Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 164 - 162: Jokes and Laughter

Chapter 164: Chapter 162: Jokes and Laughter

After dinner, Xiao’er and Shen Chengyao planned to visit the newly purchased flower field.

Shangguan Xuanyi had nothing to do in the afternoon, so he came along as well.

The flower field had long been poorly managed, showing signs of decay.

Otherwise, the First Prince wouldn’t have been willing to sell it.

Xiao’er expected it wouldn’t be too good, but didn’t realize the situation was this severe.

Not a single flower was left standing! No! Not even a green leaf was spared.

Shen Chengyao saw either bare land or ruined branches and leaves, he couldn’t deny his disappointment.

New Year was only a few months away, and it was an excellent time to start planting flowers with great care.

"There’s still time before the New Year. If we quickly import some plants and cultivate them properly, we can still make a profit before the year ends." Shangguan Xuanyi knew this was necessary, thus, despite the decay of the flower field, he didn’t dismantle the greenhouse, and instead, treated the flower field as a normal wasteland.

Hearing this, Xiao’er nodded.

For New Year, many wealthy families like to buy flowers to decorate their homes, making them more vibrant and festive.

Although many things couldn’t be achieved this year, her goal for the next year was to inspire the idle ladies and young ladies of the Imperial Capital to fall in love with the art of flower arrangement.

To bring the flowers from this field into thousands of households!

To transform this decayed flower field into one teeming with life, beautiful to behold, and generating a steady income!

Anyway, with space under control, she could rule the world!

"Xiao Fuzi knows some flower farmers; we can ask him for help if needed." The Imperial Palace needed a lot of flowers for tribute each year; these were selected and purchased from various large flower fields.

Xiao’er nodded.

Although the flowers in the space were very comprehensive, it was necessary to throw some silver around for appearances’ sake.

She couldn’t just conjure up every flower out of thin air!

On the way, Xiao’er remembered seeing a large grassland and a small forest by the river, so she asked, "Didn’t we pass a river on our way here? Wasn’t one side of that river just grassland and a small forest?"

"Yes." Shangguan Xuanyi nodded for her to continue.

"Brother Shangguan, do you know if that grassland and small forest are unowned?"

"It is unowned, but that forest can’t be cut down. It’s used to block the yellow fog."

Yellow fog? A sandstorm?

So, the people of this era knew to use forests to resist wind and sand!

Truly, ancient wisdom should not be underestimated!

"I think such a good grassland and forest is a waste if it sits empty."

"That forest already blocks a considerable amount of wind and sand for the Imperial Capital each year, how can that be wasteful?" Shangguan Xuanyi pretended not to understand her meaning, playfully teasing.

Xiao’er: When did this man become so uncooperative!

"It can be even less wasteful! If it belonged to me, I could make the trees in that forest grow even taller and sturdier, blocking more wind and sand!"

"I think they’re tall and sturdy enough as they are now!" Shangguan Xuanyi remained unmoved.

Xiao Fuzi who was following behind looked at him with a "are you sick, master?" kind of glance.

Xiao’er also gave him a "are you insane?" kind of look, "Brother Shangguan, the wind is strong here, you wouldn’t have caught a cold, would you?"

So, was he feverish and delirious?

Knowing Shangguan Xuanyi, how could he possibly not understand the implications of Xiao’er’s words!

His rare playful mood was obliterated by their incomprehensible looks and words!

What a joke!

"What are you babbling about?" Shangguan Xuanyi tapped Xiao’er’s head with the end of his fan.

"You’re the weird one, and you’re blaming me!" Xiao’er rubbed the spot where she was tapped, grumbling a bit.

Shangguan Xuanyi sighed and looked up to the sky; he really should blame himself!

"Xiao’er, what’s with your attitude today!" Shen Chengyao was taken aback. His normally sensible daughter was acting so wildly.

"I’m sorry, I said the wrong thing." Xiao’er immediately apologized, showing a good attitude.

Xiao Fuzi’s heart was in his throat. Who dared to speak to the master like that! It was as if they were courting death!

"All right! I won’t tease you anymore! Tell me about your plans." Shangguan Xuanyi saw that Xiao’er was being reprimanded and changed the topic.

Shen Chengyao breathed a sigh of relief, they were just joking.

Xiao Fuzi was stunned! The master didn’t get angry when he was called abnormal? He must have used all his tolerance on Miss Xiao’er!

And the master could joke with people? This was the first time he had ever seen it!

Once again, he refreshed the importance of Xiao’er in Shangguan Xuanyi’s heart.

"I want to buy it and start a small ranch. It’s a shame not to utilize such a good field! Raising some cows, sheep, and roe deers, their dung can act as fertilizer for the trees, making them taller and stronger! This is beneficial in two ways!"

"Protection forest?" This was an apt term.

"Yes, forests that play a role in wind resistance, bank protection, shielding, greening, wind-blown sand control, reducing wind speed, soil and water conservation, water source maintenance, increasing air humidity, improving the environment, and maintaining ecological balance, whether they are natural or man-made, are called protection forests."

The trees by the river were growing haphazardly, of course, she knew it was a natural forest.

The people here have the sense to protect the environment which is good, but this might be because the area is prone to wind and sand, and people realized the benefits of the forest.

Not necessarily the same for other forests.

No matter what, the environment needs to be protected consciously and improved proactively.

As clever as Shangguan Xuanyi, surely if she started the discussion, he could understand the rest!

Shangguan Xuanyi didn’t let Xiao’er down. After hearing these words, his eyes lit up. As he was walking, he began to digest the meaning behind her words and the new terms she used.

The benefits of the protection forest she mentioned were numerous. The worst places for wind and sand in the Minze Dynasty weren’t in the Imperial Capital. Why didn’t he think of tree planting to improve this situation before!

However, if he didn’t understand, he would ask.

"What do you mean by water source maintenance, soil and water conservation, increasing air humidity, and maintaining ecological balance? What’s the use of them?"

"Forests and turf can maintain water sources since a tree’s canopy can catch the rainfall or snow, and the layers of dead branches and leaves can absorb water, while the soil in the woodland can store and infiltrate precipitation. You know when there’s a flood, isn’t the soil in places with grass and trees less easily washed away? So... the air humidity refers to..." Xiao’er explained patiently.

"What do you think we should do to maximize the effect of man-made forests?"

"The best outcome would be to save manpower and resources with a high survival rate of the planted trees, and that the grown forest density, height, root depth can all function well. It depends on the specific location, to see what it needs."

Shangguan Xuanyi nodded, indicating her to continue.

"If we need to prevent wind-blown sand, then..." Xiao’er intended to explain in detail, but she was getting dry due to speaking for so long. It wasn’t something that she could finish all at once, after talking for a while, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

"I’ll write it down for you later, Brother Shangguan."

"Girl, stop talking first, when you’re free, write a note..." They both said simultaneously.

Shangguan Xuanyi noticed Xiao’er was swallowing more due to speaking so much. He figured she was getting dry, which was why he called a stop.

It seems like he was too anxious!

"Pour a cup of tea for Miss Xiao’er, please." Luckily, there was tea in the carriage.

Xiao Fuzi hurriedly took the order and went off.