"Mom! You're back? Suihe, how did you do on your exams?" Shen Congxin hadn't been idle since early morning, and she seemed quite excited after hearing the news that Jiang Ling and Jiang Suihe were coming back.
I sat at the door early in the morning, looking towards the village entrance.
"Chen Congxin's belly seems to have gotten a bit bigger!" Jiang Ling said, looking at Shen Congxin standing at the door after getting out of the car.
Shen Congxin touched his lower abdomen, his face slightly flushed, and nodded.
"Wife! Wife! Our eldest sister is amazing! She actually got the top score!" Jiang Yaojie jumped out of the carriage excitedly and said to Shen Congxin.
"What? Top scholar? Mother! Suihe, is it...really?" Shen Congxin asked the two people in front of her in great surprise.
Jiang Suihe placed the red paper in Shen Congxin's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, look!"
"Oh my, our Suihe is amazing! She'll definitely be a top female scholar in the imperial examination in a few years!" Shen Congxin returned the red paper to Jiang Suihe with a big smile.
The news that Jiang Suihe had become the top scholar spread throughout Lujia Village in less than three hours.
People flocked to Jiang Ling's house to offer their congratulations. To express her gratitude to the villagers, Jiang Ling planned to hold a three-day banquet in three days and also announce something exciting.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling saw off the last guest and ran straight to the village chief's house.
"What's wrong?" The village chief was puzzled when he saw Jiang Ling. He had just returned from Jiang Ling's house not long ago, so why was Jiang Ling looking for him again?
After considering for a moment, Jiang Ling said to the village chief, "Village chief, I want to buy twenty acres of our wasteland!"
"What? Twenty acres? What do you need so much wasteland for?" The village chief asked Jiang Ling, puzzled.
Jiang Ling recounted the whole story of the peppermint balm and peppermint water she had encountered in Qingzhou.
The village chief was also shocked upon hearing this. He stroked his beard and sighed, "I never expected that what saved our Lu Family Village from dire straits would now become such a coveted prize! Jiang, what are you thinking?"
Jiang Ling laid out all her plans for the past few days.
"I want to buy twenty acres of wasteland to grow mint on a large scale. This stuff doesn't need a good growing environment or much care. To put it bluntly, I don't even need to take time out of my day to check on it. I want to mass-produce mint paste. And not just mint paste, but when the flowers bloom all over the mountains in the summer, we can make all kinds of flavors and styles. That will definitely be another substantial income!"
"Well... that's true, but twenty acres is no small amount. Can you handle it all by yourself, Jiang?" Jiang Ling's idea stirred the village chief's heart, but upon closer inspection, various problems seemed to surface. Thinking of this, the village chief frowned and looked at Jiang Ling, asking her.
"Village chief, mint doesn't require much effort. From sowing to sprouting, it only takes about ten days, and we don't even need to check on it every day. I plan to have someone else take care of it. From what I understand, people from several neighboring villages want to come and work here!"
After hearing Jiang Ling's words, the village chief thought about it briefly and felt that what Jiang Ling said made a lot of sense, so he said, "Alright, then I'll draft the land deed, and you can take it away in a bit!"
"Village Chief, there's one more thing!" With that, Jiang Ling took out the blueprints she had designed over the past few days from her bosom.
"What...what is this?" The village chief asked, looking at the scribbles on the white paper with some confusion.
"Village chief, do you think it's a waste to leave our wasteland lying fallow?" Jiang Ling replied with a smile.
The village chief was taken aback for a moment, then quickly put on a helpless expression and said, "Our village doesn't have many people. If no one marries or gets married, who will buy wives? We've been in a panic for years, and the Emperor has bestowed many gifts upon us!"
“Village chief, have you ever thought about making use of these wastelands? This land doesn’t necessarily have to be cultivated; it can be used for other things!”
Jiang Ling's words left the village chief somewhat bewildered. For a farmer who was over fifty years old, he had never imagined that the land could be used for anything other than not cultivating it!
The village chief frowned, looking at Jiang Ling, trying to glean some information from her face, but to no avail. He opened his mouth tentatively and asked, "Jiang Shi, what you mean by that..."
"Village chief, actually, the scenery in our Lu Family Village is very beautiful. Those high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants who have seen the world are actually curious about our village."
"For example, if we plant some flowers here and create a sea of flowers, those rich heiresses will definitely love it."
"For example, here we can build a ditch, plant lotus flowers in it, set up small boats, and build pavilions so that travelers can compose poems and couplets."
"For example..."
After that, the village chief could only feel Jiang Ling's mouth moving, but he couldn't hear anything.
It's not surprising that the village chief reacted this way. Having spent most of his life in Lujia Village, relying entirely on crops for a living, he naturally wouldn't dare to have any rebellious thoughts about the land.
After Jiang Ling finished speaking, the village chief realized that he hadn't noticed a layer of sweat on his forehead.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, blinked his dry eyes, and stammered, "Then... let's go with your idea!"
The village chief said that because he hadn't heard what Jiang Ling said after that.
Judging from the village chief's expression, Jiang Ling had a pretty good idea of what was going on. She didn't expose him, but simply placed the design in front of him and said, "Village chief, think it over. I'll discuss the details with you tomorrow!"
The village chief didn't know what to say, so he could only awkwardly smile at Jiang Ling.
After Jiang Ling left, the village chief held the document he couldn't understand at all and fell into deep thought. He couldn't help but sigh to himself, "She's definitely different because she's been granted a rank by the Emperor."
At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had not mistreated Jiang Ling at the time, otherwise, with Jiang Ling's current abilities, it would have been very easy for her to put him to death.
Jiang Suihe was also busy. As soon as she got home, she ran to Wu Xiucai to share the good news.
When Wu Xiucai saw the red paper in Jiang Suihe's hand, his eyes welled up with tears. However, as a teacher, he couldn't lose his composure in front of the children. He quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve when Jiang Suihe wasn't paying attention.
After taking a deep breath, he said to Jiang Suihe, "Suihe, you are truly outstanding, I was not mistaken! In a few years, you will definitely pass the imperial examination and become a Xiucai, or even the top female Xiucai!"
Hearing this, Jiang Suihe blushed slightly and whispered, "I will try my best!"
The next morning, ever since the emperor sent down four old women, Jiang Ling had never cooked breakfast for herself again.
This morning, Jiang Ling suddenly wanted to make some breakfast for the children.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling got up, quickly washed up, and went into the kitchen alone.
Grandma Zhu kept the kitchen very clean. Although she cooked there all year round, there was not a trace of grease on the stove. Vegetables, grains, and seasoning bottles were all neatly arranged by Grandma Zhu.
Just as Jiang Ling was hesitating about what to make for the children in the morning, Granny Zhu gently pushed open the kitchen door. She was startled to see Jiang Ling standing in the kitchen and quickly asked, "Is...Is there something you're unhappy with about this old servant?"
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