Born As The Daughter Of A Lowly Concubine [EN]: Chapter 72

“Greenhouse cultivation? Are you talking about winter vegetable farming? Why did you suddenly think of that?”

“Father, I was watching Grandmother’s health decline and pondering what kind of food I could make for her, and I suddenly realized something.”

It is only natural that sick people should eat good food.

And why should that be limited only to the royal family?

Aging and illness come equally to all, regardless of status. And good food and good medicine make people healthy.

Especially in winter, when nutrition is often lacking, if we can increase food supply through greenhouse cultivation, it would be good for the elderly and the sick.

I came up with that idea at Daebi’s [Queen Dowager’s] residence, and after a while, I went to the King and tried to persuade him with that logic.

In the Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom from 1392 to 1897], which valued filial piety, it was the best card to play.

“Do you intend to do it yourself?”

“Of course, shouldn’t I hire a farmer who has experience growing vegetables?”

I have money saved up, so I can either find land that was originally used as a field in Gyeonggi Province [province surrounding Seoul] not far away, or find a suitable place and solve it there. The same goes for the farmer.

“Hmm.”

“And I plan to teach the people at Siyoungwon [orphanage/support center] to do the work. Although I am supporting them, shouldn’t they also find jobs and become self-sufficient?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

It would be too much for me to just pour money into it unconditionally.

“And I am teaching everyone at Siyoungwon how to read and write.”

“…Everyone?”

“Yes, Father.”

It would be better to say it myself in advance that I am teaching even the lower classes how to read, rather than having it revealed later.

Even if they are not palace maids, there are rare commoners who know how to read.

It could be due to the owner’s whim or innate intelligence, but it is rare to break the limits.

Knowing that, my father asked me.

“Why are you trying to teach even the lower classes how to read?”

“Since they are also subjects of Joseon, shouldn’t they be educated to learn Confucianism and become adults?”

“Even the slaves and women?”

“Wasn’t it for that reason that you personally taught me how to read and encouraged me to read books?”

“…That’s right.”

Yes, you have ‘no’ written all over your face.

‘When I was a baby, you held me in your arms and taught me as a way to change my mood, and later, you told me to learn culture because I was a member of the royal family. You wouldn’t have taught me with any great meaning.’

But if I say it like this, there’s no way he can say, ‘No, that’s not it.’

“Do you think it is meaningful to teach them how to read?”

“How could learning be a bad thing? If they know how to read, they can do more things, so it will be easier for me to give them work. I’m not going to take all the palace maids who are serving me now when I get married, so I need to teach them in advance.”

“…Well, I suppose so.”

My father has a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. The Crown Prince is not yet married, so marriage is a long way off.

“Besides, isn’t farming something that requires knowing the principles of nature? Above all, since they know how to read, they can read and write agricultural books.”

“…That’s what you said is right.”

It seems like I just rattled off anything, but if the King is convinced, then that’s enough.

I don’t know if greenhouse cultivation will benefit the general public, but if they can get more nutrition, that’s a good thing.

And we can make money.

Besides, greenhouse cultivation is not the only way to farm, so we will also grow vegetables for side dishes as usual.

And if we bring them to the market to sell or supply them to Siyoungwon itself, it will be helpful in many ways.

‘We should sell the greenhouse-grown ones to the nobles at a higher price.’

If there are fresh vegetables in winter, they will come to buy them without me having to sell them.

Confucian scholars may say that they will not eat anything that deviates from the order of nature.

‘If my sick mother wants to eat it, is it filial piety to say that she can’t have it?’

They might argue that it is filial piety because they are leading their parents to the right path, but wouldn’t they want to give their sick parents good food?

“The Princess’s young intentions are commendable. Since you think so, try to do as you wish.”

“Thank you, Father!”

That’s something to check later, and since the King’s permission has been granted, it didn’t take long to execute.

It was easier to get permission from the King than to just go ahead with it.

That’s because the royal family has experts and books on building greenhouses.

If I were to build a greenhouse in the palace without permission, it would be a concern.

Later, if someone says something about the greenhouse, I can at least have the King’s verbal permission as a first defense.

‘Among those who are relying on Siyoungwon, the number of children is overwhelmingly large, but there are adults as well, so I need to pick a few people from among them. Ah, there were also slaves.’

Once things are a little settled, I should let the children work too.

I am teaching them how to read and write at Siyoungwon, but there are bound to be people who are not suited for it.

It is not possible to force such people to learn.

After instilling a certain level of reading, writing, and basic knowledge, it would be better to give them jobs with a high proportion of physical labor.

‘Farming can’t be done properly if you’re not smart, though.’

It’s okay. Even if I teach them all the same way, there will definitely be someone who stands out and works hard, so if that person learns well and leads the rest, it will work out somehow.

Of course, in that case, that person will be paid more. It would be a little unfair to treat them the same.

And of course, farming was not the only job with a high proportion of physical labor.

***

Around the time the preparations for greenhouse cultivation were completed, I brought up another big matter to Gai [her attendant].

“Chickens… are you talking about chickens?”

“Yes. It’s okay to start small at first, but I want to raise chickens on a large scale.”

“What are you going to do with so many?”

“I’m going to try to trade eggs and chicken meat.”

Seeing the poor nutritional status of people in this era is a bit painful from the perspective of a modern person.

Of course, some well-off families are eating well, but how can people live without eating protein? Especially for growing children, meat is essential.

And the easiest way to get protein is eggs and chicken.

