Chapter 169 170 Tong Sheng
The next day, Zhou Jia took Li Yu and others to Yuci's house on East Street. When they walked to East Street, they saw that the street was bustling and densely populated.
A few people walked along and found the door of a newly painted vermilion mansion. They looked up and saw the tall lintel with exquisitely carved patterns and the word "Zhou Mansion" written on it. There was also a pair of majestic stone lions in front of the door.
Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, "This is it."
Several people walked up the steps to the door. A man dressed in a long suit walked up to Zhou Jia and Li Yu, bowed and said, "I may ask, but Mr. Zhou, Madam Huguo, and little Xu Lin were sent by Shopkeeper Chu to wait. The Protector’s Lady.”
Zhou Jia cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Yes, thank you."
"That's right," Xu Lin bowed and handed over the house key and said with a smile, "Young man, please excuse me."
Ruyi took a purse and handed it to Xu Lin and sent him away.
Tie Zhu went up and opened the door of the house. Zhou Jia saw a courtyard with three entrances and three exits.
After entering the gate, I saw a screen wall carved with exquisite patterns. I turned around the screen wall, passed the hanging flower door, and saw a small garden in the middle of the yard.
Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise: "Young madam, look, there is a garden here, and the flowers in it are so beautiful."
Li Yu pointed to a rose-red rose and said with a smile: "Go pick one and let Ruyi wear it for you."
Xiaoyu shook her head and said: "It will wither after a while after picking it off. It looks better when it blooms on the branches."
Yang Wei and Tie Zhu came out of the reverse room and looked at the houses in the yard, their eyes widened: "There are so many houses, even all the people from Fengming Zhuangzi can't live there."
Li Yu and Zhou Jia walked arm in arm through the verandah and entered the backyard. They saw that the backyard was more exquisite, with gardens, rockeries, ponds, flowing water, winding corridors and pavilions. The scenery was the same the first time they entered the yard, but it was different every time they entered the yard.
Li Yu sighed: "The house is really nice, but there are only a few of us living in such a house, and it takes a long time to clean it. So we should live in our original place!"
"This is Yuci's house. It's not good if you don't live in it. Let's live there temporarily. After the results are released, we can move here. Once we live in the courtyard, the others will be closed first."
"Okay, I don't understand this either. Just do whatever you think will be done well. The house has also seen it, so let's go back!"
A few people walked around the street, bought some food and returned to Shijia Alley.
Early the next morning, Zhou Jia was called away by Mr. Lin. Li Yu was about to take Xiaoyu and others to Huangzhuang to have a look. Chu Fu, the general manager of Huangzhuang, came with chicken, duck, fish and some food and vegetables.
When Chu Fu saw that Li Yu was just a young and beautiful woman, he thought to himself: Shopkeeper Chu and the others couldn't have made a mistake! Can such a young and beautiful woman know how to farm? I think it’s probably someone else’s fault! Thinking of this, Chu Fu's attitude towards Li Yu also became contemptuous.
He bowed and said in salute: "Little Chu Fu is the manager of the royal village. I have been ordered to ask my wife to go to the emperor's village to guide the tenants in the emperor's village in cultivating rice seeds."
Li Yu saw that Chu Fu was of medium height, fair and fat, and looked arrogant. He didn't look like a manager, but more like a rich squire in Fengming Town. Li Yu then thought about it, and he also had the ability to be arrogant. As the saying goes: Officials are big The slave is also big. There are seven ranks of officials in front of the prime minister. The person in front of me is still the steward of the emperor's family. How many ranks of officials are there?
Li Yu looked at the two men who looked like long-term workers brought by Chu Fu and moved things out of the car. He smiled politely and said: "Manager Chu, I can't talk about guidance. We just want to communicate with each other. I also plan to go to Zhuangzi." , let’s set off now!”
Chu Fu bowed and said, "Madam, please, I will lead the way for you."
Li Yu said calmly: "I've got Mr. Lao Chu."
The group of people left the city gate and arrived at the imperial village on the outskirts of the city at noon. Chu Fu pointed at the large piece of land and smiled proudly: "Madam, this area is the royal estate, with thousands of acres of fertile land and mountains. There are also thousands of acres.”
Li Yu saw that the land of Huangzhuang was surrounded by mountains and rivers and was fertile, and he praised: "Yes, it is a good place to grow crops."
Several people walked around the village. Li Yu saw that the tenants were busy cultivating and hoeing the fields. The people in the village seemed to be living a good life.
Manager Chu pointed at the tenants and said with a smile: "Madam, you don't know about those tenants. The tenants all want to come to Huangzhuang to farm. There are people in the mountains in Huangzhuang competing for the tenants to farm."
Li Yu asked in confusion: "Mountain land is being farmed by tenants? Manager Chu, why is this?"
Manager Chu cupped his hands in the direction of the imperial city and said, "The Queen Mother is kind-hearted and has ordered us stewards not to exploit tenants. If a steward is caught exploiting tenants, his whole family will be ruined by the salt mine. In addition, the tenants of Imperial Village only pay four The land rent for land and mountain land is only 20%, while other villages have to pay at least 50% for land rent. Do you think everyone should grab it?"
After hearing this, Li Yu also felt that the Empress Dowager's method was really good. If one person embezzles and the whole family suffers, those who think badly must consider the consequences.
"The Queen Mother is kind, and if everyone here does their part, the Imperial Mansion will be built better and better."
"Yes, yes, that's the truth. Madam, take a look. This is the retting pond we dug. It was made according to the method learned from you by the chief steward, who taught the tenants to dig pits and make retting. Can you see if there is anything there? If something is wrong, we will correct it.”
Li Yu picked up a hoe and dug out the upper layer of the retting pond. He saw that the fertilizer underneath had turned black and gray, and the weeds and leaves added inside were also rotten.
Li Yu put down his hoe and smiled at Chu Fu: "Manager Chu did a good job. There is nothing inappropriate."
Chu Fu saw that Li Yu worked neatly and was accustomed to the stench from the fertilizer pond, so he began to believe that Li Yu could farm.
Li Yu walked around Huangzhuang and felt that Manager Chu was very responsible and the village was also a prosperous scene. After staying in Huangzhuang for one night, he made an appointment with Manager Chu to go to Huangzhuang to teach when planting. They selected the seeds and took the car back to Shijia Alley.
In Tongzhou City, Li Qing had already passed the county examination. He was still a little uncomfortable when he saw that he was ranked second. Jixiang saw Li Qing standing in the courtyard with his head down and depressed, and comforted him: "Ah Qing, you are already a A famous boy has been born, and Brother Jixiang thinks that you have done well in the examination. When you take the imperial examination in April and obtain the title of scholar, Brother Jixiang will spread the good news to the young master and his wife."
Li Qing raised his head and looked at Jixiang with red eyes: "Brother Jixiang, I'm not angry that I didn't take the first place in the exam. I'm angry that I was proud and complacent. After the first few tests, my heart began to wander. I thought that ranking first in the county examination was already within my grasp, but this was good, it was a wake-up call for me. My sister said that if the sky is crazy, it will rain, and if people are crazy, there will be misfortune." Li Qing stood up and looked into the distance. He clenched his fists and said, "In the future, I will definitely make steady progress step by step, and I will not make the same mistake again."
Jixiang gave a thumbs up and praised: "Well done to Ah Qing for finding his shortcomings so quickly, facing them squarely, and bravely correcting his mistakes. Brother Jixiang believes that Ah Qing will accomplish what you want to do in the future." It’s something.”