Ch. 306..310: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 306-310

Chapter 306: Chapter 306 Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land (2)_1

Little girl He Yue was eating candy, she was lively and daring to talk with everyone, her face full of constant laughter. "Mom, will we have blankets to cover tonight?"

"Yes," said her second aunt by marriage, Chun Ling, her eyes reddening. Their old home was so poor. Amid the chaos, even the slightest luxury would be plundered by the others, even the quilt from her dowry had been snatched away. At night, the whole family had to huddle together for warmth.

Poor little girl, she must be scared of the cold.

"We’ll have thick blankets at night, so you won’t be cold," Lin Ziyin said, chuckling and patting her on the head.

Upon hearing this, He Yue beamed even brighter.

"All these new models?" He Dingfeng was stunned when he saw the furniture that had been made.

"They were all designed by Ziyin. You and your uncle and cousin are skilled craftsmen, so it’s mainly up to you," said Lin Changshu with a smile. "We were just worrying about not being able to keep up, and then you guys arrived. It’s like coal in the snow."

"We’ll give it a try." He Dingfan, who loved woodworking, became eager to work the moment he saw the design.

The men started to work. Despite having a limp, He Fuxing’s craftsmanship wasn’t affected.

He was already skilled at carpentry, so even after some time off, his skills remained impeccable.

After a while, Lin Ziyin joined them. Seeing the men working energetically, she watched silently for a moment before walking over to He Fuxing. "Uncle, you can take a break. I have something to say," she said.

"What is it, you tell me." He Fuxing and his crew were so engrossed in their work that they were reluctant to put it aside.

"Since you’ve just arrived and don’t have any work to do here, life must be hard." Lin Ziyin added.

On hearing this, He Dingfan and the others’ work slowed down, their faces showed bitterness. It’s hard to find work in the cold winter, and they were helpless.

"How about this?" Lin Ziyin proposed her plan."Your aunt’s health is not good, so she should stay home and take care of the children and cook. The two cousin-in-laws will temporarily help my older sister make wedding clothes. After things settle down, they can help out at the Dim Sum Store for a while. As for Uncle and my cousins, you guys have quite the woodworking skills. I think you should make furniture and sell it. I will provide some wood."

"Sell furniture?" He Dingyi was somewhat stunned. "With our skills?"

"Exactly, with your skills. As a matter of fact, woodworking has many intricacies. As long as you’re good at it and think creatively, you can make a lot of different things. Each cupboard, each vanity has various shapes and modifications. You can research them."

"Can our craftsmanship really make it?" He Fuxing asked with uncertainty.

"Definitely. And I have one more thing to ask for your opinions on," Lin Ziyin continued.

"Go ahead," He Dingfeng urged her.

"If you want to expand your business, Uncle, it would be best to give Prince a part of the profits," Lin Ziyin said, smiling. "Because these bedding fillers can only be completed with the help of Prince’s men."

"Do business with the Prince?" He Fuxing almost fainted in shock.

"Uncle, you don’t need to worry about how the Prince will react, your job is to make furniture. As for persuading the Prince, you can leave it to me," Lin Ziyin said.

"Fine, let’s do it this way. We’ll give Prince fifty percent of the profits, the He Family will get thirty percent, and the remaining twenty percent will go to you." Following some thoughts, He Fuxing said.

Seeing that Lin Ziyin wanted to speak, he continued, "The furniture designs are all yours; we can’t just take them. As you said, business is business, and favours are favours."

Chapter 307: Chapter 307 Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land (3)_1

"Your share of three-tenths is too small." Lin Ziyin pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, Prince gets four-tenths, you get four-tenths, and I take the remaining two-tenths."

Upon hearing this, He Fuxing and his son glanced at each other. How dare they assume equal share as the Prince? However, seeing that Lin Ziyin was persistent, they reluctantly agreed in the end.

When it came to their future livelihoods, the He family duo were determined to work hard and conduct thorough research.

In the evening, after having dinner at the Lin family’s house, the He family took a mule cart to the courtyard they were going to stay in.

There were fewer people living in this courtyard. It was mainly inhabited by Jue Yuan and some other monks who arrived later. Despite the many rooms, there was still enough room for the dozen members of the He family.

Before they arrived, someone had already lit the fire in their room, so it felt warm when they entered.

"What a big house." The children ran around frantically in the house.

