Su Wanwan learned about the massacre of the Xia family from Zhou Wanxiu's letter about ten days later.
Moreover, the Xia family was not completely wiped out. Marquis Qingyang, Xia Ru, was still alive, and his second son, Xia Zhu, escaped the massacre by sneaking out to visit brothels.
Su Wanwan saw the letter, but just sat there expressionless.
Seeing that her expression was off, Su Wanying asked, "Sister, is something wrong?"
Su Wanwan handed her the letter.
After reading the letter, Su Wanying remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Good deeds will be rewarded, and evil deeds will be punished. It's just a pity for their innocent maids and servants."
"The servants and maids on those three large ships are also innocent," Su Wanwan said in a very calm tone.
Su Wanying's expression changed immediately. She sat down next to Su Wanwan, hugging her arms and curling up into a ball.
The people on the three ships.
They were either burned to death or drowned or frozen to death by jumping into the river.
Whenever she recalls the horrific scenes of that hellish past, she can't help but tremble.
Especially after witnessing my brother being stabbed and pushed into the icy cold river.
She hid in the dry reeds by the water, too afraid to move, her whole body soaked and numb with cold, and she covered her mouth tightly.
Before her brother fell into the water, he shook his head in her direction, warning her not to come out.
These scenes have tormented her in her nightmares for the past three years.
When she saw that familiar face at the Duke of Wei's mansion a few months ago, her fear reached its peak, and she felt that her nightmare was about to come true again.
The nightmare has indeed come true again.
But the blame fell not on her, but on the one who started it all.
Su Wanwan hugged Wan Ying and gently patted her back: "Don't be afraid, evil will be punished."
Wan Ying is too young to bear things that she shouldn't have to bear at her age.
It's all because of her cousin.
How could she not feel heartbroken?
After a few busy days in Xuanfu, Su Nan went to Datong on official business.
The two sisters, Su Wanwan and Su Wanying, couldn't adapt to the high-intensity travel in winter, so they stayed in Xuanfu to wait for him.
However, they underestimated the cold of Xuanfu.
When the first snow fell, the two sisters had to huddle together in one quilt to keep warm.
The next day, the two went out to buy more winter supplies.
After browsing around, Su Wanying couldn't help but exclaim, "So expensive! Several times more expensive than in the capital!"
Especially cotton for keeping warm, it costs nine hundred coins a pound, it's practically robbery!
It wasn't just cotton that was expensive; everything was expensive, more than half the price of what was in the capital.
When Xiao Bin came to Su Wanwan to ask for instructions on the first expenditure of the donated funds, Su Wanwan raised this issue.
Xiao Bin has been here for a long time and is clear about the crux of the problem.
"Previously, the imperial court implemented the policy of 'paying grain to open up the market.' In order to make money, merchants recruited people to the frontier to reclaim wasteland, pay grain on the spot, and exchange it for salt permits to earn money."
"The border areas have a large population and produce a lot, so the prices of goods are relatively fair."
"But after the policy was changed to 'Zhese Kaizhong' in the sixth year of Honghua, merchants all over the country could exchange silver for salt permits by paying the Ministry of Revenue, so no one was willing to go to the frontier to reclaim wasteland for farming."
“Food and supplies for the frontier can only be transported from the interior, which is arduous and costly, with all the expenses going to the labor involved, so it is naturally expensive.”
Su Wanwan pondered, "If we reclaim the wasteland and hire people to grow crops, wouldn't that bring the price down?"
Xiao Bin paused for a moment, then said, "This is a losing proposition."
"What I mean is, my dowry is not to be sold and converted into silver to donate to the Nine Borders."
Su Wanwan's eyes were deep and resolute, clearly indicating that she had given it considerable thought.
"Instead, we'll keep it and use the annual interest to build roads and reclaim wasteland in this frontier. It doesn't matter if we lose it all."
On her way to Xuanfu, she discovered that the official road outside Juyong Pass was dilapidated and clearly had been neglected for many years.
In recent years, the imperial court's expenditures have been too high, while military funds have been insufficient.
Even if people were forced to perform corvée labor, most of the people in the border areas were refugees, and their numbers were very limited.
Compared to the Jiangnan region, where handicrafts were highly developed, this place was poor and remote, with a desolate population and a life of hardship and cold.
Xiao Bin looked at Su Wanwan with deep eyes, "Okay, I'll make the arrangements."
Even though grain and cotton prices are high in border areas, few people are willing to farm because it is still unprofitable.
Without the profits from salt permits, it would be impossible for ordinary merchants to persist on this path.
Because Su Wanwan's dowry was large enough and all her businesses were profitable, she wasn't worried about investing the annual interest.
The two discussed some more details, and at noon, Su Wanwan invited Xiao Bin to stay for lunch.
Su Wanying winked secretly and asked with a grin, "Sister, does Lord Xiao like you?"
Su Wanwan paused, her expression somewhat dazed, "Don't talk nonsense."
They spoke in a very businesslike manner, their tone conveying distance and politeness.
“I’m not making this up.” Su Wanying playfully stuck out her tongue. “The way he looked at you was different. When you left just now, the way he turned back and looked at you was so reluctant to leave.”
Su Wanwan paused for a moment, somewhat absent-minded, and didn't say anything more.
Su Wanying thought for a moment, then stepped forward, cupped her face in her hands, and looked her over from left to right, her expression very serious:
"Sister, you're so beautiful, you can't marry the wrong person again."
"Finding someone you truly love and spending your life with them is the most important thing."
Looking at her tender little face, Su Wanwan felt a lump in her throat and hugged Wanying tightly.
"I have such a wonderful sister like you, I don't want to get married."
Su Wanying giggled, nestled in her arms, her eyes darting around.
In the days that followed, Xiao Bin appeared every few days, always summoned by Su Wanying under various pretexts.
She would even call him over to move a few bags of rice, even though there were plenty of people available at home.
Xiao Bin was hardworking and conscientious, always coming and leaving as soon as he finished, often without even seeing Su Wanwan.
After Su Wanwan discovered this, she criticized Wan Ying: "Lord Xiao is now an official of the imperial court, not our servant. How can you treat people like this?"
Su Wanying smiled and said, "What's wrong with me ordering around my future brother-in-law?"
"Don't be so tactless, little girl." Su Wanwan pinched her little face and scolded her, but a blush crept onto her cheeks.
Su Wanying had worked as a maid in a brothel, where she was accustomed to seeing well-dressed high-ranking officials indulging in pleasure, and she also witnessed Su Wanwan being humiliated by the Xu family.
At such a young age, she has already formed her own unique set of ideas and is not bound by the traditional views of a well-bred young lady.
Su Wanwan felt a little embarrassed and decided to personally explain Wanying's naughtiness to Xiao Bin.
Xiao Bin appeared out of nowhere, looking travel-worn.
"We bought 700 hectares of wasteland, and we can start cultivating it once the ground thaws. Have you decided what to plant yet?"
Because farming is currently a losing proposition, large tracts of land are being abandoned, and land prices are very low.
Su Wanwan was slightly taken aback and raised an eyebrow at him.
She had considered this point, but it wasn't very mature.
She has recently read many books on farming, but has not yet put them into practice.
Xiao Bin took out a tuberous-shaped object: "Try this."
Su Wanwan immediately became interested: "What's this called?"
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