Chapter 81: Beneficial Scheme

Originally, Qin Ying had specially made steamed buns for An’an, but An’an insisted on eating with everyone else and grabbed a corn cake, taking a big bite.

Their family’s cornmeal had been ground repeatedly and was already very fine, with the coarse bits left to make porridge.

As a result, even the cornmeal cake, made purely from cornmeal, didn’t taste rough.

Moreover, there was the tender, stewed rabbit meat, fresh and fragrant.

An’an gobbled down a big bite of meat, her cheeks puffing out, and she mumbled with her mouth full, “So delicious!”

Zhao Hu also dug in, taking several bites before impatiently asking, “Mom, sis, what’s going on? Tell us already!”

Aunt Zhao scolded, “Can’t you wait until you finish eating? You can’t stop talking with food in your mouth, huh?”

Zhao Hu grinned, “Just tell me, and I’ll stop asking! Besides, didn’t you say we’d talk about it while eating?”

“That’s right!” An’an nodded eagerly, wanting to find out quickly, almost done with her meal.

Aunt Zhao was amused by their enthusiasm.

Qin Ying had no choice but to explain, “It’s nothing major. I just wrote a set of rules for raising rabbits and submitted them to Lord Zhou.”

“Sis,” Zhao Hu put down his bowl and grabbed Qin Ying’s sleeve, asking, “What kind of rules? Tell me in detail!”

“Yeah, yeah!” An’an nodded eagerly, trying her best to concentrate.

Qin Ying smiled and gently patted An’an’s head before speaking slowly, “Earlier, when you weren’t here, our rabbits had babies, and some villagers came to ask if they could raise them…”

She recounted the entire story in detail.

Zhao Hu slapped the table angrily, “That’s too much! Bullying people like this!”

An’an’s large, bright eyes filled with anger. She thought, if she had known they were all ingrates, she wouldn’t have helped them!

“Don’t get mad,” Qin Ying said calmly. “Master Chen Jiu has already settled the matter for us. They all apologized, and since our family is busy with planting, it’s thanks to them helping out that we didn’t fall behind on anything.”

Both aunt and nephew still weren’t happy and snorted in unison.

Qin Ying sighed, “No two hands are alike. We can’t expect everyone to have the same heart.

“We live in the same village, and we see each other every day, so we can’t let things get too awkward.

“Otherwise, if someone starts causing trouble behind our backs, we’ll suffer.”

“Our mother rabbit gives birth frequently, and soon our house won’t be able to raise all the rabbits.

“Even if we can eat, we can’t eat them every day, or else we’ll make a whole village envious.”

“If others want to adopt, we can’t just refuse them all.

“But we can raise them well, and others might not be able to.”

“Regardless of our own thoughts, we need to consider what Lord Zhou would think.

“Lord Zhou, naturally, hopes that all the people under his rule can have enough to eat and wear. Now, in our area, we’re no longer afraid of starving or dying of thirst, and the next step is to improve our lives.

“If we hadn’t had success raising rabbits, it would be different, but seeing how our rabbits are thriving, how can Lord Zhou not be moved?”

“For him, making one person or one family live well isn’t enough; he wants everyone to live well.”

“So, he definitely hopes that we can spread the rabbit-raising method.”

“Instead of waiting for Lord Zhou to speak first, it’s better for us to bring it up ourselves. This way, we can earn his favor and gain more attention.”

“Not to mention, Huzi’s future will be taken care of.”

Zhao Hu muttered, “But I can’t let you suffer, sis!”

“Sis isn’t suffering,” Qin Ying gently patted his arm. “Huzi, I haven’t finished yet.”

“The next thing I’m going to do will not only help Lord Zhou ease his worries but also bring great benefits to our entire village.”

“The villagers have already received our kindness, and in the future, they’ll look out for us more. Whatever we do will be much easier.”

“This favor isn’t just for the moment; it will continue to be passed on.”

She then gently patted An’an’s cheek, “Because only when we are well, can they be well.”

Zhao Hu scratched his head, “So, what exactly are we going to do, sis? Tell me quickly! I’m dying of curiosity!”

Aunt Zhao slapped him on the back of the head, “You just said you’d grown up, but you’re still so impatient!”

Zhao Hu pouted and continued to listen, forgetting about his meal.

Qin Ying spoke slowly, “I told Lord Zhou that our family can help the people in the village raise rabbits together.

“We’ll allocate a piece of land for everyone, and we’ll all collectively build rabbit sheds. We’ll assign people to handle feeding and patrols, and our family will take charge, ensuring everything is up to standard and taking care of the rabbits.

“Each batch of rabbits that’s ready for slaughter, after keeping enough breeding rabbits, will be distributed to the villagers. Of course, this is only for the current villagers. New arrivals or those who move back will not get this privilege. If they want rabbit meat, they’ll have to pay with money or grain.”

“Rabbit manure will be collected and shared among the current villagers to fertilize their fields.”

Zhao Hu anxiously said, “But this isn’t fair! We’re providing breeding rabbits, we’re responsible for raising them, and we don’t get any special treatment? This is too unfair!”

Aunt Zhao scolded, “Why are you in such a rush? Your sister hasn’t finished yet!”

Zhao Hu pouted and continued listening to Qin Ying, still not touching his food.

Qin Ying explained gently, “Naturally, our family can’t work for free. So, I asked Lord Zhou to grant us ten acres of unused land and help us organize it. These ten acres will belong to our family forever, exempt from taxes, and it will be our ‘perpetual land’, passed down through generations.”

“The rest of the land our family holds will be treated like the land of the other villagers.”

The people in the Black Mountain area lived along the mountains, and their land wasn’t abundant. Places like Tongshu Village had relatively more land, but in the past, the per capita land was only two acres.

Qin Ying and An’an didn’t have their own land yet; they hadn’t officially registered, so strictly speaking, they were considered to be living as unregistered residents. However, because the times were chaotic, no one bothered with them.

When people died, their land returned to the government. So, the Zhao family only had the four acres registered under Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu.

Similarly, the Guo family only had the four acres registered under Guo Wen and Guo Nier.

Qin Ying smiled softly, stroking An’an’s head, “I also asked Lord Zhou to help me and An’an register our household. From now on, the four of us will officially be under the same household registration.”

“Oh, by the way, we need to give An’an a proper name.”

Zhao Hu got excited, “Since she’s under our household, it’s only right for An’an to take our last name. Let’s call her Zhao Ping’an! It sounds good and is easy to remember!”

“You brat!” Aunt Zhao couldn’t help but smack him on the back of the head again, “This is your sister’s daughter, she gets to decide!”

Zhao Hu looked at Qin Ying with hopeful eyes.