Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 63: Planning to Plant Medicinal Materials

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Planning to Plant Medicinal Materials

She spent the rest of her time studying in the Space, staying busy until her death. Occasionally, she went out to relax with her supposed close friend, never realizing the latter harbored ulterior motives. Otherwise, with her abilities, how could she possibly have fallen for that trick? Thinking of that ’close friend,’ a wave of murderous intent surged within Gu Qingli. To think she actually found a drug that could control the brain and prevent me from using my mental powers!

"Li’er, what’s wrong?" The murderous intent suddenly emanating from Gu Qingli was instantly felt by Xiao Yunjing. He turned her body to face him and asked anxiously.

"Nothing." Gu Qingli took a deep breath to calm herself, shook her head, and whispered while leaning into Xiao Yunjing’s arms.

Xiao Yunjing frowned, holding her tightly and gently patting her back as if soothing a child. "If Li’er is worried about something, can you tell me?"

"Sure." Gu Qingli’s dark mood lifted as quickly as it had come; with Xiao Yunjing’s comfort, the gloom in her heart vanished.

She crawled out from under the covers, sat up, and poked Xiao Yunjing’s forehead with her finger. "Wuqing said you went to challenge the Secret Sect alone. You’ve got some nerve! Aren’t you afraid they’ll kill you? If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t stay a widow for your sake."

Xiao Yunjing chuckled. He pulled the quilt over her and said, "So worried about your husband? Don’t worry. Your husband is practically invincible. I won’t die, so you won’t get a chance to remarry."

Gu Qingli was momentarily speechless. He should have just said so earlier, saving me all that worry! She grumbled inwardly, then turned over and lay down.

「」

The next day, Eldest Brother Xiao unexpectedly took the three children to Master Xu for their schooling. Meanwhile, Mr. Xiao and Second Brother Xiao went to the Village Chief’s house. They returned having bought twenty acres of farmland, ten acres of other land, and a piece of wasteland in the village, much to Gu Qingli’s surprise.

Does this mean they’re really planning to settle down here? Gu Qingli mused. For them to make this decision, Xiao Yunjing must have confirmed something in the Capital City.

「」

Once the first lunar month ended, the snow on the ground gradually melted, and it was time for the farmers to get busy again.

Ms. Jiang arranged for her three sons to start clearing the newly bought wasteland. Gu Qingli and her two sisters-in-law also went to help with the weeding.

The wasteland was just behind their house, extending up the mountain. It was quite large; Gu Qingli estimated it to be at least twenty acres. I wonder what would be the best thing to plant on this land?

It took the six of them six days to clear it. At dinner that night, Gu Qingli asked Ms. Jiang, "Mother, what do we plan to plant on the land we’ve cleared?"

According to state regulations, reclaimed wasteland was exempt from taxes for five years; whatever was grown during that period belonged entirely to the farmer.

Upon arriving here, Gu Qingli had also learned some facts about this nation, the Daqian Kingdom. Its territory wasn’t vast. It had a total of ten prefectures, with each prefecture overseeing ten counties. Below the counties were towns, and the towns administered the villages. By my estimation, Daqian is only half the size of Huaxia. In recent years, Daqian had been plagued by internal strife and external threats, with wars year after year. The population had sharply decreased, leaving many areas uncultivated and barren, which led to the current policy.

"Third Daughter-in-law, what do you think we should plant?" Ms. Jiang asked. She genuinely didn’t know, as she had never farmed before.

Gu Qingli thought for a moment and said, "How about planting medicinal materials? If we plant grains, it’s unlikely we’ll have much of a harvest the first year. What do you all think?"

I have a plan, she thought. That land isn’t fertile; it’s quite barren. It would probably take two years just to improve the soil. Planting grain crops would be a waste. It’s better to plant medicinal materials. Currently, there’s a severe shortage of them. I overheard Doctor Shen saying that no one knows how many more years the war at the border will last, and these medicinal materials are scarcer than gold and silver. Once I make money from planting medicinal herbs, the villagers will definitely follow suit. Then, I’ll introduce sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are incredibly filling and are especially useful as a staple food during the scarce winter months. Furthermore, they can be made into sweet potato flour and dried sweet potatoes, which are non-perishables that can be stored for a long time. Besides, I grew up eating sweet potatoes, so I’m very familiar with them.

"Mother, I think what Third Sister-in-law said is feasible," Ms. Wang agreed. Last year, she had gone up the mountain with Gu Qingli to gather and sell medicinal herbs, so she knew their prices and that they were much more profitable than grain crops.

Ms. Jiang said, "Alright then. Since you all will be the ones tending to it, plant whatever you want."

Mr. Xiao and his three sons had no objections either. To be honest, apart from Gu Qingli, no one else in the family knew how to farm; they would all be learning as they went.

What to plant was decided; next was to determine which specific medicinal herbs were most suitable. Gu Qingli decided to start with two types: Bupleurum, which was most effective for reducing fever and used in large quantities, and notoginseng. With her spiritual spring water, she could grow notoginseng anywhere.

Actually, with my spiritual spring water, as long as I have seeds, I can grow any medicinal plant anywhere, she considered. But I should keep a low profile for now and start by growing plants suitable for the local area.

Gu Qingli believed in acting decisively. She immediately shared her detailed thoughts with the family, and everyone agreed. They would prepare to make compost the next day. Making compost was easy. Raw materials were abundant; leaves from the mountains and manure were the best. As for labor, their family had plenty of hands.

Once the land was composted and the weather warmed up, they could go into the mountains to find seedlings. At that time, she could also conveniently transplant some seedlings from her Space.

Finally, Ms. Jiang smiled and said, "Third Daughter-in-law, do whatever you want. The family supports you. We have plenty of labor, so you can arrange everything." Although she was a woman of the household, she understood that her third daughter-in-law’s desire to plant medicinal materials was not merely about earning money.

"Thank you, Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Brother, and Second Sister-in-law." Gu Qingli hadn’t expected her family to be so supportive, without a single objection, and no one even mentioned the possibility of failure.

Xiao Yunjing, now fully aware of Gu Qingli’s plan to grow medicinal materials and acutely understanding their scarcity on the battlefield, asked, "Li’er, if you’re going to plant medicinal materials, is twenty acres enough? Why not have Father buy that entire stretch of wasteland tomorrow? I reckon it’s about another hundred acres. What do you think?"

The war in my previous life lasted for five years before it ended, Xiao Yunjing recalled. We won, but it was an incredibly hard-fought victory. The battlefields were plagued by shortages of food, medicine, and clothing. Even though that person harbors murderous intent towards me, I can’t bear to see the Daqian Kingdom devoured by other nations one day. The fate of a defeated nation is tragic. How many victors would treat the vanquished with kindness? Burning, killing, looting—they would stop at nothing to plunder. How many people could remain unscathed then? Hegemons never play by the rules of martial virtue. To ensure a conquered nation has no chance to rise again, they might even massacre its entire populace.

"Okay. Do we have enough money in the family?" Gu Qingli looked at Mr. Xiao.

"We do. Third Daughter-in-law, don’t worry about the money. If you want to plant, Father will go buy that land tomorrow," Mr. Xiao stated, rarely speaking so much at once.

Wow! Her father-in-law is so decisive and generous! Gu Qingli thought. A hundred acres of wasteland would cost at least two hundred taels of silver, wouldn’t it? Does the family really have that much money?