Chapter 270: Interception in the Mountains

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Zhong sat at the door of a tea shop diagonally opposite the government office. He held a teacup and leaned against the bamboo chair. When he saw Li Yu drive out of the government office alone, he was secretly happy. He felt that he was really lucky to have met his target who had gone out alone.

He hurriedly paid for the tea and went to the livestock shed in the backyard to lead the horse out. He quickly chased after Li Yu.

Fortunately for him, there were many people on the street, so Li Yu couldn’t drive quickly. Wang Zhong caught up with the mule cart not long after.

Seeing Li Yu drive towards the west city gate, he thought that Li Yu should be going to the wasteland at the foot of the mountain.

Wang Zhong thought of an abandoned house on the way to the foot of the mountain. There was no one around. He thought to himself, “It’s the best place to attack a woman.” After Wang Zhong thought about it, he slowly followed her out of the city.

Li Yu rushed out of the city. Not long after, she heard the sound of hooves coming from behind. She didn’t care and drove the big green mule cart to the side of the road to make way. Wang Zhong rode past Li Yu’s mule cart and towards the abandoned house.

Wang Zhong rode his horse to the abandoned house and dismounted. He led the horse into the house and found a place to tie the horse up. He came out and hid in the waist-deep grass behind the wall.

After half an hour, he saw Li Yu’s mule cart slowly approaching. Just as he was about to make a move, he realized that someone was riding a horse over from the foot of the mountain. Wang Zhong hid behind the wall and took a closer look. When he saw that it was the man who went to hire people to develop the wasteland, he hurriedly hid his head behind the wall.

Ruyi saw Li Yu pull her horse back and shouted, “Madam, I’m going to the city to buy a few cows and plowshares.”

Li Yu replied loudly, “Go! I’ll go over and take a look first.”

Ruyi waited for Li Yu to walk past her and run toward the city.

After the galloping sound of the horse faded away, Wang Zhong came out of the abandoned house and saw that Li Yu had already driven the mule cart away.

Wang Zhong turned around and led the horse out of the abandoned house. He rode the horse toward the foot of the mountain. Seeing that Li Yu’s mule cart had indeed gone to the wasteland at the foot of the mountain, he thought to himself that it would not be too late to attack when she returned.

Li Yu rushed the cart and saw farmers at the foot of the mountain. They waved the hoe in their hands and were busy moving up and down the mountain. When Li Yu arrived at the wasteland, she saw Ma Qiang, Old Madam Xu, Old Madam Yun, and a short-term worker moving the wood cut from the mountain. Two more workers picked up the yellow mud and stones dug out at the foot of the mountain to prepare the clay stove. The hired workers in the wasteland in front were busy cutting the small bushes in the wasteland.

When Old Madam Xu and the others saw Li Yu driving the mule cart over, they hurriedly went forward and bowed. Li Yu waved at them and said, “Do what you need to do. Don’t worry about me. I’ll look around.” When they heard this, they bowed and retreated.

Ma Qiang went forward to take the reins. Li Yu got out of the cart and walked along a small path beside the wasteland. She saw that the wasteland was at the foot of the mountain. The terrain was relativelv flat. There was a mountain stream five or six feet wide and clear. Standing by the ditch, she saw the stream winding down the mountain. Those peach trees were planted on the hills above. The two hills stretched like waves on the horizon. Above them was the lush green mountain.

Li Yu looked around and planned to build two farmsteads, one of which would be for her own use. She also wanted to build a few winter greenhouses.

A leisure villa would be built at the foot of the hill. A stream would be drawn into the manor. A lotus pond would be dug so people could fish, play chess, and drink tea. She would also develop terraces along the terrain of the hill and plant some flower seeds, grapes, kiwis, and other fruit trees. There would also be camellias and other flower trees. Then, she would build a furnace wall around all the houses in the manor. It would be warm in winter and cool in summer. It would definitely attract tourists to come and eat and play.

Li Yu sat on a large rock and recorded everything she could think of. At this moment, Ji Xiang and Ruyi brought a few craftsmen to the foot of the mountain and found Li Yu, who was writing and drawing.

“Greetings, Madam.” A few craftsmen wanted to kneel and kowtow when they saw Li Yu. “Everyone, there’s no need to stand on ceremony.” Li Yu got Ruyi and Ji Xiang to stop them.

Ruyi pointed at the dozen or so yellow cows and a pile of things and said to Li Yu, “Madam, I bought ten cows, some farming tools, and bedding. It’s cold at night, so we have to build the wooden shed first.”

Li Yu saw that the two carriages were full. She smiled and nodded. “Alright, just make the arrangements.”

Ruyi went to get busy. Ji Xiang pointed at a thin and tall man in his thirties or forties with black and red skin and a chubby man with a round face. “Madam, these two are the craftsmen introduced by Shopkeeper Chu to build the house. The thin and tall one is Craftsman Zou, and the fat one is his wife’s brother, Craftsman Liu.”

The two of them bowed. “Greetings, Madam.”

Li Yu looked at the two of them and nodded. She looked at the other two men who were about the same age. Ji Xiang smiled and said, “These two are carpenters. One is Carpenter Qian and the other is Carpenter Su. Shopkeeper Chu said that their work is not bad.”

The two of them hurriedly bowed. Li Yu looked at the four of them who seemed uneasy and smiled. “Don’t worry. As long as you do what you should do, I won’t make things difficult for you.”

They replied in unison, “Don’t worry, Madam. We will definitely do our best.”

Li Yu smiled and said to them, “I plan to build two farmsteads. One is an ordinary farm with three entrances. It needs a drying field, a cellar, and a warehouse. A wooden floor will be built above the warehouse to make it convenient to dry when it rains. Also, the houses where the workers live have to be built. The houses have to be built with a heatable brick bed. There should also be individual bathing rooms, toilets, and a few short houses with heatable brick beds. I will give you a rough blueprint for how to build it. The rest will have to be perfected by you.”

The craftsmen and the carpenters saw that Li Yu’s tone was gentle and polite, unlike the other butlers’ wives who looked down on them arrogantly. The fear in their hearts gradually decreased, but they felt respect for her.

After Blacksmith Zou and the others heard this, they bowed and said, “Yes,

Madam. We will discuss it together and give you a new pattern.”

“Alright, take a look at this and reference it.” Li Yu handed the drawing to Craftsman Zou and picked up the other two drawings that recorded her thoughts. She said to the few of them, “This is my idea for another manor. I plan to build a villa for leisure, food, and accommodation. Here are some of my ideas and some simple drawings. After the blueprint is done and shown to me, you can make a budget.”

Craftsman Zou took the blueprint and looked at it for a while. He asked a few questions to clarify things that he didn’t understand. After Li Yu explained to them one by one, they took the blueprint and followed Li Yu to the place where the manor was to be built.

They looked around and said to Li Yu, “Madam, the construction of the farm is simple. The leisure villa you mentioned is more troublesome. We can only give you the blueprint after we make the measurements. We can only start construction when you’re satisfied..”

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