Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Building a Manor
Lin Si finished eating the hot soup noodles and touched his stomach contentedly.
People still have to eat.
Chunyi came forward and said, "County Lady, Zhao An has gone out to buy an ox cart, so you don't have to walk next time you go out."
Lin Si nodded. She remembered Zhao An. He was one of the two servants who came with her. The original owner had heard that his parents had passed away and gave him half a string of money to bury his parents.
After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Si walked to the desk with his short legs.
"Chun Yi, do you feel that there are fewer people in the mansion?"
This statement actually spoke Chun Yi's true feelings. Chun Yi said angrily, "Of course, you are the county lady. There are only a dozen people serving in a county lady's mansion. How can they serve you well?"
Lin Si nodded, "That's what I thought too, so I have to buy some people."
Of course, buying slaves was just an excuse. What Lin Si really wanted was not slaves.
When Lin Si was studying history, he learned that some aristocratic families kept retainers and retainers, and that the aristocratic families also concealed a large number of farming populations and fields to avoid taxation. The aristocratic families have been a major concern for the emperors since ancient times. With the rise of the imperial examination system and the decline of the Nine-Rank System, the aristocratic families were mostly liquidated by several emperors in the early days of the Great Reign.
What Lin Si needs is absolute loyalty, the ability to write and calculate, and a strong physique.
Considering the current actual situation, if such a person has no problem with his brain, he will not come to her, and his loyalty cannot be guaranteed. She wants someone available, safe and confidential, so she can only train him from scratch.
The easiest objects to cultivate are orphans and slaves who are helpless and helpless.
The purpose of the manor is not to grow flowers and enjoy them. Lin Si intended to use it to raise people from the beginning.
As a county lady who grew up pampered in Anjing, it was normal for her to buy some people to serve her. Having more slaves would not be a problem, and no one would find it strange.
Chunyi's eyes sparkled: "One to take care of the pens and ink, one to help with the clothes, one to do the hair, and someone to help in the kitchen." Chunyi said, lowering her head and counting on her fingers, "I need to buy a lot of them."
"We really need to buy a lot." When it comes to buying slaves, Lin Si still needs Liang Nian.
Lin Si sent Chun Yi away and sat at the desk. She picked up the brush rather uncomfortably. She even wanted to get a feather pen to dip in ink and write. It was a habit she had formed in modern times for so many years that she couldn't completely change it in a short time.
The papers on the table were all scrawled with characters that most people couldn't understand. On them were written many names and events in simplified Chinese characters, as well as small characters and various lines running through them.
Lin Si's little face wrinkled slightly. It was the thirteenth year of Yongwen in Dachen. A year ago, Zhuo Zhengchu's family was executed for corruption. Only Zhuo Zhengchu escaped. Then something happened that changed the trajectory of Zhuo Zhengchu's life. The story began from then on. The extreme cold wave in the nineteenth year of Yongwen in Dachen had a great impact on the nomadic peoples. They migrated south on a large scale, and friction with the Central Plains led to war. The world was in chaos all of a sudden.
At the same time, due to the extreme cold wave, the grass and trees withered and food production decreased, and the plague broke out.
Dachen, which was already struggling to deal with the nomadic regime, was plagued by external and internal troubles, which also gave Zhuo Zhengchu great opportunities and chances.
Cold wave, plague, these two words alone can take the lives of countless low-income people, let alone when these two words appear together.
Lin Si put down his pen and drew a lovely wavy line from the 13th year of Yongwen in Dachen to the 19th year of Yongwen in Dachen.
She uses the blank time before the beginning of the story in the original work to write her own story.
*
Liang Nian's mother Zuo You is 50% similar to Liang Nian. At this moment, her beautiful face is full of calmness.
"It seems that the county lady is testing you, but how could she doubt you?" Zuo You stared at the robe.
Liang Nian nodded, agreeing with his mother. "I only met her briefly at the County Lady's Mansion and exchanged no more than three words.
Zuo You pondered over it, but could not come to any conclusion.
This county lady doesn't play by the rules.
"Could it be someone from An Jing..." Liang Nian shook her head after she finished speaking. She had no power or influence, and was a county magistrate in a remote place. She was not worth being wooed or threatened.
"She didn't point it out directly, nor did she make any demands, and she even paid the people." Liang Nian then added, "You can't tell she's a ten-year-old at all."
"If she has any requests, she will come again sooner or later. We can only make plans then. But now it seems that she has no ill intentions," said Zuo You.
Liang Nian nodded. It seemed like someone had this handle in his hand and was using it to threaten him. This feeling made Liang Nian uncomfortable.
Liang Nian thought again, if the truth was revealed, deceiving the emperor would be a serious crime. Not only would she and her mother die, but those people from her father's family who came to seize the family property when her father was seriously ill would also not escape.
Liang Nian felt relieved instantly, and decided to drag those worthless people with him to die together.
Zuo You picked up the fine cloth and looked at it carefully. Since he had already put everything away, he naturally couldn't waste it. Such a fine piece of cloth would cost a lot of money.
