Chapter 23

It's about 30 li from the town to the village. Normally it would take a little over an hour to get there by carriage, but Uncle Chen was worried that Chen Qingyan's body wouldn't be able to handle the bumpy ride, so they traveled very slowly and didn't arrive until almost noon.

Having learned from her previous experience, Wang Ying brought a lot of food this time, and her mouth never stopped moving along the way.

"Would you like some snacks? Sanxianzhai's flaky pastry."

"I won't eat it." Seeing the snacks reminded her of Chen Qingfeng, and she developed an aversion to food as a result.

"Would you like some tomatoes? They were just picked this morning."

Chen Qingyan glanced at it and took it. He was very particular about what he ate. He first wrapped the tomato in a handkerchief, then bit a small hole in it and slowly sucked the juice inside.

Wang Ying stared intently at his lips, lost in thought. Suddenly, her face turned bright red, and she choked on her snack, spitting it all over the floor.

"Eat your food properly and don't make a mess everywhere."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Wang Ying quickly brushed the crumbs off her clothes and picked up her water pouch, gulping down water to cover her embarrassment.

It's really strange, I never had any feelings for men before.

Wang Ying has a fairly open-minded personality. She had some lesbian friends in her past life, but she never had any different feelings for any boy.

It must be that strange dream from last night.

We finally arrived at the village. Two months had passed since our last visit. The millet in the fields had turned reddish-brown, and we could see many people harvesting grain in the fields.

The mule cart stopped in front of the village head's house. Chen Xi happened to be home today and quickly came out to greet him.

"Has the master arrived?"

Uncle Chen knew him well and said with a smile, "Young Master and Young Master came together."

"Oh my, it's the young master!"

Wang Ying lifted the car curtain and jumped out of the car first, while Uncle Chen squatted in front of the car and carried Chen Qingyan out of the car.

Upon seeing Chen Qingyan, Chen Xi immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, Young Master!"

"Please rise, Uncle, do not perform such a grand ceremony."

"Last time I heard from the young master that you caught a cold, are you feeling much better now?"

"I feel much better. Thank you for the earth dragon bone, Uncle."

Chen Xi rubbed his hands shyly and said, "It's something I dug out of the ravine. It's not worth thanking me for. I'm just glad it helped you, young master."

The group entered the house, and Chen Qingyan looked around. "I remember the last time I came here was with my father. Nothing has changed in the house."

"What big changes could there be in the village? Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. What a good man the old man was, it's a pity he left us so early."

When her father, Chen Qingyan, was mentioned, Wang Ying looked sad. Seeing this, she quickly changed the subject, "Where are my mother-in-law and the two children?"

"I went to the fields to deliver food to Da Shun and the others. I'll be back in a bit. I twisted my arm while working a few days ago, so I've been staying home all day."

Just then, Granny Chen returned with her two children. Seeing the mule cart parked in the yard, she knew it was the master of the house. "Master's here! Haven't you had lunch yet? I'll go and make you some right away!"

Chen Qingyan quickly replied, "No need to trouble yourself, we ate on the way here."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. How can I come all this way and not eat anything!"

The two children stared at each other with bright eyes and asked, "Grandma, are we going to eat chicken again?"

Remembering what happened last time, Wang Ying couldn't help but laugh and said, "Let's eat together today."

"Young master, don't pay them any attention, you two greedy cats." Chen Xi waved his hand and shooed his two grandsons out to play.

"We've come here for a reason. Do you have anyone on your estate who knows how to raise livestock?" Since Tian Xiaoliu's family was arrested, they've suddenly lost several servants.

Now, Uncle Chen has to take care of Chen Qingyan and the family's mule. He's not young anymore, and Wang Ying doesn't want him to overwork.

Although you can hire servants in town, they are not as reliable as those you can hire on the estate.

Chen Xi thought for a moment and said, "There really is such a person. His name is Shidunzi. He is a widower and used to be a groom in the army. He is very good at taking care of livestock. If you need him, young master, I will go and call him over right now."

"No rush. We still need a servant to do shopping. I was thinking of asking Da Shun and Er Shun if they would like to go. The salary is 150 coins a month."

When Chen Xi heard that he had to kneel and kowtow again, he realized that after a year of hard work on the farm, he wouldn't have much money left. Even if he could help out at the farm, the little bit he could earn was better than toiling in the fields.

"This, this is exactly what I wanted! Girl, Tiger, go and call your father back!"

"Hey!" The two children swung their straw sandals and ran out.

In fact, Wang Ying had already planned to choose the Chen family boy as the purchasing agent. She had a good impression of the Chen family when she came last time. Da Shun and Er Shun seemed honest and reliable. In addition, their parents, wives and children were all in the village, so they would be careful not to do anything wrong.

