The barren hills in Houjiawan in those days have been planned in an orderly manner, and most of them are included in the forest area of the Su family. There are also those who are active and have some spare money to plant some flowers and trees following the way of the Su family. Therefore, the barren hills of Houjiawan are already full of purple and red, and from a distance, they look as beautiful as the red clouds on the other side.
"The lotus flowers in the lotus pond are also growing very well this year. Now some of the buds have emerged early, and they are designated to bloom before the Dragon Boat Festival." Houjiawan's steward followed the eldest girl to the lotus pond at the foot of the mountain. On the other hand, he introduced with great care: "Not long after the ice melted, a new batch of fry was thrown in, and now they are all growing very well. The day before yesterday, I asked someone to fish up two fish that were only two months into the water. It's two fingers wide now."
The lotus pond of the Su family was excavated in the spring of last year. It is located at the foot of the Su family's mountain forest, a piece of tidal flat wasteland of more than ten acres. After the Su family bought it, it was excavated into four ponds of one acre square and one connected together. Ten acres of small lakes are used for fish and shrimp farming and lotus root cultivation.
After years of groping last year, all of them have been opened since the beginning of this spring. In order to manage this lotus pond well, when Youjin returned to Beijing last time, he specially asked shopkeeper Wu to find a few people who could grow lotus root and raise fish. Now there are four families and thirteen people in charge of the lotus pond.
In the spring, the warm wind blows through the ponds that are shimmering under the sun, and the ponds are arranged in two rows along the river in Houjiawan in an orderly manner. The largest pond is used for planting lotus roots, as well as some grass carp and crucian carp. , carp, and two other ponds for prawns.
The remaining two are located at the inlet of the pond, with the best water quality, and are used to raise the most expensive mandarin fish. It was the time to fish for mandarin fish in the spring. Young Jin and the others saw a group of people busy in the mandarin fish pond from far away on the hillside.
"Big girl!" When the young gold arrived, the lotus pond was fishing for mandarin fish. A group of six or seven men were soaking in the half-person-high water and pulling large fishing nets. The women on the shore were busy loading the fish they picked up into In the big wooden barrel, everyone is so busy that they can't touch the ground, but they are well organized and efficient.
One of the men surnamed Zhao who was in charge of the lotus pond saw the eldest girl coming, so he greeted her cheerfully, and the rest of the people put down their work to say hello to the eldest girl.
"Everyone has worked hard. Manager Hou remembered to ask Aunt He to kill a few more chickens in the past two days, so as to add more food to the big guy. After the busy days are over, after the work is free, each person will arrange for two days off." Young Jin has always been a generous owner. After all, it is all heavy work. If you want the horse to run fast, you have to feed the horse.
On the Houjiawan side, two rows of blue-brick houses have been built at the foot of the mountain and by the lotus pond, for the servants who sold themselves to the Su family and the long-term workers.
Aunt He was originally a widow with three children in Houjiawan Village. Since the Su family took root here, she has been cooking three meals a day for the people who work in Houjiawan, not only for herself. I have three meals a day, and I can still get three coins a month, which is easier than farming and earns more.
The food of the workers in the Su family is actually much better than that of the average village family. They can taste the meat and fish every other day. However, when everyone heard that the owner was sympathetic to his subordinates, and he gave them a holiday and added vegetables, their mouths almost went to the back of their heads. Then: "Thank you, big girl!"
When I was strong in my heart, my hands became more active. After talking with the eldest girl, the movements in everyone's hands became faster, but after a while, a large bucket of mandarin fish was filled, and the mule cart on the bank was on the bank. The bucket was full, and when the bucket was full, the driver of the car drove the mules into the city with a whip.
Since the lotus root pond of Su's family in the last year has been beneficial, many restaurants and restaurants in Luohe Prefecture have chosen to buy some fish from the Su's family. The Su family is guaranteed both in quality and quantity.
Young Jin simply bought a small shop next to the Liu family's grocery store in the original Sujiaxiang, and handed it over to the Liu family to help take care of it.
Now the Liu family's small noodle stall has been put away for a long time. Liu Laohan and his wife, Liu Laohan's nephew and Liu Qin's younger brother, are responsible for the two shops. Every day they only buy fish, Customers who buy chickens, ducks, vegetables and fruits don't know how many, let alone big deals.
You Jin also has the heart to help You He, so that the shop's income is divided into 19%, and the income of the previous month is divided into the Liu family at the beginning of each month. But even if 10% of the month is missing, it can be divided into twenty or thirty taels, and in the months of important festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, it can still be divided into forty or fifty taels!
Therefore, the Liu family's life is getting better and better now. Liu Qin's family is busy every day, but she feels that she is very energetic. For the daughter-in-law, You He, who has given birth to the third-generation eldest grandson of the Liu family, she is even more regarded as her biological daughter. , is better than her own daughter, after all, it is because she married her own family that she can get better every day!
The in-laws are kind, the husband and she are also very affectionate, the two sisters-in-law are also well-behaved and gentle, as for the one-year-old son, he is even more aggressive and likable! In addition, You He's own temperament is also generous and polite. The Liu family can be said to be concentric inside and outside. Why don't the days pass the better
The one who drove the mandarin fish into the city by the mule cart was Liu Qin's mother's younger brother. Since he was working with his sister's family, he could get 2 taels a month for less, and 4 taels for more wages!
