mtl008 Chapter 233 Aunt?!
Chapter 233 Aunt?!
Empress Li understood what Lu Tao was trying to say, and she interrupted Lu Tao, saying, "It's already troubled enough that I'm staying here."
“If I eat at a shop, I always have to pay.”
Since she insisted, Lu Tao couldn't say anything more.
Empress Li and Granny Zhu settled in.
They really do... go out to eat every day and come back in the evening.
Li Huaiyuan has recently been busy organizing the villagers to turn the soil and fertilize it.
He often led his constables through the county town to inspect the various villages under his jurisdiction.
Although they lived in the same county as Empress Li, they never met.
As they spent more time together, Lu Tao, Liu San Niang, and Empress Li became increasingly familiar with each other, treating each other like sisters.
That day, upon hearing that Tian Tian was going to cultivate rice seedlings, Empress Li did not go out early for breakfast for the first time. Instead, she waited at the door with Lu Tao and Liu San Niang.
“Last year when she was breeding the seedlings, my third aunt and I were helping out at the shop and didn’t go to check on her…” Lu Tao recounted the events of last year, “Fortunately, a friend of the county magistrate was there and helped with the seedling cultivation…”
Empress Li's expression flickered...
A friend of the county magistrate? Isn't that her eldest son?
“There are people working in the shop this year, let’s go take a look.” Lu Tao was very excited.
Liu San Niang was also very interested, and she even brought Qin Youyou with her.
"It's just the beginning of spring, and Tian Tian said we should treat it as a spring outing."
Tian Tian and Tian Xiang come out...
She glanced at Empress Li and thought to herself, "Today is the day for rice seed cultivation, and Li Huaiyuan is here too."
Why doesn't this empress avoid it?
Empress Li had no idea...
The group happily boarded the carriage and headed towards the suburbs.
The greenhouse film in Tiantiandi has been removed, but the bamboo frame remains, so it doesn't hinder vegetable planting. In winter, the greenhouse film can be reattached to continue growing vegetables.
"Does this entire area belong to Sister Lu's family?" Empress Li looked around...
She had no concept of the size of the fields, nor did she know how many acres this area was.
But... there are quite a few!!
"About a thousand acres," Granny Zhu muttered from the side.
I was also amazed that Madam Lu's family owned such a large amount of land...
Plus, the shop is doing so well...
Such wealth would make them a prominent family even in the prefectural city.
"How many rice seedlings are we going to cultivate this time?" The crowd of onlookers grew layer upon layer.
"Last time there were only thirty-odd households in a hundred-acre paddy field, and they only cultivated thirteen acres of seedlings." Someone recalled the situation last year.
"This time... there are more than a thousand households in the entire county, plus about ten villages, so there must be at least three to five thousand households, right?"
There is little dispute that there are more than a thousand households in the county seat.
Villages vary in size. Large villages may have over two hundred households, while small villages may have over fifty. Baishi County has eighteen villages under its jurisdiction, and the exact number of households depends on the county government records.
Tian Tian was also waiting for Li Huaiyuan.
She had already calculated it in her mind. If the entire county had 3,000 households, and each household had an average of three mu of land, then a total of 9,000 mu of land would need to be cultivated.
To cultivate 100 mu of rice paddies, 13 mu of seedbed is needed, requiring 195 jin of rice seeds.
For a 9,000-mu paddy field, 1,170 mu of seedbed is needed, requiring nearly 18,000 jin of rice seeds.
I bought these rice seeds from the system, which cost a total of 180 taels of silver. The price wasn't high, but it would take time to cultivate the seedlings.
“If there are three to five thousand households, then Miss Tian’s entire plot of land will have to be used to cultivate rice seedlings for us.”
"Thank you, Miss Tian Er."
"Thank you, Miss Tian Er."
With someone taking the lead, the people immediately cheered.
They have already received a notice from the county government that these rice seedlings are free.
However, the harvest from these rice seedlings will be sold to Tian Er Guniang first.
This is certainly not a problem for them.
They're giving away high-yield rice seedlings for free, so how can they sell the rice to other people?
Empress Li looked at Tian Tian through several people.
Tian Tian's height is considered normal among women of the same age, but Empress Li is taller.
So from her perspective, she could easily see Tian Tian's back and head.
The little girl stood up straight, looking out of the crowd, as if she was waiting for someone.
wait?
Empress Li suddenly froze.
Tian Tian wouldn't be waiting...
Li Huaiyuan, right?
Empress Li's body stiffened, and she followed Tian Tian's gaze...
Just then, the crowd parted, and someone from outside walked in. Their eyes met.
Li Huaiyuan also brought his wife today, because he heard that Tian Tian would be bringing his wives, Lu and Liu, to enjoy the spring outing.
But he didn't expect to see it as soon as he arrived...
aunt!!!
He abandoned Lady Li and strode towards Empress Li.
When Madam Li came to her senses, she quickly chased after them.
"Aunt..."
Empress Li instinctively tried to hide behind Granny Zhu...
Tian Tian noticed her movement, took a step and came behind Empress Li, blocking her.
"Aunt!" Li Huaiyuan didn't care about the few people who knew Ling Yao's identity and directly gave Empress Li a junior's greeting.
Madam Li came over and bowed, saying, "Aunt."
"Aunt, why didn't you tell Huaiyuan that you were coming to Baishi County?" Li Huaiyuan's voice was filled with suppressed anger.
Empress Li: "I..."
Lu Tao and Liu San Niang exclaimed in surprise, "Madam Li is Lord Li's aunt?"
Li Huaiyuan: "You two know each other?"
Liu San Niang blurted out, "This Sister Li has been staying at our house for about ten days."
Empress Li tried to stop her, but it was too late, so she could only look at Li Huaiyuan awkwardly.
Li Huaiyuan chuckled helplessly, "Ten! Days!?"
"aunt!!"
Empress Li waved her hands repeatedly, "Oh dear, this matter...we'll talk about it later. Right now, aren't we...raising rice seedlings?"
“Huaiyuan, you are now the county magistrate. You should prioritize important matters.”
"Hehe, let's get down to business first."
Li Huaiyuan looked up and saw Tian Tian beside Empress Li.
He didn't miss Tian Tian's action of stopping her aunt.
It seems... she recognized her aunt.
But his aunt was all smiles, completely unaware of anything.
Li Huaiyuan sighed helplessly, "Miss Tian, I have the statistics here, take a look."
The yamen runner handed the compiled booklet to Tian Tian.
Tian Tian took it...
This booklet was also written with charcoal, and in a daze, she thought of Ling Yao.
The booklet records the population and acreage of land in the county town and various villages.
Finally, there's a total...
Number of households: 3,400; Number of mu of farmland: 8,500.
The data was slightly different from what she had expected, but fortunately the difference was not significant.
That means we can reduce the number of rice seedlings by about 70 mu.
"Uncle Zhang!!" Tian Tian called over Zhang Fusheng, who was already prepared.
Zhang Fusheng had already gone to other counties to buy a lot of land for her, and now that she needed to cultivate seedlings, she called him back temporarily.
"Second Miss, you're ready," Zhang Fusheng said.
"Then let's get started."