A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 165 Tell you a secret

At dusk,

Light up the lanterns and sit around the hot pot.
The small red clay charcoal stove burns charcoal from Mount Zhongnan.
Li Yi and his wives and concubines sat around the fire, talking about family matters.

The heat is rising,
Freshly cut lamb, chicken, and some vegetables from the royal greenhouse,
All kinds of flavors melt in the small pot, warming the stomach and heart, full of the flavor of life.

"I never thought that I could eat yellow sprouts and cucumbers in the twelfth lunar month."

"It is indeed fresh and juicy,"

There are quite a few vegetables grown in the greenhouse, including cucumbers and Chinese cabbage, as well as chives, leeks, leeks, spinach, lettuce, etc.

In fact, there are cold-resistant winter vegetables, such as radish, cabbage, garlic, celery, carrot, spinach, coriander, etc. As long as they are planted early, they can be eaten in winter.

Lotus root and winter bamboo shoots are also rare delicacies.

"Uncle Luo came to Chang'an today and gave us a lot of this year's new sweet-scented osmanthus rice, as well as lotus roots and water chestnuts. These three are all famous specialties of Yushuchuan."

"Uncle San came and went home without waiting for me?"

"Uncle Luo has been very busy lately. He has taken over the position of village chief and is also helping you manage the affairs of the village. Besides, there have been some good things recently."

"What good news? Are you going to marry a new wife?"

Shi Niang smiled and said, "Alang really guessed it right. Now the matchmakers going to Uncle Luo's house to propose marriages have almost broken down the door.
Especially since he rebuilt the five-hole kiln this time, and you even paid for him to install stone doors and windows, which immediately gave it a grand feel.”

Li Yi was now a sixth-rank official in Beijing, so he naturally stopped being the village chief of Luojiabao. He recommended Luo San to the county to take over as village chief, and naturally the higher-ups would not object. The village chief still had some benefits, at least he was exempt from military service.

Luo San is still the manager of Li Yi's manor and has a good salary.

He also asked Luo San to help him purchase persimmons, lent him capital, and asked him to hire people to go to the countryside to purchase them, so that Luo San could earn some hard-earned money from it.

Luo San's family has changed a lot.

Wukong Xinyao followed Li Yi to make money and became the village chief. He was still young. Although he had three children, in the countryside, especially during this period, no one cared much.

Now, not only many widows want to marry Luo San, but many people in the surrounding area also want to marry their virgins to Luo San.

You don't have to worry about not having enough to eat after you marry him.
"Has Third Uncle found anyone he likes?"

"Well, they said they've chosen one, an eighteen-year-old girl from Wangqu Village. Her family is poor and can't afford a dowry, so they've been delaying it."

That family was relatively poor, especially since they had a father who was always sick and several brothers who were still unmarried, so most people didn't dare to propose marriage.

"What's the condition?"

"The Wang family asked for ten rolls of silk and two dan of rice. Their daughter didn't have any dowry. Uncle San thought that although Madam Wang was a little older, she was capable and eloquent, so he chose her and was willing to spend a little more money."

Luo San is now helping Li Yi harvest persimmons. He has hired a lot of people and cars to collect them from different places every day, making some profit from the difference. In addition, he also gets paid for helping Li Yi manage the farm, so he has saved some money now.

"When will it be done?"

"The ceremony has already taken place, and the wedding date has been set. We will be welcoming the bride on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month."

Li Yi was happy for Luo San after hearing this. Luo San's life had not been easy, and this was his third wife.

He picked up a few slices of mutton and put them in the copper pot. "Then we must go to celebrate. It just so happens that Wuji Castle has been built and the house is almost finished. We can live in it after it is dried out."

"Luojiabao has changed a lot this year. I heard that seven or eight people in the village got married this winter."

"So many?"

There were originally eighteen households left in Luojiabao, but with Li Yi, Xiuzhi, and the four Qiang people of Cunxiao, there are only twenty-four households now.

