I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 170 Liu Xiaoyu

"Yes, Miss, I will arrange all of this. There will be daily patrols to ensure that no animals damage the breed," Li Fu said, bowing slightly.

In fact, the tenants in the village understood all of this without Xiao Siyue's reminder. They were all experienced in tending crops and were adept at handling these matters, not to mention the importance of grain to them.

“Alright, then these superior seeds will depend on you. Li Fu, please tell the tenants to take good care of these seeds. After the harvest in a few months, everyone will be rewarded. They won’t be treated unfairly,” Xiao Siyue instructed again.

Besides five mu of corn, the rest of the land in the village is mostly sweet potatoes, with a small amount of potatoes as well.

Potatoes have become widely cultivated throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty in recent years, but sweet potatoes are still only grown in a small number of areas. Therefore, the sweet potatoes in the village this year will be used as seeds for next year.

However, by next year, sweet potatoes will be widely planted. With the foundation of potatoes, people's acceptance of them will be greater, unlike now, when people still have a hesitant attitude towards potatoes.

After wandering around the field for a while, Xiao Siyue felt refreshed. Looking at the vast expanse of green, her eyes relaxed considerably.

"Miss, shall we go back?" Lan Yi asked Xiao Siyue.

It was already noon, and the weather was very hot. Xiao Siyue was already sweating a little. Hearing Lan Yi say this, she nodded.

"Let's go back first."

The group returned to the house, and Chun Tao went out to prepare water for Xiao Siyue to wash up. However, as soon as she went out, a little maid came towards them carrying a basin.

Chuntao went up to her and asked, "Was this prepared for our young lady?"

"Yes, sister, it's too hot. Let Miss wash her face and rest for a while," the little maid replied in a clear voice after stopping.

"Thank you, little sister, give it to me." Chun Tao took the basin, and the little girl didn't go out either, but followed Chun Tao in.

"Miss, let me help you wash up." Chun Tao put down the basin, wet a handkerchief, and handed it to Xiao Siyue.

Xiao Siyue naturally took it and wiped her face.

She used to find it a little strange, but now she's used to it. In modern times, life was rough, and people would just splash water on their faces to wash them. Now, she can just gently wipe her face with a handkerchief.

However, this is only on a regular basis. When washing up in the morning and evening, she still uses scented soap directly, otherwise she always feels that she is not clean enough.

After wiping her face, Xiao Siyue asked about the little girl standing in the room.

"What is this?" Xiao Siyue turned her head to look at Chuntao.

After putting the handkerchief away, Chun Tao heard Xiao Siyue's words and replied with a smile, "Miss, I just ran into this little maid when I went out. She's the one who brought you the water. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get here so quickly."

"Oh?" Xiao Siyue sized up the little girl, who looked to be about ten years old, probably a bit younger than Chun Tao. Standing in the room, she wasn't intimidated at all by the way they were looking at her.

Her clothes were neither new nor old, but they were very clean and tidy. Xiao Siyue guessed that she must be the daughter of a tenant farmer in the village.

She was quite clever; as soon as she saw them return, she immediately prepared water.

"What's your name? Which family are you from?" Xiao Siyue wondered.

"Miss, I am Liu Xiaoyu, the eldest daughter of the Liu family." Liu Xiaoyu curtsied and spoke after hearing Xiao Siyue's question.

"The Liu family?" Xiao Siyue was not familiar with the tenants in the village, so she had no choice but to turn to Li Fu and ask who this Liu family was.

“Miss, the Liu family is the largest tenant family in our village, with thirteen members across three generations. Liu Xiaoyu is the first maid of this grandchildren,” Li Fu said.

Thirteen people is indeed quite a lot.

"Thank you for today." Xiao Siyue thanked Liu Xiaoyu and then turned her gaze to Lan Yi.

Lan Yi understood and took out a purse from her bosom and handed it to Liu Xiaoyu.

However, Liu Xiaoyu did not accept it, but instead knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Xiao Siyue was startled. What was going on?

Before Xiao Siyue could ask anything, Liu Xiaoyu spoke up: "Thank you for the reward, Miss, but I'm not after the money."

Xiao Siyue became interested. She didn't want money? Then what did she want?

"If you don't want money, then what do you want? Get up and we'll talk." Xiao Siyue changed her posture before speaking.

"I want to go with Miss," Liu Xiaoyu said firmly, looking at Xiao Siyue.

"Why are you following me?" Xiao Siyue was even more curious now. This was her first time visiting the manor, and Liu Xiaoyu wanted to follow her.

“Only by following Miss can I see more things. I don’t want to stay in this place forever, only seeing this small world, and then in two years, get married and continue living the same life as my mother.” A light seemed to be shining in Liu Xiaoyu’s eyes.

Upon hearing this, the others all felt that this little girl was quite ambitious.

Xiao Siyue thought it was great; she never expected to meet a girl with such high moral character here.

This made her take it seriously.

"Do you know that if you follow me, you'll have to sign a contract of servitude and become my maid, losing your freedom? Are you still willing to do that?"

“I know, I’m willing to sign the contract and become Miss’s maid,” Liu Xiaoyu nodded in reply.

“I don’t take in useless people. Tell me, what reason do you have for me to take you in?” Xiao Siyue really wanted to know what gave this girl her confidence, or if she just wanted to leave the manor without thinking.

“Miss, I can manage a household and do accounting,” Liu Xiaoyu said, mentioning her strengths.

"Butler, you can read and write, can you do the accounting?" Xiao Siyue was even more curious now, because she knew that tenant farmers didn't even own any land, and were arguably worse off than ordinary people.

Unexpectedly, a literate little girl appeared here.

"I can read." Liu Xiaoyu said, slightly raising her chin. This was what she was most proud of. It was because she could read that she didn't want to stay in this small place for the rest of her life.

But she was just a young girl, and she couldn't survive on her own. Meeting Xiao Siyue was a perfect opportunity.

While she was at the manor, she heard others say that the manor was a gift from the current emperor to the county magistrate. A county magistrate with such a great honor must have a bright future and would not stay in this small place, Qianyuan County, forever.

So if she just follows this county magistrate's daughter, she can leave this place and go to see bigger places.

Moreover, after observing her today, she discovered that this young lady was anything but simple.

She became even more determined to follow Xiao Siyue, so as soon as Xiao Siyue returned, she brought over a basin of water.