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

Chapter 62: A man should be looked at with new eyes after three days of absence

Fanchuan, Duqu.

On the east bank of the Fuhe River, at the foot of Shaolingyuan.

Several riders came galloping and stopped in front of the gate of Fengxiang Marquis' Mansion.

A handsome young man jumped off his horse,
"Bring the grapes and follow me to present them to the old lady."

The two servants behind him dismounted and took two pottery jars from the saddle.

The servants at the door hurried to greet him: "Da Lang."

"Is the old lady at home?"

"Yes, Shi Niang is chatting with the old lady."

Du Gou took the two pottery jars and went to the inner courtyard.
After passing the middle gate, there are two central halls standing in the middle of the inner courtyard, connected by a corridor, which is very grand.

Guo and her granddaughter Shi Niang were chatting in the north hall, arranging flowers while chatting. The room was filled with incense and tea was brewing.

The maid announced, "The eldest son of the East Court has arrived. He said he has come on his father's orders to deliver grapes from the Western Regions."

Guo ignored her, but Du Shiniang smiled and said, "It's so hot, and Wenjian specially sent grapes. He's really thoughtful. Hurry and call him in."

Du Gou came to the North Hall,

Entering the house, he knelt down to Guo and said, "Great-grandson greets great-grandmother."

Then he said to Du Shiniang, "Hello, aunt."

He also greeted the other female members of the family.

Guo's expression was cold. She had never liked the first wife's side.

"Just now the servant said you sent some Gaochang grapes. Where are they?" Shi Niang asked with a smile.

Du Gou then presented two earthenware jars filled with ice and grapes wrapped in paper. When he opened them, the grapes were still fresh and sparkling green.

"Wow, it really is grapes. Where did the Gaochang grapes come from?"

Du Gou followed his father's instructions and said, "To answer my aunt, these grapes were sent by the King of Gaochang to Chang'an as tribute. Yesterday, His Majesty rewarded me with two baskets of grapes.

One basket was given to the Duke of Jiang, who was the Minister of the Imperial Household, and the other was given to the newly appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the founding male of Qianshui County.

"After the man from Qianshui County received the imperial gift of grapes, he specially sent a few bunches to my father-in-law. My father-in-law remembered that our ancestor liked to eat grapes, so he asked me to deliver them."

Guo then said, "Your father is very thoughtful. He still remembers an old man like me when others gave him a few bunches of grapes."

Du Shiniang asked, "Whose family is this founding father of Qianshui County? I don't think I've heard of him before. Is he a relative of ours?"

Du Gou smiled and said, "We're not relatives, but we're acquaintances. Tenth Aunt is more familiar with Li Yi, the Li Dalang from Luojiabao in Yusu Township across Shenheyuan."

Du Shiniang was surprised. "Li Lang? When did he become a secretary and attendant, and was even granted the title of Baron of Qianshui County?"

Guo also raised her eyelids, her eyes showing surprise.

"It happened just these few days. My father said that when the King of Qin came to Duqu's house last time, Li Yi also came to visit my father and met the King of Qin. The King of Qin also got the Thousand Character Essay on Thin Muscles that Li Yi had collected from my aunt. He also rewarded Li Yi with a golden knife and gave his school silk.

Later, Li Yi also gave the King of Qin some of the elixirs that his master and his disciples had used during their travels. This time, the King of Qin was fighting in Jingzhou and contracted malaria, and the imperial physicians were unable to treat him in time... Wu Yi was rewarded for his contribution of the elixirs, and the sage specially granted him the title of Male of Qianshui County.

"The King of Qin and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince both strongly recommended Li Yi's talent. The Crown Prince even recommended Li Yi as a seventh-rank Imperial Censor in the palace.
Although Li Yi was ultimately rejected by His Majesty due to his youth, it is said that Duke Chen of Jiang recommended him for the position of Li Yi's proofreader, and His Majesty granted him the position and even gifted him a basket of grapes sent as tribute from Gaochang.

It turned out that these grapes were given by Li Yi.

Du Shiniang was very happy. "Ah, I have always said that Wuyi is very talented and must be extraordinary. I didn't expect that he refused the position of Crown Prince's Attorney last time, and now he has been promoted again. It really is true that gold can shine wherever it shines."

When Guo heard this, she was unhappy.

Last time, she asked her illegitimate son Du Sanlang to go to Li Yi's house to congratulate him on the completion of the beam raising ceremony, and presented him with generous gifts. She then reminded Li Yi that the two families were not a good match, and hoped that Li Yi would be careful.

Guo was very satisfied with the young man Li Yi's reply. She said she had no improper intentions and gave him a pair of crystal clear glasses as a gift.
Mrs. Guo liked this pair of cups very much, and it was obvious that they were as valuable as the gold bowls and silver plates she had given them.