"Tomorrow, send the two of them to live at the nearby private school. The teacher lives close by. You should all take care of them in the meantime." Lin Ziyin said with a smile.

"Alright, we understand." The children’s aunt replied, wiping away her tears.

"Bring the rice and flour in." Lin Ziyin instructed.

Yu Shaohui and Qiaoqiao brought in the food they had brought.

The He family saw a big bag of white flour, a bag of rice, some beans and black flour, and a full range of meat, vegetables and sweet potatoes.

"Why did you bring so much?" He Fuxing said uneasily.

"You have many mouths to feed, don’t want the children to suffer." Lin Ziyin looked at the thin, pale children and felt a pang in her heart, "Even adults should maintain their strength so they can work. The rest will be up to you."

"Ah." He Fuxing looked at his wife, children and grandchildren, and his heart ached. They had suffered so much living in the old house over the years. He knew all too well the hardship they had endured, but in order to survive, he never had the courage to take the first step.

Now that they had found comfort and fortune with his niece, he resolved that he would never let her down in the future.

"It’s getting late, we should head back." Lin Ziyin said, "After spring starts, you can buy some land here and settle down."

The He family escorted her to the mule cart and only returned to the house when they could no longer see her in the distance.

After He Fuxing relayed what Lin Ziyin had said in the afternoon, the He family shed tears of excitement, hopeful for their future.

The next morning, having stayed up all night, the He family was woken by the hustle outside before they could wake up on their own.

They rushed out of the door to the training ground and saw a number of villagers already practicing and warming up in the snow.

"Uncle." Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou came over to greet them.

"What’s happening?" He Dingfan looked around in confusion. There were men, women, the old and the young all training, even the Prince had brought his soldiers over.

"Forgot to tell you, everyone in Shili Village is required to practice martial arts." Lin Changshu answered, they could only go home to eat or go off to work after the practice.

"Can we also come here to practice?" He Dingfan asked.

"Changshu, who is this man?" Some villagers who were there for the work yesterday did not recognize the He family.

Lin Changshu introduced them to everyone, "These are my cousins, and the older one there is my uncle."

Soon, many people started calling Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou their brothers and the He family members their uncles. Seeing their enthusiasm, the He family also joined the group. Some outgoing villagers explained why they practiced martial arts.

Chapter 308: Chapter 308 Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land (4)_1

So now there were people lurking in the shadows with designs on the Lin family? Upon hearing this, the He brothers immediately sprang into action. Even He Fuxing who had difficulty moving his legs didn’t idle around, he swung his upper limbs vigorously, working out along with the rest.

He Ruijin and He Ruiyin seemed to have joined the younger troops, whereas Chun Ling and Guihua, their sister-in-laws, stood a bit embarrassed at the side.

Lin Ziyin had no time to manage them, she was being constantly pestered by Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan.

Soldiers learning tactics from her were taking it all extremely seriously, giving their all to every single move. After heading back, they practiced continuously. This way, they achieved half the desired results without much trouble.

"Prince, can you help me get hold of some wolves?" Lin Ziyin took advantage of a break to ask Chu Suifeng.

"You want to keep dogs?" Chu Suifeng asked, looking at her.

"It’s not for me, I’m thinking for your sake," said Lin Ziyin. "Given that we’re friends, I’ll offer you some advice. In warfare, having war dogs is actually of utmost importance. And it’s best if there are designated people to look after them. That way, the coordination between dogs and soldiers will be higher."

"War dogs?" Chu Suifeng repeated the newly learned term.

"Yes, war dogs have a sharp sense of smell. If used for patrols, they will certainly be more vigilant than people. Because they don’t just identify objects based on hearing, but rely more on their smell. They can recognize more than 8,000 scents, and if their owner is under threat, well-trained war dogs will do everything in their power to save their owners." Lin Ziyin tried her best to convince him.

Actually, she put so much effort into persuading Chu Suifeng, partly for his own good, and partly for her own cause. Had there been war dogs at the property that night, the enemy would not have been able to take advantage. As the Lin family continued to grow, they increasingly needed people to ensure security against theft and robbery.

"Get some dogs ready." Chu Suifeng ordered Congyi.

"We need puppies. Not adult dogs." Lin Ziyin added, smiling.

Congyi paused for a moment, quietly agreed, then left.

"Prince, I want to discuss a business proposal with you," Lin Ziyin added.

"You sure have a lot of ideas." Si Jinhan interrupted with a laugh, "Must be some trick, how come I never see you coming over with good deeds?"

