The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

Chapter 133 Return to the Village

Mrs. Hu turned her head slightly to look at Guo Xi and Fang Peilin who were standing beside her, and then looked at her son with pleading eyes.

With a look of reluctance in his eyes, he finally sighed and said, "Your father is willing and even encourages you to travel around and do business. I think you know that. But I have always been worried that if you travel around, it will be too hard and too dangerous for you, so I have always wanted you to pursue a career in politics."

"But now, it seems that there is no way out. If you insist on doing business, I can't stop you. Even if I don't let you do business, you will find another way to do business. But doing business is not as easy as pursuing a career in politics. You should be prepared to endure hardships."

When Hu Zongrui heard this, he jumped up with joy and hugged Guo Xi and Fang Peilin without saying anything, just hugged them tightly.

Guo Xi and Fang Peilin smiled at each other and said softly, "Congratulations."

Hu Zongrui slowed down, remembered something, loosened his hand, bowed respectfully to Mrs. Hu and said, "Thank you, mother. Zongrui will study hard. If I can't achieve good results in business in five years, I will definitely take the imperial examination and never pursue my dream again."

Mrs. Hu smiled and looked at Hu Zongrui, nodded slightly, and said softly: "Be careful when you travel around."

……

"I don't know when we will meet again after this trip. If I can make some achievements in the art of business in five years, I will definitely bring you a lot of new and interesting things and gold and silver."

Guo Xi said: "If you fail this time, Peilin and I will wait for you and help you pass the exam and lend you a helping hand."

Fang Peilin handed over a small wooden box and said gently, "These are some books and tips that Guo Xi and I prepared for you. If you encounter something you don't understand on the road, you can open it and take a look. It may help you."

Hu Zongrui solemnly took the wooden box with both hands. A breeze blew by, lifting a corner of the silk cloth covering the wooden box.

Guo Xi and Fang Peilin looked at Hu Zongrui and said, "Have a safe journey and a bright future."

At that moment, the friendship between the young men seemed to be frozen in time, and it would not be revealed until many years later.

……

It was near the end of the year again, and Guo Xin asked for leave for both Guo Xi and Guo Zhi, one so that they could return to the village to pay homage to their parents, and the other so that they could go to Beijing to reunite with their grandparents.

Guo Xi jumped off the carriage and sighed, "Second sister, we haven't been back for a long time."

As soon as Guo Xi finished speaking, Brother Liu rushed out with a big broom and said happily, "Xin'er, you're finally back! My mother asked me to help clean your house early in the morning, saying that you can move in when you come back."

"But don't worry, I didn't go into your dormitory. I just did some simple work outside."

Guo Xin nodded. Before she left, she entrusted Uncle Liu's family to help take care of her house. After all, if the house lost its popularity, it would be in trouble.

Seeing the accompanying servant helping to move things inside, he asked Brother Liu, "What is the situation in the village now?"

Brother Liu said excitedly, "I've been waiting for you to ask this. With your help, our Guojia Village cannot be said to be rich, but at least we will not starve to death. Every household can stay in the village to work, instead of going far away."

Guo Xin asked: "What happened to the land in the village?"

"Just like the account book I gave you, the profit is very good." Brother Liu looked at the busy people and said, "If Xin'er is not busy, why don't you go to the village and take a look."

Guo Xi hurriedly said, "Second sister, you go ahead and do your work. We will take care of the house." As he said that, he worked even harder to move things into the house.

Guo Xin said, "Let's go and take a look. The account books only show cold numbers. You have to see them in person to feel the changes."

Brother Liu walked in front, pointing at the tunnel in the distance as he walked: "The village rented most of the villagers' fields as you said before, paid them a large sum of rent, and hired those who knew how to farm to do the farming."

"But at first, no one agreed to this matter. The village chief and the head of the village also disagreed, because in their eyes, you are going to turn all the land in the village into yours, which means you will become a big landlord. For this reason, my family helped explain it for a long time before the village chief and others agreed."

Guo Xin smiled and said, "That's really thanks to you. It was a very correct decision to let your family help manage the affairs of the village. But it is actually a good choice for the villagers to rent the land to us. The risk is stable, the income is stable, and we don't have to bear natural disasters or man-made disasters."

Brother Liu agreed, "Yes, I explained the whole thing to them in detail, and that's why they agreed."

He pointed to the greenhouses not far away and said, "Those greenhouses were restored exactly as you requested. Now there are about five acres of greenhouses in our village. In addition to Mrs. Hu's restaurant, many other restaurants have reached cooperation agreements with us."

Guo Xin looked in the direction of Brother Liu. That was where he originally set up his greenhouse. Now the greenhouse has been expanded a lot along the original one. From a distance, it was all white. Through the white paper, he could see human figures swaying inside.

Guo Xin asked: "Our village built this greenhouse so openly, wouldn't other villages want our greenhouse?"

Brother Liu said proudly: "Of course, many people from other villages want our greenhouse, but we have to guard it strictly. If we don't strictly control this technology according to your method, this greenhouse will not be built."

"So, many families of women who married into our village sent people to learn from us. But how can our skills be so easy to learn? The people I chose to work in the greenhouse are all of good character and have close ties with our village. How could they easily tell this to others?"

After saying that, Brother Liu put his hands behind his back, lowered his head and sighed, saying: "Even so, there are still many people who imitate us to build greenhouses, and no one succeeded. Hehe, it's really a loss, and even lost all the money of our family."

Guo Xin couldn't help but find it funny when he saw Brother Liu like this. Half a year ago, the man in front of him was not like this. Although some of them were smart, most of them were still honest. It was true that power and money could change people.

The two continued walking forward, and came towards them a pretty girl wearing a red cotton-padded jacket and a red flower on her head. Next to her was a dark and thin man. The two looked very different.

"Xin'er? You're back?" the girl shouted in surprise.