NOVPUBChapter 880 -880: Warm Greenhouse Vegetables
“Although you and Nan Tianzong are siblings, nowadays… Besides, His Majesty has already decreed that the Marquis lead troops to annihilate Nan Tianzong and his people. Let’s just stay in the capital city,”
His Majesty ultimately did not appoint Di Yelei as themmander-in-chief, probably due to distrust of the two.
Liu Sisi also understood this point and did not dwell too much on that issue, “First, let’s fully equip our trusted soldiers with these weapons so that it will be much morenvenient if they are truly needed.”
“This matter will still require Old Tang’s hard work,” Di Yelei gratefully acknowledged.
“No trouble at all! These are all duties of my own. Just you wait and see! In at most three days, our trusted soldiers will be fully armed with these weapons,” Old Tang assured with beaming eyebrows and a promise-filled smile.
As days passed by, outside the capital city, there was an air of desolation, while the city itself became increasingly prosperous.
Lately, Liu Sisi has been busy checking on thenstruction of the greenhouses.
Since they were not built at the same time, the greenhouse in the small manor at South City had already been put to use, while the one in West City was still undernstruction. At the moment, Liu Sisi stood inside the greenhouse at the Marquis Mansion, looking at the sprouting melon seedlings.
Where the study room, destroyed by a great fire, once stood, there was now a greenhouse three times the size of a standard official family’s, with arner dedicated to cultivating flowers. Most of the space was occupied by the sprouting green melon seedlings. Young plants like spinach, chopped green onions, mustard greens, and asparagus were neatly arranged in seedbeds, growing exceptionally well.
“Princess, there are simply too many of these melon seedlings. Even if the greenhouses on both manors arempleted, we won’t need so many. As for the leftovers…” The person speaking was an old gardener who had been planting flowers in greenhouses for many years.
“It’s alright. In two days, we’ll start to remove the excess seedlings. Some will be transplanted to the other two greenhouses, and the rest will be sold at our shops on Imperial Street. Have your people take care of this.”
His Majesty had adopted Liu Sisi’s suggestion to categorize the shops on either side of Imperial Street and designate specific areas. This was expected to be implemented after the New Year.
And Liu Sisi’s newly purchased shop was also located on the main street of Imperial Street, which had been closed ever since it was acquired.
Now that snow had fallen twice outside, vegetables like bok choy had bme a rarity on the dining table. Whether or not theyuld sell and how they would sell were things everyone would have to try and see.
“Auntie, you can rest assured; Feng’er will definitely not let you down,”
The little Feng who was closely following behind hurriedly responded.
“That will be good,”
Liu Sisi said happily. As she passed a patch of asparagus, seeing the shoots just an inch above the soil, she was delighted, “Let’s pick some asparagus to take back. Tonight, our vegetable dish will be this.”
“Having asparagus on the table is perfect; I can’t stand those days when we only have meat dishes to eat,” Xiao Feng said with a pursed smile.
Liu Sisi turned back to look at the seedling bed, “Why don’t we also pick some pumpkin seedlings to make another vegetable dish?”
The pumpkin seedlings in the seedbed were not planted now but were casually sown by Liu Sisi a while ago. The pumpkin seedlings were easy to grow; by applying enough base fertilizer and scattering pumpkin seeds, they would sprout in half a month. In seven days, vinesuld grow to a length of one meter.
By pulling up the pumpkin seedlings and stripping off the old fibres on the surface of the vines, theyuld be cleaned and cut into small pieces to be stir-fried or used in soup.
“Sure, the seedlings are tender enough now; they must taste great,”
Xiao Feng also had a craving for food, which matched well with Liu Sisi’s.
The two, laughing and talking, picked quite a lot and put them into the basket brought by the maid.
Ms. Gao, whose face was full of disapproval, said, “Princess, you are now precious as gold; leave these tasks to the slaves and servants.”
The maids, old women, and pageboys that had been purchased recently had been almost fully trained and assigned to suitable masters. Liu Sisi was now served by an imperial nanny as well as Chunlan and Qiuju, two little maids.
“These tasks aren’t exhausting. It’s rare for us to be able to move around in the manor, so going out to the greenhouse for a stroll and picking some vegetables can also be a form of entertainment.”
Liu Sisi had always been a foodie, and howuld she pass up the tasty offerings of the greenhouse?
“Princess, you can’t do this. If you really feel bored, why don’t you attend more banquets with the ladies? That will also pass the time,” Ms. Gao persisted in persuading.
Liu Sisi glanced indifferently at Ms. Gao before she started walking outside.
“Those banquets are boring to death, I’d rather stay at home and read a few more pages of books than to put up with the hypocrisy of those so-called reputable ladies,” Liu Sisi was really not keen on those gatherings, which were nothing more than gossip sessions, and had no desire to attend any more after the few times she had gone. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
“By the way, if another invitation arrives at the Marquis Mansion next time, you can go on behalf of the manor. It’s essentially the same kind of banquet, and it would be good practice for you.”
“Speaking of banquets, Feng’er thinks that once the vegetables in our seedbed have all grown, weuld send some to every familiar household. Not only would this let everyone taste something fresh, but it can also serve to promote the renown of our produce.” Feng’er was truly business-minded, hitting the nail on the head with her casual remark.
“Great! Your idea is good. We’ll do it once the vegetables here have grown. Looks like it’ll be another ten days to half a month before they’re ready.”
The two chatted and laughed as they walked out of the greenhouse, and when they looked up, they saw YingEr trembling in theld wind as she walked towards them.
“YingEr, why are you out in suchld weather? Come on, let’s go in.”
With two snowfalls today, one in the morning and one at night, a thick layer of frost had formed, and theld wind made one shiver.
YingEr did not refuse Liu Sisi’s overture and followed her tug back into the house. As soon as she stepped in, a strong sensation of warmth surged towards her.
“Mom, I’m fine, my health has almost rvered now, look,” YingEr said, not giving up and twirling on the spot to prove her rvery.
“Yes, yes, your health has improved. But it’s toold outside, you didn’t even bring a hand warmer. If you get frostbite, it would be terrible. Even if your body has rvered well, you still need to wear an extra jacket to withstand suchld winter,” Liu Sisi insisted.
YingEr’s frame was still quite slender, although hermplexion was much better than before. Now eleven years old, she seemed thinner and more fragile than other children her age.
“Mom, it’s fine, it was just for a while, and I’m notld,” YingEr said, smiling and revealing two adorable little canine teeth.
For several years in a row, she had carefully lain sick in bed, fearing that eating a bit more or moving a bit more might trigger a bout of fever. Those days were finally over.
Today, sheuldn’t wait to breathe freely, a yearning so urgent it was indescribable to outsiders.
——
Today, my little nephew had diarrhea, so Craft Paper rushed to the hospital to take care of the child, bming so exhausted in the process. The missing chapter from today will be updated tomorrow. Goodnight, my dears.