"Well, that’s because you’re not the Prince." Lin Ziyin bluntly interrupted him.

"Speak!" Chu Suifeng was open-minded. The Northern Land was short of cash and if Lin Ziyin kept finding ways to bring in more money, of course, he would be delighted. The ultimate goal was to pocket every cash coin from all the merchants coming and going to the north and south.

"We plan to open a furniture factory, but we need the Prince to support us with some small parts. We’ll give the Prince a 40% share," Lin Ziyin responded while holding up four fingers.

"Knew you were up to no good." Si Jinhan laughed.

"Wrong! What I’m asking for might turn out to be a good thing for the Prince," Lin Ziyin retorted.

"Are you withholding something good from me?" Chu Suifeng came close to her, with a menacing stare, "You really are a troublemaker."

"That’s not fair, Prince! How would I know what you need!" Lin Ziyin played dumb. She wasn’t one to stick her nose into everything without considering the benefits.

"Is it the furniture we made yesterday?" Chu Suifeng asked. "Who would transport furniture from so far away?"

"Wrong, Prince," Lin Ziyin laughed in return. "The furniture we make can be disassembled and reassembled."

"Are you not afraid of people learning how to do this? This doesn’t seem like a very technical thing to do," Chu Suifeng didn’t let himself be fooled.

Chapter 309: Chapter 309 Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land (5)_1

"They can learn the other stuff, but they definitely won’t be able to learn about the inner parts." Lin Ziyin replied with a smile. "Besides, there are quite a few wealthy people in our Northern Land provinces."

"One of these days, all the rich folks in Feng City are going to hate you," Si Jinhan joked.

"I hope so," Lin Ziyin replied with a subtle smile, "As long as their silver turns into mine, I don’t mind."

"Draw out the things you are going to use," Chu Suifeng responded.

Lin Ziyin smiled and passed over the design diagram.

"Forty percent, it seems like this prince has lost a lot. With so much iron, you have quite an appetite." Chu Suifeng felt disappointed when he saw the design diagram.

"Forty percent, it’s pure profit." Lin Ziyin answered with a faint smile, "Of course, the materials cost money; it’s not like I’m asking for your iron for free."

A slight smirk tugged at the corners of Chu Suifeng’s mouth, fortunately, he had several iron mines.

With this, the business deal was settled.

After returning to the Lin Family for breakfast, Lin Ziyin didn’t run off this time. Instead, she continued discussing strategies and tactics with Chu Suifeng, Si Jinhan, and Situ Gong. Under her guidance and empowerment, the three found it greatly beneficial.

"Master Hui Zhen said you wanted seafood?" Chu Suifeng suddenly broached another topic as the meeting ended.

"It’s not that I want seafood, it’s that I promised Master Hui Zhen to cook him a seafood meal. He said he prepared the ingredients himself," Lin Ziyin replied, cheekily dodging the main issue.

"Besides being vast and rich in resources, the Northern Land has many coastal areas. The lifestyle of coastal fishermen is even tougher, do you have any ways to help alleviate this?" Chu Suifeng asked thoughtfully.

"Ah, Prince, I’m just a simple peasant lady..." Her words were cut short by the combined glares of the three men across the table.

"Twenty percent," Chu Suifeng held up his fingers.

"What’s this twenty percent?" Lin Ziyin looked at him confused.

"As long as you can improve the lives of the fishermen, this prince promises that you’ll make twenty percent profit on anything the fishermen sell," Chu Suifeng declared.

"Well, it’s not like there aren’t any solutions," Lin Ziyin replied sheepishly.

Seeing money in their minds, Si Jinhan and the others concurrently thought of the same phrase: money is king.

"The Northern Land doesn’t have much, but it does have plenty of ice. Dig some more ice pits to store the seafood. Many types of seafood products can be dried and sold," Lin Ziyin suggested.

"Enough of your nonsense, going out to sea is the most dangerous thing for fishermen," Chu Suifeng interrupted.

"We can cultivate on the shore, seaweed, sea lettuce, kelp, algae, and fish and shrimp can all be artificially bred. Of course, I don’t know much about breeding, but experience comes from learning. How will we know if it works, if we don’t try?" Lin Ziyin suggested.

She wasn’t lying; she wasn’t omnipotent. Even though she had eaten a countless variety of seafood and seen others cultivate it, she had never done it herself. How would she know how it’s done?

