The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

Lu Linlang went to pick up more than 300 disaster victims, many of whom had families with them. She did not despise them, because such people would not run away halfway through doing something.

This year she bought a few more barren hills and was planning to hire people to work on them. These disaster victims would always save more money than the local people.

Moreover, this year, everyone in the village is busy working in the workshops, and several workshops are working at the same time. Chongshui's four treasures of the study have been sold to the south of the Yangtze River. Because of their good quality and low price, they are loved by many scholars.

Even though the government is in turmoil and there is the threat of the Tatars, everyone's love for reading remains unabated. Talents emerge in troubled times. Although this is not the opportunity they want, the opportunity is right in front of them. Maybe there will be an opportunity someday?

So now there are more people working in the workshop, and even people from other villages know that Xishan Village needs a kind of stone that can only be found in the mountains. Many people have started to go up the mountain to look for treasures. As long as they find one, they can make money by selling it to the workshop in Xishan Village.

Lu Linlang asked about the situation of these people. This group of disaster victims all fled from the north. Their village was at the junction of the confrontation between the Tatars and the imperial court. When they heard the news, several nearby villages worked together and ran away together.

Fortunately, they ran away in time, otherwise they would have lost their lives. However, it was difficult to leave their homeland, and they still had hope that the court would send people to drive the Tatars away this winter.

Moreover, the Tatars need to be grazed. They are not good at farming and will not stay in Daqi for a long time. What they want is food. As long as spring comes, they will retreat on their own. This will bring hardship to the people in the north. If they fall into the hands of the Tatars, they will become their slaves, beaten and scolded, and forced to work non-stop. If there are any women with a little beauty in the family, they will be taken away.

Lu Manjin took them to the place where they wanted to reclaim land and asked everyone to build their own houses first. It just so happened that the trees on the barren mountain could be cut down and built into temporary houses.

"Manager Lu, won't the land here freeze in the winter? If it were in our place, the land would freeze. At this time of year, you're still wearing thin clothes here. That's great! I think you won't freeze to death sleeping in a place like this in the winter."

"Don't worry, our boss is very kind. When it snows, we'll arrange for someone to bring you charcoal. The charcoal fire will keep you warm. And with a house built this way, you don't have to worry about poisonous gases. The smoke will escape. When you sleep at night, just be careful not to get too close to the fire. Be careful not to get caught."

Seeing that they were curious about the weather in Chongshui, Lu Manjin said something to everyone, and these people also relaxed. After all, they did whatever the boss said. They worked here and were provided with meals. I heard that they could even eat meat occasionally. This was really better than being at home.

They are all farmers. When they start working, they only need a little guidance to use hoes to dig the ground and sickles to cut grass.

The mountain is full of people every day. The adults dig the ground and the children carry the grass together.

Lu Linlang originally said that children under the age of eight did not have to work and would be provided with meals, but these disaster victims were kind-hearted and felt that the employer had provided them with meals, so they took the older children with them to work.

Thick smoke billowed from the mountain. If someone didn't know what was going on, they would think it was on fire. But in fact, someone was watching here and burning all the grass and fertile land.

By the time the snow in the sky began to fall on the hilltops, the wasteland had been almost cultivated and only needed to be plowed over again.

"Huh, life is actually better now than when we were back home. Drinking a bowl of carrot soup and eating dry rice is so delicious."

Everyone took a sip of the carrot soup made with bones and said with satisfaction.

"Yeah, I don't want to leave. If I can have some land to farm here, it would be better than being a tenant farmer.

Although our area is flat, there isn't much land, and all the land belongs to the landlords."

"If you ask me, Mr. Lu has a lot of land, but I don't know if they'll need anyone to work on it. They're just tenants no matter where they are. Back home, they can't save much money in a year, and they can't grow vegetables like Chongshui does in the winter and have fresh food to eat."

"Yes, I heard that our child has gone to the village to study. Those children in the village who are only a few years old can recite poems. In our hometown, only the sons of landlords can do this. Our children are not even qualified to be book boys."

Everyone was excited. If they had to say what the happiest thing about coming here was, it would be that their children could go to school.

Although Master Yun said that it was an opportunity for the children in the village to practice, when their children came back in the evening, they all said that they could write their own names.

So this is how the child’s name is written.

If your own children go to school, they can work as an accountant for the landlord in the future. An accountant is a powerful person who is in charge of the landlord's accounts.

"Village chief, why don't we go ask Manager Lu if they need any help in the future? It's not that cold here in the winter, and there's a river, so we don't have to worry about the wheat drying up.

The children can still go to school and find a decent job in town in the future, instead of bending over like us and never being able to stand up straight again."

"If you really think so, don't let me ask and then regret it, and want to go back in the spring."

"I really thought so. I have been thinking about it for several nights. Anyway, I don't know whether the house will be there when I go back. I need to eat dry food on the way back. I will be penniless when I get home. What will I use to build a house?

We might as well stay here. I heard that most of the villagers are working in the workshops, so there will be no one to do the farm work. It’s just right for us to do it.”

"Yes, we thought so too."

After everyone said this, the village chief thought about it and agreed, and went to Lu Manjin's house to find him.

It was snowing and everyone had a rare chance to rest. Lu Manjin was listening to his father's instructions.

"As a manager, you're in charge of more and more people now. Don't get too complacent. You need to manage them well and avoid causing any trouble."

"Dad, I know. Many people are eyeing my position now. The boss trusts me and lets me take charge because he thinks highly of me and is doing it for your sake."

"Dad, there's someone outside the door. He said he's looking for my eldest brother. He's the one who's clearing land on the mountain." Lu Manliang just happened to walk in, leading someone over.

"Manager Lu, hello, old man. I'm here to talk to Manager Lu about something. May I bother you?"

"It's okay, boss. Take him to the reception area over there. I'll tell others not to go there."

The patriarch's house was also expanded. With three sons, the patriarch built several more large houses and set up a meeting place. This person was obviously here to discuss something, and it might be about Lu Linlang, so other people couldn't be allowed to go and eavesdrop.

Lu Manjin was not surprised at all when he heard that they wanted to stay here as tenants and had no plans to go back.

Anyone who works here would think that the employer is good and staying is inevitable. However, he did not agree immediately and just told him to go back and wait for his notification.

This matter needs to be told to the boss, and then the boss will discuss it with the government office. It cannot be solved with just a few words.