I thought this matter was over,

Unexpectedly, Li Yi was granted a title and became a disciple in the blink of an eye.

Although the Jingzhao Du family was a prominent family, her branch, the legitimate son Du Yan, was currently serving as a fifth-rank imperial censor in Luoyang, and the eldest grandson Du Ruhui was serving as a military officer in the Qin Palace in Chang'an, serving as a military officer and the chief officer of the Shanzhou General Administration Office, also a fifth-rank official.
However, this son and grandson served in Chang'an and Luoyang respectively, both of them were fifth-rank officials, but they did not have any titles.

This Fengxiang Marquisate is still the title of my late husband.

There is no one in the family to inherit.

A young Taoist priest who had just returned to secular life, who was despised by her and made him realize his status, is now granted a title and an official position, and can also receive Gaochang grapes as a reward from the emperor.

Guo frowned.

What made her even more dissatisfied was that she felt that Du Ruhui asked his son to send these grapes just to upset her.

"My teeth are not good, and I can't eat sour or sweet food. You should take these grapes back to your mother and others to eat."

Du Shiniang smiled and said, "Grandfather, these are mare's milk grapes from Gaochang. They're white mare's milk grapes. They look green, but they're already fully ripe. They're crisp and sweet, not sour at all. We've eaten them before. But now that the war has broken out and the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor has been disrupted, it's hard to find mare's milk grapes from Gaochang in Chang'an. You can only buy dried Gaochang raisins. Fresh grapes like these are hard to come by. This is also a token of my brother's filial piety."

Looking at her granddaughter's innocent look, Mrs. Guo sighed inwardly.
It seems that the kid Yushuxiang is not that simple.

"Grandfather, it just so happened that yesterday, Aye sent someone from Luoyang to deliver the newly launched chicken head rice. It's three parts sweet and seven parts soft and sticky. Let's send a few pounds to Wuyi."

Chicken head rice, one of the Eight Immortals in Water, is especially famous in Suzhou. It is white, tender, sweet, soft and fragrant. The production of these water pearls is small and the season is short. The production process is complicated and they have to be shelled manually one by one. In the hearts of the people in Wu, they are more precious than big fat crabs.

Ten pounds of weeds can be peeled into five pounds of seeds, and ten pounds of seeds can be peeled into two pounds of rice.

In Luoyang and Chang'an, these fresh and tender chicken head rice were delicacies that only the court and nobles could enjoy. They were purchased from Suzhou, packed in brocade boxes, and shipped north by fast horses and fast boats.

Li Yi sent grapes from Gaochang in the Western Regions, and the Du family gave chicken and rice from Suzhou in the Jiangnan region in return.

Reciprocity.

However, Mrs. Guo was dissatisfied with her granddaughter's repeated calls of "Wu Yi". She thought that after reminding Li Yi, he would give up and the matter would be over. So Mrs. Guo never mentioned these to her granddaughter Shi Niang.

Now it seems that this matter is more difficult than imagined.

This girl, just beginning to fall in love, seemed to have some real feelings for that boy. "Okay, I'll have Sanlang send a box of chicken head rice, and by the way, congratulate Li Dalang on his nobility and official appointment," said Guo.

"Grandpa, I'm sending some grapes and rice to Aunt Liuniang, and I'm also sending some rice to Wuyi. I'm also a member of the Wuji Primary School Association. I recently bought some paper and pens and sent them to the school, and I'm also checking on how the students are doing." Du Shiniang pulled Guo's arm and shook it coquettishly.

Guo was helpless.
"Okay, let Saburo go with you."

"Saburo."

"lady."

"Go and pull ten dan of wheat. This will be my small support to his school. I'll also remind him that a man without faith cannot stand."

"Yes."

Du Shiniang asked curiously, "Azu, what are you talking about?"

Mrs. Guo patted her arm and smiled without saying anything.

······
Li Yi returned to Luojiabao,
When the villagers heard that the villagers who had gone to serve were trapped in the Jing and Bin battlefields, they were both worried and relieved. At least they had accurate information that the people were still there.

Life goes on,

The teacher has not been recruited yet.
Li Yi asked Ji Sujun to take over the class temporarily. In fact, she was the daughter of a prominent family and had been taught by a teacher since childhood. Even her mother was well-educated. Ji could write poems and essays, and had a good understanding of classics and history. She was definitely capable of teaching children enlightenment.

Even the maids of Silla had received several years of good training in Central Plains culture, especially in music, dance and etiquette.

So Jin Yusu also became a substitute teacher, teaching the children singing and painting. Although Li Yi believed that music and painting were of little use to poor children, teaching one or two classes every ten days was not a bad thing.

Three classes and four teachers are enough for now.

The class is still at noon, and during the second break, an additional physical exercise is added.

Li Yi chose the Eight-part Vajra Exercise as his break exercise, teaching and practicing at the same time.

There are now more than 130 students, including many self-funded students from well-off families. However, the overall atmosphere is good and most students listen to the lectures attentively.

For that meal every day, I have to eat more than one stone of millet.

Fortunately, the school now received a lot of donations, including money, silk, grain, land, paper and pens. Li Yi asked Ji to sort them out and keep accounts. Except for keeping some for expenses, the rest of the land, grain, money and silk were rented out or loaned out.

The land rent and interest were much lower than those of government offices, temples, and village landlords, and priority was given to lending to local villagers.

This will not only help the neighbors, but also allow the school association's money to grow in value and develop in the long run.

Now the school land of Wuji School, which was awarded by the government, allocated by the government, and donated by everyone, has totaled more than 100 acres.

It can be said that the rent from these school fields alone is nearly 200 dan of rented grain a year, which can solve most of the food rations for the school cafeteria.

What’s more, self-funded students have to pay for their own food and a six-dozen-rice scholarship every month.

The school council now accepts donations, but to become a member, one must pay two stone of grain in membership fees per year.

evening,

Xiuzhi carefully returned the two potatoes to Li Yi, dried them in the sun for a day, and watched them for a day, not daring to let them out of her sight.

Li Yi took a look and decided to plant it after drying it for another day tomorrow.

Worried about the cold weather, Li Yi decided not to plant the two test products directly in the ground. He took a look around the space terrace and brought back two flower pots.

These two were originally gardenias. When I bought them, the flowers looked beautiful and the pots were big, with the tree full of buds. But who knew that this thing was the hardest to grow? All the buds fell off before they bloomed, and they died soon after.
My wife simply used pots to grow vegetables.

Now Li Yi directly uses it to plant potatoes.

In the courtyard, Li Yi poured out the soil from the two pots and broke it up. Then he asked Shitou to go to the kitchen and get a basket of wood ash. He mixed the soil from the pots with the wood ash, which not only increased the fertility of the soil, but also made the soil looser. The soil for growing potatoes should not be compacted, and it is best to be loose.

A group of people surrounded Li Yi and watched him messing around.

"These two pots are really beautiful,"

"Are you going to mix the soil and plant flowers?"

Li Yi held up two potatoes and said, "Plant these. These two potatoes are treasures, more precious than gold nuggets."

No one believes it.

But no one had ever seen a potato that looked like taro but had no hair.

"Brother Wuyi, I, Old Guo, am here."

Outside the door, the hearty laughter of Guo Erlang, the head of Guozhuang Village next door, was heard. Behind him followed Du Sanlang, and his wife Du Liulang accompanied Du Shiniang, and the sharp-tongued maid Shuying was also there.

In the past, Guo Erlang asked Li Yi to call him uncle, but now he lowers himself to a lower level and calls him brother.

"Uncle Guo, Du Sanlang, why are you here? Please come in."

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. From now on, we are equals. I dare to call you brother," Guo Erlang said politely with a bit of flattery.

Who would have thought that Li Yi, who had come to his house to pawn his belongings not long ago, would now be granted a title and an official position, and be a waiting official.

Others' fortunes change over time, but Li Yi's fortunes change over time. It's true that one should never look down on a young man who is poor.

He now really wanted to call Li Yi "uncle", but the age difference was too big and he couldn't say it out loud.

Du Shiniang came forward with a smile, "Congratulations, a man should be looked at with new eyes after three days of absence."

Looking at this girl, Li Yi looked at Du Sanlang who had been watching them from the side and smiled at him. Du Sanlang gave him an ugly bitter smile in return, as if he was constipated.

"The old lady asked me to bring ten stone of millet as a small token of appreciation to Wuji Academy."

"Also, this is the Suzhou chicken head rice that Shi Niang's father sent from Luoyang. The old lady also sent a box for Li Lang to try."

Li Yi was puzzled.
At this time, Du Shiniang explained that her cousin Ruhui had sent Gaochang grapes to the old lady from Chang'an.
"These grapes were given to you by His Majesty, and you gave them to my cousin. My grandfather said thank you for the grapes..."

Looking at the beautifully packaged chicken head rice, the cart of grain, and the box of paper, pens, ink and other stationery brought by Du Shiniang,
Li Yi seemed to see the tangled and uncomfortable thoughts in Mrs. Guo's mind at this moment.

Mrs. Guo still looked down on him and was worried that he would marry into the Du family.

(End of this chapter)