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She missed her grandchildren a little.
Even though Chang Le sent letters back every month, not seeing them made her miss them even more.
However, from the letters, they also learned how much Chang Le had learned over there, which was a good thing for the children.
“I have told Su Jiu to go and tell Xiao Yu that the envoys from the Kingdom of Qi and the Kingdom of Ling will be coming this year. They will probably arrive early,” Xuan Feiran said.
The Empress Dowager sighed lightly and frowned. “The Kingdom of Ling really has no shame. They didn’t gain any benefits last year, yet they are coming again this year.”
“Who can argue with that?”
They haven’t had enough of losing face, so they dare to come again this year.
“It won’t matter who comes this year; they won’t succeed.”
“They are probably going to target Xiao He, after all, the grain seeds belong to her. As long as Xiao He agrees, we have nothing to say,” the Empress Dowager expressed her concern.
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager’s words, Xuan Feiran was no longer worried.
“Before the New Year, the Kingdom of Ling offended Xiao He. The reason Xiao Yu’s parents treated him so badly was because of Qiming. Xiao He and Xiao Yu have such a good relationship, and she naturally wouldn’t agree to give the grain seeds to the Kingdom of Qi.”
“That’s good.”
The rewards from the imperial decree were quickly delivered to Fuan County.
When Wang Jinhe received the imperial decree rewarding her with 1,000 mu of land, she was dumbfounded.
Looking at the messenger, she pointed to herself uncertainly and asked, “Is it true that I’m getting 1,000 mu of land?”
“Of course it’s true.”
“That’s great. Su Yu, I can save a lot of money on buying land,” Wang Jinhe said joyfully.
Su Yu chuckled as he watched Wang Jinhe’s happy expression. The value of other things was higher than that of the 1,000 mu of land, but Wang Jinhe only had eyes for this.
“Mother, what is this? It’s so pretty,” Xiao Bao asked curiously as he approached the coral.
“This is coral. Do you like it?”
“I like it.”
“Would it be okay to put it in our study?” The coral was of very good quality and quite large, so it was probably worth a lot of money.
“Okay.”
The messenger had a somewhat strange expression. The fact that the Princess would give such a valuable gift to a child was unexpected. However, considering the wealth of the Princess and the Prince, it suddenly made sense.
“When I came, the Emperor asked me to inquire about when you will return. Envoys from the Kingdom of Qi and the Kingdom of Ling have already been dispatched. The envoy from the Kingdom of Ling is the Second Prince, and the envoy from the Kingdom of Qi is a Prince Qi Ming.”
“Additionally, there is Lord Lu and his…”
After listening to the messenger’s report on court matters, Su Yu looked pensive. “This person is quite audacious.”
“We will return next month.”
“Understood.”
After seeing the guests off, Su Yu summoned Yin Fan and the others to the study. “Have someone investigate these individuals.”
“No problem.”
After the grain was harvested, it was almost time to harvest the cotton as well.
The reason Su Yu mentioned leaving next month was mainly because they needed to finish harvesting the cotton. They also needed to teach people from other villages to plant the flowers so they could be sold next year.
“I’ll go to the Lin family’s village tomorrow to see how their cotton is doing.”
“Good, I’ll go with you.”
“Where are you going, Daddy?” Xiao Bao hurried over to ask upon hearing their conversation.
“We’re going to see if the cotton is ready to be harvested and bring back the cotton they planted,” Su Yu explained.
“We want to go too.”
“Alright, let’s all go.”
The next morning, Wang Jinhe and Su Yu took the four children to the Lin family’s village. From a distance, they could see a vast expanse of white.
“Auntie, what’s that white thing?” Chang Le asked curiously.
“That’s cotton. It can be used to make quilts and spun into clothes.”
“Is it the comfortable clothes Auntie made for Chang Le before?”
“Yes, it is.”
Chang Le became even more curious and couldn’t wait to go and see for herself. After seeing it, she would definitely go back and tell her father and the others.
Upon arriving at the Lin family’s village, Wang Jinhe went directly to the home of Lin Ziang.
When Lin Ziran saw Wang Jinhe coming, he hurried to find his parents.
“Mom, Dad, the County Princess is here.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Zixun’s parents quickly came out of the house. “Greetings, County Princess.”
“No need for formalities. Please rise.”
“Is there something you need from the County Princess today?”
“Indeed, I came today to see if everyone’s cotton is ready to be picked.”
“Then we will go and inform the village head and the others.”
“That would be much appreciated.”
“It’s no trouble.”
Lin Ziran’s father went to find the village head and the other villagers, and soon their home was filled with people.
“We will go to the fields to see how the cotton is doing.”
The village chief led Wang Jinhe and the others to the cotton fields.
The cotton in the Lin family’s village was growing very well.
After inspecting each field, Wang Jinhe spoke up, “In another six or seven days, it will be ready for harvesting. Now, I will teach you how to pick the cotton.”
After teaching them, Wang Jinhe also showed them how to extract the cotton seeds.
“After extracting the cotton seeds, you can sun-dry them. As for the cotton seeds, you can use them to make oil. However, it’s not edible, but it can be used for lighting.”
“Understood.”
“I will come back in twenty days to harvest the cotton. The price will be around ten wen per jin.”
This price was neither high nor low. With an average yield of about 700 catties per mu, their income from one mu of land would be around seven taels of silver.
“The yield of cotton per mu of land is probably between 700 and 850 catties. Your income from one mu of land will be around seven to eight taels of silver,” Wang Jinhe informed them.
Upon hearing Wang Jinhe’s words, those who had planted a lot of cotton were excited, especially the Lin family.
They had planted ten mu of cotton this year, which would yield at least seventy to eighty taels of silver.
This income was beyond what they had dared to imagine. Coupled with their son’s monthly wages, their household income was quite substantial, and they would have no pressure in the future to provide for their children’s education.
“County Princess, rest assured, we will tidy up the cotton and await your return.”
“Good. Village chief Lin, could you please take me to visit the other villages?”
“Of course.”
Village chief Lin led Wang Jinhe to the other villages where cotton was planted. Upon learning about the harvesting time and the prices, the cotton farmers were all very happy.
“County Princess, rest assured, I will make sure they clean up the cotton properly.”
“Good.”
After sorting out the matters there, Wang Jinhe went to check on the cotton at her own home.
Their cotton was ready for harvesting.
Wang Jinhe called the responsible laborers to start picking the cotton. Chang Le had never picked cotton before and wanted to join in. Once she decided to go, the other two children also wanted to go.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Wang Jinhe gave each of them a delicate little basket to carry.
At the cotton fields, Wang Jinhe began teaching them how to pick the cotton.
The three children played happily all morning, seemingly unaware of fatigue. The mundane task of picking cotton became much more interesting with the three children around.
At noon, as they were heading home, Wang Jinhe looked at them and asked, “Do you want to come back in the afternoon?”
“We want to come back.”