Chapter 108: This Woman Is No Simpleton

This time she didn't hire anyone; she took the maids herself to turn the soil, spread chicken and cow manure, sprinkled a layer of wheat straw on top, and started burning it.

After that, she plowed the ground once more, sprinkled water on it, and let it rest.

At this point, it was time to drive in the wooden stakes.

She instructed Shopkeeper Niu to order a large quantity of timber from the Woodworking Puzi—all roughly the same thickness, unprocessed, just logs cut straight down with the branches trimmed off.

After buying them, she sharpened the bottoms, then systematically pounded them into the ground around the five mu of land.

She divided the land evenly into ten plots, half a mu each; a greenhouse couldn't be built too large because the winters here had heavy snow and strong winds, so she had to work with half-mu plots.

After Old Master Wang finished his lessons, when he had nothing to do, he would stroll around the fields out back and was very curious about her operations.

"Girl, what are you trying to do?"

"Build a greenhouse, just like the ones you wealthy families have, except I won't use underground heating tunnels."

"What are you going to do?"

"Last year, I bought vegetables from elsewhere and sold them for one tael of silver a catty during New Year's. Plenty of people bought them—good goods aren't afraid of high prices. If I grow them myself, I'll earn even more."

She cleaned the yard, moved away anything obstructive in the area, set up a large iron cauldron in one corner, and lit a fire underneath with wood.

This Momo had come from a wealthy household; she understood etiquette and had good judgment, staying by Ruxin's side to guide her, so she wouldn't be soft-hearted and have her dowry tricked away by sweet talk.

After finishing that, she started purchasing supplies.

By then, the soil was also properly conditioned, so she began sowing vegetable seeds.

He was very glad he had come to this household as a tutor; although there was no tuition fee, whether materially or spiritually, what he gained was many times greater than any tuition.

While purchasing persimmons, she also had to start sun-drying Persimmon Cakes.

"Oh, quite capable indeed. I'm very much looking forward to it, old man."

Then, while the sky wasn't yet dark, she went to the fields and firmly fastened the cloth to the wooden stakes.

At first it was fine, but as the glue grew thicker, the effort needed to stir it increased more and more.

Next came braised eggplant, garlic-mashed eggplant, smashed cucumber, cucumber with dipping sauce, sesame-paste long beans, vegetarian stir-fried water spinach, lily celery, hand-torn cabbage, tomato scrambled eggs, and green chili stir-fried meat.

"Absolutely. I'm growing vegetables partly to sell and partly for our own convenience."

Her parents, Old Master Lu and Old Madam Lu, looked about fifty years old and were very well-preserved; it was clear at a glance that they rarely worked in the fields.

"I'm not using that—it's too troublesome to take apart. I made my own transparent cloth; sunlight can penetrate it, and the vegetables inside will still grow."

"You're something else. Isn't the cost high?"

This white cloth was two feet seven inches wide and ten meters long; two feet seven inches was about one meter. Half a mu needed thirteen strips of cloth joined together, with two strips needed on each side.

All were good dishes to go with rice, and also her favorites, so she decided to grow these ten kinds of vegetables.

Finally, Lu Sanniang's family from her maiden home arrived; this was Qiao Mai's first time seeing her maternal relatives.

Fortunately, there were many people in the household, and the purchasing couldn't keep up with the drying, which greatly reduced Qiao Mai's pressure.

The Qiao Family's first happy occasion was very grand; days in advance, they had invited the Town Head. Qiao Mai didn't send an invitation to Wang Zongsheng—his status wasn't suitable for coming. If he came, it would become his show, and she didn't want to become the focus of the entire town and county, so she only sent an invitation to Wang Jiaru.

The Feng Family's Thirty-load Bride Price, plus the fifty-load dowry that Shopkeeper Lu had prepared, made a total of eighty loads—this was unique in the County Town.

Bucket after bucket of milky-white glue was poured in; this was hard labor, and Yuan Jiaqi volunteered to step forward and boil the glue.

Seeing that she was a bit tired, he took over her work and tried to do it himself; under her guidance, the glue he spread became more and more even.

A one-and-a-half-meter-wide, two-meter-high doorway was left in the middle for hanging a cotton door curtain for people to pass through, and the straw mats on top had already been ordered from the tenant farmers at home for a fee.

Old Master Wang sat to one side, watching with great interest; he truly admired Qiao Niang, and his eyes were full of praise.

She had already cut the cloth in advance; half a mu was three hundred square meters, roughly eleven to twelve meters wide and twenty-one to twenty-two meters long.

He also sent Ruxin a congratulatory gift—a pair of gold bracelets—which made Shopkeeper Lu feel very honored.

Early the next morning, Town Head Qian arrived with two guards and gave a gift box to Lu Sanniang.

Once the glue-coated cloth had cooled, two maids took needles and thread and sewed the strips together.

Next came Shopkeeper Lu's sisters from the County Town, five or six of them, all dressed in silk and satin, each with two maidservants in attendance—very impressive—and they gave their gifts directly to Lu Sanniang.

She had long since sent Shopkeeper Niu to procure all the wedding items, only waiting to set them up the day before the main event.

Yuan Jiaqi was the same; the way he looked at Qiao Mai was burning with passion.

She used a smooth scraper to evenly spread the glue over the flat white cloth.

There were two idle courtyards at home with many empty rooms, all of which needed to be put to use.

Then there were garlic sprouts—stir-fried with cured meat, scrambled with eggs, or added to soup—all very tasty.

A few people from the Town who were familiar with her also came, including the owner of the Woodworking Puzi and the owner of Jingtailou.

This period kept her extremely busy; during the day she had no time to enter the space, let alone do Embroidery Work, and at night all she wanted to do was sleep.

Seeing him struggling, Qiao Shi took turns with him stirring the glue. When it looked about right, she scooped up a small spoonful, tested it on the cloth, then removed the fire and began spreading the glue.

Shopkeeper Lu also brought back the wedding dress and placed it in Ruxin's room.

"Our Wang Family's greenhouse has glazed tiles on top—can you get those?"

It was harvest season, so prices weren't high.

To ensure her daughter had a strong standing in the Feng Family, Shopkeeper Lu also bought her a Momo and two personal maidservants.

"Vegetable prices are still high."

After setting up all the wooden stakes, she began making the transparent cloth.

"Growing vegetables."

"That's right—scarcity makes things precious."

This busy period lasted over ten days, and by mid-October, the five-mu greenhouse was finally fully built.

The straw mats had ropes attached; during the day when it was warm, they were rolled up, and at night when it was cold, they were let down.

After Yuan Jiaqi finished his lessons, he had nothing to do in the afternoon, so he came to help. The children couldn't help much, so they just watched from the edge of the field and rushed in whenever a hand was needed.

"Don't worry. Once I've grown them successfully, you, Elder, can come in and pick vegetables whenever you have nothing to do."

First, chives are the top choice; the locals like to wrap dumplings with chives and stir‑fry eggs—they're a dish that goes well with rice.

Also peanuts, sunflower seeds, and mountain goods from the hills should be stockpiled a bit.

The first afternoon, she moved in with her younger brother to the Qiao Family.

"Ha ha, so that means I, Wang Jiaru's Old Servant, will have a feast in winter?"

Seeing Ruxin's grand wedding day approaching, she, as the master, naturally could not forget.

Her elder brother Lu Haoran, clad in a long robe, exudes a strong scholarly aura; now he runs a Private School at home. Her elder sister‑in‑law Lu Qi, slightly plump and of average looks, appears very Exquisite and efficient, without any harshness.

Not to mention, Lu Sanniang also secretly arranged two shops for her daughter in the County Town, giving her two thousand taels of silver.

A woman who is petite and delicate, yet always does work more formidable than a man's; this woman is no ordinary person.

Stock up some white lotus roots, some napa cabbage, some white radishes, some red radishes, some hawthorn, some chestnuts, and also kumquats; and a lot more of each.

They can only produce a piece of plain cloth per day; once the glue on the cloth cools, a few women start stitching and patching.

They brought a son and a daughter, both already married; their spouses were held in arms, clutched in hands, and the heads of households arrived.

Only Lu the Shopkeeper's mother gave the daughter a Red Cloth bag.

Today there were few guests, so there was no banquet table; all congratulatory gifts were handed to Lu Sanniang.

Unexpectedly, the mayor of Tianhe Town actually heard that Xin'er arrived with gifts.

(End of chapter)