All Hail Cousin Brother

Chapter 584: Rogue Manor

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

About the time it took to burn an incense stick, Nanny Yue stopped massaging and called Chun Xiao into the house to serve her. She went to the kitchen herself, preparing to cook personally.

As soon as Nanny Yue entered the kitchen, she saw that there were a lot of ingredients piled up. She knew immediately.

When the people in the manor knew that Young Miss was here, someone went to the nearby river to catch small yellow croakers and some small fish.

There were also people who were worried that Young Miss would not have a good appetite since she rushed over, so they took out the pickled vegetables and dried vegetables they had made.

There were also people who took out the mushrooms they had picked in the morning.

There was a reason for them to do this.

In the past two years, the new year had not been good, and many tenants in the manor were not having a good time. Eldest Miss had changed the date of the tenant silver distribution early in the morning. Initially, it was paid in half a year, but later, it was paid in March. In the end, it was paid in a month. Now, it was paid in ten days. When the tenants had money, they could stock up on more food.

Young Miss had discounted the prices of the crops in the manor that were slightly inferior and sold them to the nearby farmers first.

The weather was dry, so many crops could not be planted. Some farmers did not have any work to do, so Eldest Miss hired them to cut trees in the mountains and plant some trees that could grow in dry weather.

The farmers’ families all had a few acres of land. If the weather was not good, they would not be able to harvest anything.

Eldest Miss had prepared dried and drought-resistant medicinal herbs seeds and asked them to plant them at home. When the medicinal herbs were harvested, they would be sold at market price.

With work to do, the farmers would definitely be able to live well.

The nearby farmers were very grateful to Eldest Miss.

Every month, when the village sent things to the Yu Residence, they would bring some of their items over. The farmers had gone up the mountains to find some precious wild animals. There was not much, but it was a token of their appreciation.

When Yu Youyao woke up, it was already past noon.

She slept for more than an hour.

After Nanny Yue finished helping Yu Yao wash up and comb her hair, she instructed her to prepare dinner. Not long after, the table was filled with dishes. ‘Young Miss, you’re used to eating Beijing cuisine. I specially made a table of Min cuisine for you to change your taste. It’s just that there are limited ingredients, so I only made some small dishes. I wonder if you like them.”

After Nanny Yue finished helping Yu Yao wash and comb, she instructed her to prepare dinner. Not long after, the table was filled with dishes. “Young Miss, you’re used to eating Beijing cuisine. I specially made a table of Min cuisine for you to try something new. It’s just that there are limited ingredients, so I only made some small dishes. I wonder if you like them.”

“Thank you, Nanny. I like it very much.” Yu Youyao favored Min cuisine, especially the seafood. Nanny Yue’s culinary skills were very good. The simple ingredients made everything 120% fresher.

Yu Youyao ate in satisfaction. After dinner, she drank the digestion tea prepared by Nanny Xu and suggested going to the farmland to take a look.

Nanny Yue looked at the sun outside and hesitated.

Yu Youyao said, “I can’t stay in the manor for long. I’ll rest for a night at most. I have to return to the residence tomorrow morning. Since it’s still early, I’ll take a look around first.”

Nanny Yue could only agree.

She ordered someone to prepare tea, snacks, umbrellas, and so on before taking Yu Youyao to the farmland.

The manor was filled with fruit trees and flowers. Nanny Yue led Yu Youyao to a path covered by shady trees. After walking for a long time, Yu Youyao was not exposed to the sun.

When they arrived at the farmland, Yu Youyao could see from afar that there were rows of rice planted in a large field.

Nanny Yue said, “This area is the Rogue rice field. The Rogue Rice is planted in late March every year, a month earlier than other rice seeds. Currently, it’s not the driest time yet. The rice is growing well. In another month or so, the rice stalks will be harvested. If there’s not enough rain, we have to forcefully irrigate it and carry water to the field.”

Yu Youyao frowned. “How many wells are in the paddy field?”

Nanny Yue said, “Every ten acres of land, there’s a well. The Rogue rice is meticulously prepared, so the harvest can be guaranteed. The white rice should have been planted in the fields in early April, but it hasn’t rained until this day.

It’s not easy to store water in the paddy fields. They have to be planted in late April at the latest. If it doesn’t rain this month, even if they are forcefully planted, the harvest won’t be easy.”

Yu Youyao saw that in the farmland, there were tenants carrying water into the field. “Go and see how the sweet potatoes are growing.”

Nanny Yue nodded.

The manor was very big. Even though she had taken a shortcut, it took at least the time it took to burn an incense stick. Fortunately, Yu Youyao had changed into short boots, so it was more convenient for her to walk. She was not in a hurry to travel, so she did not feel too tired.

When they arrived, Yu Youyao saw rows of ridges in the ground. The dense sweet potato vines were green and unaffected by the sky.

Nanny Yue smiled and said, “The tenants in the manor are all used to tending to the crops. As soon as I told them about the planting of the sweet potatoes, some farmers said that such crops with long stems in the soil had to be planted deep in the sand to grow well. The long vines would then grew very quickly. Taking advantage of the fact that there was a sporadic rain yesterday that wet the ground, they inserted a sweet potato piece to see the situation. If they can survive, they will be planted on a large scale at the end of the month.”

The tenants said that the sweet potato vines were a little tender. They estimated that it would be best to cut them before and after the Dragon Boat Festival.

Seeing that the sweet potatoes were growing well, Yu Youyao was completely relieved. It seemed that the sweet potatoes in the North were growing well.

Yu Youyao pondered for a moment. “When it doesn’t rain at the end of the month, cut the seedlings of the white rice by half and plant drought-resistant crops in the rice fields. The planting of sweet potatoes will also increase.”

If it weren’t for the fact that the soil in the rice fields was fertile and not conducive to sweet potato planting, she would have planted sweet potatoes in all the fields.

Nanny Yue was a little hesitant. “White rice is the main food. How can it be reduced? Moreover, this is the first time the manor has planted sweet potatoes on a large scale. Is it…”

Yu Youyao shook her head. “The Imperial Astronomer has calculated it. There’s not much rain this year, so the Imperial Court has long sent out a notice asking for many types of dry crops. There’s less production of Rogue rice, so there’s no harm in carefully tending to it. The white rice is planted in a wide area, and we can still rely on carrying water now. If there’s less rain when we’re harvesting, how many fields can we manage with just the tenants? If the weather is too dry, there won’t be any place to get water.”

Although the weather prediction of the Imperial Astronomer was not always accurate, he was still generally trustworthy.

The most important thing about rice was that it took a month to plant the seedlings and for them to grow. During these two periods, they had to take note of the growth of the rice and the ear of grain. If there was a lack of water, it would mean a reduction in production.

At this point, she sighed slightly. “If we reduce the number of white rice seedlings, even if the weather is serious and the tenants put in a lot of effort, we can still have a larger harvest. Don’t be too greedy when the time comes. If we don’t care for the crops properly and harvest too little, the gains won’t make up for the losses. Moreover, the production of sweet potatoes isn’t low. It’s not harmful to have more.”

Nanny Yue nodded. “I will take note of this.”

Rice was the main food. She couldn’t accept it for a moment, but after hearing Young Miss’s explanation, she knew that no one knew how long the drought would last. If they planted drought-resistant crops, at least the harvest could be preserved. As long as there were crops in the fields, no matter what crops were planted, it would still be food.

Nanny Yue brought Yu Youyao to look at the other crops..