Chapter 11
"Grandma, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat!" The child's shrill cries echoed into the room.
Chen Xi glared at his eldest son with displeasure, telling him to go out and discipline his own son.
Chen Dashun quickly got up and ran out. Soon he heard the sound of slapping and the sound of a child wailing.
Wang Ying put down her chopsticks and scolded, "Don't hit the child. What does he know? There's so much chicken, Qingyun and I can't finish it all. Give them some pieces."
Chen Dashun stood there, not knowing what to do. Chen Xi also felt sorry for his two grandsons and waved his hand, saying, "Tell your wife to take a bowl and two pieces of chicken back to the house to eat. Don't embarrass yourself here."
"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Chen Dashun's wife happily ran to get a bowl and some food.
Seeing the meat in the bowl, her eyes almost popped out, but out of consideration for her father-in-law, she didn't dare to pick out the best parts, only taking a chicken head, chicken feet, and a few pieces of chicken neck.
Although the Chen family was the head of the village, their lives were only slightly better than those of the other villagers. They could only eat meat once a year during festivals, and both adults and children lacked oil in their stomachs.
Wang Ying said, "Take away the two chicken legs too, and give them to the children."
"Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss!" The young woman happily picked up the chicken leg, grabbed the bowl, and ran out.
Chen Xi's face turned red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, young master. The children are easily tempted; they get hungry just from the smell of meat."
"It's nothing shameful. Adults get hungry after not having any oily food for a long time."
Chen Xi was surprised that the new young master was so understanding, and her impression of him improved even more.
After lunch, they enthusiastically took him for a walk in the fields.
This suited Wang Ying perfectly; he also wanted to see how the crops in the field were growing.
Chen Qingyun couldn't stand the sun, so she stayed at the Chen family home with Tian's mother, while Wang Ying went to the fields with Chen Xi and his three sons.
Chen Xi's family lives in the village, but most of their fields are outside the village. As they walked along, they encountered many people, and everyone came up to greet them.
Upon learning that Wang Ying was the young master's son-in-law, everyone was so excited they didn't know what to say.
Fearing that the villagers might offend the important person, Chen Xi waved them away to the back, not allowing them to get too close.
"This plot of land is planted by our family, and the seedlings have all sprouted." Like other families in the village, Chen Xi's family all work in the fields. The only difference is that they don't have to pay rent to the landlord, so their lives are better.
Wang Ying stepped into the field through a gap, bent down and pulled up a millet seedling, examining it in her hand.
"These seedlings are too dense, which is affecting their growth. It would be better to space each seedling about half a foot apart. Also, there is white powder on the leaves, which should be powdery mildew. If the seedlings are not separated earlier, it will affect the later tasseling."
Powdery mildew is a common plant disease, mainly caused by fungi. It is usually caused by hot and humid air in summer, coupled with overly dense millet seedlings and poor ventilation.
"Mix two ounces of sulfur with fifty pounds of water, stir well, and sprinkle it on these millet leaves to prevent and control the disease."
"Young master, you know about farming?"
"I know a little bit."
Chen Xi nodded with some skepticism. He had been farming for over forty years and had never heard of such things before. He didn't really believe Wang Ying's words.
Wang Ying didn't force him. Anything he said now was just empty talk. If he wanted the people on the estate to trust him, they would only believe him if he actually produced results.
Further ahead is a clear stream, the water just knee-deep, where children are catching fish and shrimp with their bare bottoms exposed.
This place is really nice, with mountains and water. After Chen Qingyan recovers, he can move here to live, which feels like a secluded retreat in the mountains.
"After this millet harvest, please reserve a plot of land for me, just three to five acres will do. I will come and plant it myself then."
“Alright, I will definitely reserve a piece of land for the young master.” Reserving a piece of land is not a big deal. Although Chen Xi doesn’t know what the young master is up to, he is a kind person and not difficult to get along with.
*
On the other side, Chen's two children picked a handful of fruit from somewhere and gave it to Chen Qingyun to eat.
"Sister, eat quickly, this is very sweet."
Upon hearing the noise, Madam Yang quickly ran over and shooed her grandchildren away, saying, "Go play outside, Miss. Please forgive the children; they are just being silly."
"It's nothing." Chen Qingyun was also quite young, at the age where she was playful and active. "Let me try that fruit."
The little girl's eyes crinkled with joy upon hearing this, and she proudly handed all the red fruits in her hand to Chen Qingyun.
The villagers call this thing "Hongshanding," which is actually a type of cherry from later generations. It hasn't been artificially cultivated, so it produces relatively few fruits. The taste is similar to cherries from later generations, both being sweet and sour.
After eating a few, Chen Qingyun stopped and decided to save them for her sister-in-law to try.
Sitting next to her, Madam Tian cleared her throat and asked, "Miss Yun, what do you think this young master is really thinking?"
"What's wrong, Aunt Tian?"
"Why bother making a trip to the village for no reason? Don't you find it tiring?"
