That night, the Fourth Master naturally stayed at Lanqin's place again. Originally, Lanqin wanted to ask the Fourth Master why he had brought Madam Yin out, since it was not advisable for a pregnant woman to go out. However, after thinking about it for a long time, she decided not to ask.
Being a pushover can sometimes backfire.
The next day, Fourth Master did not get up at dawn as usual, but stayed with Lanqin until the sun was almost up before calling someone to help him get up.
The two young princes, having received instructions from the Fourth Prince the night before that they would be going out to farm the next day, were so excited they couldn't sleep. Therefore, they got up very early the next morning, eagerly waiting.
Anyway, it wasn't until almost 9 a.m. that Fourth Master, along with Lanqin, two princes, and a whole entourage, arrived at the farmland on the estate.
The Fourth Prince had changed into a shorter robe, a straw hat, and straw sandals, giving him a rather leisurely noble air. The two younger princes were dressed similarly, especially the Third Prince, who was overjoyed in his new attire. Children love trying new things. Lanqin, on the other hand, had changed out of her qipao and into a shorter ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her shoes were now comfortable cloth shoes.
"Today, we're going to plant some eggplants, tomatoes, and cowpeas. Eldest brother, I'll break up the soil, and you're in charge of putting the seeds in," Fourth Master said to Honghui.
"And what about me, Father?" The Third Prince couldn't help but raise his hand and ask.
“You’re still too young. Just follow your brother and watch over things. If his hands get tired, you can take over and plant the seeds for him,” Fourth Master said to Hongyun with great affection.
"Master, what should I do?" Lanqin asked, blinking her eyes.
The Fourth Prince smiled, his original intention was not to let the little princess do farm work, but she was taking the initiative just like the Third Prince, so he deliberately wanted to make things difficult for her and said, "You are in charge of watering. After I cover the soil, you quickly scoop a ladle of water and water it."
"I don't need to fetch water, do I?" Lanqin suddenly realized that the water had to be carried to the fields bucket by bucket.
"Can your slender shoulders really carry water?" Fourth Master's smile deepened.
"Water doesn't necessarily have to be carried on shoulders," Lanqin thought to herself, wondering if there were any waterwheels at this time. There was absolutely no way there would be a water pump, and there wouldn't even be any plastic hoses.
"Oh? Water doesn't need to be carried, so how can it be used to irrigate the crops?" Fourth Prince took the cloth handed to him by Su Peisheng. Another eunuch squatted down at his feet and tucked the corner of his robe into his socks. The two young princes also tucked the corners of their robes in.
"It would be much easier to divert the water from the lotus pond into the farmland." Lanqin thought of Yu the Great's flood control method, which involved dredging and channeling water. She wondered if this suggestion would be unacceptable to the Fourth Master. Mentioning waterwheels outright would probably seem absurd.
“But lotus ponds and pools aren’t something you can just have whenever you want. There are only two ponds on this estate, one in the east and one in the north. Our land is in the south of the estate, and the pond in the east is closer to here. So how do you plan to bring the water over?” Fourth Master asked.
The two young princes stared at Lanqin in unison, their expressions exactly mirroring their father's!
Damn it, do all you Aisin Gioro family members like to pry so deeply? I was just making a suggestion! Lanqin felt like a million cows were stampeding through her heart.
"I can't think of a solution right now," Lanqin had no choice but to give in.
Fortunately, the Fourth Prince was still kind and gentle, so she only needed to scoop water up the soil with a ladle. The hard work of carrying water was naturally done by the eunuchs and the people on the estate.
Actually, these people are quite happy to take over the work from their masters right now, so you can just go and relax in the shade. If they like it, they'll just give you a few coins.
To be honest, Fourth Master was quite capable when it came to farm work. This really surprised Lanqin. She had thought that Fourth Master would just be putting on a show, playing around with something new, and then have the servants do the work after he dug a few holes. But after he finished digging one plot of land, Lanqin felt like she could barely lift her arms.
The two young princes were quite energetic, taking turns planting seeds and having a great time. Even the eldest prince's face showed the innocence and joy of a relaxed child. The Fourth Prince was pleased to see this and became even more diligent in digging the holes.
"The watering is too slow! Hurry up, or the little seeds will die of thirst!" shouted the Third Prince Hongyun. He followed beside the First Prince, carrying a bag, hopping and skipping back and forth. After all, he was three years younger than the First Prince and was still an ignorant child.
Lanqin was now truly regretting her decision. What had gotten into her? She had come up with such a terrible idea, and now she was almost in serious trouble.
"Princess, shall I water it for you?" Nianxue, who had been standing on the edge of the field, said anxiously when she saw Lanqin's hands trembling from exhaustion.
"Neither of the two young princes have rested. If I rest now, those two little brats will laugh at me." Lanqin gritted her teeth and scooped water from the bucket with her other hand.
At this moment, Su Peisheng directed two eunuchs to carry in a large vat of plum juice and place it on the field.
The Fourth Prince looked up at the fruits of his labor, which had lasted for over an hour, and at the sweat on the foreheads of his two young sons, and felt a sense of relief wash over him. He took off his straw hat; his head was already dripping with sweat. A young eunuch quickly handed him a strip of cloth.
"Take a rest!" Fourth Master pulled the two children towards the edge of the field.
"Gege, take a rest. Here, wipe your sweat." Nianxue took a step and walked into the field.
Lanqin tossed the water ladle into the bucket, took the towel Nianxue handed her, and wiped the sweat from her forehead, face, neck, and back of her neck.
As the two women, mistress and servant, went over to drink the plum juice, the Third Prince called out again, "Father, let me water Princess Niu's plants later. Otherwise, my little seeds will die of thirst."
The little boy spoke with such seriousness. The earnestness with which children his age take things is truly hilarious.
Fourth Master smiled and said in a serious tone, "Alright, have Su Peisheng call a servant to water the plants."
Although Lanqin felt that the father and son's back-and-forth was somewhat disparaging of her work, she really didn't want to continue. The agritourism business was just something new and exciting; who wanted to actually do all that hard work?
But Lanqin also knew Fourth Master's temperament; that is, if he wanted to do something, he had to do it well and see it through to the end.
"Then I'll take care of lunch. Or should we have them bring it to the fields?" Lanqin ignored their conversation. After working for a while, she was already feeling hungry.
"Well, you must be good at arranging meals," Fourth Master teased Lanqin in front of his two sons.
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