Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 1256 - 1253_1

Even better if they don’t like it!

"I’ve brought some dried meat and dry food for everyone, so we don’t have to eat the bird’s nest anymore, let’s eat the dried meat! I’ll take all the remaining bird’s nests then!"

"Dried meat and dry food? Great! We finally don’t have to saliva for the next meal! You can take all the bird’s nests, we are fine with the dried meat!"

"Right! These bird’s nests aren’t something we men really enjoy!"

"Then you can take it home for your wives!" Xiao’er joked.

"By the time we get home, I guess these bird’s nests will go bad! So, it’s better to conquer more cities and earn more silver coins. She’ll be happier seeing silver coins than bird’s nests." Besides, who knows if we’ll get to bring them home at all! But the soldier didn’t say it out loud.

The soldiers who go to war, stuff that is worth silver coins on enemy bodies, and the gold, silver, and jewelry scavenged from big houses after the city is broken into are shared by them and the officers, so generally speaking, repatriating soldiers who are fortunate to survive are not too poor. This is even more true for such a large place like Nangong Country.

That’s true, who knows when this war will end! Xiao’er looked at the soldier’s expression and knew what he was thinking, so she deliberately laughed and said: "Alright! When you all get back from war, come to my place and get half a jin of bird’s nest to take back to your wives! For those who haven’t married yet, take it back as a betrothal gift!"

The crowd got lively again when they heard this:

"Great! Princess Rui, don’t deny it then!"

"Yes! I’m serious."

"How much silver is half a jin of bird’s nest?" a soldier couldn’t help but ask.

"Fool! It’s around one hundred liang silver coins or at least dozens of them! It’s enough for a betrothal gift!"

"That much! Princess Rui! You must remember! Whether I can marry a wife depends on your half a jin of bird’s nest!"

"Alright! I’ll remember every one of you! Half a jin of bird’s nest each! But if you’re only willing to give half a jin of bird’s nest as a betrothal gift and so miserly, don’t blame me if you can’t marry a wife!"

"Then Princess Rui, you better turn the bird’s nest into silver coins! With one hundred or so taels, I can actually buy a mansion as a betrothal gift! If I still can’t marry a wife then, I might as well stay a bachelor for life!"

Everyone laughed when they heard this and called him Bachelor Brother!

While they were joking around, Brother Ri came to Feng Qing’s side, opened one of the bundles, took out a piece of dried meat and started eating.

Anyway, he didn’t eat the bird’s nest, and he had already married a wife!

Xiao’er wouldn’t forget Yun’er’s share of the bird’s nests she brought back.

Just as Brother Ri put the dried meat into his mouth, someone shouted:

"The general is stealing dried meat!"

Then the soldiers all flocked to grab the dried meat to eat.

Real men prefer to eat meat and drink alcohol in large quantities, rather than eat bird’s nests!

Seeing this, Xiao’er said:

"Brother Shangguan, come walk around with me, let’s see how many caves there are and how many bird’s nests are left!"

She needed to collect all the remaining bird’s nests. Their future lavish home life depends on these bird’s nests! Xiao’er thought to herself happily.

"Alright!" Shangguan Xuanyi nodded.

This cave, so magical, actually, he wanted to look around too.

In the end, after Xiao’er had seen all the caves, she harvested all the bird’s nests that could be picked! Then she realized that the annual bird’s nest output in this valley alone was not small!

Xiao’er thought of another way to make money then!

That is building a swallow house, attracting swiftlets, and selling bird nests!

In her previous life, she had visited a friend’s swallow house in Southeast Asia.

That friend said, a successful swallow house that’s been cultivated for 3 to 5 years, can attract over 3000 swallows to nest there, yielding over 60 kilograms of nests annually!!

Of course, they do not have modern sound imitation technology here, but Xiao’er has her space!

Xiao’er decided to breed a batch of swiftlets in the space and then release them, drawing them into the swallow house, and allow them to attract other swiftlets from nature into the swallow house!

Swiftlets like to live in groups!

The bird nests produced in this manner from these artificial swallow houses are called barn swallow.

The barn swallow’s environment has changed from caves and cliffs to man-made, swallow-friendly houses, but it does not alter the lifestyle of the swiftlets. They still forage in natural forest environments!

Moreover, the nests produced in the swallow house have a whiter color, loose texture, fewer feathers, and are smoother and softer to taste, making them more visually appealing.

Xiao’er shared her ideas with Shangguan Xuanyi.

"In this way, the people living near Swallow Ridge can become rich without much difficulty!"

Shangguan Xuanyi nodded his head: It’s not just uncomplicated! It’s simply easy!

These bird nests are premium food!

A pound of average quality also costs hundreds of taels! Top-quality is several hundred taels a pound!

Nangong Country indeed has abundant resources. No wonder it is the richest among several countries!

Shangguan Xuanyi was looking forward to what new discoveries the upcoming states and counties would reveal!

"We will launch a delicacy made from these nests in our restaurant! Now that I have this swallow house, I can also bring out a huge quantity of nests from my space!"

"Great!"

After inspecting the cave, Xiao’er, along with Brother Ri and the soldiers started their journey back to the valley.

They returned to Zezhou, the year had passed but thankfully, the Lantern Festival hadn’t, so they still had something to celebrate.

Brother Ri hurriedly went to Zezhou to see Yun’er, then he returned to the border of the Eastern Jin Dynasty with the soldiers from there. As for that deputy general, Brother Ri, who had his doubts about him on the battlefield, killed him right away.

Before New Year, Xiao’er had been busy putting together a feast for the soldiers to celebrate.

Although Xiao’er wasn’t there for New Year, she had already prepared a lot of things in advance, and the food was all ready.

So, according to Xiao’er’s previous instructions, Yang Liu and Yang Mei arranged a memorable New Year for the soldiers!

Seeing Xiao’er returning, Li Guzi complained, "Princess Rui, didn’t you say that if I go hunting with you, you will cook me something delicious? You broke your promise and left secretly the next day! I don’t care, that day, I brought back a lot of good things from hunting, prepared to have a big meal! Unexpectedly, what I was eating was inauthentic! Now that you’re back, you have to cook me a big meal!"

In reality, Li Guzi was so adamant on eating Xiao’er’s handmade meals because during the sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner, everyone missed Xiao’er’s cooking while eating.

With each dish, they would say if this were made by Princess Rui, it would be even more delicious, and absolutely unforgettable! In short, they praised Xiao’er’s cooking skills enormously!

Listening to this, Li Guzi became very eager!

Because he thought that the New Year’s Eve meal cooked by Yang Liu and Yang Mei was already very delicious. It was the best New Year’s Eve meal he ever tasted! And there are people who could cook better than Yang Liu and Yang Mei?

How could he not feel eager!