After rebirth, the Prime Minister's wife always wanted to leave her father behind and keep her

The charcoal fire in the room gradually grew stronger. Although the whole room was not as warm as Cui's house, it was much better than when he first arrived. Luo Luonu felt the source of the heat, and he poked his head out from Cheng Songan and arched his body, wanting to jump down, but his hind legs were injured and he didn't dare to jump directly.

Cheng Songan noticed its intention and put it down gently. Luo Luonu then limped to the window. Taxue saw it and picked it up. It meowed twice at the window, as if it was looking for something. When it didn't find anything, it turned back to the stove.

Haitang brought a hand warmer to Cheng Songan, placed it in her hand, and said softly, "The bed is ready, why don't you lie down?"

Thinking about what he had just said in Cui's house, Lu Qingshan felt a little apologetic: "Haitang, don't take those nonsense words I said to heart."

Haitang lowered her eyes and said softly, "What do my masters say? As a servant, I don't care whether I take it to heart or not. What does it matter?"

Lu Qingshan felt relieved and smiled.

Haitang and Lu Qingshan are the same age, both two years older than Cheng Songan. When Cheng Songan was domineering among the children of Yizhou officials, the two of them helped him a lot. The three of them spent more time together than their own brothers and sisters. In name, they were master and servant, but in fact, Cheng Songan regarded her as a sister.

But Lu Qingshan seemed to truly treat Haitang as a servant, which made Cheng Songan a little irritated. He inexplicably thought of Cui Yuanqing, Situi and Xue Tingyun, whose friendship was much more sincere than theirs.

"It's getting late," Cheng Songan said, "You should go back as soon as possible."

It was getting yellow and dark outside the window. It was really late. Lu Qingshan stood up and said to her, "Your villa is much colder than the mansion. If you need anything, just send someone to the Lu Mansion to find my mother."

Cheng Songan smiled faintly. Even if she really needed something, she couldn't go directly to Lu's house to ask for it. But she couldn't bear to reject his kindness, so she just nodded.

After Lu Qingshan left, Cheng Songan stood in front of the window again, looking at the desolate yard, feeling lost in her heart. She might never have a child again in this life, and she would have to live a boring life in this villa.

If she indulged in the pain of losing her child, what difference would that make from her previous life? Wouldn't she be ungrateful to God for giving her a second life? And if she wanted to live up to God's giving her a second life, she had to do something for the world.

It is almost the end of the year, but there is still no snow, just like in the previous life. Next year's drought is inevitable.

Qiangwei brought Li Wenbin in.

Li Wenbin glanced at Cheng Songan's face and handed over the things in his hand: "Miss, the master went to the palace to express his gratitude. This tiger-skin mattress, he...well, the old lady had someone bring it here. In addition, she also said that the monthly silver for our villa is 25 taels, and a few servants are assigned to manage the outer courtyard."

Twenty-five taels was exactly Cui Yuanqing’s monthly salary.

Cheng Songan nodded. Since the divorce could not be resolved, all her expenses were paid by Cui Yuanqing, so she should share the responsibility.

The villa was colder than the mansion. After thinking for a while, she asked Haitang to spread the tiger skin on the bed. She had to get herself well before making any further plans.

"From now on, everything at Fisherman and Woodcutter Villa will be taken care of by you and Haitang. I don't like extravagance, as you all know. Save as much as possible and start stockpiling food in the spring." Cheng Songan was still looking out the window. The wind had stopped, but the shadows of the trees were still swaying.

Li Wenbin was a little puzzled, but he was not a talkative person. He just did what he was told and did not question Cheng Songan's decision at all.

Cheng Songan called Taxue over again and said, "Tomorrow, take a look at all the vacant land in this manor. Remove all the flowers and grass and plant crops instead."

When Taxue first heard her asking Li Wenbin to stock up on food, he was a little puzzled and couldn't help asking, "Why does the girl always ask me to stock up on food?"

Cheng Songan couldn't explain to her, so he just said, "Since we won't be returning to the Cui Mansion in the future, we can't keep receiving their money forever. After all, we are not grateful for what we have received. What should we do if they use this to ask us to return to the mansion in the future?"

When Taxue heard this, he patted his head and said, "Yes, if we have income, then we don't have to look at their faces. I don't have the confidence to let the girl go back."

Cheng Songan smiled and asked, "You are an expert in this area. Besides wheat, do you know any other crops that are easy to grow and have high yields?"

Taxue frowned and asked back, "We have two crops a year in the north. We plant wheat in this season and corn after the wheat harvest. We can plant other crops, but they are not as widespread as these two."

Cheng Songan fell silent. The drought occurred in Henan and Anhui, both of which were provinces with large populations. The relief with the grain reserves in the national treasury was probably a drop in the bucket. Money had to be allocated to buy grain from other provinces. However, the flood in the south of the Yangtze River followed closely, cutting off the possibility of transferring grain from the south.

Regardless of how much silver and grain is left after the layers of deductions and exploitation in the middle, just considering the grain production in other states and prefectures, transferring grain over long distances and over large areas is a difficult problem.

Food still had to be sourced from the capital and Shandong. The wheat had already been planted, and next year's output was fixed. In addition to saving money, the remedy was to increase revenue, that is, to use all available land and plant crops that were cold-resistant and drought-resistant.

Taxue saw her serious expression and could tell that this matter was extremely important to her. He thought for a while and said, "Two years ago, a merchant caravan came back from the sea to the capital and brought back a lot of things from Southeast Asia. There was a kind of round soybeans, the big ones weighed half a pound. One was enough to fill you up, but it was choking. Although it is not as easy to grow and high-yielding as the young lady said, it can be harvested three times a year. If we plant one acre of it in our garden, it will be enough for everyone to eat for a month."

Cheng Songan was delighted. According to Taxue, if this kind of beans could be promoted for cultivation, it would not have to occupy arable land. He could plant some in his own yard or in the ravine, and at least he could harvest one season, which would last for a few days.

One person's support for a few days is nothing, but if tens of millions of people can support a few days, the amount of money saved will be incalculable. Secondly, it can also buy more time to purchase and transfer grain from various provinces.

Cheng Songan immediately ordered: "I'll leave this matter to you. If you plant well, I can fulfill one of your wishes."

Taxue immediately went there in high spirits.

In the days that followed, Cheng Songan asked them to find various books from outside. They immersed themselves in the sea of ​​books all day long, looking for all kinds of ways to resist drought and flood. It was quite fulfilling and their bodies gradually recovered.

During these days, Cui Yuanqing stayed in the palace for several days and did not return home. The matter that Cheng Songan had not yet received an answer to was left hanging there.

The day before New Year's Eve, Cheng Songan listened to the sound of firecrackers not far away and sighed slightly. At this time of year in previous years, the Cheng family had already cleaned up, and the brothers and sisters would write couplets, put up Spring Festival couplets, and prepare the New Year's Eve dinner together.

This year, I’m afraid even my parents won’t have a good year.

Cheng Songan dressed warmly and said to the others, "It's New Year's Day, let's go to Guishan Villa to take a look."