Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

When the group of five returned to Liujia Village, it was already dark.

Uncle He heard the knock on the door, puzzled, as if he thought of something, and quickly ran to open the door.

When the gate opened, Uncle He smiled and let the people and carriages in. He shouted into the yard, "Old woman, go tell the lady that the young lady is back!"

Then he immediately looked at Liu Xu with a loving face and said, "Miss, you must be exhausted these days. You have lost weight."

Liu Xu silently pinched her little fleshy hands: I've obviously gained weight... But what she said was:

"Yeah, I miss mother and brothers, Uncle He, Aunt Lin, Uncle Ming, Aunt Yue and everyone else. I don't eat well or sleep well, so I'm thin, right?" Liu Xu looked pitiful, and the four people behind her had twitching mouths... Is their young lady trying to kill people with her mouth?

But Uncle He didn't care. His face was full of love. "Oh, it's really hard for our young lady. Now that you're back, let Granny Fang make you some delicious food to nourish you!"

As they spoke, they entered the front yard. Others who heard the noise came over and greeted them with concern. Qiao Yun in particular ran the fastest.

Knowing that the lady was still waiting, everyone didn't say much and soon went about their own business. Granny Fang and Yan Niang went to the kitchen, while Qiao Yun was busy preparing hot water for her young lady. Fortunately, she estimated that the young lady would be back in the next two days, so she had already heated the kang, so all she had to do now was add some firewood.

Liu Ming took the reins from He Feng and sent the carriage to the stable at the back. He Feng and the other three handed their luggage to their parents, and followed Liu Xu to the main house with their other things.

Xu Ruolan was coaxing the two boys to sleep. When she heard Aunt Lin say her daughter was back, she immediately got off the kang and ran out, not even caring about her two sons. But Yue Niang and Zi Mo were still in the room, so she didn't have to worry.

"Xu'er, Xu'er! You're finally back!" Xu Ruolan had just reached the door when she saw her daughter walking towards her, and she excitedly stepped forward to greet her.

"Mom, I'm back!" Liu Xu saw his mother, ran a few steps and hugged her.

Xu Ruolan touched her daughter's face and looked left and right. "Let me take a good look. Have you lost weight? Are you tired these days?"

"I'm fine, mother. I just miss you a little." Liu Xu said with a little red eyes.

"Okay, okay, you're back. Come in quickly, it's cold outside." Xu Ruolan pulled Liu Xu into the house, and while walking, she told the servants to prepare the meal. When she learned that the meal had already been prepared, she nodded and told Aunt Lin to make some ginger soup for the children first. Aunt Lin responded and left.

After entering the house, the He Feng brothers put down their things and left, while Huanxi and Qiaoyu waited on the side. Touching her daughter's cold hands, Xu Ruolan felt sad, so she said, "You should take a hot bath first, drink a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourself up, so as not to catch a cold. Let's talk about it after dinner, how about it?"

Liu Xu thought about it and nodded, "Then mother, you go and comfort the brothers first, I'll be back soon!"

Xu Ruolan nodded, and Liu Xu took her two maids back to the east wing. Qiao Yun was really considerate, and she had almost finished preparing in a short while.

Thinking that Huanxi and the other two had been cold all the way, he asked them to go back to the house and clean themselves up, and the two of them left.

By the time Liu Xu changed her clothes and came out, half an hour had passed. In the main room, Granny Fang had already prepared three dishes and a soup and sent them over. Xu Ruolan accompanied her daughter and ate some more. After the wine, no, soup and food were full, the servants also left.

Liu Xu asked Qiao Yun to go back and rest, saying that she would sleep with her mother tonight. Only then did she tell her mother about her experiences during these days.

There was nothing much to say about the training, especially the encounter with Jayne today. Xu Ruolan was surprised when she heard it, "You actually met foreigners? And bought so many strange things?"

