After traveling through time, she took her husband to be a food doctor

It was a winter morning, the fog had not yet dissipated, and the distance was hazy. Ding Xirui stretched his body and began to practice swordsmanship. Lin Mingxuan practiced Tai Chi according to the book under the porch. The horse was not surprised and ate hay leisurely without even raising his eyes. Banxia and Nanxing got up and followed the practice.

After dinner, I went to the clinic and met a group of government officials, who seemed to be from Qizhou. Li Xingjian led the way, and Ling Junsheng and other yamen runners were guarding beside him. Ding Xirui was curious and asked Nanxing to follow and ask. Not long after, Nanxing trotted in, drank a bowl of water, and said, "Master, Madam, I heard a few words that the large mountain in the west of Lan County is going to be used as a tea garden and orchard."

"No wonder..." Now it made sense. No wonder so many people came to buy the shop. Planting, harvesting, processing, packaging, and selling all require manpower. This is a huge opportunity... Ding Xirui thought of the dozen or so teenagers who were arrested and imprisoned.

In the afternoon, Carpenter Lu delivered the four-wheeled cart to the door. Nanxing was delighted and pushed it to the West Courtyard, followed by Ding Xirui and Banxia. Xiao Yuan, who had been poisoned, was in a worse state. He was already skinny when Ding Xirui saw him.

Mrs. Jin, who was taking care of him, sighed all day long, and his father Fan Aduo secretly shed tears. The child had become like this, and no medicine or medicine could help, and no matter how much money he earned, it would be useless.

"Xiao Yuan, go out and get some sun." Nan Xing carried him to the four-wheeler, tied his upper body with a bed sheet, and fixed him to the back of the chair. Xiao Yuan tilted his head, drooling uncontrollably, and there seemed to be a smile in the corner of his eyes.

The sun was warm, Nanxing pushed the cart to the nearby street, and Ding Xirui sat down to chat with Jin Dasao. There were more than 30 people in the compound, about 10 young and middle-aged people, with older children, going to the market every day to find work, doing some physical work of carrying things on their backs. A dozen children were playing at the foot of the mud wall, seven or eight elderly people were sitting in the sun with hunched backs, twisting hemp ropes, and women were washing clothes, cooking, and sewing, occasionally looking at the children, asking the elderly if they wanted water, and they were busy all the time...

"Sister-in-law, where did you live originally? Don't you have any land to farm?"

The woman twisted the thread in her hand and looked around, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Who would come to this place and be miserable when they have land to farm?"

"What's going on?" Ding Xirui took a step closer and asked.

"Well, our families originally lived at the foot of the west mountain. We had dozens of acres of land and were guarding a big mountain. But... when the previous county magistrate was in office, the taxes were very high. Even using a hoe required us to pay. We cut the bamboo we planted at home and got paid, but most of the money was taken away... Later, the cow died inexplicably, so we couldn't plow the land or plant the rice seedlings. We went to our master's house to borrow a cow, but they refused to lend it to us and wanted to buy our land." Mrs. Jin recalled the sad things, her eyes red.

"There was a severe drought the following year, and the harvest was pitifully small, not even enough to pay the rent. So I simply abandoned the land and fled to the city with others, begging for food along the way."

"The county has not distributed any more land?"

"Ah! Who would like us? The rich people in the city think we are dirty, and we can't go back to the village. Everyone says that Magistrate Li is a good man, but he... is so busy that he can't take care of us." The eldest sister-in-law shook her head. "Ajia's daughter-in-law got sick that year and died a few years after living in this courtyard. Poor little Yuan..."

Banxia wiped away her tears quietly. Ding Xirui sighed and remained silent for a long time. "Sister-in-law, you have moved here for seven or eight years."

"That's about it. Life is sometimes good and sometimes bad. We live in this remote place. As long as nothing serious happens, the government can't interfere."

"Hmm..." Ding Xirui nodded and caught a glimpse of a woman spinning a spinning wheel.

"Sister-in-law, do you weave all the cloth for your clothes yourself?"

"Yes, but it's also in the past two years that several families have pooled their money to make spinning wheels and looms, so that we can buy new clothes after the New Year." Mrs. Jin said, looking at Ding Xirui, then at herself, and quietly covered a patch on her knee with her right hand.

Ding Xirui clenched her hands. The clothes she wore were also made of cotton, but the cloth was dyed evenly, cut to fit her body, and there were flowers embroidered on the cuffs and hem, which were made by Pinellia ternata.

