Chapter 103
103 Farm
Li Mei saw that Li Yu had bought so many people again and complained softly, “Why are they all old and weak? Is it a waste of food to buy them?”
Seeing Li Mei’s disdainful look, they wished they could hide, afraid that Li Mei would chase them away.
Li Yu pulled Li Mei and whispered to her, “Aunt, these people are very pitiful. They can’t even be sold to the brothel. Look, my place is big. I plan to buy some chickens, ducks, and geese, as well as pigs and cows to feed. We can get the elders and young children to feed the animals.”
Li Mei turned around and saw the frightened expressions of the elders and children. She sighed. “Alright! Do as you see fit! The threads spun by the women from the two families we brought back last time were really good. They were spun evenly and well. Grandma Chen and the others put in more effort when they saw the threads.”
When the two old women heard this, they hurriedly said to Li Yu, “Miss, we also know how to spin. Arrange work for us. We’ll work well and not eat for free.”
Li Yu nodded. “I’ll arrange for you to live. Let’s go in first. I still don’t know your names.”
Everyone followed Li Yu into the central room and was about to kneel again when Li Yu raised her hand to stop them. “You don’t have to kneel. Tell me what your names are and what you know how to do.”
Er Ya’s grandfather stood in front. “Miss, I, Zhao Zijian, injured my left leg during the war. I walk with a limp. In the past, people in the village called me Zhao Laizi. I know how to feed livestock.”
“Miss, my name is Zhao Er Ya. I’m strong enough to work in the fields. Just assign me to those heavy work.” Er Ya stood up and said loudly.
The two thin boys looked at Li Yu. The slightly taller one said softly, “Miss, my name is Yang Ah Gou. His name is Yang Ah Lei. We know how to cut grass and herd cows.”
The white-haired old man said in a low voice, “I, Yang Tiezhu, know how to farm and weave bamboo.”
Of the two old women who knew how to spin, one was surnamed Yang and the other was surnamed Peng. The other was surnamed Liu and used to be a cook.
Li Yu looked at them. “You have to follow the rules here. My family’s rules are to behave yourself and not gamble or fight. You can’t leak anything about the main family to outsiders. If you violate them, they will be sold no matter who it is. Do you understand?”
Everyone agreed in unison. “Got it.”
Li Yu watched as they began to make arrangements. “Old Madam Liu, help Auntie He cook. Old Madam Yang and Old Madam Peng will spin the thread. Ah Gou and Ah Lei will herd the cows and cut the grass. Er Ya, Uncle Yang, and Uncle Zhao will help us weed the wheat fields first.” All of them agreed happily.
Li Yu arranged the work and brought them to their respective places of work. She then found Ruyi and handed him the list of these people.
Ruyi took the list. “Miss, the pond has been sprinkled with lime and exposed to the sun. We can fill it with water tomorrow. I handed the seeds of the lotus root to Jin Jiu to plant. After Young Master and you left, the Xu brothers came. I gave them the location of the pig farm. They have already started work.”
“Alright, Ruyi, get someone to chop some bamboo and wood and build some chicken sheds on the hillside in the east. Take my uncle and Zhao Zijian to a few towns and buy some chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, and cows to raise.”
Ruyi remembered and went out. Zhou Jia came back from the shop in town and said to Li Yu, “Ah Gen said that he asked a few places, but he didn’t hear anyone selling fish seedlings. Are we still going to raise fish?”
“There are no fish seedlings for sale. I can only trouble someone to fish for fish seedlings in the river! Leave these to me and prepare for the exam!” Li Yu said indifferently.
Seeing that Li Yu handle things like nothing was a problem, Zhou Jia also smiled. “Yes! Then I’ll rely on you to support me in the future. You can’t abuse me.”
“I promise to raise you to be as beautiful as a flower.” Li Yu smiled and touched Zhou Jia’s face before turning to run.
“I wonder where this girl learned such crazy words.” Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu’s back with a smile and kept shaking his head.
Li Yu went to the place where the pig farm was built. She saw that the craftsmen had already built a wall half the height of a person and there were still people digging the manure pit. Seeing that they were all reliable, she was relieved and went to look at the pond again. Seeing that Jin Jiu was packing up, she turned around and went to the hillside in the east.
The hillside was filled with bushes. Ruyi had already brought people to cut and dig bushes on the slope. Li Yu climbed up the slope and pointed at the bushes. “Ruyi, dig up these bushes and surround the slope in two segments before finding some fruit trees to plant. Tell Xu Chun to build another row of cattle pens on the flat ground below and build the chicken coop behind the pens.”
“Alright, I’ll go tell him now. Tomorrow is the market day. Uncle Liu and I will go to the market to buy livestock and chickens, ducks, and geese,” Ruyi said to Li Yu with a smile.
“Make your own arrangements.”
Ruyi bowed and ran down the slope.
Seeing that Zhao Er Ya had dug out a shrub without much effort with the hoe, Li Yu gave her a thumbs up. “Er Ya, you’re a good person.”
Zhao Er Ya blushed. “Miss, I’ve eaten so much food. If I don’t work hard, I’ll be letting you down!”
“Okay, work hard. I promise to feed you.”
“Hey!” Er Ya waved her hoe even harder. The other laborers also secretly worked harder when they saw this.
Li Yu strolled around the slope. After planning the slope, she went down the mountain and walked towards the wheat field. She saw that the wheat seedlings had already slowly turned green. He Tiezhu and He Hua were unblocking the ditch. When they saw Li Yu, they hurriedly put down their hoes and wanted to bow. Li Yu waved her hand and said with a smile, “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Aye!” The two men picked up hoes to remove the weeds when they heard this and hugged the dirt that had fallen into the gutter.
Li Yu looked around and returned to the house. Li Mei came to look for Li Yu with a new hat. “Yu’er, look, this is the tiger hat that Zhaodi knitted for a child. There’s even a thin layer of cotton inside.”
Li Yu’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Li Mei’s gentle gaze when she held the hat. She looked at Li Mei’s stomach. “Aunt, are you pregnant?”
Li Mei nodded and blushed. “I only felt it when I came back from Tongzhou. It’s still early days, so I’m not sure. I’ll ask Master to take my pulse in a few days.”
When Li Yu heard this, she looked at Li Mei happily and instructed, “Then you have to be careful. I’ll get you anything you want to eat.”
Li Mei looked at Li Yu reproachfully. “It’s still too early! I’ll tell you when I have something I want to eat. I’ll get someone to make more of these hats.”
Li Yu was happy for Li Mei when she saw her leave briskly. This was how the world was. A family without a son had the lowest status in the clan. Although Liu Changmin had already left the Liu clan, Li Mei was still obsessed with having a son.
The next day, Li Yu asked Jin Jiu to bring people to the river to fish. She went to town to buy some and reared them in the pond.
In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed. Li Yu’s pig farm and breeding ground were also completed. There were more than 200 chickens and more than ten yellow cattle on the slope. Two sows and dozens of piglets were fed in the pigpen. The pond at the foot of the hill became lively.
Ruyi got someone to scatter the valerian seeds that Li Yu had bought into a few acres of wasteland to feed the piglets. She also brought people to the mountains to dig up some peppercorn trees. She took the date trees, persimmon trees, and chestnut trees back and planted them on the slope, turning the wasteland into an orchard.