Read Novel Full Chapter 227
Chapter 227: Construction of the Sheep Pen
Sang Luo had long planned to collaborate with the Chen family, but since Chen Dashan brought it up first and Mrs. Chen happened to consult Sang Luo, the partnership was discussed and decided earlier than expected.
Shen Lie, who had seen the effort Sang Luo put into making tofu, knew that processing yams and mung beans wouldn’t be any easier, so he was genuinely supportive of the collaboration.
Knowing that the future business would require a large amount of yams and mung beans, Shen Lie and Shen An did not delay and hurried back to the mountains to continue clearing the land.
…
Chu Qichang arrived swiftly. In just over half an hour, he returned to Daxing Village with the agreed-upon plan and a team of bailiffs carrying scales and grain.
Chu Qichang, or rather the esteemed Governor, did not disappoint the trust placed in him. The grain exchange plan was set at a one-to-one ratio with yams.
Of course, the grain was divided into coarse and fine types, with the government providing 70% coarse grain and 30% fine grain.
However, having fine grain was already a pleasant surprise. Sang Luo, who had been thinking about flour for some time, immediately inquired if any of the fine grain could be exchanged for flour.
Chu Qichang was momentarily taken aback by the question but nodded, “Yes.”
Indeed, flour was available because many of the soldiers stationed in Shezhou and the Governor himself were northerners who preferred wheat and wheat products. The court provided these officials and troops with grain, mostly sourced from the King of Qi and his supporters, rather than from Shezhou’s own reserves.
However, Chu Qichang did not bring flour this time. In Shezhou, rice was the main staple, and only the very poor subsisted on bean rice. Few people asked for flour, as most couldn’t use it properly, so he hadn’t anticipated such a request from someone from Dongjun.
Given that the Governor had promised 30% fine grain, Sang Luo asked about it, and Chu Qichang agreed, saying, “Flour is available, but I didn’t bring any this time. If you need it, let Brother Shen come to get it later.”
Sang Luo was delighted to hear that flour could be exchanged. She efficiently directed Chu Qichang and his team to move yams to her place. Upon entering the storage room, she left about thirty to forty stalks and had the rest moved out.
“Pay attention to the storage methods for yams and replicate them when you get back.”
The bailiffs understood that these yams were for planting and paid close attention, asking about storage methods while moving the yams. After everything was weighed and moved out, the total was 485 kilograms.
“Sister-in-law, we can exchange for 145.5 kilograms of flour and 339.5 kilograms of coarse grain.”
Chu Qichang’s assistants were still trying to figure out the bamboo counting sticks, but Shen Ning, with a gleam in her eye, excitedly reported the numbers.
Chu Qichang looked at her in surprise. After a moment, his most skilled assistant confirmed the results with a nod.
Chu Qichang: “…”
Who exactly were the Sang family from Dongjun? He had never heard of them before. They weren’t one of the major families, likely comparable to the Lin and Wang families of Shezhou, but this seemed excessive. A young girl of about ten years old with such impressive arithmetic skills?
Chu Qichang realized that he was too unfamiliar with places outside Huainan Road, and it made sense. After all, how many of the lower gentry did he actually know?
The governor still remembers the hometown bond with the wife of the local official.
Shen Ning was entirely preoccupied with the idea that having flour meant there would be good food, completely unaware that she had inadvertently impressed this Mr. Chu once again.
Sang Luo smiled and turned to Shen Ning, saying, “Tonight, we’ll make rice cakes as Xiao Tie suggested. What do you want to eat tomorrow? We can prepare that then.”
Shen Ning’s eyes immediately curved with joy. “I’ll help Big Sister.”
If there hadn’t been so many people around, she would have insisted on clinging to Big Sister’s arm for a while, showing her affection fully.
In Daxing Village, just like the Shen family, the Xu family had also requested flour. However, the Xu family didn’t have as many yams to trade with the government as the Shen family did. After several visits, Mr. Chu Qichang found out that it wasn’t that everyone was unwilling to trade more yams with the authorities, but rather that this year only the Shen family had a high yield.
He was initially astonished and felt that his luck was good, as if he had stumbled upon a true god.
…
In the latter half of the twelfth month of the third year of Wuding, Chen Dashan and his team of six were busy in the mountains. Shen Lie chose an auspicious day and time, consulted with several elders including Old Man Chen about some customs, and took Shen An and the Xiao Jin brothers back to Qian County. After asking Shen Jin and his brothers for their opinions, he moved Tianya from the county to Shili Village and buried her next to the Li family’s grave.