"Well, people from all over the place have seen that Luojiabao is getting better off, and they're willing to marry their daughters into the family. Many of them have come to us and asked about it.

Apart from the Wang family, no other family asks for such a large gift. Some would even rather ask for less in order to ensure their daughters marry well."

Many villagers in Luojiabao are now working for Li Yi. The women work in the workshop, and the men help Li Yi manage the farm and lead his troops. Some also help with sales and transportation.

Since we have our own piece of land, we can also earn some income during the slack season, so our lives are naturally much better than others.

Li Yi smiled and said, "This reminds me of the past. Before we left for Nielong, the banks of the Hehe River were a rice-producing area with fertile fields and abundant water. The people on the plateau envied us the most for living in the rice fields along the Hehe River.
The plateau is short of water and suffers from drought, so the harvest is also low. Girls from the plateau used to dream of marrying into the rice fields below the plateau and eating rice. But since the Nielong incident, this situation has not happened for a long time.

Now life in Luojiabao has gotten better again, and the old bachelors and young people in Luojiabao are popular again.

This is a good thing.

Li Yi felt proud of himself as the former village chief.

"By the way, Li Cunxiao and the other four are also getting married in the twelfth month, and they've already sent in their invitations."

Li Cunxiao and his men were once Li Yi's Qiang slaves. Luckily, they made great contributions and were directly appointed by Li Yuan as the commander of the imperial army, becoming centurions.

Although these four people are now seventh-rank military officers, they often come to visit the mansion when they are not on duty, and they always bring some gifts. Li Yi is very happy to see that they are polite and sensible. Last time, Li Yi helped him recruit people for their fields, and helped him buy cows and farm tools so that they could plant the fields together in autumn.

"Don't they have wives in the Longyou tribe? Didn't the Saint say last time that he would send someone to bring their wives and children here?"

"Alang doesn't know yet. Their tribe was destroyed by the Dangxiang Qiang before the order arrived. Those who survived were taken away as slaves."

Li Cunxiao and his family were left alone and could only remarry here.

Fortunately, they are now all seventh-rank military officers and brigade commanders, and have a lot of land and money under their names. Many people are willing to marry them. As long as the betrothal gifts are in place, no one will look down on them as Qiang barbarians.

The four of them asked a matchmaker to find girls from Yusu Township.

"Just settle down in Chang'an, get married, and become a Tang citizen in the future. That would be great too."

The red copper hot pot is indeed the most pleasant enjoyment in winter.
Seeing that Li Yi was in a good mood, Du Shiniang smiled and said, "The only thing missing is a few children. Su Jun, you stay with A Lang tonight and give birth to one soon."

This made Ji blush, but she was secretly looking forward to it. Shi Niang had already talked to her and Yu Shu frankly, saying that A Lang wanted her to wait two years before getting pregnant. She hoped that Ji and Jin could give birth to two children for A Lang first. Li Yi poured himself a cup of persimmon wine and did not respond.
In this era, according to the traditional concept of Shi Niang and others, once you get married, you naturally have to have children as soon as possible.

But Li Yi was still hesitant.

He didn't want to have children in a hurry. In fact, if he hadn't met Du Shiniang who was so infatuated with him, he wouldn't even be ready to get married.

But looking at the married life now, it’s actually not bad.

Eat and drink

Li Yi took a walk in the corridor to digest his food.
The corridor houses of the Tang Dynasty also have their advantages. No matter it is windy, rainy or snowy, you can stroll around the corridor and enjoy the scenery.

night,

Shi Niang really let Li Yi live in the west room.
The layout of Li's house in Pingkangfang consists of two entrances and two bays. The east bay mainly houses the outer courtyard stables, the inner courtyard guest rooms, and the warehouse.

In the inner courtyard, Li Yi and Shi Niang lived in the central hall, while the two concubines lived in the west wing, each with a room. Yu You Niang, now the housekeeper of the inner courtyard, also lived in the west wing.

