Chapter 64 As a fine female matchmaker chooses to farm (13)

   Is it right, try it and you will know!

  Exploring any county will reward you with a map of that county, right? Then start with Baigui County.

  Xu Yin immediately asked someone to find a local map.

  I didn’t have time to eat lunch, so I buried myself in research.

  The maps at this time were not as detailed as those marked by later generations. The maps embroidered on silk were slightly yellowed, and only marked the locations of a few major cities that could be reached by official roads, as well as prominent mountains and waters such as mountains, rivers and lakes.

  At present, she has only been to Yunshanzhai and Fucheng, and made a mark on these two places with a charcoal pen.

   But Baigui County has a vast territory, and there are still many remaining cities. If you want to explore one by one, it will take time and effort. The key is, will King Jinnan allow it?

  She is going to marry him soon, and when she gets married, she will drive around in a carriage. This... is not realistic!

  This task is a bit difficult!

  Xu Yin pinched the center of her brows with a headache.

   "Girl, it's time to eat."

  Eat the emperor's big meal, Xu Yin put aside her troubles and ate first.

   Not long after eating, the child who sold her iron ore came.

  Xu Yin has already heard about his family’s situation from the guards:

This child is called Shanwa. His father is a mountain farmer. He accidentally broke his leg when he entered the mountain a while ago. The family savings are not enough for him to heal his leg. The sister-in-law scolded and fell ill when she got home.

   "Is everything settled at home?" Xu Yin asked him.

   "It's all over!" Shanwa grinned happily, "The silver I brought back has already asked the doctor to heal my father's leg. My mother heard that this stone is useful for you, so she asked me to come over after eating."

   "Is that far away?" Xu Yin poured him a cup of hawthorn water, which helps to digest food, and put some honey in it, so the taste is sour and sweet, children will surely like it.

   "Not very far."

  Shanwa took a sip of the hawthorn water and narrowed her eyes happily. It was sweet and sour, so good to drink!

   "If it's not far away, then let's start now? Sister, you send someone back to the palace to talk to the butler, so that the prince won't be worried if he comes back late."

  After giving the order, she turned her head and saw that Shanwa was still drinking the hawthorn water, Xu Yin couldn't help laughing and said:

   "Don't drink so much at once, take it with you if you like it, and drink it when you're thirsty."

   There is no need for her to order. Nanny and Dong Xue have already prepared the tea, fruits and snacks for the trip.

   In addition, a box of melon seeds and peanuts was thoughtfully packed for the girl to pass the time on the way.

  It was the first time for Shanwa to ride a horse-drawn carriage. The only means of transportation he had ever sat in was an open ox cart.

  Xu Yin grabbed a handful of melon seeds for him, chatted while nibbling, and put the peach cakes, cloud cakes and other small snacks made by the imperial chef in the house that Dongxue brought out in front of him: "Let's chat while eating."

   Shanwa ate a piece of fragrant and crispy peach shortbread, and a piece of soft and glutinous walnut cloud cake. She felt that she couldn’t eat the nobleman’s food for nothing, so she knew that she could talk endlessly, and said everything she knew:

"My family used to live near there, and many of the mountains there were bare, and in some places the grass couldn't grow, let alone the crops, so we called it Bald Mountain. Later, there was a flood there, and many people's homes were flooded. My house too, had to move out.

  But there is my childhood treasure hidden there, so every time my father goes back to worship the ancestors, I will go with him. This red stone was dug from the cliff behind the ancestral grave. There are many such stones over there..."

  Xu Yin ate melon seeds, listened to Shanwa chatting all the way, and gave him a piece of snack from time to time. Children are sensible, although they are very greedy, but they dare not eat more.

  People have tea and chat in the car, and they can't feel how far the journey is.

  But in fact, they set off from Fucheng to arrive at the Bald Mountain Shanwa mentioned, and they walked for at least an hour and a half.

  Xu Yin: This is not so far away?

  Shanwa scratched her head: "It's not far, it's much closer than going to my grandmother's house."

   "..."

  The next step is to climb the mountain, Xu Yin looked down at her embroidered shoes, wishing she could take out the pair of sneakers in the space.

  Finally, the elder brother of the guard went up and found the red stone cliff that Shanwa said, and dug out a few stones of the same color with a dagger, and said that the cliff seemed to be full of stones of this color.

  Xu Yin nodded secretly: It's hematite, that's right. I just don't know if the reserves are big or not. If they are not big, there is not much development value.

  As the evening approached, she was debating whether to find a place to stay and continue exploring the bald mountain the next day, or rush back to Fucheng to fetch water from the stream for Dong Xue, who made tea, and bring back a group of people.

   "Girl, the prince is here."

  Meeting that handsome and gentle familiar face, Xu Yin couldn't help standing up: "Why are you here?"

   "The butler said that you are heading towards Bald Mountain. What's the matter? There are few people here, so it's not suitable for traveling."

  Yan Kejin looked at her nonchalantly while talking, except that the skirt was a little dusty and the headdress was a little crooked, everything else looked fine.

  He took a step forward and straightened the hair accessories on her head.

   "The hairpin is crooked."

"…Oh, thank you."

  Xu Yin stroked her hair, a little uncomfortable with him being so close.

   "By the way, I'm here to find this."

  She knelt down and handed a few pieces of iron ore at her feet to Yan Kejin.

   "Ochre?"

  Yan Kejin paused, surprised.

  Xu Yin asked in surprise: "You know?"

  Yan Kejin glanced at her with complicated eyes, he should ask this question, right?

  How did she know it was ocher?

   From that miscellaneous book again?

   "I asked the guards to go up and look at it just now. The mountain wall on one side of the cliff is full, but I don't know how deep it is. If it's just the surface layer, it won't be able to smelt much iron."

   Seeing that he knew about it, and seeing that he pushed back the rest, Xu Yin simply spoke up.

   "I think this way, if iron ore can be mined, not only can Quyuanli be popularized on a large scale, but also ships can be built. If you build a large ship wrapped in iron, you will not be afraid of strong winds and waves when you go to sea.

  I heard that the people in the seaside towns of Nanban are not only poor, but also often harassed by pirates. If we can build a strong ship and send soldiers to patrol the coastal waters day and night, even if pirates come, we will be able to guard against them..."

  As soon as Xu Yin started talking, she couldn't stop.

   Subconsciously, she desperately hoped that Yan Kejin's fiefdom would become rich and powerful as soon as possible.

  Yan Kejin thought further.

  The use of iron is far more than farming tools and shipbuilding. The reason why it is controlled by the imperial court is precisely because it can forge weapons.

  However, there is one thing that she thought of going with him, that is - there is iron ore in Bald Mountain, she doesn't report it, she mines it herself.

  Although there are risks, this is his fief, his territory, and he has the final say.

  Early the next morning, Yan Kejin asked someone to buy Bald Mountain.

  The entire mountain, including the land at the foot of the mountain, all fell under the name of the Wangfu.

  (end of this chapter)