Chapter 237
The grandfather and granddaughter walked arm in arm toward the main hall. As soon as Yu Chongshan heard that his granddaughter had brought him back some snacks, he immediately said with delight, "Fuguang is so thoughtful. This old man must have a good taste of them."
Yue Fuguang smiled and said, "Then let's go to Grandmother's place and enjoy them together."
Yu Chongshan chuckled, "Alright, we'll listen to our Fuguang."
The grandfather and granddaughter chatted and laughed as they headed toward Old Madam Yu's courtyard. Meanwhile, Old Madam Yu had already received the news of their arrival.
As soon as the two entered, they were greeted by a table full of tea and pastries, all in Yue Fuguang's favorite flavors.
Yu Chongshan deliberately acted jealous, "Madam, why isn't there the yellow pea pudding that your husband likes?"
Old Madam Yu rolled her eyes at him. "Are the pastries your granddaughter brought back for you not enough for you to eat?"
"Here!" Saying that, Old Madam Yu served him a bowl of spiced tea. "Didn't I prepare your favorite tea for you?"
How was this tea? This was practically a bowl of seasoned soup! Fortunately, she usually had various herbal drinks or honey water to drink, so she didn't have to torture her own mouth with this kind of tea.
The system also could not help but complain, [Master, bear with it a little longer. Once the tea trees you planted on the mountain are ready for harvesting, we will roast the tea leaves ourselves.]
Yu Chongshan and Old Madam Yu exchanged a glance. They had long noticed that their granddaughter was very resistant to the tea of Great Yan, so they never made her drink it on normal days.
They just wondered what the roasted tea mentioned by Lord Artifact would be like, and how its taste would differ from the current tea of Great Yan.
"Speaking of tea trees, we have to make a trip to the estate. The newly planted tea trees, fruit trees, and flowers all need to be nourished by spiritual rain to ensure they all survive and grow quickly. Otherwise, I won't be able to drink any pre-Qingming tea," she thought to herself.
[Rest assured, Master. Leave it to Little Zhu. I guarantee not a single one will die!]
Hearing about the spiritual rain, both Yu Chongshan and the old madam felt their hearts stir. Such a miracle—should they follow their granddaughter to go see it when the time came?
Thus, Old Madam Yu said, "Fuguang, the crops, fruit trees, flower bushes, and tea trees on your estate have all been planted. When will you find time to go take a look? While you're at it, you can see if anything is missing and needs to be added."
Yue Fuguang thought for a moment and said, "Grandmother, have someone dig a large pond near the villa. I want to plant lotus flowers."
Looking as if she had expected this, Old Madam Yu smiled and said, "Grandmother guessed you would want to plant those. I have already ordered people to dig the pond, and the lotus has been planted as well."
Yue Fuguang had not expected Old Madam Yu to be so thoughtful. She smiled and said, "Grandmother still loves me the most. Why don't we go to the estate tomorrow to take a look?"
Seeing the expectant look in the old madam's eyes, she continued to invite her, "Grandmother, how about you come with me to the estate to relax?"
Old Madam Yu smiled lovingly and patted her hand. "That sounds wonderful. Grandmother hasn't gone out for a walk in a long time. Tomorrow, I'll follow my granddaughter out to stretch my bones and joints. Who knows, I might even live a few years longer."
Seeing the grandmother and granddaughter chatting so livelily while leaving him out in the cold, Yu Chongshan could not help but feel a bit jealous. "You two are planning to leave this old man behind and go have fun by yourselves!"
The old madam said with a hint of disdain, "What's wrong with me going out to play with our granddaughter? Aren't you going to work tomorrow?"
Though her words were tough, seeing her husband's unhappy face, she coaxed, "Next time you have a day off, we'll take you along to play."
Yu Chongshan shook his head. If he waited until next time, who knew if his granddaughter would summon the rain again? "I will ask His Majesty for a leave of absence tomorrow and go to Fuguang's estate to check on the construction progress of the roads and the villa. This can also be considered official business."
That works too? Yue Fuguang could tell that this little old man was dead set on tagging along with them to have fun.
However, it would be good to have her grandfather, a professional, go over and take a look, just in case someone wasn't doing their job diligently and tried to fool her.
So she nodded and said, "Then Grandfather must help me take a good look and push the progress. It would be best if it could be completed before summer arrives. Then we can go there to escape the summer heat."
Old Madam Yu also joined in the fun, "Yes, yes, yes. You go and push them. Don't delay our granddaughter's summer retreat."
Seeing the grandmother and granddaughter chiming in with each other and arranging his tasks for tomorrow so clearly, Yu Chongshan nodded in helpless amusement. "Alright, alright, it won't be delayed."
The person in charge of the project was a trusted subordinate he had personally selected. He wouldn't feel at ease leaving the construction of his granddaughter's estate to just anyone either.
That subordinate was also a master of mechanisms. If it weren't for the need to covertly install a few life-saving mechanisms for his granddaughter, with the manpower invested by the Ministry of Works and the readily available construction materials, it definitely would have been completed within three months.
Seeing that this matter was settled, Yue Fuguang spoke again, "Speaking of this, it suddenly occurred to me, isn't Second Brother setting off for the Sancha Region in late May?"
Yu Chongshan thought to himself, Here it comes!
Although he was excited in his heart, his face remained calm and collected. He just smiled and nodded, saying, "I received a letter from the steward the day before yesterday. The cotton seeds, rice, and wheat have all finished being sown."
"He also mentioned that your tools are incredibly useful and have saved them a lot of effort."
"Your second brother will set off in late May and arrive by early June. That will be exactly when the cotton reaches its flowering and fruiting season. Otherwise, without anyone keeping an eye on it, your father, your uncle, and I wouldn't be at ease."
The batch of seeds Fuguang had previously given to the imperial court included cotton seeds. However, it would take at least a year or two of cultivation and practical experience before they could be successfully distributed and grown nationwide.
Therefore, his granddaughter's vast cotton fields were especially important to the Great Yan Dynasty.
An initial workforce of five thousand men had been sent over. When the harvest season arrived, His Majesty intended to dispatch another five thousand.
This meant his granddaughter would command a force of ten thousand men. Even though they were officially imperial troops, everyone knew that they were effectively a private army bestowed upon Fuguang by the Emperor.
"That region is too close to Northern Li and Western Qiang, where smallpox outbreaks are common. I managed to obtain a method for preventing the disease from a maritime merchant friend of mine. I plan to inoculate Second Brother and the others with this smallpox vaccine before they depart. That way, they won't have to fear the disease anymore."
Yu Chongshan remained relatively composed, but Old Madam Yu abruptly grabbed Yue Fuguang's hand. "Fuguang," she asked, her voice trembling with excitement, "is what you say true? Is there truly a way to prevent smallpox?"
Seeing his wife's agitated expression, Yu Chongshan was reminded of their fifth child, who had died of the very same disease. The boy had been barely three years old when he passed away, and his wife had nearly followed the child to the grave from sheer grief.
"Grandmother, I am ninety percent certain that the method works. Once a person is inoculated, there is an over ninety percent chance they will never contract smallpox."
"Over ninety percent! That's more than enough! It's enough!"
She held tightly to Yue Fuguang's hand, her face etched with sorrow. "You actually had a Fifth Uncle once. He was taken from us by smallpox."
Wiping away her tears, she continued, "He was only three when he left us. My heart still aches whenever I think of him. He was such a sweet and obedient boy from the day he was born, far more affectionate and sweet-talking than your father or any of your other uncles..."
The old madam clung to Yue Fuguang's hand, rambling on for quite some time. Yue Fuguang listened attentively. For the elderly woman, even though more than twenty years had passed, the agonizing pain of losing her son had never faded from her heart.
"My dear, you must be tired. Come, have a cup of honey water to soothe your throat first."
Afraid that her grandmother would drown in her sorrow, Yue Fuguang deliberately changed the subject. "Grandfather, speaking of the smallpox vaccine, I also have a prescription for treating cholera and a method to cure dysentery."
As she spoke, she reached into her pouch and pulled out three pieces of paper.