Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

"Have the people down there found out where those stories told by the beggars first came from?"

In the side hall of the Second Prince's mansion, the Second Prince asked his personal attendant, Balang.

Marquis Dingyuan, who was sitting on a chair nearby, as well as Jin Yuanming and his son Jin Wenshao, were all staring at Balang who had just entered.

"Your Highness, our people have interviewed beggars on Qingque Street and the surrounding streets and alleys. We have learned that the story first spread from the beggars in the Fanlou area. Our people went to the Fanlou area to inquire, and most of the beggars pointed out that it was a beggar named Lao Liu who first told them this story."

"Have you found the beggar named Lao Liu?"

When the second prince heard that there was a clue, he hurriedly asked, but saw Balang shaking his head.

"The beggar called Lao Liu seemed to have disappeared overnight. Our people searched Qingque Street and several surrounding blocks but couldn't find him."

"Could it be that this beggar named Lao Liu was deliberately arranged by someone just to spread this story? There is no real person named Lao Liu at all?"

The Second Prince was quite meticulous and his suspicion was not without reason. His own people couldn't find the person, so it could only be this beggar named Lao Liu, who was used by someone and then hidden away, or even worse, silenced.

And there is an even more suspicious situation, that is, this beggar named Lao Liu was deliberately arranged by someone, and the identity of Lao Liu was just a temporary cover.

After hearing the second prince's guess, Balang shook his head again.

"This beggar named Lao Liu is indeed a real person. I heard from beggars around Fanlou that Lao Liu has been begging in Fanlou for four or five years. In the 22nd year of Tianyuan, an epidemic broke out in Xuyang Prefecture, and Lao Liu fled here with his family. But when they arrived in Shengjing, only Lao Liu and his sister, who was three years younger than him, were left. At that time, Lao Liu took his sister to seek medical treatment everywhere, but was rejected by all the clinics. In the end, his sister died in a dilapidated temple in the southern suburbs. From then on, Lao Liu became a beggar on the street."

"This Lao Liu is really lucky. His whole family died, but he was the only one who survived, and he left a little incense for his family. I hope he will be lucky this time and not be killed!"

The second prince said this with gritted teeth, then turned his gaze to Marquis Dingyuan who was sitting next to him.

"Grandfather, in your opinion, what do you think about this matter?"

Marquis Dingyuan stroked his white beard and then spoke.

"In my opinion, this story may not be true. The other party just wants to use this story to completely ruin the reputation of my Jin family, especially Wen Shao's reputation. The purpose behind this is to ruin the marriage between Wen Shao and the daughter of the Lu family, and then destroy your highness's intention to win over the Lu family."

The second prince nodded, Marquis Dingyuan’s opinion was not much different from his own.

"In your opinion, Dad, is the folk remedy in this story credible?"

Jin Yuanming thought of his son Yueyue having to suffer such painful torture, and asked his father anxiously.

"I think this folk remedy is worth a try. If Wen Shao uses this folk remedy and the full moon nights really don't recur, then it just proves that my guess just now is correct. Obviously, the other party has achieved his goal. Wen Shao is of little use, but he has left a loophole that Yueyue has to use the folk remedy to eliminate the torture. It is nothing more than to completely end Wen Shao's hope of marrying the noble lady of Shengjing and prevent His Highness from repeating the same trick."

When Jin Wenshao heard what his grandfather said, his eyes were filled with hope, but also revealed a hint of fear.

"Grandfather, do I really want to take the pill made from that secret recipe?"

"Now we can only give it a try to see if this folk remedy works. Do you still want to go through that painful torture again?"

"But...but..."

Jin Wenshao sincerely hoped that this folk remedy would be useful. He was really tortured by the itch from the ants biting him. But when he thought of the recipe saying that the pills had to be made with dog urine as a medicine, he felt sick to his stomach.

"Man, what's there to be fussy about? It's just a little dog urine. When I was fighting in Mobei, I led a cavalry team and was stuck in the Gobi Desert for several days. Facing the crisis of water shortage, the entire cavalry team relied on horse urine to get out of the Gobi Desert. It was because of that battle that I earned the title of Dingyuan Marquis for our Jin family!"

When old man Dingyuan Hou saw his beloved grandson, who looked so timid and submissive, he looked very disappointed in him.

"Wen Shao, you don't have to worry too much. I have already asked Doctor Qin about this folk remedy. He said that the incense ash has a soothing and calming effect, and the most important effect of realgar is detoxification and insecticide. I heard that boy's urine seems to have a certain detoxification effect, so you can give it a try."

Hearing the second prince say this, Jin Wenshao could only grit his teeth and nod, but he felt as sick in his heart as if he had swallowed a fly.

As March approached, the weather in Shengjing gradually warmed up, and the plants that had been dormant for a whole winter began to sprout new buds.

Throughout the winter, Shengjing had only some sporadic light snow and one heavy snow each before and after the New Year. The total precipitation was significantly less than in previous years.

Now is the peak period of wheat seedling growth in the fields. The wheat seedlings will begin to head in April. Farmers around Shengjing are busy fighting drought and conserving moisture in the fields.

At the Cai family farm in Sanyuan County, things were bustling with activity.

The craftsmen arranged by the housekeeper Dai Xing were busy building greenhouses, and some craftsmen were building a new yard next to the yard of Yang Lin's family.

There are a dozen new helpers on the farm, and just as Ye Changyan said before, Yang Lin's work focus is gradually shifting to being a real manager. He now spends more time every day planning and arranging the work on the farm.

Seeing that there had been few decent snowfalls throughout the winter and the soil moisture was worrying, Yang Lin planned to dig several reservoirs on the open space around the newly built greenhouse to store as much water as possible when it rains, in case of emergency.

Today Yang Lin arranged nine helpers to be responsible for digging the reservoir. Yang Lin divided them into a group of three, and he had arranged specific excavation locations and requirements for two of the groups.

Now he is leading the remaining three people to the last site that needs to be excavated.

"You three will be responsible for digging here. Dig the reservoir two meters long, one meter wide, and four feet deep..."

Yang Lin explained carefully and meticulously to the three people. Among them, a young man named Shen Liulang listened particularly attentively.

Shen Liulang never thought that he would actually go from being a hungry street beggar to working on this farm where he would be provided with food and lodging and receive generous wages. Such an opportunity was truly a blessing from heaven for him. He secretly made up his mind to work hard, as he no longer wanted to be the street beggar that everyone despised.