Chapter 213

In the afternoon, nobody rested.

The men were busy sharpening the large knives, marveling at their quality as they worked.

The women were making dry food. With five people working together, they only needed to prepare enough for five or six days, and it took less than an hour to finish.

After the dry food was prepared, the five women didn’t idle. They went to the vegetable garden to pick the ripe vegetables and fruits. They kept enough for themselves and, according to their habits from Bamboo Forest Village, they preserved the excess by pickling or drying it, storing it for winter use.

Shuiqing was very pleased with these women, as they were all diligent workers.

Mother Hu was even more relieved.

With these women helping out, Qing’er had much less to do.

In the evening, the borrowed vehicles were gradually brought in and loading began.

Sacks of potatoes were loaded onto the vehicles, secured tightly with twine.

Then a large oilcloth was spread over the potatoes, covered securely, and tied down with another layer of twine.

Once everything was prepared, the vehicles were neatly lined up in the courtyard, and the villagers finally went home.

Dinner was mutton again, and for people lacking in fats and oils, meat was never tiresome.

Everyone ate heartily and, after washing up, went to bed early to rise early the next morning.

At the first light of dawn, the whole village of Shanshui was bustling.

Smoke rose from chimneys as families prepared breakfast for those about to leave.

Mother Hu cooked two large pots of red date millet porridge and made dozens of potato egg pancakes to go with it.

After eating two bowls of hot, comforting millet porridge and a large, filling pancake, Bai Manshan felt completely rejuvenated!

He shouted to the many men setting out, “Eat your fill, everyone, you’ll need the energy for the road!”

“We’re full!” came the loud and unified reply.

The selected men from Shanshui Village also came to the courtyard, taking up their positions to pull carts or push wheelbarrows as planned.

“Let’s go!”

At Bai Manshan’s command, the vehicles started moving out of Shuiqing’s courtyard and then out of the village until they disappeared from view.

Naturally, Bai Ziqian was the one left behind. He stood on high ground, watching the convoy gradually become a tiny, indistinguishable dot.

“It will take at least seven or eight trips for your father to transport everything,” Shuiqing said beside him.

Bai Ziqian turned in surprise. Seven or eight trips?

A round trip took five days, so it would take at least over a month.

“But won’t it be more dangerous after a month?”

Shuiqing nodded, “That’s why your father’s original plan is not feasible anymore.”

Bai Manshan’s original plan was to cultivate 500 acres of land, requiring at least seven or eight trips with nearly thirty vehicles. But that was during peaceful times. In these times of scarcity and famine, such a large amount of food on the road would be tempting for bandits.

At most, they could make three or four trips; after that, the risk would become too great.

Bai Manshan knew this, which is why he hired extra help at a high cost to ensure enough could be transported.

Recently, Bai Ziqian had been learning the ways of business, social interactions, and reading between the lines from his father.

He immediately understood, “Auntie, what do you plan to do with the remaining potatoes?”

Aunt Shuiqing wouldn’t mention this for no reason, and she certainly wasn’t gloating!

Father had planned to plant 500 acres of potatoes, but now, at most, we can only use half of that. Aunt Shuiqing must have already thought of how to use the remaining potatoes, which is why she’s talking to me about it in advance.

Shuiqing raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of a surprised smile on her lips.

This child has made rapid progress since he started learning from his father, almost as if he had an epiphany. It might also be because Bai Manshan is so capable and teaches well.

“The amount of cornmeal the village families have is limited. Even if they wanted to plant more, they couldn’t. I have just over 100 acres of land, but next season, I don’t want to use it for planting potatoes,” Shuiqing explained.

Bai Ziqian stood up straight, his expression serious as he listened quietly.

“I don’t plan to plant rice or wheat either. We have enough stored grain to eat. Next season, I’m planning to plant yams and sugarcane. You know the price of yams;

sugarcane can be used to make sugar, which is always a valuable commodity. Whether times are good or bad, chaotic or peaceful, it sells well and at a high price. I want to give it a try.” Shuiqing spoke openly to the boy beside her.

“We have over 100 acres of farmland and four mountains to manage. The people your father brought are perfect for this. As for the potatoes, we don’t have the land or manpower to plant them;

I’m thinking of distributing them to the villagers of Shanshui Village. I’ll provide the seeds, they’ll use their extra land to plant, and we’ll split the harvest 40-60. This will only work for the first year, though. By next year, they’ll have enough potato seeds of their own. But this season’s share will be enough to last three years!

Moreover, it won’t take three years. With this year’s pilot, next year I’ll have yam seeds and sugarcane seeds to distribute to the villagers, and we’ll buy back the produce and sell it. Our own fields can then be used to plant food crops.”

Bai Ziqian’s admiration was evident, nearly overflowing from his eyes!

He had heard his father say that Aunt Shuiqing was very good at using people and had a keen business sense. If it weren’t for her family’s weak foundation, her status as a woman, and her husband’s scholarly background, they might not be any worse off than the Bai family.

Previously, he had been disdainful, thinking his father was exaggerating. After all, Aunt Shuiqing’s family didn’t even have servants. How could she know how to manage people?

His father had said that Aunt Shuiqing was not indiscriminately kind to the people of Shanshui Village. She drew most of them in, treating the good ones well and refusing to cooperate with the bad ones, maintaining strict rules and not tolerating any slackness.

Those who were not cooperated with stood as a warning, so no one would dare to cause trouble. Even if they did, they would think carefully about the consequences.

This was a clear system of rewards and punishments, a principle of using people that his father wanted him to learn well. Later, when he did business on his own, whether it was a big or small venture, he could use this strategy to deal with troublemakers.

Today, he understood even more why his father held Aunt Shuiqing in such high regard.

She planned several steps ahead with each move.

And each step was taken steadily, without being overly ambitious or rushing to achieve everything at once, only doing her best within her capabilities.

Excitedly, he asked, “Auntie, are you telling me this because…”

Because it meant he wouldn’t have to graft Polygonum multiflorum branches anymore? Instead, he would learn business skills!

Shuiqing wanted to say that work was definitely necessary.

However, while working, it was also time to hone his speaking skills.

She smiled warmly, “Come, let’s go to the villagers. You’ll be the one to discuss with them how to divide the 40-60 share.”

Bai Ziqian blinked. How else could a 40-60 share be divided?

Could this mean she wanted him to play the bad guy?