Picking Up a General to Plow the Fields

Chapter 274: Running errands

So many chicks! Moreover, this was only one of the batches! There would be more than two thousand in the chicken yard and they would all be under her care!

“Of course, it’s true!” Lian Fang Zhou smiled: “But they are not just under your care when they are young, even when they aren’t cute in the future you will still have to take care of them! This matter is important so I will let your Aunt Li and Sister Xiu’er help you.
Are you willing?”

“I am willing, I am willing!” Lian Fang Qing nodded repeatedly, her small face glowing with excitement.

Third Aunt was startled: “Fang Zhou, are you being serious?”

“How could this be a joke?” Lian Fang Zhou smiled at her, “If you are free, you can come and help her!”

Third Aunt let out a happy ‘oh’.

Madam Li was also smiling.

Seeing that all of the chicks were now drinking the warm water, Lian Fang Zhou and the others gathered the bamboo troughs one by one and took them out.
Then she ordered Sun Zhang Xing and the others to leave, so only the Li family and her own family were left.

Lian Fang Zhou smiled at Lian Fang Qing and said: “Qing’er, since you have taken up this matter, you have to listen carefully to what your sister says.
From now on, you will come here three times a day to feed them.
You can’t be lazy, even if it’s windy or rainy, alright?”

“Sister, I won’t be lazy!” Lian Fang Qing vowed.
She had wanted to help her sister since a long time ago but it was pity that they hadn’t found anything suitable for her to do.
She had become so anxious in her heart and now had an opportunity to really help, how could she not take it?

Madam Li laughed and hurriedly said: “Don’t worry, the maidservants will definitely help Fourth Miss!”

Lian Fang Zhou nodded, smiling.

Letting Lian Fang Qing take responsibility for this was not a whim but a deliberate decision.

She had limited energy so she had to find people to share the burden.
Of course, it was better if the person sharing the burden was one of her own.
Qing’er was also not young anymore and it was time to learn how to contribute to the family.

Because the chicks had just finished drinking, it would be a while before they could feed them.
Lian Fang Zhou told her sister and Madam Li to take some precautions, such as cleaning the coops, how to ventilate the rooms, how to keep the chicks clean, and how to feed them.
Lian Fang Qing nodded solemnly to each instruction, but Third Aunt and Madam Li were stunned.
They both laughed and said that they had never known there was so many important considerations when raising chickens.

Third Aunt had always liked to kick up a fuss, so she couldn’t help but mutter: “Fang Zhou, who knows where you learned all of these, how can you remember it all? Which household in our village has not raised chickens? I haven’t seen anything so troublesome but they all still grow and lay eggs?”

Although Madam Li did not say anything, her expression clearly expressed the same thoughts.

Lian Fang Zhou felt that this was a good learning opportunity and said with a serious expression: “Third Aunt, you are wrong to say it is ridiculous! Although every household raises chickens, none of them have so many! Think about it, which one is raising hundreds or thousands of them? Maybe seven or eight, twenty or thirty at most! If there are only a few, of course you don’t have to pay attention too much but we’re raising thousands, it’s completely different.
If there is a disease outbreak, the loss would be huge! Do you understand?”

Madam Li’s heart stopped and she hurriedly said: “Yes, yes, this servant understands! What does this servant know, I will do as the Miss says!”

“That’s right, my sister is correct! Don’t worry, Sister, we will do what sister says!” Lian Fang Qing said quickly.
She laughed: “I think my sister is tired from talking so much! Write them down and I will read them a few more times when I’m free so I won’t forget them!”

“You’ve reminded me!” Lian Fang Zhou smiled at her, “That is a good idea, I will start writing them tonight!” She glanced at Ah Jian.
She was not used to writing traditional characters yet so she would dictate her instructions to Ah Jian.

This would just so happen to also summarize the relevant knowledge, which was not bad.

She would bind another booklet for Fang Qing and let her keep a diary, writing down what problems occur and how they solved them.
It would be precious experience for the future…

Madam Li couldn’t help but glance at Lian Fang Qing enviously.
Smiling, she said: “I didn’t expect Fourth Miss to be literate and able to write! That is amazing!”

Lian Fang Qing raised her eyebrows, looking smug, but she smiled: “What’s the matter with this? If Sister Xiu’er doesn’t dislike it, I can teach Sister Xiu’er to recognize a few words too!”

Madam Li was so surprised she cried out “Really?!” with joy before immediately restricting her expression and glancing at Lian Fang Zhou.

Lian Fang Zhou had naturally heard them but pretended not to.
Lian Fang Qing’s time was left to her.
If Zhang Xiu’er was smart and picked up things quickly, it wasn’t too late for her to learn.
It was the same for Zhang Liang.

She was very satisfied with the performance of the Zhang family.
If they could be well trained, they would be even more useful in the future.

“Then thank you, Fourth Miss!” Seeing that Lian Fang Zhou hadn’t objected, Madam Li gave Lian Fang Qing a small smile and thanked her sincerely.

“No thanks, no thanks!” Sister Xiu’er would become her student, Lian Fang Qing was happy with this.

After talking for a while, Lian Fang Zhou felt it was time to start feeding.
She and the others filled up the special tin plates with millet and spread them on specially made reed mats for the chicks to peck at.

Each chicken coop had ten of these.
When the millet fell on the reed mats, it could still be eaten by the chicks instead of falling through the gaps and being wasted.

When the feeding was complete, the reed mats and tin pans were taken away to be cleaned and dried.

By the time they finished, the chicks were full and satisfied.
Each one was making tiny contented sounds as they squeezed together to sleep.

Lian Fang Zhou and the others quietly retreated.

Smiling at Lian Fang Qing, Lian Fang Zhou said: “I will join you for the next few days but I will leave it to you in the future!”

Lian Fang Qing liked the feeling of having a ‘heavy responsibility’ very much and nodded happily.

After leaving the coops, Lian Fang Zhou, Ah Jian, and Lian Ze went to see the cotton seed nursery.
The sprouts were now showing a little bit of green and the sight from a distance was very gratifying.

The young seedlings still needed to be carefully nurtured and Lian Fang Zhou had already explained a lot to Qin Feng.
They would need to wait until the middle of spring to start transplanting.

Before that, it was time to plant the rice seedlings.

Qin Feng was also in charge of this and Lian Fang Zhou only needed to come by to take a look once in a while.

For now, she could take a break from her busy schedule and relax.

However, this relaxation was not completely free, there were still many things she had to worry about in her heart.

Seeing that the cotton seedlings had broken out of the ground, Lian Fang Zhou gave Su Zi Ji fifty taels of silver and asked him to go to the big workshop in Nanchang Prefecture to study the spinning wheels and looms and gain some work experience.
The structure must be fully understood before he returned in three months.

As for the money, he would keep an account of what he spent and report back if it was not enough.

TN: The google translation said April 20th but I’m not a fan of using specific modern dates in a historical setting, so I just said mid spring.