TSWPF -Chapter 270 The Solution

After happily celebrating the New Year and the Lantern Festival, things got busy again.

With the spring imperial exams approaching, Liu Zhimou’s study schedule became even tighter. Mr. Luo assigned him even more study tasks.

Meanwhile, Li Qingling was busy raising ducks. The reputation of her roast duck shop had spread far and wide, and customers came every day. If she didn’t increase the number of ducks she raised, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand.

But the family’s lotus pond was only so big; if she tried to raise too many ducks there, it simply wouldn’t work.

Li Qingling was troubled over this for several days, and finally went to consult the old man. She wanted to buy a nearby property specifically to raise ducks.

The old man shook his head immediately. He said that even if they spent a lot of money, houses nearby were hard to find. And having a place solely for ducks would be too noisy—absolutely impossible.

Li Qingling had considered this as well. The ducks at home were already somewhat noisy, and she worried they would disturb Liu Zhimou’s studying. That’s why she wanted to quickly buy a property and move the ducks out.

“So what should I do?” she fretted for several days. “If I don’t increase the number of ducks, the roast duck shop will run out of supply. If I can’t keep up, how much money will I lose?” Thinking about it made her heart ache…

She had never imagined the roast duck shop would do so well. On average, it sold five hundred roast ducks a day. Truly unexpected!

In just three to four months, she had already earned twenty thousand taels of silver. It made her feel like a newly rich person—suddenly wealthy.

The old man thought for a moment and said, “I have a manor in the suburbs. The place is large; you can raise the ducks there.” This way, his lotus pond would no longer be “messed with.” Now, it wasn’t really a lotus pond anymore—it was a duck pond.

The thought of his lotus pond being ruined like that made him ache inside.

If the ducks were sent out early, he could restore the lotus pond sooner.

“How long does it take to get to the manor from home?” If it was too far, it wouldn’t be practical. She wanted to personally care for the ducks; traveling back and forth every day would be exhausting.

If it was closer, she could manage it.

“Not far. By carriage, it’s about two hours,” the old man replied.

That wasn’t too far.

Li Qingling grinned and asked the old man to take her to see the manor to check if it was suitable for raising ducks.

If it was, she would immediately have the ducks moved there.

It would be a bit tiring—she’d go there in the morning, feed them Spring Water, and take care of them.

But it was still better than disturbing Liu Zhimou’s studying.

The old man gave her a side glance. “Why the rush? We need to have lunch first before going.”

This girl really did forget to eat whenever she got busy. If he didn’t have the children reminding her, she would probably have gotten ridiculously thin by now.

Li Qingling smiled sheepishly. She knew this about herself—when she got busy, she lost track of time. She needed to fix this habit…

After lunch, they took a carriage to the manor.

Upon arrival, Li Qingling’s eyes lit up at the sight of the large estate walls. The manor looked spacious enough for all her ducks.

“Old man, let’s go in and take a look. If it’s suitable, I’ll have the ducks brought over immediately.”

“Alright…” Seeing how eager Li Qingling was, the old man shook his head with a wry smile. But he understood her feelings, so he said no more.

Once inside, after touring the manor, Li Qingling was extremely satisfied. There was even a river inside—perfect for raising ducks.

Yet she also thought that using such a fine manor solely for ducks was a bit wasteful.

Besides, it wasn’t her manor; it belonged to the old man. She felt slightly embarrassed using it.

Clearing her throat, Li Qingling smiled and said, “Old man, I wonder if there are any manors for sale nearby. I’d like to buy one myself.” That way, she wouldn’t feel bad using it, and she could manage it freely.

The old man’s tiger-like eyes widened. “Since when have you been so formal with your grandfather? My things aren’t yours? You can use them as you please!” He rarely came to this manor anyway. Letting Li Qingling use it for raising ducks was putting it to good use.

After he passed away, his belongings would be theirs anyway.

Li Qingling touched her nose, not daring to say more. If she kept speaking, she might hurt the old man’s feelings.

Since he said she could use it freely, she would take full advantage—and be even more filial.

Seeing that Li Qingling no longer resisted, the old man relaxed and instructed someone to prepare a meal for them. They ate before returning.

