The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

During the New Year holidays, everyone relaxed for a rare time, doing nothing but sitting at home drinking tea, chatting and having fun.

People from the town and the county came to perform acrobatics and monkey shows. All the villagers came out. Those who didn't want to go so far could go to the town to play. Those who wanted to go to the county could use Lu Linlang's ox carts, mule carts, etc. to take the villagers to the county to watch the fun for free during the New Year holidays.

As a result, everyone in the village remembered Lu Linlang's kindness, and her status also rose. No matter whether they were old or young, they would greet her respectfully when they saw her.

Li Cong's family came over after the Chinese New Year. Li Cong was completely recovered. The first time he saw Lu Linlang, he clasped his fists and thanked her.

"Thank you Miss Lu for rescuing me. I am now well again. Miss Lu also sent me food, which helped us make ends meet. I cannot express my gratitude for this kindness in a few words. If Miss Lu has any orders, I will obey them."

"Master Li, you're welcome. Miss Li has already agreed to work at my house. This is equivalent to giving her an advance on her wages."

"I'm no longer an official. How can I repay Miss Lu for saving my life? I've heard that Miss Lu from Xishan Village is very capable and has taught all the children in the village to read and write. However, there is only one teacher, Li, who is willing to teach the children in the village for free to repay Doctor Yun for his kindness in treating my two sons."

"That's fantastic! From now on, I'll call you Master Li. Don't worry, Yunxi will do her best to treat the two young masters. Master Li, since you're willing to teach the children, I certainly won't let you waste your energy in vain. Don't worry, I'll give you a stipend of one tael of silver every month so you can stay and teach without worrying about your family's livelihood."

"How can this be possible? My life belongs to Miss Lu and your family. How can I still ask for tuition? I have already made plans. After I recover from my illness, I plan to make a living in the county by copying books, writing letters for others, and other work in my spare time."

Li Cong was sincere, but Lu Linlang did not let him work in vain. Finally, after discussion, they decided that Master Li would teach in Xishan Village and receive a monthly stipend of one or two taels of silver. Li Qiuyue would work as an embroiderer in Lu Linlang's house and also receive a monthly salary of three hundred coins, which would be paid by Lu Linlang.

However, the money Yunxi used to treat Li Cong and the Li brothers was deducted from Master Li's salary, and only after the medical expenses were deducted did he start to pay the salary.

Li Cong was a Jinshi (imperial scholar) and received a monthly stipend of one or two taels. It could be said that they were taking advantage of him. However, Li Cong was now exiled here, and ordinary families did not dare to invite him to be a tutor easily, for fear of offending the officials above them. That was why they were so poor after arriving.

However, their family was willing to face the situation optimistically and work hard to make a living. Lu Linlang also took a fancy to the qualities of their family. During her conversation with Li Cong, she also knew that he was an upright person, which was why he offended the Regent's people.

When the clan leader learned that Lu Linlang had hired a teacher who was a Jinshi for the villagers, he was overjoyed. But when he heard that Lu Linlang was paying for all the tuition, he felt that this was a good deal. Now that the village workshops have a stable income, how could they still ask Lu Linlang to pay for everything? Isn't this taking advantage of her?

However, Lu Linlang refused. When the villagers found out, they told their children not to spread the news, as it would be bad for the teacher. As long as they focused on their studies, it would be the best way to repay the teacher.

On the sixth day of the New Year, after attending a banquet at the home of the county magistrate's wife, Lu Linlang began to organize Lu Manjin and the villagers to prepare for the subsequent land reclamation and breeding.

When it comes to land reclamation, in addition to recruiting workers, the most important thing is to arrange people to monitor and ensure that it is completed within the expected schedule.

Lu Linlang led the women in the village to do breeding. Her breeding method was different from the villagers' previous practices. She asked the villagers for help so that they could understand the breeding knowledge in advance, so that they could learn faster in the future.

"Boss, is there really a place to grow these sweet potatoes? I heard that your farm is not small. How many sweet potatoes are there? Are they enough for planting?" The aunts looked at the number of sweet potatoes and were worried that Lu Linlang had never farmed before and did not have enough seeds. Wouldn't the land they had reclaimed be wasted?

"Don't worry, aunties. These sweet potatoes are planted using the cutting method, so don't underestimate these few. Once the sweet potatoes grow vines, you can cut one vine into several and plant them in the ground. They will fill up the ground, so this little bit of sweet potatoes is enough.

After the sweet potatoes are harvested, the vines are used to feed pigs and cattle, so nothing is wasted."

"Really? It's so good, Boss. I wonder where you bought these sweet potatoes from. We want to try growing some too."

"I brought this back from Minzhou City. I've even agreed with the shopkeeper there to ship some to me in the spring. I'll have someone go to Hezhou to receive it. I think it's on its way now. When the sweet potato vines grow, I'll give some to the aunts to plant back home."

"That's great, Master. We must study hard and learn how to grow sweet potatoes. It's great to have another food to eat."

The aunts were more motivated and more active. After working for several days, they finally prepared everything according to Lu Linlang's requirements.

As for manure, Lu Linlang had already assigned this matter to Lu Zhan and Yun Can before the New Year. During the time when Lu Linlang was not in Xishan Village, Lu Zhan took people to dig silt by the river, dig rotten soil from the mountain, collect manure water, and compost it scientifically according to the method given by Lu Linlang, which has now been very effective.

In the farm, Lu Linlang took Uncle Zhong and Tang Kui to check the progress of the land reclamation. The previous land in the farm had been plowed again, and the mountains were full of people cutting grass, digging the ground, and picking up stones, and everyone was very busy.

When it was time for lunch, as soon as the gong sounded, everyone put down their farm tools, wiped the sweat off their faces, walked to the pond to wash their hands, and then lined up in a long line.

"We have meat today, that's great, and we have oil and water. I can even smell the meat. It would be great if I could come to work every day. Every now and then, we can have oil and water. It's not like at home, where we can't eat meat for ten days or half a month. Here we can get paid, we are really making a profit."

"Yes, what kind of meat is it today? I remember it was fatty pork the day before yesterday. It was so greasy and made my mouth water. It smelled so good. I can still imagine how delicious it was."

"Look at what's in their bowls. That looks like minced meat, and there's so much of it. It's great! Even the vegetables have a meaty taste. There's konjac tofu and white tofu, and even rice. My boss is so nice! If someone else let me eat this kind of food, I would definitely go to work every day and not slack off at all."

"It's a shame that such good food is gone after the work is done. It's such a pity. I hope such an employer will buy land every day and hire us to open up wasteland every day. It's tiring, but the food is good."

Lu Linlang also heard the villagers' discussions. Seeing their enthusiasm, she was happy. Land reclamation is physical work. If they are not fed well, it may not be finished so quickly. So she asked people to prepare dry meals.

Although it is a coarse grain, it is not the same dish that we eat every day, which gives everyone something to look forward to. Moreover, the konjac tofu is produced by the workshop in Xishan Village, which can also generate income for the village, and both parties benefit.