Tongzhuang Shili Rice Flower Fragrance

Sleeping well at night, Ye Qiuniang woke up early in the morning, and habitually turned sideways to look at the person next to the pillow when she woke up. The quilt was very thick, and the body temperature of two people made the quilt warm, and the little girl next to her slept very little. Her face was flushed, and Ye Qiuniang couldn't resist her sleeping appearance at all. She lowered her head and touched her cheek with her lips, and then stood up cautiously.

Unexpectedly, an arm was suddenly wrapped around her waist, hugging her waist tightly.

Ye Qiuniang lowered her head helplessly, and reached out to stroke her soft hair.

"When did you wake up?"

"When you kissed me." Mingrou raised her head and arched into the other's arms, and sure enough Ye Qiuniang reached out to wrap her head in the next moment.

"Then I won't kiss you next time I get up."

"No, I want to kiss." Ming Rou refused.

"Okay then," Ye Qiuniang smiled lightly, "Now that you're awake, let's get up together."

"I'll wait a little longer." Ming Rou half-lyed and half leaned in her arms, her eyes still closed.

"Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Ye Qiuniang coaxed her.

"Don't sleep anymore, you are not allowed to talk, I will get up after a while."

Seeing her domineering look, Ye Qiuniang had no choice but to shut her mouth tightly, hugging the quilt and letting her lean on her without moving.

After about half a stick of incense, Mingrou's head moved, arched in Ye Qiuniang's arms, felt the soft place, turned her face and rubbed it lightly twice.

Ye Qiuniang's hand that was resting on her back in vain could not help tightening, but the next moment he lifted her collar vigorously and said, "Wake up and get up, and sleep for another day and then pass."

Mingrou straightened up with a thud, there was still a hint of meaning on her face.

Ye Qiuniang took advantage of her dazed moment to get up quickly.

After the two of them finished their breakfast, Ye Qiuniang said, "I'm going to have a look at the embankment today, do you stay at home to rest by yourself or go with me?"

Of course Ming Rou chose to go out with her, but she still couldn't help asking: "What are you doing by the river?"

"I have a decision, but I still have to go over there to see the situation, but I still have to get your approval to do it or not." Ye Qiuniang was rare and solemn.

Seeing her like this, Ming Rou blinked her eyes: "I support whatever you do, why do you need my consent."

Ye Qiuniang smiled: "Let's go and have a look first."

Atao drove them to the bank of Wanyang River, and after asking the two masters to get off, Ye Qiuniang gave some instructions, and he drove away in the carriage.

Although it was still early at this time, there were already many people by the river. Now that the flood has receded, the two sides of the river are in a mess. Many people lay down on the edge of the field and cried miserably.

The area where the Wanyang River flows through Pingle has been hit by floods all year round. Whether it is rice planting or building houses, there is almost no good end. Therefore, no one dared to buy these lands in the early years, and they were all deserted. Flood control dams were built a few years ago, and the Yamen rented out these lands.

But I didn't expect that just two years later, these lands were washed away again, and this year there was no harvest. How can we not let the tenants cry and grab the land.

Looking at the disaster area of ​​nearly a thousand mu of land on both sides of the strait, the two of them sighed incessantly.

Mingrou and Ye Qiuniang did not expect to meet Fushuiyao sister and brother here. The two walked through the mud in front of them step by step, and their shoes and trousers were covered with mud.

Standing in front of the girl he likes in a mess, Fu Shuiliu hid behind the eldest sister uncomfortably, and greeted them vaguely.

Fu Shuiyao didn't bother to pay attention to him, and said to the two: "Why did you come here so early in the morning?"

"Come and see, aren't you too, why are you in such a mess?"

Fu Shuiyao smiled wryly and said: "Thanks to Liu's family, a lot of people are now locked in prisons, and there are fewer people working. My father drove me to the riverside early in the morning to count the disaster situation. Some subsidies for tenants."

Ye Qiuniang squinted her eyes and smiled: "Master Fu is very busy now, but he still cares about the common people. Come on and count, we two have to look over there."

Fu Shuiyao thought that they would come down to help when they saw her sister and brother working so hard, but she didn't want this person to turn around and leave, so she couldn't help cursing: "Hey, is there anyone like you who just stands by and watches, come here, Help us remember for a while, won't everyone go home early?"

Mingrou on the side smiled: "Sister Fu, Jiujiu and I will definitely go home early, don't worry."

Seeing this little girl, Fu Shuiyao actually dared to make fun of her, couldn't help stretching out her muddy hands to pinch her face, Ming Rou yelled in fright, jumped and ran away, Fu Shui Yao's cute appearance made Fu Shui Yao laugh. Behind Shuiyao, Fu Shuiliu's eyes lingered endlessly.

Seeing Mingrou and Ye Qiuniang walk away, Fu Shuiyao turned around and glanced at Fu Shuiliu who was still reluctant to leave, shook her head and said: "For the sake of the family, I advise you to give up your heart."

Fu Shui Liu lost his former restraint, and said a little unconvinced: "Why do you have to give up, unmarried men and women are unmarried, why can't I?"

