Chapter 130: Progress in Lake Township

  "Use good materials for road and canal repairs, and make sure the foundation is solid. I'll take care of the expenses. This time, I'm leaving 50,000 taels behind, Fan Li. If they're used up, have someone copy the account book and send it to me in Beijing. I'll then send more silver notes. Just one thing: the progress must not slow down!"

  "Yes, miss." Yi Guan Shi and Fan Li replied together.

  "As long as there is no shortage of silver, the progress will not slow down. You can rest assured, miss! I have an account in my heart and I guarantee that it will be done before the end of the year!"

  "You're an old hand at this, I can rest assured!"

  Yao Cunhui smiled and asked a few more things, they discussed and consulted with each other for a while, Yi Guanshi went down first, Yao Cunhui kept Fan Li brothers and sisters to talk for a while, and carefully instructed them.

  Fan Lei siblings have obviously become very familiar with this place, and in their conversation, they reveal that they have already taken this place as their own home. Yao Cunhui is naturally delighted and subtly conveys the meaning to Fan Lei: As long as he follows Yi Guan's example and learns from him, after the farm gets on the right track, he will be the one in charge here! However, the premise is that he must have the ability to live up to being a great manager, which is not something everyone can do well.

  Fan Lei's spirit was greatly shocked, his eyes lit up, and he indicated that he would definitely not disappoint Second Miss!

  "When you have time, read more books. In addition to recognizing words, you should also read more books on agriculture and agricultural technology, which will be useful when the time comes! Also, buy an abacus and practice it hard. This skill of calculating accounts cannot be underestimated! When the time comes, if someone doesn't believe in you, with a quick and nimble abacus, you can quickly and accurately settle the accounts, who dares to look down on you?"

  "Yes, thank you, Miss Er!"

  "Shuang Shuang, how about you?" Yao Cunhui smiled and asked Fan Shuangshuang: "Are you used to it yet?"

  Fan Shuang nodded and smiled: "I'm just in charge of leading the wives to buy vegetables and cook, it's still okay!" Then she went on to tell some things to Yao Cunhui.

  Yao Cunhui paused, smiled and said: "The work on the stove is not simple either. What if there's a problem with the food and the workers get stomach problems? And as for the quantity, it must be sufficient, can't let people go hungry while working. Are all the people on the stove selected from among the workers?"

  Fan Shuangshuang hastily replied: "Some were selected from among the workers, and some were called in from Jinling by the steward. The steward's servants count as one, and there are two who came from Jinling."

  "Then you'd better be more careful!" Yao Cunhui hesitated for a moment: "The catgut on the food is the easiest to do, this can't be avoided. If they don't overdo it and turn a blind eye, that's fine. But if they're too brazen, both of you are my people, after all, we can't tarnish the reputation of the Yao family!"

  Yi Guanshi is someone who can be easily managed by Yao Cunhui, but it's not necessarily the case for the people under him. Yi Guanshi is someone who was personally instructed by Master Xie to take care of Yao Cunhui and the Yao family, so he will more or less have a respectful attitude towards them. However, his subordinates may not be the same, as some of them may have high aspirations and look down on others while working in the Xie household.

  Fan Shuang's face turned pale and she was momentarily at a loss for words, subconsciously looking towards Fan Li.

  Fan Lei thought for a moment and said: "Shuang Shuang, you secretly pay attention to it, if you find any problems, come back and tell your brother, we'll discuss how to solve it."

  "People who are easy to get along with can't be surpassed, but how to talk to them requires careful consideration - do you understand what I mean?"

  "I understand! Please don't worry, miss!" Fan Lei thought for a moment before responding.

  "Shuang Shuang, you don't have to be afraid of them, they are here to help - but not for free, I pay them twice the salary they used to get; they are relatives, we should treat them with respect and courtesy, but we can't worship them like gods! As the saying goes, it's easy to meet the king of hell, but hard to deal with the little devils. When dealing with these little devils, we can't just show weakness and lose our own dignity, or else they'll gossip about us behind our backs. This big estate will only get more complicated in terms of personnel management and relationships, both inside and out, so if you can't even handle the current situation, it will be even harder in the future!"

  "You are members of the Yao family. When I'm not around, you are the masters here. As hosts, it's essential to be friendly and courteous, but beware of letting guests take over!"

  One sentence made both siblings nod in agreement, "I understand what I should do now," Fan Li replied.

  "Oh?" Yao Cun Hui said with a smile: "Then you'd better say it, what should you do?"

  Fan Lei thought for a moment and said, "For the hired workers, follow Miss's rules, manage those who should be managed, punish those who should be punished. If there is anything wrong with the people brought by Yip Guan Shi, I will hint to him and ask him to discipline them. I won't confront them directly, but also let them know the attitude of the Yao family. Yip Guan Shi has rich experience, I will respect him as before and ask for his advice."

  Yao Cunhui smiled and said, "Your temper has improved a lot compared to before! It's already good that you can think this way. Many things will come slowly, don't worry, no one is born with everything they know! In short, we need to be humble but not arrogant, and be good at adapting to situations and understanding human relationships. We need to do things well and achieve the results we want, while also saving everyone's face and not making our relatives feel embarrassed."

  Fan Lei thought for a moment, nodded involuntarily, and couldn't help but laugh: "I think the second young lady seems to be born with a talent for everything!"

