stingy landlady

Chapter 228 Arranging the Construction of a Nursery

Li had been on tenterhooks for a long time, but Dazhu's threats were all bark and no bite. Li gradually calmed down and went back to doing things her own way!

Guizhi went to the county town's maid-picking shop and selected a few maids. She was so frustrated because she had no one to use! Since she was choosing maids, Guixiang, Guihong, and even Guiling would each be given two head maids!

Guizhi herself bought four more maids in one go! She couldn't keep robbing Peter to pay Paul; she couldn't afford to be without anyone to use!

Adding ten more people at once would only cost a few dozen or a hundred taels of silver. For Guizhi, it wouldn't hurt her deeply; it just meant she'd always have people around her! Guizhi was gradually adapting to the life of a landlord's daughter!

Guizhi gave Guixiang two more maids to serve her, while Jinxiu returned to her original position in Xiaoping Village to continue looking after Guizhi's house and inquiring about gossip.

Two more maids were given to Guihong. With maids serving her in the Lirenfang in the county town, Guihong spoke with more confidence and acted with more of a manager's demeanor.

Guizhi now has several maids by her side, finally allowing her to act with authority. At least she has someone to run errands for her. Not wanting to face the same predicament as a few days ago, she wanted to find someone to help Aunt Lan, but no one could offer assistance!

As for Guiling, hehe! It's just two more people to play with!

Jixiang and Ruyi still had many things to do, so Ping'an brought a newly bought maid from Guizhi to serve Aunt Lan, freeing up Jixiang and Ruyi for the time being.

Aunt Lan was truly resilient; she tripped and fell while pregnant, but after taking some medicine to prevent miscarriage, she was fine. However, the doctor repeatedly advised her not to move around too much and to stay on the kang (heated brick bed) as much as possible. Aunt Lan remained calm and focused on her needlework in Guizhi's room, completely absorbed!

Guizhi felt that the nursery must be built as soon as possible, as the number of children was increasing and it was truly urgent! There were many things to do, but each thing needed to be implemented one by one.

Guizhi arranged for Steward Han to come to Xiaoping Village to collect melons and vegetables! Steward Han demonstrated decisiveness and courage in his handling of Guixiang's matter. Guizhi admired him greatly.

Steward Han said to Guizhi:

"Master! Jiang Xiaoyu from the Jiang family has secretly gone to the wasteland several times and heard that Granny Jiang is also looking for Guixiang everywhere. Since she can't find Guixiang, Granny Jiang is already arranging marriages for Jiang Xiaoyu."

Granny Jiang doesn't care about character; she only wants to sell Jiang Xiaoyu for a high price!

Jiang Hongliang was terrified of being beaten and dared not make a sound. Because his right hand was crippled and he could no longer write, he could not participate in the imperial examinations. He had already gone to a private school to teach young children to read and write!

"Master! The Jiang family is no longer a threat!"

Guizhi felt a little relieved about Guixiang, no longer needing to worry that Guixiang would be tricked again!

"Manager Han! My eldest sister needs people to build a house, a pigsty, and a chicken coop on her land. Has the plan been finalized yet?"

"Master! I've already had someone measure the land and personally inspected it. I plan to build a small courtyard house, with Miss Guixiang living in the middle. Servants can live in the side rooms, and farmhands can live near the main gate!"

A wall was built around the perimeter so that the people living in the courtyard would be safe.

The chicken coop was built slightly higher, as chickens like to sleep in elevated places. The pigsty and chicken coop were also separated from the courtyard house by a distance to prevent unpleasant odors.

Guizhi instructed:

"Alright! It's good that Manager Han has made the arrangements! I won't go see it myself! I'll trouble Manager Han to take my older sister to see it when she's feeling better!"

I have a few teenagers here; their families are struggling financially. They can help feed the pigs and chickens! You can take them over now to familiarize them with the surroundings!

"Also, have them clear a few side paths to make it easier to find the chickens and pigs."

It turned out that Guizhi had asked Dazhu's family's long-term servant, Yu Dajiang's younger brother and sister-in-law, to help Guixiang raise pigs and chickens.

Yu Dajiang's younger siblings are too young to do any heavy work. However, feeding pigs and chickens is not a very strenuous task, and Guizhi plans to let the pigs and chickens roam freely on Guixiang's land.

Although the land is flat, it hasn't been cultivated and is overgrown with weeds. Pigs and chickens roam and jump freely, enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle. Of course, the area still needs to be fenced off; otherwise, it wouldn't be free-range, it would be released into the wild!

Seeing that the construction of the nursery could no longer be delayed, Guizhi approached Xu Hong:

"Uncle Xu Hong! I know you're very busy, but you still need to arrange for the nursery to be built! And the cribs need to be made as soon as possible!"

More and more families are forming in our village, and there are more and more women, so naturally there are more children! If every family wants to live a good life, both men and women have to work together to earn money.

It's indeed difficult for one person to support a large family! Now that we have the means, let's work together to build Huanghua Village and Changping Village into a beautiful and happy home!

Xu Hong felt that Guizhi's arrangements for Huanghua Village and Changping Village seemed to have opened up a whole new world.

"Miss! The woodworking workshop and sofa workshop have both been put in charge of management! We don't need to keep an eye on them all the time, but we still need to check on them regularly."

The nursery that the young lady wants to build is just a bigger building!

Making a custom-made crib is easy. It just requires the lady to draw a design; we have the wood ready, and the carpenters can make it according to the design!

Miss! Every household here, men and women, can earn money. Life in our two villages is definitely going to be great!

"Miss! You know, right now, families in the surrounding villages and towns all like to marry their daughters off to people from our area!"

Guizhi was very pleased and said:

"Uncle Xu Hong! Our good days are just beginning! When everyone in our village can eat their fill, dress warmly, and get married, we will finally shake off the reputation of being a village of bachelors!"

We've only just begun our journey towards common prosperity!

Xu Hong felt a little guilty:

"Miss! I'm just afraid that if the Prince finds out we're doing well, he'll send people over again! And then we'll be back to square one!"

Guizhi was taken aback.

"Oh! I really didn't think that much about it! Speaking of the prince, we really need to use his name to negotiate a deal with the county magistrate this time."

I'm planning to build a farmers' market in the county seat. First, I need land approval, then there's the tax collection process. Ensuring the safety of the shops, and so on, all require the county magistrate's cooperation!

But we are just lowly people with little influence, unlike the prince who can speak with absolute authority. Hehe! And just like that, our business comes in!

Xu Hong was still worried and asked:

"Miss! If... if the Prince were to send us a few hundred more veterans... Miss! I... I don't know what to do!"

Guizhi felt a headache coming on after hearing this, and said:

"Uncle Xu Hong! Don't worry unnecessarily! Let's do things one by one! We can talk about the future later! Right now, the two most important things are the nursery."

One is a small farmers' market! Uncle Xu Hong! Life is full of twists and turns, but we must always look forward.

"Just do your job and see it through! Uncle Xu Hong! Why worry unnecessarily!"