Chapter 263 The First Group of Guests
It was really strange. It was as if the Ning brothers and sisters had eyes. They came right after the farmhouse was finished. She thought only Ning Ning and Zhong Wanhui came, but when she arrived at the dining hall, Ning Qilang and several young people were already eating.
The shopkeeper Ye Huaizhen stepped forward and said, "Young master, aren't you still worried about when the guests will come? Look, aren't these people here?"
Ning Qilang is so free? He actually came to Shangala to eat?
Su Ruojin clicked her tongue, shook her head, and asked Mother Dong to bring her a bowl of mixed noodles.
Ning Qilang Ning Hua is a young general with outstanding military achievements. Last year, he returned to the court after a great victory and was rewarded for his merits. He was named General Zhongwu (fourth rank) and appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
Logically speaking, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War is a third-rank official in the court. Regardless of whether he is busy or not, it is the minimum requirement for him to report to the office every day. However, Ning Qillang did not do that, which brings us to the topic of the military and political system of the Dayin Dynasty.
The Dayin Dynasty had six ministries similar to other dynasties: the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishments, and the Ministry of Works. For example, Lord Fan, who promoted Su Yanli, was once the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and is now the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. They are all powerful court officials.
However, the Ministry of War of the Dayin Dynasty was different from that of other dynasties. The selection of military officers, military orders, and military affairs were all under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The reason for this was related to a famous event in history. Therefore, the emperor weakened the power of the Ministry of War and usually only let them be in charge of ceremonial guards, military examinations, etc. Their duties were very light, and the Shangshu and Shilang were all officials with temporary salaries.
What is a "jisalary official"? An official who has an official title and treatment but no actual duties is called a "jisalary official". Otherwise, how could Ning Qillang, who was only 20 years old, be a third-rank minister?
But no matter how free you are, you can't run into the mountains!
After the meal, Ning Qilang not only paid for the meal, but also paid for the room, "Stay here for half a month first."
"Still?" Su Ruojin raised her eyebrows, "Seventh Young Master, you won't work anymore?" So easy to give up? The emperor doesn't care?
"You're given money but you don't make money?"
The new emperor has ascended the throne and many things need to be done. Will the emperor really let him be so idle?
But Su Ruojin was not familiar with them, so it was not easy to ask such questions. Since there was money to be made, of course she had to make it.
In this way, the Ning brothers and sisters became the first group of guests of the farm house.
The first person who was happy to be called over by Su Ruojin was Mother Dong, who was in charge of the kitchen. She finally had a place to put her skills to use, had something to do and could earn money, and she was extremely happy.
The elegant and refined farmhouse on the hillside attracted people from the surrounding villages to come and watch the fun, but since Ning Qillang came, there have been guards at the entrance of the hillside, and no one can enter or leave the farmhouse at will.
Ning Qilang's explanation was: "My sister is just a daughter, I love her very much, I have to be careful about her food, clothing, housing and transportation."
Su Ruojin thought, if you want the treasure, then don't bring it out, making the farm house look like his private estate. Fortunately, it hasn't officially started business yet. If there were guards guarding it all the time, how would guests dare to come?
Su Ruojin smiled and looked at the young lady standing at the fence looking at the flowers. The girl was a good girl, good-looking, gentle and well-behaved, very lovable, but if she came with other purposes.
She wasn't so kind.
"Okay, as long as you pay, everything will be fine."
Su Ruojin put on straw sandals, put on a bamboo hat, and carried a basket on her back. She was going to the vegetable field to pick the first batch of peppers.
Seeing the young lady dressed as a farmer, Ning Qilang was surprised and asked, "Madam Su Er, are you really working in the fields?"
"What else?" Su Ruojin pointed to the green vegetable fields at the foot of the mountain, "Do you think these all came out of thin air?"
"No... No, I mean, these are the jobs of tenants and servants."
Su Ruojin shrugged, "Children of poor families grow up early."
Ning Qilang:......
It was not until the young lady came down the mountain and her charming figure disappeared into the sea of green that the gentlemen sighed, "Zhao Zijin's fiancée is really different."
When Ning Qilang heard this, he turned around and smiled.
In fact, he could guess what these people were thinking. It was too embarrassing for the wife of a prince to work in the fields.
Two of the people who came with Ning Qilang were his nephews, and two were childhood friends. They were about the same age, and after expressing their admiration for Zhao Lan's fiancée, they dressed in tight clothes and headed deep into the mountains to go hunting.
When Ning Ning saw her brother leaving with his nephew's friend, she quickly shouted, "Seventh Brother, take me with you."
Ning Qilang said, "Take good care of Ah Hui." As he spoke, they had already climbed a long way up the mountain.
Ningning stamped her feet. No one wanted to play with her, so why did she come here?
The young lady was so angry that she ran down the mountain and found Tian Gengtou, "Ajin, come back and play with me."
Su Ruojin is very busy, so she has no time to play with her.
"I'm busy." He refused.
Ningning: ...She was raised with pampering, but ever since she met Su Ruojin, she has known the feeling of failure.
With its little mouth puffed out, it rushed into the pepper field, as if trying to pull people back.
These peppers were Su Ruojin's treasures, and she would not allow anyone to step on them. She was so anxious that she kept shouting, "Aunt, grandma, stop, stop..." She hurried over carefully.
The more nervous Ningning became, the happier she was. "Who told you not to play with me?" She said as she walked, not knowing how to avoid the chili branches.
Su Ruojin was so angry that she wanted to beat her up. Fortunately, she was quick-witted and grabbed the young lady who was making trouble, so she only broke a branch. "Mrs. Ning, it's so hot, aren't you uncomfortable lying at home? You have to go out to bask in the sun. What if you get tanned and no one marries you?"
Ningning: ...What does the young lady fear the most? She fears that people will say that she is not fair or pretty. When she hears this, she gets furious.
"Su Ajin..."
Su Ruojin took a lot of effort to coax Miss Ning. There was no other way, so she only picked peppers for a while and then let the hired workers pick more.
When we returned to the farm house, Zhong Wanhui was sitting in the pavilion playing with a kitten.
The kitten was raised by the headman to catch mice. When she came back last time, a baby had just been born, so she took one to raise. Kittens, about two months old, are at the age of playfulness and find everything new to them.
When Su Ruojin saw her, the kitten was playing with the edge of her skirt, scratching it with its little paws. It was so cute.
One person and one cat, quiet and full of fun. Su Ruojin was envious.
Apparently Ningning was too, and she ran over to play with the kitten with her niece.
Su Ruojin let the two of them play while she went to her room to change her clothes, washed her face, and brought over some cold osmanthus wine dumplings to eat.
Feeling the May breeze, looking at the scenery in the courtyard, eating delicious snacks, feeling free and comfortable, it feels great.
Ningning shouted towards the boundless distance, "No wonder Jin likes this place. It's so comfortable and free. I really want to live here forever."
Su Ruojin smiled, and taking advantage of the good atmosphere, she quietly asked, "Why is Ah Hui here?"
Ningning pouted, "It's because the candies you made are delicious. Ah Hui is obsessed with you. When she found out that I came here to play, she insisted on following me."
Su Ruojin: ...Why doesn't she believe it?
"Really, I'm not lying to you." Ningning said with a sad face, "Ahui has no playmates at home, and she doesn't want to play with others. She always sits alone in her room, either counting chips or drawing plum blossoms. That day, you gave her candy, and she didn't refuse. She ate all of it without leaving a single grain. Sister thought that Ahui and you were destined to be together, and she knew that I was coming here to play, so she asked me to bring her here."
"You are still a child who has not grown up yet. Is your sister willing to let you bring her out?"
Ningning pointed at the maids and servants behind her and said, "They are here."
At some point, a dozen servants, including old women, maids and boys, lined up in the corridor.
Su Ruojin: ...Usually, she only saw a maid and a woman, and she didn't notice that they brought so many people with them.
Ning Ning smiled and said, "These are Ah Hui's maids and servants. I only brought five of them."
Su Ruojin: ...No wonder Ye Huaizhen said that she was going to make money. Wouldn’t the farm house be full?
Su Ruojin grows two varieties of peppers. One is the small Chaotian pepper, which is used to make various sauces; the other is the larger Cai pepper, which is perfect for stir-frying. One of these two varieties was specially given to him by Zhao Lan, and the other was awarded to Princess Yuehua by the emperor. At that time, she asked her uncle to help her collect all the pepper seeds grown by Princess Yuehua.
Tonight, Su Ruojin personally went to the stove and made tiger skin peppers, fried bacon with peppers, scrambled eggs with peppers, and spicy dry pot chicken.
Ning Qilang and others went up the mountain and hunted a rabbit, and she made a cold rabbit dish.
With chili peppers, anything delicious can be served.
"It's a pity there's no beef or fish, otherwise it would be perfect with boiled beef or chopped pepper fish."
The table was filled with food and the air was filled with spicy aroma. There were two young men who had probably never eaten spicy food before. They sneezed several times just by smelling the aroma. They frowned and thought to themselves that they might not be able to eat anything tonight.
Ning Qilang and his sister had stayed in the Su family and eaten the spicy dishes there before. Now, just smelling the aroma made their appetites growl. They said with a smile, "Sister Ajin, I won't be polite." He was the most senior and the oldest here, so he picked up his chopsticks first.
Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, a guard came to the canteen entrance and reported, "Sir, the young Prince Zhao has arrived."
Su Ruojin's eyes lit up and she quickly got down from the table and ran out.
It was evening and the sky was dark.
In the dusk, a young man, wearing a navy blue satin robe, stood tall and straight, with long eyebrows painted in ink and eyes like lacquer dots.
The moment he saw Su Ruojin, his eyes, which were as dark as ink, suddenly turned into a smile. Although he was just standing there simply, his whole body seemed to be surrounded by aura of elegance.
"Brother Jin..."
Su Ruojin flew towards him like a little bird.
"Ajin."
Zhao Lan caught the young lady, lowered his head, and his eyes were full of tenderness.
"Brother Jin, why are you here?"
"Can't I come?"
Su Ruojin: ...That’s not what she meant.
"It's so late, the mountain road is not easy to walk on."
"It turns out that Jin is worried about me."
The people who followed: …
This is dog food scattered all over the floor.
Ning Ning pouted and couldn't help interrupting, "Ah Jin, before Brother Jin...after Brother Jin...why didn't you ask him if he was hungry?"
"Brother Jin, are you hungry?" Su Ruojin asked with a smile.
Ningning: ...Why are you so irritating? Why aren’t you ashamed?
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