Chapter 533 - 381: Working Like an Ox or Horse

Feng Yun’s matters in Huaxi Village were crystal clear to Ren Rude; there wasn’t a single thing he was unaware of...

Therefore, he was greatly shocked after hearing the whole account.

So many merchants had come to her seeking partnership, yet not a single deal was struck. He had thought Feng Yun was merely driving a hard bargain, asking for the moon...

Yet, could it actually be due to a lack of trust in others?

Ren Rude was doubtful but simply chuckled it off.

"My lady, your coal balls are highly sought after. With such a lucrative trade, as long as you give the nod, merchants from all over would be scrambling to buy. Why would there be a need for me to meddle as a middleman?"

"Mr. Ren doesn’t understand," she said.

Feng Yun’s eyes slightly closed, her beautiful lashes fluttering briefly, yet she paused without continuing, finally letting out a sigh.

"As for the territories under the rule of the Western Capital Dynasty, that would be easy to handle. We’re not worried about finding buyers for the coal balls or about the government causing trouble. But if we’re talking about selling to the south and to Yecheng, that’s another story."

Ren Rude was extremely surprised.

"Am I to understand that lady wishes to manage business personally in Nanqi and Yecheng?"

Feng Yun chuckled and shook her head, "I wouldn’t dare. Nanqi has its alliances, but also many conflicts, and Yecheng is an outright enemy. If I went there, wouldn’t I be minced to meat?"

Ren Rude said, "I’m still not quite clear on my lady’s intentions...?"

Feng Yun gave him a bow and, lowering her voice, said, "I’d like to ask Mr. Ren for help—to find someone reliable and arrange a secure route that won’t bring trouble from the Li Family father and daughter..."

Ren Rude finally understood, "Ah, I see."

The coal balls originated from Huaxi. Those selling in Yecheng, without strong ties to the Li Imperial Court, would struggle with the coal business...

At least openly, none of the merchants coming to Huaxi to negotiate with Feng Yun were from Yecheng.

But...

The information Ren Rude received was quite the opposite.

Yecheng, lacking graphite, was even more eager than Nanqi to procure it and was more keen to buy coal balls for the winter...

One wanted to sell, the other wanted to buy.

Both parties believed the other was not willing to do business with them and were seeking a middleman to facilitate...

This was clearly an effortless task.

It was just missing a link, and now it was a matter of who would forge that link...

Doing a good turn while also profiting—why not?

Ren Rude had the words at the tip of his tongue but then swallowed them back.

He stroked his beard, wearing an expression of difficulty.

"I fear this matter... might not be easy to handle?"

Feng Yun took a sip of tea and smiled slightly.

"Rest assured, Mr. Ren, after the deed is done, I will not leave you shortchanged."

Ren Rude glanced at her and responded with an awkward chuckle.

"Since the lady is so considerate, perhaps I... might give it a try?"

Feng Yun bowed her hands with a smile, "Much obliged."

-

When the gong for the monthly test rang, Feng Yun had already left the village school.

On the main road, with flowering trees on both sides, the fields were full of people. Walking down the road, it seemed as if one could even smell the fragrance of the rice.

Thanks to Feng Yun’s use of a greenhouse for seedling cultivation, there was no delay in the planting season. Her family’s rice was the earliest to mature in the village, hence it was also the first to be harvested.

At that moment, villagers were gathered on the field ridges, watching.

Feng Yun walked over with an umbrella, and from afar, people called out to her.

"Village Chief’s wife, what a bountiful harvest."

"Village Chief’s wife, has the grand king gone to Xiufeng Mountain to eliminate bandits?"

"Village Chief’s wife, they say this month the village school’s student prize money will increase, is that true?"

Countless questions bombarded her, and Feng Yun wasn’t sure which to answer first.

She just smiled and walked on, engaging in some small talk.

Soon, people began to discuss more practical matters.

"Village Chief’s wife, next year when your family plants rice, could you also teach us how to cultivate seedlings?"

These sincere wishes were all built upon previous distrust.

Last year’s heavy snow had delayed the agricultural season, and Feng Yun specially built a greenhouse for cultivation.

During the cultivation period, she had actually had the Wa Chang and the Five Chang go door-to-door to inform everyone.

Yang Wa Chang even personally visited her seedling house on the farm, but still did not follow her method.

As a result, only her family managed to plant in time, getting their well-chosen seedlings into the fields. When the locust plague came, her fields had the most ducks, which meant slightly less disaster impact and with the rice harvested, her family’s yield was double that of an average family...

In a year of famine, grain was the lifeblood of a family.

Seeing those plump grains of rice, the villagers had long been regretful.

Privately, they all said that from now on they would do whatever the Village Chief’s wife said, and they would follow her farm work methods...

"Village Chief’s wife, why are the stubs left so high in your rice fields? Stubs that high aren’t good for returning to the soil..."

Feng Yun smiled briefly.

"We harvested early, so we left them a bit taller."

Then someone asked, "What’s the purpose of leaving them so tall?"

These were the regrowing rice plants that Feng Yun had deliberately left.

She had long discovered that the things written in her mother’s books were mostly ahead of this era; she had never heard of regrowing rice before this.

She was initially focused on testing purposes, and since the villagers’ harvest time was late, she feared they wouldn’t catch the season, so she didn’t mention it.

Seeing everyone’s curiosity, she thought for a moment and took the opportunity to explain the concept of ratooning rice.

