Chapter 346 : A Small Farmland

Yun Qing came back in the evening, and before he entered the inner courtyard, he saw Xu Wu walk up and tell him what Yu Cong had done. “I didn’t know that guy had a quick mouth, so I let him see the Madam for a while, and he told her so much.”

Yun Qing was not angry and said, “It’s no harm.” He didn’t want to say anything about them to Yuxi because he was afraid she would be worried. Actually, there was nothing that couldn’t be said to her regarding these things.

However, Yun Qing regretted it soon. What greeted him was not some wife’s tender love but a bowl of particularly unpleasant-smelling medicinal food.

Unfortunately, Yuxi’s efforts were in vain. Yun Qing was unwilling to eat this stuff and only said, “I’m in good health. I don’t need to eat these things.” The smell could already make people feel sick, so who wasn’t scared enough to eat them? Of course, he would have put up with it if he had to eat them only once. But seeing as how Yuxi was planning to let him eat this stuff more often, he couldn’t compromise.

Yuxi persuaded helplessly, “This thing is good for your health.”

Yun Qing immediately responded, “My body is already in an excellent condition.” After saying that, he whispered to Yuxi’s ear, “If you don’t believe me, I’ll show it to you later.”

Yuxi immediately retreated in defeat. She had to admit that the medicinal food she made really didn’t smell good. Firstly, her craft wasn’t as good as Momo Quan’s. Secondly, medicinal herbs here weren’t good enough. However, Yun Qing’s refusal came with a price. That night, Yuxi refused to let Yun Qing get close to her and told him nicely that she would let him take care of his body himself.

Yun Qing immediately put this account on Yu Cong’s head. The next day, he took Yu Cong to stay by his side and did not allow him to go home. This went on for a month, causing Yu Cong to complain bitterly.

After waiting for more than half a month, Yuxi finally received a long-awaited visit from Er Nainai Zhao. She told Yuxi, “Yesterday, my Saozi informed me that her cousin’s husband’s aunt has farmland. The farm is not big. It has just more than eighty mu of paddy fields, with more than sixty mu of dry land. But the yield for these paddy fields isn’t very good, and a large part of them are of low grade. The only good thing is that the farm is not far from Yu City, and you can arrive there within half a day by carriage. If you ride a horse, your travel will be even faster where you can get there in an hour or so.” It was also because Yuxi had specially made a request, that was, not to use Yun Qing’s name when buying the farmland, which took her so long. If not, where would Yuxi need to wait? As soon as there was talk about Yun Qing searching for one, many people would send their farmland directly to his gate.

Yuxi stated smilingly, “If the paddy fields in the farmland are the best quality, people will not sell them. How much does the other party want?” She mainly wanted to buy a farm.

When Er Nainai Zhao saw that Yuxi was okay with it, she was relieved. It was not easy to find a farm near here, and it took a lot of effort to find one. “The other party is asking for 1,200 taels. If Meimei wants to buy it, a thousand taels should probably be enough.”

Yuxi considered it first before saying, “This price is also suitable. But I think it’s better to have someone look at it first and then decide.” If you wanted to buy something, you definitely needed to check it out first.

Er Nainai Zhao said with a smile, “That’s natural.”

When others help you, you must always express your gratitude to them. Yuxi handed a small tuanshan embroidered with goldfishes which she had specially prepared for Er Nainai Zhao, and said, “This is just a small thing. I hope Jiejie won’t mind.” It would be too vulgar to give her gold, silver and jewellery. However, to give something embroidered by oneself was not, and it would also display one’s true intention.

There were two goldfishes on the small fan; one was red and the other black, with water plants next to them and a few willow branches hanging down from the top. From a distance, it looked like there were water waves.

Er Nainai Zhao took a look at it immediately after receiving it and could not conceal her happiness. “I won’t mind if you give me ten more of such good things.” Compared to the embroideries bought in Jiangnan, this tuanshan was more exquisite.

Yuxi smiled a little. One should not be fooled by the small size of the fan. It still took her some effort to finish it up. In her eyes, Er Nainai Zhao truly wanted to befriend her, and moreover, Er Nainai Zhao had a straightforward temperament. Otherwise, she would not have put too much thought into this fan. Of course, this fan was just a token of appreciation, not a return for this favour. “I’m glad that you like it.”

Yuxi handed the matter of scouting out the farmland over to Hao Dazhuang. Han Ji was working on the restaurant matter and couldn’t get away from it. Yuxi intended to wait for the cook to arrive so her side could finally open the restaurant. Thus these things were much more urgent.

Hao Dazhuang had looked at the farmland and informed Yuxi, “Madam, the paddy fields on this farm are not very good. We will be a bit of a loss if we pay a thousand taels for it. I think nine hundred taels should be enough.”

Yuxi smiled and said, “We had agreed on the price, so we won’t fight for that one hundred taels.”

Hao Dazhuang nodded and continued, “Then, a thousand taels is not a bad deal for us. Although the paddy fields are not good, the dry land can be opened up to plant some beans and vegetables. Then we can also raise some chickens and ducks on it. There is also a ditch next to it where we can dig a pond to raise some fish. If we fix everything on the farm well, Madam can also sell a lot of the produce every year.” The main thing was to take care of the place properly.

Yuxi’s eyes lit up when she heard this. “I didn’t know that you are proficient in this kind of thing?” She had been worried about finding someone to take care of the farmland. When there was already a ready-made candidate in front of her.

Hao Dazhuang responded, “My father had been farming all his life. After following beside him for a long time, I naturally knew a bit.” He wouldn’t have come to the army if he hadn’t had any choice.