"Yes, mother, you should have seen the things in those bags just now, right?" Xu Ruolan nodded in confusion. Liu Xu approached her mother and whispered mysteriously, "Mother, in my dream, these two things are called potatoes and corn. They are good things that can be used as both food and vegetables. Moreover, one is cold-resistant and the other is drought-resistant. Not only are they not very picky about the land, but their yields are also very high. And the two kinds of seeds, one is called watermelon, a kind of fruit eaten in summer, and the other is called cowpea, which is also a kind of vegetable in summer. Didn't our family just buy a field? Potatoes happen to be planted in this season. Let's get a piece of land on the farm and plant them first."

After hearing this, Xu Ruolan's eyes widened. She was not an ordinary peasant woman. With her father's teachings and the influence of her family, she knew very well the value these things would bring in the future. Not to mention fruits and vegetables, just these two kinds of food, if... if it was really as her daughter said, then their family might...

"Plant, plant tomorrow! But, Xu'er, mother doesn't agree to plant on the farm. We have just acquired those two farms, and we don't know the tenants and managers well yet. It's better not to leak these things out for the time being." Xu Ruolan said to Liu Xu with a serious face.

"But mother, we have rented all the land in Liujia Village to Grandpa Guisheng's family?" Liu Xu was a little distressed.

Xu Ruolan frowned and fell into deep thought. After a moment, her eyes lit up and she looked at Liu Xu: "Xu'er, you just said that these two things are not picky about the land?"

Liu Xu nodded, "Well, not only are potatoes and corns not picky, watermelons and cowpeas are not picky either..." She stopped talking and looked at her mother, her eyes lit up, "Mom, do you mean..."

Seeing that her daughter seemed to understand, Xu Ruolan rubbed Liu Xu's head with appreciation and said with a smile: "That's right, since these things are not picky about the land, don't we still have a lot of wasteland left next to us? Let Uncle He go to the village chief tomorrow and buy them all."

Liu Xu nodded in agreement, "Yes, mother, why don't we just enclose everything when the time comes? I had originally planned to tear down the old house and rebuild it, and put some greenhouses in the back. Now that we're buying land, we might as well build it next to it. Then we can open a door in the courtyard wall to save the trouble of running back and forth. The old house can be left to grandpa and the others." There were at least a dozen acres of wasteland next to it, which was more than enough. Besides, she would also plant peppers later, so she wouldn't have to worry about outsiders finding out too soon.

Xu Ruolan naturally agreed, "Let's do as you say! However, the old house still needs to be rebuilt. We are not short of that little money now, so don't let people talk behind our backs."

Liu Xu nodded. That was true. It was not possible for her family to live in a big brick and tile house while her grandfather and his family were still living in a dilapidated old house. Even if the villagers didn't say anything openly, who knows what they would do behind her back.

After saying this, Liu Xu took the small wooden box that Jayne gave her, opened it and handed it to Xu Ruolan, "Mom, look, aren't these diamonds beautiful? These were given to me by Jayne."

Xu Ruolan raised her hand and picked up a red diamond, her eyes full of amazement, "You know what, this thing looks more dazzling than those gems."

"Hehe, that's right, mom, let me tell you, in my dream, there was a saying that goes 'diamonds are forever, but buying one will make you bankrupt', just think about it, how valuable is this? It's only that Jayne and the others don't know the value of it, otherwise how could I get this bargain." Liu Xu said happily.

"What, Xu'er, are you saying that this thing also exists in that fairyland, and it's very valuable?" Xu Ruolan widened her eyes.

"Well, yes, even a tiny bit like this would cost... at least several dozen taels," Liu Xu gestured with his little finger.

When Xu Ruolan saw it, she took a breath, looked at the wooden box in her hand, then looked at the two wooden boxes on the ground, swallowed, and felt like she was stepping on clouds.

"Xu, Xu'er, quickly put all these things away!" Xu Ruolan stuttered. "No, let Uncle He go find your great uncle tomorrow and ask him to make a sturdy box for you. Then go buy one or two padlocks and lock it up. Find a place to hide it, okay?" Xu Ruolan warned worriedly.

Liu Xu blinked her eyes, and after a while she said helplessly: "Don't worry, mother, I will keep it well. You don't have to worry too much, after all, these things are not known to anyone in our Dongsheng country yet. The reason why gems are valuable is because people like them. If you want this diamond to be valuable, you have to wait until your daughter finds a craftsman to make it into a finished product, and then operate it. Even if someone sees it now, they will only think it is a beautiful stone."

