novelden Chapter 116 Busy
Chapter 116 Busy
The day after the banquet, Wen Yuxia, accompanied by Steward Tang, went to the estate on the outskirts of Beijing that the Emperor had bestowed upon her. Steward Tang had taken over all affairs of the estate after arriving in the capital.
"The princess has arrived. Summon Gu Zhuangzhuang to the main courtyard," Butler Tang said to the gatekeeper as he knocked on the gate.
The gatekeeper bowed respectfully to the carriage: "Greetings, Princess." Wen Yuxia's calm voice came from inside the carriage: "No need for formalities."
Wen Yuxia had already heard about the situation at the estate from Steward Tang. She had come today for the orchard and winery. Before leaving Xinchuan County, she had two sets of purification equipment made and put them into her spatial storage.
At this moment, the two sets of equipment were in the carriage driven by Nan Si and Nan Wu. She also brought the pomegranate tree with her, but since she couldn't find a place to store it, it was still in her spatial storage.
"Princess, I am Gu Zhuangzhuang, the head of the estate. There are seven households on the estate..." Gu Zhuangzhuang was very talkative, chatting about the number of people on the estate and what crime the previous owner had committed to be exiled.
After listening patiently, Wen Yuxia smiled and said, "As long as you follow Steward Tang's instructions, I, the princess, will guarantee your family's livelihood. From now on, the profits will be split 50/50..."
The previous owner and Gu Zhuangzhuang's group split profits 30/70, with Gu Zhuangzhuang and his team only receiving 30% of their hard-earned income after a year of hard work. Butler Tang did not change this split after taking over.
In Mengzhong County, land rent was split 50/50 between the landlords and tenants. To ensure fairness, Wen Yuxia changed the splitting ratio for the three estates of Lingyuan, Lingdong, and Lingtong to 50/50.
The 50/50 split in Zhuangzi's business was no small sum. Besides grain, the income from chickens, sheep, pigs, and eggs was also split 50/50 between the Zhuangzi's servants and the Zhuangzi's employees.
The former owner of the manor on the outskirts of Beijing only allocated grain to Gu Zhuangzhuang and his family, allowing them to raise a small number of livestock. The livestock kept on the manor were not distributed to them.
Now that Wen Yuxia said all of this would be included in the profit sharing, Gu Zhuangzhuang was overjoyed. He was determined to follow Wen Yuxia as his master. Gu Zhuangzhuang knelt down with a thud, "Thank you, Princess, thank you, Princess."
Wen Yuxia continued, "This princess has an orchard and a winery on her estate in Xinchuan County. The income from the orchard and the winery is not distributed among the villagers, but she can earn wages for working in the orchard and the winery..."
When Wen Yuxia announced her decision to plant fruit trees and build a winery on the estate, Gu Zhuangzhuang immediately thought of a suitable location and eagerly said:
“There’s a large tract of land unused by the river. Fruit trees can be planted there, and a winery can be built behind the main courtyard…”
There is a river in the village that floods every year, submerging the sandy land on both sides of the river. Crops fail to grow, so the villagers usually grow some vegetables on the sandy land to supplement their income.
Gu Zhuangzhuang believed that planting fruit trees on sandy land would prevent them from being washed away during the flood season and thus not affect the harvest. He also noted that there was a vegetable garden behind Wen Yuxia's main courtyard, where they could build several houses for brewing wine, making it convenient to transport the wine back to the cellar in the main courtyard for storage.
"The cellar in the main courtyard is very large?" Wen Yuxia didn't know the main courtyard had a cellar; she only saw a granary.
Gu Zhuangzhuang nodded and said, "The previous owner was a corrupt official who embezzled a lot of silver, which he stored in the estate. The size of the cellar below is the same as the size of the main courtyard..."
Wen Yuxia became interested and followed Gu Zhuangzhuang to the cellar entrance, walking down the stone steps one by one, using the torches held by Gu Zhuangzhuang and Butler Tang as a guide.
