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“Madam, do you have any instructions?” Su Changping, seeing that Aunt Li was urging him on, thought that the Madam was dealing with some urgent matter, so he quickly put aside what he was doing and came over.

Su Wenyue shared her ideas with Su Changping and asked for his opinion. Not that she had no plans in mind, but after all, she had never done these things before. It was beneficial to draw on more experience; in the end, it could make things more comprehensive.

“That’s easy to address, but we must hurry with the timing. Winter bamboo shoots grow in the field, and fortunately, although it snowed yesterday, it has stopped today and the sun has come out again. If it snows again and the ground is covered with a layer of snow and ice, the earth will freeze, making it difficult to dig for bamboo shoots.”

“What Steward Su says makes sense. This is something I just thought of as well, which is why I called Steward Su over to discuss it and see what would be the best approach.”

“Based on my suggestion, it depends on how many bamboo shoots Madam needs. If not many are required, I can take some servants from home out to dig for a few days, and hire some local farmers as well. That would be enough. If Madam needs a large amount, it would be better to spread the word out so that local people can dig and bring them over for us to buy. That way, there is enough time to handle it, and the cost isn’t much, considering those shoots are abundant in bamboo forests and nobody likes to eat them. They usually just rot in the ground. Now that it’s the slack farming season, farmers have nothing to do at home, so who wouldn’t welcome an extra source of income? As long as we offer some food in exchange, plenty of people will bring them over.”

“Since I have asked Steward Su to come, naturally the quantity required won’t be small. Let’s proceed with the latter method. Steward Su, you take care of this matter. While it’s not snowing, collect as much as possible; we are not afraid of having too much,” Su Wenyue so instructed, realizing that it was indeed the experience of such an older person like Steward Su that mattered. She had not thought of the idea of purchasing, which seemed indeed to be better: it saved effort and even reduced expenses.

“If you come across any mountain produce from the countryside for sale, and it’s suitable, also buy it. I have another use for it.”

“This servant will see to it right away.” Su Changping immediately set off to carry out the task, without the slightest delay. With weather like this, it was unpredictable when it might snow again. Having the task done earlier would put his mind at ease.

Arranging for Su Changping to collect bamboo shoots was just the first step; there was much more to do next. Firstly, Su Wenyue asked Aunt Li to order some clay jars and large pots, and the next step was to organize the manpower for making bamboo shoot products. Su Wenyue called over Shu Qin and Aunt Feng to discuss, and they nearly finalized the various methods and specific matters for preparing the bamboo shoots. With such cold weather, the Han Family was bustling with activity.

Xiao Xi also brought in good news that the vegetables in the Zhuangzi greenhouse were growing well, and a batch could be harvested before the New Year, just in time for Su Wenyue to use them as New Year’s gifts.

“I was actually thinking, how could we possibly grow vegetables in this winter? I felt that Madam’s method wasn’t very reliable, but I didn’t expect that Xiao Xi would really make it happen for Madam. It’s indeed extraordinary,” Grandma Chen said in amazement. With these fresh and tender vegetables, this year’s New Year’s gifts would have an extra special touch.

At this moment, Su Wenyue was also in high spirits, as lately, one good thing followed another. Seeing Grandma Chen’s reaction, she couldn’t help but comment with a smile, “There’s nothing so extraordinary about it. Anything that can be accomplished has its own rationale, and besides, I didn’t come up with this method on my own; I read about it in a book.”

In fact, Su Wenyue learned it in her previous life, much of it thanks to Noble Consort Li. It was Noble Consort Li who had come up with the idea, and when it later became widespread, it was no longer considered extraordinary—it just hadn’t appeared yet at this time.

Thinking about it, Noble Consort Li was about the same age as her, but at this time, she hadn’t gained any fame. The same was true in her previous life; it was only one or two years later that Noble Consort Li’s renown began to spread. Su Wenyue always found this aspect a little strange because it was unusual for someone to remain obscure for more than a decade and then suddenly undergo a dramatic change in demeanor, becoming exceptionally brilliant. This scenario was oddly similar to her current situation.

With the experience of rebirth, Su Wenyue thought more deeply and became more sensitive. In her previous life, she had simply found Noble Consort Li to be shrouded in mystery and felt mainly admiration and pity for her. But now, she was curious about Noble Consort Li’s background. Could it be that Noble Consort Li had a similar bizarre experience? Were those skills and knowledge really her own, or like her, learned from others?

In Yiyang, because Han Yu left early, he arrived at Yiyang Prefecture in the morning and first visited Deng Tong. He had learned about the House from Deng Tong.

“Brother Deng, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. I must trouble you with another matter this time.”

“What are you talking about? With the friendship between you and me, there’s no question of trouble! It just so happened that someone wanted to sell a house, and I found out about it, so I kept it in mind. When I went to see it, I thought the House was quite nice, but it’s rather large. I’m not sure if you would need such a big place—a four-entry courtyard, originally built quite spacious, and it comes with a Back Garden. Next to the backyard, there’s an additional three to four acres of vacant land. I know your younger sister-in-law is hardworking; if she’s willing, the servants could cultivate it to grow some fruits and vegetables.”

Hearing Deng Tong say this, Han Yu was already somewhat interested, as many conditions met his Daughter-in-law’s requirements. The next step was to see the location and price of the House; if suitable, he would buy it sooner so they could start dealing with the following matters and ease his Daughter-in-law’s mind.

“I’ll take you to see it. Just in time to communicate with the homeowner and see if it’s a good fit. If not, we can look for another,” said Deng Tong as he led Han Yu to the location. The House was not far from his place. It was only about a quarter-hour’s ride in a horse carriage, in a location relatively close to the main street—otherwise, it wouldn’t have caught his interest.

The homeowner was already waiting there, “To tell the truth, if it weren’t for the hard times forcing me, I would have been reluctant to sell this ancestral property. The House was built with a lot of effort, and we even had a renowned artisan from Chang’an City help with the construction.”

Han Yu toured the House and was generally satisfied with almost everything. There were only some minor areas to adjust, but no significant issues. He also found the asking price reasonable and decided to buy the property without hesitation, knowing such an opportunity was rare and difficult to come by. Hesitation could mean missing out if someone else snapped it up.

“Master, the matter has been settled. Han Yu has purchased that House, and even the transfer procedures have been handled at the Yamen. As soon as it’s redecorated and cleaned, we can move in.”