Chapter 576: Chapter 576: Magnanimous (1)
There was one more concubine.
The old lady didn’t think much of it.
Nor did anyone in the Marquis’s estate give it much thought, after all, the Marquis had over twenty concubines, and there were even more chambermaids. However, living expenses were standardized––the Crown Princess, as the steward, would not embezzle a hair’s breadth, but she absolutely would not give a single wen more either. But if anyone caused trouble, the Marchioness had countless ways to make sure the concubines got no advantage.
Thus, the inner household was very stable, and even if someone wanted to stir up trouble, they wouldn’t dare to actually act on it.
But there’s always an exception to everything…
Gaocheng County
Xie Zhinuan rose early, practiced boxing and swordplay, had breakfast, and then took people to the manor with her.
The farmers saw her and were very restrained, tentatively sizing her up, not daring to take a deep breath or loosen the neck of their clothes.
After all, in these times, there were few truly kind-hearted masters, and they didn’t dare to raise too many poultry privately for fear of the master’s blame.
“I see there’s a lot of space around here; you can raise more chickens and ducks. I will have people come to collect the eggs. Rest assured, as long as you do your work well, no matter how much money you make from animal husbandry, it will be your own. I won’t take a penny. But, the prerequisite is that you handle all the manor’s affairs well and prioritize them clearly!”
She, in fact, hoped that the farmers would breed more poultry. For one thing, it could make them rich; for another, the stores needed livestock, and it was necessary to buy them anyway. Buying from the farmers would be more convenient.
“You can also raise pigs; I have a marinade meat shop here that needs a pig every day. Think about it, we’ll need over three hundred pigs a year, maybe even more. Buying from others is a purchase; buying from you is the same!”
The farmers were overjoyed.
Each of them nodded repeatedly, promising to do all the fieldwork well.
Up until a few smaller manors, each had its master, but the farmers there also didn’t dare to raise too many poultry. They could only keep a few chickens for eggs to eat in their own homes and occasionally sell a few for some money.
Should they fall ill or something, the master would definitely not care, as they could just buy more people if they died.
In these times, people were the least valuable.
Xie Zhinuan then asked about the barren hill nearby to see if it had an owner.
“Replying to the master, that barren hill has no owner!”
Xie Zhinuan nodded her head.
She thought about buying that barren hill, reclaiming it to grow crops, or to use for raising chickens. Not to mention, there was a big pond over the hill which would be perfect for raising ducks.
Xie Zhinuan nodded, distributed the sugar and salt she had brought to the farmers, and instructed them to cultivate their crops well. She would make arrangements for the chicks and ducklings and send someone to deliver them later.
The most important task at the moment was to buy that barren hill.
After visiting two manors, just as Xie Zhinuan had expected, none of the farmers dared to raise too many poultry. But with Xie Zhinuan’s permission, after taking care of the crops, they raised poultry, and the money made from selling them all went to themselves. The master would even provide the chicks. They would be bought back once grown, so selling them was not a concern at all, which had them all very excited.
Each was eager to begin, those with old laying hens at home were planning to start hatching chicks, and those with a bit of money planned to buy eggs that could hatch.
In one day, Xie Zhinuan had only visited four manors. Tomorrow she would go to other manors, so she didn’t go back but stayed in the small town.
The town was not big, the inn was very small as well, but it was fairly clean even though the taste of the food cooked there was just average.
Chunyu and Lichun had hot water brought over, and they helped Xie Zhinuan bathe, then wiped her hair afterward.
“Miss!”
“Hmm?” Xie Zhinuan responded lightly.
On this trip, she had brought four bodyguards, Chunyu, and Lichun, six people in total.