Chen Qingyun thought she was tired, so she comforted her, "When Father was alive, he would come to the estate twice a year. It's only right that you come to visit now that you're in charge of the household."
Granny Tian curled her lip and continued, "I think Miss is quite good at managing the household. Why does Madam insist on letting an outsider run it? Who knows if he'll secretly help his family..."
“He’s family now that he’s married to my brother, so how can he be considered an outsider? Besides, you know our family situation right now. We’re barely making ends meet ourselves. If it weren’t for my sister-in-law helping me stop my second uncle these last two times, we would have run out of money long ago.”
"Second Miss..."
"You mustn't say things like that again. It would definitely upset your sister-in-law if she heard it."
Granny Tian pursed her lips and said nothing more, but in her heart she was also annoyed with Chen Qingyun. This ungrateful girl, she had served the Chen family for more than ten years, but she was no match for an outsider who had only been in the family for half a month.
Chen Qingyun was unaware of what she was thinking and assumed that Granny Tian simply looked down on her sister-in-law's humble origins.
At first, she also thought her sister-in-law was an ignorant country boy. But after spending time with her, she found that her sister-in-law was not only literate, but also spoke eloquently, unlike an ordinary farm boy.
Furthermore, his elder brother's health improved day by day under his care, and the whole family was so grateful that they would never dislike him.
*
When Wang Ying returned from her walk in the fields, she found that many people had come to the Chen family's courtyard. These people were all tenant farmers from the estate who had come to pay their respects upon learning that their master had arrived.
Some brought wild mushrooms, some brought a few chickens, some picked wild fruits, and some wove their own toys and willow baskets. Although these were all inexpensive items, they were all expressions of their goodwill.
The landlord is kind and hasn't raised the rent in years; their lives are much better than those in the nearby villages. I've heard that people in Huangzhuangzi are starving, and many are selling their children.
Wang Ying accepted the items since they weren't expensive; if he hadn't accepted them, these people might have felt even more uneasy.
Seeing that it was getting late, they quickly had Liu Zi hitch up the mule cart and prepared to go back.
Before leaving, Chen Xi didn't forget to give him a few earthworms, "Take them back and soak them in water for the young master."
"Thank you, Manager."
Sitting in the carriage, Chen Qingyun peered out the window, watching as the people of Chenjiazhuang escorted them to the village entrance and lingered there for a long time.
A strange feeling welled up inside me, and I remembered how I used to throw away clothes I didn't like and throw away food I didn't like when I was at home.
Now it seems that the food I dislike might be their favorite, and the clothes I reject might be things they'll never wear in their lives. I secretly vowed to myself that I would never be extravagant again.
"Sister-in-law, try this." Chen Qingyun took out the fruit the child had given her from her cloth bag. "It's sweet and sour, and tastes really good."
"Cherry?"
"Does your sister-in-law recognize this fruit?"
"Yes, cherries are also called thorn peaches. Although they are delicious, they are not easy to grow. It is best to transplant them from the mountains to mature plants. If you like them, we can dig one up and plant it in the yard next time you come."
"May I!"
"Of course, if you want anything else to eat, your sister-in-law will help you plant it when we get back." Wang Ying had almost cleared the flowerbed in the backyard. Besides planting vegetables, she wanted to plant some fruit trees in the remaining space, but she hadn't decided what to plant yet.
"I want to eat persimmons, pears, and oranges!"
"Oranges probably won't work. There's a saying that oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges. Oranges prefer warm and humid weather, but it's too dry here, and the winters are too cold, which would freeze the orange trees to death."
I wonder if it's possible to grow them in his experimental field. If it is, we'll be able to eat a lot of southern fruits in the future!
"Oh, sister-in-law, you know so much!"
Wang Ying smiled and ruffled her hair. The little girl was so cute. It should be said that all three children in the Chen family were quite good. The mother-in-law was not good at managing the household, but she was quite capable in raising children.
We sped up on the way back and made it into town before dark.
Before they even entered the house, they saw Li Shi and the gatekeeper waiting for them at the door with lanterns.
"Mom, why did you come out?" Chen Qingyun waved happily from the car.
"It's so late and you haven't come back yet. I'm really worried. Was the journey safe?"
Wang Ying got off the vehicle: "It's safe. I didn't see a single person on the road."
"That's good, that's good. Come in, wash up, and have your meal."
The family entered the house, and Wang Ying was surprised to find Chen Qingyan there as well. He was sitting in a wheelchair, waiting anxiously, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Ying and her sister return.
Why did you come here?
Uncle Chen chuckled and said, "Young Master was worried about you, so he specifically asked me to push him..."
Chen Qingyan coughed, stopping Uncle Chen from continuing, "Uncle Chen, please take me home."
"Hey." Just as Uncle Chen was about to push him back into the house, Wang Ying stopped him.
"Since we're out here, let's stay a little longer. We brought back quite a few things from the estate."
Chen Qingyan wanted to stay but was too embarrassed to say so, so she awkwardly replied, "No need..."
Without saying a word, Wang Ying pushed him into the main room.
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