Chapter 64: Planting Chili Peppers

  Xiao Jiading couldn't sleep, so he got up and felt a bit dizzy. After standing for a while, he felt better and cleaned up the vomit in the wooden basin in the corner of the room. He washed his face with clear water, locked the door, and went out to Yu Gui's small food shop outside the yamen.

  The queue for the lamb skewers is even longer than before, it seems that more people have learned about this and are waiting to buy. In addition to Loulan, who is in charge of grilling, there are two more women, one middle-aged woman and a young woman. They're still overwhelmed with work.

  Loulan, who was busy grilling, saw her and immediately handed the half-grilled lamb skewer to a nearby woman. She ran over excitedly, gazing at him with joy: "Xiao Da Ge, you're here!"

  "Business is pretty good."

  "It wasn't Big Brother who taught you, but Father said that just in these few days, the money earned has already exceeded what was earned in a whole month before!"

  "Heh heh! Isn't that great?"

  "Don't stand at the door, come in!" Loulan warmly pulled his arm and walked inside. After all, she was a foreign woman, without the reserve of Han women, straightforward and generous.

  Two people entered the house like a couple, coming to the elegant room specially prepared for Xiao Jia Ding. Yu Gui also came over to greet them, seeing his daughter accompanying him, and said he would go prepare breakfast before leaving, so only Xiao Jia Ding and Lou Lan were left in the house.

  Loulan saw that he was not in good spirits and asked with concern: "What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?"

  "Uh-huh, got drunk yesterday. Headache."

  "Oh, then I'll give you a massage!" After saying that, Lou Lan stood up and stood behind Xiao Jia Ding's back, starting to give him a head massage.

  Loulan's technique is very professional, with just the right amount of force, and tuina massage has developed along with traditional Chinese medicine. By the Tang Dynasty, it had already become quite mature, with health care functions.

  Xiao Jia Ding closed his eyes and savored it, saying: "Can't tell, Lou Lan, you still know this move."

  "Hehe, I learned it from others. When my parents and sister-in-law are not feeling well, I give them a massage, and they say it's pretty good too."

  "Are those two roasting outside your mother and sister-in-law? Why haven't I seen them before?"

  "Yes, they were originally in the countryside farming. The store was not busy before and didn't need their help, so they weren't asked to come. Now it's too busy, so they're asked to come and help out, leaving only the older brother in the countryside to farm."

  "Oh? Your brother can farm? Then will he grow vegetables?"

  "Has this land never been cultivated? Is Elder Xiao looking for someone to plant vegetables?"

  Xiao Jiading thought to himself that Lou Lan was indeed clever and wise, immediately understanding his thoughts. He said: "Yes, I bought a piece of land and plan to plant something. I'm looking for someone who knows how to grow vegetables to help me."

  "Why don't you go find your uncle? His whole family grows vegetables. They have a big garden."

  "Is that my uncle?" Xiao Jiading was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately. Lou Lan was talking about the old man Xiao, who he had impersonated as his distant nephew to fill out the road guide. "I didn't tell him, maybe he's too busy."

  "Oh." Loulan didn't know much about Xiao Lao Han either, so she had no other choice but to say, "Or I can ask my brother to come and help you?"

  "Never mind, he's busy farming and can't leave. You just reminded me, I'll go find my uncle later to ask him. Even if he's too busy, he can think of a way to help me find someone."

  At this time, Yu Gui walked in with breakfast and saw Loulan giving Xiao Jiading a massage. She smiled slightly with a hint of understanding.

  After a massage by Loulan, Xiao Jiading's headache was greatly relieved and he was overjoyed, repeatedly praising Loulan as being amazing.

  He had breakfast, and when he went out, Yu Gui introduced him to his wife and daughter-in-law. The two of them heard that he was the one who taught them how to barbecue cumin lamb, and they hastily paid their respects, being extremely affectionate.

  Because he had a headache today, and also because of Huang Shiyun's matter, he got up as soon as it dawned. Now it was still early for the court session, so after Xiao Jia Ding left the snack shop, he bought some gifts, then according to the address given by Xiao Lao Han, he found Xiao Lao Han's home.

  Xiao Lao Han was delighted to see Xiao Jia Ding arrive at his doorstep, and he hastily invited him into the house. He also called out his family members to come and meet him. A large group of people emerged from the house, consisting of men, women, young and old, apparently a big family.

  Xiao Lao Han introduced Xiao Jia Ding's identity as his distant nephew, who is now serving as an attendant in the county government. Upon hearing this, these people became even more enthusiastic and respectful towards Xiao Jia Ding. After all, having a relative working in the government, especially one who serves by the side of the county magistrate, is certainly something to be proud of.

  Xiao Jiading said he wanted to take a look around, so Old Man Xiao took him on a tour. The Xiao family's residence was actually quite small, with most of the land used for growing vegetables, which was their main source of income and business was not bad. Not only did it support a large family, but also several servants and maids, including San Niang, whom Xiao Jiading had helped last time.

  Xiao Lao Han's vegetable garden only grew a few varieties of vegetables, because during the Tang Dynasty, many vegetables had not yet been introduced to China. This included the chili peppers that Xiao Jia Ding was planning to plant.

  Xiao Lao Han's vegetable field was quite large, but compared to Xiao Jia Ding's, it was far inferior. Xiao Jia Ding took a glance and asked Xiao Lao Han, "How much money can these vegetable fields make in a year?"

  "Hmm..." Xiao Lao Han thought for a moment and said: "The net profit is probably around 20 to 30 yuan."

  Xiao Jiading nodded, looking at him and said: "I think you and your uncle discuss something. - I'll pay 30 guans of wages per year, please ask your whole family to help me grow a kind of medicinal material, which is similar to growing vegetables. I don't know if you're interested?"

  Xiao Jiading didn't say it was a seasoning, but said it was medicinal material. He had a keen eye for this unique business and wanted to do it alone.

  Xiao Lao Han was taken aback, and exclaimed with surprise: "Thirty guan of wages per year? This... Nephew, this wage is too high, you're suffering a loss."

  Xiao Jiading smiled and said: "We are all one family, and one family doesn't speak two different languages. My land is just next to the government office, would you like it, Uncle?"

  The wives and children of Xiao Lao Han, who were following behind him, nodded excitedly and made eye contact with him, urging him to quickly agree. This deal would not only allow them to earn the high wages offered by the Xiao family, but also enable them to sublease the vegetable fields here to others for cultivation, which was equivalent to earning double the money. Such a good opportunity would be foolish to pass up.

  Xiao Lao Han said with a smile: "Helping you grow medicinal herbs is fine, of course. It's just that the labor costs are a bit too high..."

  Xiao Jiading thought to himself, if the chili peppers grow well, it will be a lucrative business, why bother about this small amount of money. He smiled and said: "A little higher is better, you can also help me plant these medicinal materials with your heart, which is beneficial to everyone."

  Xiao Lao Han's wife hastily accompanied a smile and said: "Xian nephew rest assured, we will certainly use our hearts to grow well. If it is not grown well, we also have no face to take the money, right? - Right, old man?" She poked Xiao Lao Han, with a pleading expression, letting her husband quickly agree.

  Xiao Jiading said: "Alright then, it's settled. Isn't that right, Uncle Tang?" Xiao Jianding looked at Old Man Xiao.

  Xiao Lao Han smiled gratefully and nodded: "Then thank you, young master, for being so generous. Don't worry, our family has been growing vegetables for many years, and we've also grown medicinal herbs before. I won't say that we're the best in all of Yizhou, but at least we won't lose to anyone else. So don't worry about it, young master."

  "Alright! Let's go take a look at the land now. You can start work today, my land is very big, you'll probably have to work harder than you do now."

  Xiao Lao Han didn't believe that there was a bigger vegetable garden than his own in Yizhou City. But when he and his family followed Xiao Jia Ding to the front of the land, they were all stunned.

  Looking at the vast and empty land that was much larger than his own vegetable garden, Xiao Lao Han didn't come back to himself until after a while, saying: "This... is all of this going to be planted?"

  "Otherwise, why would I pay you such a high wage?"

  "That's it."

  "Can you take it down?"

  "Alright! We're all one big family. No problem."

  "Then I'll leave it up to you."

  When they arrived, the storefronts along the street had already started construction. Since Zhu Haiyin was in charge of taking care of everything, Xiao Jiading didn't bother with it. He also set aside a piece of land to build his own residence. On the other end, he allocated a small piece of land to build a simple dwelling for Old Man Xiao and his family to live in, making it convenient for them to manage the vegetable fields without having to run back and forth.

  Xiao Jiading drew out these two places and told Old Man Xiao that they could start working on the soil.

  Xiao Jiading took a look at the time and bid farewell, returning to the yamen for his shift.

  As he walked into the government office, he saw Huang Lu Shi from a distance, looking at him with searching eyes. He knew that Huang was concerned about his efforts to help him get appointed as the head of the workshop, so he smiled and nodded slightly.

  Huang Lushi immediately understood that things had been settled, and a look of wild joy flashed in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down, smiled and nodded at Xiao Jiading, and they each went their separate ways.

  Seeing Huang Lushi, Xiao Jiading thought of his daughter Huang Shiyun again. He estimated that after his daughter sent him wine, she didn't come home for a whole night. Who knows if this old man still thinks he slept with her? He hesitated about whether to explain it to Huang Lushi, but didn't know how to start. Seeing him leave, he also didn't bother explaining anymore.

  He arrived at the signing room, and Shu Tongwen was already there, sweeping the floor. Seeing Xiao Jiading come in, he hurriedly bowed and greeted him, saying: "Xie Yi, just now Kang County Magistrate sent someone to say that he will be late for a bit, is there anything you'd like me to take care of first?"

  Xiao Jiading hummed in agreement, knowing that Lord Kang must have gotten drunk last night just like him and was now suffering from a hangover. After all, Xiao was much younger than him, so he should feel better the next day.

  He sat down behind several cases, feeling a bit weak in his body, and didn't want to work for the time being. He just sat there drinking water.

  At this time, Deng Xian came in with a smile and bowed his hands: "Xiao Zhii!"

  Xiao Jiading also cupped his hands and did not even get up, saying: "County Lieutenant Deng has arrived, please sit down!"