Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 644 Second Update (1)
Feng Xuxu, watching their lively expressions, was like witnessing the dead come back to life. With a sip of her lips, she smiled, stood up, and patted the dirt off her hands, stomped the slightly moist soil off her shoes, turned, and bypassed the large pit, heading towards the farmland inside along the edge.
Lou Qianyu also got up and followed by her side, stepping unevenly into the fields.
As Feng Xuxu walked, she observed that this white mirabilite was not abundant, and there was even less underground. Judging by this situation, fertilization combined with changing the water channels was the best method, simple and effective, but it was uncertain whether other areas were similar to this one.
After making a small round and encountering the same problem everywhere, she saw no point in looking further. She stopped walking and turned her head to look at Lou Qianyu, who was all nerves: "Let’s go."
"Where... where to?" Lou Qianyu was startled by her sudden decision to leave and followed behind her, not yet regaining his composure.
Feng Xuxu parted her lips slightly: "With so many villages around, we can’t just inspect one and call it quits. Let’s pick another nearby village to look around."
"Indeed, sister-in-law has thought it through." Lou Qianyu now understood his sister-in-law’s doubts. Seeing that the carriage was still far away and worrying about her frail health from the walk, he called a guard over to bring the carriage closer while he and Feng Xuxu waited again.
In a while, they boarded the carriage; the imperial guards, dressed in brocade clothing, closely followed on both sides, much to Feng Xuxu’s bemusement.
The villages were very close to each other. Aboard the carriage, it took less than fifteen minutes to reach the next one. Once the carriage stopped, Feng Xuxu didn’t need anyone to help her out; she lightly jumped down and headed straight into the fields to confirm if the conditions were the same as the previous village—whether they were also saline-alkali soil.
At the edge of the field, it was indeed as she had expected—the same. The villagers, seeing many outsiders with solemn expressions and weapons at their waists, became frightened, sending women and children running home. The village elder, informed at home about the arrival of many imposing strangers, felt his legs go weak. Still, as the head of the village, he came out to see for himself. When he reached the entrance of the village and saw the land all cordoned off, he was perplexed. The guards’ appearance suggested they were from the Imperial Court, but why had they surrounded their land? Just as the elder was about to approach the fields, he was stopped by a person on the side.
The village elder said amiably, "Heh, I am the head of this village. What are you folks doing here in the fields?"
One of the brocade-clad guards glanced at him lightly: "Keep your distance. We can’t carry off your village’s land. We are here for an inspection, and we’ll leave once it’s done." After finishing with a cool tone, he looked around vigilantly.
The village elder’s face stiffened. Suddenly, a term flashed through his mind—inspection? An inspection of the soil? Could it be... After finishing his thought, the elder felt a surge of excitement and waved his hands towards the inside, shouting, "Hey, I am the head of this village, and if there’s anything—mmph mmph mmph!" Just as he was calling out, the guard who stopped him earlier swiftly covered his mouth, looking tensely at the distant Emperor to see if he had noticed anything here.
"Shut your mouth. If you anger the noble person, watch your head." The guard, seeing the elder’s eyes flicker, nodded vigorously as if frightened, then gently let go of his mouth. Once he saw the elder stay put and cause no more trouble, he completely released him.
Feng Xuxu, who was crouched down examining the soil, heard someone’s shouts from afar. She turned to see an old farmer waving at her. Glancing back at Lou Qianyu, she said, "I think he is the village head. Let him come in; I have a few questions to ask him."
