The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

At the end of September, Lu Manjin, who was responsible for finding local seeds for Lu Linlang, came with the seeds.

"Boss, these are the seeds you asked me to buy. I went to several surrounding counties and bought some at grain stores. I also went to farmers' homes. I spent more money to buy them according to your requirements. Do you think these will work?"

Lu Linlang stood up and checked the quality of these seeds one by one. These seeds were large and full, and looked better than ordinary seeds.

"Thank you for your hard work, second brother. You have been busy these days. You should go home and visit your family first. I will contact you if there is any situation." Lu Linlang still needed to make a careful judgment. This would not be a matter of a short time.

For the past month, Lu Manjin has been outside collecting seeds, and Lu Linlang has been going to the farm from time to time to keep an eye on it. The vegetables grown in the farm are almost ready to eat, and the supply in the shop can also keep up.

The main vegetables grown on the farm are cabbage, radish, rapeseed, onion, garlic, coriander, peas, broad beans and other vegetables. Lu Linlang also needs to select the grain seeds for the farm next year in advance.

Although she had brought a lot of seeds from the capital, not all of them were suitable for the local climate. Seed selection was the most important step, so she asked Lu Manjin and the farmhands to work separately to collect the best local grain seeds.

The seeds used for making seeds were naturally those carefully selected by others and left behind. Moreover, there were no shops specializing in selling seeds in the local area, so they had to rely on the seeds kept by their families after the autumn harvest every year. Therefore, Lu Linlang told them that even if it cost more money, they had to buy good seeds.

Among them are corn seeds. Corn was introduced to Daqi more than a hundred years ago. At that time, many people only knew that it was a kind of grain, but did not know the correct planting method. Many people planted it by groping in the dark.

Therefore, corn has not become as widely planted as wheat and rice as people think, and only exists in some areas.

When Lu Linlang wanted to improve the quality of seeds, the first thing she thought of was rice and corn, which are the staple foods most needed by people in the south.

In the next few days, apart from visiting the workshop in the village, Lu Linlang was screening seeds at home.

The workshop in the village has now started to pick up. The clan leader took the lead and had people carry konjac to the county, towns, and various villages to sell. Because these days everyone knows that konjac is edible, but not everyone knows the real trick, so although there are people who try it, no one dares to try it on such a large scale, and some people are afraid to take the risk.

So when the finished konjac tofu was delivered to them, many people followed suit and bought some to take home to try. Moreover, these konjac tofus were of good quality and low price. Everyone did the math and decided that instead of spending half a day making it, it would be better to buy it ready-made. Anyway, they didn’t eat it every day, so they just wanted to try something new.

Soon, the people of Chongshui all knew that there was a village that specialized in selling konjac tofu and was waiting for them to come and buy it.

Some villagers were smart and when they went to sell things, they found that some villages were remote and inconvenient to buy things, so they would buy some needles and thread from the county town or town and sell them like peddlers, and their business was unexpectedly good.

"They said there's another village about ten miles away from us, and most of the people there are exiled. Some are generous and willing to spend money on things. Others, even if their families aren't well-off, still retain their old habits and spend money lavishly. They went there, made money, and said they're all going to sell goods before the New Year."

The clan leader's wife came to visit Lu Linlang's home and mentioned this matter to Lu Linlang.

"Where did those people come from and what are their personalities like?" Although she had heard that some people were exiled here before, their village was not near Xishan Village, so she had not actually seen those people.

"They are quite polite, but their words are full of nonsense. The villagers are not educated, so sometimes I can't understand what they are saying. I heard that those people are dressed simply, but they are picky. They don't like to eat wild vegetables, and they are not good at growing vegetables. They even ask how to grow vegetables."

"It's easy to go from simplicity to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. I'm afraid it will take some time to adapt." Although Lu Linlang sympathized with them, not all the exiled people had clean backgrounds. As long as they had confidence, they would still have the opportunity to live a good life in the future. Self-pity is not a solution. Living towards the sun is the right way.

"The villagers are busier now than before. Those who grind beans and konjac are all in the workshops, those who dig konjac and those who plant konjac are also working hard. Those who sell goods have something new to do every day. The construction of the school is almost finished, and the children can go to school earlier."

Every time something was said, it made people feel full of hope. Lu Linlang listened quietly and felt that the days in Xishan Village were getting better and better. The village became full of vitality and was growing in a good direction.

On the 30th, Lu Linlang took her brothers and sisters into the city to prepare for tomorrow's worship.

The last time I came to the city, I was busy with business and didn't have time to stroll around. When I came today, I could clearly feel that the people in the county town had become busy, and everyone was talking about tomorrow's worship.

"There will be a lot of people watching tomorrow's excitement, so don't wander around. If I'm not here, just follow the brothers. Don't go alone, okay? There are a lot of people around, so we have to be careful too. If we are approached by strangers, be alert."

After strolling around for an afternoon, Lu Linlang returned to their house in the county town and gave them instructions.

"Don't worry, sister. Yuncan and I will protect you. We haven't slacked off these days and have been practicing martial arts diligently. If any thief gets close to us, I will beat him until he screams."

"Okay, then you two will be responsible for protecting your brothers and sisters tomorrow. This heavy responsibility will be handed over to our two martial arts masters." Lu Linlang did not discourage their enthusiasm and said solemnly.

"That's for sure, you all follow me."

On the first day of October, people were walking on the streets early. Lu Linlang's family got up early and put on new clothes. The worship also requires a certain time. The county magistrate asked someone to look at the auspicious time, which was the morning hour, so they had to arrive at the worship site before the morning hour.

The place of worship is in the lower reaches of the Chongshui River, which is the widest and deepest part of the entire Chongshui River. The people of Chongshui grew up drinking the water here, and this river can be said to be their mother river.

The priests have already set up the altar, and this year they have prepared three kinds of animals: cattle, sheep, and pigs.

The county magistrate and his men stood at the front, Lu Linlang and Lu Zhan stood behind the county magistrate and the county magistrate, and behind them were the gentry.

This year, Lu Linlang and her brother stood out in the crowd, and their identities made them even more mysterious. The gentry all looked at Lu Linlang and then returned to their solemnity. No one would dare to joke on a sacrificial occasion.

The priests and the people dancing the sacrificial dance in front were ready. The priest was muttering something quickly, but it was unclear. Those dancing were all men. They were wearing animal skins, making humming and humming sounds, holding sacrificial staffs in their hands, and the sound of drums rang out. At this time, the crowd was silent, and everyone was muttering in their hearts to pray to the river god for blessings and good weather next year.

The sound of the drums seemed to strike into people's hearts, and even the children dared not play or fight. The priest sang a final line and pointed with his staff, and the water surface suddenly rippled.

"The river god has appeared, and next year there will be good weather and good harvests!" everyone shouted.