Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Sir, Are You Here to Bring Gifts to Our Family?

In order to ensure the survival rate of corn and watermelon, Yi Meng added some Space Spring Water to the water used for watering these seeds.

As a result, in less than half a month, the seedlings of the two types of seeds grew to nearly a foot tall.

Yi Meng wasn’t sure whether this growth speed was fast or slow, but it was certain that the survival rate was very high, up to eighty percent for several households.

And the ground cornmeal had also been tasted by the family.

Initially, everyone was quite nervous about whether they would be poisoned or something, but after drinking it and observing for two days, when it was finally determined to be non-toxic by two doctors, everyone had great expectations for this crop of corn.

Especially the children in the family, who adored the corn mush that was yellowish and slightly sweet.

Qi Manman ran to the room where the corn was planted three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, each time watching for a while before reluctantly being pulled away by her grandmother.

In no time, it was autumn.

The vegetables and crops in the garden and some wasteland at the back ripened one after the other.

Based on the experience of the village elders, this not-too-large Yongping Village began its first autumn harvest.

After the autumn harvest, everyone rested for only a day before they started busy preparing firewood for the winter.

Not only did they need to store for the village houses, but they also had to store for the city’s courtyard.

Several families split the firewood cut each day into two parts.

The less good part was kept for their own use, while the more neatly arranged firewood was sent to the Qi Family.

Qi Family bought at three wen per bundle of firewood, and paid cash.

Once they collected enough, they’d hurry to deliver it to the city by carriage.

In a blink, it was October.

The first snow of this winter fell.

However, it wasn’t much, just barely covering the ground with a layer of white before stopping.

At noon, when the sun was at its peak, the snow on the ground would melt, but when night fell, the melted snow covered the ground with a thin layer of ice.

That day, Qi Manman and her brothers had just finished their morning classes, and before they reached their grandmother’s room, they saw a person riding a horse arrive at their house entrance.

“Grandpa, grandpa, someone is here!”

Qi Manman ran with her small legs towards the back, shouting as she ran, quickly calling all the Qi Family members in the backyard to the front yard.

“Hello, old sir!”

The man on the horse dismounted and, not entering rashly, stood at the door and clasped his hands in greeting to Qi Zheng.

When he came closer, Qi Zheng recognized who it was.

“Oh, it’s Lord Liu! Please come in, come in!”

Qi Zheng was indeed startled when he saw it was Liu Qinghe who had come.

This person was a Government Official, and it was unclear why he suddenly came to their house.

Upon receiving the host’s invitation, Liu Qinghe finally entered the door, asking, “Old sir, is Brother Quanjin at home?”

“He’s gone up the mountain to chop wood, probably will be back soon.”

Qi Zheng hurriedly replied.

Liu Qinghe was visibly surprised and blurted out, “Isn’t Brother Quanjin the village head of your village? Why is he up the mountain chopping wood?”

“Ah, a village head is still a person! It’s winter already, chopping more wood prevents the children at home from freezing.”

Qi Zheng laughed as he explained, though his nervousness was still apparent.

Even though this official called his son a brother, he was still a man of the government.

Liu Qinghe understood and was about to speak when he heard a childish voice ask, “Sir, are you here to give gifts to our family?”

“Manbao!”

Qi Zheng was startled and quickly wanted to pull his little granddaughter behind him.

Liu Qinghe was surprised before he noticed the plump little girl.

She was too small to have caught his eye at first glance.

“Hahaha! Manbao, do you still remember Uncle? Uncle followed you to see this piece of land back then.”

Liu Qinghe bent down and looked at Qi Manman with a smile.

Even though Qi Manman was pulled behind by her grandpa, she still stretched her head out, blinking her big eyes and nodding: “I remember! Uncle is a good person!”

“Hahaha, this child really knows how to talk!”

Liu Qinghe was amused and laughed heartily.

Seeing Liu Qinghe genuinely happy, Qi Zheng finally breathed a slight sigh of relief: “None of these children in my family lie, they always speak the truth. The Lord is indeed a good person, otherwise, our family wouldn’t have been able to select such good land.”

Whether this land was truly good had only been judged based on the color of the soil before.

But after a year of farming, even if it was the first year for the wasteland, the harvest was quite nice.

So, Qi Zheng spoke these words sincerely.

Liu Qinghe waved his hand: “We’re all farming folks, relying on the harvest for survival throughout the year. It’s part of my duty, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning.”

“Lord, it’s cold outside, please come in and have some hot tea!”

Qi Zheng made a gesture of invitation, and said to Qi Silang: “Silang, lead the lord’s horse to the backyard and feed it some fodder.”

Qi Silang hurriedly stepped forward.

The children in the family, regardless of age, were all familiar with horses, so they weren’t afraid and took over the reins from Liu Qinghe, heading to the backyard.

The other young men followed along.

They went to tend to the lord’s horse and could also check on their own horses, look at the chickens and ducks, and even peek at the two pigs in the pigpen.

Those two pigs were caught not long ago, not very large, constantly snorting, especially loudly while feeding.

They particularly enjoyed watching the pigs eat.

Qi Manman didn’t follow but instead held Qi Zheng’s hand as they headed towards the main house.

Upon entering the main house, a wave of warmth could be felt coming in.

Outside, although not the cold of deep winter, the long horseback ride had chilled Liu Qinghe thoroughly.

Qu Laodi brought in some hot tea.

Liu Qinghe drank the hot tea, finally feeling warm inside and out.

He sighed with relief and said to Qi Zheng, who was sitting on one side: “Old sir, although this matter should have been discussed with Brother Quanjin, I must hurry back to report, so I’ll trouble you to convey it!”

“Please, instruct us!”

Qi Zheng spoke while preparing to stand up.

Liu Qinghe waved him down: “No need to get up, it’s good news, no need to be anxious.”

Seeing Qi Zheng still obviously nervous, Liu Qinghe didn’t dawdle and directly stated his purpose for coming this time.

The Qi Family has been rewarded by the court!

Because the method against the locust plague was effective, the emperor was delighted and personally ordered a reward for Yongping Village.

The team delivering the decree is expected to arrive in the city in three days. Upon learning this, the County Magistrate immediately sent Liu Qinghe to deliver the message.

First, to give the Qi Family time to prepare in advance, and secondly, to take advantage of this opportunity to foster a good relationship with the Qi Family.

The County Magistrate originally intended to personally deliver the message, but since he was also receiving a reward, he needed to prepare in advance as well.

So, he arranged for Liu Qinghe to come.

The reason he chose Liu Qinghe over others was that Liu Qinghe had closer ties with Qi Quanjin.

Ultimately, it was all arrangements to win over the Qi Family.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep