Exile after Divorce? Empty the Scumbag Husband First!-Chapter 338 - 330: Rest Assured, My Lady—I’ll Be Sure to Take It Seriously
The man hurriedly put down the bag of grain and respectfully saluted Ruan Mian.
"Miss Ruan."
Ruan Mian looked at his eyes and brows, very familiar, as if... they somewhat resembled Qi Nanfeng’s.
Same slender eyes, thick brows.
But thinking of Qi Nanfeng, who brought trouble upon himself long ago, she merely sneered.
There are many similar people in this world, and looking one more glance would only make one feel annoyed.
Thus, Ruan Mian only responded politely a few times before moving her gaze: "You can handle the hiring yourself, just try to supplement the manpower for transportation after May."
"Rest assured, Miss. I will definitely pay attention."
"Though frequent rains have occurred since the beginning of spring, the people we’ve hired can endure suffering; they can walk even on the muddiest roads."
Speaking of the rain, the sky grew gloomy again.
It had been raining non-stop for several days, and the water carts built for the wheat fields hadn’t been used much.
One wonders whether the rain will lessen after Qingming.
However, the reality differed somewhat from her thoughts.
This rain went on for quite a while, even delaying the planned time for releasing the tussah silkworms.
Shaoxi came to her to talk about this matter, wearing a worried expression.
But Ruan Mian was not in a hurry regarding the release of the tussah silkworms: "Releasing the silkworms too early is not a good thing; not only may the young silkworms suffer from frost damage, but the oak trees themselves are budding and haven’t bloomed yet, if they are nibbled by the young silkworms, it will also affect the growth of oak leaves. Besides, early release is not conducive to seedling preservation. Better to wait for this rainy period to pass."
"As the farming adage goes: ’See moths at Qingming, hatch eggs at Grain Rain, release silkworms at Start of Summer.’
"If the Mulberry Garden over there is idle, we might as well go see the piglets."
These piglets numbered roughly sixty, all bred after buying pigs last year.
Initially, there were just five or six piglets outside the houses. After the roads were opened, family members went to the garrison and bought a lot more, one litter after another, growing to over fifty heads now.
Nanny Fang even became the dedicated caretaker for these piglets.
Before Ruan Mian went to Xingjia State, she specifically demarcated a piece of land away from the houses.
Systematic breeding of the piglets by dividing them into areas.
Divided into boar pens, sow pens, nursery pens, and farrowing pens, ensuring the breeding density.
As for the pig manure, it was all transported to the saltpeter plantation, neither wasted nor polluted.
Later, Nanny Fang couldn’t manage it all alone, so Aunt Lu’s family, who used to work in slaughtering, were called in to help.
Aunt Lu was diligent and nimble, with experience in raising piglets, so she managed the pig farm well in a short time.
Nanny Fang was pleased beyond measure and couldn’t wait to show Ruan Mian many of the piglets upon her arrival.
"Miss Ruan, these piglets are growing beautifully. Previously, I visited the market in the garrison, and some privately raised ones weren’t as good as ours!
Look at these little pigs, each fat and plump; one pig is enough for every household in our village to have meat after slaughter!"
"I reckon, in a few more days, we’ll have to expand the pens; the current space definitely won’t be enough."
Ruan Mian looked at a few of the pens and frowned.
She advised Nanny Fang: "Nanny, the breeding of these pigs is too fast; we must reduce production."
"Reduce production?" Nanny Fang was taken aback and asked in confusion: "Increasing production is supposed to be a good thing, so why reduce it?"
Ruan Mian explained slowly, "Livestock currently matching our village’s capacity is best; if we don’t reduce production, there will be too many livestock, and the saltpeter plantation won’t be able to handle their manure and such."
"Furthermore, livestock inherently brings a lot of germs, and higher density makes them harder to control, especially when temperatures rise and rain is abundant; it’s not suitable for increasing production."
Although Nanny Fang didn’t quite understand, she listened to Ruan Mian.
However, Aunt Lu, who was accompanying them, could not accept it.
She immediately stated, "Miss Ruan, we’ve raised them so well, how can we talk about reducing production? Besides, a new batch of piglets needs breeding; if we reduce production, won’t we be the same as this year by next year?"
"If you’re worried about disease and such, let’s expand the pens to further places, away from the houses, isn’t that better?"
Ruan Mian shook her head and said patiently, "Even further away won’t be far enough; nearby the houses, there are large grain fields and water sources to pay extra attention to."
"Miss Ruan, you seem somewhat over-concerned. We never thought of these issues when we raised pigs at home, let alone fear that there won’t be enough pig-raising places in Wuheng."
Seeing her insist, Ruan Mian explained the dangers of increased diseases due to heavy rainfall once again.
Upon hearing, Nanny Fang realized the severity of the situation and agreed with Ruan Mian that reducing production was better.
Aunt Lu said nothing, but after heading home, she pulled her husband to discuss Ruan Mian’s intention to reduce piglet production.
Lu Dalang’s expression changed immediately: "Reduce production? Wouldn’t that cut off our financial path?"
"She was the one who said to hand over the pig farm to us originally, deciding how to sell and where to sell it is up to us. Now, she says reduce production, and the village is not enough to sell, how can we then sell in Wuheng City?"
"Miss Ruan’s worrying about diseases is simply fantastical. We’re just raising a few pigs, and there can be diseases? I think she just feels we can’t raise them well or wants to have her people take over the pig farm, trying different ways to kick us out."
Aunt Lu sighed deeply: "Miss Ruan doesn’t seem like that kind of person. I think she made a wrong judgment. Since she wants to reduce production, why don’t we go outside and fence in more pens and raise more pigs? It’s no harm."
She was grateful for Ruan Mian’s help in the past, so she didn’t want to think so poorly of her.
However, the business her family worked hard to establish could not be ruined just like that.
Therefore, she would reduce production, and they themselves would go outside to fence in pens, not affecting them.
Anyway, she would continue working at the pig farm and go elsewhere in her free time.
The outside pig-raising was kept a secret from others, and Lu Dalang chose a place far away from the village, known only to their family.
Aunt Lu gathered her two daughters-in-law and two sons to discuss how to keep this matter hidden from others.
Thinking of how the eldest daughter-in-law Yin Shuang usually had a good relationship with Qing’er, Aunt Lu especially instructed the eldest daughter-in-law.
"Shuang’er, you mustn’t reveal this matter to Miss Qing’er. If she knows, then her sister will certainly know. We must keep it secret at least until we start."
Yin Shuang nodded repeatedly: "Rest assured, Mother, I will definitely control my tongue. Besides, I won’t have much contact with her these days, so rest assured."
"Why do you say so? Aren’t you always quite close?"
Aunt Lu was puzzled, and the eldest son’s face immediately darkened beside her: "Could it be that now she’s a general’s wife, she looks down on working with you?"
