Chapter 447: Vegetables
Editor: Atlas Studios
If his other two sons were capable, given Qi Feng’s personality, he naturally wouldn’t bow down to them. However, Qi Shaosheng failed the Spring Quarter Examinations again this year. Although he still had another chance next year, judging from his increasingly impatient state, the chances of him getting in next year were very low.
As for his third son, Qi Shaotai, there was no need to think about it. Although he was much more diligent than his fourth son, he wasn’t any more talented in studying. Unfortunately, he was also weak and couldn’t go the martial arts route. Under such circumstances, Qi Feng naturally hoped the four brothers would get along harmoniously. At the very least, he could not let his eldest and fourth sons deal with his second and third sons.
Back then, he could endure humiliation and marry Zhu Wan to obtain the protection of the Zhu family when he was only 20 years old. At this moment, he could naturally continue to tolerate his two sons’ arrogance to protect his other two sons.
Qi Haoran didn’t know what his father was thinking. Otherwise, he would definitely cause a ruckus. Because of Qi Feng’s suppression and Qi Shaosheng’s failure in the exam, the east residence was very quiet for a period of time. No one came to harass the west residence.
It was unknown when it started, but because the two sides minded their own business, the servants assigned the two residences the name of the East and West Manor.
Because the Zhaode Hall and the Zhaohua Courtyard were on the west side of the main courtyard, the residences of the first and fourth branches were collectively called the West Manor, while the main courtyard and the place where Qi Shaosheng and Qi Shaotai lived were categorized as the East Manor.
The masters and madams also knew that the servants referred to the two sides as West Manor and East Manor, and they all tacitly acknowledged that.
Mu Yangling saw that after the salary was handed over, Qi Feng and Madam Wu almost stopped interfering with their lives. Even Little Madam Wu, who would say a few sour words from time to time, disappeared. Satisfied, Mu Yangling turned to Qi Haoran and said, “If I had known earlier, I would have told you to hand over your salary long ago.”
However, Qi Haoran knew that his father was shocked by Big Brother’s methods. He sneered in his heart, but on the surface, he praised Mu Yangling for being open-minded.
Mu Yangling said happily, “There’s a message from the farmstead. Our first batch of vegetables has ripened. After you’re done with your confinement, I’m going to bring Sister-in-law to the farmstead to stay for a few days.”
Stunned, Qi Haoran asked, “You’re not accompanying me anymore?”
“Of course I will.” Mu Yangling said, “Anyway, since you don’t have a job to do, come and play with us. We can go fishing in the river. Zhu Liang said that there are a lot of fish in the Clear River. Those fish they sent to the residence, they went down and caught them themselves. I think it’s quite delicious.”
“Aren’t we raising fish, too? Why are we still catching fish in the river?”
“How can that be the same? The ones we raised ourselves are only the size of two fingers now. Moreover, the ones we raised are not as delicious as the wild ones.”
Qi Haoran looked at Mu Yangling speechlessly. He didn’t think that there was any difference between domesticated animals and wild animals. Hearing this, he said, “I think you’re just greedy for small gains.”
Mu Yangling said smugly, “What’s wrong with being greedy for small gains? Small gains are gains, after all. Are you going to the farmstead with us or not? Since it’s not far from Daming Mountain, we might even be able to roam around the mountain. Didn’t you say that there are many temples on the mountain?”
Tempted, Qi Haoran nodded. “We’ll go after I’m done with the confinement.”
However, after three days of confinement, Qi Haoran was called into the palace. Then, he officially entered the Ministry of War to work. Mu Yangling could only abandon him and bring Li Jinghua to the farmstead alone.
In the farmstead, a brick bed had been built according to the customs of the north. Li Jinghua sat on the brick bed and looked at the beautiful rivers and mountains outside the window. Beaming, she said, “The scenery here is really lovely. When I get up and look out of the window, I’m greeted by the gorgeous view of Daming Mountain, surrounded by clouds. If I can live on the mountain and peer down at the scenery, I’m sure the view will be even more stunning.”
“You won’t feel that way when you go up and down the mountain.”
Li Jinghua was stunned. Then, she thought of the height and laughed. Shaking her head, she said, “You’re right. If we really have to climb and descend such a high mountain, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, we won’t be able to appreciate the beauty.”
