Chapter 144

Shuiqing’s family cultivated nine mu of fields and fifty mu of potato fields.

During the division of property, there wasn’t this much land; it was cleared after the last exchange of labor for seeds.

After the division, they built houses, planted Gegen, Heshouwu, and fruit trees on the mountain, raised livestock, cultivated the fields, and even expanded the acreage gradually through slow reclamation.

The amount of potatoes grown in her family is similar to that grown by the other six households in the village.

Her family only has eight people, mostly children.

Depending on their own harvest from fifty to sixty mu of land, who knows when they’ll finish.

So, her family has to hire people.

There are thirty-four households in Shanshui Village, with over four hundred people of all ages. Excluding the six households that grow potatoes, they have to first harvest their own potatoes, leaving about twenty to thirty households.

With these six households setting an example, it’s like live advertising.

Shuiqing easily recruited villagers to harvest potatoes.

And none of them asked for money, just potatoes—to keep as seeds.

They found out that another batch could be planted in September, as long as there were seeds, there was hope.

After selecting good candidates, Shuiqing’s potatoes were also harvested.

Some people were given hoes and rakes and were responsible only for digging;

Some picked the potatoes, putting them one by one into baskets or sacks;

The remaining people were responsible for loading the filled baskets onto carts and bringing them back to the warehouse to be stored.

Basket after basket, sack after sack, lined up on the field paths, first moved to the main road, loaded onto cart after cart and single-wheeled cart, then transported back.

Bai Manshan, Li Huyu, and Bai Ziqian came in horse-drawn carriages and saw endless vehicles winding around, seeming to stretch out endlessly.

Bai Ziqian was pleasantly surprised and excitedly said, “It must be Aunt Shuiqing’s!”

Li Huyu, born in a small fishing village, where they were good at fishing but not at farming, didn’t have much land for planting.

She asked her husband, “What crops are being harvested at this time of year?”

The Bai family is also a large plantation owner, with hundreds and thousands of mu of land. Why did her husband say it was the off-season for farming and they could come to stay at Shuiqing’s house for a while?

Bai Manshan frowned, quickly recalling the grain harvested in June. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, “Could it be… potatoes?”

Seeing this quantity, he muttered to himself: Brother Jin said they only had a few mu of good fields, twenty to thirty mu of land; this output and acreage don’t match.

But maybe they timed it right, responsible for harvesting a few days ago, now only responsible for bringing them home, so it looks like more…

As soon as Bai Ziqian jumped off the carriage, he shouted loudly to the people outside the gate of the courtyard, “Auntie! Uncle Fan!”

Shuiqing and Fan Jin looked up and saw Bai Ziqian’s family, who had been stopped by the convoy, and exclaimed joyfully, “Finally, you’ve arrived!”

These days, they were afraid that if there was heavy rain or chaos, they wouldn’t see them for several years!

Li Huyu hurried over and cheerfully said, “What are you afraid of? Afraid we wouldn’t come?”

Bai Manshan understood the hidden meaning in their words.

He looked at Fan Jin, who nodded silently.

Shuiqing handed over the potato harvesting outside to Ling Ran and entertained Li Huyu and Bai Manshan to the tea room for a cup of hot tea.

As for Bai Ziqian, like an untamed wild horse, he wouldn’t even rest in the tea room. He kept running around outside with Da Jiang and Da He, playing wildly.

As the carriage entered the courtyard, Bai Manshan handed things from the carriage to the rack, and Li Huyu stood beside the carriage, unloading them.

“Shuiqing, this is the fish gelatin you asked me to bring earlier, it’s dried now! Take a look.”

“This is dried fish, I brought only one sack.”

“These are small shrimps, although it’s only half a sack, it’s probably enough for a year!”

…

Shuiqing and Fan Jin felt overwhelmed by the amount of gifts they brought.

Finally, when Bai Manshan lifted the seemingly particularly heavy box, bent over with his back arched, it took him a while to move it.

Once placed on the rack, he immediately let out a sigh of relief, looked around, and made sure no one was around before saying, “This is part of my fortune. Please help me take care of it for a while, Brother Jin and Sister.”

Fan Jin immediately understood that there were silver coins in the half-height box!

Shuiqing: … Big brother, you really trust us.

To entrust such a large box of silver to her care!

“And aren’t you afraid she’ll swallow it?”

Turning his thoughts, he acknowledged Bai Manshan’s aptitude in business, noting his keen judgment of people.

Fan Jin pointed to the main house. “Put it there. There’s a hidden compartment inside, and the room is locked.”

After saying this, he moved forward to lend a hand, helping Bai Manshan carry the box inside.

Li Huyu waved casually, showing off. “No need, just show me where. I can handle it myself!”

The three of them had seen how Bai Manshan struggled with the unusually heavy wooden box, yet Li Huyu effortlessly lifted it.

Bai Manshan chuckled foolishly, “My wife is strong!”

It wasn’t that his own strength was lacking.

Shuiqing: …

Once inside the house and the door closed, they entered the inner room. Bai Manshan then opened the box.

Even in the dimly lit room, the glint of gold could be seen.

Shuiqing and Fan Jin had initially thought the chest-high wooden box contained silver. They hadn’t expected it to be gold ingots!

And this was just part of the Bai family’s wealth. Just how wealthy were they?

They exchanged a glance, resolved in their hearts that they wouldn’t skimp on buying a storage cabinet!

They needed to stash away this box of gold ingots and keep it close to them to feel secure!

Leaving the inner room, the four of them headed to the tea room.

As soon as they sat down, Bai Manshan explained his purpose: “I’m sure you’re aware of the current situation outside. My purpose in coming this time is twofold: to transfer a portion of our family’s assets and, most importantly, to have Huyu and Qian’er stay with you for a while.”

Shuiqing was about to say it was no problem, but Li Huyu jumped in, “Why just me and Qian’er? What about you?”

Bai Manshan gestured for her to calm down and explained, “The Bai family is vast and our business extensive. It’s not easy to relocate everything. Besides, so many people rely on the Bai family and me for their livelihoods. If I’m not here, how will they manage? I can’t leave. With you and Qian’er here, I can rest assured.”

As for his mother, he would send her back to her maternal home according to her wishes. As long as his wife and children were settled, he feared nothing, no matter where he was or what dangers he faced!

Fan Jin looked at Bai Manshan with concern and asked, “Brother Bai, do you have advance knowledge of something?”

Shuiqing’s heart skipped a beat.

Bai Manshan remained stunned for a while, then took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and said, “Prince Zhou’s entire family has been demoted to commoners and exiled to Menghua. You’re aware of that, right?”

Fan Jin nodded.

“Prince Qi’s entire family has been demoted to commoners and imprisoned in Jinling. You know about that too.”

Fan Jin continued to nod.

What the edict stated wasn’t imprisonment, but those in the know understood.

“But do you know that Prince Xiang, unable to defend himself, has perished in a palace fire!” Bai Manshan mentioned this, still unable to conceal his shock.

If he was stunned, one could imagine the reactions of the other princes who shared Prince Xiang’s bloodline!

They were all leaders who had fought alongside the late emperor, risking their lives to establish the prosperous state of Mingguo!

The principle of mutual dependence was well understood.

It was only a matter of time before this nephew of the new emperor would face the same fate.