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Chapter 464 Holding Hands (I)

Whoosh!
Jiang Shaohua pulled the bowstring, and the sharp arrow flew out like lightning. Following a sharp hissing sound, a black shadow fell from the sky.

Meng Sanbao and Qin Hu stepped forward immediately and soon came back carrying a pheasant with a shot through the throat.

"The princess is truly an archer of divine powers," Meng Sanbao flattered her, "She can even hit the target from such a long distance."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and glanced at Meng Sanbao: "Guard Meng has been particularly flattering lately!"

"My love and respect for the princess comes from the bottom of my heart and there is no falsehood at all!" Meng Sanbao straightened his chest and spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice.

Even Qin Hu couldn't stand it anymore and rolled his eyes.

Come on! He just wants to get married! He spent the whole day trying to please the princess, hoping that she would give in soon and allow Yin Zhu to marry. He was flattered one after another, and he almost had goose bumps all over his body.

Jiang Shaohua chuckled and continued to lead his guards in archery and hunting.

In a blink of an eye, it was already July, the hottest summer day. The Ma family was efficient and secretly sent two batches of Rouran horse slaves to the military camp. Now there were more than 40 horse slaves in the military camp, which was barely enough for daily training and battles.

Training was Liu Hengchang's business, and Jiang Shaohua did not interfere too much. She stayed in the barracks for more than a month, and then continued to inspect the counties. After a round of inspection, the last stop was Tianzhuang.

Today, the farm has become the grain breeding base of Nanyang County. To be precise, all the grains grown in Jingzhou and Pingzhou were bred here.

The grain shops run by the Tang family in the northern states not only sold new grains and grain seeds, but also began to sell high-quality grain seeds and various fruit and vegetable seeds from Nanyang County. The noble families in the north paid a lot of money to buy them.

Everyone knew that the Tang family grain shop was actually the property of the princess. As for those brave and powerful "Tang family guards", their true identities were not difficult to guess. The powerful military force ensured the safety of the Tang family grain shop and also showed the powerful strength of the Nanyang princess. It was natural for the northern noble families to want to befriend the princess.

More importantly, the various grains purchased from Tang's Grain Shop have really high yields. Vegetable and fruit seeds are good stuff without much thought, and you can buy them with your eyes closed.

The problem now is that the number of seeds is limited and the demand exceeds the supply.

Even Jiang Shaohua had not expected that the grain shop, which he had thought would suffer a total loss after investing money, was now making a steady profit.

In the hot summer, the farm was still busy. Cui Du led a group of farmers to work in the fields every day. Jiang Shaohua had nothing to do, so he led a group of guards to go hunting. After hunting game, he could add meat to everyone's meal in the evening.

In the evening, Jiang Shaohua and his party returned on horseback.

Cui Du, Cui Wanglin and other village heads were waiting outside the farm to meet them.

Cui Du was still dressed in cloth as usual, and his handsome face, which was tanned red by the sun, looked simple yet particularly pleasing to the eye.

Jiang Shaohua smiled and dismounted, then walked to Cui Du naturally: "Are you done with today's work?"

Cui Du smiled and said, "I'm almost done. I've been busy these days and haven't been able to spend more time with the princess. I'm really ashamed."

"You work hard, and I am very happy. There is nothing to be ashamed of." Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "I went out and hunted a couple of prey today. We will have a barbecue tonight."

Cui Du grinned and nodded repeatedly. Lin Zhuangtou, who was standing by, took the prey and immediately went to the kitchen to prepare it.

Cui Wang, who was watching from the other side, could not help but feel secretly excited. After the princess came of age, many people came to ask for her hand in marriage... No, many people asked to marry into the Nanyang Palace. I heard that Chen Changshi even made a booklet for the princess to look through and decide.

Fortunately, the princess was not one of those girls who only cared about appearance. In terms of family background, the Cui family of Boling was also quite impressive. Not to mention, Cui Du had been in Nanyang County for more than five years, and he and the princess grew up together. They had a tacit understanding and affection that others could not match.

Several cooks on the farm were busy collecting the prey, some were making soup, some were stewing meat, and then they picked some fresh and tender ones, cut them into thin slices, and seasoned them with salt, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. The best thing was that there was pepper on the farm.

The meat was grilled over charcoal until it was sizzling and sprinkled with finely ground pepper powder. The overbearing and strong aroma immediately rushed into the nose.

Jiang Shaohua was tempted and ate a skewer. He was amazed: "With pepper sprinkled on it, the barbecue is really delicious."

Cui Du knew the princess's appetite, so he kept moving his hands, handing the grilled meat skewers to the princess one by one, and said with a smile: "Now Nanyang County has abundant food and no shortage of food. All counties have planted vegetables and fruits. Li County has many mountains and forests, and the climate is suitable. Last year, we planted several hundred acres of pepper. After the harvest, we transported it all to Jiangnan and sold it. The price was very high, and we made a lot of money."

"After tasting the sweetness, County Magistrate Cai organized the people to plant pepper on a large scale this year."

County Magistrate Cai was quick-witted, bold and careful. In order to sell pepper, he went to Jiang Shaohua for help. The road was not peaceful, and merchants going to the south had to have guards. Jiang Shaohua sent a hundred personal guards to accompany him, so he naturally knew the whole story.

"This year, Li County planted 5,000 mu of pepper." Jiang Shaohua said with a smile, "Other counties have also followed suit and planted some."

There is never too much food, and the people still put food production first. Vegetables and fruits are planted in front of and behind the house. Most of the families that can set aside some land to plant pepper are well-off and have surplus food.

Ma Yaozong was also grilling meat. His skills were not as good as Chang Ningbo's, but he was more humble and eager to learn. After burning more than a dozen skewers, he finally mastered the skill of grilling meat. After grilling, he diligently sent it to Chen Jinyu.

Chen Jinyu smiled softly and said, "Don't always think about me, eat too."

Ma Yaozong lowered his voice and laughed: "Just watching you eat makes me full."

Under the red light of the charcoal fire, Chen Jinyu's pretty face turned red.

The Chen family has agreed to the marriage, and the Ma family gave the betrothal gift a month ago. The wedding date is set for the end of this year. The two are now a formal engaged couple.

Ma Yaozong's job as a servant ended here. When he returned to the palace from the farm, he would become the palace's chef. The official documents of the Ministry of Personnel were on the way.

Everyone enjoyed the barbecue very much.

After dinner, Jiang Shaohua strolled around the farm to digest his food.

Cui Du naturally stayed by the princess' side. At some point, the accompanying guards disappeared quietly. On the road beside the field, Jiang Shaohua and Cui Du walked side by side.

The moonlight was bright and clear. The princess under the moon had a complexion like jade. When she turned her head and smiled, her eyes were bright and beautiful.

Cui Du's heartbeat quickened, and his mouth felt dry for some reason. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand. He moved his fingers a few times, but he didn't have the courage to reach out.

Jiang Shaohua suddenly smiled and reached out to hold his hand.