Yuxi asked, “When the restaurant is on track, you will be in charge of the farm and the winery. What do you think?” Since it was a person sent over by Yun Qing, he must be reliable.

Hao Dazhuang nodded and said, “Madam, don’t worry. I will definitely take care of the restaurant and the winery.” He still had confidence in handling this.

After saying this, Hao Dazhuang finally remembered something. “Madam, the wine has been ordered. Where do you need to purify it?” Purification. When he first heard this word, he felt it was such a novelty.

Yuxi had already thought about it. The wine would be processed in the house where she lived before. The house had been given to her by Han Jianye as a dowry, and it was not far from the restaurant, so the location was just right. She said, “That house is empty anyway, so you can just transport the wine inside!” Since the house was empty, it would easily break down if unattended anyway.

Hao Dazhuang nodded and said, “That’s fine then. I’ll send someone to take a look at it first.” The main thing was to see its environment. If the door and walls were not thick enough, they had to be reinforced first.

After a pause, Hao Dazhuang asked, “Madam, the field farm will definitely need some manpower. I want to ask some of my brothers’ wives to help me. I wonder if it’s possible?” He should find a few women to do the light work, such as planting vegetables and raising chickens and ducks.

Yuxi nodded and said, “As long as those people are reliable, the rest is fine. You can see how to do this kind of thing yourself from now on. No need to ask me again. I just want the results. You don’t have to inform me of the process in between.” These words implied that if Hao Dazhuang did not do a good job, she would replace him.

When Hao Dazhuang listened to her words, her heart trembled in fear, and he did not dare to treat the matter lightly anymore.

After Hao Dazhuang left, Yuxi complained to Zijin, “We are only short of the cooks! I don’t know when the two cooks will arrive.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Han Jianming, who received a letter from Yuxi asking him to find cooks, suddenly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “This girl! She even asked me to find cooks for her.” This girl. Even if she wanted to rely on her natal family, she didn’t have to involve her Dage to solve this problem!

Mr Zhao knew what was written in the letter, but he had different thoughts. “Opening a restaurant is actually a good place to collect news.” Fourth Miss had a rich dowry. Even if she did not do anything, she would not lack any food and clothing. He was afraid this was what she meant by opening a restaurant.

Han Jianming thought this statement was very reasonable. Otherwise, this girl’s current businesses must have turned bad for her to open a restaurant. “If so, then you have to pick two skilled cooks.” When one opened a restaurant, customers would not come if the food was not prepared well. When there were no customers, how could she collect any news?

Mr Zhao issued another matter. “My Lord, the Grand Chancellor’s residence people have urgently pressed my Lord on that matter. Shouldn’t we mention this to the Fourth Miss?”

Han Jianming chuckled. “It’s not that urgent anyway. Let’s wait for Yuxi to get a firm foothold first.” The Yu family had also treated him conscientiously. They clearly wanted to draw Yun Qing in just to seize his military power but still wished his Si Mei could help beg Yun Qing. This was really ridiculous. The Song family had tried to kill Yun Qing some years ago, but he survived. Now that Yun Qing had an assistant to aid him, it was even more unlikely that he would be afraid of the Song family.

Mr Zhao hesitated before urging, “We should at least let the Fourth Miss know.”

Han Jianming said, “Needless to say, Si Mei knows.” If the Yu family intended to make an alliance, they could definitely discuss it properly. If it was said that they wanted to coerce Yun Qing, then that was wishful thinking on their part. If you wished to seize a military power, you had to see if you had the ability to control it. The Yu family was an expert in scheming, but when it came to leading troops to war, not even half of them could do it.

After a while, Han Hao came over and reported. “My Lord, the Old Lady heard that the Fourth Miss had sent something back and asked her maid to come over to ask why she hadn’t seen any letter from her yet.”

Han Jianming helplessly picked up the other two unopened letters and personally sent them to Changle Courtyard to give them to Qiu Shi. When she finished reading them, Han Jianming said, “Mother, I told you that Jianye and Si Mei were doing fine in Yu City. But you never feel relieved. Now you can feel assured, right?” He also felt distressed whenever he saw his old mother fasting and chanting to Buddha every day! However, no matter what he said, she wouldn’t listen. Therefore, he could only obey her wishes.

Qiu Shi smiled and folded up the letter properly. She then said, “I won’t have any peace of mind until I can read a letter from them. You should write back to Yuxi, asking her and Jianye to write a letter home every month.” It was said that a parent would raise a child till he reached age one hundred and would worry about him for ninety-nine years.

In response, Han Jianming hurriedly argued, “Mother, even if Yuxi writes every month, there is always a delay on the way. It is impossible to deliver it on time.” Han Jianming was also worried that his mother would not feel at ease again if the letters did not arrive on time.

Qiu Shi argued, “Even if it doesn’t arrive on time, she can still deliver it.” Regarding this point, she did not want to budge at all.

Han Jianming had no choice but to agree. Initially, he wanted to stay with Qiu Shi for the evening meal, but he was called away again for something.

Qiu Shi couldn’t help but sigh. “I don’t know when Jianye will be back?” In fact, her heart knew very well that her youngest son would not come back for another three to five years. It was only because the Old Lady was lying sick in bed every day, which worried her. She was afraid that she might not be able to see her son for the last time if her time to go also came.

Mama Li was aware of Qiu Shi’s anxiety. However, no matter how much she tried to persuade and talk to her, they had no effect. For this kind of thing, it was still better for her Master to think it through herself.