The Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival, and various celebration activities are held in all places. The streets are filled with colorful sachets of various prices. The cheapest ones only contain dried wormwood, the more expensive ones contain ordinary dried flowers, but the most expensive ones contain sachets with various insect-repelling and epidemic-preventing medicines.

  Taking advantage of the festive atmosphere, other goods also sold well, and Lin's family villa also made a small profit from this east wind.

  Because many people take advantage of the holiday to hold banquets and cultivate relationships, today the host of this house got a good painting, please everyone go and have a look, then eat and drink and listen to storytelling; tomorrow that lady will invite everyone to admire flowers, then eat and drink and listen to ballads...

  Around the Dragon Boat Festival, the city was bustling for three days. The rich even donated some food to make porridge and everyone enjoyed it together.

  The Lin family is still in mourning, and the invitation cannot be delivered to their home, but actually the Lin family also participated, well, to be precise, the flowers of the Lin family participated.

  Hosting a banquet, decorating the venue would cost money, and more flowers than usual were needed. Lin Shun was clever and took advantage of his identity as a servant in the Lin family to secretly build relationships with the managers of several households. They needed flowers, so he sold them flowers.

  In the end, he sold all the flowers that could be sold in Wen Garden, and also sold the extra flowers from Lin's house and old house.

  After the Dragon Boat Festival, Lin Shun gave Lin Qing a purse of money, indicating that they had started making money.

  Lin Qingwan was overjoyed and waved her hand: "Now there's money to buy ducks."

  Lin Shunyi was taken aback, "Auntie, you really raise ducks! What do they eat? You can't feed them grain, can you?"

  "We have such a big piece of land there, after cultivating it, the tender grass will come out, can't the ducks eat? Ducks eat everything, no need to feed them grains, aren't there still grass and various insects in the field, with such a big land, are you afraid they'll starve?"

  Lin Shun scratched his head, "But I'm afraid it's hard to spare anyone, Miss. Our household is short-handed as it is."

  "Go find Fang Datong and have him assign a few people to you. The bigger kids from the Zhuangzi can also be used," Lin Qingyan sighed, "Their bodies are flawed, some farm work is too strenuous for them, but herding ducks would be much easier. Take another look around, if there are any capable children, bring them back to the manor and teach them a thing or two, let's start using them."

  The Lin family's tenants are all on a wage system, and they only get paid when they work in the mansion. Most of those children are helping their parents with work and don't get paid by the Lin family.

  So even if a family with many children relies on the Lin family, their life won't be much better.

  Lin Qingyuan has always wanted to change this situation, benefiting both others and herself. To do so, she needs to adjust the structure, as it is clearly not a good idea for them to be doing labor-intensive farm work.

  But she is now limited in ability and capital, can only be improved a little bit at a time, it is impossible to achieve overnight.

  The pond was dug, and the opening was excavated to allow the overflowing river water to flow into the pond through the newly dug ditch. The water opened in the morning, and by the second day, the pond was full of water.

  The river water also dropped slightly, and the flooded rice fields on both banks were exposed.

  The four ponds are all on the other side of the river, dug out from previously uncultivated land, about a kilometer away from the river and about 200 meters apart from each other.

  The reason for being so far apart is to maximize the use of the excavated ditch.

  A four-kilometer-long canal connects the big river with four ponds, and between them are cultivated fields, making it much easier to irrigate and drain water later.

  When the pond was full of water, Lin Shun selected four households from the village and assigned each of them to manage a pond.

  The water in the pond still needs to be settled for a few more days before fish can be released, and later the ducklings will also be given to them to manage. Under the influence of his grandfather and Zhong Daguanting, Lin Shun also likes to brainwash them before doing things, first bringing up the good things the Lin family has done for them.

  "...Madam said that any household with children aged 8 and above who can help with chores will be included in the household, and from now on, each month there will be a monthly allowance to collect. Even the lowest-ranking servant will have three hundred coins. In addition, those who manage the fish ponds well will, at harvest time, receive a share of the fish and ducks from the pond, which you can either eat or sell as you please."

  The four households were excited and asked: "Little Lin, when are we going to release the fish and ducks?"

  "In a few days, you all should first learn from the fishermen we've invited how to make feed, and when the seedlings arrive, put them in."

  "Will we still farm in the future?"

  "After that, you just focus on managing the fish pond and the crops on the embankment, and don't worry about anything else."

  Everyone was delighted to hear this, as raising fish and ducks was much easier than farming, especially for those with old injuries. Digging and plowing were physically demanding tasks, and sometimes after working for a long time, their bodies would ache all over, and they couldn't always go to Dr. Xu for medicine.

  Although the Lin family gave them free medicine, the cost of taking the medicine was more expensive than their labor, and they were also very embarrassed.

  Now they can get some easier work, although nobody says it out loud, but everyone is very happy in their hearts.

  Others were also envious, and Lin Shun secretly revealed to Fang Dasong, "I heard that Auntie meant that after the construction of Wenguan is completed, some people will be transferred there, only responsible for guarding Wenguan and doing some light work, while other heavy work will still need to be done by others."

  "Does Grandma want to buy someone?"

  Lin Shun hesitated and shook his head, "It seems that the lady doesn't have such intentions, she appears to be asking for a long-term worker."

  Fang Datong furrowed his brow, "Not signing a contract of servitude, I'm afraid it's not enough to show loyalty."

  Lin Shun nodded heavily, "I also considered it this way, but the girl's side has not been settled yet, and the Wen Garden is not built well, now it's too early to talk about these things."

  "How many people can your Wen Garden accommodate?"

  "Let's see how it goes next year, there will be at least two or three households, and at most four or five. You help me choose a few with good looks, Wenyuan entertains mostly scholars, so the requirements are higher."

