Time flies. The autumn harvest seems to have just begun, but it is over in the blink of an eye. There is no joy of autumn harvest. After paying taxes, people feel heavy in their hearts as the harvest has been poor for two consecutive years.
The only thing that makes people happy is that last year's production was severely reduced, and this year they were afraid of continuing to go hungry, so half of the fields were planted with high-yield sweet potatoes.
Zhulan would visit the orphanage's farm from time to time during the autumn harvest. The orphanage's fields were not subject to tax, and the harvest was stored in the warehouse, with the most abundant crops being sweet potatoes and potatoes.
There are too many sweet potatoes, and no matter how careful you are when digging them, some are bound to be rotten. Recently, Zhulan found a woman who knows how to make sweet potato flour and taught the children how to make it, so as to get rid of the rotten sweet potatoes as much as possible.
The weather was getting colder, so Zhulan brought the eldest son and his wife to the farm to see the pigs. eldest son Zhou didn't want his mother to go see the pigs because it was too dirty, but his mother wanted to go and see the pigs raised by the children in person, so eldest son Zhou had no choice but to listen to his mother.
When they arrived at the village, Zhou Lao Da supported his mother and said, "Mom, please be careful."
Zhulan, "I heard that the children clean the pigsty every day. Hmm, there is no smell."
Boss Zhou often comes here, and he has the most say. "We clean every day, and we are most diligent in the summer. We disinfect every few days, and all the feces are cleaned out."
"So it's not as dirty as you say."
Boss Zhou choked and said, "Mom, even if we clean it, the pigpen is still dirty."
Zhulan, "We are also from the village."
Boss Zhou muttered, "That's different."
They soon arrived at the pigpen. Zhulan frowned. Alas, the pig that she had raised with great care didn't grow very big. It probably weighed more than 130 kilograms, less than 150 kilograms.
Seeing his mother frowning, Zhou Laoda said, "Mom, it's already well-raised. The pigs on our farm are about this size."
Zhulan nodded, "When the weather gets cold, kill half of them and burn them over charcoal, and keep the rest to kill and eat slowly. The children have worked hard for a year, so they should eat some meat to nourish their bodies in the winter."
Boss Zhou wrote it down and said, "Mom, let's go out."
"good."
Li interjected, "Now that the temperature has dropped, are the chickens still laying eggs diligently?"
The manager replied, "She's pretty diligent. She can pick up about a hundred eggs every day. She keeps ten for later use, and makes egg drop soup with the rest for the children."
Zhulan nodded. A hundred eggs were good. Some of the chickens raised by the children died halfway through the harvest, and a batch were killed during the autumn harvest. Now there are about two hundred chickens left. After the autumn harvest, there are fewer insects, so they are not as diligent in laying eggs.
Zhulan took the eldest brother and his wife to see the children in class, and also went to check the cellar, which was full of food, which would be the children's future food.
On the way back to the city, Li asked, "Mom, does the orphanage need to collect food donations this year?"
Zhu Lan shook her head. "If the number of children does not increase, there will be enough food. These children are very good at storing food. In spring and summer, they dry vegetables and mountain products. There is a lot of air-dried fish. Add the food harvested in autumn, and it can not only satisfy eight full stomachs, but also be nutritious."
Li, "Being eight-tenths full is already quite remarkable."
Boss Zhou went on to say, "These children have changed a lot in the past year or so. After the chickens were able to lay eggs, they have been fed with eggs. The boys have grown taller, and the girls have become stronger."
Zhulan smiled, "They are all good kids, and they study very hard."
I was thinking to myself that I would go back to the warehouse and refashion some of the donated old quilts, and try to give the children some quilts as the weather is a bit cold this year.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren was very surprised that Ning Xu came to see him, "Why is the Marquis here?"
"May I disturb Lord Zhou from doing his work?"
"No, it's just an accident that you came."
Ning Xu's whole mind was on Xiaer, and what he cared about most every day was Xiaer's physical condition. He was a little flattered that she actually paid some attention to him
Ning Xu cleared his throat and said, "I came to see you for a personal matter."
"Speaking."
Ning Xu didn't know how to start, so he organized his words for a while, "Hey, my nephew who is in poor health has been begging me for many days in a row. I couldn't bear to see him like that, so I came here shamelessly."
Zhou Shuren knew what was going on, and said calmly, "Since you know how shameless you are, how about drinking tea instead of talking?"
Ning Xu blocked it and said dryly, "No, since I'm here, I have to say a few words even if it's shameless."
Zhou Shuren didn't even raise his eyelids, he just lowered his head to make tea. The weather was cold, and drinking hot tea was best to warm the body.
Ning Xu sighed in his heart. He didn't want to care, but there was no way. He was the only elder in the Ning family who could take care of things. "My niece-in-law is too thoughtful. She has ruined her own luck. The imperial physician said she won't live for many days. Ning Ming is such a pitiful child."
Zhou Shuren raised his hand, "If Ning Ming is pitiful, then there is no one in the world who is not pitiful."
Ning Xu twitched his lips, "Okay, okay, let's not talk about how pitiful he is, let's talk about the heart of a mother. No matter how bad Yu is, her heart for her child is true. When a person is about to die, his words are kind. What he cares about most is Ning Ming's marriage. Let's be honest, if Yu was not going to die, Yu would not dare to think about the granddaughter of the Marquis. Now that she is going to die, she can't control her daughter-in-law. After she gets married, she will be the housekeeper and have the most power."
Ning Xu knew what to say to impress Zhou Hou.
Zhou Shuren was silent. It was a pity that his Yuwen was too lazy to death and didn't want to be a housekeeper. She was obviously a very smart girl, but she was unwilling to put in any effort. Even at this age, she was still lazy.
Ning Xu continued, "Ning Ming is a good child. He is a loyal and responsible child. He will be able to support the family in the future. He has been in charge of the family since he was young. He is a really good child."
If the child wasn't good, Ning Zhixiang would not be willing to interfere no matter what. To put it bluntly, among his two nephews, the eldest nephew Ning Zhiqi is the most important.
Zhou Shuren pushed the brewed tea and said, "Drink tea."
Ning Xu frowned, then relaxed, "Good tea."
"The prince brought it."
"Prince?"
"Um."
The prince wanted to hear him explain his doubts, so he had to give him good things. Recently, he had received a lot of good things from the prince and made a small fortune, which he gave all to his youngest son.
Ning Xu's eyes changed, and he drank the tea in silence. When he finished the tea, it was almost time to leave. "Can Lord Zhou give me a clear answer?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "I will give you a definite answer if you come once. It doesn't make sense. How the two children will perform depends on their fate."
He would not let his granddaughter suffer because of outsiders. If the Ning family wants to get engaged, then they can do so. This doesn't make sense.
When Ning Xu came, he knew that the possibility of success was slim, "Then I will go back first."
"Slow down."
After leaving the government office and returning home, Zhou Shuren told Zhulan what Ning Xu meant. "Yu is really persistent."
"She has calculated everything about herself."
"Yes, by the way, I heard that the queen is ill, is it true?"
Zhou Shuren frowned, "I have stayed in the palace for a while after court these days, and I haven't heard any news. The emperor seems to be in good spirits, so it must be a rumor."
"No wind, no wave."