That's my money...
But Liu Yanqing didn't dare to say that. He was afraid of upsetting his wife and afraid that she would use a rolling pin on him.
"How come there's money here? Was it left there by the previous resident?" Liu Yanqing feigned surprise. "Maybe it was just a surprise for us, waiting to be discovered while we were cleaning the house?"
"You're stupid." Lin Xiaowan rolled her eyes. "Who doesn't take their money when they move? We cleaned the house when we came."
“…” Liu Yanqing didn’t dare to speak.
"You hid it, right?" Lin Xiaowan said directly, "You can hide it here without worrying about it being dragged away by rats."
"The copper coins don't smell fishy, so the mice won't be dragged away." Liu Yanqing said.
"It's you." Lin Xiaowan narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew that this husband could not be easy to take care of.
"Well... that's all for buying a bicycle." Liu Yanqing made an excuse for himself, "Save some money, then you can spend less."
Liu Yanqing patted Lin Xiaowan's shoulders, "Don't you think so?"
"Oh, when did you speak so nicely?" Lin Xiaowan raised her eyebrows. She really didn't think her husband was that capable. It was absolutely impossible for her husband to spend less money for her. Her husband just wanted her to spend more money and he to spend less.
"Isn't it always like this?" Liu Yanqing asked, "Shouldn't we continue cleaning? I'll do it."
"No need." Lin Xiaowan said, "You go outside to wash clothes, I'll clean up."
"..." Liu Yanqing curled his lips. Washing clothes was done by women, but he didn't dare to say it.
"I want to see how much money you have hidden." Lin Xiaowan held a rag in her hand. She wanted to take a closer look to see where Liu Yanqing hid the money.
Liu Yanqing felt heartbroken. He wanted to collect all the other private money, but he didn't dare to do so because he was afraid that Lin Xiaowan would break his legs after she found out.
"No...I didn't hide much." Liu Yanqing felt a little guilty.
Then, Lin Xiaowan found money from several places, but they were only a few coins. Lin Xiaowan was impressed by Liu Yanqing's ability to hide money.
After Lin Xiaowan cleaned the house, she planted strawberries and other vegetables in the yard. She also planted strawberries and some vegetables in the yard next door.
When Lin Xiaowan was at her mother's house, even though she was a concubine, she still had some fruit to eat. Now, she wants to grow her own fruit, and she can't bear to buy it.
"Remember to water those fields." Lin Xiaowan reminded Liu Yanqing, "Don't always wait for me to tell you."
"I remember." How could Liu Yanqing not dare to remember? He was not as valuable as those strawberries.
The villagers of Shiyuan Village were very happy. They harvested a large amount of wheat. Some people even reclaimed their wasteland. The court allowed people to reclaim wasteland, and the price of wasteland was low. Unlike fertile farmland, which cost a lot of money, wasteland was cheap, sometimes as low as a few dozen coins.
The imperial court encouraged the people to reclaim wasteland, and when the people saw that the culture medium was really useful, some capable villagers reclaimed some wasteland.
In this way, the villagers planted a lot of land, and after deducting the cost of the culture medium, they still harvested a lot of food, which they could sell for a lot of money. With food and money, the sons of the family could also get married.
Village Chief Zhang's family also harvested a good amount of wheat, and as far as he knew, several nearby villages had also harvested a good amount of grain. People from those villages had visited Shiyuan Village and seen the wheat grown with culture medium at the Liu family's main house. They didn't say they didn't need the culture medium, and they didn't say they didn't believe it.
Those people believed in the effectiveness of the culture medium. Even those who were short of money would find ways to borrow money to buy it. Those who used the culture medium to grow wheat were very happy. With so much more food at home, they would not have to be so frugal and would not go hungry.
"We can have a good new year this year," said Village Chief Zhang with emotion.
"Yes." The village head's wife smiled and said, "Let them grind the flour and make steamed buns later."
"Okay." Village chief Zhang was not reluctant to give it up. There was so much more food at home. The extra food was much more than in previous years when there was drought.
The imperial court did not increase taxes, so after they paid grain to the court, they still had a lot of grain left at home.
"There's still some wasteland in the village," said Village Chief Zhang. "We can reclaim it all next year."
The villagers didn't think of burning the mountains to plant crops. With so much land and so few people, there was no need to do that. Even if there were so much land, they wouldn't be able to plant it all.
