Chapter 40: The Fengchan of Liangfu Mountain (Part 1)

  What is called "brewing wine" is actually not complicated at all.

  To put it simply, it is a process of sedimentation and purification of wine. Of course, completing this step does not take much time either.

  Under Li Bi's escort, Liu Kan returned to his own home.

  This is also a home in the true sense of the word, and it's completely different from the situation where I used to live in Xinfu District.

  Liu Kan had just returned to fetch wine, and due to his haste, he hadn't even had a chance to carefully look at this new home. Now that he had achieved his goal, his mood naturally relaxed. At the entrance of the house, he stopped in his tracks and took a good look around at the surroundings.

  Ten mu of land have been harvested.

  Almost beyond everyone's expectation, the ten acres of wasteland bought by Liu Jian, after a year of cultivation, yielded a bumper harvest.

  Even more than those valuable fields worth tens of thousands of dollars.

  This was indeed a shocking surprise for everyone... Not only did Liu Jian's ten acres of good land have a bumper harvest, but also the adjacent fields to Liu Jian's house were bought by Shen Shi, who purchased fifty acres of land, thirty acres of which were used for farming, and the remaining twenty acres of land were next to Liu Jian's new house, building a mansion. The two mansions surrounded the sweet spring in the muddy pond, forming a secret place.

  Those thirty mu of cultivated land also had a bumper harvest.

  There are many people in Pei County who have no land and no property, and can only work for others to earn a meager income.

  And these people who helped Shi Fu and Liu Kan's families with their work, after the autumn harvest was over and they settled their wages, one by one, all smiled with joy.

  Is it true that the land near the swamp is so fertile?

  Many people have started to covet and want to buy land near the mudflat. But now if you think of buying, the price won't be low anymore.

  A piece of land, suddenly rose by 4,000 yuan, and was directly sold at a high price of 5,000 yuan.

  This price is already that of ordinary good fields in Pei County... who would have thought that just a year ago, this was a deserted wasteland.

  Liu Kan is clueless about farming, but he knows some basic principles.

  Shen Shi said that this land was fertile in the early years... about 70 or 80 years ago, it could still produce crops. Even earlier, it was a piece of fertile good field. But later on, I don't know what happened, it got worse and worse, more and more barren.

  Gradually, no one cultivated here anymore, and the land was abandoned accordingly.

  Pei County is a place with lakes and rivers crisscrossing. When it rains, the Si River surges violently, bringing large amounts of mud and sand. As time goes by, it becomes the muddy marsh we see today.

  Liu Kan thought this was because no fertilizer had been applied.

  The land is just like a person, if it's always made to work without rest, food or water, it will soon collapse. If no fertilizer is applied and proper care is not taken, the fertile land will gradually become barren after continuous cultivation and reclamation.

  Then people will abandon their land and open up good fields again.

  Little did they know, for that barren land, this abandoned behavior was in a way a kind of rest and rejuvenation.

  The black mud in the swamp is an excellent fertilizer. Cao Wushang put the fertilizer into the land in autumn, and after a winter, when the snow melted, the fertilizer and the land merged as one, and by spring, it had already been cultivated, and a piece of dead land suddenly became full of vitality.

  In this year, apart from the income from selling wine and farming, Liu Quan's family assets increased by 40,000 yuan just because of the land. 40,000 yuan is a number that many ordinary people dare not imagine. Even Cao Wushang's father, the annual salary is only a few thousand yuan. After the land price rises, Cao Tingchang regrets in his heart and has no way to tell anyone.

  Last year after Liu Kan bought a field, Cao Wujing also bought a field.

  Cao Wu Shang was naturally moved. However, he didn't have much savings, and such a big matter of buying a house had to be reported to Cao Ting Chang.

  Cao Tingchang refused to agree, and swore solemnly: "Just wait for the joke of Liu's young master and Shen Shi's young master next year."

