Chapter 912: Secretly Watched....
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The following day, the house buzzed with noise and excitement, but Qiao Xuan was busy with her tasks.
Her main focus was preparing the tea seeds. Though it was still quite cold outside, the bone-chilling air was gradually fading, and the hint of spring was in the air.
Qiao Xuan didn’t have much time to spare as she had to accompany Shao Yunduan to the capital. However, she could manage the cultivation of the seedlings with the help of her superpower.
By the end of February and the beginning of March, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan would already have departed from Shaoding Village. During that time, Butler Mu and Ding Erzhu had dispatched their workers to transplant the tea trees.
In addition to the tea trees, Qiao Xuan planned to plant roses, red and blue flowers, pomegranate flowers, and cinnabar flowers.
She traveled to Xin Province and sought help from Yuezheng Xiao to purchase the seedlings. These flowers were ideal for making lipstick and were required in large quantities.
Qiao Xuan aimed to expand the field by an additional 200 mu this year.
Before she and Shao Yunduan left home, the seedlings could be transported to the village. Qiao Xuan would use her wood power to protect the seedlings, and Yang Xiaoni and Taotao could be hired to plant them at a steady pace.
With a total of 52 beehives, the blooming of the 200 mu of flowers and trees would require a greater amount of beeswax for making lipstick. Therefore, 52 beehives might not be sufficient.
As the grass grew and the Centaurea bloomed, the need to separate the beehives became apparent.
Fortunately, Qiao Xuan had already taught Taotao and Shao Sanlang how to share the household provisions.
Since Qi and Qiao Xuan were not present, Qiao Xuan repeatedly reminded them not to venture into the mountains in search of pre-existing wild beehives, as it would be unsafe.
With 52 beehives at home, not all of them could be shared, but allocating ten should not pose a problem.
Qiao Xuan made it clear that if they ran short of beeswax, it could be omitted. She considered the flowers to be more valuable than the beeswax.
Qiao Xuan did not underestimate people’s intelligence. News of the lipstick-making venture would spread quickly, but she anticipated that it would soon be overshadowed by other matters.
The first branch of the Shao Family held a prominent position in Shaoding
Village due to their school and the family’s land donations. Moreover, Shao Yunduan’s noble status and his connections with the Yuezheng and Xie families in the province made it unlikely for anyone to plot against them.
However, there was someone observing them from the shadows.
If people learned about the beeswax purchases, they might draw conclusions based on the shape of the lipstick.
Qiao Xuan contemplated the idea of monopolizing the market for a few more years, allowing her to amass a fortune.
This year, they planned to cultivate up to 200 mu of cassava, which was a straightforward process. They could simply cut and plant it directly.
Meanwhile, the others were responsible for tending to the herbs and fruit trees at 500 meters.
Before leaving the province, they made sure to visit the papayas and dragon fruits that were planted before the New Year.
Unfortunately, large-scale cultivation of sugarcane, pineapples, and other crops was not feasible this year. Without Qiao Xuan’s superpower, even with Yuezheng Xiao’s assistance in transporting a substantial number of seedlings from the south, there was no guarantee of their survival or proper growth.
Before they knew it, the 15th day of the first month had arrived.
Following the Lantern Festival, the air was filled with the vibrant essence of spring. These days, the sun was already warm at 500 meters, and diligent families had begun transporting loads of manure into the fields.
Qi, Ding Jinshan, and the others gathered in the county city on the first day of February. On the third day of February, they set off northward after assembling people from various counties in the province..