All the vegetables that had ripened in the vegetable greenhouses in Peach Blossom Spring had been harvested, loaded onto ships, and transported away.
The once lush green chive patch had been completely cut down, leaving only a single chive stalk.
The tomato vines were laden with green tomatoes.
Of course, this time, the money earned from selling vegetables was also considerable.
They received a total of over 1600 taels of silver.
Even though Manager Hua mentioned the supplies they brought and the boat they gave to Peach Blossom Spring, he resolutely refused to accept silver or offer vegetables as compensation.
After discussing it, Han Shunde and the others gave Manager Hua six baskets of wild duck eggs.
After much persuasion and cajoling, Silver Fox finally convinced Manager Hua to accept the wild duck eggs, and the matter was dropped.
After seeing Manager Hua and his group off, Han Shunde convened a meeting.
The main research focuses on how to handle this silver.
Han Shunde said, "This time, I'm thinking of sharing the money from selling vegetables with each household first, just like last time."
We'll keep the rest for next spring to see what we need to buy.
"Even if we manage to settle down in Youzhou City, we don't know where we'll be assigned. We'll still need to build houses and courtyards in the villages and buy land."
His words made everyone frown, and for a moment, the dining room fell silent.
Li Lanzhen saw that everyone was uneasy and worried about where to settle down in the spring.
He comforted everyone, saying, "Don't worry, everyone. Next spring, we'll go to the Youzhou City government office to talk to the prefect about our situation."
Let's see if we can make Peach Blossom Spring our village.
Zhang Deshui nodded and said, "Yes, yes, don't worry now. Let's continue growing vegetables and earn money as much as we can. Next spring, we'll go to the prefect together and have a good talk with him."
Han Shunde continued the conversation.
"Yes, next spring, let's go and have a good talk with the prefect."
Now let's discuss what to do with the money from selling the vegetables.
Han Dazhong spoke first, expressing his opinion.
"Village chief, I think we should give each household some silver first."
Since we came from Hanjiacun, Lanzhen and her siblings have been helping us along the way as we fled famine.
Now that we have money, we can distribute some to each household, giving everyone a sense of security, and allowing each family to purchase whatever they need.
Xue Laohu echoed this sentiment.
"That's right. Shi Tou has nine children, and Shan Xing and her eleven children are all part of a family."
They didn't have a single copper coin. We gave them some silver, and they could buy whatever they wanted.
Han Shunde looked at Li Lanzhen, signaling her to also share her suggestions.
Li Lanzhen also smiled and said, "I agree. Let's take out a portion of the money and distribute it to each household first, and keep the rest in the village. We'll see next spring whether to buy land or build houses."
After she finished speaking, she saw that everyone's expressions were starting to look down again, and she knew that they were still worried about where their families would be assigned next spring.
If we're scattered and put in the same village, not living with everyone, and having to struggle on our own, how will we survive in the future?
Li Lanzhen spoke up, wanting to reassure them.
"Everyone, please stop worrying about where we will be assigned to after we settle in Youzhou City next spring."
When we went to inquire about the situation last time, the clerk of the Youzhou City government said that the imperial court would provide us refugees with a place to live next spring.
They scattered us into different villages.
But think about it.
In this paradise, we cleared land, planted crops, and grew greenhouse vegetables.
Next spring, as soon as the ice and snow melt, we will work harder and plant crops as quickly as possible, filling up the wasteland first.
Then we will report to the prefect of Youzhou City that we want to settle down here.
I don't believe it. We've cleared this land and planted so many grains and vegetables. How could he possibly predict how much we'll harvest in the fall?
Even after seeing all this, he still decided to scatter us and send us to other villages.
"Then, I think this prefect has something wrong with his head."
Li Erhan quickly tugged at Li Lanzhen's sleeve.
He whispered, "Girl, watch your words. We can't speak ill of the prefect, or we'll be arrested and convicted."
Li Lanzhen patted the back of Li Erhan's hand.
