Chapter 321: Chapter 301, Understanding the Situation_1
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After entering the room, Madam Li took her three children to their seats, and the maids served tea before retreating to the side.
“Big brother, what are you doing with that case?”
Seeing Yan Wenxiu holding a case in his hands, Daohua couldn’t help but ask.
Yan Wenxiu smiled and said, “While I was strolling around the provincial capital, I passed by a pharmacy and saw this case of fine tremella. I thought I’d buy it and bring it back to nourish Mother’s health.” As he spoke, he smiled and stepped forward to place the case on the table next to Madam Li.
Madam Li was first surprised, then her face bloomed with joy as she opened the case, looking at the white, translucent tremella that resembled blooming chrysanthemums, feeling truly gratified.
This was the first time her eldest son had been so considerate toward her!
“That’s great, big brother. I was wondering why you left us behind that day. It turns out you went to buy tremella for Mother. Why didn’t you call me along? I could have also bought something for Mother.”
Yan Wenkai muttered discontentedly.
Yan Wenxiu glanced at him askew, “Do you have any silver on you?”
Yan Wenkai choked, and suddenly fell silent.
He was one who couldn’t hold on to silver, spending his monthly allowance completely every time. Sometimes, he even needed to ask his third brother and eldest brother for help.
Seeing her second son balk, Madam Li smiled, “Mother knows your filial intentions. Right now, all of you are still studying, and there’s no need for such extravagance. Keep your allowances for yourselves; Mother has everything she needs here.”
Daohua sat next to Madam Li and disagreed, “Mother, this is the thoughtfulness of our brothers. How can it be considered an extravagance? You always worry about our brothers’ well-being, and when they find good things outside, they think of bringing them back for you. Isn’t that what they should do? Why would you reject their kindness?”
Traditional parents are like that, genuinely delighted by their children’s gestures of respect, yet they always appear as if they don’t need them. After many such instances, if the children start to believe it, they will stop bringing gifts.
Human affection requires interaction.
Even if a gift is light, knowing that someone is thinking of you is always a joy.
It cannot be that one side only knows how to take while the other side gives unconditionally. People are not saints, and over time, feelings are bound to become imbalanced, which only causes unnecessary trouble.
It’s better to happily accept the goodwill of others from the start and then reciprocate to the best of one’s ability.
Madam Li tapped Daohua on the forehead, “You girl, always full of twisted reasoning.”
Daohua glared, “What twisted reasoning? Shouldn’t we encourage filial behavior? Are you not pleased with the tremella big brother brought?”
Madam Li smiled and gave her daughter a meaningful look, this time choosing not to say more.
After sitting for a while, Daohua returned to her own courtyard.
Her courtyard had expanded a lot, with a layout similar to that of the Prefectural Governor’s Office, but it had several more osmanthus trees.
Daohua looked around at the rooms. Lixia hadn’t accompanied her to the provincial capital, so the arrangement inside was done according to her instructions, almost exactly as she had ordered before.
Daohua nodded in satisfaction, seeing nothing that needed changing, she returned to the main house.
“Go and call Brother Xiaoliu over, I have something to ask him.”
Wang Manman glanced at the sky; it was already midafternoon, “Now? Miss, wouldn’t you like to rest a bit first?”
Daohua shook her head, “I need to quickly understand the situation in Ningmen Prefecture. If there’s suitable farmland or estates to buy, we must do it quickly or we might miss this year’s spring farming.”
Wang Manman nodded and quickly turned to leave.
After a short while, Xiaoliu arrived.
Before Daohua went to the provincial capital, she had specifically instructed Xiaoliu to inquire about the situation in Ningmen Prefecture as soon as he arrived.
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Xiaoliu had been running outside almost every day recently, and sometimes when the places he went to were far, he would even spend the night out. After all this busy work, he finally managed to complete the tasks Daohua had delegated to him.
“Miss, Ningmen Prefecture governs three prefectures and eighteen counties, covering an area at least three times larger than other prefectures. However, although the area is large, more than half of the counties are lower-tier counties.”
“Many places are quite desolate, especially the counties bordering Fenxi and Jiguang, where a lot of lands are lying idle, with no one to cultivate them.”
Daohua asked, “Why is that?”
Xiaoliu: “The counties near Fenxi were because in the past few years there were bandit troubles, and many of the common people had their belongings plundered. Anyone who resisted even slightly would lose their life.”
“I heard from the elders there that everyone was scared into leaving, and even though Governor Guo has suppressed the banditry in the past two years, people are still unwilling to go back.”
“The desolation near Jiguang is because, firstly, the soil itself is very infertile; secondly, because of last year’s floods, a large number of dispossessed refugees flooded into the area.”
“With the increase in refugees, disturbances became more frequent, and the local common people suffered greatly. Some of the common people who had relatives elsewhere simply escaped to those places.”
Without people, naturally, the fields remained uncultivated.
Hearing this, Daohua couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her foster father in her heart. The situation in Ningmen Prefecture was quite complex, and it would not be easy to manage!
“Tell me about the situation with the fields here!”
Xiaoliu quickly handed over the book that recorded the condition of the fields in various places.
Daohua took it and flipped through, then immediately smiled and said, “Brother Xiaoliu, not bad, everything is recorded very thoroughly.”
He had written very clearly about the idle fields in each county and the surroundings of the fields.
Xiaoliu scratched the back of his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed as he said, “I borrowed the county records from Master Xiao to look at, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to gather so much information.”
Daohua still looked appreciative as she said, “Knowing to ask someone for help, and also finding the right person to ask, is very good.”
Although Daohua was younger than him, Xiaoliu still felt immensely pleased to hear her praise. It made him feel that all those days of getting up early and working late, the hard work and running around, were worth it.
“Manman, give Brother Xiaoliu ten taels of silver.”
Wang Manman went to get the silver with a smiling eye.
Having been with Daohua for a few years, Xiaoliu knew that the miss was generous, so he happily expressed his thanks, “Thank you for the reward, Miss.” It was a recognition of his ability to get things done.
“Sandy loam soil…”
Daohua carefully flipped through the booklet in her hand, and when she came to the soil conditions in Shahe County, her gaze flickered slightly.
Xiaoliu hurriedly said, “Shahe County borders Jiguang, and almost all the land in the county is sandy loam soil. It is the most infertile county among the eighteen counties under Ningmen Prefecture.”
But Daohua asked, “How long does it take to get from the prefectural city to Shahe County?”
Xiaoliu thought for a moment, “By boat, it only takes half a day, but if traveling by land, it takes a bit longer.”
Daohua nodded, pondered for a moment, then walked towards the main courtyard.
“Mother!”
As soon as Daohua arrived at the main courtyard, she clung to Madam Li, “Mother, I want to go to Shahe County tomorrow to have a look at the condition of the fields there.”
Madam Li appeared helpless, “Aren’t you tired? You’ve just returned, and you don’t even take a couple of days to rest.”
Daohua shook her head, “I’m afraid of delaying the spring plowing.”
Madam Li fell silent for a moment, “There’s just no way to deal with you. Have your Third Uncle accompany you, our family also needs to add to our fields, let your Third Uncle also go and take a look at the situation.”
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