The Lucky Farmgirl

Manbao’s feudal land is a bit shabby.

The Liyang Ancient City from the pre-Qin era has long become ruins, with two large villages nearby. Those two large villages are all Zhou Man’s food estates, and there are two more villages going downstream, almost reaching the Wanian County area.

Why did the Liyang County Magistrate specifically allocate this area to Zhou Man?

It’s because the neighboring Wanian County Magistrate always covets this piece of land. He thought rather than letting the Wanian County Magistrate snatch it away, it would be better to allocate it to Zhou Man as a fief.

There is also another reason, which is because of this ancient city.

He always felt that letting the Liyang Ancient City remain abandoned is a pity, but he truly lacks the ability to revitalize it. It might be better given to Zhou Man; it’s her feudal land, and if she can rebuild the ancient city, that’s naturally good. If not, at least it maintains the status quo.

They first passed by a village, which is a bit far from the road. But now the fields are only filled with low wheat shoots and wild grass, so one can see the houses from afar.

Manbao said, "That’s my food estate. This whole area is the farmland under my fief."

Mingda glanced over and nodded, "It looks very smooth. I wonder how much of this is Yongye Fields."

Yongye Fields do not need to pay state taxes, so this portion also does not need to pay taxes to the feudal lord.

Food estates collect the part that should have been state taxes, along with commercial taxes from the businesses within the fief, but currently, there are no businesses in Zhou Man’s fief, it’s all agricultural.

Further ahead is the Liyang Ancient City, not very large, with many broken walls and collapsed houses. But inside the ancient city, there’s a large market because the nearby villages trade here. Over time, it has become a fixed large market.

Currently, it’s not considered spring busy season, and there’s a market today, so many villagers are trading goods here.

Of course, this number is what Zhou Man and Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, who frequently visit the Dali Village market, think. As for the two princesses and Wei Yu, who grew up in the capital and had just passed through Yongzhou, this market looks rather shabby.

On both sides of the dirt road, some stalls are set randomly. They use wooden boards or jute cloth to lay on the ground, mostly selling vegetables, baskets, along with some jute cloth and chicken, duck, fish, eggs, and other similar items.

Both the items and the stalls can be seen in one glance.

Mingda and Changyu were seeing this kind of market for the first time, riding on horseback with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, sitting on the ground or grass, the villagers also widened their eyes upon seeing these people riding tall horses approaching.

After reacting, they immediately rolled up their stall items and retreated, some directly kneeling on the ground, lowering their heads, avoiding eye contact.

Initially planning to ride straight through, Manbao noticed the scene, jumped off her horse, and smiled at them, "We are just passing through, continue your activities as usual."

Seeing they weren’t there to evict them, the farmers regained their courage. It was an era of bravery; the people were in awe of nobility and rich folks, but not overly fearful. So everyone got up from the ground, some sitting back down, others shouting, "Young Master and Ladies, where are you headed?"

Bai Shan also dismounted, saying, "To the capital."

They froze, quickly replying, "Ah, you’ve taken the wrong path. This isn’t the official road. To take the official road, you must go back, then head south to find a main road."

Bai Shan laughed, "We know, we deliberately took this path."

He pointed to Zhou Man, saying, "This is the Liyang Township Lord."

The villagers froze again; they knew that they were part of the Liyang Township Lord’s food estates now.

People from afar also raised their heads in unison, looking over. They had always seen the Township Lord’s second niece and several brothers, but hadn’t seen the Township Lord yet.

The villagers came forward to pay respects.

Manbao allowed them to rise, introduced the two princesses, then looked at Mingda and Changyu, "Are you in a hurry to return?"

Both shook their heads, each curiously observing this market.

Honestly, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen such a small market.

Manbao then slowly strolled through the market, talking to several elderly vendors. She crouched beside one person, who immediately offered his small stool to Zhou Man. Zhou Man let Mingda sit.

She crouched herself, noticing he was selling eggs, she curiously asked, "These eggs seem small, are they from the first-year hens?"

The old man didn’t expect Zhou Man to know this, nodding repeatedly, "Yes, yes, raised chickens in autumn two years ago, first laid eggs early this year."

Manbao looked them over, thought they were quite uniform, then asked, "How do you sell them?"

The old man was slightly uneasy but honestly replied, "Three coins for two."

"What about regular-sized eggs?"

"Two coins for one."

Manbao nodded in satisfaction; this price isn’t very low, indicating that the market’s goods still have demand, although it is ultimately inferior to Yongzhou and the capital city.

"How long does it take to get from here to Liyang County? I heard that eggs in Yongzhou are sold for three coins each."

"Who isn’t saying? But walking to Yongzhou takes about three hours each way, making it a day’s trip. Even if you bring dry food, it’s still a loss."

Only then did Manbao remember, oh, they take one hour by car and horse, but walking takes about three hours?

Manbao calculated the time then turned to Mingda, saying, "Mingda, it’s decided then; we’ll build a road from your royal estate straight to New City, everyone can take this shortcut."

Mingda had no objections but was clueless about building roads, asking, "Do we need to hire people to build it?"

Manbao was familiar, "Later, I’ll organize labor in my food estate, plus some funds, covering one-third of the road. I’ll then discuss with the Liyang County Magistrate, let the County Governmental Office cover one-third, leaving the last third for you to handle."

She smiled slightly, "The road through the royal estate will occupy your land, but you’re also gaining significantly. The new road connects directly to the New City’s main street shops, effectively diverting the traffic going from Liyang, Wanian County to Yongzhou."

Bai Shan added, "Wanian County and Chang’an County are actually always crowded; housing is particularly tight in both counties. If a road opens up on this side, the journey from Yongzhou New City to the capital is reduced by over two-thirds. I see the New City hasn’t yet built city walls, so the princess can also pick some vacant land to construct some houses. Though they can be somewhat smaller, ensure a pleasant environment. Once the road is complete, they can be rented out to scholars coming to the capital for studies."

Wei Yu was a bit curious, "Is there a shortage of houses in the capital city?"

Bai Shan nodded.

"But I saw you easily bought houses in Changqing Alley. Many people rent there too."

Bai Shan laughed, "Houses in the capital are indeed hard to buy. Though Changqing Alley is at the edge of the inner city, buying a house there costs as much as buying ten similar-sized estates elsewhere."

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