"Alang can't neglect them both. You can stay in Sujun's room tonight. Or Alang can ask Sujun to come to the east room of the hall to accompany you."

"Don't laugh, Alang. Producing offspring is a big deal. As the head of the family, I have a heavy burden. If Alang has one wife and two concubines and still doesn't have any children, all kinds of rumors will come out."

Seeing Shi Niang's rare serious look, even raising the issue of reputation and family, Li Yi had no choice but to surrender.

He also has a second bedroom in the hall, mainly for taking a nap at noon.

"Forget it, I'll go to Su Jun's room."

Shi Niang said seriously: "You are not allowed to wear that. Plant it for Ji Shi. How can such a precious thing be wasted?"

"You can't get pregnant just by implanting the seeds. It depends on the timing. Let me tell you a secret. Women can only get pregnant if they have sex two or three days a month. No matter how hard you try the rest of the time, it's useless."

This touched upon Du Shiniang's blind spot in knowledge, and she looked doubtful.

"Wouldn't it be possible to get pregnant if the seeds were planted?"

"Seeds alone are not enough. In fact, it also needs to be combined with women's seeds, and you women only produce seeds once a month..."

Du Li became excited. "Then quickly call Ji over. Shuying, go call Ji over."

After dinner, Ji Sujun went to the bathroom at home to take a bath. She also used the red pomegranate Safeguard that Li Yi gave her, and made herself smell good.

She changed into light silk pajamas and asked the maid to warm up the stove in the room.

"Madam Ji, the county lord wants you to come over."

Ji Sujun had no choice but to change clothes again.

When she arrived at the main room of the hall, Du Shiniang excitedly took her hand and asked her when her last menstruation came and when it ended.

The question left her confused.

Why are you asking these questions in front of Alang?

Su Jun looked at Li Yi.

Li Yi also regretted speaking too hastily. Why did he tell this to Shi Niang? Now, whenever the due date comes, he will be assigned to plow the land and sow seeds.

"Actually, that's not accurate either. You have to have the exact date of your menstrual period every month."

Shi Niang then asked Ji, "Does your menstrual period come on the right day every month?"

"It's probably around those few days."

"So when will you come next time? What day is it fourteen days before that?"

Ji blushed and calculated, "It was only clean a few days ago, so it will take another six or seven days."

When Shi Niang heard this, she felt a little discouraged. "What a coincidence! I can't do it today."

She sighed, "Shuying, call Yushu over."

Jin Yusu was called suddenly and didn't know why. When asked about menstrual blood, she felt embarrassed in front of Li Yi. After all, in their hearts, it was considered dirty.

One word, one answer.
Du Li was counting on her fingers, and suddenly said excitedly: "That's right, that's right, according to the date, Yu Shu is here, and it happens to be tomorrow.
Ah Lang said that one or two days before or after would be fine, and Yu Shu would be just right."

She took Jin's hand and put it in Li Yi's hand, "Ah Lang, for the next three days, no, for the next five days, you will live in Jin's house."

Ji Sujun was dazed and a little dazed, while Jin Yusu couldn't help laughing out loud.

Is there such a good thing?
"Yu Shu, you must do your best. I'll give you five days. You must get pregnant."

"As long as you can get pregnant, you can ask for any reward you want."

Li Yi looked at the three people with different expressions and felt a little confused. Three women and one man, but there was no fight. The wife was so active in asking other women to give birth to children for her husband, and even said there would be rewards for getting pregnant.

Hey,
This decadent feudal era,
A virtuous wife and a beautiful concubine,

However, looking at the shining eyes of Du Li and Jin Yusu, and hearing the word "five days", Li Yi suddenly felt a lot of pressure.

There is no land that is damaged by plowing, only cows that are worked to death.

How can I cultivate the land for five consecutive days?

"Shi Niang, there's no difference between three to five days and one day. More days will actually affect the quality of the seeds."

"My dear, please bear with me for a while. I will make up for it by stewing mutton for you tomorrow morning."

(End of this chapter)