The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Two days later, Sun Dingnan, Sun Dalang and Sun Erjie found a piece of mountain land in the suburbs.

Sun Shan didn't know how they found it, but after seeing it on the spot, he expressed his satisfaction.

He smiled and said, "That's right. This place is close to the city, but far enough from the village that even if the compost is fermenting, the stench won't spread outside."

It is close to the county town, which makes it convenient for Sun Shan to come out and check, and it is far away from the village to reduce interference from outsiders.

It is best to conduct experiments between such low hills.

There are also dead branches and rotten leaves here, so there is no shortage of raw materials.

The only regret is that there is no house, so it needs to be built and someone needs to be arranged to look after it.

Sun Dingnan smiled and said, "It's easy to put up a few temporary houses. There's plenty of wood in the mountains and forests. We can just cut some down and bring it back. We know how to build houses, so there's no need to hire anyone."

The main reason is that the guards are too idle and stay in the yamen all day long. If they don't work, they will become lazy.

We have to find something for them to do, otherwise the wages are too easy to earn.

Sun Shan nodded and said, "I'll teach you this. Keep a good record."

After a pause, he added: "Let the villagers eat better."

There's no extra pay for wages, but you can't skimp on food. Without enough food, how can you have the energy to work?

Sun Dingnan nodded quickly and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll make sure everyone has a good meal."

At present, Sun Shan's family and business are small, so Sun Dingnan has nothing to do except helping with the accounting.

It's rare to have something to do, and I want to do a good job.

After inspecting the area, Sun Shan returned to the city.

Walking into the backyard of the yamen, I saw Sun Dali leading Sun Caogen, Sun Heitan and a group of people hoeing the fields.

Sun Shan asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"

The previous magistrate planted many trees and flowers in the backyard, but also left a lot of empty space.

At the turn of spring and summer, the open space was overgrown with weeds, and Sun Shan guessed that Sun Dali was weeding.

Sun Dali said cheerfully, "We see that this place is empty, perfect for growing some fruits and vegetables. Hey, if we grow our own vegetables, we don't have to buy them outside. It's so expensive to buy them every day."

Every day, Nanny Wang would take Big Head Dog to the market to buy vegetables, and the copper coins in Sun Shan's pocket would naturally slip away bit by bit.

Especially for a dozen or twenty men, all of them are big eaters and spend a lot of money on a meal.

Sun Dali felt distressed when he saw this.

So I thought about growing vegetables in the backyard.

If Sun Shan disagrees for the sake of face, he can just treat it as weeding and go outside to buy some flowers to plant.

Scholars like flowers and trees, and they never object to planting them.

When Sun Shan heard this, he patted his head and thought that he had been too busy these days and had forgotten such an important thing.

He glanced at Sun Dali approvingly and said, "Uncle Dali, this is a good idea. The land is empty anyway, so why not grow some vegetables and fruits? We country folk always feel uncomfortable going out to buy vegetables. Haha, growing some to eat wouldn't be a bad idea."

Sun Shan had no way of taking care of these small matters, so he could only let the so-called "management" such as Wang Guanjia, Sun Dingnan, and Sun Dali take care of them.

Sun Shan focused all his attention on his career.

Speaking of the inner courtyard, Yun Jie'er should actually be in charge. Unfortunately, the little fat girl is too young, the journey is too long, and there are bandits around, so she really doesn't feel comfortable letting them come.

I wrote a letter a few days ago to let everyone know that I was safe, and to comfort Sister Yun to wait patiently at home and come back after I had settled down.

Sun Shan thought that his backyard would be vacant for a long time, and hoped that Butler Wang would get better soon and help him manage the inner courtyard.

Seeing that Sun Shan was very supportive of this suggestion, Sun Dali said with a laugh, "Master, why don't we buy some chickens, ducks, and geese to raise here? It's cheaper to raise them ourselves than to buy them from outside."

In fact, Sun Dali suggested buying piglets to raise.

If you start raising pigs now, you can have a pig-killing dinner during the Chinese New Year.

Hehe, I don’t have to buy pork during the Chinese New Year, which can save a lot of money.

As for pig food, hehe, there are so many idle people at home, just send them up the mountain to cut grass for the pigs.

After all, Sun Dali had gone out with Sun Shan and seen it all. If people knew that the county magistrate raised pigs in the yamen, they would definitely laugh to death.

The master is very concerned about his reputation and will never lose face.

Sun Shan was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled, shook his head and said, "No!"

It's okay to grow vegetables and fruit trees in the backyard, but raising poultry is absolutely not allowed. It will make the whole yard stink, especially in the hot summer. No matter how careful you are about hygiene, you will still smell the poultry manure.

Sun Shan didn't want his backyard to be immersed in stench all day long.

Besides, raising poultry in the government office was not a good idea, so Sun Shan still followed the times.

Sun Dali was disappointed, but he also understood his master's concerns.

After thinking for a while, he came up with another idea: "Master, why don't we grow flowers? Hey, growing orchids, they sell for a high price, and we can make a lot of money."

While Sun Shan was stranded in Nanjing, they raised orchids, which they sold at high prices and made a lot of money.

Sun Dali has already mastered the skills of growing orchids. Even if he doesn't understand, with Sun Shan around, he will definitely be able to grow the most beautiful orchids in Yuanlu County.

This is indeed a good idea, but Sun Shan has some concerns in his mind.

He then said, "I don't know if there are any gardeners in Yuanlu who grow orchids. If they do, then we're following suit. This would be officials competing with the people for profit, which is inappropriate."

Sun Shan was still very confident in his orchid-growing skills, and was afraid that if he started to grow orchids, the gardeners in Yuanlu would have no food to eat.

He didn't want the gardeners to lose their jobs and cause such a human tragedy.

Sun Dali scratched his head, sighed, and said, "Master, you are very thoughtful. We are in a different position now, so it is inevitable that we will have concerns when doing things."

Oh, this doesn’t work, that doesn’t work, and I don’t know what I can do.

Sun Dali said again: "Master, I will go and ask tomorrow to see if there is anyone in Yuanlu who grows orchids. If there is, we will not grow them."

Sun Shan said cheerfully, "Uncle Dali, then take a look. We have businesses in Huangyang County that Yuanlu doesn't have. Haha, we only do businesses that Yuanlu doesn't have."

Sun Dali touched his head again and smiled innocently: "Master, I understand. Let me think about it."

Sun Shan saw that the men had hoeed the ground in the backyard neatly and could plant the vegetables as soon as they found suitable seeds.

I thought about the bird droppings I was going to experiment with, and if they turned out to be a finished product, I would use it on the dishes first.

He looked at the resting guards from Sunjia Village and couldn't help but feel a headache.

Yuanlu County was so small, it already had a very mature bureaucracy. Every position was filled with people, so Sun Shan couldn't insert the Sunjia Village guards in.

Even if you work as a yamen runner, there is no position for you.

Unless Yuanlu County expands or trade suddenly booms and more manpower is needed, the Sun family guards can be sent in.

At present, there is no loophole for "taking advantage of every opportunity" in the entire Yuanlu County.

Sun Heitan and his group could only be left idle in the backyard and could only be kept in Sun Shan's pocket.

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "The most taboo thing in life is to act too hastily. We have only been here for a few months, so we must be patient and take it one step at a time."

The Sun family guards just eat free meals, and they have money in their pockets, so they can afford to support them for now.