"When harvesting rice, take care not to damage the rice stubbles and leave at least nine inches of short stubbles. Then apply fertilizer and maintain water, and the lateral buds on the stubbles will tiller. In about a month, they can shoot out panicles, and in two months, they can mature. By October, another season of rice can be harvested."

"Another harvest season?"

The villagers’ faces were filled with shock.

"Once the rice is cut, it’s gone. How can it regrow?"

"Is Lady Village Chief joking?"

Feng Yun smiled slightly, "Everyone, just wait for the harvest of our ratooned rice. Decide next year whether or not to follow suit..."

Next year?

Upon hearing this, some people became unhappy.

"Why can’t my family do it?"

Feng Yun said, "Because I transplanted the seedlings early, harvested early, and had already prepared by applying base fertilizer..."

As she spoke, she picked up a straw from the ground, signaling for everyone to look.

"Compare with the rice from my family. Ours are plumper and more robust. Only if the seedlings were well nurtured initially, can they have the strength for regrowth. Otherwise, even if the stubbles tiller again, it’s hard to have a harvest..."

A look of disappointment spread across the people’s faces.

Although they didn’t quite believe that rice could regrow, if Lady Village Chief’s family did it and it truly was possible to harvest rice twice, wouldn’t they be at a great loss?

Missing out on one harvest.

Most people could understand, as the condition of the seedlings varied, and they couldn’t completely imitate Lady Village Chief.

But still, there were a few who, missing out on the benefits, started to harbor complaints.

"If Lady Village Chief had spoken earlier about the rice regrowth, my family would have also gone to the fields earlier, harvested earlier..."

"Right, but whether it can regrow or not is still uncertain. Let’s wait and see."

The small discussions among the crowd, Feng Yun couldn’t hear.

But she could guess that there would always be those who harbored complaints.

She didn’t say much, simply nodded and smiled at the crowd before leaving the rice field.

Just as she was preparing to pick some wild amaranth in the field, she saw Puyang Yi coming with a young man who resembled a noble’s son.

Upon closer look, it was unmistakably Prince Puyang Zong of Danyang.

It seemed that the dandy had recovered from his injuries and was once again able to wander about.

But why had he come to Huaxi Village?

Feng Yun was puzzled, but her face betrayed nothing. When Puyang Yi approached her beamingly, Feng Yun offered a slight bow.

"Greetings to Lord Pingyuan County and Prince Puyang."

In the Xifeng and Xinghe Dynasties, the Princess Residence was a significant household, and these two were the pride of the heavens, deserving deference wherever they went.

But times had changed.

The Princess remained noble, still the linchpin of the royal lineage, but her influence had greatly waned.

Fortunately, Puyang Yi didn’t care about these things.

Seeing Feng Yun, she eagerly sought to be close, completely disregardful of anything else.

"Lady Yun, did you have a chance to look at my house?"

The expensive piece of land that Lord Pingyuan County had bought from Feng Yun had already broken ground.

Feng Yun hadn’t gone specially to look at it, but she saw the activity every day as she came and went. Blue bricks, green tiles, young trees, beautiful flowers being carted towards the construction site—the progress was quick. Several days before, she had noticed the houses already having their beams raised...

Therefore, seeing the surrounding lands still barren, Puyang Yi seemed anxious and quietly asked Feng Yun in front of her brother.

"When will General Wen’s residence begin construction?"

When Feng Yun sold this expensive piece of land, it was understood that the adjacent site was reserved for Wen Xingsu. But Wen Xingsu, being single, had no plans to build a house, and the matter dragged on.

At Puyang Yi’s mention, Feng Yun suddenly felt that she should think on behalf of her brother.

Her eldest brother was so busy that he had no time to deal with it.

But after all, he was to settle down at some point. Since Nanqi was no longer an option, he needed a home in Andu.

Not just a house, a home.

Feng Yun smiled slightly, "I’m helping him pick a good date. Once we find a suitable day, we’ll start construction."

Puyang Yi’s eyes lit up.

"The craftsmen building my house are skilled and work quickly. They seem very suitable. When the time comes, I’ll send them to you. They are very reasonable about payment as well."

"Ahem!" Puyang Zong coughed lightly, giving a reminder.

His sister showed no restraint, and it was unbearable for him to watch.

The beating he received at Little Jieqiu not only hurt Puyang Zong physically but also his pride.

Since that day, his reputation was ruined.

He’d originally done nothing wrong, just accompanied Yuan Kang up the mountain, but who would have guessed that it would become widely known? It was even rumored he’d conspired with the Marquis Qinghe and son of the Marquis of Xuanping, Qu Feng, to harass Feng Yun...

A baseless accusation.

His indignation had not subsided.

But for some reason, his mother, instead of venting for him, had him accompany Puyang Yi to Huaxi Village as soon as he recovered a bit, even asking him to help Feng Yun with work...

But here was Puyang Yi, ignoring important matters, only talking about finding men, making him seethe with anger he couldn’t express, and his face turned particularly ugly.

He interrupted, successfully diverting Feng Yun and Puyang Yi’s attention.

"Right, I almost forgot my second brother." Puyang Yi cheerfully linked arms with Feng Yun, acting as if they were very close.

"Ayun, my mother asked me to bring my second brother here to Huaxi Village for penance. Don’t be polite, feel free to order him around. Whatever puts him to good use, do it. Treat him like an ox or horse if need be, don’t stop until you’ve vented your anger."