226 Madam Qin’s Counterattack
The old woman looked at her with disdain. “We’re Madam’s dowry. Our deeds are in Madam’s hands. Besides, you’re just a cheap concubine. What kind of mistress are you? Madam instructed us. Other than her and the two ladies, if anyone wants to eat, they have to pay for it! Also, wash the clothes in your house yourself in the future. We won’t wash them for you anymore.”
Yang Meiniang shouted angrily, “You’re rebelling. You’re rebelling. I’ll go find Master.” Aunt Yang left angrily and walked towards the government office.
Madam Qin abandoned everything and drove to a hill outside the North City with her two daughters and Auntie Qin. Auntie Qin sat on the grass and looked at the two ladies who were happily flying kites and Madam Qin, who was no longer frowning. She said happily, “Madam, we should have gone out a long time ago. Look at how happy the two ladies are!”
Madam Qin looked at her two daughters who were happily chasing after the kite and sighed. “That’s right! I restrained them too much in the past. Now that I think about it, girls can only live a few years of relaxation when they’re at home. After they get married, it’s all depressing.”
Aunt Qin recalled what County Lieutenant Yu had said last night. “That might not necessarily be the case! Last night, when Master came back, he said that Lord Zhou next door didn’t even want the beautiful woman given to him by the Liu family. He even said that he relied on Madam to support him and couldn’t afford to support the beautiful woman! Master relied on your dowry to support himself. Why have I never heard him mention it in front of outsiders? It can be seen that he’s still a man who knows what’s good for him. In my opinion, those rich businessmen are the worst. They like to give women to others. Madam Yang was also brought back by Master back then when he was shopping in Qingzhou with those rich businessmen!”
“Sigh!” Madam Qin sighed. “How many men like Lord Zhou are there in Great Yong? Even those farmers who earn a little money want to enjoy the blessings of a good wife and concubines!”
Auntie Qin thought for a moment and said, “That’s true.”
When Yang Meiniang arrived at the county office, the bailiff told her that County Lieutenant Yu had brought people to patrol the streets. She went home with a dark expression and spent money to hire an old woman to cook a meal for the three of them. Seeing that Yang Yinniang could not find the master, the servants mocked and ridiculed her. Yu Yan returned to the house and cried to Yang Meiniang, “We’re all the masters of this family. Why are they treating us like this?”
“Yan’er, don’t cry. You won’t be beautiful if your eyes are swollen!” Yang Meiniang coaxed her daughter gently with a vicious expression. “Madam Qin, how dare you treat me like this? Don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Zhou Jia had a good discussion with Mr. Wen and happily went to the government office to do his work. Li Yu took the blueprint and went to the blacksmith to customize a few threshing machines. Then, she went to the carpenter to customize a few wind grain machines. After half a month, she went to the farm again. She saw that the seedlings had already grown leaves and the corn had grown much taller. The fields had already turned green.
The farmers did not rest much and were extremely busy in May. The fields were already golden in early May. The yellow wheat ears swayed in the wind. It was time for the winter wheat to be harvested. The blacksmith and carpenter sent the threshing machine and the wind threshing machine to the farmstead. Ruyi taught the long workers on the farm to use the threshing machine.
Before dawn, everyone went down to the wheat field to wave their sickles and quickly cut the wheat. The women in the back wedged the wheat seedlings together, tied them with straw ropes, and carried them to the carriage. Yang Wei and Ruyi drove the carriage back and forth to pull the wheat back to the farm.
The long-term worker who had remained on the farm stepped on the threshing machine and carried the wheat sheaf in both hands. He placed it on the spinning saw wheel and spun it at a constant speed. At first, he was a little flustered. After a while, he was in control. The wheat grains fell off one by one as the saw teeth turned. They hit the enclosure like raindrops. The sound was loud.
After the bucket was filled, Madam Li and Auntie Zhang dug the grains into the pile from behind the threshing machine. After pouring them into the Wind Valley machine to clean up, Li Xia and Yu Niang spread the grains out and dried them.
Li Xia looked at the wheat in the drying field and said to Yu Niang, “Aunt Yu, Madam brought back so much wheat. We won’t be able to finish it in a lifetime.”
Yu Niang pushed the golden wheat away with a look of joy. “Silly girl! There will be worms if we keep them for a lifetime!”
Li Xia pursed her lips and smiled. “Even looking at it makes me happy.”
The Lin family and more than a dozen other families in the back mountain village looked at the golden wheat ears in the wheat field with appreciation and got busy harvesting the wheat with a smile.
