Chapter 713: Plenty of Land
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Binglan suspected many fruit trees were in the Black Mountian Forest near the border. After all, she had found hawthorn trees there. She still wanted to go to the border to look for such things.
She could make more canned drinks and even milk tea if she found fruit seeds there. Su Binglan realized she had many more things to do. Thinking about all the delicious food and drinks excited her.
Winter would end soon, and Su Binglan could build a beverage factory. She wanted to make cold drinks and popsicles for people to eat and drink during summer.
“Don’t worry, Brother. I’ll see if I can get some fruit seeds or saplings myself.”
“All right.” Lan Ruozhu knew his sister was confident in herself.
Su Wenzhe excitedly asked, “Sister, what kind of foods can we make once we get the fruits?”
Liu Yinyin also wondered what her sister-in-law would cook with fruits. If it were the past, the family would only consider eating the fruits as is. However, now they knew Su Binglan could cook anything, including fruits.
After all, she had used hawthorns to make various delicacies.
The young couple’s faces lit up when they thought about food.
Su Binglan nodded. “Of course, I can make various delicacies with fruits. Also, fruits are good for your health. I can also use fruits to make wine and other drinks.’
Liu Yinyin remembered her sister-in-law mentioning such drinks before. The former blinked and asked, “Are the drinks you mentioned similar to wine?”
“Yes, they are. However, fruit juice will taste better for children or those who dislike alcohol. Fruit juices won’t have alcohol, so one wouldn’t get drunk.” Liu Yinyin clenched her fists and said, “Can women drink them too?”
“Of course! We could only drink water in the past, but we can soon drink beverages when we have them.” Su Binglan felt the juice market would be more significant than the wine market if she used the fruits well.
She also wanted to make milk tea to cool one down during the hot weather. Of course, milk tea could be hot or cold depending on one’s needs.
Although Su Binglan had much more to do, she knew cooking was enjoyable. Everyone would be happy to eat together.
“l can’t wait to drink them,” Liu Yinyin said despite herself.
“Me too,” Su Wenzhe echoed, “Everything Binglan makes is delicious.”
Su Binglan smiled. “Let’s focus on making the glutinous rice balls first. We’ll work toward making such things when the construction team completes the factory after the Lantern Festival.”
Liu Yinyin stepped forward, saying, “Let me take over the stone mill. You’ve been at it for a while.’
Su Binglan shook her head. “It’s okay. We’re not tired. Could you get me a big cloth bag and put the glutinous rice paste in it?”
“Okay.” Liu Yinyin ran into the house to get a clean cloth bag. After bringing it out, Su Binglan used it to store the glutinous rice paste. Immediately after, she hung the cloth bag to drain the water.
After cleaning up the room for Lan Ruozhu and Blue Eagle, Shen Qiuhua went to the stone mill. When she saw Lan Ruozhu turning the mill, she said with concern, “Ruozhu, why are you doing that? You should rest. Wenzhe, what are you doing letting your brother work while you rest?”
Su Wenzhe pointed his tongue at his mother, saying, “You’re so biased toward
Brother Ruozhu.’
Su Wenzhe pointed his tongue at his mother, saying, “You’re so biased toward better, Wenzhe.’
Lan Ruozhu saw his Godmother’s genuine worry and felt warm inside. He explained, “Godmother, I was the one who insisted on trying the stone mill. Don’t blame Big Brother.”
Shen Qiuhua sighed, “Stone milling is tiring work. You haven’t even rested since you arrived. You’ll hurt yourself if you work too hard, Ruozhu.”
Lan Ruozhu wanted to say something, but Shen Qiuhua added, “You might think you’re not tired now, but your arms will ache after you rest.”
She knew Lan Ruozhu would regret it when he woke up in the morning because she used to do the same thing last time. After all, she and Su Fengmao had often ground soybeans together.
Shen Qiuhua knew it was pretty tiring, and her arms would ache. Still, she was in good spirits then because she could earn money by working harder. Nonetheless, she started to worry when she saw Lan Ruozhu using the stone mill.
Su Binglan said, “It’s okay, Mother. I’ll make Brother some ointment for his arms. They won’t ache after he applies the ointment.”
Shen Qiuhua sighed in relief, saying, “That’s good.”
Then, she looked at Lan Ruozhu lovingly and said, “I’ve prepared blankets and mattresses for you and Blue Eagle. I also reheated the brick bed. Go and rest if you get tired. I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”
Lan Ruozhu shook his head. “I’m not tired, Godmother. I’m so full of energy now.”
The knowledge he had gathered from his sister left him excited. He wished he could get his people to start as soon as possible. He wanted to issue a decree to encourage land reclamation.
That way, the people could grow crops in the reclaimed land during the spring plowing season. However, he would have to wait until autumn to distribute seeds.
Lan Ruozhu wanted to wait for the Su Teng villagers’ first batch of crops before purchasing and distributing them to the other villages that wanted to reclaim land.
He could not stop thinking about farming. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
The emperor gave Dingzhou to Lan Ruozhu because its agriculture was outdated. Food was not self-sufficient, and the people needed to buy food from elsewhere.
Dingzhou would not have enough food to feed its many troops. There was nothing special about Dingzhou. However, it had plenty of potential wasteland. Still, the people thought the wastelands were useless because it was not fertile.
The people did not know Dingzhou would become the best place in Chu Country for agriculture. Its potential grain output was something other states could not compare to.
King Jian had taken Jianzhou because of its iron mines, which benefited military development. On the other hand, Lan Ruozhu knew agriculture and food were the foundation of any successful prefecture. That was because he and his sister had prepared military forces long ago.
Shen Qiuhua looked carefully and realized Lan Ruozhu was indeed energetic.
She was no longer worried as she turned to the cloth bag and asked, “Binglan, are you preparing to make the glutinous rice balls soon?”
Su Binglan said, “We have to wait a while. I need to drain the rice before making them into balls.”
If she wanted to make dumpling skins later, she would add water. Therefore, she wanted the rice to drip dry.
After some thought, Su Binglan used heat to dry the rice to speed up the process. She told everyone to light a piece of firewood in an open space and place it near the rice.
While waiting, Lan Ruozhu continued asking about the spring plowing season..