Chapter 285 - Chapter 285: Chapter 293: The Reason Behind It (1/2)
Chapter 285: Chapter 293: The Reason Behind It
The stewards of both the inner and outer courtyards need to be trustworthy individuals. Currently, in the outer courtyard, a senior member named Su Anping from the Zhuangzi is in charge, while Cheng Hai is responsible for managing the bodyguards.
“Madam, do you have any instructions?” Su Changping, seeing that Aunt Li was urging him on, thought that the Madam was dealing with some urgent matter, so he quickly put aside what he was doing and came over.
Su Wenyue shared her ideas with Su Changping and asked for his opinion. Not that she had no plans in mind, but after all, she had never done these things before. It was beneficial to draw on more experience; in the end, it could make things more comprehensive.
“That’s easy to address, but we must hurry with the timing. Winter bamboo shoots grow in the field, and fortunately, although it snowed yesterday, it has stopped today and the sun has come out again. If it snows again and the ground is covered with a layer of snow and ice, the earth will freeze, making it difficult to dig for bamboo shoots.”
“What Steward Su says makes sense. This is something I just thought of as well, which is why I called Steward Su over to discuss it and see what would be the best approach.”
“Based on my suggestion, it depends on how many bamboo shoots Madam needs. If not many are required, I can take some servants from home out to dig for a few days, and hire some local farmers as well. That would be enough. If Madam needs a large amount, it would be better to spread the word out so that local people can dig and bring them over for us to buy. That way, there is enough time to handle it, and the cost isn’t much, considering those shoots are abundant in bamboo forests and nobody likes to eat them. They usually just rot in the ground. Now that it’s the slack farming season, farmers have nothing to do at home, so who wouldn’t welcome an extra source of income? As long as we offer some food in exchange, plenty of people will bring them over.”
“Since I have asked Steward Su to come, naturally the quantity required won’t be small. Let’s proceed with the latter method. Steward Su, you take care of this matter. While it’s not snowing, collect as much as possible; we are not afraid of having too much,” Su Wenyue so instructed, realizing that it was indeed the experience of such an older person like Steward Su that mattered. She had not thought of the idea of purchasing, which seemed indeed to be better: it saved effort and even reduced expenses.
“If you come across any mountain produce from the countryside for sale, and it’s suitable, also buy it. I have another use for it.”
“This servant will see to it right away.” Su Changping immediately set off to carry out the task, without the slightest delay. With weather like this, it was unpredictable when it might snow again. Having the task done earlier would put his mind at ease.
Arranging for Su Changping to collect bamboo shoots was just the first step; there was much more to do next. Firstly, Su Wenyue asked Aunt Li to order some clay jars and large pots, and the next step was to organize the manpower for making bamboo shoot products. Su Wenyue called over Shu Qin and Aunt Feng to discuss, and they nearly finalized the various methods and specific matters for preparing the bamboo shoots. With such cold weather, the Han Family was bustling with activity.
Xiao Xi also brought in good news that the vegetables in the Zhuangzi greenhouse were growing well, and a batch could be harvested before the New Year, just in time for Su Wenyue to use them as New Year’s gifts.
“I was actually thinking, how could we possibly grow vegetables in this winter? I felt that Madam’s method wasn’t very reliable, but I didn’t expect that Xiao Xi would really make it happen for Madam. It’s indeed extraordinary,” Grandma Chen said in amazement. With these fresh and tender vegetables, this year’s New Year’s gifts would have an extra special touch.