Chapter 375: Chapter 375 – Half a Month of Busyness_1

The rice, sweet potatoes, and the new taro that Wei Ruo had planted all had a good harvest, and Wei Ruo needed to arrange for these crops to be stored and distributed.

The rice was definitely going to be stored in large quantities in the warehouse. As for the sweet potatoes, it was the same as before. Some were to be processed into dried sweet potatoes and sweet potato slices, which were more convenient to store, transport, and sell.

For taro, apart from storing some, Wei Ruo also planned to sell some, just like sweet potatoes, to lay groundwork for future promotion.

The taro she grew was a crop everyone was familiar with, but the yield and quality of this batch were a bit higher.

As for the purchase of farmland in the provincial capital, the nanny and Uncle Xu had already set off, and the ten villagers selected by Zhao Hai and Stone Village were also in place.

Apart from the pre-determined disaster-stricken villagers from Dahetun Village, more people might need to be employed later, and then preparations can begin for the planting of her new multi-year rice crop.

As for the shops in the provincial capital, Wei Ruo plans to open two temporarily, one being a Four Treasure House, and the other a braised food store.

For the Four Treasure House, a suitable shopkeeper is needed, and Wei Ruo still needs to make more options a consideration.

The braised food store can allow Chen Aqing to go. At present, in the braised food shop at Taizhou prefecture, Chen Aqing has done a good job in training another employee, and she herself has improved in ability and courage. Wei Ruo believes she can take on the responsibility alone.

Also, the fabrics that were promised to a few madams at the Mid-Autumn feasts need to be arranged.

As they have not seen other colors, the madams all wanted purple and blue fabrics, as they found these two colors to be rare and good-looking.

These two colors were indeed special. In this world, the original dyeing techniques were all using natural dyes. Purple was mostly obtained from purple grass, and blue from dyer’s knotweed. These dyeing techniques were relatively complex, and the colors were relatively single.

Wei Ruo chose to use chemical synthesis methods to produce some new colors that were considered trendsetting at the time.

For example, when extracting blue, Wei Ruo mixed plant ash with bovine blood and then calcinated it to extract yellow crystals. Then put the yellow crystals into an iron salt solution made with vinegar and iron ores (ferric oxide), to get the blue dye.

This method of making dyes was not very successful under the current conditions, so the quantity produced was not that large. Sometimes the required ores have to be found by luck, so the output is truly not high.

Thus, Wei Ruo temporarily does not plan to expand in the textile clothing aspect, and will only promote and sell in Taizhou prefecture.

Like thyme, the output of this special colored fabric will be strictly controlled, continuing the scarcity marketing model.

The next day, Wei Ruo dressed as a man again and went out to inspect her manor, to watch the villagers’ harvest.

She then went to the surrounding farms, because many of the nearby households had borrowed Wei Ruo’s rice seeds, and would have to give Wei Ruo grain after the harvest according to the original agreement.

However, this part of the rice was planted a bit late and is not yet mature. Just by looking at their growth, there should be a good return.

Seeing Wei Ruo, the farmers all hailed her enthusiastically.

“Young Master Xu, good day!”

“Young Master Xu, come have a cup of tea!”

“Young Master Xu, why do you have time to come to the field today? Come sit at our house!”

“…”

Everyone showed enthusiasm towards Wei Ruo, all because she was the reason why their rice crops could grow so well.

Although Wei Ruo lent the rice seeds with a business attitude, the heavy ears of rice growing in the fields were real. Seeing the tangible benefits, they realized the deal with Wei Ruo was tremendously profitable, so their attitude towards Wei Ruo naturally improved.

At last, Wei Ruo went to Stone Village and visited the sandy land she had leased to the villagers of Stone Village. Much of the sweet potatoes had already been harvested, but many villagers were still doing some follow-up work.

Since Wei Ruo mentioned that she would lease it to them next year and that she was giving them a proportional reward, they were naturally very dedicated. Only with a higher yield could they get more.

So they took care of Wei Ruo’s sandy land as if it were their own.

When they saw Wei Ruo, the villagers of Stone Village showed extraordinary enthusiasm.

One after another, they brought food and drink to Wei Ruo, continually calling him Young Master Xu, fearing that he might be hungry or thirsty.

Once she finally escaped from the enthusiastic villagers of Stone Village, Wei Ruo went to the winery.

Although the liquor distillery didn’t have a high output, its profit was high. Wei Ruo treated the selected brewers well in terms of benefits. In addition to the salaries agreed upon at the beginning, there were also extra rewards at the end of each month.

Therefore, these brewers were all smiling when they saw Wei Ruo, their enthusiasm was even greater than that of the villagers of Stone Village.

Wei Ruo inspected the distillery, confirmed that there were no problems, and then had someone take ten jars of thyme from the warehouse and put them on her carriage.

Wei Ruo claimed that the output of thyme was limited and there were only two or three jars per day, but in fact, the daily production was slightly more than this number.

Wei Ruo did not sell the surplus. Instead, she kept it in the warehouse and took it out when needed.

These ten jars were to be sent to Xu Zhengyong. There would be a celebration banquet once his promotion was confirmed.

Just as she was about to leave, Wei Ruo thought of something and, accompanied by Xiumei, turned back to get two more jars.

Upon returning to her residence, Wei Ruo instructed Xiumei to deliver the two extra jars of thyme to Wei Mingting.

Wei Mingting had just fought a successful battle and could now have some well-deserved rest at home. The rare relaxation time was a good opportunity to taste some wine.

Upon receiving the thyme that Wei Ruo had sent, Wei Mingting could not keep from smiling. Was his joy coming from the intoxicating quality of the wine, or was it because the gift was more intoxicating as it came from his daughter?

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Wei Ruo stayed busy for half a month, from the middle of August to the beginning of September. She went out early and returned late every day, hardly having any contact with other members of the household. Even Mrs. Yun rarely saw her.

During this time, the grain on Wei Ruo’s manors was almost harvested, and the rice seeds lent out before were also collected back according to the previously agreed portion.

At this point, all the granaries were filled to the brim, and the Xu’s Grain Shop, which had been shuttered for some time in Xingshan County, also reopened for business.

But the harvest did not only come to Wei Ruo’s fields during this half month, but also to the fields of other farmers in the Taizhou prefecture.

Because the measures were effectively implemented, about 40% of the land in Taizhou prefecture had gradually seen a good harvest.

As a result, the whole of Taizhou prefecture was immersed in joy. Whether it was the hard-working farmers or the high-ranking dignitaries, they were all extremely happy.