After that, he led several strong and young men from the village back into the inner area, quietly retrieving the items left in the mountains, especially from the valley, which not only stored food but also housed over twenty sheep kept by several families.
The departure of so many people from the village was initially very conspicuous. However, at this time, every village and hamlet outside Shezhou City was busy with their own land, so few people were moving around, and no one noticed. Even the Zhao brothers, who worked for the Shen family, did not realize anything. Since the trees and shrubs on the mountain where Sang Luo was growing yams had already been preliminarily cleared, they had just moved to another mountain to clear the land for building the sheepfold. The chosen site was north-facing, on the opposite side of the village, so initially, there were no suspicions.
A few days later, they started to notice something and realized that Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were helping the government to search for people in the mountains, but they did not think much of it.
The work at hand puzzled the Zhao brothers more and more. Especially since Sang Luo had already started marking the foundation lines with a hoe, Zhao Silang could not help but ask, “Madam Sang, doesn’t your family already have a sheep pen at the edge of the mountain? Do you still need to build another one?”
And it’s quite large, over an acre of land.
When they worked at the Shen family, they collected grasses and leaves that sheep liked while cutting trees and weeding. Thus, the Zhao brothers were well aware that the Shen family had a few sheep.
Five sheep. Now, with two ewes likely pregnant, did they really need a sheep pen of over an acre?
Sang Luo, while marking the spot for the foundation to be dug in a few days, said, “There will be more than just five sheep soon. I’ve asked Shen Lie to go into the mountains to catch more.”
Their family kept six sheep in the valley, so they had a source for them. Additionally, they expected to add several more by spring, with at least sixteen or seventeen sheep by next year.
The Zhao family also had two sheep, which they had exchanged from a neighboring village years ago, so they knew Shen Lie’s abilities and were not puzzled. However, Zhao Silang wondered, “Isn’t it better to keep them at the foot of the mountain? If there isn’t enough space, we can build a couple more pens. This acre of land could be used for growing something with a yield.”
Sang Luo said, “It’s fine to keep a few sheep close, but when there are more, the smell near the home in summer is unpleasant. Additionally, keeping sheep in a pen all the time can lead to illness. Since we have limited time to tend them, it’s easier to build a separate sheepfold on the mountain. The sheep will be more comfortable.”
Saying this, she stopped her work, took out two folded pieces of paper from her sleeve, unfolded them, and handed them to Zhao Silang. “Uncle Zhao, Fourth Uncle Zhao, you can take a look. I’m planning to build the sheepfold like this.”
The paper she used was from the Wang and Chu families, as her own was not suitable for showing. Zhao Silang took the papers, glanced at them, and was stunned.
Hearing Sang Luo and the governor talking earlier, the brothers knew Sang Luo came from an extraordinary background, but they hadn’t imagined such detailed drawings. Having never handled paper and pens before, they couldn’t have imagined it.
The artistry wasn’t the main point; the Zhao brothers were practical people. What mattered was that the drawing depicted not a sheep pen, but a sheep farm.
Zhao Da peered at the first drawing that his fourth brother was holding and exclaimed, “This is quite comfortable. It looks comfortable!”
The first drawing Zhao Silang looked at showed an overall view of the layout. It became clear why Sang Luo wanted them to cut down the trees and half-grown shrubs on the adjacent mountain. It was indeed for a purpose.
Building four sheep pens, while not occupying a very large area, also required materials for chicken and rabbit pens. The current cleared area showed why Sang Luo had marked many trees and some shrubs that sheep liked as not to be cut or dug up. The entire sheep farm was surrounded by trees. The existing trees in the mountains, after removing the shrubs that sheep did not eat, were insufficient in density, but the drawing showed a well-arranged layout.
The area to be used for building the sheep pens included mulberry trees, castor trees, and neem trees, which were likely to be transplanted to fill in the gaps.
The space between trees was likely to be enclosed with bamboo or semi-finished timber to form horizontal fences, preventing sheep from escaping and also keeping out wild animals. However, this area had a gentle slope and fewer wild animals, especially since this year, with the city’s stationed troops and idle men hunting, even wild chickens and rabbits were hard to find, let alone other wild animals.
In the acre of land, apart from the natural barriers formed by trees and bamboo, and additional plantings of smaller shrubs that sheep liked, there were only four sheep pens. The remaining area, about 70% of the space, was likely used for growing fodder and shrubs for sheep to forage.
Turning to the other drawing, it depicted the inside and outside of the sheep pens from different angles. The entire structure was elevated and built on a base of wooden planks with some gaps. The gaps were noted because the back of the two papers had small detailed drawings. The sheep pens looked particularly clean and well-ventilated.