The most common meats in this era are beef and chicken.

Cows are raised by farmers because they are used for farming, and chickens are useful for waking up in the morning, and many people raise them to get eggs even if they don’t eat the meat.

On the other hand, pigs are animals that are raised only for meat, so they were not commonly raised.

The royal family operates a private ranch to use them for banquets, but there were not many cases of raising them on such a large scale.

Cows eat grass, but pigs are omnivores, so their food overlaps with that of humans, making them a luxurious meat.

‘I can’t get used to the fact that beef is more common than pork.’

Thanks to the already increased agricultural production due to the transplanting method, it wouldn’t be impossible, but it seemed like too much food waste, so I decided to put it on hold for now.

I also considered raising rabbits, but I tried it at Siyoungwon at the same time as starting the chicken farm, but it failed.

“There’s a reason why they don’t raise rabbits.”

“They jump over the fence and run away.”

Sung Gyeom-sabok [name], the person who captured the rabbit, smiled next to me as I was feeling disappointed.

And the children were cheerful.

“Oh, can we eat the rabbit then?”

“Well, if we can’t raise it, there’s nothing we can do.”

Of course, if we had raised it, we would have caught it and eaten it later.

The rabbits of this era are not the domestic rabbits I know, but wild rabbits commonly called mountain rabbits, which are so fast that it is difficult to catch them alive. Moreover, they escape even when confined in a fence.

Their jumping power… seems to be almost 2m.

“Hmm. I thought it would be good because they reproduce well, their fur is useful, and we can eat their meat.”

“My lady. You’re so worried about feeding the children meat that you’re going to such lengths…”

“No, if only I eat it, it’s a bit, isn’t it?”

I ignored the sparkling eyes of the people at Siyoungwon and dropped the plan for the rabbit farm.

There must be a reason why our ancestors didn’t raise them.

There is also a way to find and breed individuals with a little less jumping power and gentleness, but it is too much work.

For now, I decided to focus on raising chickens in large quantities.

Of course, I started by raising chickens at Siyoungwon as a base.

I can’t farm inside the capital, so the greenhouse had to be in Gyeonggi Province, but I can raise chickens in small quantities.

I selected workers from among the children who had directly raised chickens from hatching to chicks at Siyoungwon.

It’s more efficient to have children who are interested in doing it than to have children who are not interested.

No job is done in a month or two, so I didn’t proceed hastily.

It’s a time-consuming task, so I’m doing it at the same time.

‘It has to go well.’

I think the number of people at Siyoungwon will increase soon.

***

As expected, the number of people at Siyoungwon increased rapidly after winter.

As I expected at first, many people came in because of the cold, but there were other reasons as well.

“Another baby has been added?”

“Yes, that’s what they say.”

I sighed at the words of Court Lady Min [name], who greeted me as I visited Siyoungwon periodically as always.

In fact, even when it is not winter, there are quite a few people who abandon their babies at Siyoungwon. It seems that they are having a hard time making a living, so they abandon their children here to reduce their mouths to feed.

“No, if you can’t raise a baby, usually you leave it in front of a rich house or a nobleman’s house, or any house that looks like they can raise a child, right?!”

“Then they might become slaves of that house. Here, they are raised as commoners.”

“So you should find out and take them to a house with no children. That way, they will adopt them as foundlings.”

It is a culture that seems to have disappeared in modern times, but in the old days, there were cases where babies who could not be raised were wrapped in swaddling clothes and secretly abandoned in front of other people’s houses.

Then that baby, the foundling, was said to be a lucky baby, a child who brings good fortune, and was raised in that house.

If I were to interpret it, it was a semi-compulsory adoption law that made the family raise the child, saying that they were accumulating virtue and good fortune by raising an abandoned child. They couldn’t just abandon the child who had been abandoned in front of their house.

However, while there are cases where they are raised as children of that house, there are also cases where they are simply raised as slaves and used as servants, so it was a hit or miss.

“But why are you reporting that to me one by one?”

“The children are clamoring to receive their names from you, Princess, no, my lady, so I am reporting it.”

I am always receiving reports on the progress of various projects, but I still visit Siyoungwon periodically.

And every time I come, I am under pressure to name them.

It’s not like a child comes in once or twice, but everyone asks me to name the child every time.

“Why do they all want to get their names from me so much?”

“Wouldn’t it be because they are relying on you, Princess? Besides, Jia [name] noticed your true identity, didn’t she?”

“There may be more among the children who are quick-witted.”

This was more of a disguise that relied on the fixed idea that the precious Princess would not come to a place like this, rather than hiding it. Can I really say that I hid it?

Anyway, there are many slaves who have children, so the newborns who come in that way are being raised in a communal nursery.

Surprisingly, even young children take good care of newborns, so it is said to be helpful in its own way.

But I didn’t like that look very much.

‘It reminds me of my bleak childhood, when I couldn’t play because I had to take care of my younger sibling who was much younger than me.’

My older sister in my previous life was similar, so I couldn’t say anything even if I felt wronged…

Based on my experience, I instructed Court Lady Min to ensure that the children’s studies were not neglected because of taking care of the babies.

I’m not preparing them for the civil service examination, but rather giving them basic, elementary education.

“By the way, what happened to what we talked about before?”

“I have prepared it as you ordered.”

While I was talking with Court Lady Min, a familiar song sung by young children flowed into my ears from outside the door.

“Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo.”

Ahhh…!