There is Room For the Poor Daughter

On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Daohua rode out of the city in a carriage and went to see the fields and pastures in the picture with Yan Shouhou.

Ganzhouwei is located in the westernmost part of Xiliang, and has a large area under its jurisdiction. The landforms in this area are varied.

There are plains suitable for farming, the sparsely populated Gobi, deserts filled with yellow sand, and green grasslands, but the most barren mountains.

Xiliang is generally short of water, and Ganzhou Wei is the least rainy among the nine Wei Wei.

The city of Ganzhou is located on the plain, and almost all the good fields are designated as military fields, and a few are the property of the officials of the guards.

Like Daohua, who just moved in, basically can't buy any good fields.

Daohua followed Yan Shouhou to see the two fields and was not satisfied.

The reason why she likes Zhuangzi is because Zhuangzi generally has a large area, which can be planned and managed centrally. The two fields that Yan Shouhou took her to see are considered medium-sized fields, but the area is too small, only about a hundred mu.

"Let's go and look at the ranch again!"

As soon as I heard that the largest two hundred acres of land were not there, Daohua didn't want to continue, and went straight to the pasture.

Renxin Ranch.

The ranch steward saw Daohua and his party coming, and immediately greeted them enthusiastically.

When Yan Shouhou came to test the ranch before, the master happened to be there. After learning that Yan Shouhou was the servant of the newly-arrived Mr. Xiao's family, he immediately told him to sell the ranch to the other party.

The ranch steward glanced at Daohua, who was wearing a hood and a white fox fur cloak, and guessed that this person should be the mistress of Xiao's house, and the diligence on his face became stronger and stronger.

"Our pasture is the largest pasture around the entire Ganzhou city, covering an area of ​​50,000 mu. At its peak, it raised tens of thousands of cattle and sheep."

Daohua did not negotiate with the ranch owner, but Yan Shouhou was talking to him.

"Since it is the largest pasture around Ganzhou City, why are you still selling it?"

The ranch steward sighed: "It's not that the owner's family urgently needs money, there's nothing to do."

Before coming here, Yan Shouhou also did his homework, and immediately said, "I think your ranch has been abandoned for a long time."

The ranch manager's smile froze, and when he was about to find a way to get back, Daohua suddenly spoke up.

"Is there a river running through this pasture?"

The ranch steward nodded instinctively: "Yes, the Dan River at the foot of Yunlian Snow Mountain flows through this ranch." After speaking, he was shocked to realize that Mrs. Xiao knew so much about this place.

Daohua: "Since there are rivers passing by, why is the pasture still so barren?"

"Uh"

The manager of the ranch did not expect that the people in the Xiao residence were so well prepared. He inquired about the situation of the ranch, and knew that he could not hide it, so he could only say truthfully:

"Madam dissatisfied, since the upper Dan River was occupied by the people of Xiliao ten years ago, the river flowing through Ganzhouwei has been getting less and less water. There is no water to nourish, and the grass is getting less and less every year. Naturally It was deserted."

Daohua frowned: "Dan He?"

She remembered that it was mentioned in the topography of Ganzhouwei that the Dan River could be said to be the mother river of Ganzhouwei, which was cut off by the Xiliao people. No wonder this land is getting drier every year.

"Yunlian Mountain belongs to the territory of Xiliang, why was it occupied by the people of Xiliao?"

The ranch steward couldn't take that.

Why else, Xiliang can't beat Xiliao!

Daohua didn't expect a ranch steward to answer herself, "I want to see where the Dan River flows."

The manager of the ranch was a little unhappy: "Madam, Dan River is in the west of the ranch. Let's go there, the journey is not too close."

Daohua: "Then take the carriage."

This time, the ranch steward didn't speak.

Yan Shouhou beckoned towards the entrance of the ranch. After Cao Chuan saw it, he immediately drove over with a bald head in a carriage.

Daohua and Meilan Meiju directly sat up.

Yan Shouhou looked at the manager of the ranch: "Trouble the manager to lead the way. Since we want to buy this ranch, we should take a good look at it. After all, your asking price is not low."

The ranch manager couldn't, so he could only bring a horse and accompany Daohua and her group on a trip.

The speed of the carriage was not fast. Daohua sat in the carriage and carefully looked at the pasture. The edge of the pasture was surrounded by wooden stakes and iron wires. From a distance, you could see the houses and barns where the herdsmen lived.

Although a little old, the infrastructure is still good.

Two quarters of an hour later, Daohua and his party stood in front of the depleted Dan River.

At this time, the ranch manager said a little angrily: "Xiliao people are so hateful. After occupying the upper reaches of the Dan River, they cut off the flow of water to Ganzhouwei. There may be some water flowing through near Yunlian Mountain. , but Ganzhou City is in the middle and lower part of the Dan River, and the river was gone four or five years ago."

