The wicked sister-in-law is in charge; meals include fish and shrimp.

Chapter 434 Pepper Planting Craze

May I ask your name?

After inviting the person inside, Yoon Eun politely asked a question.

Wen Luozhi then realized that she hadn't given herself a proper name since arriving here; she had only told people that her surname was Wen.

After thinking for a moment, she casually replied, "My surname is Wen, and my given name is Luozi. You can address me as you like, Mayor."

The mayor nodded and then asked her what she meant by what she had said at the door earlier.

Wen Luozhi took a sip of water and told him about the land being broken up outside the town.

When the town mayor heard that she was going to plant those small plots of land outside the town, he immediately perked up, because he had also heard that it paid fifty coins a day and included lunch.

To verify its authenticity, he even had someone investigate, and it was indeed not a scam.

The two talked for almost half an hour, and the town mayor could no longer contain himself.

"Mayor, what do you think of my idea?"

As soon as Wen Luozhi finished speaking, the town resident excitedly stood up, his voice trembling, "Good! Good!"

"But Mr. Wen, aren't you worried that this thing called Sichuan peppercorn won't grow? We don't want to lose money in the end."

Yin En was a little worried. The other party was from out of town. No matter how much he wanted the people in the town to make money, he couldn't let others lose money. He still had to make things clear.

Wen Luozhi smiled and told him not to worry, only saying that she wouldn't do anything she wasn't sure of.

In this way, it won't just be those small plots of land outside the town that have land; people in the town who have land can also grow Sichuan pepper.

One method is to grow it on one's own land. She sells the pepper seedlings at the lowest price, and then sells the mature peppers back to her. This method has a higher selling price and is suitable for people who own land.

Another option is for her to rent land and then have someone else farm it for her. In this case, she pays the labor costs to hire people, which is suitable for people who don't own land.

The town mayor was relieved and felt that what she said was entirely feasible.

Moreover, a daily wage of one hundred coins is quite high; all that's required is to focus one's mind on the land.

She still has to plant pepper seedlings tomorrow. The town mayor made an appointment with her to inform the people in the town about this at the job posting office the day after tomorrow.

Those working in the fields knew in advance that more than half of them would be planting Sichuan pepper on their own land, and the money they had earned these days should be enough to buy Sichuan pepper seedlings.

Since the harvest from planting anything in the field is not very good, we might as well go all out and try something new. In any case, the boss from out of town is quite credible.

With the mayor's agreement, they had no more concerns.

Two days later, the town mayor spoke at the recruitment office and wrote it down, which was then posted throughout the town to ensure that everyone knew about it.

With the town mayor vouching for them, no one was afraid. Besides, it was a real thing that Wen Luozhi hired people, paid them, and provided them with meals.

The poor people were so afraid of being poor that they all wanted to give it a try, and for a time a craze for planting Sichuan peppercorns swept through the town.

Within a month, both the unclaimed and owned plots of land outside the town were planted with Sichuan peppercorns, and everyone rushed to the fields at dawn.

Unlike the ones they planted in previous years, the pepper seedlings grew extremely fast, almost visible to the naked eye, and everyone was happy to finally feel a sense of accomplishment.

Whenever they had free time, people would go to the fields to tend to the Sichuan peppercorns, and there were far fewer people strolling around the streets.

Fang Da and his group's stall changed from a mobile stall to a fixed stall, and the variety of food they offered also increased.

Of the three brothers, Wei Yi lived the most comfortable and carefree life.

The old widower left him a rather large plot of land, which he immediately rented out.

Wen Luozhi paid a high rent; he never expected that he could make a profit from what was about to become wasteland.

Now that he had some savings and a way to make money, Fang Da and Fang Er noticed that he didn't seem to be limping as much as before.

The first ones planted on the broken ground have grown into pepper trees, and the thorns that were originally soft have hardened.