"Father, don't worry, the prefect can't hear you. If his ears were that long, he would be a prefect with super hearing and super vision."
After Li Lanzhen finished speaking, everyone suddenly burst into laughter.
They always felt that Li Lanzhen's language was witty and that she could explain things in a simple and easy-to-understand way.
Zhang Deshui immediately slammed his hand on the table and said, "What my in-laws said is very true. I think we should build a few more greenhouses and plant more sweet potatoes and potatoes to fill up this wasteland."
"When the prefect comes next spring, he won't be able to just send us away after seeing us."
Immediately, everyone started discussing it, their emotions rising higher and higher, and they no longer worried about where they would go next spring.
Later, Li Lanzhen brought the topic back.
“Village chief, I suggest that each family receive ten taels of silver first.”
This way we can take the village boats out and give everyone a tour of Youzhou City.
See what each household wants to buy and buy it accordingly.
Han Zhaoxun then said, "Now each family receives ten taels. It doesn't matter to us families; we're all family."
But what about the large family formed by those two families' children?
Seeing that no one spoke, he suggested, "I think it would be better to divide it by headcount, how much silver per person, and so on."
After everyone discussed it, they finally decided to distribute the money to each household at ten taels of silver.
As for the two large families consisting of children...
Li Lanzhen said, "Let's divide ten taels of silver among them and see if they can help each other and be united in the face of profit."
If disagreements arise, then they are not suitable to live together.
Everyone agreed that Lanzhen's words made a lot of sense.
Li Erhan said, "The remaining silver can be stored in the village. Next year, we'll implement a work-point system, so we can put it away and distribute it according to how many work points each person earns. That would be more reasonable."
After discussing the matter, Li Lanzhen stood up to leave, leaving the rest of the accounting and money distribution to the men of the village.
Li Lanzhen returned to the courtyard, and Silver Fox pushed open the door and came in as soon as she entered the house.
"Silver Fox is here, come and sit down."
Li Lanzhen poured him a bowl of spiritual spring water and asked him to sit down at the table.
"Silver Fox, did you need something from me?"
Silver Fox nodded in agreement, then took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Li Lanzhen.
"Auntie, this is for you."
Li Lanzhen took it and looked at it. She suddenly stood up and stared at the silver fox with wide eyes.
"What is this?! My God! Silver Fox! Good lad! Thank you so much!"
Seeing Li Lanzhen's shocked and happy expression, Silver Fox grinned as well, knowing that this was Li Lanzhen's favorite.
Li Lanzhen held the paper in both hands and stared at Silver Fox as she asked.
"How much silver did it cost? Auntie will give it to you!"
"No need, Auntie."
"How can you not accept this? You absolutely must have some money!"
Silver Fox shook his head and said solemnly.
"Auntie, this was specially approved for you by the Emperor."
"What? What did you say? This was given to me by the Emperor. Why? How did the Emperor know about me? Why did he give me the deed to Peach Blossom Spring?"
"Auntie, you saved the princess and Su Chen, and then led them to flee the famine to the Valley of Forgetfulness, and later to Peach Blossom Spring. You treated them like your own children. You also saved me several times, and this time you saved the crown prince."
I told the Emperor and Empress all of this.
The main message was to the Emperor that you had planted large pots of vegetables in Peach Blossom Spring, as well as high-yield sweet potatoes and potatoes.
The Emperor was very shocked and grateful to you, so he gave you this Peach Blossom Spring.
That day, I left the Sifang Restaurant to find the prefect. Aside from the Emperor, I told him what I needed to do, and that was also the matter at hand.
"Silver Fox, so the prefect knows about this too? Is the prefect reliable? He won't take over this place for himself, will he?"
Silver Fox shook his head without hesitation.
"No. Don't worry, Auntie. The prefect is the Emperor's man; otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent here."
The prefect was also pleased that his jurisdiction was able to produce a high yield of grain.
He also said he would like to come and visit when he has the chance.
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