Chapter 17: Buy land and grow sweet potatoes
. Five taels per small silver ingot, five in a row, two rows on a layer, two layers, a total of one hundred taels of silver (sixteen taels per catty, six catties weighing more).
"This is the profit of the past six months. According to the lady's wishes, the whole numbers are broken into whole silver ingots, and the fractions are kept in the account first." Wei Ruo likes heavy silver, but doesn't like the light silver
note, so Every time the wet nurse gave Wei Ruo the proceeds from the shop, she would bring heavy silver ingots.
In addition to the money, the wet nurse also brought the store's account books for the past six months.
There are also baskets of dried mushrooms that have been dried in the sun.
"Little Yong was afraid that the lady would not be used to eating here, so before coming here I specially prepared some fungi that the lady liked and dried them. Some of them were deep-fried according to the method taught by the lady before and sealed in jars."
" Nurse, thank you for your hard work, as well as Uncle Xu and Brother Xiaoyong, for asking you to run such a long way with me." "
It's not hard if it's not hard!" Xu's mother said repeatedly, "There's nothing hard for me to do. There was a carriage, so I didn’t have to use my legs to travel. I didn’t even take anything important, Da Zhuang and Zheng Yong were busy working.”
Xu’s mother’s face was filled with a happy smile.
Xu's mother continued: "It is the happiest thing to be able to help you, Miss. If I hadn't helped Miss, Da Zhuang and Zheng Yong and I don't know how we would have lived our lives! I never dared to dream that I could For such a day!"
"Have the arrangements for the people over there in Huaibei Town been made?"
"Don't worry, miss, I have entrusted the village over there to Lao Qian. He has been with the village for many years, so you can rest assured when doing things. There are also people over there to watch."
"Have you brought all the things I asked you to transport?" Wei Ruo asked.
"It's all shipped, three full loads of sweet potatoes!"
"Okay, then let me tell you about the next arrangements. I have taken a fancy to Xiaoyang Mountain in the north of the city. You and Uncle Xu go and talk about it. If the price is right, buy it and plant sweet potatoes. Is there any in the city? There are fishermen who have lost their livelihoods because of Japanese pirates, and farmers who are forced to beg because of poor harvests. You and Uncle Xu go to investigate and find out who have good character and are willing to work hard, hire them as long-term workers." "Okay
. , I will take my family to the north of the city for a good inspection." "
Then settle down for yourselves and find a better house in the city. When you are settled, come to the captain's mansion again and tell me the address. I can contact you later."
"Okay, I understand, I'll do it when I get back." Xu's mother responded repeatedly.
Mother Xu stayed in Tingsongyuan for more than an hour before leaving.
While walking, she passed Wei Qingwan's Wangmei Garden and saw the vulgar woman leaving in a hurry. Grandma Li happily said to Wei Qingwan:
"Miss, the woman who just passed by is the eldest lady's nanny. I heard Yesterday, the wet nurse's son was still making trouble at the gate of our school captain's residence. Fortunately, the eldest son stopped it, otherwise there might have been some kind of joke." "That's it... As long as nothing happens...
" Wei Qingwan murmured.
###
After negotiating with Li Zheng of Yueying Village and the village elders, Xu’s mother discussed the price of one thousand taels of silver.
The wet nurse then reported the result to Wei Ruo and asked Wei Ruo to make a decision.
One thousand taels of silver is not a small amount of money for Wei Ruo.
In the early years, she had wanted to start a career, but she was too young and had no choice but to rely on her cleverness to make some extra money to improve her life in the countryside.
I didn't officially start building a shop until I was ten years old, but it was very difficult to get started. In a society like that, where there are no connections and no support, it is very laborious to gain a foothold little by little. So far, a total of more than two thousand taels of silver have been saved. One thousand taels of silver is equivalent to taking away half of Wei Ruo's net worth. If it fails, Wei Ruo's financial situation will go back another two years.
Wei Ruo felt that there was no problem and could take it directly, so the wet nurse and Uncle Xu came forward to buy Xiaoyang Mountain for one thousand taels of silver. The money would be given to Li Zheng of Yueying Village, and the money would be distributed according to the share of each family. Make allocations.
Xu Zhengyong also walked around the city for a few days, selected a few unemployed fishermen who fit Wei Ruo's description, and hired them as long-term workers.
It was the first time for the hired workers to see sweet potatoes as a crop.
After the Xu family's explanation, they found out that this crop had been widely planted in Huaibei Town and had a good harvest.
Regarding the origin of this crop, the father and son both claimed that ships from Southeast Asia accidentally brought back a section of potato vines, and after planting and cultivating them, people discovered its uses.
Immediately afterwards, sweet potatoes were planted on a large scale in Huaibei Town. The Xu family father and son, who had rich related planting experience, personally went into battle and led the long-term workers in the planting.
You need to bury the sweet potato in the soil first, wait for it to grow vines, and then cut the vines for cutting.
The three carts of sweet potatoes they transported from Huaibei Town can produce enough potato vines for cutting.
The long-term workers quickly mastered the essentials of planting and began to get busy.
The maintenance cost of growing sweet potatoes on a hillside is much lower than that of cultivating rice on terraces.
The long-term workers couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. They had thought that their employer would only hire a few of them to take care of an entire mountain of rice. Just thinking about it made them tired.
At the same time, Xu's mother also found a house to settle in. It was not too far from the principal's residence, so it was convenient to come and go.
After making these arrangements, Xu's mother went to the school captain's house again and handed over to Wei Ruo the contract she signed with the long-term workers and the deed of the house she bought.
No matter what Wei Ruo said, the nanny still meant the same thing. These properties belonged to Wei Ruo. They helped Wei Ruo do things and just got some wages, not a penny more.
Wei Ruo still has a task for Xu’s mother.
"Nanny, please help me inquire about the wasteland south of the city. I heard that the Japanese pirates mainly live in the east of the city now, and the south of the city is relatively safe."
"The wasteland south of the city? Is that a very barren land? You can't grow crops on the land near the sea. Whatever you plant, you will die." "Well, that should be the case. If the land hadn't been barren, it wouldn't have become a wasteland.
" As expected by Wei Ruo.
"Miss, what are you doing with that wasteland?" Xu's mother asked confused.
"You go and ask for me first. I may have a way to turn waste into treasure. If I can grow plants on the saline-alkali land, I can save myself a lower cost of buying ordinary plants and hire more long-term workers to grow them. The plants can also solve the problem of insufficient food in Xingshan County and the need to purchase large quantities of food from other places, so that more people can eat." "Okay, I will ask
after I go back." Although Xu's mother also felt that growing crops on saline-alkali land This was a bit ridiculous, but she believed in Wei Ruo unconditionally.
Over the years, Miss has broken their perceptions time and time again, making many things that they thought were impossible have become possible.
(End of chapter)