I worked with my eldest sister last year and earned nearly 30 taels of silver in less than half a year. Qin Dazhu is also a generous person. In the spring of this year, he took out all the money he earned last year and rebuilt a large and beautiful blue brick building. Fang, in the Qin family village now, as long as he mentions Qin Dazhu, who is not envious!
Thinking of this, Qin Dayong is even more proud, and he is more dedicated to his work. While humming a little song that is out of tune, he carefully drives the mule cart. These two big buckets are mandarin fish that sells for a lot of money. If you touch it, if you can't sell the money, it will be a big loss.
After Qin Dayong drove the mule cart away, the driver of the Su family who was in charge of delivering goods in Houjiawan was still waiting. He was going to send fifty mandarin fish to Lin Juren's house in Luohe Prefecture today. Tomorrow will belong to the old man of the Lin family. On the 60th birthday, the Lin family was going to hold a big banquet. Three days ago, they found the Su family to order 50 mandarin fish weighing a pound and a half.
Liujiapu is only responsible for the distribution of long-term orders and daily retail. For such temporary bulk orders, they are all delivered by the driver in Houjiawan full-time, which relieves a lot of pressure on the purchase of large families.
Therefore, as long as the big families in Luohe Prefecture are using ingredients for banquets, most of them think of the Su family first, after all, it is convenient!
"This is the last mandarin fish pond this spring, and when I open the pond next time, it will be the shrimp pond next to it in the autumn." Manager Hou followed the eldest girl and told everything in detail. The Su family's business is getting bigger and bigger, and the eldest girl's schedule is getting busier and busier. Now, he only comes to Houjiawan once every ten days and a half month. Naturally, he has to perform well.
Youjin nodded clearly. After watching the fishing, he turned to see the growth of the lotus root. He talked to the old Uncle Zhang, who was in charge of tending the lotus pond, and then ate some of the dishes that Aunt He made for her. After a light lunch, I took a nap in the room reserved for the Su family in Houjiawan to hide from the hot sun at noon. In the afternoon, I went to the field to see the food situation, until the sunset and the west. Chui Cai headed home.
***
Besides, after the daughters of the Xiao family lived in the Su family, the Yu family and Zhao family always felt a little sorry for their family of four living in other people's homes for nothing, but they had been helpless before because they had no money and no ability. To repay the Su family.
Since the New Year, Xiao Linfeng came to Luohe Prefecture secretly. Before leaving, he stuffed all the 5,000 taels of silver bills he had with him to the Yu family. With the money, the concubines began to feel alive, helping Su. After the family banquet opened, Yu and Zhao concubine sat in a mysterious place every day when they were free, not knowing what they were discussing, and from time to time they took a mule cart to Luohe Prefecture by themselves.
At first, You Jin only thought that the two of them had nothing to do by themselves, thinking that it would be good for the two of them to have the mind to go for a walk, but never thought that the two of them would find her after being busy for more than a month.
"Auntie, speak slowly, you mean you want to open an academy?" Young Jin looked at Yu and Zhao who were sitting opposite him in disbelief: "Why did the two aunts suddenly have such an idea?"
It's no wonder she was shocked, but it's true that Yu and Zhao are both good at housekeeping, but aren't they all ladies who stay out of the gate? Why do you suddenly want to go out and open the door to do business? Or the amazing idea of opening a women's college
Seeing her frightened look, Mrs. Yu covered her lips with a chuckle, and said, "Women's colleges are not uncommon in the capital, and most of the unmarried daughters of wealthy families in the capital want to study at women's colleges, and they say they are studying. , In fact, it is also to broaden the social circle, and also to better choose a son-in-law in the future, like your sister Linru, who graduated at the top of their academy."
"Women's schooling is no better than men's, and not every family can afford a live-in female husband. If we set up a women's school, it will increase the reputation of the Su family in the circle of wealthy people in Luohe Prefecture, and secondly, it will also make money. Isn't Tao?" The idea was originally proposed by Zhao, so she explained it in a straightforward manner.
In fact, You Jin didn't object to this at the beginning, and after listening to the two elders talking to each other, he supported them even more in their careers: "Since the two aunts have made up their minds, they need to What do I do?"
In fact, she is also selfish. She knows that the Xiao family members are a little arrogant and arrogant. If they keep letting them eat and live at home for free, even if they don't say it on the face, they must have some grudges in their hearts. An elder finds something to do, so as to distract the spirit of the two.
Seeing that Youjin did not object, Yu and Zhao both smiled happily: "Good boy! Auntie knows that you will definitely support us!"
They really wanted to find You Jin. After Yu Shi smiled, she said with a little embarrassment on her face: "Aunt Zhao and I are now both officials and slaves. It's not appropriate to come and do it, we are thinking about whether you will come, Young Jin... "
Yu also knew that this idea was a bit inappropriate. After all, Young Jin was still young, so it might not be suitable to be the mountain chief, but it was better than them, right
Hearing what Yu said, the expression on You Jin's face changed slightly. Yes, the two aunts are now officials and slaves. If they were pulled out by people with intentions, they might have made a big article!
Thinking like this, but the expression on his face quickly returned to normal, and he smiled: "I am still young, and it would be too unconvincing to be the leader of the mountain, but I have a good candidate, she should not reject me. The aunts just let go and prepare for the other side, and the money needed is only from the public, and I will definitely arrange the selection of the mountain chief." That person is not short of money, but if this women's school is completed, her The reputation is even better, if you think about it, you will not refuse.
Seeing that You Jin was so confident, Yu and Zhao also believed her, and completely let go of their hands and feet to prepare the people, things and venues needed for women's school.