Chapter 1742: Preparing in Advance
Chapter 1742: Chapter 1742: Preparing in Advance
Nanny Tao listened and said, "Madam, generally speaking, in estates with servants, their marriages are decided by the master. Servants only follow orders; they do not have the autonomy to choose whom they marry. If everyone makes such demands, what should be done if several people fancy the same person?"
Gu Jinli said, "I understand. I’m not showing favoritism towards Ye Jingzi, but marriage should be based on mutual consent, and she has always been loyal and never made any mistakes, so I want to honor her wishes in marriage."
If I disregard her wishes and randomly pair her with a man and let that man touch her, what does that make it? Animal breeding?
Gu Jinli just thinking about it felt disgusted, so she wouldn’t force Ye Jingzi into anything, nor any other servants unless the servant made a mistake or betrayed her; only then would she intervene.
Nanny Tao was grateful upon hearing this; being fortunate enough to encounter the Young Master was a blessing for the servants like them: "Yes, the old servant understands."
She added, "I will watch over her and ensure she doesn’t do anything stupid."
Although Ye Jingzi seems like a good person, once someone becomes fixated, they might become obsessed and do crazy things, so she must keep an eye on her to prevent Ye Jingzi from causing trouble for the Young Master.
Gu Jinli did not stop her and nodded in agreement.
However, she did not worry about Ye Jingzi doing anything crazy.
Ye Jingzi understands pharmacology, and those who handle medicinal herbs generally have clearer minds, can control their emotions, and won’t engage in erratic behavior.
She further instructed, "Nanny, keep an eye out for any good girls and remember them; Ye Dakou is also at the age for marriage."
Arrangements need to be made for Ye Dakou.
Nanny Tao said, "Yes, the old servant will keep an eye out."
"Bring yesterday’s account book; I’ll finish calculating the remaining accounts." Now Gu Jinli no longer has to calculate accounts line by line; she only needs to verify the accounts that Erqing and the others have already calculated.
"Eh." Nanny Tao went to the inner room to get the account book. When she saw a drawing of a big gold ingot on the account book, the expression on her face was indescribable. As she handed the account book to Gu Jinli, she couldn’t help but ask, "Madam, why do you like to draw things on account books and pharmacological records?"
If you’re going to draw, at least draw something elegant. Drawing gold ingots and skulls—there’s even a corpse drawn on the cover of a medical book with various names labeled on it. Nanny Tao’s deepest impression was of ribs.
Ribs?
Young Master, are you really craving ribs?
Gu Jinli pointed to the booklet and said, "Drawing a big gold ingot makes it recognizable. With so many booklets on the shelf, at a glance, who knows which is which? Drawing a gold ingot tells you it’s an account book; a skull tells you it’s a pharmacological book about poisonous insects. It’s convenient and saves your eyes."
Nanny Tao was at a loss for words, only able to say, "Madam has a very unique mind."
Gu Jinli nodded in agreement: "Sure is."
She views ancient times from the perspective of modern civilization, so naturally, her thoughts are stranger than those of ancient people.
However, after living in Great Chu for years, she understands there are countless capable people in ancient times, and she doesn’t consider herself special. Still, she must live cautiously, not complacently.
Nanny Tao smiled, brought paper and brush to Gu Jinli, and watched her draw strange ghost talismans on the paper. In less than an hour, the accounts were verified.
"It’s done, nothing’s wrong." Gu Jinli wrote the date and a character "li" on the account book, stamped it with a seal carved with a fish, and handed it to Nanny Tao.
Nanny Tao took the account book, stored it safely, then came out and asked, "Madam, it’s getting late; should I have them bring the food?"
Gu Jinli nodded, said "good," and instructed, "Brother Qin is dining with General Liang and the others tonight, so I am dining alone. Bring less food."
She added, "Prepare hangover soup, and some porridge and buns as well."
Brother Qin will certainly drink with General Liang and the others. When he returns, he will certainly be hungry, so prepare some food for him to avoid a hungry stomach at midnight.
"Eh." Nanny Tao responded and went to prepare the food.
After a little over half an hour, the food was brought up. Besides a chicken bone ginseng soup, there was really no meat left; there were, however, two plates of vegetables.
As for the buns and porridge, they were made from white flour and white rice, not mixed grain buns or mixed grain porridge.
"How are the crops growing outside the city?" Gu Jinli asked, looking at the food.
She is a wealthy woman and has a manor here in the Northwest, so her food is better than others. But now even she has no meat, and white flour buns and white rice porridge aren’t made plentifully; it indicates that white flour and white rice are also scarce.
Nanny Tao heard this and frowned: "Xiong Da’s brothers and Elder Hong went outside the city to check on the crops. Elder Hong said the seeds were planted late and aren’t growing well. If it gets cold too quickly this year, the harvest may be ruined."
Elder Hong, though a traveler, is of a ripe age and knows quite a bit about farming. After inspecting the fields outside the city, he worriedly drank vegetable soup and ate sorghum buns daily.
It was only when Feng Jin noticed that he substituted millet buns for him, saying sorghum harms the intestines. Given his age, he should eat something finer; otherwise, when Hong Dao returns, they won’t be able to explain.
Elder Hong listened and switched to millet buns, but he ate sparingly and secretly told Feng Jin to pass the word to Gu Jinli—this year’s harvest is hopeless, and they should start storing grains; otherwise, before next year’s harvest, there will likely be a period of famine.
Gu Jinli heard and said, "Tell Elder Hong I know and am already preparing in advance. I won’t let our relatives starve."
Nanny Tao nodded but was still very worried.
If there really is a famine, it’s not enough for just them to have food. Those without food will cause trouble and attempt to rob them; they are still at risk.
Nanny Tao reminded Gu Jinli of this.
Gu Jinli said, "I understand; my family came south escaping famine, and I know what desperate measures hungry people resort to."
Back then, the group of Evil Men they encountered consumed red meat...
Gu Jinli didn’t want to recall those bitter days of fleeing famine and instead asked, "Are the poisonous insects cleaned out?"
Nanny Tao shook her head: "The little ancestors are very able to hide, even though we’ve been clearing them for so long, we occasionally still lure the poisonous insects from the fields. It seems we’ll have to regularly apply medicine to the fields to lure insects."
She added, "Aside from the poisonous insects, this land here is also dry, and the soil is pitifully poor, unlike the southern land. The southern fields are like mud in marshes—extremely fertile, you can throw some seeds and they’ll grow crops. Not here; the soil is grainy, dry, and barren, lacking fertilizer."
Gu Jinli was slightly speechless, wanting to curse God: How are you distributing things? Why torment the Northwest like this? War and bandit problems aside, even not giving water is tolerable, but at least make the land fertile!
Yet, God pays no heed to you.
"Madam, don’t think about it; let’s eat first." Nanny Tao interrupted her thoughts by handing her a bowl of ginseng soup.
Gu Jinli nodded, took the ginseng soup, drank it, and ate two buns and half a plate of vegetables before stopping: "Nanny, eat too, don’t waste."
Grain is valuable now, so they must scrape the plate clean.
Nanny Tao, having followed Gu Jinli for years, did not stand on ceremony and ate up the remaining food.
After taking a break, once the hot water was ready, Gu Jinli bathed and washed her hair. After finishing, she sat in the corridor enjoying the scenery and letting her hair dry.