Three days later, the results of the public trial came out. It turned out that a group of bandits had robbed a wealthy merchant on the official road three months ago. In order to avoid the government's pursuit, they had hidden in the mountain corner behind Liujiatun. They had also won over a silly donkey who did not dare to return to the village after teasing a widow to inform them. A few days ago, they heard from the silly donkey that a workshop had been built in King Village that earned a lot of money every day. They had thought that since it had disappeared for three months, the government should have let it go. They had taken the opportunity to catch up and run away. Unexpectedly, they were caught just as they reached out their hands.
After the dust settled, a person came to the prefecture. He claimed to be the manager of the rich merchant family who had been robbed. He said that his master was willing to buy the barren mountain to help the people of Qing Cong County to stop the bandits from harming them.
The village chief of Liujiatun had been scared witless by the incident of the villagers colluding with the bandits. He always felt that there was a knife hanging over his head. Now that the barren mountain had an owner, it was better than being occupied by some bad guys and becoming a bandit nest. Of course, he was overjoyed.
After the baptism of the fire, the people in the flour mill quickly matured. In addition to arranging for the villagers to take turns to guard, Wang Maocai also brought several big dogs from the village to raise around the flour mill. The flour mill was related to the interests of the entire village, so the villagers naturally would not slack off. Many people even stretched their necks across the courtyard wall to look in the direction of the flour mill when they woke up at night. Then, the dogs in the village became smart. Knowing that there was food and bones to eat in the flour mill, they wandered around the flour mill day and night in groups. For a moment, those who used to poke their heads into the flour mill disappeared in fear.
According to the information that Feng Huang had gotten from the bandits, Yang Ping, Uncle Cheng, and Mister Feng searched the newly bought mountainous area several times and finally found this "kerosene spring" by following the smell.
It flowed out from the cracks of the rocks, looking like a bottle of water and smelly. Mixed with the spring water, it flowed out 30 to 40 feet long on the surface and hid underground. Here, the rocks were jagged, and there was little vegetation in the gravel and sand. Uncle Cheng looked around the surrounding mountains for a long time before saying," There should be a landslide here... Look at the rock there, there are obvious signs of fracture. It seems that it broke from the top and then fell down. Even the one under your feet is not stable. Ping girl, don't walk around..."
Yang Ping obediently stood at a slightly flat place: " That's why this thing hasn't been discovered for a long time. Other than the fact that few people have set foot on this barren land, it's probably because it appeared on the ground not long ago just like what Uncle Cheng said…However, Uncle Cheng, Uncle Feng, from the direction of this kerosene spring, it doesn't seem to be the source. The mountain is undulating and there are gravel everywhere. How should we find it?”
Mr. Feng waved his hand." It's useless to find it in a short period of time. The extraction of kerosene is not as simple as other mines. It only requires manpower to dig the tunnels. It requires digging wells. This is a mountainous area. It's probably even more difficult to extract it…Moreover, we don't have enough manpower…"
" Yes, and that's not all-" Uncle Cheng also interrupted,"" The kerosene is mixed with water and has many impurities. It's not easy to purify it. Moreover, it's difficult to store and transport it. It's not realistic to exchange it for silver. The most reliable use is to make a fire and keep warm…"
"I'm afraid it's difficult to even start a fire to keep warm! Sister Ping, aren't you well-read? Could it be that he had never seen the method to pick this thing?”，Feng Huang found a tree branch to push away the stone above the kerosene spring and said in a muffled voice,""Don't throw a large sum of silver for nothing!”
"I only know that they use grass to pull them, but I've never seen how to mine them! "However, this thing is called 'alchemical fire oil', and it was once used in the military. How could it be allowed to be recorded in a book? I'm afraid that we can only find some records in the notes and manuals of some related people…" Yang Ping smiled and continued," However, it's not a big deal if we can't harvest it. We'll leave it here for now. Since it can seep out from the surface, it means that there must be a lot of reserves below. It just so happens that Uncle Zhong and the others in the mountains can't do much this winter. Why don't we let them guard this piece of land first? Although we can't harvest it in large quantities, it's easy to use rags or straw to make some torches. Other than heating and lighting, it can also be used as medicine. There are books that say it can cure the scabies of camels, horses, cattle, and sheep…"
Feng Huang wanted to reply as usual, but he heard his father say,""The girl is right, there's no hurry, take it slow…just leave it here for now…Feng Huang, you're three years older than the girl, and you're always so reckless, can't you read a few more books!”
" Father…I…" Feng Huang raised his head from his serious action of pulling the stone. Seeing his father and Yang Ping's teasing eyes, he suddenly lost the intention to retort and said seriously,""Your son will remember this. In the future, I will look up to Sister Ping and will definitely listen to Old Master Meng's teachings carefully!”
Yang Ping snickered again.
Today, Zhao Jing was once again carried to the courtyard to bask in the sun. The old persimmon tree outside the courtyard wall had turned from a golden tree to a few withered leaves under his witness. The warm sun in the early winter made him squint comfortably.
