Bonus update! Brought to you by all the wonderful readers who encouraged me through ko-fi. o( ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )o
Chapter 75.2 - To Assist
"How are the preparations for Yi Ping Town in Chang Province?" An Zi Ran asked.
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"Thanks to wang fei's blessing, I have been receiving complaints from my soldiers these pass few days."
Fu Wu Tian looked at him jokingly. At first, he did not expect his wang fei to make such a request. Although it was very strange, it was very reasonable once he thought about it carefully.
The best way to prevent locust plagues was to introduce the enemy of locusts, such as frogs, lizards, birds, etc. Raising chickens and ducks was also a possibility.
But this was a very big project.
So Fu Wu Tian sent his soldiers to Chang Province and had them help the local populace. For families who were better off, they helped them raise chickens and ducks, and for poorer families, they helped them catch frogs and lizards and such.
An Zi Ran did not answer. There was another viable method for pest control and that was the use of biological pesticides, but the prerequisite for such a method was not available in this backward time and space. Even if he knew how to configure a pesticide to kill mites, the conditions here did not support the development of such a method, so he did not speak out.
But this was only the beginning.
There were still many things to do in order to change the natural disasters that occur frequently in the Chang Province.
This wasn't the kind of thing that could be done overnight. Only with time could they gradually progress the place.
Fu Wu Tian picked up a document from the legal case and handed it to him. "This is a detailed report about Chang Province. There are three places where major disasters are found. Yi Ping town is just one of them."
An Zi Ran took the official document and read it over.
The time for harvesting rice already began, but Chang Province had almost no grain output. Most of the crops in the fields have died due to lack of water, which caused many field to be left to return to unchecked growth. This phenomenon had already occurred in many places in Chang Province.
Only after getting deeper into the matter did they know that the disastrous situation in Chang Province was actually more serious than imagined.
"Wang fei, it seems that the rice you collected will finally come in handy."
An Zi Ran closed up the official document and looked at Fu Wu Tian through narrowed eyes. "What price does wang ye intend to give for the rice? Let me warn you ahead of time, I will not sell if the price is too low." Doing business with Fu Wu Tian did not require politeness.
The previous corruption case was sensationalized all throughout Da Ya. Fu Wu Tian caught many corrupted officials. These people were greedy for money, but that was only a part of it. There were also some businessmen who did bad things for riches. Many of these people were the rice merchants of Hong Province. At this moment when everyone was at risk, the rice merchants in Hong Province simply did not dare to raise the price of rice at will.
Fu Wu Tian said indulgently, "Whatever price wang fei names will be the price. This prince will pay it."
An Zi Ran said, "Wang ye is rich and imposing."
"Thank you wang fei for the compliment!"
…
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…
In the afternoon, the two of them left the county office early and returned to the An manor.
Steward Su had already sent all the items written on the dowry list to the new house in accordance to instructions. A portion of the servants has also moved to the new place.
An Zi Ran did not intend to bring everyone to Jun Zi City, and one of those people was Steward Su.
Among all the people in the An family, Steward Su was his most trusted person. There needed to be someone who could stand in for An Zi Ran here in An Yuan County. Only Steward Su was competent enough to fill this post. His son, Su Zi, has only just started to touch the business side of the An family, so he was not qualified enough yet.
"Young Master…"
Steward Su had an expression of not being able to part from the young master.
An Zi Ran stopped the rest of his words. "Steward, there is actually a lot of important considerations for leaving you in An Yuan County. Those matters need to be handled by you personally." As he said this, he went to the cabinet and took out the rice noodle shop plan that he drafted a couple of days ago. "Take a look. After An Ke Xin gets married, I will return to Jun Zi City. This plan can only he implemented by you."
Steward Su's eyebrows rose in astonishment. "I understand, Young Master."
An Zi Ran was relieved to hear him say so.
"Young Master, there is one more thing, how do you plan to deal with the fourth concubine?" Steward Su abruptly thought of this problem. The matter with the third concubine has already been resolved, and the second concubine ran off with her daughter. That left only the fourth concubine.
An Zi Ran went silent.
Steward Su said worriedly, "Young Master, the fourth concubine is still the master's wife. It's not very appropriate to take her along to Jun Zi City. Wouldn't it be better to leave her in An Yuan County?"
An Zi Ran shook his head. "I am preparing to take her with me."
Wang Qing Lan was currently his main suspect. Furthermore, she was a very smart woman. Leaving her in An Yuan County would only make him more worried. If she played her tricks then Steward Su would definitely not be good enough to oppose her. Compared to the second and third concubine, Wang Qing Lan needed more attention.
Steward Su knew that once the young master made up his mind he would not change it.
An Ke Xin's wedding day was fast approaching.
The fifteenth day of the fifth month was a very auspicious day. In Da Ya, the fifteenth of every month held the meaning of happiness and union of the family.
On this day, the new house of the An family was lit up with lights, and servants bustled back and forth. It was very busy.
Early in the morning, the marriage procession came to the door of the new An family house. At the helm was the bridegroom Lin Xin. His chubby face was glossy with oil, and he was smiling so much that his eyes were almost squinted shut.
Supported by the wedding matron and a maidservant, the bride, An Ke Xin, came out.
When Lin Xin saw her, he was so excited he couldn't wait to jump off his horse. But because he was so fat, the action was awkward. Fortunately, the little helper following from behind helped hold him up, otherwise he would've made a fool of himself in public.
Lin Xin walked excitedly over to the bride.
An Zi Ran glanced at him and said, "From henceforth you are responsible for my little sister."
Lin Xin nodded right away. "Brother-in-law, please rest assured. I will definitely take good care of Ke Xin." As he spoke, he and the wedding matron helped the bride to the wedding sedan.
Then the wedding procession set off to the vigorous beating of drums.