"Look at you, a playboy who likes the new and dislikes the old, why go to the little girl of the Huo Huo family, isn't it fun to play with flowers?"

Fu Shui Liu said firmly: "I don't want anything else, I just want her, I would rather not take a concubine, and just guard her alone."

Fu Shuiyao choked for a moment, and looked at the half-brother in front of her in disbelief, as if she didn't know him, and said sympathetically: "She doesn't like you, don't waste your efforts."

"What's the meaning of this, we in Pingle County have more talented children than me?"

Seeing Fu Shuiyao turn around and walk forward, he hurriedly ran to keep up, splashing mud all over again, causing Fu Shuiyao to beat her violently.

"She won't like you anyway."

……

Mingrou and Ye Qiuniang walked slowly from the head of the river to the end of the river. Mingrou watched her squatting down from time to time, picking up some soil on the bank, smelling it and looking at it, and she couldn't understand it.

"Jiujiu, is this soil any different?"

"Have you noticed that the land on the bank is very fertile? The soil in the low-lying areas is even more fertile than the land in Tongzhuang. The rice that has not been washed away grows very large, which is comparable to the rice in Tongzhuang. comparable"

"Well, I see, is it because it is often irrigated near the river?"

"Irrigation is one aspect. There is also a lot of silt washed up on the bank in the low-lying area due to the erosion of the river. The silt is mixed with the soil on the bank and is a good fertilizer. It can be said that the Wanyang River flows down. Among counties and counties, the soil in our section of Pingle is the most fertile."

"Jiujiu, do you want to—"

Ye Qiuniang said: "Look again, after all, if the flood control measures are not done well, everything is useless."

While the two were talking, Atao, who had left originally, came back driving the carriage, and invited a thin middle-aged man down from the carriage.

Ming Rou fixed her eyes and said in doubt: "Hey, isn't that who, the one you and Brother Atao rescued last time?"

"Well, it's him."

The man who came was Wen Zheng. He was the craftsman who built the dam back then, and he was also one of the famous master craftsmen in Jinzhong area. At first, Yu Mingyuan, the magistrate of Mingzhou, came forward to invite him. If you don’t do it, you have to expose these things. Yu Mingyuan had to come forward to coerce and lure others. The others were bribed to keep silent. Wen Zheng was locked up if he refused to obey. I escaped only in [-], and when I came out, I encountered floods in the Jinzhong area. I saw the dams on the Wanyang River collapsed one after another. Into the rolling flood in Wanyang River, happened to be rescued by Ye Qiuniang.

After a period of recuperation today, Wen Zheng's health has improved a lot.

In the past few days in Tongzhuang, I went to the fields with the people from Zhuangzi to see them harvesting rice, picking up snails, etc., and my mood improved a lot. I heard a lot about the Ming family in Pingle County. , and some of the deeds of the two masters who are now in charge of the family. Hearing Ye Qiuniang's performance during the flood, Jin greatly admired them, and had admiration for these two young girls.

When he got up in the morning, he was picked up by A Tao, and said that he was looking at the dam by the river, and he was in a mood for a while, so he hurriedly followed him.

After all, he is a lifesaver, even though he has always been very self-confident, Wen Zheng is still a lot more humble when facing Ye Qiuniang.

Ye Qiuniang, on the other hand, didn't put on airs and asked for advice humbly.

When asked why there are constant floods here every year, other counties are not affected much.

Wen Zheng sighed and said, "A large section of the Wanyang River near the wharf has accumulated silt, which has not been cleared all year round. When we planned to build the embankment and wharf, we planned to clean up the silt thoroughly, but this project would cost a lot of money. Manpower and material resources, no money from above, no way to do it, just reject this link, just say that the dam is repaired, who knows that the silt is not clear, the dam is also made like a piece of tofu, not to mention heavy rain, three times more Five days of rain can cause floods."

Only then did Ye Qiuniang understand the reason for the annual floods in the Pingle area of ​​the Wanyang River, but she still couldn't help asking: "Since the cleaning of the river was put on the agenda for such a large project, it was not clear later. Do you know about this?"

Wen Zheng shook his head: "It stands to reason that cleaning up the river should be done first. In those few months, Mr. Fu broke his leg for some reason and couldn't get out of bed. After his leg was healed, he was seconded to the next county. It is expected that the county lieutenant overseers the full authority without knowing about it."

After the few people finished speaking, they discovered that Yu Mingyuan, Liu Chengye and others had deep thoughts, and the traps they designed were closely linked. The county magistrate was surrounded by powerful enemies, and there was no way to appeal afterwards. situation.

Wen Zhengdao: "Patriarch Ye called the old man over, must it not be a whim?"

Ye Qiuniang pondered and said, "If the project restarts and you are responsible for the design and construction, how much money will it cost?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Wen Zhengmingrou and the others all stared wide-eyed.

Ye Qiuniang smiled and said, "It depends on what I do, I'll just ask casually."

Mingrou pursed her lips and smiled: "Jiujiu is not just asking casually, he must have a plan in mind before he speaks."