  Yao Cunhui and Fan Shuangshuang both burst out laughing.

  "Second Miss, it seems that my brother and I won't be able to return to the capital for now... My mother..." Fan Li's face stiffened, hesitating as she mentioned this. Fan Shuangshuang also perked up, her eyes fixed on Yao Cunhui.

  "Don't worry about this!" Yao Cunhui smiled and said: "Give me an address, after returning to Beijing, I will personally go to your home for a visit, and will ask someone to take care of you from time to time. After you have settled down here, we can bring her over. Now, with the current situation, it's not good for her to come! You can write a letter or if there is anything you want me to take back, that's fine too!"

  Fan Lei and Fan Shuangshuang hurriedly thanked her, and Fan Shuangshuang smiled: "My mother can't read or write, so it's fine if we don't send a letter. Please tell her that my brother and I are all well, and she should rest assured!" She also said: "Where is our humble home a place for the second young lady to go? If the second young lady sends someone over to deliver a message, my brother and I will be eternally grateful!"

  Fan Lei also nodded: "Miss has taken care of a lot already, I'm ashamed. The twenty taels of silver owed to Miss have not been repaid yet..."

  "This guy is still so stubborn, always remembering this little thing! Yao Cunhui said with a half-joking and half-serious tone: "Knowing shame is good, just do things properly! There's no need to remember the debt every day! Do things properly, study hard, and when you become the Grand Manager, your monthly salary won't be just twenty taels!"

  Fan Lei's heart was surging with emotions, for a moment he didn't know what to say, so he just nodded and secretly made up his mind.

  In the evening, Yao Cunhui invited several important officials under Yiguan Shi to dinner, including Yiguan Shi and Fan Li siblings. He expressed his gratitude to everyone and asked them to take care of Fan Li.

  These people are all astute, seeing that Yao Cun Hui attaches great importance to Fan Li and his sister, and also heard from Yao Cun Hui's words the possibility of the Yao family entrusting this large estate to Fan Li in the future. In other words, Fan Li is a potential stock with boundless prospects, and since this place is close to Jinling, who can guarantee that there won't be a time when they need his help? Moreover, having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy, so they all secretly made their calculations, and stored up some sincerity in befriending Fan Li, putting away some of the disdain they had previously held.

  The next morning, Yao Cunhui left Huxiang. Before leaving, he smiled and said to Yi Guanshi, Fan Li and others: "Next spring, I will come again, and I hope to see endless good fields at that time! At that time, I will thank you all again!"

  Yi Guanshi, Fan Li and others nodded their heads in agreement with a smile, promising that they would not disappoint the second young lady! Next spring, when they looked out at the fields, as far as the eye could see, there were sure to be lush fields stretching out, thriving and prosperous!

  At that time, Yao Cunhui didn't know that after she left Huxiang for more than a month, the Lu and Fu families, who were grateful for her help in treating their illnesses, occasionally heard about Yao Cunhui's land purchase in Huxiang from Xie Fu Yun. They wanted to help her accumulate popularity, so they also sent someone to Huxiang to take a look around, planning to buy three to five hundred mu of land.

  As a result, the people who came to Lake Township saw the similar farmhouses arranged by the Yao family and immediately sensed the prospects. They went back to report to their masters in detail and then bought several thousand or tens of thousands of mu (a unit of area) each time they came again. The Xie family also took the opportunity to mention a few words in front of their father, and on behalf of the Xie family, they also bought 10,000 mu. With these three families taking the lead, more and more people cast their eyes on Lake Township, with some observing and others taking action, making Lake Township increasingly lively. This also brought business opportunities to other areas!

  Mr. Zhao was overjoyed and after leaving the Zhao family, he raised the price of the land to one or two silver coins per mu.

  Yao Cunhui left Hu Xiang and returned to Jinling, still returning to the Xie Mansion.

  The boat for returning to Beijing has been hired, and the date of return is set for two days later.

  The two sisters couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as they were about to part ways, reminding each other with smiles on their faces but heaviness in their hearts.

  "The boatman we hired is a reliable person, who has been walking on the canal for many years and has a lot of experience. Your brother-in-law has already given him instructions, so you don't have to worry about anything on this trip, just wait safely until you arrive in Beijing! I've had someone prepare 7 or 8 small dishes, sealed tightly in ceramic jars, to bring along the way to refresh your palate! And I've also prepared some seasickness medicine, be sure to bring it carefully!"

  "Everything I've prepared for you to take back is piled up on the kang in the west wing. Some of them were given by your aunts and grandmother, and I've labeled them. You can take a look when you get back. Tomorrow, I'll take you to their place to bid farewell and thank them. I've made a list of everything I've prepared, and when you get back, please distribute them to Father, Mother, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, and the younger siblings, and pass on my greetings! There's also a portion for your maternal grandmother's household, which I'd like you to deliver personally. Oh, and don't forget to hand-deliver the pair of cloisonné flower bird pendant vases, the set of ruby-encrusted hairpins, and the pair of gemstone bangles to Second Cousin as a wedding gift, and congratulate her on my behalf..."

  Yao Cunhui nodded, and then Yao Cunjia asked again: "Is all your luggage ready? Ask Xiaoxing and Xiali to check carefully again, in case something is left behind. It would be inconvenient on the boat!"