"The things in the sea taste strong and are often not liked by ordinary people. How could you sell them even if you have them?" Chu Suifeng posed a second challenge.

"Prince, a moment ago you were not willing to listen to how they’re sold," Lin Ziyin replied indignantly.

"Now this prince is interested," Chu Suifeng stared at her.

After some time, Lin Ziyin had grown less fearful of this stern-faced prince. After all, she wasn’t a hardened criminal; Chu Suifeng wouldn’t really harm her.

"As long as the passing merchants see the marvels of seafood, they’ll be tempted. Coupled with dry preservation methods, and giving cooking service, there will definitely be willing buyers. Especially for seaweed and kelp and other plants, the demand will certainly be very high by then," Lin Ziyin didn’t mention the specific method of removing the smell, but she did offer hope.

 

Chapter 310: Chapter 310 Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land (6)_1

After cooperating so many times, Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan knew she wouldn’t speak without reason.

"Peasants cultivating crops will inevitably threaten the interests of the wealthy families. What is your solution to prevent this?" asked Chu Suifeng.

As a member of the aristocracy, Si Jinhan, in fact, had inherently resented the Lin Ziyin’s land cultivation. So one could imagine the kind of resistance this might face from the other wealthy families.

"Peasants and aristocrats are from different classes. What can I do to mitigate their rivalry? However, the phrase ’a wealthy populace leads to a powerful country’ isn’t just lip service. The aristocracy will surely align with the Prince on certain matters of interest. But have you ever thought about how much these aristocrats can actually benefit the Prince? The Prince once told me that every citizen in his fiefdom should be his subject. They live worry-free only because of the Prince’s patronage. Clearing fields for cultivation may indeed compromise their interests, but in the grand scheme of things, it would ultimately profit the Prince," replied Lin Ziyin, who appeared rather fed up with the topic.

"What’s the ideal amount of land one person should be able to cultivate?" asked Chu Suifeng.

"This falls under the Prince’s discretion - I, as a mere woman, am not in a position to partake in such discussions," Lin Ziyin replied indifferently. "I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After speaking, she stood up, bid farewell to the others in the room, and left directly.

"She really is clever, stirring things up and then promptly leaving," commented Si Jinhan with a wry smile.

"What if we limit each person to no more than five acres, and citizens cannot cultivate more than eight acres? Will that work?" Chu Suifeng asked after much consideration.

"That might work. However, it’s perfectly reasonable for the Prince to be concerned. There will surely be some pushback," Situ Gong replied with a worried look.

"The fiefdom is mine. Surely I wouldn’t let them intimidate me," Chu Suifeng’s face turned icy cold.

Situ Gong and Si Jinhan were taken aback, knowing that the Prince was determined to rectify the ongoing issues.

Indeed, for a long time, many wealthy families and aristocrats in the Northern Land have been sheltered by the Prince. These folks, who are all about indulgence, have always turned a blind eye to the Prince’s predicaments, never lending a helping hand. Instead, they’ve been kicking him while he’s down behind his back.

Perhaps this land cultivation initiative presents a great opportunity.

"Prince, it is our turn." After Lin Ziyin had left, two beautiful girls from the Lin family appeared.

"When Lin Ziyin returns, you two will stay by her side. If a single hair on her head gets harmed, don’t bother coming back to the Prince’s Residence," Chu Suifeng ordered coldly.

"Yes, Prince," replied Hong Ying and Lun Luo, startled. They were trained from a young age in all manner of disciplines, including martial arts and medicine, and were skilled hidden guards in the Prince’s Residence. When they heard that they were to protect a girl from the countryside, they were somewhat displeased.

But given the attitude of the Prince, it was clear that he cared a lot about this girl. They simply couldn’t afford to be sloppy.

Lin Ziyin had no idea that Chu Suifeng had arranged for these maids, and she continued on her way to the workshop with Qiaoqiao. She intended to inform her uncle’s family that the deal had been successful, so they could rest easy.

"Don’t touch anything; behave well and perhaps a master may be willing to take you in." Just before leaving Ziyin’s estate, a commotion could be heard from the village’s entrance.

Shili Village was quiet, because at this time most people were off to work, and the children were at school. Those left behind were either the elderly or the lazy good-for-nothings.

The officer responsible for transporting prisoners was puzzled. The last time he came to the village he had drawn a crowd of spectators, but now there was no one there.