The steward hurried to have some home-style dishes prepared for Li Qingling and the old man.

He knew that the family was used to lavish meals; a simple home-style meal would taste even better.

“Old man, honestly, I really want to buy a manor. After all, I have silver in hand—it’s better to invest it in land or a manor. Money makes money; if it just sits, it can’t grow.”

That made sense. Buying land wasn’t bad. They could plant crops to sell.

The children would grow up soon; they needed some family assets.

Having thought this through, the old man nodded. “Alright. I’ll have someone inquire if there’s any land for sale nearby.”

The location wasn’t far from the capital, so it would be convenient to check anytime.

“Jin, are there any fields for sale nearby?” the old man asked the steward, who stayed on the estate and would know.

The steward respectfully replied, “Master, I haven’t heard of any fields for sale nearby. But I can keep an eye out. If I hear of any, I’ll inform you immediately.”

“Good. Keep looking around, and report back as soon as there’s news.”

Li Qingling felt a little disappointed but knew these things couldn’t be rushed. She just had to wait for the right opportunity.

The children would grow up gradually, and she needed to prepare assets for them—otherwise, how could they afford to marry in the future?

Previously, she was too busy to consider this. But seeing the manor and the surrounding fields made her realize the importance of slowly building their family wealth.

After eating at the manor, Li Qingling returned home by carriage. She immediately had the servants help catch the ducks to move them to the manor.

Besides relocating the existing ducks, she planned to buy more ducks for the manor.

When Liu Zhimou came out of the study, he saw the bustling scene.

“Xiaoling, what are you doing? Why are you catching these ducks?”

Li Qingling wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at him. “I’m moving the ducks to the manor. We’ve taken over the old man’s lotus pond for too long; it’s time to give it back.” She knew the old man felt heartache seeing his pond ruined.

She felt a little embarrassed too, but before there was no other way. Now that she had a place for the ducks, the lotus pond could be cleared and replanted.

“Manor? What manor?”

Li Qingling lightly smacked her forehead in frustration—she had forgotten to tell Liu Zhimou about this. She quickly took his hand and explained everything in brief.

Liu Zhimou frowned. “Wouldn’t it be too tiring for you? Going there every day like that, back and forth, you’ll exhaust yourself.”

“The manor is about a two-hour carriage ride from here. Not too far, not too tiring,” she reassured him.

Still, round-trip would take four hours. Liu Zhimou felt concerned as he looked at her. “Do you have to go every day? Couldn’t you go every few days? You could teach others to care for the ducks, so you don’t have to go personally every day.” He truly didn’t want her to overwork herself.

Li Qingling knew he was concerned for her. She thought for a moment and said she would consider it…

Indeed, the duck-raising project was growing. She couldn’t manage everything personally anymore. She would need to hire some people, train them in duck care, and visit every few days to feed them Spring Water, ensuring the ducks’ quality. This should work.

Liu Zhimou sighed, gently touching her face. “Don’t tire yourself out. Rest properly too.”

“All right. You too—you’ve been studying nonstop and lost weight,” Li Qingling said with a smile, reminding him to balance work and rest.

Liu Zhimou chuckled. “Drinking tonic soup every day, how have I lost weight? I feel fatter!” He didn’t want her worrying. He patted her head. “I’m going back to the study. Don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Okay. Go study, and remember to rest properly,” Li Qingling smiled.

Liu Zhimou nodded, quickly kissed her, and left.

Blushing, Li Qingling touched her forehead and smiled, then returned to helping catch the ducks.

Once all the ducks from the lotus pond were caught, she and her helpers loaded them onto the carriage and transported them to the manor.

After a full day of work, she felt as if her bones would collapse—she was completely exhausted.

That night, after dinner and bathing, she went straight to bed without waiting for Liu Zhimou.

When Liu Zhimou returned to his room, he saw Li Qingling utterly tired. He kissed her forehead and felt even more determined—he had to do well in the spring imperial exams to make her happy.

Over the years, she had been holding the family together. Once he succeeded in the exams, he could properly accompany her and share the family’s burdens, so she wouldn’t have to work so hard.