Xu Ruolan was stunned when she heard this, but then she understood. Yes, this thing is only valuable in that fairyland, and it is unknown here. Otherwise, her daughter couldn't buy so much for just 100 taels. After figuring this out, she finally felt relieved.

"But we still have to keep it. After all, we bought it for a hundred taels. If it doesn't work out, we can always make it and take it ourselves." Xu Ruolan said, and picked up a few diamonds of other colors, and gestured at Liu Xu's head and ears in various ways, with love in her eyes unabated.

After a while, Liu Xu finally put them away. Liu Xu could see that her mother liked those red diamonds, so she smiled and said coquettishly: "Mom, I'll ask someone to make all these red diamonds into jewelry for you, one set at a time, and we can wear them every day!"

"Okay, okay, mom is waiting!" The mother and daughter laughed again.

"By the way, mother, has anything happened at home during the few days I've been away?" Liu Xu asked, lying beside his mother.

"It's nothing special. Your third uncle's tofu shop Zuiyunxuan has increased the daily output to 500 kilograms. And the other day your aunt Zhuang said the bean sprouts at home had grown, so she asked your third uncle to take them to Zuiyunxuan, and they ordered 100 kilograms that day, and they came to pick it up themselves. When your aunt Zhuang came to make clothes yesterday, she asked them to give out more, at least 300 kilograms." Xu Ruolan said.

"Hey, Mom, does that mean your small workshop has already started making clothes?" Liu Xu grasped the key point.

Hearing this, Xu Ruolan turned sideways to face her daughter and said, "We've started making it. We'll start on the third day after you left. We'll divide the work as you said. Your aunt Ling and I will be in charge of inspection and embroidery. We'll temporarily use the remaining cloth and cotton in the warehouse. We've made more than 20 sets now. It's much faster than making a whole set by myself. But Xu'er, can they really be sold?" Xu Ruolan was a little worried.

"Of course I can, mother. Just do it without worry. By the way, I forgot to tell you just now that I have ordered another batch of cloth and cotton for you from Jixiang Cloth Shop. In addition, I also ordered ten rolls of silk. Mother, you and Aunt Ling can use this silk to make two sets of quilt covers and sheets and embroider flowers on them. Then make two sets of fine cotton quilt covers. I have agreed with Manager Ling that we will take our ready-made clothes to him to see first. If it works, we will consign them to him later. As for the silk quilt covers, hehe, I will ask Third Brother Chang to help us." Liu Xu yawned as she spoke.

"Okay, Mom gets it! Well, you've worked hard for the past few days, and it's late today, so go to bed first. We'll talk about anything tomorrow!" Xu Ruolan urged.

After saying goodnight to her mother, Liu Xu soon fell asleep. Xu Ruolan looked at her now fair and lovely daughter, then looked at her two little sons who were sleeping soundly on the other side, occasionally smacking their lips, and smiled gently, "Dad, our family is getting better and better now, and we are just waiting for you to return safely."

Xu Ruolan said softly, then gently closed her eyes.

At this time in the Northern Border Army Camp, Liu Donglai was coming out of the general's tent with a silly smile on his face. Thinking of what the young general had just said to him, he couldn't help laughing. It's great, he didn't expect that after he left, Ruolan gave him a pair of little sons. His Xu'er has grown up now and has started a business with the military camp. Sure enough, his daughter is the best. Then he thought of what his eldest brother's family had done, and his eyes were full of anger. Liu Chengming! This beast, if the young general hadn't said that he had been exiled with his limbs crippled, he would have wanted to go back and tear him into pieces immediately. He dared to do that to his beloved baby in his palm! And his mother, I heard that Xu'er was almost beaten to death, and Ruolan almost lost three lives... Liu Donglai couldn't help but shed tears. Although his wife and children are safe now and life is better, he was so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe when he thought of the suffering they had suffered.

The expression on Liu Donglai's face kept changing, which made the guards at the door a little confused. However, thinking that there was nothing unusual in the tent just now, he didn't ask any more questions and just watched Captain Liu slowly leave.