If the Dan River hadn't dried up, there would be no need to sell the ranch.

Daohua looked in the direction of Lianyun Mountain and murmured, "I will take it back."

The ranch steward didn't hear clearly: "What did Madam say?"

Daohua ignored it, but turned her attention to the barren slope with continuous ravines on the opposite side of the river: "Is the land over there unplanted?"

When the ranch manager heard it, he couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Sure enough, he came from the capital, and he didn't even know that the barren mountains were not suitable for planting.

However, in order to sell the ranch, the ranch manager explained it with a smile: "There are some barren hills over there, the slopes are steep, and it is dry and dry. stand up."

Daohua: "Come on, let's go and have a look."

Hearing this, the ranch manager was really speechless.

Of course, no one cares what he thinks.

The stones at the bottom of the Dan River are exposed, and you can go to the other side by stepping on the stones.

After Daohua came to the other side of the Dan River, she checked the situation on the slope here. It was a little dry, but she didn't mind, it was just enough to grow drought-tolerant corn, potatoes and cotton.

After looking around, Daohua and his party returned to the ranch.

The manager of the ranch looked at Daohua and the others, but unfortunately he didn't see anything, so he could only ask with a smile: "Madam, this ranch is really good, spring is about to start, it's time to raise cattle and sheep, buy now , just right."

"If it wasn't for the owner's unintentional animal husbandry, he wouldn't have sold such a good pasture. This pasture is a bit deserted now, but Madam has so many powerful people under her command, so she can definitely manage the pasture well."

Daohua was too lazy to talk to the steward, so he left the bargaining to Yan Shouhou, and got into the carriage and left the ranch.

It didn't take long for Yan Shouhou to come out.

After years of polishing, Yan Shouhou's eloquence and negotiation skills have long been practiced, and it is still very easy to negotiate with the ranch steward who has never been to other places.

"Girl, the final price of the ranch is 25,000 taels of silver."

Daohua nodded. In Xiliang, one mu of low-level land would cost about three taels of silver, and twenty-five thousand taels of silver for a 50,000-mu ranch was considered very cheap.

"When I go to the guardhouse to register for the land deed tomorrow, I will buy the five desolate mountains on the other side of the ranch together."

Hearing this, Yan Shouhou was stunned: "Buy the five seats together?"

Daohua: "Yes, just do as I say."

Yan Shouhou nodded, suddenly thought of something, and said again: "By the way, girl, the owner of this ranch seems to be the commander of the guard, Xia Jianren."

Daohua was stunned for a moment: "Who? What did you call that Tongzhi?"

Yan Shouhou: "Xia Jianren."

Daohua was speechless: "Bitch, you really know how to make names!"

After Daohua agreed to buy the ranch, the ranch manager came to Xia Mansion and told Xia Jianren the news.

After hearing this, Xia Jianren was very happy: "I finally let go of the ranch."

The situation of Renxin Ranch, no, it should be said that the pastures around Ganzhou City are almost deserted because there is no water source and the grass is not growing well.

If the pasture can't be grazing, what else can it be used for?

Few people raise cattle and sheep on a large scale nowadays, for no other reason, they cannot afford to raise them.

The herdsmen now only raise dozens or hundreds of heads to the sky.

People who live in Ganzhouwei all the year round know the situation of the ranch, so no one will buy it, and only the owner like Xiaofu who comes from the capital, does not know the actual situation of Ganzhouwei, and has deep pockets will buy it.

Xia Jianren shook his head, "Xiao Yeyang is a bit arrogant, but judging from his military training, this person is actually quite capable, but I didn't expect that he would marry such a brainless wife."

"50,000 mu of pasture, I want to see, what is Xiao Yeyang's wife going to do?"

"Marrying such a prodigal woman, Xiao Yeyang is really pitiful!"

Because of the delay at the ranch, it was already half-afternoon when Daohua and his party returned to the house.

As soon as he entered the mansion, people from the mansion came over and told him, "Madam, Young Master Dong has arrived and is now talking to the old man."

After Daohua heard this, she was overjoyed and walked quickly towards Gu Jian's yard.

In Gu Jian's room, Dong Yuanxuan sat below, and returned Gu Jian's words respectfully.

Sister Yan's master, he knew when he was in Zhongzhou, but he didn't have much contact with him.

He was still on his way to Ganzhou Wei, and when he heard Bu Gandang mention it, he realized that Sister Yan's master was the emperor's uncle, and he had just been proclaimed as Fuguo Gong by the emperor not long ago.

The news really shocked him for a while.

"Master!"

Daohua walked into the room with a smile. After meeting with Gu Jian, she smiled and looked at Dong Yuanxuan who was on the side: "Brother Dong, it's been a long time since I saw you, but you still have the same style!"

Looking at the same bright smile as he remembered, Dong Yuanxuan also smiled: "I can't compare to Sister Yan, I am much rougher."

Daohua smiled and said, "I haven't seen the vicissitudes, but it's a lot darker, but a manly man, it's okay to be dark at all."

While talking, he walked to Gu Jian and sat down.

"Brother Dong, are the old ladies and uncles all right?"

Dong Yuanxuan nodded with a smile: "It's all right, I'm worried about you. I'll go first, they should arrive in a few days. Are the old lady and Uncle Yan and Aunt Yan okay?"

Daohua: "Hello everyone. By the way, I received a letter from Yuanyao before I came. She said she was pregnant. Let me do the math. You will be your uncle in May next year."

Hearing this, Dong Yuanxuan's eyes lit up: "Really, that's great."

Daohua: "Sun Changze also said that he will be in charge of the business in Xiliang in the future. I think we can meet in Xiliang soon."

After chatting with Dong Yuanxuan for a while, Daohua said, "Xiao Yeyang won't be back until evening. Brother Dong must be tired after coming from Jin Weiwei. Let's go to the guest house to wash up and rest for a while."

Dong Yuanxuan nodded: "Okay."

After he left, Daohua and Gu Jian talked about buying pastures and barren slopes.

Gu Jian: "I don't understand these things very well. Do it if you want."

Daohua smiled and nodded.

Xiao Yeyang heard that Dong Yuanxuan had arrived, and returned to the house early in the evening.

The two gathered in the study and talked a lot until dinner was ready, and Daohua came over to call them, and the two went out of the room.

"From tomorrow, Yuan Xuan will handle the refugee resettlement. Now I can't arrange a position for him. His external identity is the master beside me."

In the evening, after washing up, Xiao Yeyang helped Daohua wipe her hair while talking to her about refugee resettlement.

"I discussed it with Yuan Xuan. Refugees who are willing to stay will have their household registration directly assigned to Ganzhouwei. As long as they open up wasteland, they will receive free grain seeds."

"Refugee resettlement is easy to say, but it's still very tedious to implement. Fortunately, Yuan Xuan has learned a lot of political skills from Dong Buzheng, so I should be able to relax."

Daohua asked: "How do you arrange the officials in the guardhouse?"

Xiao Yeyang: "I don't have enough people around me, and I don't have the time to talk to the guards officials. What did they do before and now? As long as it doesn't get in my way, I don't bother to bother with them."

Daohua: "Qin Xiaoliu should be here soon. He has brought all the grain produced in the Four Seasons Villa. You can use it all to make grain seeds."

Xiao Yeyang nodded.

Daohua suddenly thought of the Dan River, and mentioned it to Xiao Yeyang: "The source of the Dan River was occupied by the people of Western Liao, and the Dan River that traverses Ganzhouwei is now exhausted."

Xiao Yeyang said solemnly: "I also know about the Dan River. It is because the Dan River was taken away that there was not much response from Xiliang side, which led to the Xiliao people getting more and more advanced." snorted.

"Since Dan River is in the Ganzhou Wei jurisdiction, I will take it back sooner or later."

Daohua smiled and said, "I believe in you."

Xiao Yeyang was training soldiers, Dong Yuanxuan resettled refugees, and Daohua was not idle.

"Girl, is this?"

Yan Shouhou took the blueprint handed over by Daohua, looked at it carefully for a while, and looked at Daohua blankly.

Daohua explained: "According to my picture, I transformed the five barren hills I purchased into terraced fields. Now that the spring ploughing has not yet arrived, many people are idle at home. You can hire more part-time workers. , complete the transformation of at least one slope hill."

Yan Shouhou knew that his girl was very good at farming, so he nodded in agreement without asking more.

After he left, Daohua called Cao Chuan and also handed him a blueprint.

"This is the map of the ranch reconstruction. In the future, the ranch will be called Qingyang Ranch."

"I collected a batch of pasture seeds before, and when you get them, plant them in the pasture."

After she came to Xiliang, she planted a lot of the forage seeds she bought on the road in the space. The grass has a short growth period, and the forage seeds that are taken out now are all produced in the space.

"The ranch is too big, and it would be too labor-intensive to rely on people to guard it. I heard that the herdsmen here like to use sheep dogs. You can ask, if someone sells them, buy a dozen or twenty dogs to see the ranch. "

"After the grass seeds are planted, go to the herdsmen's homes around Ganzhou City to buy a batch of lambs and calves, and the number is temporarily set at 100."