The Slender Waist

After several busy days, the fields of the estate were almost completely turned over. Feng Yun inspected the condition of the paddy and prepared to start raising seedlings first.

On the day of raising seedlings, several judicial officers and military officers just happened to come over to discuss matters and gathered around to watch.

Feng Yun didn’t place the seedlings directly in the field to grow but instead arranged a special warm room for the rice seeds, setting up several layers of bamboo shelves. She placed clay from the fields above, evenly scattered the rice seeds on top, and used charcoal in the room to provide warmth and heat. The room was airtight, and someone was assigned to add water regularly...

Aunt Xu was also standing by, staring agape with astonishment.

"When the mistress had people fix up the room, I had no idea what it was for. Oh my, so it turns out it’s for the rice to live in," she said.

Everyone laughed together.

Yang, the judicial officer, asked, "Village Chief’s wife, can rice really grow on these bamboo mats?"

"Yes, it can," replied Feng Yun. "First, we raise the seedlings. Once the seedlings sprout and the weather warms up, we’ll move them, along with the bamboo mats, all together into the seedbed to be nurtured. By May, when the seedlings have grown to about twenty centimeters, we’ll transplant them into the paddy fields."

Everyone looked around at each other.

"What kind of method is this? Why go through such trouble?"

Anyone who has worked the land knows that rice is directly sown into the paddy fields. Wasn’t the Village Chief’s wife finding trouble for herself with all this fuss?

Feng Yun had read about this method in a book.

Such explanations would take a while to clarify to them.

She simply said, "There are at least three benefits. One is to provide warmth to the rice seeds to speed up the germination process and make up for the agricultural time lost to the snow disaster. Two is that raising seedlings doesn’t occupy the fields, which allows us to grow vegetables there, or for those fields with winter wheat, they won’t be affected when harvested in May, thus increasing the land utilization rate. Third, once the nourished seedlings reach a certain size, we can see the quality of the young plants. We only transplant the ones that are growing well and discard the inferior ones. By doing so, the yield will be much higher than with direct sowing..."

The villagers had been farming all their lives and had never heard of such a technique. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Despite the fact that the Village Chief’s wife was very capable, seeing her delicate and tender complexion, which suggested she wasn’t someone experienced in farming, the villagers weren’t convinced that Feng Yun was more skilled than their own hereditary craft.

After watching for a while, they smiled and left.

They didn’t say much, but it was clear they were skeptical.

Feng Yun, of course, didn’t try to persuade them.

Sowing is a major task, not something to be coerced. Moreover, using the seedling-raising method in place of direct sowing was her first attempt as well, lacking experience. If it went badly and the harvest decreased, wouldn’t that be harming others?

After a busy morning, Feng Yun was so tired that her back and waist ached.

She had the patience and enjoyed doing these things, but her body wasn’t strong enough; she felt weak after just a bit of exertion...

At this time, she felt somewhat short-handed.

The scope of work was too large, and people were needed everywhere...

Feng Yun sat in the study for a moment, then called over Xing Bing, instructing him to pick a few more usable people from the ranks to train.

In the future, there would be many places where people were needed. Relying on just the few of them would be like trying to spin multiple tops at once; it couldn’t be done.

Xing Bing readily agreed.

It was then that Feng Yun seemed to remember something.

"Where’s the eldest boy? Why don’t I see him around?"

Xing Bing smiled, "Seems there are too few volunteers for the mine, and the lad is worried. He’s thinking about how to go from house to house to persuade people..."

Feng Yun’s eyelid twitched, "Have him come here."

The fifteen-year-old boy was dragged before Feng Yun by his father, looking serious and self-important.

"Mistress," Xing’s eldest boy looked at Feng Yun, his lips involuntarily curling before he handed over the register.

"There are only five or six people signed up. What are we going to do?"

The days in Huaxi Village were better than in other villages, and the villagers had more options, making them even more cautious about their lives. Knowing that the mine was hazardous, not many were willing to go...

"Those few names on the register, they signed up just out of courtesy..."

Feng Yun took a glance at the register, counted the number of people, and set it down calmly.

"This is good," she said.

Xing’s eldest boy was taken aback, clearly agitated.

"Has the mistress lost her mind? We are about to go up the mountain. If we can’t find people, what are we going to do?"

Feng Yun said, "I never intended to use people from our own village for the mine."

For hazardous tasks, it is best not to use villagers. In the event of an accident, it would be difficult to settle disputes. But if you don’t involve villagers, they might feel that the privileged water of Changmen is flowing into someone else’s field, potentially causing discontent and affecting neighborhood relations.

"The news about toxic gases in mine shafts and frequent deaths in the mine, I had people spread that intentionally," Feng Yun said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Xing’s eldest boy was so surprised that his jaw dropped.