Fang Da and his friends, having nothing better to do, took a look around and noticed a strange, indescribable smell emanating from the tip of their noses.

"Sir, what exactly is this Sichuan pepper that you told us to grow? How come an ounce can sell for twenty coins?"

He had only ever seen things sold by weight, never by ounce. What kind of good stuff could be so expensive?

Wen Luozhi described it to him and told him that she usually added it to her cooking, but there was so little that she couldn't taste it.

Seeing that he still seemed to understand but not quite, she said on the spot, "Go to town and buy a few rabbits and a fish later. I'll cook it for you and you'll see."

Fang Da immediately took action, and he was the most enthusiastic when Wen Luozhi wanted to cook.

During this period, both he and Fang Dawei gained weight, as did Grandma Mi and her grandson Songyin, who often got to eat with them.

Wen Luozhi only needed to prepare the seasonings and stir-fry the vegetables, because Fang Da and the others were very diligent in handling the ingredients and basically competed to do it.

A large bowl of Sichuan pepper fish and a large bowl of spicy rabbit meat were the lunch dishes. Fang Da finally gained a concrete understanding of Sichuan peppercorns after tasting them.

The tingling sensation is incredibly satisfying, and the fiery feeling from the tongue is simply irresistible; you can't do without either of them.

Now he knew why they could sell it by weight; not only was it amazing, but the food also tasted so good.

Food is the most important thing for people, and everyone is willing to put in the most effort when it comes to eating. Eating is always the most important thing.

Helian Yu and his team at the Black Mountain Mine have already started planting watermelon seedlings. It's Ye Nanqiao's first time growing fruit, so she's being very careful throughout the process.

The head official watched anxiously from the edge of the field, but knowing that they would be able to eat fruit in the summer, he could only watch patiently.

Besides watermelon, there are also cantaloupe and strawberry as fruits, and lettuce and bean sprouts are the fastest-growing vegetables.

By the time the lettuce seedlings were planted, the foreman's patience had run out. Half a day had already passed, and the family still had half a day's work to do at the mine.

Hearing Ye Nanqiao say that the mung bean sprouts would be ready to serve in four or five days, the head constable clenched his fists and waited for them for another hour.

After all, this way you can save money by having a dish, and your own wallet will also get a little bigger.

By the time they finished working in the fields and went to the mine, it was already very late. As soon as Ye Nanqiao and her two sisters-in-law arrived, they started cooking, which was the easiest job at the mine.

Helian Yu and Helian Qiaosong also started doing the work they had done before, because it brought benefits to the guards and they kept sending them money, even if it was small.

If you're a little tactful and say a few nice things, the head constable will be very easy to talk to if he's in a good mood.

The other miners were extremely envious but helpless, since their relatives and friends had avoided them like the plague ever since they were exiled.

Unlike the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, even when exiled, there were people who would lend a helping hand.

Half a month later, Wen Luozhi came to the mine again to deliver things.

Each time, she brought more and more things to the head constable than the last. Besides the fact that she could drink and eat meat at the mine, her visit was the thing that made the head constable happiest.

Once they got to know each other, he stopped pretending and directly asked, bypassing everyone else, "What good stuff did you bring me this time?"

His eyes sparkled as he looked at Wen Luozhi with anticipation. Not far away, Helian Zhiyan had now become so accustomed to talking to Helian Yu and the others.

Of course, to avoid arousing suspicion, the girl would also say a few words to others.

Wen Luozhi gave him a mysterious smile, and this time she unloaded a basket from the back of the carriage, which was covered with a layer of vegetables as usual.

"There are so many good things in here, and at the very bottom there's a deck of cards and dice. Enjoy your meal and have fun, sir," she whispered.

The head constable was beaming with joy as he took the basket from her hands.

This is wonderful! We have plenty to eat, drink, and play with! This is like living in paradise.

He carried the basket into the cave, and when someone offered to help him, he dodged them, saying, "You guys carry other vegetables, I can carry it myself."