Mother Gu spoke nervously, "Father, Mother, this is too much. I'm living a good life now. Leave these to the younger generations. I have you all."
When the grandmother saw that her daughter refused to accept the dowry, her eyes began to turn red again and her hand began to tremble as she held her daughter's hand.
His voice was suppressed. "Child, you have been out in the open for these years, suffering a lot. We feel distressed and blame ourselves. It's our fault that we couldn't find you sooner. Don't you even give us a chance to make amends?"
As he spoke, he began to sob.
Gu Xinran hurriedly tugged at her mother's sleeve, signaling her mother to accept it so that everyone could rest assured that she would find a way to make up for it in other ways.
The eldest and third aunts also spoke out to persuade her, "Yuanyuan, please accept it quickly. Don't make Mother cry again. Mother's body can't stand the stimulation."
Mother Gu accepted it and said, "Thank you, Father, Mother, and everyone!"
Grandma's smile returned, and she said gently, "All the dowry is in the storeroom in your yard. Keep the key safe. Tomorrow we will transfer the house deeds to your name."
Mother Gu agreed obediently.
Next, the elders and the only second cousin Duan Yunze who was at home gave Gu Xinran and Tingting valuable gifts.
My eldest cousin Duan Yunxiao and third cousin Duan Yunhao are both in the military camp guarding the border and cannot come back.
It is impolite not to reciprocate. Gu Xinran took out the wooden box that had been prepared long ago and the two large wine jars that Xiao Ba brought in.
The wooden box was filled with various small gift boxes, including super-quality ginseng and antler pills, ordinary ginseng and antler pills, life-extending pills, spirit-gathering water... a few hundred-year-old ginseng and ganoderma lucidum were also taken out. Anyway, all the good things she had were included and everyone had a share.
Everyone knew that these were all treasures. In the past, they only saw Duan Yunchi showing off. But now, everyone has enough life-saving items. They all treasured their gifts and expressed their gratitude solemnly.
Especially the second cousin Duan Yunze, his face was filled with a smile as bright as the spring breeze, "Ranran, thank you! Your cousin has shared your great achievements with us. You are so outstanding that even your cousin can't catch up. I have something to ask you. Can we go out and talk for a while?"
Gu Xinran also wanted to take a good look around the palace, so after giving her grandfather two jars of high-quality spiritual wine weighing fifty kilograms, she followed him out of the hall.
This second cousin is 24 years old, married and has a son who is about the same age as Tingting. He is currently the magistrate of Nanyi County.
Nanyi County was recently established to resettle refugees. The entire county is inhabited by newly migrated refugees. The hard work of resettling refugees is almost breaking his back.
It really took all sorts of tricks to barely accommodate the hundreds of thousands of refugees who arrived in Yunzhou one after another.
I have encountered a very difficult problem at present. If there is not enough food and drink, I can use wild vegetables to make up for it, but if there are not enough seeds, I can only sigh and watch.
Just now, when I heard my little cousin talking about the legendary deeds of my cousin, one of them was that she could get good seeds. This was like timely rain for him and the entire Nanyi County.
As they walked and talked, he tentatively asked, "Ran Ran, do you think that hundreds of thousands of refugees coming to Yunzhou is good or bad for Yunzhou?"
Gu Xinran said without hesitation: "Of course it's a good thing. There is strength in numbers, and labor is the primary productive force."
In this age without machines, if you want to grow and develop, you cannot lack people.
The second cousin didn't expect his cousin to be so insightful. Although he didn't know what "productivity" was, his cousin's view that having more people is a good thing coincided with his idea.
Others only see the dirt, mess and difficulty of resettlement brought by the refugees, which is short-sighted.
A smile appeared on his face. "Well, it's indeed a good thing. It's just that the past few months have been very difficult. I beg my cousin to help me and give me some advice."
Gu Xinran looked at this gentle cousin with some doubt. Why did he think so highly of her the moment they met? She was still a girl who had not yet reached the age of marriage.
This was completely a misunderstanding on Gu Xinran's part. Her name and deeds had already spread throughout the Zhennan Palace thanks to Duan Yunchi's publicity. Everyone admired her and no one treated her as a child.
Gu Xinran smiled and said, "As long as I can do my best, I'll let my cousin do whatever he wants."
Duan Yunze's eyebrows lifted after hearing this. "I heard from my cousin that you can get some good seeds. There are too many refugees, and the newly reclaimed wasteland is about to run out of seeds to plant. I beg you to help me think of a solution."
After saying that, he bowed to her seriously.
Gu Xinran estimated the amount of wheat, rice and potatoes in the space.
After having a clear idea in mind, he replied: "How big is the gap on your side? I can raise some, but I'm afraid it won't be enough."
Seeing that she really had a solution, Duan Yunze felt as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and his eyes became bright when he looked at her.
"At least 100,000 jin, but the more the better."
Gu Xinran really wants to help the refugees and also hopes that southern Xinjiang will become stronger. Having enough food and clothing is the foundation, and good seeds are the shortcut to having enough food.
"For now, I can raise about 50,000 kilograms of high-quality wheat and rice seeds, and 70,000 to 80,000 kilograms of potatoes. Did Brother Yunchi tell you about the potatoes?"
Duan Yunze's eyes lit up, and he excitedly grabbed his cousin's sleeve. "That's great! With this batch of seeds, I'm much less stressed. My cousin showed off his potatoes, saying they have a high yield, are adaptable, and are delicious and filling. Yesterday, a carrier pigeon sent a letter saying that the rice and wheat grown from the improved seeds are growing exceptionally well, and the potatoes are already forming buds."
Gu Xinran's mouth curled up with a hint of pride, "That's right, all the products I produce are top quality. In three months at most, when the harvest comes, it will surely dazzle everyone's eyes."
Duan Yunze usually meets people who are mostly humble, so when he suddenly meets such a straightforward and unpretentious cousin, he can't help but laugh. It feels so good to have a younger sister!
Praising: "Well, cousin has already blinded our eyes, and will blind more people's eyes in the future!"
"Haha, thank you for the compliment, thank you!" Gu Xinran was a little embarrassed. She didn't feel embarrassed when she was just talking nonsense, but she couldn't stand it when someone really praised her.
Since my cousin thinks so highly of me, I might as well give him some advice.
"Brother Yunze, I haven't seen any disaster victims along the way. Are they being resettled in southern Xinjiang? Besides clearing wasteland and cultivating the land, are there any other support measures?"
For example, let them help build roads, bridges, and houses... They can earn more, and southern Xinjiang can be built better.
And how do you help refugees who lack food, have little to plant, and have no money? Giving them away for free is definitely not an option. You can implement interest-bearing loans, using the wasteland they have cultivated as collateral…"
Gu Xinran talked incessantly about a lot of things. These were all the measures she could think of that were suitable for post-disaster reconstruction.
After listening to Gu Xinran's words, Duan Yunze felt as if he had opened a door to a new world.
After thanking him solemnly, he made a sincere invitation, "Ran Ran, your ideas and suggestions are so good. Can you come with me to the border to provide on-site guidance? Our Nanyi County is just starting out and has great potential!"
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