The brothers had never seen such a sheepfold before.
Zhao Silang asked about its purpose, and Sang Luo roughly explained that the separate rooms for ewes, rams, and lambs, as well as the isolation room for sick sheep, were for managing a larger flock. The elevated floor was designed to prevent dampness and cold, and the gaps between the wooden planks facilitated cleaning and collecting sheep dung.
She didn’t know exactly how she knew this—being a farmer, she had bought fermented sheep dung before, and after browsing many images of sheepfolds online and raising sheep in the mountains for a few years, she figured it out and adapted it.
While they were discussing the construction of the sheepfold, Xiao Ya’er ran up the mountain, saying, “Sister A Luo, someone from the governor’s office has come. Sister A Ning sent me to call you.”
Sang Luo was surprised, unable to fathom why someone from the governor’s office would come to their home. She didn’t dare delay, quickly putting down her hoe and heading down the mountain.
…
When Sang Luo hurried back home, she saw a long-followed attendant standing outside her house, with Shen Ning beside him.
Sang Luo had a good memory and recognized the attendant as the young man who had followed the governor on the day he visited.
The young man had a serious expression, holding a wooden box, standing upright. Upon seeing Sang Luo approach, he greeted her first without waiting for her to speak: “Madam Sang, my master asked me to bring you and Mr. Shen a few rolls of silk books.”
He handed the wooden box to Sang Luo.
Hearing “silk books,” Sang Luo was surprised and couldn’t understand why the governor’s office would send books to them. Shen Lie hadn’t mentioned this.
“What kind of books are these?”
“They are books my master is currently reading, with some of his own notes and comments. We copied them and sent them to you. You may examine them yourself.”
Sang Luo looked at the attendant and took the box, handing it to Shen Ning to hold. Opening the box, she saw nine rolls of silk books neatly wrapped inside. The topmost roll was labeled “The Book of Documents Annotations, Volume One,” with subsequent volumes up to Volume Nine.
Sang Luo’s breathing became heavier. She quickly read the preface of the first volume and saw the mention of the Zeng Family of Taiyuan. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at the attendant, “May I ask, what is the governor’s surname?”
The attendant replied, “My master’s surname is Zeng.”
Sang Luo’s grip on the silk books tightened slightly. “Is it… the Zeng Family of Taiyuan?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Sang Luo took a deep breath, finally calming down.
Though she didn’t know what had caught the governor’s attention, hearing that the books were sent with their names mentioned, Sang Luo guessed it might be related to the yam planting methods.
She bowed in gratitude and said, “Please convey my thanks to the governor. This gift is truly valuable.”
The attendant smiled, nodded, and clasped his fists in farewell. “The books have been delivered. I must return and report to my master. Farewell.”
Sang Luo walked a few steps with him before he stopped and said, “Madam, please stay.”
After another bow, he left in large strides.
…
Once the attendant was gone, Shen Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards Sang Luo with the box. Seeing that her sister-in-law was still looking at the man’s retreating figure, she asked softly, “Sister-in-law, is the Zeng Family of Taiyuan very influential?”
Sang Luo nodded, looking at the partially unrolled silk book in her hand, and murmured, “The Zeng Family of Taiyuan is renowned for their study of the Book of Documents. They were highly esteemed in several dynasties before Da Qian. When their family was at its peak, three generations had members who held high positions.”
The original self was a young woman and had little understanding of court matters, especially those from previous dynasties. However, she had heard of the Zeng Family of Taiyuan. Her father had mentioned them when he urged his sons to study, using the Zeng Family of Taiyuan as an example of the benefits of studying. When Sang Luo saw the preface, she remembered this part of her previous self’s memories.
She hadn’t expected the governor of Shezhou to come from such a distinguished family and to send such a valuable gift.
The nine rolls of silk books were probably not the entire collection, as the attendant had mentioned they were just a few volumes his master happened to have. Even so, in an era when most people had no access to education, books were rare and valuable. Families like the Taiyuan Zeng’s collected and passed down books through hand copying. Ordinary families struggled to obtain even one copy of the Book of Documents, let alone annotated and commented versions. Receiving such a gift from the Zeng Family of Taiyuan was extraordinary.
Sang Luo felt the silk books in her hands were incredibly heavy.
She didn’t dare ask Shen Ning to do it and personally found a suitable place in the house to store them.
They lived in a mud-and-grass house, and Sang Luo worried about mice. The silk books were too precious to be left exposed. After marking out the basic layout for the sheepfold on the mountain, she planned to transcribe all nine rolls onto bamboo slips.