Chapter 131 Dried Beans and Cabbage

Although it is winter, the scenery around the manor is really nice. In addition, the sun has been good these days, so after lunch every day, Mrs. Shen has to go hiking to digest the food.

He Ying was pregnant and couldn't go hiking, but she would walk around the manor every day and felt very comfortable.

“This bacon is so delicious!”

Shen Yuan put down her bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction. After a few days at the manor, what she was most satisfied with was the food here.

Mrs. Chen, who cooks on the farm, is very good at drying bacon. Others think that working on the farm is like being exiled to the frontier, and they all want to gain face in front of their master. But Mrs. Chen doesn't think so.

When no one came, she would raise some chickens, ducks and geese on the farm, and last year she also raised two pigs. The pickled and preserved food that Shen Yuan and her friends ate was all made by Mrs. Chen herself.

The masters enjoyed the food and gave her a lot of rewards. Mrs. Chen was so happy that she planned to go to the nearby village to catch a few more pigs to raise.

"It's true, the eggs here are more delicious than those in the city."

After hearing what his aunt said, Shen Yuan peeled an egg and put it in her bowl. "If it tastes good, you can have another one. I personally found this egg in the chicken coop this morning. It is very fresh."

During the past few days at the farm, Madam Shen felt much more at ease. When she was in the city, although there were no rules at home and no one restrained her, she still felt uncomfortable. She always felt that it was her uncle's place and she was just a guest under someone else's roof.

Although this manor still belongs to her brother-in-law, she feels much more relaxed when she stays there.

Old Madam Shen was eating and she didn't forget to complain, "Manman, this girl, has been digging into chicken coops and duck houses for a few days. She doesn't look like a lady from a wealthy family, she's just a wild monkey."

Shen Yuan turned a deaf ear to her grandmother's nagging. She now knew that her grandmother was just a paper tiger, and a worrying paper tiger at that. Anyway, her nagging didn't hurt or itch, so Shen Yuan didn't take it to heart.

Instead, he peeled the egg himself and put it into Old Lady Shen's bowl, "Grandma, how about trying the egg that the wild monkey peeled for you?"

The way Old Madam Shen ate eggs with a stern face really made everyone laugh.

"Time flies by so fast. It's already February. We'll be going back in a few days. I'll have to ask Granny Chen to pack me some extra bacon and dried beans so that Dad can have some too."

After hearing the first half of Shen Yuan's words, everyone thought that she was reluctant to leave this place, but they didn't expect her to continue talking about food.

"You kid, you just eat as soon as you open your eyes."

"Manman is in the growth stage, so she should eat more."

"Aunt is right!"

Although the manor is good, they cannot live here forever. Shen Yuan has not forgotten her lonely father and her hard-working brother.

Besides, her brother and sister-in-law’s birthdays are coming up at the end of February, and she hasn’t prepared any birthday gifts yet.

It was a coincidence that my brother and sister-in-law were born in the same month, and their birthdays were only two days apart, one on the 26th and the other on the 28th. When they got engaged, the horoscopes said it was a match made in heaven.

On the Shen family's side, they also received an invitation personally written by the Empress, inviting them to the palace to attend the prince's wedding banquet.

Although Shen Yuan and Xie Hui have not yet been engaged, it has been made clear to their close friends. The Queen has always had a close relationship with Princess Kangle, so the invitation to the Shen family was written by the Queen herself.

…

On the third day of February, everyone who had lived in the manor for half a month had to return home.

"Girl, take a look, are these enough?"

Mrs. Chen kept stuffing things into the sack: pickled fish and meat, smoked chicken and duck, and of course Shen Yuan's favorite dried beans. She was determined to fill every gap in the sack. In addition, there was a basket of eggs and a basket of salted duck eggs.

"That's enough." Shen Yuan patted the sack with satisfaction, "Granny Chen, I'll come again next time to see the piglets."

"That's great! Miss, remember this, I will feed the pigs well, just wait and see!"

After getting on the carriage, Shen Yuan was still thinking, "Can we raise pigs in our house?"

"If you raise pigs, you feed them and clean out their manure yourself."

“…”

"Manman, I want to go see Sister Ru tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

"Okay, we can also bring some of the things we brought to Aunt and Sister Yunru. Sister, come with us."

Shen Xi naturally had no objection, she also wanted to see how Sister Du was doing now.