The villagers stood on the field and watched them busy themselves in the wheat field with smiles on their faces. They all secretly made up their minds. They would learn to plant winter wheat after autumn. The same field would allow them to collect an additional season of food and the old people and children at home would be able to eat their fill.
The weather was good. For half a month, everyone was busy collecting the wheat. The women were busy drying the wheat again, and the men were busy plowing the fields and preparing for planting.
The seedlings in Li Yu’s field were thick, white, and green. The nearby villagers surrounded the field and praised Li Yu’s seedlings. They were all asking where she had bought the rice seeds. When they heard Ruyi say that she had brought them from Tongzhou, they sighed in disappointment. Li Yu smiled and said to them, “Everyone, don’t sigh. When the rice is harvested this season, you can come to my farm to buy rice seeds.”
When the villagers heard that Li Yu would sell rice seeds to them, they were worried that the price of the rice seeds would be too expensive to buy. One of the villagers probed and asked, “Madam, how much does your rice seed cost per catty?”
Li Yu smiled gently and said, “Don’t worry, it’s not much more expensive than ordinary rice seeds. You can also use ordinary rice seeds to exchange for rice seeds at my house. However, we have to count them first. After all, there’s only so little rice. We have to let everyone buy a few catties to try.”
“Thank you, Madam.” The villagers thanked her and left in relief. Li Yu taught Yang Wei to instruct the long-term workers to plant the wild rice at a distance from the domestic rice. After Yang Wei learned it, she handed the remaining straw fields to him to manage.
After half a month, the wheat was all dried up and the seedlings were all planted. Li Yu was finally at ease.
After the money was in place, the speed at which the county school was built increased. Li Yu kept a portion of the wasteland near the official road for building inns and shops. Ruyi set off to Qingzhou to buy brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and returned to sell them in the shops.
At the end of May, before the completion of the county school, Xu Chun found two down-and-out scholars in Qingzhou with the help of Shopkeeper Chu Jiang. One of them was surnamed Shao and his name was Qingyuan, while the other was surnamed Song and his name was Bo. The two scholars heard from Shopkeeper Chu that they would go to Qingchuan County to learn to teach. The government office even fixed the residences for them. They happily agreed to bring their families with them and followed Xu Chun to Qingchuan.
226 Madam Qin’s Counterattack
The old woman looked at her with disdain. “We’re Madam’s dowry. Our deeds are in Madam’s hands. Besides, you’re just a cheap concubine. What kind of mistress are you? Madam instructed us. Other than her and the two ladies, if anyone wants to eat, they have to pay for it! Also, wash the clothes in your house yourself in the future. We won’t wash them for you anymore.”
Yang Meiniang shouted angrily, “You’re rebelling. You’re rebelling. I’ll go find Master.” Aunt Yang left angrily and walked towards the government office.
Madam Qin abandoned everything and drove to a hill outside the North City with her two daughters and Auntie Qin. Auntie Qin sat on the grass and looked at the two ladies who were happily flying kites and Madam Qin, who was no longer frowning. She said happily, “Madam, we should have gone out a long time ago. Look at how happy the two ladies are!”
Madam Qin looked at her two daughters who were happily chasing after the kite and sighed. “That’s right! I restrained them too much in the past. Now that I think about it, girls can only live a few years of relaxation when they’re at home. After they get married, it’s all depressing.”
Aunt Qin recalled what County Lieutenant Yu had said last night. “That might not necessarily be the case! Last night, when Master came back, he said that Lord Zhou next door didn’t even want the beautiful woman given to him by the Liu family. He even said that he relied on Madam to support him and couldn’t afford to support the beautiful woman! Master relied on your dowry to support himself. Why have I never heard him mention it in front of outsiders? It can be seen that he’s still a man who knows what’s good for him. In my opinion, those rich businessmen are the worst. They like to give women to others. Madam Yang was also brought back by Master back then when he was shopping in Qingzhou with those rich businessmen!”
“Sigh!” Madam Qin sighed. “How many men like Lord Zhou are there in Great Yong? Even those farmers who earn a little money want to enjoy the blessings of a good wife and concubines!”
Auntie Qin thought for a moment and said, “That’s true.”
When Yang Meiniang arrived at the county office, the bailiff told her that County Lieutenant Yu had brought people to patrol the streets. She went home with a dark expression and spent money to hire an old woman to cook a meal for the three of them. Seeing that Yang Yinniang could not find the master, the servants mocked and ridiculed her. Yu Yan returned to the house and cried to Yang Meiniang, “We’re all the masters of this family. Why are they treating us like this?”
