Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 249 - 168 Visiting Again_1

Chapter 249: Chapter 168 Visiting Again_1

Hearing the persuasion from his father and third brother, Qian Dagui hesitated endlessly and said, "I understand the reasoning, but the initial investment is too significant. Let’s not even mention planting fruit trees on the man-made hill; just purchasing land costs money, digging ponds costs money, and buying fish fry and lotus seeds also costs money. The key issue is that we don’t know how to raise fish or grow lotuses, and we don’t know how profitable it will be after spending so much money. When it all comes down to it, buying farmland still seems more worthwhile and gives me peace of mind."

Qian Ergui was even more reluctant. He had hardly managed to make some money selling snacks, and to invest it all in barren land—what a pity it would be if it all went to waste.

Wan Erniu didn’t think twice and directly nodded, saying he would find Wang Lizheng tomorrow to mark off the land.

Qian Sangui trusted his granddaughter and Monkey Brother; considering how much money the pearls had sold for, and that even the Emperor had tasted their tea while the young tea planters had partnered with Duke Mansion to grow tea trees, there was no way the lotus roots out there could be wrong. But he couldn’t say this outright; he genuinely wanted his elder brothers to earn more.

So he patted his chest and said, "Go ahead and buy it. I have already sent people to learn how to care for the lotuses and feed the fish, and in time, they can teach you as well. Once we have the lotuses and fish ready, Jinxiu Embroidery Workshop will take responsibility for finding customers. We’ll sell not only in the county town but will also ship to the provincial capital, ensuring you don’t suffer a loss."

Only after hearing this did Qian Dagui nod in agreement, though he didn’t dare to buy too much. He said he would start with trying out five mu. Qian Manchuan, now with enhanced knowledge and understanding in the county town, said that following his Third Uncle was certainly the right move and decided to buy fifteen mu.

Qian Ergui didn’t want to buy even one mu, but Qian Manhe insisted firmly and ultimately decided to purchase ten mu.

Since there was no more good land available to the south, they bought twenty-five mu adjacent to the Hong River to the west of the thirty mu of barren land owned by the third branch of the family. Wan Dazhong’s family also bought twenty mu to the west of the land owned by the first and second branches.

With the busy agricultural season upon them, and a shortage of labor, only the third branch had hired a small group of twenty-odd people at a high price to work the land. They planned to hire more people after the autumn harvest to dig ponds. The other families all decided to wait until after the autumn harvest to hire labor.

After completing the work for Jinxiu Embroidery Workshop and the home renovations, the servants from the Cai and Su families returned to Huaxi Village. Old man Cai took over Qian Hua’s previous responsibilities, serving as the chief steward and also in charge of gatekeeping. Su Ming, alongside Huang Tie, managed some of the pond-digging and hill-constructing matters, as well as overseeing the eighty mu in Mengxi Village. Su Erwe and Su Sanwu looked after the lotuses and fish in the lake, also taking on the duties of driving carriages and serving as the family’s protectors.

Lady He, Su Ming’s wife, managed the household’s kitchen, preparing meals and purchasing groceries. Cai Xiaohua primarily served Qian Manxia, also helping with laundry and cleaning around the house.

Aside from Qian Hua, Lady Wei, and Qian Xiaofeng, Cai He and his wife, along with their youngest daughter Cai XiaoYe, and Su Dawu, remained in the county town. Lady Wei and Lady Ding were responsible for the cleanliness and food preparation of Jinxiu Embroidery Workshop; they also took care of cleaning in the county residence and served the masters when they visited.

The work at Jinxiu Embroidery Workshop was progressing effectively, and with a competent general manager like Qian Hua, Qian Yixiu could let go of her responsibilities. Her thoughts once again turned to how she might improve their living environment.

She had already reached an agreement with Grandfather Sangui, Grandma Wu, and Big Brother Zhengtai: the barren land stretching from their courtyard to the village entrance should remain untouched for the time being. Since her mother looked out every day in anticipation of someone’s return, if they were to repurpose that land and change the path Brother Jiang would take to come home, it would devastate her mother.

