My delicate husband

Lan An was quite curious about the waterwheel, so while Zhang Xiaomo was still sleeping, he went to the fields with Guo Ge'er to take a look and satisfy his curiosity.

It is no wonder that installing a waterwheel is not cheap, and the county government has to send people to install it. It is indeed quite complicated. However, Lan An thinks it can be improved. It was originally used to irrigate wasteland. After all, a lot of money has been spent and it cannot be wasted. Lan An decided to talk to Constable Peng.

"Brother Peng, can this waterwheel irrigate a wider area? I want to plant something on the wasteland next to it."

"Anger, do you want to use these wastelands?"

"I plan to use it to grow some vegetables and fruits in the future, and I'm wondering if it can be irrigated more conveniently."

"No problem. Since you've already asked, I'll definitely help you sort it out. I'll tell them to dig a few more channels and lay some bamboo pipes."

"Thank you, Brother Peng. I have some family matters these days. I will treat you to a drink after I have dealt with them."

"No need to bother. I've been very busy lately. I have to go back to the county office after I'm done. I don't think I'll have time. The county office has been busy lately."

Lan An didn't ask any more questions, but still took out ten taels of silver as a thank you gift, said a few compliments and went home.

After returning home, Lan An remembered that today was the day when Doctor Zhu would come to take her pulse. Ever since someone came to her house to propose marriage last time, Lan An had been feeling unwell for a long time and had forgotten important things.

Guo Ge'er is also very well-behaved. He waits obediently at home. He also wants to know about his brother's illness as soon as possible. Of course, he is also afraid that his brother will quarrel with An Ge'er. Now his legs go weak when he sees An Ge'er's face dark.

Before the hour of Si, there were the sounds of horse hooves outside the courtyard, and Doctor Zhu arrived with his medicine boy.

"Young Master, have you been waiting for a long time?"

"No, no, Doctor Zhu, you came quite early this time."

"After taking your pulse, I have a request that you ask. I hope you will forgive me."

"Doctor Zhu, if you have anything to say, just tell me. An Ge'er will do his best."

"I want to buy thirty kilograms of tomatoes from you, young master."

"Oh, it's a small matter. I'll just ask Brother Xu to help you load it up and put it on the carriage."

Doctor Zhu was also very happy to get Lan'an's promise. It was the first time that his wife liked a vegetable so much, so he had to be so shameless as to ask for it for her.

After the two of them had a good conversation, Lan An took Doctor Zhu into the inner room. Guo Ge'er was very considerate and brought a chair to make it easier for Doctor Zhu to diagnose the patient.

"Your health has recovered quite well recently, even beyond my expectations. You can now begin the first course of treatment. However, you should still relax and not be depressed, as this will not be conducive to treatment."

"I would like to thank Doctor Zhu."

Doctor Zhu ordered the medicine boy to bring 15 packets of medicine to Anger, and did not forget to give detailed instructions.

“This is the medicinal material for Ban Ye Yue’s medicinal bath. Each bath takes 25 minutes, starting from the day after tomorrow, before bed.

Remember not to take any more medicines, keep your diet light, avoid spicy foods, and do not eat cornus officinalis.

The medicinal baths for the next half month may be quite irritating, and you may experience slight vomiting of blood. Don't panic, I will come back to check your pulse in half a month."

After Doctor Zhu finished his instructions and prepared to leave, Lan An paid for the medicine and saw him off. As soon as Doctor Zhu left, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside. Lan An hurried out to see if Doctor Zhu had forgotten to tell him anything.

When he walked out the door, he saw familiar faces. Lan Euan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he could finally start the treatment smoothly.

"Ang'er, you're in a hurry to go out. I hope I didn't bother you by coming here this time."

"Manager Xia, why are you here at this time? Is there something important you want to talk to me about?"

"It's nothing serious. I just wanted to ask if you still have those tomatoes. I also have something small to discuss with you."

"Oh, I thought Shopkeeper Xia was asking me for the blueprints again. I guess they won't be available anytime soon. My husband has to start treatment, so I really don't have the energy to design them."

"Ang'er, you're busy. I'm not in a hurry here. I'm still studying the last blueprint. Do you have any tomatoes left? Some of my noble friends want them."