  Fang Datong furrowed his brow, "You're not unaware that they've retreated from the front lines and have some injuries on them. There are a few who look decent."

  Lin Shun coughed lightly twice, "At least don't show any injuries on your face."

  Fang Datong had already counted in his heart, thinking of Lin Shun's message being quick and nimble, he couldn't help but pull him over to ask: "Besides the Wen Garden, is the young lady planning to arrange them somewhere else? I see that for this period of time, your dad has been hiring short-term workers, and those short-term workers have a tendency to develop into long-term workers."

  Lin Shun gave a thumbs up and said: "Uncle Fang, you're really able to guess this."

  "He pointed to the vacant lot by the pond: 'You see that empty space? It's been opened up now. The mistress plans to plant mulberry trees there and build a row of houses, for raising silkworms later on. When it comes time to harvest mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms, many hands will be needed. According to the mistress' intentions, from now on you'll be in charge of this plot, while the farm work will be handed over to the long-term and short-term laborers hired by our family.'"

  Fang Datong's eyes lit up, "This year's spring didn't make it, so we can only plant in winter. At that time, I'll take people to dig holes."

  Of course, Lin Qingyan did not tell Lin Guan and Zhong Daguantie about this matter, because they would not give her the money.

  Mulberry seedlings also make money. This year, the Lin family planted mulberry seedlings on the ridges of their fields, and also planted mulberry trees on about ten mu of poorer land.

  This is because the Lin family also wants to weave silk fabrics, so they have no choice but to plant them. Now, the piece of land drawn out by Lin Qingyuan has hundreds of hectares, which has become industrialized.

  Not to mention the cost of mulberry and silkworms, how much is needed just for labor? Not to mention spinning and weaving afterwards.

  Silk satin and velvet are profitable, but the cost is also high. If the Lin family were still the old Lin family, wouldn't Manager Lin just blink an eye and invest a few thousand taels?

  But now the Lin family doesn't have any cash on hand, he can't really take things out of storage and sell them, can he?

  Lin Qingwan also tactfully didn't say anything, after all, there were still five months until winter.

  While she was waiting, a document was quickly delivered to Suzhou from the capital. After Governor Zhou opened and read it, he immediately went to Lin's villa to request an audience with Lin Qingwan.

  That was a supplementary official document from the Ministry of Rites, which defined the properties of these two pieces of land. The Ministry of Rites stated that both pieces of land were the permanent property of Lin Qingyuan and Lin Yuhong, and if they had heirs in the future, they could inherit them; otherwise, the state would take them back.

  Lin Yuhong didn't mention it, Lin Qingyuan, she probably won't be able to have any more biological children in the future. As for this land, unless she adopts a son or grandson, otherwise it will only be returned to the state.

  But qualitative and quantitative are different, at least Lin Qingyan's disposal power over the land has increased again.

  Lin Qingwan accepted the official document and was overjoyed, inviting Governor Zhou to stay for dinner.

  Zhou Zhi didn't decline and sat down with a smile, sharing some of the news he had received from the imperial court with Lin Qingwan.

  This time, the Ministry of Rites re-issued the document because the Emperor scolded Chen, the Minister of Rites. It is said that during the Dragon Boat Festival, the Emperor, who was still in high spirits after the waist pack had not yet subsided, invited several senior officials to enter the palace for a drink and chat.

  As the attendant, Shi Yi naturally followed the Emperor's side. As they chatted, they pulled Shi Yi in as well because it was a private matter and didn't involve state affairs. Shi Yi put down his brush and sat at the bottom of the seat to accompany them in their conversation.

  As they talked, they mentioned the gifts that various families had sent to the palace this year. The Minister of Works was acquainted with the Lin family and helped Lin Qingwen make an impression on the Emperor by asking about the gifts the Lin family had sent to the Ministry of Rites this year.

  After sighing about the difficulties of the Lin family's uncle and niece, they talked about Lin Qingyuan's efforts to develop Jue Tian. Shi Yi couldn't help but ask if the Jue Tian was an eternal estate for the Lin family, as he seemed to have missed this point when the land was granted last year.

  The Minister of Works and the Minister of Personnel looked at each other with a sudden surge of spirit, their eyes fixed intently on the Emperor.

  The emperor was taken aback, this point he really hadn't thought of, but could he say he had forgotten? Generally, wouldn't he just bestow the title and land, and leave it to the Ministry of Rites to ask about other trivial matters before deciding?

  Chen Shangshu seems to have never come to ask me...

  The emperor could not say that he had forgotten, so he waved his hand to indicate that this was the Yongye Field, which had been defined when it was bestowed.

  If the Minister of Rites does not know about it, then either the Minister of Rites is derelict in his duties or the Ministry of Rites has not done its job.

  After a year, the emperor felt more and more precious about Lin's family property, because last year when the crops were not harvested in time, this silver arrived in time, everyone did not make trouble, and this year when the crops were not harvested in time, there was also grain allocated, and the people did not make trouble.

  As for Liu Bu, due to the abundance of the national treasury, the number of times he quarreled with his wife plummeted. He had a comfortable year and naturally would not begrudge those thirty hectares of fief land.

  The emperor was still unhappy, feeling that this was a mistake of the Ministry of Rites, and he had been made to take the blame. He even didn't clarify the nature of the fief when granting it, and I don't know if Lin Jiang noticed this point or not, nor do I know if he would scold me for being stingy in his heart...

  The emperor then lost his temper, and the next day at court he found a minor fault with Chen, the Minister of Rites, scolded him severely, deducted three months' salary from him, and ordered him to reflect on his mistakes for a month, meanwhile transferring all the duties of the Ministry of Rites to the two Deputy Ministers.

  The first thing the Ministry of Rites did was to send an urgent document to Suzhou, and then put out the emperor's fire.