Grandfather Sangui and Grandma Wu had originally planned to build a new quad-style courtyard to the east of their small house and move in there, leaving the current courtyard for the servants. A few dozen taels of silver would suffice, and they could move into the new house sooner.

But Qian Yixiu was not in favor of this plan; she felt if they were going to build, they should build something enduring and of high quality. While it would cost more and they would have to wait until next year when their family had "made more" money, she was still willing to wait.

Now that their family had money and backing, and were still nestled in the countryside, they should live a discreet, wealthy peasant life. Especially since she wanted to build a beautiful Embroidery Building for her mother. Her mother could sit on the second floor and embroider, and when tired, she could stand by the carved window, gazing at the wildflowers blooming on the barren ground and looking down the path that her husband would take to return home.

She wouldn’t need to wait by the door anymore, nor worry about evildoers seeing her beautiful face.

Deep down, Qian Yixiu was even more afraid that her mother could be discovered by those who had wanted her dead. By keeping her mother hidden, she could eliminate all potential safety hazards.

Qian Yixiu didn’t go into detail, merely mentioning her ideas in broad terms, which scared Lady Wu’s eyes wide as saucers. Clutching at her chest she exclaimed, "Oh my, living in an Embroidery Building? That’s for the daughters of wealthy families. How ridiculous would that be for just a farming family like ours."

Qian Manxia was already able to accept new things and laughed, "Mom, isn’t our family now a big household? I’ve heard that the young miss of Landlord Li’s family lives in an Embroidery Building; our family can live in one too."

Lady Wu thought about Landlord Li. His family might not even have as much silver as their own, so she also began to smile.

Qian Yixiu said, "Build more rooms, a courtyard for grandpa and grandma, a courtyard for brother, a courtyard for aunt, and an Embroidery Building for my mother."

"What about you? Why don’t you build a courtyard for yourself too?" Qian Manxia asked.

Qian Yixiu intentionally said, "I’ll live with my mother first, and after my aunt gets married, I’ll live in her courtyard."

Qian Manxia’s face turned red with embarrassment, but she didn’t stomp her feet or cover her face as she used to.

While they were happily chatting, they suddenly heard Monkey Brother, who was playing under the eaves, start to shout loudly, and then he jumped onto the courtyard wall and dashed out.

There were only two people who could receive such a welcome from Monkey Brother: one was Qian Yixiu, and the other was Little Monk Hongji.

It seemed that Little Monk had arrived.

Qian Yixiu ran out like a joyful little bird; it’d been a long time since she’d seen Little Monk. She opened the door, then stood there with her mouth agape.

This time not only had Little Monk, Uncle Liang, Song Huaijin, and Zhang Yang arrived, but there were also two young masters whom she did not recognize. Both young masters were tall and dark, one sturdy and the other slightly leaner.

Apart from Little Monk and Zhang Yang, these young masters, including the boy servants, were all dressed in riding outfits, with swords hanging at their waists and bows and arrows attached to the backs of their horses.

Song Huaijin began with a smile, "Little girl, don’t you welcome us?"

Qian Yixiu closed her mouth, then opened it again to laugh and said, "How could that be? You are rare guests, please come in." After she spoke, she subconsciously looked back at the small window, which was already closed.

It was mid-August now, and the weather was cool. Even if she shut herself in the small room, she wasn’t worried about her mother overheating.

Leading the way with Monkey Brother in his arms was Little Monk, followed by Uncle Liang, Song Huaijin, the sturdy one, and the leaner one, then came Zhang Yang, and finally the boy servants leading the horses entered, some stayed to attend to their masters, and some were led by Old man Cai to the main courtyard.

Liang Jinzhao first introduced Qian Sangui and Qian Yixiu to the two young masters, while Lady Wu and Qian Manxia had already scaredly hid inside the house.

He then introduced the two young masters, saying, "This is General Xiao Li, and this is General Xiaohuo."

So it turned out these two were military officers with responsibilities.

General Xiao Li was still all right, nodding his head at the Qian family with respect. However, General Xiaohuo was extremely arrogant, only responding with a hum through his nostrils.