"Sister-in-law, do you want to open a weaving workshop?"

Mrs. Jin was stunned for a moment and shook her head. "I think so too. It takes a lot of money and people to open a weaving workshop, and we also need a place. How can we have that ability? I heard that people use foot-operated spinning wheels and pedal looms, which are much more labor-saving than ours, and the cloth they weave is fast and good. The last time I went to the market to inquire, the price of inferior cotton cloth is not high. If you do the math, it may be cheaper than making it ourselves."

"Sister-in-law, you just said that you wanted to open a weaving workshop, right?" Ding Xirui caught this sentence.

"Hey, I'm just talking...it's impossible." Mrs. Jin continued to shake her head.

"There are more and more people in Lan County now, and many people are buying shops. Sister-in-law, if you can find a few capable people to work together, I am willing to pay for it."

"Madam..." Sister-in-law Jin opened her eyes wide, "This is too difficult. The best I can do is be a female worker." Sister-in-law blushed.

Ding Xirui looked around at the old and young people in the yard and realized that his proposal was a bit impulsive. Running a textile workshop requires money, technology, manpower, and management. It is not something that can be accomplished just by having an interest.

"Sorry, sister-in-law, I thought it was too simple."

"Madam, thank you for your kindness. As long as we have enough food to eat and our children can grow up, we don't want anything else." Mrs. Jin looked at the child at the wall.

"Sister-in-law, have you ever grown tea leaves or fruit trees before?"

"I have never planted tea. There is an old tea tree on the hillside. In spring, I climb up to pick tea leaves and take them to the city to exchange for money. However, the tea tree is under the watch of the county people. They say it is public property and we are not allowed to touch it. I do plant some fruit trees. The citrus trees grown by my father-in-law are very good and can be sold at a good price."

Ding Xirui became interested: "Sister-in-law, do you want to go back to farm?"

"This... I naturally thought about it, but ma'am, we have no land to farm."

"Sister-in-law, please ask a few families in the courtyard what they think. I'll go and ask around. Maybe there will be good news."

Mrs. Jin smiled bitterly and said, "Madam, you are not going to help us find the master of the village so that we can rent his land to grow crops. We really cannot afford to pay 50% to 60% of the rent."

"No, no, no. Anyway, I'll go and ask first." Ding Xirui patted her hands.

Nan Xin returned from a walk with Xiao Yuan, and the others said goodbye and left. Ding Xirui hurried to the government office, wanting to inquire about further news. However, there was no one in the government office, as they had all gone to the mountains. After anxiously waiting for several days, Ding Xirui took Lin Mingxuan to finally meet Li Xingjian. After some greetings, the two confirmed the news about the tea garden and orchard. The mountain was relatively low, and some people had already gone up there to grow some vegetables and fruits. People from Qizhou said that the soil was good, and it was not far from the official road from Lan County to Yonghe County. All the conditions were met, and the matter had been settled, and they were just waiting for the silver to be allocated.

"Sir Li, do the tea garden and orchard belong to the government, or..." Lin Mingxuan asked.

"Yonghe already has a tea garden dedicated to the imperial court, but the annual output is not much, so in the future, part of the tea garden and orchard will be exclusively for the government, and for the other part, I plan to recruit capable people to plant and manage it." Li Xingjian put down the tea in his hand and stood up: "What? Doctor Lin, do you have a suitable person to recommend?"

"Sir..." Lin Mingxuan clasped his fists and saluted: "I am ashamed, but I just got to know someone from the West Square compound a few days ago, and I thought I would need manpower to open up the two gardens, so I shamelessly came to you, sir."

"Yeah." Li Xingjian twisted his beard and nodded with a smile, "Manpower is naturally needed. If they are honest and hardworking, they will naturally find suitable partners."

"Thank you, sir."

"Sir..." Ding Xirui said, "Mrs. Meng of Baizhicha has run a tea shop for many years, so she should know many experienced and capable people. In addition, I heard that there is an uncle named Jin living in the West Courtyard, who used to be an expert in growing citrus fruits."

"Well," Li Xingjian quickly pointed to the master beside him, "Write it down."

"Yes."

"And..." Ding Xirui hesitated.

"Please speak frankly, Doctor Ding."

Ding Xirui bowed slightly and said, "Sir, I have an idea about hiring someone."