It turns out that the one sabotaging him behind his back was his own master.

Xing Dala looked at Feng Yun, who appeared to have had a plan all along, and asked miserably, "But we urgently need people for our mine, where can we find them?"

Feng Yun said, "Just get a list from the Governor later. There are plenty of people."

The risk factor in mining was enormous, and Feng Yun did not want peasants to take the risk. A few who had signed up were called by Xing Zhou to the estate for training and could later become junior managers.

For the most dangerous work at the bottom of the mine, she first thought of the people under He Qia’s control—the prisoners from Xinzhou.

Xinzhou currently had five counties, each with an endless supply of murder and arson every day. The New Dynasty was in its infancy, and the legal system was still chaotic. Whether to execute these criminals or not was problematic; both corporal punishment and penal servitude were headaches for He Qia.

Most of the people who ended up on this path were homeless, jobless, and kinless. Their crimes were not severe enough for the death penalty. If you whipped them and let them go, they would return to their old ways within days.

Ultimately it was all to fill their stomachs, but either way it was a difficult situation...

When Feng Yun went to him, she only mentioned it, and He Qia was overjoyed.

"I was worried about what to do with these people. The Princess has really solved a big problem for me."

He Qia said and wanted to take Feng Yun to get people, but seeing his eagerness, she laughed.

"No rush. The Governor needs to look after them for a few more days. When my side is ready, then you can deliver them to me."

He Qia’s eyebrows relaxed then tensed again; he nodded, stroking his beard with a sigh.

"The granaries are not full, and troubles are arising everywhere. It’s going to be a difficult year."

As soon as he mentioned it, he felt resentful about Li Zongxun’s shamelessness, openly selling offices for profit and harshly fleecing the wealthy families. Seeing his worried expression, Feng Yun suggested with a smile.

"You could try doing the same, Governor. It’s not a big deal. Use the enemy’s strengths to supplement your own weaknesses."

He Qia gasped, eyes wide, "How would I be any different from that dog Li?"

Feng Yun said nothing more, just smiled and changed the subject.

Indeed, unless absolutely necessary, there was no need to take the risky path of Li Zongxun and ruin one’s reputation. But it was hard to deny, if one wanted to quickly refill the treasury and benefit the people, a mean trick could be a good trick. After all, in this case, there was a hidden benefit: offending these wealthy households in exchange for the common folk’s happiness, Li Zongxun actually didn’t lose out.

-

The next day, the mining craftsmen invited by Chunyu Yan arrived at Huaxi Village.

Feng Yun first showed them the mining tools that were being forged at the agricultural implements workshop, and then agreed on a time to go up the mountain for exploration.

Chunyu Yan, who was listening, raised an eyebrow and asked Feng Yun.

"You’re going up the mountain?"

Feng Yun nodded, "The snow on the mountain has already melted. Uncle Sun said that with him leading the way, we need not detour, but can directly find that cave."

Is it really a matter of finding it or not?

Chunyu Yan scoffed, looking at her frail appearance, "Stay at home. Where is there a need for you?"

Huh? Feng Yun half-narrowed her eyes; half in disgust, half in amusement, she looked at him, "Princely Heir, just be the master of Yun Village. I’m not lacking in masters."

Her words were spirited.

Chunyu Yan listened with a grudge in his heart.

Was this young lady unable to tell praise from blame?

"The mountain trails are wet and slippery, full of dangers. Whoever wants to go can go, but this Princely Heir certainly won’t." With that, Chunyu Yan turned and left with a sweep of his sleeve.

Looking at that retreating figure, Feng Yun was puzzled.

Such a dignified man, yet so petty? Always putting on airs—if it weren’t for his usefulness, she wouldn’t bother indulging his temper.

When Feng Yun returned to the estate, she prepared the clothes and boots for the journey.

It wasn’t out of stubbornness or a must to accompany them up the mountain; mining was different, and she had to see the terrain and topography with her own eyes, to compare with what she had learned from books...

Without seeing it for herself, she couldn’t be at ease.

The next day was sunny and bright. Feng Yun got up early, ready and waiting, and mounted the little horse brought by Xing Bing while waiting for the craftsmen. Unexpectedly, she turned her head only to see Chunyu Yan riding over arrogantly on his horse, apparently prepared to accompany her up the mountain.

Still with a calm gaze, he looked impatient, but his attire suggested he was ready to join her on the journey.

"Princely Heir is joining the expedition?" Feng Yun asked in confusion, "Didn’t you say it’s wet, slippery, and full of dangers?"

Chunyu Yan glanced at her coolly.

"This Princely Heir just loves adventure. What of it?"

Feng Yun: ...