Chapter 166: A Scholar Who Dislikes Farming Is Not a Good Cook
The matter of the storefronts was settled just like that. When the members of the Wen family learned that Wen Xiuyi had secured five of them, they didn’t say much. However, when Qiu Rongrong found out that they had all acquired shops at the docks, she became incredibly anxious. Clutching her silver, she immediately rushed to find County Magistrate Chen.
Since her network of connections wasn’t effective enough here, she decided to smash them with money instead. Sure enough, she managed to secure five storefronts as well. Originally, she had wanted to get even more, but Qiaoyan advised her against it, pointing out that both the Wen family and Master Qiu had only taken five. If she took too many, it wouldn’t look good.
Only then did Qiu Rongrong drop the idea.
Even before the storefronts were officially handed over, Qiu Rongrong came looking for Wen Yao.
Having not visited the Wen family for some time, Qiu Rongrong looked at the changes around the residence with absolute wonder. The sunflowers along the foot of the wall had already grown tall, blooming with pretty little yellow flowers that looked exceptionally beautiful.
Wen Yao introduced them to her, explaining that they were called sunflowers—flowers that bloomed facing the sun.
This simple introduction made Qiu Rongrong instantly fall in love with these flowers she had never seen before.
Wen Yao then led her to the backyard to look at the chili peppers and tomatoes. By now, they were all in bloom, and each plant looked remarkably vibrant and energetic.
Deeply intrigued, Qiu Rongrong peered here and there, inspecting them closely.
“I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before,” Qiu Rongrong remarked, pointing at a chili pepper plant.
Wen Yao suddenly remembered that people in this era used to raise chili peppers purely as ornamental flowers, so she asked, “Do they bear bright red fruits?”
Realization dawned on Qiu Rongrong. “Oh my, yes! I was just wondering where I’d seen it. This is exactly it! The fruits it bears are bright red, but they’re not edible. I saw them at my house before. Because they couldn’t be eaten, we just kept a few plants around to look at for fun. After all, those red fruits look quite festive.”
As she spoke, she even reached out to poke a tiny white flower blooming on a chili plant, finding it quite small and lovely.
The corner of Wen Yao’s mouth twitched. Having anticipated this exact response, she smiled and said, “That’s only because those people don’t know how to eat it. This is a truly wonderful thing—a far better seasoning than cornelian cherries. Once we have this, the number of dishes we can make is simply endless.” Most importantly, they could make hot pot!
Ah, she missed hot pot so much.
But before the chilis fully grew out, she couldn’t bring out the hot pot soup bases from her space.
Qiu Rongrong went over to look at the tomatoes next. She couldn’t really make heads or tails of them, but upon hearing Wen Yao say that this was something that could be eaten as both a fruit and a vegetable, she was filled with curiosity. She wished the days would fly by so the plants could mature right this instant.
After touring the backyard, Wen Yao guided her out to see the fish pond and the duck coop. The fish fingerlings had been purchased and released into the pond immediately after the Lu family arrived, and they were currently being looked after by Lu Feng and his two sons.
Over this past period, Wen Xiuyi had been obsessively studying the knowledge of fish farming. He had fiercely shared a massive wave of information with the Lu family, which left them feeling thoroughly dejected.
The Master himself is so incredibly adept at fish farming; why did he claim he didn’t know how to do it?
Wen Xiuyi, of course, wasn’t about to tell them that he was merely an expert at armchair strategy. Tossing the responsibility of fish farming entirely to Lu Feng and his two sons, he patted his trousers and washed his hands of it.
“Young Mistress.” Lu Feng was currently punting a small boat out in the fish pond to do some chores. Seeing Wen Yao approaching with a noble lady, he paused his work to bow.
Wen Yao poked her head out and asked eagerly, “Uncle Lu, have the fish grown bigger yet?”
The question made her sound exactly like an innocent, naive little girl, which drew chuckles from both Qiu Rongrong and Lu Feng. Lu Feng smiled and replied, “Young Mistress, these fingerlings were only put into the water a few days ago. How could they possibly grow that fast?”
Sigh. Wen Yao felt it was quite a pity. This space of hers didn’t provide a spiritual spring or anything of the sort. If it had, she could be like those blessed female leads with golden fingers, watching the things she raised shoot up instantly.
“If you want to eat fish, I can have someone deliver a few from my manor,” Qiu Rongrong said, seeing that the little girl seemed quite crestfallen.
As if Wen Yao were upset about that! Still, she wasn’t about to refuse a good fish dinner. “Then I must thank you, Sister.”
“Little glutton.” Qiu Rongrong pinched her nose with a laugh, then glanced toward the duck coop, which was still quite a distance away.
“Sister, let’s not head over there.” Wen Yao glanced at Qiu Rongrong’s expensive and elegant robes, feeling that those ducks weren’t worthy of a visit from her.
Qiu Rongrong was also well aware of the destructive potential of a duck coop, after all, Wen Yao had complained to her about it more than once.
“Let’s head back then. Wait, what’s that over there?” Qiu Rongrong spotted the waterwheel in the distance.
Wen Yao explained, “Oh, that. That’s a waterwheel my dad set up. When we were digging the pond, the terrain here was quite a bit higher than the riverbed. If we dug a regular irrigation canal, it probably would have had to be incredibly deep. My dad was afraid someone in the village might fall in, so he constructed this waterwheel to draw water up from the river.”
Qiu Rongrong stared at it from afar.
“It seems to work quite well? I see the villagers are also drawing water from beneath the waterwheel to irrigate their fields.”
Wen Yao nodded. “Mm. Right now, all the nearby fields in the village draw water from our place. It’s close and convenient.”
“Uncle Wen drew up these blueprints himself?” Qiu Rongrong turned to Wen Yao.
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow. “Does Sister want them?”
Qiu Rongrong didn’t stand on ceremony. “I do.” Her own manor also seemed to be located quite a distance from the river. If she had one of these, wouldn’t she be able to draw water straight into her manor?
“Sure. We’ll ask my dad for them as soon as we get back.”
The two returned to the Wen residence and sent someone to summon Wen Xiuyi, who was working out in the fields. The moment he heard that Qiu Rongrong wanted the blueprints for the waterwheel, Wen Xiuyi went straight to the study without a second word to fetch them for her. As he handed over the blueprints, he didn’t forget to mention, “There’s a Carpenter Zhang over by the docks; he was the one who built this waterwheel for my family. You can hire him to help you. A seasoned worker is always better than trying to figure it out from scratch.”
Toward Qiu Rongrong, Wen Xiuyi treated her as a junior, so his manner of speaking wasn’t overly formal.
“Thank you, Uncle Wen. I understand.”
Anxious about the crops in his fields, Wen Xiuyi quickly departed once more.
Filled with curiosity, Qiu Rongrong remarked, “Isn’t Uncle Wen a scholar? Yet it seems to me that he prefers to stay out in the fields.”
Farming, running a food stall… in short, not a single thing about him seemed connected to the refined world of scholars and poets.
What could Wen Yao say? Could she say that Professor Wen had spent his entire previous life dealing with soil and crops? She could only spin a wild yarn: “Perhaps my dad achieved sudden enlightenment.” She even playfully pressed her hands together in a prayer gesture, which set Qiu Rongrong giggling non-stop.
Once she finished laughing, Qiu Rongrong remarked, “Still, I notice that the crops in your family’s fields are growing significantly better than the ones at my manor. I’ll have the workers from my manor come over later to learn a thing or two from Uncle Wen.”
Wen Yao secretly smirked. That would literally be seeking guidance from an absolute expert. One had to know that back in their previous world, the number of people begging for an audience with Professor Wen and his team was countless.
The two chatted idly for a bit longer before turning the conversation back to the storefronts at the docks.
“You had Uncle Wen secure five storefronts. What do you plan to do with them?”
Wen Yao truly hadn’t finalized her plans yet; she only had a rough outline. She intended to open a general store at the docks. With the constant influx of people and boats passing through, even if she wanted to bring out something from her space to use in the future, she would have a perfect excuse to explain its origin.
Aside from that, once the chili peppers matured, it would be the absolute reign of hot pot.
Who could possibly turn down a hot pot meal?
There was nothing a single hot pot meal couldn’t solve.
“A place like the docks is only ever about food or daily necessities. We definitely have to open a general store to sell goods from both the north and south. Wouldn’t the docks serve as a perfect, ready-made transit hub? As for the other shops, once my crops fully mature, they will serve a massive purpose. Sister, just sit tight and prepare to rake in absolute fortunes.”
Wen Yao kept her cards close to her chest. If she tried to explain hot pot to Qiu Rongrong right now, the woman would undoubtedly obsess over it constantly.
Ah, chilis, chilis, just when are you going to grow up? I clearly bought the seeds for the best early-maturing variety; why does it still feel like you’re growing so slowly?