"Brother Xia, I don't have many tomatoes left, but our village should be planting them on a large scale soon. Come back then."

"Brother An, could you prepare another fifty pounds for me? We're so familiar with each other now, it's not appropriate to call me shopkeeper. Just call me Big Brother Xia from now on. Just consider this as Big Brother Xia owing you a favor, okay?"

"Okay then, wait a minute and I'll get it for you."

Lan Euan had no choice. Fortunately, there were many tomatoes that would ripen soon in the space. Now he could only give him the ones he had originally reserved for his own consumption.

A quarter of an hour later, Lan'an came out holding a small basket of tomatoes, also looking embarrassed.

"Brother Xia, this is really gone. It will take a month or two before we can get it again. Look, my vegetable patch has been completely plucked out."

"Thank you, An Ge'er. I have something to ask you."

"Brother Xia speaks frankly."

"Anger, what if the county town can't accommodate a large number of refugees?"

"Well, I'm just a kid and I don't understand strategy theory."

"Ang'er, don't be so coy. Just say it directly. I'm just asking."

"Okay, I think it's best to do our best. The county can keep the young and strong ones and let them support themselves by repairing ditches or building city defenses."

"Where are the women, the elderly, and the children?"

"If the elderly are sick, it's best to burn them collectively. Women and children can be taken in by individual villages. After all, the villages in Yunling County are small in population and there's a lot of wasteland. Some poor men with good character who don't have the money to marry can have their wives automatically assigned by the county government. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

Brother Xia had to admire him. Although his remarks were somewhat shocking, he had to admit that they were appropriate. However, Yan Chu was so kind that he probably couldn't be so cruel. It seemed that Brother An was more suitable to be born in an imperial family than him.

"Brother Xia, I'm just talking nonsense, don't take it seriously."

Brother Xia smiled at Lan An, and the two exchanged a few words. Brother Xia then forcibly left ten taels of silver and ordered his men to carry the tomatoes away.

"Who came just now? An An, what took you so long?"

"Shopkeeper Xia asked me for tomatoes and asked me a question."

"What's the problem? Why does An An seem unhappy?"

"Nothing much. He asked me to buy tomatoes and asked me a policy paper. He said a lot of refugees came to the county government office and asked how to receive them. I gave a simple answer, and he took the tomatoes and left. Okay, let's not talk about him anymore. Doctor Zhu said you're recovering well, and I'm so happy."

"Don't worry, An An, everything will be fine. But I'm very curious about An An's answer."

"Brother Xiaomo, you are bullying me. You know I hate this the most."

Lan An repeated his answer to Zhang Xiaomo. Zhang Xiaomo was a little shocked but not surprised. This answer was very consistent with Lan An's character.

"Brother Xiaomo, do you think I'm cruel?"

"No, I know An An is the easiest to be soft-hearted."

“If there really were refugees coming to Yunling County, the county government is so poor that we can’t support them without money or food, and we can’t provide them with relief.

Besides, plagues are likely to break out after a disaster, and the elderly and children may not be able to bear it. It is better to abandon the elderly at the beginning and give children more hope of survival.

Besides, there is still a lot of work that no one wants to do in the county government. Instead of asking the villagers to do labor service, it would be better to collect more money and let young and strong refugees do it. The money handed over by the villagers can also be used to support these refugees. Isn’t that good?

Women and children can be accepted by each village. After all, the village population is small and there is a lot of wasteland, which can be reclaimed. Besides, some men can't find wives, so they can be distributed and the population can be increased. In this era, everything depends on manpower, and without people, there is no development."

Lan An analyzed calmly that he was a rich young master in his previous life. He was also a cold-blooded businessman and an egoist, but he was not a philanthropist.

"Brother Xiaomo, I plan to start growing tomatoes. We have five acres of land at home, and we'll use it to grow tomatoes."

Zhang Xiaomo looked at the soft and tender Lan An in front of him and thought of the cold-blooded and selfish Lan An just now. No matter what, this person would not hurt him and loved him with his life. Anyway, he was not a good person. It was good for them to be like this. They were a perfect match.

"An An, that land is usually used to grow beans. Planting anything else seems to incur an additional tax, 200 wen per mu."

"Then give it to me, Brother Xiaomo. Believe me, I can definitely earn it back tenfold or a hundredfold."

