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In Wangshan Village, there are 500 acres of land, with 400 acres sown with winter wheat and 100 acres to be planted with peanuts in mid-March. Accompanied by Old Zeng and the Lin family, Chen Feng went for a tour of the fields. The wheat was lush and thriving, stretching out endlessly.
Dabao was thrilled and whispered to Chen Feng, “Mother, with so much land, we’re the second-largest landowners after Uncle Chu.”
Chen Feng chuckled and pinched his chubby cheeks, saying, “Uncle Chu is an official, not a landowner.”
She then told Lin Bo that out of the 100 acres of vacant land, only 80 acres would be used for planting peanuts, while the remaining 20 acres would be used for watermelon cultivation. She would provide the watermelon seeds and asked Lin Bo to find one or two farmers who were experienced in growing watermelons.
After the field visit, they had lunch at the manor. Lin Bo’s daughter-in-law’s cooking was excellent, bearing the flavors of the south. Lin Bo’s 13-year-old granddaughter, Lin Zhi, and 11-year-old grandson, Lin Lang, were bright and endearing, serving with thoughtfulness and efficiency. Especially Lin Zhi, with her elegance and a touch of Suzhou dialect, appeared even more gentle and amiable.
Chen Feng decided to have Lin Zhi serve by her side.
The Lin family was elated, knowing that their prospects would be much better following this kind mistress. Moreover, she seemed kind-hearted and had a good temperament.
Lin Bo was even more delighted. Many years ago, he had met several young ladies from the Chen family and a young master. He couldn’t help but wonder why such a talented and charming master had children who didn’t take after him. This young lady, beautiful as a celestial being, seemed to be a replica of the former master.
Although the former master, now referred to as Mr. Chen, only mentioned that the land and the family were being given to a certain Miss Chen, and they should show the same loyalty to her as they did to him.
The entire Lin family was puzzled, not knowing who this Miss Chen was and how she had won Mr. Chen’s favor, leading to the land and their family being given to her. They were ready to endure hardships, believing that their future prospects with her would be much worse than following a government official.
Seeing the young lady’s talent, coupled with the rumors he had heard in the area, Lin Bo could guess who this Miss Chen was.
No wonder Mr. Chen liked her so much! It seemed that their future prospects might be even better with this Miss Chen.
Before Chen Feng left, Lin Bo presented her with a few wild rabbits and pheasants gathered from several hunters’ homes.
Upon returning home, Chen Feng renamed Lin Zhi and Zeng Xiaoqing, one Autumn and the other Summer. She wasn’t good at naming, so anything simple and easy to call would do.
On the eighteenth day, bidding farewell to the old Marquis, not only did Chu Hanyan cry, but even Dabao shed tears, leaving Chen Feng feeling a bit sad. This old man was indeed very kind.
In the following days, apart from taking care of the children and occasionally making some snacks, life wasn’t as hectic.
Also, starting from a day in the middle of this month, swallows or wild geese occasionally appeared in the sky, flying in a line towards the north. Though not many, they were still visible.
Whenever they appeared, Dabao and Hanyan would get extremely excited, shouting “Golden Treasure” loudly, fearing that the Golden Treasure might not pay attention and miss the way home. Whenever they saw these flocks of swallows cutting through the sky towards the distance, the two children’s disappointed eyes would be filled with tears.
This deeply moved the Golden Swallow in the space, making its heart feel as if it had sprouted wings, and it flew out of the space early.
Now, it had no interest in building a golden house anymore and only thought about coming out to play. It was just like a little person, always finding something to do whenever it had free time. It was now extremely annoyed with Chen Feng for bringing in watermelon seeds and rice seeds, taking up half of the space.
Almost every day, Chen Feng would bring in some delicious food, partly to please it and partly to ensure that it produced more droppings.
On the twenty-second day of February, she took out the rice and watermelon seeds. The rice seeds were about to be sown, while the watermelon seeds would be seeded the following month.
The rice seeds were only in the space for two days, taken out before they changed color. On the other hand, the watermelon seeds were there for five days, and their color had already deepened.
She had previously conducted an experiment and found that if the seeds were left in the space for more than three days, their color would gradually darken. After five days, the color wouldn’t change further, indicating that the seeds were of the best quality at this stage.
However, as the rice seeds needed to be handed over to the tenant farmers for seedlings, if the color wasn’t right, they wouldn’t dare to plant them, fearing that their hard work would go to waste. Additionally, rice was one of the most important crops, highly valued by the court, so any mishandling wasn’t advisable. It was a slow process, gradually nurturing good seeds.
She arranged for Chen Ming and the experienced old man Zeng to go to the Lao Huai Village in Guanghe Town of Zhongning County the next day, to inspect their 200 mu of rapeseed fields and deliver the rice seeds to the tenants for seedling cultivation. After the rapeseed harvest, they would plant this rice. She also advised them to soak the seeds in warm water for a day before sowing.
The old man was shocked to hear this. He said, “Young lady, I’ve been farming for so many years, and I’ve never heard of soaking seeds in warm water.”
Chen Feng chuckled, “I heard this from the foreigners when I was in Dingzhou Prefecture, so it should be correct.” When in doubt, blame it on the foreigners.
Even though she said that, she knew that the old farming methods would not follow this procedure. She had previously mentioned this to Chen Ye and Chen Gui, with Chen Gui remaining silent and Chen Ye proudly saying, “I dare not speak of other things, but when it comes to growing crops, we are old hands at it. Those foreigners are uncivilized people, drinking blood and eating raw meat. Could they even understand what they’re saying?”
Chen Feng was left speechless.
Thinking that she would discuss it with Old Lin Bo, she planned to inform him that wheat and corn seeds should be soaked first. He was the head of Wangshan Village, and the tenants there would certainly comply.
The next day, she bid farewell to Chen Ming and the old man Zeng.
At noon, she received a letter from Chen Shi’s envoy, stating that the restaurant had been renovated, the staff were all assembled, and it would officially open on the 25th of February. They requested the presence of Steward Luo, Chen Ye, Chen Ming, Chen Feng, and also invited grandma Chen.
Chen Ming and the others returned in the afternoon. He was thrilled upon learning this news and immediately sent the letter to the main house, inviting them to dinner.
In the evening, the entire main household gathered to discuss the trip to Dingzhou Prefecture. Chen Ye and grandma Chen were certain to go, but Mrs. Hu, Chen Jue, Dahua, and Daya all clamored to join. It was a scene of crying and commotion as they argued over who would go.
Unable to handle the situation, Chen Ye said, “Alright, except for Gui staying back to look after the house, everyone else can go. After all, we are the masters now and are sure to make a lot of money. What’s the point of making money? It’s to let our mother, wives, and children enjoy the good life.”
As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted.
No wonder Chen Shi said that Chen Ye was a good patriarch. Chen Shi’s family hadn’t moved yet, and with so many people going, how would they all fit?
Seeing the commotion, Chen Feng began to feel a headache even before going. She thought that she had given all the necessary instructions and decided not to join in just for the sake of the excitement.