However, Old Master Shen and Old Madam Shen might truly wish to have Shen Jiu by their side. After all, over the years, they haven’t had any other children. Although Shen Jiu has been transferred to another family branch, there’s no one in that branch. If they want to keep Shen Jiu close to them, there won’t be much resistance.
Except for Shen Liu.
Shen Liu has a strong bond with Shen Jiu. Lian Manman believes Shen Liu wouldn’t let Shen Jiu leave. Besides, from another perspective, Shen Liu seems to have no affection for Old Master Shen and Old Madam Shen. These two don’t have any authority over Shen Liu.
Siblings relying on each other while growing up, whereas the parents live for themselves. Who treats whom well or badly, and which side to stand on, is quite obvious.
Nevertheless, Shen Xiaojiu is quite amusing. Lian Manman wonders what mischief he might cause for Shen Liu in the future?
"Hehe..." Thinking of this, Lian Manman couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
...
On this day, the weather was clear, and with no pressing matters, the family got on a carriage to visit the estate outside the city.
Ten miles outside Prefecture City lies Guo Family Village, where Manman’s Family has an estate, spreading across several hundred acres of land with a mansion of about a hundred rooms. The first greenhouse of Manman’s Family was built on this estate.
The head of the estate had been inford early and ca out to greet them from afar, guiding Lian Manman and the others into the mansion and seated them in the main hall for tea. The family had co specifically to see the greenhouse today, so after a brief pause, they went to the backyard.
Greenhouses are costly and require ticulous care, hence it was built in the estate’s backyard. When they arrived, Lian Manman and the others were unfazed since they had visited twice before. Lady Zhang, however, exclaid in amazent, as it was her first ti seeing it, even though she’d heard Shouxin and the children talk about the greenhouse often.
The entire greenhouse covers an area equivalent to about forty vegetable beds. Thick brick walls surround it, with every brick joint sealed tightly. Above the brick walls are rafters, on which large pieces of transparent glass are embedded.
On the glass roof lie rolled-up thick felt and straw mats, which are lowered at night or during cloudy or snowy weather to cover the glasshouse tightly. Only when the weather is clear and the sun shines brightly are they rolled up to let the sunlight reach the vegetables inside.
Upon entering the greenhouse, there’s first a small room before reaching the actual interior. This small room usually accommodates the estate workers who care for the greenhouse at night and serves as a transition into the greenhouse’s interior. Such a transition helps to better maintain the temperature inside the greenhouse.
The family stepped inside the greenhouse and was greeted by a lush green sight, with rows of thriving greens. Hanging wooden racks nearby were covered with damp straw mats. Carefully lifting a mat revealed clusters of plump mushrooms growing underneath.
Lian Manman walked a bit further inside and saw a few rows of cucumbers, their vines adorned with small yellow blossoms. So vines had already borne small cucumbers, rely finger-sized, yet seeing them in this season brings undeniable joy.
Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang, both coming from farming backgrounds, were more pleased seeing this than others.
The cost of building this greenhouse was high, but the results were equally gratifying.
For one, now on the dining table of Manman’s Family, every al includes two or three varieties of fresh vegetables. In the past, this was unthinkable. Even now, families similar to theirs can’t achieve this. The variety on the family table has improved, eliminating worries about the lack of greens in winter and the diet being excessively rich and greasy.
Lian Manman considers this as the most important aspect.
In addition, dishes with fresh vegetables now feature in several of Manman’s Family’s restaurants, including Shunde Store. Foods typically ordinary in other seasons beco exceedingly precious in this one, paired with ticulous cooking and a touch of sales allure. This results not only in substantial profits from vegetables but also boosts the entire restaurant business.
In the past couple of months, their restaurants have seen a flood of guests and wealth, making the shopkeeper and staff beam with joy.
For this reason, the estate manager had suggested to Lian Shouxin, Wu Lang, and Lian Manman several tis to build one or two more greenhouses to produce more vegetables. These would supply their own consumption and restaurant needs, and also be sold in the market.
Prefecture City has many officials and wealthy rchants, and plenty of affluent families, ensuring there’s no worry about selling fresh vegetables.
Seeing the owner family visiting today, the estate manager brought up the suggestion once more.
While Lian Manman understood the manager’s eagerness to show accomplishnts and seek more earnings, after discussing with the family, they still shook their heads and declined the idea.
Without the widely used fertilizers of Lian Manman’s previous life and many unknown chemicals, the yield of greenhouse vegetables wasn’t high. Consequently, costs inevitably increased.
Under such constraints, fresh vegetables in winter remained a small scale, luxurious treat.
While Lian Manman chose not to expand the greenhouse scale, earning money remained a priority.
...
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