"Okay, I believe An An, An An has always been very good."

"Brother Xiaomo, I estimate that one acre of tomatoes may produce 10 deniers."

"An An, tomatoes really have such a high yield. Do you know that rice only produces three dan per mu? That's still a high yield. A low yield is just one dan."

"I know. I wonder how our rice is doing this year. Brother Xu said the seedlings are growing well. I think we should prepare more organic fertilizer."

"It would be great if we could have three days and one acre, An An."

"Maybe there's a surprise. Hehe."

"You have so many tricks up your sleeve, but things like this are set in stone and there's no way to change them."

Lan An didn't say much, and the two of them stayed in love for a long time. Lan An couldn't help but sucked Zhang Xiaomo's collarbone again. He seemed to be really addicted to Zhang Xiaomo.

Zhang Xiaomo will take a medicinal bath every day from now on. There is not much firewood left in the warehouse at home. Since he stopped selling lunch boxes, he has not purchased firewood. Recently, the family has been busy and has no time to collect firewood. Lan Anjue must buy firewood again, so this task will be given to Guo Ge'er, who has been quite free recently.

"Brother Guo, I have a task for you. You've been helping me with my wages for so long, and you've been doing business with me for so long. I believe you can complete it very well and won't let me down, right?

"Don't worry, An Ge'er, we will definitely complete the mission."

Guo Ge'er felt a little nervous. For some reason, he thought of Matchmaker Wang again. However, he remembered that he should not have offended his brother and An Ge'er recently.

"Brother Guo, go find your friends and help collect firewood for the family. Dry firewood is 35 wen per bundle, and each bundle must weigh 15 jin. Wet firewood is wen per bundle, and each bundle must weigh jin. It's up to you to decide, but make sure it's enough for your brother's medicinal bath. If you can buy firewood cheaply, the extra money is yours, but you can't beat my price."

"Anger, please give me all the money you earn. Ah, Anger, you are so kind. Don't worry, I can do this little thing."

"Don't get too excited. How much you can earn depends on your ability. I have one request: you are not allowed to dirty the yard, and the firewood must be kept neatly."

"Okay, Ange, can I come to you if I don't understand something?"

"You'd better not come to me. If you don't understand, you can ask Brother Xu. I changed ten taels of copper coins for you to make it easier for you to pay. I gave the money to Brother Xu."

"Okay, An Ge'er, I'll go find someone now."

After that day, all the children in Lianhua Village went to collect firewood and exchange it for money with Guo Ge'er. Some were as young as fifteen or sixteen, while others were as young as four or five. Some even brought dry firewood directly from home to sell.

This situation lasted for half a month before it ended. Most of the children earned one or two hundred coins through their efforts, except for Zhang Lai Fu. Guo Ge'er did not accept his firewood, and Lan An supported his approach. Guo Ge'er also worked hard, so Lan An did not have to worry about him throughout the whole process. Of course, this also made Guo Ge'er more interested in doing business.

After preparing for so long, Zhang Xiaomo finally had his first medicinal bath. He was quite calm, but Lan An was a little panicked, always afraid of accidents.

The medicinal bath water was cooked by Lan An himself, and a small amount of spiritual spring water was added to it. The spiritual spring water was stronger than before, and Lan An didn't dare to add more because he was afraid that Zhang Xiaomo's body couldn't bear it.

Zhang Xiaomo's reaction to the first medicinal bath was okay. At first, he felt hot all over his body and his skin was burning, but it was not too painful. After a while, some parts of his body felt obvious pain, like being bitten by countless ants. However, Zhang Xiaomo could endure it because he was afraid that Lan Euan would worry too much.

Seeing that Zhang Xiaomo looked normal, with only a lot of sweat on his forehead, no vomiting of blood, and no groaning, Lan An's heart slowly settled down.

After the bath, Lan An quickly tucked him into bed, fearing he would catch a cold. Doctor Zhu had said that after taking a medicinal bath, one must not catch a cold.

However, Zhang Xiaomo slept deeply that night, and her body felt unusually light and alert. Lan Euan moved in Zhang Xiaomo's arms as usual, but Zhang Xiaomo was not disturbed. They both slept soundly and dreamlessly.