Although the things Shen Yuan brought home seemed like a lot, she had actually planned to divide them into several portions: one portion for her aunt's house, one portion for her brother Youqi's house, and one portion each for the homes of Yan Siyu, Lu Shuyan, and Jiang Yunyi.

They have each been busy with their own things these days and haven't found a suitable time to get together.

After calculating, there wasn't much left for their family, so that night, Shen Yuan asked the kitchen to prepare dinner with the dishes they brought back from the farm.

"Brother, you look so thin, come and eat a chicken leg." Shen Yuan gave the only two chicken legs to Shen Su, which moved Shen Su greatly.

"Thank you very much!" After eating, I feel like I can study for another three hours.

Shen Yun was also impressed by tonight's dishes. "These beans are really good. I've never eaten them this way before."

"Right, Dad. We are father and daughter. We have the same taste."

"Hahaha, yes, yes, it's really good."

In the evening, after Shen Su had finished his dinner and was active for a while, he was about to go to the study to read some more books, but he did not expect that there was a big lock hanging outside the study.

He returned to the yard in a fog and asked his wife if she knew what was going on.

"Dad asked someone to lock you up. He said you've been too tense these days, so he told you to relax for two days."

"But there's still a month before..."

Before Shen Xu could finish his words, he was hugged by his wife.

"The exam is important, but your health is more important. Grandfather told me that you answered very well. In the last month, all you have to do is believe in yourself."

"Did Grandfather really say that?"

"Of course it's true. Grandfather never lied to me."

"Yingniang, Sui Sui seems to have moved."

"Sui Sui also thinks that Mom is right and wants Dad to rest more."

He Ying now feels that it is better to get married earlier. At least at this time, she can comfort him a little.

The next day, Shen Yuan, Shen Xi, and He Ying went to the He family together. When He's mother saw them, she couldn't help but say to her, "Just send the servants to deliver the things. If it doesn't work, send a message. Mother came to see you, but she had to come herself."

"Mom, now that I can still walk, I should go out more often. These are brought from the farm. You can ask someone to make them tonight. You, Dad, and Grandfather can all taste them."

"From what you said, you're leaving now that you're here? Your father and grandfather aren't at home. Since you're here, why not let them see you? Manman, Xixi, let's have dinner at your aunt's house tonight, okay?"

Shen Yuan and Shen Xi looked at each other and agreed together. They would be fine when they returned anyway, so it would be the same wherever they ate.

Then He Ying mentioned another thing that happened today, "Mom, is Sister Ru at home? I plan to go see her."

Speaking of this, He's mother sighed, "She's not at home anymore. She moved out two days after the divorce. She didn't even take her maid with her. She only took away some clothes and the dowry she asked for from the Ma family."

"Moved away?! Where did you move to?"

"No, her mother asked someone to find out, and even came to our house to ask if Yunru had contacted you. I said you went to the manor, so she probably didn't know." Mother He patted her daughter's hand and said, "Wait a little while, maybe after a few days, she will come to her senses and send you a message."

He Ying nodded randomly. There was nothing else she could do except wait.

Shen Yuan and Shen Xi were also sighing. They didn't expect that Sister Yunru was in such a hurry to move out before her injury healed. It seemed that she didn't want to stay at home for a moment.

After a while, He Yingcai asked, "Mom, where is grandpa?"

"Recently, students have come to Beijing to take the exams. Tianyue Tower in the city held a poetry competition. Your grandfather went to see the excitement."

…

"Father-in-law—father-in-law—"

An old man was driving an ox cart with a load of cabbages. Perhaps a few cabbages at the back were not stacked properly and rolled to the ground.

A young man was chasing after him, picking up the trash. The old man must have been hard of hearing and didn't hear what was happening behind him. He stopped only after being reminded by several people.

"My dear father, your food."

He couldn't hold all the food in his arms, so he had to put it in his clothes. The middle of his sky-blue gown was covered in mud.

"Your clothes are dirty!"

The old man was hard of hearing and spoke very loudly, worrying about the young man's clothes.

"Don't worry!" the young man waved his hands.

Upon seeing this, the old man insisted on giving the young man two cabbages, and after some refusing, he had no choice but to accept them.

However, Zhou Zhongan saw it clearly. After accepting the cabbage, he took out some change and secretly put it into the cloth bag hanging on the cow.

"Xie Youqi is right..."