Before long, the Chen family returned. On the way, Da Shun and Er Shun were overjoyed to learn that their employer was hiring. Upon seeing Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying, they kowtowed twice.

Da Shun is 22 years old this year, and Er Shun is 18 years old. Originally, Wang Ying preferred Da Shun, but he was the eldest son and had started a family. His wife, children and elderly parents couldn't leave him, so she finally decided to let Er Shun go to town.

At noon, Granny Chen stewed another chicken. Although Wang Ying repeatedly asked the children and women to eat at the table together, they refused. They only served themselves a bowl of meat and vegetables and then sat around the stove to eat.

During the meal, the topic of Master Chen inevitably came up again. "The old landlord is an excellent man. People from all around envy our Chen Family Village. Some tenants are even willing to pay 70% of the rent to move here."

Wang Ying was surprised, "With so much money paid, will the family still have enough food to eat?"

“If you don’t have enough to eat, you can cultivate wasteland yourself. We don’t charge rent for the wasteland in our village. You can grow some beans to supplement your income and still have enough to eat. Other villages can’t do that. Even if you cultivate your own land, you still have to pay grain taxes.”

Wang Ying nodded knowingly.

"One year, there was a cold snap in the spring, and the wheat in the fields almost failed. Everyone was worried every day that they would not be able to pay the rent. As a result, the magistrate came and, upon learning of the poor harvest, directly waived the rent for that year."

The neighboring villages, however, had much worse landlords. They demanded the exact rent, stripped almost all the bark from the trees on the mountain, and in the end, the starving people ate dirt. Many people starved to death that year.

Wang Ying has some experience in preventing and controlling late spring cold snaps. "There's no need to be afraid of late spring cold snaps. Next time you encounter one, press down the seedlings in the wheat field in advance, irrigate the field when the temperature drops, and cover the wheat with straw to keep warm after the temperature drops. This can avoid or reduce frost damage."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xi said seriously, "If we flood the fields, won't the wheat seedlings freeze?"

"The increased water content after irrigation enhances the soil's thermal conductivity. When frost forms near the ground, condensation heat is generated, which protects the malt from freezing."

This knowledge was too advanced for the ancients. Chen Xi was completely confused. "Next time I encounter this, I'll try what you said. By the way, last time you said the millet in the field had powdery mildew. I followed your method to reduce the seedlings on several acres and sprinkled sulfur water, and it worked very well!"

Wang Ying said, "The other fields that weren't sprayed with pesticides probably yielded less harvest."

"Yes, the millet ears on those few acres that weren't treated with pesticides were small and shriveled!"

"I'll go check it out later."

Chen Qingyan looked at the people around him. When they talked about farming, Wang Ying was like a different person. She spoke eloquently and convincingly.

After dinner, Wang Ying pushed Chen Qingyan to the fields. The terrain in this area was very flat, and as far as the eye could see, there were ripe millet fields everywhere. The heavy ears of millet bent the stalks, which was a delightful sight.

"This field has been sprayed with pesticide, and the ears of grain are so plump! The ears of grain in the two fields next to it that haven't been sprayed with pesticide are much smaller, and many of them are hollow inside."

Wang Ying walked over and pinched two tassels to compare them. Chen Qingyan behind her suddenly let out a soft "ah".

"What's wrong?"

"It feels like something bit me."

Chen Xi hurriedly said, "Could it be that you were bitten by a snake? There are always snakes around in these fields!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying's expression changed instantly, and she quickly squatted down to check the wound.

"fine……"

"What if it's a poisonous snake? We'll be dead!" Without waiting for a reply, Wang Ying rolled up his trouser leg, and sure enough, there were two small teeth marks on his calf, with blood trickling out.

Wang Ying knelt on the ground, picked up his leg, and sucked the blood from the wound with her mouth and spat it out.

Soft, warm lips covered his leg, like a feather gently tickling him. Chen Qingyan thought of a cat he had kept when he was a child.

When that little thing is being affectionate, it will circle around his legs and gently rub against him with its tail, making him feel ticklish and restless.

Chen Qingyan's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he turned his head to the side, his heart pounding like a drum.

Wang Ying only let go of him when she could no longer suck blood. "How is it? Does this leg hurt? Does it feel numb?"

Chen Qingyan shook his head, his face flushed.

"I don't know what kind of snake bit you. I hope it wasn't venomous. Otherwise, with our limited medical resources, it probably won't be able to treat you. I'll never bring you to the fields again."

Chen Xi suddenly shouted from not far away, "We found the snake! It's a rat snake, and it's not venomous!"

Wang Ying patted her chest, "That scared me to death."

Chen Qingyan took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"That snake is really something, it only picks on the weak. You already had trouble walking, and now it's bitten you and made you a cripple."

Chen Qingyan threw the handkerchief at him, thinking, "This guy really can't say anything nice."

A note from the author: