Chapter 1580: Short of People (6)
The courtyard in town was previously used to house Tu Dagang and his companions, but now they've all gone out to deal with their own affairs. Therefore, she planned to clean it up and move the Gao father and son over. They were skilled jade carvers, and she needed to carefully figure out how to make the most of their expertise while generating profit for herself.
She wasn't running a charity. She didn't buy so many people just to take care of them. She bought them to work and create wealth.
After staying in Shiyan Village for a night, she rushed to Xiao Liu Village early in the morning without stopping.
Xiao Liu Village was Yang Ruxin's first estate, and she had been managing it as one of her key bases. Now, after more than half a year, the two large granaries she had built were already in operation. Du Yunpeng had filled one of them with grain, around ten tons, while the smaller one, about half the size, was not used for storing grain but rather dried chili peppers.
The keys to all the granaries were limited to two copies: one held by Du Yunpeng, and the other by Yang Ruxin.
This granary was no exception.
Yang Ruxin entered and transferred all the grain into her spatial storage. Otherwise, if someone found out she had so much grain, it would definitely stir up unnecessary trouble.
As for the chili peppers, Old Man Ge had been meticulous, cultivating three varieties with varying levels of spiciness. Currently, about five acres of each variety had been planted.
"According to your instructions, Miss, we've already harvested one batch of these red fruits, dried them, and stored them in the warehouse…"
"You've done excellently," Yang Ruxin said as she looked at Liu Genmao, the estate steward. "We need to expand the planting area further. Let everyone know that as long as the crops are well-tended, I won't treat them unfairly…"
"Rest assured, Miss, we'll definitely do a great job," Liu Genmao replied happily. This employer was far more generous than any he'd worked for before.
After giving instructions to the estate steward, Yang Ruxin then went to check on the Shan family. Although the family was outsiders, everyone assumed—since they were placed there by the estate's mistress—that they were sent to oversee matters, and thus treated them with great reverence.
However, after interacting over these many days, it became clear that the family was kind and approachable, so their relationships with the others were turning out quite well.
Next, Yang Ruxin planned to build a workshop. The chili peppers could be processed into various products, such as chili powder or chili sauce. These would be one-of-a-kind offerings within the Great Xuan Dynasty.
But progress has to be made step by step, so she couldn't rush things. She decided to take things slowly and steadily.
Still, another issue had surfaced—there simply weren't enough people. For instance, Xiao Liu Village needed more guards. Otherwise, if anyone attempted to sabotage things, what could they do? After all, there were only about twenty households in the estate, and none of them were skilled in martial arts. If faced with stronger opponents, they'd have no way to resist.
Right now, the benefits of the chili peppers hadn't fully materialized. But just wait—once they become evident, many people will start plotting against them.
Additionally, several other courtyards also needed caretakers. For instance, her own home lacked gatekeepers since Xu Shou and his wife left. Currently, her Shadow Guards were taking turns serving as gatekeepers, which was undoubtedly a misuse of their skills.
Clearly, she needed to buy more people again.
This time, she had to purchase house servants who could guard the household—people skilled in martial arts.
At noon, Yang Ruxin had lunch in Xiao Liu Village, prepared by Fugui's wife. During idle conversation, Fugui's wife told Yang Ruxin that a few days ago, she ran into Xiaohong: "Tsk tsk, she looked so wealthy, even had servants with her."