Already five months pregnant, Li Jinghua was a little sleepy at noon. So, Mu Yangling let her rest while she brought Spring and Rain up the mountain to look at the vegetable fields.
At this moment, the fruit trees had all been planted, and they were still small trees that only reached the height of one’s calves and knees. Mu Yangling asked Zhu Liang to find a few fruit farmers to have them increase the plant spacing. This way, there would be a greater distance between the fruit trees, ensuring that they would be able to bask in more sunshine and absorb enough nutrition.
All three hills were planted with fruit trees. On the hilltop above the farmstead, the workers were asked to plant soybeans and peanuts between the trees. The adjacent hilltop, on the other hand, was completely planted with vegetables. Upon the furthest one, they raised chickens and planted some vegetables to be used as feed for the chickens and ducks.
Right now, Mu Yangling was heading to the hill where the vegetables were planted. It was still spring, so there were fewer vegetables. Earlier on, Mu Yangling had asked Zhu Liang to arrange for some people to plant some spring vegetables.
Vegetables had always matured faster. Zhu Liang originally wanted Mu Yangling to take a look at the white lettuce and green onions they had grown. At the moment, only these two could be harvested. However, when Mu Yangling brought her people up to walk around, she said, “Harvest the cabbage and young radish and take some to the restaurants and eateries to ask around. There’s no need to stick to Lin’an City. Considering the large quantity of our vegetables, it surely exceeds the demand in Lin’an City.”
Zhu Liang opened his mouth slightly and hurriedly said, “Fourth Madam, although we planted a lot of vegetables, Lin’an City is so big. How can there not be sufficient demand?”
Not to mention anything else, just the consumption of the eateries and restaurants alone was already very high, not to mention that there were so many large families. Lin’an City looked small, but there were more than 600,000 people living there.
“We can’t earn all the money. Don’t forget that the vegetables in Lin’an City have always been supplied by the surrounding commoners. Our vegetables are harvested a little earlier than the seasonal ones, and they’re tender and small. Therefore, we’ll lose money if we sell them at normal prices. Therefore, raise the price a little. Later, come to an agreement on a suitable price with the restaurant’s steward.”
Zhu Liang was silent. Should they increase the price, their sales would definitely decrease greatly. After all, other than the rich families, who would spend extra money on vegetables?
The slightly less rich and middle-class families would rather use the extra money to buy meat, alright?
After confirming the general direction, Mu Yangling handed the matter to Zhu Liang. Seeing as it had been a little cold recently, she wondered how the rice and wheat in the experimental fields were doing.
Mu Yangling went to look at her experimental plot. After hesitating for a while, Zhu Liang picked a small basket of vegetables and went to the city to look for Steward Qian who worked in a restaurant. Steward Qian handed the vegetables to the kitchen and hung a sign outside that wrote ‘Special Dish of the Day’. After carefully observing the customer’s satisfaction, he discussed with Zhu Liang and finally decided on a price, which was double the usual.
Zhu Liang was speechless. “At so much higher a price, will anyone want to buy these vegetables?”
Steward Qian said confidently, “Brother Zhu, don’t worry. You just have to look for buyers with these. You’ll definitely be able to sell them. Remember, you have to insist on this price and not relent since our vegetables are fresh and tender. Besides, there are only cabbages and young radish on the market now. Most of the cabbages were saved in the cellar from last year’s harvest, and the young radish are all dried. I suggest that, as soon as the vegetables can be harvested, you immediately harvest them and plant new ones. As long as you can always be one step ahead of others, I guarantee that you’ll break even in half a month or so.”
Zhu Liang had to admit that Steward Qian was indeed good at doing business. In this aspect, he was far inferior. No wonder Fourth Madam had asked him to go over to discuss this with Steward Qian.
Zhu Liang thought for a moment and said, “Isn’t it too wasteful to harvest those just-ripe vegetables just like that?”
Smiling, Steward Qian said, “No. Even if you sell them, it’ll only fetch 20 to 30 copper coins a catty. You’ll also have to spend time to sell them. Just the manpower alone will cost a lot. It’s better to sell them fresh. Let’s not talk about anything else. As long as you sell all these in half a month, it wouldn’t be wasteful, right?”
Zhu Liang felt a little anxious. As lettuce and cabbage occupied a third of the hill, there was quite a large quantity. It was too difficult to sell them all in half a month.