If we only use culture medium to grow the field without taking good care of it, there won't be much grain in the field.
"It's time for the young men in the village to find wives," said the village chief's wife.
"We have plenty of food here, and other places have plenty of food too," said Village Chief Zhang. "Whether they can find wives depends on themselves."
In previous years, some people even sold their daughters because they had no food at home. It is indeed easier to find a wife if you have food at home.
Widow Zhang has been in a very good mood lately. Her family has reclaimed a lot of wasteland, but according to imperial regulations, they can't use all of it to grow fruit. They must plant a certain amount of food crops. Previously, Widow Zhang's family mainly cultivated watermelons and grapes, and the rest of the land was used to grow wheat, which they harvested abundantly.
But Widow Zhang was willing to let everyone in her family eat as much as they wanted. If they did, they would eat a lot. But if they did, by the time they realized what was happening, there wouldn't be much left. Even if there was indeed a lot of food, it was still necessary to be prepared.
“Eat, eat, eat, just remember to eat.” Widow Zhang would also say about the people in her family, “They just don’t know how to work harder.”
"..." After being married for a while, Shi had gotten used to Widow Zhang's temper.
Shi didn't think what Widow Zhang said was wrong. Widow Zhang was just afraid of poverty and hardship in the past. There were so many people at home, if they ate freely, the food would soon be gone.
The biggest fear when there's too much food is eating it without restraint, or lending it out recklessly. This can lead to a lack of food reserves at home, as they only have a limited amount of land to farm. In previous years, they were able to eat even less food because they controlled the amount they ate daily.
A few families ate some of the food they had, but most were still trying to sell some. Since there was more food, prices might be slightly lower, but overall, they still made more money than in previous years.
Widow Zhang brought her grandson's wife to the Liu family's eldest wife to deliver a lot of gifts. She didn't mention the nutrient solution, but said that the family was able to live so well this year thanks to the county lady's work. The culture medium was sold by the court, so when people talked about culture medium, they basically praised the court.
Widow Zhang understood, so she just wanted the county lady to take care of their family.
"They are all grown at home, they are not precious things." Widow Zhang said with a smile, "Thanks to the county lady, the eldest grandson of the family has also married, and the other grandchildren are also looking for wives."
"Very good." Liu Yulian had long known how passionate Widow Zhang was. She was good at talking and sometimes quite aggressive. She had let Widow Zhang and her family manage the fields, and they did a good job.
Widow Zhang was very good at organizing people to work in the fields and keeping an eye on them. Widow Zhang and her family were not greedy for money and knew how to work honestly.
Liu Yulian let Zhang Guafu's family take care of the fields, at least the land in this town was left to Zhang Guafu's family. Liu Yulian also bought some land near the city, but let other people take care of it.
Liu Yulian didn't have much money, but she still spent some to buy land.
She had a dream that one day she would own enough land so that she could live on the rent.
"Now that you're here, come sit down and have some cakes." Liu Yulian asked the servants to bring some cakes to Widow Zhang.
Liu Yulian didn't say anything else. When Widow Zhang and her granddaughter-in-law left, Liu Yulian asked someone to give them a food box containing some pastries.
Widow Zhang and her grandson's wife were very happy to receive the cakes. The cakes of wealthy families were all very good. If they had bought these cakes outside, they would have to spend a lot of money.
"The county lady has always been so kind," Widow Zhang said. "Even though she's kind, you can't treat her like a fool and try to bully her."
Widow Zhang reminded her granddaughter-in-law to do things in a down-to-earth manner.
"Grandson's wife remembers." Shi nodded. Widow Zhang was willing to bring her here, so of course she had to learn.
When Princess Zhaoyang arrived, she happened to see Widow Zhang leaving with her granddaughter-in-law.
"That's the person who manages the farm." The maid who led the way saw Princess Zhaoyang look at Widow Zhang for a second longer, so she explained. It was something that could not be said anyway.
Liu Yulian was sitting in the room, needle and thread in her hand, preparing to make a few pillows.
"Making clothes again?" Princess Zhaoyang was much older than Liu Yulian, but she still came over from time to time.
Liu Yulian also went to see Princess Zhaoyang, but she didn't know what to say, just sent some cakes and so on. It's impossible to always ask Princess Zhaoyang to come, and they didn't go to see Princess Zhaoyang.
