Chapter 43 [VIP]

These past few days, Chen Qingyan has been on tenterhooks, fearing that the matter would be discovered and implicate Wang Ying. She has been unable to eat or sleep well and has not had a good New Year.

Wang Ying noticed that he was in a bad mood, so she pulled him aside to chat in the experimental field when they went to bed that night.

“I know you’re worried about me, but it’s too late to regret it now. Besides, I never regretted doing this.”

Chen Qingyan sighed and lowered his head. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so impulsive that day."

Wang Ying reached out and lifted his face, "Do you think that you can get away with it by just enduring it for a while? Even if you don't provoke this kind of scoundrel, he will still cause you trouble. We still have Qingsong in our family. If he also causes us to be unable to take the imperial examination, it will be too late to regret it then."

"Brother is right!"

Wang Ying rubbed his lower lip with her thumb and said, "Next time you encounter this, please discuss it with me beforehand, okay?"

"Mmm..." Chen Qingyan leaned in and kissed him, capturing his lips in her mouth.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, your experimental field has been upgraded to level three."

Wang Ying raised an eyebrow. Just as she thought, no wonder the experimental field was bound to the two of them; it turned out that the upgrade experience was actually based on their intimate relationship.

He glanced at it just now; before the kiss, his experience was 91%, but after the kiss, it quickly rose and soon exceeded 99%, allowing him to successfully level up!

Wang Ying pushed away the person who wanted to continue the deep kiss, got up, and turned on the light screen to check what new functions had been added to the upgraded experimental field.

[Experimental Field 03]

Level: 3

Usable area: 2000 square meters

Usage time limit: 2 hours/day

Bound hosts: Wang Ying, Chen Qingyan

New features to be added.

The upgraded experimental field now allows entry for up to two hours and features free entry and exit. This means that as long as he stays with Chen Qingyan, he can enter and exit at any time within these two hours.

This feature is quite good; it will make picking vegetables much easier in the future, and if you encounter danger outside, you can hide inside anytime, anywhere.

The second setting is that the plant growth speed can be adjusted up to 2.5 times. (Note: Enabling accelerated growth will consume experimental field experience, so please use it with caution.)

The third new feature is somewhat useless: automatic weeding in the experimental field.

In fact, the two of them come to the experimental field every night, and three acres are not enough to keep them dry. Now that the system has an automatic weeding function, the two of them are even more relaxed.

Instead of idling around, we should do something useful, like gaining experience for the experimental fields...

The two did it under the peach tree once, gaining 3% experience. They did it again by the field, but this time they only gained 1.5%. This system is ridiculous! There's a daily limit to the amount of experience you can gain. And it takes so much experience to go from level three to level four! Isn't this just trying to ruin them?!

*

Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and the weather is unusually good. Early in the morning, Wang Ying asked Uncle Chen to take out the mutton to thaw, preparing to have a barbecue with the children.

The oven was made by a blacksmith before the New Year. It was a three-foot-long, half-foot-wide iron box that was placed in the yard and was similar to the barbecue ovens of later generations.

Wang Ying taught a few people how to skewer meat. The skewers were pre-cut bamboo sticks, and the meat included lamb, pork, chicken, and various fresh vegetables.

"Skewering three or four pieces of lean meat with a piece of fat in the middle like this makes the roasted lamb fragrant but not greasy, and it's especially delicious!"

Lin Sui asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, how do you know everything?"

Wang Ying coughed and said, "I learned it all from books, and your cousin knows it too."

"What do I know?" Just then, Chen Qingyan came over from the backyard.

Chen Rong laughed and said, "I was right. You're so knowledgeable; you know everything."

Chen Qingyan sat down next to Wang Ying with a smile and started skewering meat with her.

Li said, "This is the first time I've ever seen meat and vegetables skewered on bamboo. It's really interesting."

Chen Qingyan said, "This method has existed since ancient times, but it is mostly used for the food of the Hu people. When they are traveling for business, it is inconvenient for them to cook, so they skewer meat and vegetables on tree branches and roast them to eat."

Wang Ying gave him a thumbs up, saying that her husband was amazing and knew everything.

