Chapter 22
twenty two,
Guan Yue pointed to the powder in the bowl and said, "This is powder that I made from sweet potatoes. Using this powder to cook dishes and soups can make the broth thicker and the flavor richer."
Guan Yue hadn't expected that people in this world didn't even know what thickening was, so she could only explain it based on her meager cooking knowledge. However, she didn't actually remember what kind of powder was used for thickening, but she thought it would be good for Cheng Lingjun to try it. She couldn't cook, but Cheng Lingjun happened to be able to.
Cheng Lingjun raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll go back and give it a try?"
Guan Yue nodded vigorously, "Tell me after you've tried it. I still have a lot of sweet potatoes here, but grinding them into flour is too difficult. If I had a special mill, I could definitely grind a lot. Making it myself is too slow."
She had to crush, wash, and dry the cassava starch, and she was injured, so she slowly made it by herself. She only managed to make a little bit. She felt that it was very similar to the cassava starch she had seen in her previous life, so she dared to try it. The result seemed to be as she expected. It was something similar to cassava flour. In her previous life, cassava flour had a market, so this cassava flour would definitely be able to sell as well.
However, Guan Yue wasn't very confident, since she was a complete novice when it came to cooking and needed someone who actually knew how to cook to take a look. The first person Guan Yue thought of was naturally Cheng Lingjun.
Cheng Lingjun picked up the white powder, sniffed it, and didn't smell anything strange. Looking at the small amount of powder in the bowl, he said, "If you need a special mill, you can go to Guping Town. There are a few shops there that can help you."
"Really?" Guan Yue's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Which one?"
“Several companies,” Cheng Lingjun smiled, seemingly unwilling to elaborate. Guan Yue felt his demeanor was somewhat strange and didn’t dare to press him, only uttering an “oh”. The two of them remained silent in front of the powder.
Finally, Cheng Lingjun picked up the bowl of powder, stood up and said, "In that case, I will go home and try it. I will tell you the results later."
Guan Yue nodded, watching Cheng Lingjun's figure gradually disappear into the distance. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and she blurted out, "Did you used to live in Guping Town?"
Cheng Lingjun paused for a moment, then said without turning around, "Yes."
After saying that, he left.
Guan Yue was stunned.
She didn't know why she was in a daze, but she was still stunned. She suddenly realized that she had never heard Cheng Lingjun talk about himself. She only vaguely knew that Cheng Lingjun was not from this village and had moved from elsewhere, but he had never said where he moved from. However, she guessed that he must have come from the nearest town—Guping Town.
She originally felt it was inappropriate to pry into other people's privacy, especially given Cheng Lingjun's sensitive status; asking him rashly would be disrespectful and offensive. But now, Guan Yue realized that she really knew nothing about him, and he probably didn't want to tell her either.
Guan Yue felt a little downcast, but she comforted herself, after all, they hadn't known each other for long, and she also had things she couldn't say, so she should wait for another day.
After recovering from her injuries, Guan Yue went to the village chief's house to bring home the remaining rice. She traded ten catties of rice with someone else for a few chicks. She then built a chicken coop in her yard using stones and firewood she had collected. To raise the chickens, Guan Yue didn't clear away all the weeds in the coop, as there were grass and insects inside that the chicks could eat.
She also had the land she rented from the village chief turned over the soil and planted some vegetables.
The village chief was really too kind to her, guaranteeing her two acres of land. These two acres were right behind Guan Yue's house, in a more remote area. The villagers of Dahuai Village were not very willing to take these two acres of land. Since the original owner left, the land had been abandoned, with weeds and crops growing at the same height. Guan Yue didn't find it troublesome to clear them, and it was also a good place to feed her chickens.
Guan Yue was unfamiliar with this vegetable and raising chickens, so she kept running to Cheng Lingjun's house every day, asking him a hundred questions all day long. Guan Yue was even afraid of bothering him with her questions, but Cheng Lingjun never showed any impatience. It was also the first time Guan Yue had raised her own chickens and vegetables, so she took such good care of them that she almost slept with them.
But her days became increasingly fulfilling. Every morning, she would check on her vegetables and chickens. She recognized every chick and cared deeply for every leaf of vegetable. She also fetched water every day—and helped Cheng Lingjun fetch water as well. She was like a spinning top, constantly busy.
While she was watering the vegetable garden, a figure suddenly appeared, startling her.
No one usually passes by this place, so she happily stays in the field by herself every day. Since she is growing her own vegetables, she is more enthusiastic than when she was harvesting rice at the village chief's house. Her vegetable garden is also large, so she asked Cheng Lingjun. Cheng Lingjun asked her what she liked to eat. Guan Yue didn't have any favorite foods. She is the type who can eat anything and is not picky about anything. But as a novice at growing vegetables, she was afraid of killing them. So Cheng Lingjun told her to just plant whatever was easy to grow.
Guan Yue didn't know which vegetables were easy to grow, so she asked Cheng Lingjun again. Cheng Lingjun could only teach her to grow the ones he had grown before. It was almost like copying and pasting Cheng Lingjun's small vegetable garden into Guan Yue's vegetable plot. In addition, Guan Yue also added a lot of her own ideas and planted a lot of radishes, Chinese cabbage, ginger, scallions... If it weren't for the limited vegetable plot, Guan Yue's passion for planting would never stop.