"No, it's for pillows," Liu Yulian said. "Put some cotton in it, so it's soft."
"Let me see." Princess Zhaoyang picked up a pillow next to her. "Is it this big?"
Princess Zhaoyang had never seen such a big pillow before. She reached out and pressed it, and found that the pillow was indeed very soft.
"It's comfortable lying like this." Before Liu Yulian recovered her memories from her later life, she didn't realize how uncomfortable those pillows were. After she recovered her memories, she planted cotton and made pillows.
Pillows are easy to make and require no technical skills.
Liu Yulian didn't even ask the shop to sell pillows. Others could buy cotton to make pillows. But ordinary people wouldn't use cotton to make pillows. They used cotton to make jackets, so they could just stuff their pillows with some hay.
"Then give me one." said Princess Zhaoyang.
"Okay." Liu Yulian said.
"I said, you just say yes." Princess Zhaoyang chuckled, "Come, teach me, and I'll make one too."
Princess Zhaoyang visited Liu Yulian several times, and also visited Liu Mu's place, bringing food to little Liu Jia. As she came more often, the Liu family members began to relax and open up to her.
When Liu's mother looked at Princess Zhaoyang, she thought she was very good.
After Princess Zhaoyang left, Liu's mother came to Liu Yulian.
"Princess Zhaoyang treats Xiaojia well," said Liu's mother. Liu Qingyun was going to school, so Princess Zhaoyang would see her less often. She also gave Liu Qingyun the four treasures of the study. "What do you think of her?"
"What?" Liu Yulian didn't react for a moment.
"She and your elder brother." Liu's mother said, "You think Princess Zhaoyang likes you and always comes to see you."
"..." Liu Yulian really believed that and thought that the emperor wanted Princess Zhaoyang to pay more attention to what she was doing.
"Princess Zhaoyang is divorced, and the Emperor must find her a new husband," said Mother Liu. "The princess couldn't go anywhere else to relax, but she chose to come to the northwest, and to this town where we live. It's not like you haven't been out before, so what's so interesting about this town?"
Sometimes when a gust of wind blows, there is a lot of yellow sand in the air.
"Didn't you say we should wait two years, until we return to Beijing?" Liu Yulian heard her parents say this.
"If the Emperor intends to marry Princess Zhaoyang to your brother, there's no need to wait until we return to the capital," said Mother Liu. "Princess Zhaoyang has been raised by the Imperial Concubine since she was a child. Although she's not her biological daughter, she's been quite nice to her. Princess Zhaoyang has a good temper, not bad at all."
Princess Zhaoyang was a daughter of the royal family, and the emperor's daughter had no trouble finding a husband. Even if she was a divorced princess, there were still people willing to marry her, and marrying her would likely bring her family further up the ladder.
"Princess Zhaoyang is divorced." Liu Yulian didn't look down on Princess Zhaoyang; she thought she deserved a divorce. She just didn't know if Princess Zhaoyang still wanted to get married after the divorce, or if she thought being alone was fine.
If a person is free and at ease, he can keep a lover if he wants.
Liu Yulian couldn't help but think so. The princess is not an ordinary citizen. Who would dare to say anything bad about her?
"Even after a divorce, you can still marry again." Mother Liu knew her daughter didn't dislike Princess Zhaoyang. "Why, after a divorce, you won't marry and will just live alone?"
"No...I didn't say that." Liu Yulian said.
"Are you still thinking that if you get divorced, you will live alone?" No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Mother Liu knew what her daughter was thinking.
"Mother, how can you say everything your daughter is thinking?" Liu Yulian said, "You are still young, and no one knows what will happen in the future."
"Why do you think so much at such a young age?" Mother Liu reached out and poked Liu Yulian's head.
"I didn't think much about it. People of my daughter's age have already started looking for marriage partners." Liu Yulian knew that some girls in Shiyuan Village were looking for marriage partners very early. They didn't wait until they reached the age of 15, but started looking for men when they were only 11 or 12 years old.
Even though Liu Yulian already knew that people in ancient times got married early, she was still shocked when she saw those girls who were only eleven or twelve years old starting to look for their partners.
"You don't need to talk about marriage, you already have an engagement." said Liu's mother.
"I know." Liu Yulian replied, "My daughter is not one to have her cake and eat it too."