On the side, the two young men were fighting again. Zhao Jing watched quietly. Since Master Cheng agreed to let him stay that day, he felt that the cloth clothes on his body and the thatched roof were so warm and poetic.
He had never thought that one day he would be able to fight with others to eat that messy dish, and that the seemingly fatty pork slices could actually leave a lingering fragrance in his mouth, and that those unattractive meatballs could also taste like delicacies in the palace.
The two young men in front of him, who had once been indifferent to him, had actually begun to sincerely invite him to judge their competition. Also, yesterday, the little girl next door, who was six or seven years old, brought over a dozen golden, soft, and astringent persimmons in a basket. Seeing that it was inconvenient for him, she washed one and handed it to him. He felt that he would probably never forget the sweetness of the persimmons and the innocent and slightly timid eyes of the little girl for the rest of his life.
As for what would happen to the cold palace thousands of miles away because of his " disappearance ", he felt disgusted at first, but now he didn't care. He even thanked those people for their deliberate efforts to let him breathe the free air in the mountains.
Finally, the Yang Family Compound was completed before the first snow. There were three courtyards in the front and two courtyards in the east and west. Although there were no pavilions and pavilions, it was clean, spacious and generous.
Considering that there would be more people coming and going in the future, Yang Ping specially left more than twenty guest rooms in the front yard, five superior rooms in the main yard, and three small courtyards in the backyard. The siblings and Uncle Cheng each occupied one. The east and west courtyards had two entrances. The front courtyard of the west courtyard was a two-story attic. The upper floor was used as a library, and the lower floor was a large study. Old Master Meng lived in the backyard. The front courtyard of the east courtyard had a kitchen and a flower hall. The backyard was Mr. Feng's study and his bedroom with Mr. Jin.
There was no shortage of firewood in the mountains, so all the earth dragons were burned. Because it was always sunny when they built the buildings, they were able to live for seven or eight days in a row. Almost all the people who were left behind were transferred to the construction of the school.
At this time of the year, it was unrealistic to plant trees or flowers. In order not to make the big courtyard look too bare, Jin Shi and Aunt Wang found a lot of seeds of Spinacia and soaked them in water for a night before scattering them on the flat land. Spinacia was cold-resistant. When it snowed, they were covered with a layer of oilcloth. Usually, they were covered with straw. It was said that they would be able to eat fresh green leafy vegetables for a while.
After seeing this, Mrs. Yuan took a basket of garlic and planted a piece. She said that it could be used as chopped green onions when stewing meat during the New Year.
Shui Sheng and his son had been busy polishing the beams, so they couldn't care less about the furniture. Feng Nianen had someone send some over. Large and small beds, chairs, stools, dressing tables, and boxes were pulled one after another. In half a day, the courtyards were filled to the brim.
There was no need to worry about the curtains and bedding. A few embroidery girls had already started to make them. Two carriages pulled them over. Afraid that Jin would not be able to figure it out, there was also a lady surnamed Xiao. She was not tall and spoke softly, but she was quite agile when it came to work. She could tell which curtain was hanging on which bed and which curtain was hanging on which wall. As she led everyone to work, she could also use the colorful rope in her hand to make a few beautiful flower knots.
After finally handing in her homework at Old Master Meng's place, Yang Ping rushed over to help, but Lady Xiao pulled her to the side to take her size.""Miss, you've grown a lot. First Madam specially asked you to cut some materials to make some new year clothes for you…"
Yang Ping refused with a smile." I have a lot of clothes. If you have time, please make a few for Aunt Qiao and Aunt!"”
Lady Xiao smiled and narrowed her eyes." We'll do it all, we'll do it all. The shops in the county haven't been tidied up yet, so we're not busy. We can just make the clothes for the young miss, the young master, and the madams for the new year."”
When Aunt Wang heard this, she hurriedly waved her hand."Pingping, don't let your sister make clothes for me. Make them for your Auntie Qiao. She'll look good in anything!”
"Sister-in-law is also good-looking. She's going to get married next year, so she has to tidy herself up for the in-laws to see!”，Jin Shi smiled and pulled Aunt Wang in front of Lady Xiao without any explanation."Come quickly, Xiao Niangzi's craftsmanship is very good. Pick some bright ones and make a few more, don't be dusty all day!”
Yang Ping also came up and grabbed her arm."That's right, listen to Aunt Qiao and leave it to Lady Xiao!”
Xiao Niangzi noted down Yang Ping's size, turned around and said with a smile,""Sister-in-law, don't worry and leave it to me. I'll make sure you dress up well. When our shopkeeper gets married, you and your daughter-in-law will go to the county and show off our embroidery workshop, right?”
Aunt Wang couldn't argue with her, and in the end, she unnaturally let Lady Xiao measure her up and down, muttering from time to time,"How old are you? Why are you still dressed up…"
"How old are you? Sister-in-law is no older than me by five years.”
"Sister Jin is right. At your age, if you tidy up a little, you'll look rich and charming when you walk out.”
Yang Ping happily walked around the few courtyards and saw that they were almost fully decorated. She wanted to find Uncle Cheng to get him to bring back those things in the county house. Not to mention other things, just the books in the house had to be tidied up.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。