Cheng Lingjun asked her if she wanted to sell vegetables. Guan Yue paused for a moment before saying, "I just want to plant them all."
Cheng Lingjun was speechless, but that was really what Guan Yue thought. Having been used to being hungry, Guan Yue wanted to fill every nook and cranny with plants now that she finally had this opportunity. In the end, Cheng Lingjun stopped her, saying that if she planted too many plants, they wouldn't survive, and Guan Yue finally restrained herself.
Guan Yue seemed to be possessed by Shennong, completely obsessed with growing vegetables. Why had she never thought of growing vegetables before? Oh, in her previous life, she worked in cold buildings and had never even touched growing grass, let alone vegetables. Now she felt that she was terrifyingly strong.
Someone had actually come to this deserted vegetable garden. Guan Yue instinctively thought it was Cheng Lingjun, but when she looked up, it wasn't him.
Not only that, the people who appeared here also surprised Guan Yue greatly.
It's a sworn sisterhood.
Jinlan's bruises hadn't faded yet, and she looked rather comical with a black eye on her left eye. But when she stood next to Guanyue's vegetable garden with a serious expression, Guanyue almost thought she was there to take revenge on her.
"What are you doing here?" Guan Yue looked at her cautiously, and glanced at Jin Lan's feet. She found that the other woman was standing outside her vegetable garden, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. But then she wondered, "Could it be that after failing to steal her rice, she's now trying to steal her vegetables?"
That can't be, right? Her vegetables aren't even ripe yet.
Is it sabotage?
Just as Guan Yue was filled with suspicions about Jin Lan, Jin Lan spoke up: "Is Cheng Lingjun your lover?"
Guan Yueqian had planned everything perfectly, but she never expected Jinlan's first words to be like this.
Her eyes widened, and she dropped everything in her hands, her mouth agape, unsure where to begin her complaint.
Jinlan, however, seemed to have discerned the truth from her reaction. She frowned and asked, "What's so good about that slut?"
Guan Yue immediately closed her mouth and was able to speak again, "He's not a slut! Please don't insult others so casually."
Jinlan looked at her with a knowing expression, "You really like him? No wonder you broke off relations with us sisters. What's so attractive about that old man? You're so foolish!"
Guan Yue immediately retorted, "What do you mean 'old boy' or 'young boy'? Speak with some respect. What's so attractive about it...?"
Jinlan interrupted, "Ha, so you won't even let me say bad things about him? Guanyue, you've really lost your mind! You... you've really forgotten your friends for the sake of a pretty face!"
What are they talking about? Guan Yue didn't understand how Cheng Lingjun had been involved. Was it because Cheng Lingjun had helped her get reinforcements during the fight that Jin Lan had misunderstood their relationship?
She even forgot her friends because of her looks. Were they even friends? Even the Guan Yue of the past wasn't a proper friend to them; they were just fair-weather friends. They should have broken off all ties with her long ago.
Guan Yue gave her no kind look and said coldly, "He and I are not in that kind of relationship. As for you, I think I've made it clear. We're cutting ties from now on. The past is the past. If you still insist on this, don't blame me for disregarding our past friendship. We'll fight to the death!"
Guan Yue pointed to the hoe behind her, indicating that she was not unarmed and that if she dared to come, she would be in for a world of hurt.
Jinlan was clearly used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Seeing Guan Yue's high spirits, she immediately shrank back a few inches, but she still refused to back down verbally. "Fine, fine, fine, Guan Yue, I'll remember this. Don't be so arrogant. Be careful not to be fooled by that old man. You won't have a good time with him. I think he... sigh—uh!"
Guan Yue picked up the hoe beside her and made a move to swing it. Jin Lan was afraid of being beaten by her before. When she saw that Guan Yue was going to hit her again, she immediately turned around and ran away, afraid that she would be caught up and hit with the hoe.
"Hmph," Guan Yue stood still, looking disdainfully at Jin Lan's fleeing figure.
Fortunately, they didn't touch her food. However, the nonsensical things she said were really funny. Guan Yue felt that they were trying to drive a wedge between her and Cheng Lingjun, so that she would hate Cheng Lingjun and then make up with them to continue their old ways. But Guan Yue was not the same Guan Yue as before, so she ignored them.
But Guan Yue was worried that Jin Lan wouldn't dare to offend her and would harass Cheng Lingjun, so she immediately told Cheng Lingjun about it after returning home.
Guan Yue concealed the vulgarities Jin Lan had used, only telling Cheng Lingjun to be careful, not to go out at night, and to check the surroundings before going out during the day. She also advised him to carry some self-defense tools and to run away immediately if he saw Jin Lan and the other two, seeking help from people in the area.
Guan Yue went on and on, giving Cheng Lingjun a long explanation, which he listened to and nodded in agreement. However, Guan Yue was still worried about him because he looked so weak. Finally, she gritted her teeth and stomped her foot.
"No, next time you go out, just let me know and I'll take you home."
Hmm? Cheng Lingjun looked up. Is this correct?
Didn't we agree to avoid suspicion in public?
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