“Yan’er, don’t cry. You won’t be beautiful if your eyes are swollen!” Yang Meiniang coaxed her daughter gently with a vicious expression. “Madam Qin, how dare you treat me like this? Don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Zhou Jia had a good discussion with Mr. Wen and happily went to the government office to do his work. Li Yu took the blueprint and went to the blacksmith to customize a few threshing machines. Then, she went to the carpenter to customize a few wind grain machines. After half a month, she went to the farm again. She saw that the seedlings had already grown leaves and the corn had grown much taller. The fields had already turned green.
The farmers did not rest much and were extremely busy in May. The fields were already golden in early May. The yellow wheat ears swayed in the wind. It was time for the winter wheat to be harvested. The blacksmith and carpenter sent the threshing machine and the wind threshing machine to the farmstead. Ruyi taught the long workers on the farm to use the threshing machine.
Before dawn, everyone went down to the wheat field to wave their sickles and quickly cut the wheat. The women in the back wedged the wheat seedlings together, tied them with straw ropes, and carried them to the carriage. Yang Wei and Ruyi drove the carriage back and forth to pull the wheat back to the farm.
The long-term worker who had remained on the farm stepped on the threshing machine and carried the wheat sheaf in both hands. He placed it on the spinning saw wheel and spun it at a constant speed. At first, he was a little flustered. After a while, he was in control. The wheat grains fell off one by one as the saw teeth turned. They hit the enclosure like raindrops. The sound was loud.
After the bucket was filled, Madam Li and Auntie Zhang dug the grains into the pile from behind the threshing machine. After pouring them into the Wind Valley machine to clean up, Li Xia and Yu Niang spread the grains out and dried them.
Li Xia looked at the wheat in the drying field and said to Yu Niang, “Aunt Yu, Madam brought back so much wheat. We won’t be able to finish it in a lifetime.”
Yu Niang pushed the golden wheat away with a look of joy. “Silly girl! There will be worms if we keep them for a lifetime!”
Li Xia pursed her lips and smiled. “Even looking at it makes me happy.”
The Lin family and more than a dozen other families in the back mountain village looked at the golden wheat ears in the wheat field with appreciation and got busy harvesting the wheat with a smile.
The villagers stood on the field and watched them busy themselves in the wheat field with smiles on their faces. They all secretly made up their minds. They would learn to plant winter wheat after autumn. The same field would allow them to collect an additional season of food and the old people and children at home would be able to eat their fill.
The weather was good. For half a month, everyone was busy collecting the wheat. The women were busy drying the wheat again, and the men were busy plowing the fields and preparing for planting.
The seedlings in Li Yu’s field were thick, white, and green. The nearby villagers surrounded the field and praised Li Yu’s seedlings. They were all asking where she had bought the rice seeds. When they heard Ruyi say that she had brought them from Tongzhou, they sighed in disappointment. Li Yu smiled and said to them, “Everyone, don’t sigh. When the rice is harvested this season, you can come to my farm to buy rice seeds.”
When the villagers heard that Li Yu would sell rice seeds to them, they were worried that the price of the rice seeds would be too expensive to buy. One of the villagers probed and asked, “Madam, how much does your rice seed cost per catty?”
Li Yu smiled gently and said, “Don’t worry, it’s not much more expensive than ordinary rice seeds. You can also use ordinary rice seeds to exchange for rice seeds at my house. However, we have to count them first. After all, there’s only so little rice. We have to let everyone buy a few catties to try.”
“Thank you, Madam.” The villagers thanked her and left in relief. Li Yu taught Yang Wei to instruct the long-term workers to plant the wild rice at a distance from the domestic rice. After Yang Wei learned it, she handed the remaining straw fields to him to manage.
After half a month, the wheat was all dried up and the seedlings were all planted. Li Yu was finally at ease.
After the money was in place, the speed at which the county school was built increased. Li Yu kept a portion of the wasteland near the official road for building inns and shops. Ruyi set off to Qingzhou to buy brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and returned to sell them in the shops.
At the end of May, before the completion of the county school, Xu Chun found two down-and-out scholars in Qingzhou with the help of Shopkeeper Chu Jiang. One of them was surnamed Shao and his name was Qingyuan, while the other was surnamed Song and his name was Bo. The two scholars heard from Shopkeeper Chu that they would go to Qingchuan County to learn to teach. The government office even fixed the residences for them. They happily agreed to bring their families with them and followed Xu Chun to Qingchuan.