Then he handed it to Yao Niang. "There's enough left for Yao Niang and I to make a set of clothes each. Yao Niang is the best at sewing."
Inside the county government office.
Liang Nian quickly adjusted herself. When she thought that if her secret was exposed, her uncles and aunts would die with her, she was no longer afraid.
Now there is something even more troubling.
Liang Nian looked at the blueprint of the Guihuafu Manor in his hand and couldn't help falling into deep thought.
Is this the level of calligraphy and painting the Princess of Anjing possesses? Doesn't she know how to write? Why can she draw like this, resembling a giant tortoise shell? Why would a manor planted with flowers have several large houses? Are there any special flowers planted in the houses?
Liang Nian didn't quite understand the interests and hobbies of the royal family.
Considering the test this morning, Liang Nian was even more unsure of Lin Si's background.
Liang Nian placed Lin Si's manor design on the table, then took out a piece of paper and carefully re-drew Lin Si's ghostly talismans.
Liang Nian looked at the structure of the manor.
Well, the little girl lived in Anjing for a long time, and maybe it was just a spur of the moment drawing. She didn't know what a manor as a garden should look like, so she drew something that looked nothing like it.
Liang Nian called the yamen runners and explained everything about the construction of the manor.
As for Lin Si's ghostly-drawn talisman, Liang Nian thought about it, folded it, and put it into his sleeve.
*
"What? Is this true or false? That noble lord wants to build a manor in Li County?"
"Do we still need to live? What about the autumn harvest? My family is still relying on the surplus grain from the autumn harvest after paying taxes."
"We have to rebuild the manor again. We just built the County Lady's Mansion last time... What are we going to do with the autumn harvest now?"
"With corvée labor, how can we pay the taxes after the autumn harvest? Is there any hope for human life?"
Many children on the street ran away after hearing this: "I have to go back to the village and tell my parents that we can't farm anymore."
On the streets of Li County, people were talking in low voices. Although they were dissatisfied, they did not dare to express it.
She was the county lord, such a prestigious status. Just one word told them to build a manor, and they had to do it. This was the ancient corvee system.
The air pressure in an alley dropped, and the faces of the people were all gloomy.
After a while, a boy of about twelve or thirteen ran to the door of a house, panting, "Father...this time is different. This time, we will repair the manor and there will be wages."
The boy's voice was quite loud, so several neighbors who were worried about corvee labor heard it.
Someone immediately stepped forward and asked, "Shitou, please explain clearly what this means about wages. I've never heard of corvée labor being paid since ancient times. Did you hear it wrong?"
The young man named Shitou nodded heavily, his face flushed from the haste he had put in. "It's true, Madam Zhang. It's a full fifteen cents a day. It was given to me by that noble lord from Anjing. What the magistrate Liang said could be false."
"Did I hear correctly? Fifteen cents a day?"
"I'm not dreaming, please pat me."
"It hurts, it hurts, I guess it's real."
Shitou's father and mother also came out anxiously, "Shitou, why did you just talk about repairing the manor and didn't mention paying the workers?"
"Father, Mother, Yamen Runner Cao is talking to the people in East Lane. I think some people didn't hear the whole thing and spread the news about the manor. The manor is indeed being built, but each household can only send two people at most to avoid delaying the autumn harvest. The daily fee is really fifteen cents."
Shitou Niang clutched her chest, feeling dizzy. "Wow! It won't delay the autumn harvest, and I can get fifteen cents a day. It's such a great thing."
The gloomy atmosphere in the entire alley was swept away, and everyone's face showed happy smiles.
"This noble lord from Anjing is different."
"I wonder what this noble lord is going to do by building the manor."
Shitou looked around and said, "I heard from Wang, the yamen runner in the county government, that your master built the manor to plant flowers to relieve his boredom."
The people's tone changed rapidly.
"The noble Lord of Anjing has indeed been wronged by coming here. It's time to build a manor to relieve his boredom."
"That's right, your lord just wants a manor, what's wrong with her?"
"I will definitely ask my husband to build this manor for you, my lord."
"Everyone, stop chatting here and go home to discuss who will go to repair the manor and who will stay home for the autumn harvest."
"Let my eldest son repair the manor, and my second son stay home to harvest the autumn harvest. This is perfect!"
The redness on Shitou's face faded, and he gulped down a few gulps of water as he entered the house. "Father, Mother, this noble master is such a good man. Fifteen cents a day, that's enough money for my sister's medicine."
The smile on Shitou Niang's face never stopped. She sat and stood alternately. "Not only is the money for Jin Niang's medicine settled, but even a simple manor building would take twenty days. Do you think how much that would cost? We can still save quite a bit."
Shi Tou counted on his fingers and got an astronomical number.
"Mother, that's three hundred coins, almost half a string of coins."
Shitou jumped twice in excitement, then quickly ran into the inner room and said to the weak-looking girl lying on the bed, "Sister, you heard me, our family is going to be rich soon, and your fever will be cured soon."
Shi Jin coughed twice and said, "I heard it all. It would be great if it were true."
"Sister, if you don't trust the noble Lord of Anjing, don't you trust Magistrate Liang?"
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com