"This horse is a fine horse!"
Chief Lin stroked the horse's head, neck, back, and belly with great affection. If he weren't afraid the horse would kick him with its hind hooves, he would have stroked its tail as well.
In fact, this was also the first time Chief Lin had ever been so close to a horse, and he didn't know anything about horses. The reason he thought this horse was a good horse was simply because he was excited to see it, since it was the only horse in their village.
"It is indeed a fine horse!"
Magistrate Tang patted Ma Zhuangshi's back and agreed.
Village Chief Lin was even happier to receive the affirmation; his mouth was practically stretched to his ears, as if the horse belonged to him and he was overjoyed to be praised.
"Even a cow is a good cow!"
"It's a good dog too!"
"The cat is a good cat too!"
Village Chief Lin praised everything he saw.
The dog wasn't afraid of strangers; it wagged its tail and ran around them when it saw them. The cat, however, was perched on the wall enjoying the breeze. As soon as a group of people approached, it quickly scurried away with light, quick steps.
"What's that over there? I remember there was a patch of pink flowers there."
Magistrate Tang suddenly remembered the sea of flowers he had seen halfway up the mountain earlier and asked curiously.
Village Chief Lin couldn't answer this question because he didn't know either.
"There is a lake there. The water is drawn down from a spring in the mountain, and lotus flowers and water lilies are planted in the lake."
Lin Chaobei, ever perceptive, answered promptly.
"Lotus? Water lily?"
Magistrate Tang truly hadn't expected that such ornamental flowers would appear on a plot of land bought by a rural woman. You see, lotus flowers and water lilies are things that only wealthy families grow, and they require special care.
This Lin Yue family has produced quite a lot!
As they walked towards the lotus pond, Magistrate Tang asked curiously:
"Where did you get these lotus seeds? Also, when I came here, I saw half a wall of green branches and leaves on the courtyard wall. What are those? And over there, what's that?"
Magistrate Tang pointed to the plants growing along the mountain path. There were all sorts of things growing there. He recognized a few vegetables, but he had never seen the others before. Some of them only had one or two plants. Was the Lin family now farming so casually?
Having served as county magistrate for three or four years, he had learned quite a bit about planting. Every family that farms grows only one or two crops on a plot of land; there's no such thing as planting haphazardly and randomly.
"Oh, all those unfamiliar plants that appeared in the house, the seeds were all bought by my mother from the general store. Some were seeds she deliberately bought because she didn't recognize them, wanting to see what they were. Others were seeds she heard were unfamiliar and wanted to try growing them herself, and to her surprise, they all survived!"
My mother specially bought the lotus flowers because she had heard of a way to cook chicken called "lotus leaf chicken," as well as lotus seed porridge and lotus leaf porridge. Unexpectedly, the lotus pond was filled with them.
Over there, some seeds I don't know have sprouted, a whole bunch of random things. My mom wants to wait until they're ripe before trying them out; maybe she can find some new food, whether it's grains or vegetables, anything to fill their stomachs. Of course, fruit would be even better.
The one planted by the wall is called a 'rose.' My mother said it's named that because it climbs the wall. Because its branches have thorns, my mother planted it by the wall to keep thieves away.
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