After seeing off Xie Yi, Zheng Xiu and Xue Zhi went to their own farm. Because they were delayed on the road for some time, they arrived a little late. It
was past noon, the sun was high in the sky, and Zheng Xiu, Xue Zhi and others were already hungry. Fortunately, there were cakes prepared in the car, and several people ate some to fill their stomachs.
The fields were very wide and had a unique scenery, but now it was winter, and there was not much scenery to appreciate. At a glance, it was just a desolate and dilapidated scene.
The manager of the farm was named Li, and Xue Zhi had already notified him before he came.
Manager Li had been waiting with his men for a long time. When he saw the convoy of Xue Zhi and Zheng Xiu, he stepped forward with a smile and said, "Second Master, Second Madam, you have had a hard time on the road."
Fen Ge and Bai Zhu got off the car first, and then helped Zheng Xiu get off.
It was the first time Zheng Xiu saw this manager who had been unable to manage the manor for seven or eight years, and she couldn't help but look at him. Manager Li was wearing an old cotton jacket made of Hangzhou silk. Because he had been wearing it for a long time, the surface of the cotton jacket was no longer as bright and beautiful as the silk, and he had two shiny patches on his elbows. It was very rude to wear such clothes to greet the host. Fortunately, although he was as thin as a bamboo pole, his body and face were very neat.
Manager Li was very enthusiastic. He took Xue Zhi and Zheng Xiu to the farm and introduced the conditions of the fields.
Xue Zhi and Zheng Xiu were completely clueless about farming. After hearing what he said, they didn't dare to ask questions for fear of being laughed at.
When they arrived at the farm, Manager Li led them into the largest house. Manager Li said, "It's very simple here. I hope the second master and the second wife don't mind it."
He was not being humble. There was really nothing else in the house except a bed, a round table, and a small stool next to the bed.
Xue Zhi frowned and said, "Where is the previous layout here?" It is absolutely impossible for a family like the Duke of Qing to build a farm outside so shabby.
Manager Li said in embarrassment: "There was a disaster a few years ago, and many family properties were damaged. The manor suffered losses year after year, and there was no money to repair and add new ones, so they moved them to the warehouse and put them aside." It sounded reasonable.
Zheng Xiu was very surprised. What kind of difficulties did a manor in the suburbs of Beijing encounter to become so poor? Although she had traveled through time not long, it was not short. In her impression, as long as the families in Huaishu Village who had some land were diligent and hardworking, they could live a prosperous life even if there were occasional losses caused by natural disasters or man-made disasters.
But looking at the shabby appearance of Steward Li, he even has no money to repair the furniture that broke down several years ago. He can hardly make ends meet.
But now he has just arrived, so there is no rush to understand. Zheng Xiu said nothing.
Xue Zhi nodded and said, "Please ask someone to prepare lunch first."
Steward Li responded, bowed to them, and then left.
Zheng Xiu looked at Xue Zhi with amusement and helplessness and said, "How can you come here to relax?" You are simply here to suffer.
Xue Zhi looked around the room. Although it was cleaned in a hurry, it was indeed a bit shabby. It was not even as good as the Zheng family's house in Shiniu Town, let alone the mansion of the Duke of Qing.
He said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry for causing Ah Xiu to suffer with me."
Fortunately, Minghui was thoughtful enough and had almost everything she could think of packed up and had someone bring it over. What Manager Li prepared for them was an old patched quilt, which was washed very clean and freshly dried, but the quilt cover was so rough that it was really unsleeping. Fen Ge and Bai Zhu first rearranged the bed and replaced it with the one they brought from the Duke of Qing's Mansion.
Zheng Xiu didn't have many jewelry, and she only wore a few of them often. Minghui put them in a small box and brought them all over. There were also some other ornaments, which Fen Ge placed on the small table along with her jewelry box. After they had a look at the jewelry, the room was finally habitable.
As soon as the food was ready, Steward Li had the meal served.
The one who brought the meal was Steward Li's wife - a palace maid named Shu Liu. But that was her previous identity. Since she got married, she only had a code name, that is, Steward Li's family.
Logically speaking, for Princess Guihe's identity, it is impossible for the senior palace maids around her to end up marrying the steward of the manor. But Shu Liu and other palace maids who came with the dowry were all awarded to Princess Guihe by the current queen dowager. They said it was for her own good, but in fact it was just to monitor her.
At that time, he was still the second prince and had not yet ascended the throne. Princess Guihe was still immature, so she endured it.
After she had established herself in the mansion of Duke Qing, she naturally wanted to send these eye-catching palace maids who came with her as dowry as far away as possible.
Those like Shu Liu who married to the steward in the suburbs of Beijing were considered lucky, while those who were married far away would never be able to return to the capital in their lifetime.
Shu Liu wore a muslin skirt and no makeup. Her appearance was no longer young, but from the way she served dishes and did things, one could vaguely see some of the rules she had learned from the teachings in the imperial city.
The room looked like this, so the dishes were naturally not rich.
There were four dishes in total and one soup. The four dishes included chicken and fish, but the chicken was dried, so not even one plate was full. The fish was fresh, caught fresh from the river after breaking ice, but it was just the most common grass carp, not very big.
Fen Kudzu and Bai Zhu helped to carry the dishes from the tray to the table, their expressions already showing disdain.
... Such a room, such dishes, really worse than the living and eating conditions of the servants in the Duke of Qing's mansion! They were slaves, so it was fine, but how dare the farmhands serve their master like this? !
Shu Liu was also good at observing people's expressions, so she naturally saw it, and smiled at Zheng Xiu, "There is no good food to entertain you in the countryside, I hope the Second Master and the Second Madam will not dislike it." What
could Zheng Xiu say? Before she came, she was still laughing at Ming Hui's worry that she would suffer out here, because she felt that she could live an ordinary life. However, she did not expect that the life on this farm was not at the average standard of living, and she suddenly fell from the golden nest of the Duke of Qing's Mansion into the slums.
Xue Zhi asked Zheng Xiu to sit down, and then went out to call back Xue Shao, who was curious about the surroundings and was eager to have fun.
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