Wen Yuxia could see clearly that the floor, the surrounding walls, and the ceiling were all covered with blue bricks, and eight wooden pillars stood in the empty cellar.
The wooden pillars were painted with red paint and carved with various patterns. Haha, just as Gu Zhuangzhuang said, they were even more exquisitely built than the house itself.
The location of the cellar entrance is also unusual. There is a woodshed, a kitchen, and a corridor. The corridor is just a passageway. I guess no one would guess that this is the entrance to the cellar!
Wen Yuxia was very satisfied with the cellar. "Butler Tang, I'll leave the construction of the winery to you and Manager Gu. I'll bring you the blueprints later. You'll stay at the estate for the time being."
Wen Yuxia asked Gu Zhuangzhuang to find someone to move the purification equipment from the carriage into the house, and then left the farm with Nan Si and the others.
Over the next few days, Wen Yuxia transformed into a refined gentleman, taking Nan Liu and Nan Qi to inspect several shops that Xia Yichen had provided for her. They finally chose a two-story house with a backyard.
The renovation had been arranged with Xia Yichen beforehand. Wen Yuxia only needed to send the blueprints and shop location to Yunyilou, and Zhang Jinxuan would find someone to renovate the shop.
After instructing Nan Si to deliver the renovation plans and instructions to Yunyi Tower, Wen Yuxia, along with Nan Er and the others, left the capital.
After arriving in the capital, Wen Yuxia assigned Nan Yi to be Wen Yunhong's personal bodyguard, arranged for Gu Jiusi and Deng Yongbo to work as guards in the mansion, and brought Nan Er and the others back to her side to serve.
Nan Yi and the others have followed her since childhood and are the people she trusts the most. She has already demonstrated to Nan Yi and the others how to retrieve objects from thin air and make them appear out of thin air. Nan Yi and the others have also sworn to be loyal to her to the death.
"Princess, where shall we buy wine?" After leaving the capital, Nan Er stopped the carriage and turned to ask. Wen Yuxia only said she would buy liquor in a city near the capital, without specifying which city.
Nan Er was Wen Yuxia's coachman. He stopped the carriage, and Nan San, Nan Si, and Nan Wu, who were behind him, naturally stopped their carriages by the side of the official road.
Wen Yuxia said coldly, "When we're out in public, I'm not a princess, I'm Young Master Wen. Don't call me that next time."
To conceal her identity, she had even stored away the sign indicating the Princess's residence from her personal seating arrangement; she had already decided where she would go.
Fancheng, known as "Little Capital," boasts convenient transportation and a wharf. It's also not far from the capital; a carriage ride takes only two hours.
If you buy liquor there, no one should notice that the liquor produced by her distillery has undergone secondary processing!
Nan Er said loudly, "Young Master Wen instructed us to go to Fancheng." Nan San, Nan Si, and Nan Wu responded in unison, "Understood."
After arriving in the capital, Wen Yuxia showed them the map. They memorized the routes to several cities around the capital. Knowing that they were going to Fancheng, Nan Er took the lead and drove the carriage onto the official road to Fancheng.
At night, Nan Er chose a gentle slope as their campsite. The group pitched tents, hunted, gathered firewood, and cooked, working together seamlessly.
Dinner was plentiful, with rice, roasted rabbit, pheasant soup, and a large plate of cold wild vegetables. Wen Yuxia and Bei Yi ate in the tent, while Nan Er and the others ate around the fire.
After the meal, Bei Yi asked, "Young Master, Nan Er and the others have to catch the carriage tomorrow. Would it be alright if I stayed with Bei Er tonight?"
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have arranged for you to keep watch. How about this, you and North Two will keep watch for the first half of the night, and North Three and North Four will keep watch for the second half."
Bei Yi and the others can catch up on sleep in the carriage tomorrow. With one more person keeping watch, there's more peace of mind, so Wen Yuxia simply arranged for all four of them to be on duty.