  It's all good now, the joke is that I didn't see it coming, but my eyes are really red. Nowadays, if you want to buy a house, even if you spend all your money, you can only get one or two mu of land. Cao Ting is getting old and doesn't have any big ambitions... so he just put this matter aside.

  Liu Kan's home has a small courtyard, which is not very big.

  The earthen wall of the courtyard is only a little over one person's height. In the yard, there is an old locust tree with lush branches and leaves. Although the leaves are now withered and yellow, in that twilight, it can still make people feel the vibrant vitality. There are three small rooms, two cowsheds, and a simple woodshed at the back of the courtyard.

  As early as the Warring States period, people had popularized the use of burnt earth to make tiles.

  However, ordinary people's homes cannot use tiles to pave the roof. Tile roofs are a symbol of status and are not casually available for use.

  Apart from official buildings, only some large and wealthy families could use tiles.

  Ordinary people's homes, generally use thatched roofs, and there is also a special term called "white house". The meaning is self-evident, the house where the white body lives. Of course, houses with thatched roofs cannot be compared to those with tiled roofs.

  However, Shen Shi thought of a plan.

  Dig out black mud from the swamp, mix it with straw and compact it, then divide it into wooden frames and lay it on the roof.

  From a distance, the white-flowering pampas grass sways in the wind, just like an ordinary white house. But the effect is much better than that of an ordinary white house.

  Madam Liu stood at the door early and saw Liu Kan returning, with tears shining in her eyes.

  "Mother, the child has returned!"

  "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..."

  Although it was clear that Liu Quan would return to prison in a few days, Madame Quan, who had been comforted by Shen Sheng and Tang Li, was overjoyed at the moment. Shen Sheng arrived, and so did Tang Li. Cao Wushang and Zhou Chang were also there. Liu Quan didn't know many people in Pei County, but now, except for Cao Can and Ren Ao who were on duty in prison, almost everyone had gathered in this small courtyard.

  Madam Kong had prepared a sumptuous feast and invited Li Bi and others to join in.

  Although Liu Jian's house is not enough, it doesn't matter. He himself lives in a few rooms, and three or four rooms are empty, which can accommodate Liu Jian.

  Of course, Li Bi had to live in Liu Quan's home to monitor his actions.

  This meal lasted until midnight before it was considered over. Liu Kan presented the Shuihuajiao, letting Li Bi and a group of Qin soldiers drink to their heart's content. However, even so, there were still five Qin soldiers who didn't get drunk. After the midnight banquet ended and Tang Lie and others bid farewell and left, the five Qin soldiers conscientiously guarded the courtyard, with an extremely clear purpose - they were worried that Liu Kan would escape under the cover of night, and at that time, they wouldn't be able to give a good account of themselves.

  "Mother, I want to ask you something!"

  Liu Jian and Mrs. Liu were alone together when he hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

  Madam Guan looked at Liu Guan, let out a soft sigh, "Ah Guan, mother knows what you want to ask... but it's already in the past, what's the use of asking now? Don't think wildly anymore, after your punishment is over, if you feel unhappy here, we can move away, go somewhere else. Anyway, we have our household registration and money, we can go anywhere in the world."

  "As for us and the Lü family, we no longer have any entanglements. I don't know what they think, but Mother's heart is at peace."

  The conversation had reached a point where Liu Ke couldn't bring himself to ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue.

  It's clear that Mrs. Kan is not very satisfied with the Lü family. As for what reason, he didn't dare to ask and it wasn't good to keep asking either.

  It was night, Liu Ke lay on the couch, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

  Maybe it's this new environment that makes him feel uncomfortable; maybe it's the knot in his heart that has never been untied, anyway he just can't sleep.

  Unconsciously, it's already dawn.

  The habit he had cultivated for a year made Liu Qian, who was just drowsy and dozing off, suddenly wake up.

  He got dressed and walked out of the room. He exercised his limbs in the small courtyard, took a deep breath, and shook his head vigorously.

  The past is gone, how can we chase it back?

  And cherish what's in front of you...