Soon the meat skewers were almost all skewered, and Uncle Chen put the pre-burned charcoal into the iron box.

Wang Ying then started preparing barbecue seasoning, and specially bought a lot of spices during the Chinese New Year.

Pepper, fennel seeds, crushed peanuts, and sunflower seed powder—this seasoning is so delicious it'd make even the soles of your shoes taste good.

The only regret is the lack of chili powder. Barbecue without chili is like a soulless dish, losing half its flavor. But even so, it still gave the ancients a great shock.

The meat skewers were placed on the iron grill, and Wang Ying used a palm-leaf fan to increase the heat. Soon, the aroma wafted out.

Several children surrounded him, their eyes drooling with envy. Even the usually composed Lin Qiu couldn't resist coming closer to see when the meat would be cooked.

Li and Chen Rong sat on the veranda and said, "This smells so good, I want to try it myself."

"How come Ying'er is so resourceful? We couldn't even come up with this idea."

"You could say that's true. Ever since he came in, the house has suddenly become more lively and full of life."

Chen Rong patted her hand and said, "This is a sign of good fortune for the family. A good son brings prosperity to three generations. This child is a blessed person."

"Don't rush, this meat tastes best when it's grilled until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside." Wang Ying grabbed a handful of barbecue seasoning and sprinkled it evenly on the meat skewers. The aroma instantly filled the nostrils, making everyone feel intoxicated by the fragrance!

The first batch of meat skewers was finally ready. Wang Ying gave everyone two skewers, saying, "Try them first and see how they taste."

Chen Qingsong couldn't wait to take the first bite. His eyes widened in surprise. The tender and juicy meat burst in his mouth. The unique aroma of mutton combined with the flavors of various ingredients was simply irresistible!

"My goodness, this is so delicious!"

Upon hearing this, everyone else immediately began to eat heartily. Wang Ying didn't forget to send some to her two elders as well, saying, "Mother, Third Aunt, please try it and see how it tastes."

"It must be good; you can smell the fragrance from far away."

"It's delicious! Please have more, there's plenty of mutton today!"

Chen Qingyan watched for a while and then learned how to do it. "I'll grill it, you go and eat with them."

"Can you do it?"

"There shouldn't be any problem."

Without being polite, Wang Ying picked up a skewer of meat and sat down in the yard with the children to eat. The weather was fine and sunny today, and the sun had melted the snow on the roof, with water dripping from the eaves.

The three children had something in common, so they got together to chat. Wang Ying moved a stool and sat down next to Lin Qiu, and started talking to him about Cao Kun.

"Does my cousin still remember Mr. Cao, whom we met at the vegetable shop that day?"

Lin Qiu nodded, "I remember, why did you suddenly bring him up, sister-in-law?"

“He came to deliver New Year’s gifts a few days ago, but it wasn’t actually to visit me; it was for you.”

Lin Qiu was stunned. "For me? I'm not that familiar with him..."

Wang Ying lowered her voice and said, "He wants to marry you."

Lin Qiu blushed instantly, feeling both embarrassed and awkward, and said, "Sister-in-law, please don't tease me."

“I’m not joking with you. When he came last time, he said that he had his eye on you back in the county town. He’ll send a matchmaker to propose marriage after the New Year. I’m telling you in advance so you can be prepared. If you don’t like it, tell your aunt in advance so you don’t panic later.”

Lin Qiu's heart pounded wildly. She thought of that man; they had only met three or four times, so talking about marriage seemed far too sudden.

"Thank you for telling me, cousin. I will discuss it with my mother."

Wang Ying didn't say anything more. After all, she didn't know much about Cao Kun, and whether the marriage would work out depended on fate. If she forced the match and it didn't work out in the future, wouldn't she just be blamed?

After finishing the meat skewers on her plate, Wang Ying went over to the stove to fan Chen Qingyan.

"Wait a little longer, it will be cooked soon."

Wang Ying held the meat skewers in her hand to Chen Qingyan's mouth, "You should try some too."

"I just ate two skewers, they tasted good."

"Next time let's have hot pot with mutton, it tastes even better."