In this society, even a weak woman cannot do that. On the contrary, men can legally have three wives and four concubines, and those men live a carefree life.
In the county town, Liu Yanbo returned home and saw the woolen and cotton-padded clothes Su Qiuya had given him. Su Qiuya had already washed the clothes and hung them out to dry.
Su Qiuya didn't know how many people had touched the ready-made clothes in the store. After she bought the clothes, she took them all to be washed.
"Don't always spend so much money buying clothes for me. You should also make a few clothes." Liu Yanbo said.
"I work in the shop every day, so why would I need so many clothes?" Su Qiuya said, "If I were working, they would get dirty easily."
"You can dress better when you go out." Liu Yanbo held Su Qiuya's hand, "Don't buy me woolen sweaters and cotton-padded clothes all the time. These are all new. I heard that down jackets are now available in the capital. I guess my younger sister is trying to sell these things again. If we buy them all the time, how much will it cost?"
Liu Yanbo knew that Su Qiuya didn't like Liu Yulian and the others very much, so he thought that if he said that, Su Qiuya would buy less for him.
"I'll buy you a down jacket some other day." Su Qiuya didn't like the eldest wife, but that didn't mean she was against him. If the things were good, they would buy them. "Just focus on your studies and don't worry about these things."
Liu Yanbo would also help with some chores at home after class. Su Qiuya thought that Liu Yanbo was also very hard-working. Those sons of wealthy families, they just studied and didn't have to help with so many things at home after returning home.
"No, I don't want it." Liu Yanbo said, "I'm a man, I'm not that afraid of the cold. You and mother should buy two pieces to wear."
"If you don't have it, I won't want it." Su Qiuya said, "I get up early and stay up late for you, and my hands are a lot rougher. I don't work as much as I used to, but I'm okay. How about this, I'll buy them all when the time comes."
Su Qiuya thought that there was no end to making money, so she had to spend what she needed to spend, and she couldn't not spend it.
The people in the first house really knew how to make money. Anyone with a little extra cash wanted to buy these warm clothes. It didn't matter if they looked good or not; what mattered was that they were warm and new. So many people were proud to wear them.
"Then buy them all." Liu Yanbo couldn't bear to see his family members suffer.
In the capital, Mei Hanlin received the letter from Marquis Jingning. Liu Yanbo did not imitate it, nor did he erase the word "divorce". He just sent the letter written by Marquis Jingning to Mei Hanlin intact.
Hanlin Mei hadn't received a transfer order, and hadn't been able to secure an official position outside the capital. He'd been having a headache lately. If he couldn't get an official position outside the capital this year, what about next? If he didn't take up an official position outside the capital, he wouldn't be able to advance. Hanlin scholars who stayed in the Hanlin Academy their entire lives were likely to have no future.
"From now on, ask Jiang to be more careful." Mei Hanlin couldn't let his son write a letter to release the concubine. Jingning Hou was still in the northwest. When Jingning Hou returned to the capital, Jiang would be just an ordinary concubine of his second son. In that case, Jingning Hou couldn't say much. "She is just a concubine. She should pay her respects to the wife of the principal wife and shouldn't be too complacent."
"Yes." Mrs. Mei replied, "Aren't they in the northwest?"
"They're in the northwest, so they can also know what's going on here." Mei Hanlin said, "Who can't write a letter?"
Mei Hanlin was afraid that Marquis Jingning would have others deal with them, as he still had hopes of seeking official positions in the future. He had to reply and apologize sincerely, so as not to let Marquis Jingning think that they didn't take this matter to heart.
Because of Marquis Jingning's letter, Second Young Master Mei has been much nicer to Second Young Master Mei's wife recently and has visited Jiang's less frequently.
Previously, the Second Young Master Mei had argued with his wife, saying that his father hadn't received the transfer order because of his wife's fuss. However, his wife didn't think it was because of her fuss, but rather because of the Mei family's decision to take a concubine.
With someone putting pressure on him, the second young master Mei didn't dare to argue with his wife too much, nor did he dare to visit Jiang's family too often.
Seeing how the Mei family treated her and ignored her, Jiang Shi couldn't possibly be happy. Even if she wasn't happy, she knew the Mei family was afraid of the Jingning Marquisate, so she had to endure it.
"It's still uncertain who will win." Jiang whispered.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com