Ye Qiuniang tapped her forehead lightly and said that she is a little devil, and then said to Wen Zheng: "If the mud is cleared, can we ensure that the flood will not continue."

At this time, Wen Zheng was aware of the plan of the woman in front of him. He was shocked and admired, and then he said seriously: "Building on the previous foundation, it will cost at least 7 taels of silver, and the step of cleaning up the mud must not be skipped." However, at that time, another mouth will be dug to connect the Fanjiang River next door to make a treasure bottle mouth similar to Tongzhuang. Once the flood hits, the excess water will be diverted from this treasure bottle mouth, and it will reach the peak of the flood. It can also be used for irrigation on weekdays, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

When it comes to the field he is familiar with, Wen Zheng couldn't help being a little excited, and he couldn't stop dancing.

Ye Qiuniang listened carefully to him and gave him responses from time to time, which made Wen Zheng highly respected. At the end, she couldn't help but said: "Patriarch Ye is merciful for the sake of the people in Wanyang River who have suffered for so many years. Let's take this job off. I don’t believe in people, I only believe in your Ming family.”

Ye Qiuniang didn't know what she thought of when she said Ming's family, the corner of her mouth couldn't help a smile, Mingrou saw her eyebrows curved, and felt that Ming's family was very pleasing to the ears.

Ye Qiuniang said: "I have this plan, but I am not a Bodhisattva after all, this matter must be done in cooperation with the imperial government. I am a businessman now, and I am in business, so I cannot do business at a loss, and of course I will not harm the imperial court. interests and the well-being of the people, and want to achieve a result that is beneficial to both parties, today I just want to understand the inside story from the craftsman level, so that I can make a decision."

Wen Zheng was very happy when he saw that this matter was interesting, and said: "You just take it, I know the craftsmen, and I will definitely solve your worries."

Ye Qiuniang nodded and said, "It's so good. I'm relieved about craftsmen and technology. Now that the flood is just over, there's famine everywhere. By the way, I can help you solve the problem of refugees."

After hearing her words, Wen Zheng was overwhelmed with admiration, said several times, and then ignored them, and went to the shore to look around, as if he was already drawing a blueprint in his heart.

Ming Rou hugged Ye Qiuniang's arm and said, "What is Jiujiu going to do? It costs 7 taels of silver. Do you think the imperial court is still willing to allocate money to build the dam? After all, the money has already been paid once, and you said it was in the Shang Dynasty. Yan Shang, if we really take down the project, how much can we get paid?"

Ye Qiuniang smiled: "It's impossible for the imperial court to fully pay this money, and I don't plan to rely on the imperial court's appropriation to extract the remuneration."

After speaking, he squatted down, pinched the soil on the ground and said, "Rou'er, what is our family's background?"

Ming Rou stood aside, puffed out her chest and said proudly: "Our Ming family is naturally a grain merchant, and is a well-known big farmer."

"Yes, look at the land on both sides of the bank. When the time comes to clean up the river, the fertile silt will be brought to the bank to neutralize the soil. The two banks will pass, adding up to a thousand acres, and the waterlogged land will become fertile land. Has Rou'er ever thought about the Wanyang River? Spectacular scene of rice blossoms blown by the wind on both sides of the Strait!"

When Mingrou heard what Ye Qiuniang said, her eyes sparkled immediately, and she hugged Ye Qiuniang's waist and said, "Jiujiu, you are really amazing."

After finishing speaking, he said worriedly: "Will Master Fu agree to give us these lands?"

"Don't worry, he can't wait. The floods were raging in the early years, and no one would rent out these lands, let alone build houses. Even if the dams are built, given the experience of the past two years, the people are still very interested in renting the land on both sides of the river." Cautious, even unwilling to plant, Mr. Fu wished to use these fields as a condition to exchange with us, but—"

"But what?" Ming Rou hurriedly asked, unable to bear the worry.

"This is what I just said to discuss with you. If we are willing to gnaw down this hard bone, we must put some silver in the early stage. After all, 7 taels, the court will not be able to give that much. The princess also said that day Well, let Mr. Fu take care of the aftermath, and let him figure out a way to deal with this matter first, but this is a formal opportunity for us, so if we really want to do it, we have to use Tongzhuang's money to pay for it. I want to ask the Ming family Will the little master allow it?"

After hearing what she said, Mingrou smiled: "Tongzhuang is under your name now, why ask me, it's up to you to make the decision."

"That won't work. This is the property of the Ming family. I'm just a caregiver."

Mingrou stared at her, with a half-smile in her eyes: "Just now Mr. Wen said to you that he only trusted the Ming family, and you didn't refute it. Do you still remember that day when we were kicked out, Du Xian asked you Staying as a concubine, you said that it must be the mistress of the Ming family, and I think you have answered what you said at the beginning, now that you don’t take the responsibility of being the mistress of the Ming family, you want to put me somewhere."

When Ye Qiuniang saw that this was brought out by her, her ears turned red and blood dripped, and she coughed lightly, "Madam is doing well now, I don't dare to take on the title of housewife."

Ming Rou blinked at her: "She is the old lady, and you are the young lady. There is no conflict. In the future, this family will still be ours."