspected that his future uncle did it on purpose. He brought his little niece here to wait.
"What are you looking at?" Liu Yanjing asked, "Do you want to go over and take a look too?"
Liu Yanjing certainly didn't mean to wait there with his daughter; he just wanted to take her for a walk. This house wasn't as big as the Jingning Marquis's Mansion in the capital, so he walked around and explored it quickly.
"Go." He Xiyuan said. Of course he had to go and take a look. Sister Lian was very gentle when taking care of children.
When they have children, Sister Lian will definitely take good care of them. He Xiyuan couldn't help but think that he should not let Sister Lian get too tired, and should not let those children always pester Sister Lian and ask her to cook a lot of delicious food.
In Shiyuan Village, the widow Zhang's eldest grandson had already married a woman named Shi. After marrying into the family, Shi was very capable. She could do some embroidery, mend clothes, cook, and even recognize a few words and speak logically.
Widow Zhang couldn't help but look up to Shi. Her eldest grandson even thought that Shi was her biological granddaughter and that she was adopted.
"Grandma." Shi also knew how to respect Widow Zhang. She used her and her husband's small savings to buy cakes for Widow Zhang. She said that Widow Zhang was the most senior elder in the family and that she had made many sacrifices for the family. She said that the family's current situation was all thanks to Widow Zhang.
Shi's family had told her that Widow Zhang was a formidable person. She simply wanted to learn from her, believing that if she could learn more, she would be able to manage the household well in the future.
"There aren't many watermelons and grapes on the farm, just a few scattered around to finish off the harvest." Shi said, "I thought I should learn more. Since there aren't many things right now, you guys can teach me."
Shi had been married for only about half a month, and after she got married, she also went to work. She knew that the Liu family paid the Zhang family according to the price of a whole piece of land. No matter how much the Zhang family paid, they would only be paid a certain amount for the work on the land.
She thought this was good, she knew a few words, and her husband knew some too. They had to learn to do accounting and some land skills.
Shi knew that Widow Zhang wouldn't let anyone else take over these jobs. If someone in her family could handle the job and win the favor of the Liu family's eldest wife, that would be the best. Shi knew that she was just a peasant girl who knew a few words, not a lady from a wealthy family or a daughter of a scholar.
Since she is a farm girl, she has to do some farm work. She is afraid that there will be no farm work to do and she won’t be able to earn money.
"Okay, you can come with me tomorrow," said Widow Zhang. "Let others handle these household chores."
Widow Zhang was delighted to see Shi Shi working so hard. Princess Rongning had quite a bit of land, and they primarily helped manage it. The land for Marquis Jingning was managed by someone else.
Widow Zhang had inquired about it, and the people hired by the Jingning Marquisate were all quite capable, such as those with years of experience in accounting and managing farms. However, her family did not have that much experience, having only been farming for many years.
Having a large family isn't an advantage; if someone wants to hire someone, they can hire a lot of people as long as they have money. What matters is whether they have other abilities and are willing to work honestly.
"Listen to me and do your job honestly," said Widow Zhang. "Don't try to steal every little bit of money you see. If the master finds out, he'll be a high-ranking official, and not only will you lose your job, you'll end up in jail."
Widow Zhang didn't want her granddaughter-in-law to be so smart as to steal the master's money. If they wanted to make money, they had to do it in an honest way. They couldn't do it arbitrarily. If they did, they would end up in jail.
She is a county lady and her father is a marquis. If these people don't work hard and still have all kinds of thoughts, it is their fault.
They are farmers, their brains are not that useful, so don't bother with them.
"I'll do as you say," Shi said. "My husband said he wanted to learn from you."
"He's sensible." Widow Zhang nodded slightly. None of her children and grandchildren were as smart as she was. "If the fruits and vegetables in the fields grow well, send some to the county lady. Remember these things. We don't have anything else good to give, so sending these will make others think we are grateful."
"Yes, those things may seem worthless, but at least they are grown by ourselves. We deliver the things over there, and no matter whether we get in or not, at least they know us." Shi wrote it all down.
After Shi married into the Zhang family, she discovered that the food was good and that each family could save money on their own. However, they had to pay a certain amount each month before they could save. This was already quite good, as many families didn't allow people to save money privately; they had to pay it forward.
For example, Shi's husband had saved some money, all earned from working from the second half of last year to the first half of this year. It was clear that Rongning County Lady had indeed given them a lot of work, allowing them to earn a lot of money. They didn't sell themselves into slavery, just working, which Shi thought was very good.
They saved some money so that when they had a child, they could send the child to school. If they told others that their family worked for the county lady, it would be a very prestigious thing in the countryside.
Otherwise, Shi's family would never have agreed to let her marry into Widow Zhang's family.
In the Liu family's main house, Liu Yulian made candied grapes for little Liu Jia. She peeled and seeded the grapes, then strung them together. The rock sugar on the grapes was the same as the rock sugar on candied haws, but the grapes were sweeter and not as sour as the hawthorns.
"Don't eat too much. If you eat too much, your teeth will be damaged and you won't be able to eat more in the future." Liu Yulian didn't dare let her little niece eat too much. She also picked up two strings of candied haws and handed them to He Xiyuan.
He Xiyuan had just been helping to peel and deseed the grapes, and had damaged quite a few of them. Fortunately, the grapes could be eaten directly, so it wasn't a waste.
"Don't adults know how to do this?" Little Liujia stared at the two bunches of candied grapes in He Xiyuan's hand. Why did she only have one bunch in her hand?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