"good."

After they had eaten their fill and it was getting late, everyone extinguished the charcoal fire and went inside to rest.

The stove in the Li family's room was burning brightly, and the family sat around the room drinking tea, eating melon seeds, and chatting.

Rarely having such a leisurely time, Chen Rong began to tell everyone about the past, specifically the history of the Chen family.

According to our family genealogy, our earliest ancestral home was in Nanyang. Our ancestors made a living by farming and were considered a wealthy family in the area. At the end of the previous dynasty, when war broke out, our branch of the family brought their children to Jizhou to escape the war.

They initially settled in Yangting County, but then a drought struck during my great-grandfather's generation, so they moved eastward to this place. Do you know why our town is called Qingshui Town?

Several children shook their heads.

"It is because the river in the town never stopped flowing and remained crystal clear even during the driest times that it got its name."

Chen Rong continued, "Grandpa said that life wasn't easy when we first moved here. The locals bullied outsiders, and we suffered a lot of injustice. But my great-grandfather had the skill of castrating pigs, and he also knew how to raise livestock, so life improved after a few years."

By my grandfather's generation, the imperial court had granted a general amnesty, resulting in three consecutive years of tax exemption. Coupled with favorable weather and increasingly prosperous lives, he bought several dozen acres of land in the countryside—the earliest form of our family estate.

With the accumulation of wealth over several generations, the Chen family's business grew larger and larger. By the time of Chen's father, their ancestral graves were blessed with good fortune, and a scholar who passed the imperial examinations actually came to be a successful candidate.

This is the first of its kind in the entire town and even the county.

At that time, many people offered money and land. The old man refused some of them, but accepted the others, which is how the Chen family acquired hundreds of acres of fertile land today.

Everyone listened intently, and Chen Rong spoke with great enthusiasm. These were things that Chen's father should have told them, but unfortunately he passed away early, so his third aunt had to tell them, so that the children would know where their roots were.

*

Time flew by and it was already the eighth day of the first lunar month. Dunzi and Ershun had both returned.

The two also carried a lot of mountain produce, all given to them by villagers. They filled two large baskets to the brim; had they been able to carry even more, they could have carried far more.

Shops in town opened one after another, and Wang Ying also planned to open her vegetable shop. There were so many vegetables in the experimental fields; it would be a waste not to sell them.

Early in the morning, Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan moved the vegetables out of the experimental field, and Ershun and Dunzi helped load them onto the truck.

The private school wouldn't start classes until after the fifteenth of the month, so Chen Qingyan helped out at the shop during that time.

As usual, after opening the door, the first thing to do was to light the heater. After cleaning the house, the dishes were laid out. Soon, a customer arrived – the owner of a nearby wonton stall.

"Manager Wang, you're opening so early!"

"Since we're just sitting at home doing nothing anyway, and the vegetables have already been delivered, we might as well open the shop and make some money!"

"Give me four tomatoes. I bought a few for Chinese New Year, and my daughter has been craving them ever since. She's asked me several times when I can buy them, and she rushed over as soon as she saw you open the door."

Wang Ying picked out four large ones and put them in her basket, then grabbed a handful of chives for her, saying, "If you like them, come back next time."

"Oh, thank you, Manager Wang." The woman smiled and handed over the money. Every time she came to buy groceries, her husband would give her extra. Although it wasn't much money, everyone has a desire to get a good deal, and she felt very happy to have spent the money.

She had just stepped out with her groceries when a boy of about six or seven years old blocked her at the door.

"You dare to buy their stuff? Aren't you afraid of having a heart rot after eating it?"

The wonton stall owner was startled. "What are you talking about?"

"That Chen Qingyan is a vicious scoundrel. He was disqualified for cheating in the county examination, and out of jealousy for others who passed the county-level examination, he secretly broke their legs!"

"Such a thing really happened?"

Inside the house, Chen Qingyan's face turned deathly pale upon hearing the commotion. Wang Ying grabbed a bamboo pole and rushed out, yelling, "You son of a bitch, spreading rumors right here at your grandpa's doorstep!"

A note from the author: