"If anyone privately contacts you and wants to purchase vegetables directly from you, please refuse them."
"We have signed a written contract, and each of you has affixed your fingerprint in red ink. The out-of-season vegetables grown in the greenhouses belong to me and Mr. Chen Jinyou. You have no right to sell them to others privately."
"Violators will be fined tenfold. Let me make this clear, if anyone violates the agreement, I will definitely file a complaint with the county magistrate's office."
She provided the greenhouse film, and Chen Jinyou provided the farmland—these were the most crucial elements for growing out-of-season vegetables.
She paid the tenant farmers one or two silver taels per mu, plus two copper coins per jin of vegetables as compensation. Although it didn't seem like much, it was already considered an excellent deal in Mo County.
The tenant farmers were content now because they hadn't yet faced greater temptation.
Once the out-of-season vegetables were introduced, seeing the tremendous profits they brought, some might develop crooked intentions.
Qi Huan's reminders were a precautionary measure.
Hearing her words, Chen Jinyou also chimed in, "My father is the county magistrate!"
"If anyone tries any tricks, don't blame me for being impolite!"
His words successfully deterred a few who had been harboring ill intentions.
The tenant farmers all nodded obediently, pledging their loyalty.
"Rest assured, Mistress, the silver you've given us is already very generous. We won't be greedy for what isn't ours."
"Stealing is shameless. Our family will never earn that dirty money. You can rest assured, Mistress."
"That's right, Mistress, you can relax. Our village is just this small, and it's hard to hide any misbehavior from the neighbors. If anyone does have crooked thoughts, we'll definitely secretly tell you."
The crowd made various reassurances.
A few individuals hidden among the crowd had originally thought that since there was no fixed count of the vegetables in the greenhouses, they could secretly take some and sell them. After all, these were out-of-season vegetables, a rare commodity. Selling them privately would surely fetch a handsome sum of silver for their personal pockets.
However, they hadn't expected Qi Huan to bring up the contract, Chen Jinyou to intimidate them with his identity, and even the villagers voluntarily acting as the mistress's eyes and ears.
Those with impure thoughts immediately corrected their minds. They were greedy but not foolish.
After the discussion, the village head invited Qi Huan and the others to tour the greenhouses.
Upon entering the greenhouse, they were met with a warm embrace, with row upon row of vibrant vegetables—bright red tomatoes, thick yellow cucumbers, and more hidden among the lush green leaves.
In the adjacent greenhouse, they unexpectedly came across a young boy around two years old, sitting in a wooden tub while a woman beside him was bathing him.
The woman, dressed in coarse cloth and a wooden hairpin, was crouched by the tub, vigorously scrubbing the mud off the child's body.
The water in the tub was slightly murky, mixed with streaks of mud, but the little boy didn't seem to mind, happily splashing about.
Upon realizing it was a young boy, Li Shuchen swiftly moved in front of Qi Huan, blocking her view.
Qi Huan peeked out from behind him, perplexed, only for him to shift his stance and block her view once more.
Sensing a hint of jealousy, she playfully poked Li Shuchen's back and said in a low voice that only they could hear, "He's just a two-year-old boy."
"Yes, he's a boy."
Qi Huan let out a soft laugh, obediently standing behind him and poking at the yellow cucumbers on the vine for amusement.
Since she had no interest in watching people bathe, she was happy to indulge him in whatever made Li Shuchen feel at ease.
At that moment, the woman wrapped the freshly bathed child in a cloth, gently drying him off while heartily laughing, "It's warm in the greenhouse, and the baby's back was itchy, so I took the opportunity during noon to give him a bath."
In the bitter cold of Mo County, the poor rarely bathed throughout the entire winter. It wasn't that they didn't like cleanliness but rather their fear of catching a chill, as they couldn't afford medicine, making it easy for them to lose their lives.
Qi Huan suddenly recalled the young girl who had died from a fever after bathing in the winter.
The idea of building a bathhouse flashed through her mind, and she began to carefully consider it upon returning home.
First and foremost, the most crucial aspect was keeping warm, and she thought of a heated wall. Next, drainage posed a significant challenge. With the outside temperature being too low, the drainage gutters were prone to freezing, making it difficult for the water to flow out. They could only resort to the most primitive method of carrying the water out one bucket at a time.
In addition to the public bathing pool, she had also designed a few small partitions along the walls. Although still within the same room, at least it provided some privacy while bathing.
Those willing to spend silver on bathing were mostly ordinary families and slightly more affluent households. The wealthy didn't need it, and the poor couldn't afford it. By targeting the middle-class consumers and factoring in the bathhouse's operational costs, Qi Huan initially set a tentative price.
However, it wasn't an opportune time to commence construction. In fact, she would be leaving next year. Building the bathhouse wasn't just about earning a little extra money but more about allowing the local residents to live a bit more comfortably and enabling those who valued cleanliness to bathe during the winter.
After sketching the design and showing it to Li Shuchen, she tilted her head and inquired, "What do you think?"
"Good."
Li Shuchen affirmed it, then pointed out some existing issues and offered suggestions for resolving them.
As she listened and nodded, Qi Huan smiled with narrowed eyes, "Li Shuchen, I really like you."
Although he didn't understand why she suddenly said that, Li Shuchen couldn't help but curve his lips, feeling content in body and mind.
Qi Huan looked at him earnestly and explained, "No matter what ideas I have, you'll support me unconditionally. Yet it's not blind support; you point out the problems and help me solve them, helping me improve."
"It's wonderful to have you."
She moved around the kang table and sat beside Li Shuchen, pressing him against the wall behind and kissing him.
After a gentle kiss, she withdrew slightly, gazing up at him with a smile in her eyes and softly said, "A reward."
"Not enough."
Li Shuchen embraced her, pinning her against the kang. His slightly calloused fingertips caressed her brows, traced her face, and finally rested on her rosy lips.
Her freshly kissed lips looked moist and delectable, prompting Li Shuchen to lean down and taste them once more.
Unsatisfied with merely pressing his lips against hers, he began exploring the sweetness within her mouth, his warm tongue intertwining with hers in a passionate embrace.
Overcome by sudden desire, he abruptly stood up and walked out the door, his steps slightly unsteady.
Lying on the kang, Qi Huan touched her moist lips and smiled sweetly.
After sitting up, she took out her diary from her spatial storage and wrote: In the fifteenth year of the Longshun reign, on the seventh day of the tenth month, today I wall-slammed Shuchen, and Shuchen bed-slammed me.
After simply writing a few sentences, she skillfully began brewing ginger soup for Li Shuchen. However, before she finished cooking, the freshly bathed Li Shuchen was summoned away by Yan Jiu.
The wind howled, and the snow fell in flurries. Qi Huan hugged herself tightly and hurried back into her room.
When Li Shuchen returned, it was already midnight.
He knocked on Qi Huan's door.
"Huan, someone from the Capital City has come."
"Looking for you?"
"No, looking for you."
