Chapter 218: A Year of Abundance

Since the entire village had given gifts, Shen Ruoxi accepted them. She smiled gently at the Jin Kingdom Emperor, “Thank you, Shen Big Brother.”

The woman was dressed in a light purple dress, her skin as smooth as jade, delicate and flawless. The pale sunlight fell on her flawlessly beautiful face, and her gentle smile was like a dewy Wei Zi peony blooming quietly in the morning light, captivatingly beautiful.

The Jin Kingdom Emperor’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help but think of a line of poetry: “Only the peony is truly a national beauty, moving the capital when it blooms!”

After Shen Ruoxi finished speaking, she lowered her head and continued to water the vegetables.

The Jin Kingdom Emperor watched her pick up the ladle and scoop a ladle of water, gently sprinkling it on the vegetables in the field. He couldn’t help but think: Actually, she is more beautiful than a peony. Peonies are too flamboyant, too domineering, while she is beautiful without being ostentatious, lovely without being seductive. She has a kind of ethereal beauty, a fragility that goes to the bone, making one want to hold her in their arms and protect her well.

There were many concubines in the harem, each with stunning beauty and charm, naturally not lacking in appearance. There were also delicate and beautiful women, but none of them could arouse his desire to protect.

The Jin Kingdom Emperor glanced at her and then took the ladle from her hand, “Let me do it.”

~

On the day before New Year’s Eve, all the stock in the workshop was sent to the shops in the city and town early in the morning.

The villagers carried bucket after bucket of water, cleaning the workshop thoroughly in preparation for the New Year.

Xingnong was in the house calculating the accounts, settling everyone’s wages and dividends.

After everyone was done, Xingnong held the account book and said softly to the crowd:

“This month, we sold a total of twenty thousand *jin* of pork jerky. After deducting the cost, we can earn one hundred *wen* per *jin*, making a total profit of two thousand taels.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the villagers gasped in surprise!

So much!

Although they all knew they were making a good profit, they never imagined it would be this much!

Xingnong continued, “We made a total of nine hundred taels from the candies. The condiment workshop earned five thousand six hundred taels.”

The candy workshop received another order for ten thousand handmade fresh flower lollipops, bringing the total to thirty thousand. Twenty thousand were sold wholesale, and ten thousand were sold in their own shops. The wholesale earned two hundred taels, and the ones sold in their own shops earned thirty *wen* each, making three hundred taels, for a total of five hundred taels. As for the other candies, due to limited production capacity, they only made twenty thousand *jin* for wholesale and ten thousand *jin* for retail in their own shops. The wholesale earned two hundred taels, and the retail, at twenty *wen* per *jin*, also earned two hundred taels. The lollipops and other candies combined earned nine hundred taels.

Soy sauce and other seasonings earned more because of their low cost. The main ingredients were soybeans and water. Soybeans weren’t expensive, and water was free. The biggest cost was actually the jars for holding the soy sauce.

This month, many seasonings were ready for shipment. As the end of the year approached, with the advertising from large restaurants like Welcome Inn and Welcome Guest Restaurant, all the seasonings that could be shipped were sold out, leaving only twenty *jin* of each to be distributed among the villagers, about one *jin* per household.

The snack workshop and the condiment workshop together earned eight thousand five hundred taels. Keeping one thousand taels as operating capital for the workshops, Xingnong could receive three thousand seven hundred and fifty taels, with the rest distributed among the villagers.

“We’ve earned a total of eight thousand five hundred taels from the snack workshop and the condiment workshop. We’ll keep one thousand taels as operating capital after the New Year. The total dividend for everyone is three thousand seven hundred and fifty taels. Each household can receive two hundred and twenty taels, and the remaining ten taels will also be kept as capital. Do you have any objections?”

“No! But, is it really that much? Xingnong, did you calculate correctly? You’re not intentionally subsidizing us, are you?”

“Yeah! Why is it so much more this month?”

Each household received two hundred and twenty taels in dividends this month.

This was an amount of silver that a family might not be able to earn in a lifetime before.

Everyone was a bit incredulous.

Xingnong smiled, “Of course not. Everyone has been working day and night, without rest for the past two months. This is all what you deserve. And it will increase in the future. Next year, when we acquire sugarcane ourselves and produce sugar ourselves, we can earn even more. Currently, buying sugar to make candy is too costly.”

“Then I’ll plant more sugarcane this year! We can save the money for buying sugarcane!”

“Right, I’ll plant too! And soybeans! I’ll use all these two hundred taels to buy land! I’ll plant soybeans and sugarcane on all the land I can! Xingnong, tell us what you need next year, what you need to acquire, and we’ll plant some ourselves!”

“Right, I’ll buy land too. Xingnong, tell us what you need to plant, and we’ll plant it ourselves, saving some money!”

✿✿✿

Xingnong smiled, “Everyone is already busy enough with the workshop. It’s still better to acquire raw materials. You can encourage nearby villagers with idle land to plant more sugarcane, soybeans, peas, peanuts. We’ll acquire them when the time comes. We’re a snack workshop, so anything edible, including fruits, can be acquired.”

Everyone took note of her words, thinking of reminding their relatives and friends from nearby villages to plant more, and to plant more on their own land as well.

The village chief even thought of taking advantage of the few days off during the New Year to lead the villagers to clear the hillside at the end of the village, so they could plant fruit trees when spring arrived.

After distributing the dividends and wages, it was still early. Everyone happily went home with their money bags, starting their thorough cleaning or going to the city and town to buy things for the New Year.

This year, they could finally have a year of abundance!

~

At Xingnong’s house, Madam Gu, Xingqing, and Shen Ruoxi were doing a thorough cleaning.

Xingnong, along with Shen Nan, Shen Dong, and Songbai, continued to work on her Four Seasons Formation in the courtyard. It was almost complete.

Xinghui was already on holiday and back home. At this moment, he was writing couplets for the villagers with the Jin Kingdom Emperor and Shen Hanyu.

Looking at the Jin Kingdom Emperor’s majestic and powerful calligraphy, and Shen Hanyu’s free-flowing and elegant handwriting, he felt a bit ashamed of his own work.

His calligraphy was still a bit immature, lacking character.

The Jin Kingdom Emperor saw Xinghui shyly hiding his couplet and smiled, patting his shoulder, “Good boy! You’ve only been in school for a few months, and your calligraphy is already so good! Not bad, not bad!”

Xinghui’s face flushed a bit, “It’s not good.”

The Jin Kingdom Emperor shook his head, “Don’t underestimate yourself. It’s already very good!”

Shen Hanyu glanced at it, “Not bad. You started school late, but your calligraphy is already showing some character. Don’t worry.”

Hearing their conversation, Xingnong turned to look at them, “Hurry up and write. It’s getting dark, and you still have to deliver them to the villagers.”

Hearing her words, the three of them stopped talking and quickly continued writing.

By the time the family finished their work, had dinner, washed up, and returned to their respective rooms, it was already the *Hai* hour.

In her room, Xingnong focused her mind, checking to see if there was a letter from Chu Tiankuo.

In the past few days, Chu Tiankuo had successfully captured Jiangdu City and also taken Jiangzhong City and Jiangxi City.

The Zhao Kingdom Crown Prince was trapped in Qiong Mountain with one hundred thousand troops, and Prince Xiang of Zhao Kingdom and his heir apparent were trapped in Snow Mountain with three thousand remaining soldiers.

The Zhao Kingdom Emperor was completely panicked and began to surrender, sending officials to negotiate peace. Today was the day of the peace talks.

Source of the poem: “Only the peony is truly a national beauty, moving the capital when it blooms!” ━ （Tang） Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi