Chapter 197: Is She Trying to Open a Daycare?
What was that supposed to mean? “Only benefits and no harm.” Manager Qiu’s habit of speaking in half-sentences and leaving the rest unsaid gave Wen Xiuyi a headache. But since the man had already stated it was inconvenient to disclose, it wasn’t right for him to keep pressing. He could only drop the matter.
After returning home, the father and daughter squatted together to mull this over.
“Yao’er, think fast. Is there truly no such character in the original book? Think carefully.” Wen Xiuyi could only pin his hopes on Wen Yao.
Wen Yao racked her brain, but she truly had no impression of the two names Li Fu and Li Yi. After pondering for a long while, she still couldn’t come up with anything conclusive.
“Dad, it’s not like I read every single chapter. I skimmed through it! I directly skipped over some boring plotlines, which is exactly what everyone who reads novels does. I truly have no impression of these two names.
“However, the name Li Yi did exist in history. He was the son of Emperor Daizong of Tang.”
Wen Xiuyi glared at her. “The dynasties are completely different here, so don’t ramble.”
Wen Yao, however, thought a bit further than he did, saying, “The imperial surname is Li. Guessing on the higher side, these two might very well be some sort of imperial relatives or nobles. Guessing on the lower side, they are at the very least high-ranking officials or nobles of some kind. Think about it—in a place like the capital, even the commoners are wealthier than in other regions.
“Furthermore, Li Yi actually addresses Uncle Qiu as ‘Master.’ Where did Uncle Qiu use to teach? The Imperial Academy! Is that a place ordinary people can enter?”
Wen Xiuyi was about to scratch his scalp raw. “Then why do they insist on squeezing into our house? Could it be that those potatoes and sweet potatoes have drawn suspicion?”
The more Wen Xiuyi thought about it, the more he felt it was because of this.
“If it really is because of that, what do we do? Should we silence them or something?” Wen Xiuyi leaned in close and whispered. Otherwise, if these people truly investigated and found out that their family was different from others, wouldn’t they be in trouble?
The corners of Wen Yao’s mouth twitched. She reached out to pat Wen Xiuyi’s head and smiled. “Professor Wen, you’ve gone mad, haven’t you? Don’t forget, Uncle Qiu mentioned that he had read descriptions of potatoes and sweet potatoes in travelogues. That indicates this world is interconnected with the outside and these things truly exist. What is there to fear? Let them investigate all they want. We just need to stick to the story that the seeds were found. Surely he can’t kidnap me to dissect and study me.”
“Phooey, phooey, phooey!” Wen Xiuyi spat three times. “What nonsense are you talking about? Dissecting this, dissecting that—don’t talk such nonsense.”
Wen Yao stuck out her tongue and continued, “I actually feel they are here for something else.”
Wen Xiuyi squatted a bit closer to her. “For what?”
Wen Yao couldn’t quite put it into words either. In any case, she hadn’t sensed any malice from the father and son pair. On the contrary, every single time Li Fu and Xun Feng saw delicious food, their eyes lit up like beacons. Although Li Yi always conducted himself with refined courtesy, poise, and elegance, his gluttonous nature when eating couldn’t be concealed no matter how well he faked it.
Surely these two couldn’t have moved into her house just for the food, right?
This thought startled Wen Yao herself.
“What are you thinking about? Wake up. You didn’t go back inside to look for things again, did you?” Wen Xiuyi waved his hand in front of Wen Yao.
Wen Yao snapped out of it. “No, I just feel… Dad, do you think they could be here just to eat the food I cook?”
Wen Xiuyi laughed, speaking in a deeply meaningful and heavy tone, “Yao’er, let’s just say, although your culinary skills are decent, it hasn’t quite reached that level yet.”
Wen Yao directly rolled her eyes at him. Wasn’t this just saying she was shameless?
“I can’t be bothered with you. Humph! Since Uncle Qiu said they aren’t bad people, then if they like to stay, let them stay. It even adds two more pieces of free labor, which is quite nice.” After Wen Yao finished speaking, she stood up. “I’m going to check on my winery. I’m still counting on this winery to lead Gutong Village to fortune and prosperity.”
“Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll go with you, I want to take a look too.” Wen Xiuyi swiftly followed.
The winery occupied quite a large area. Back then, Old Man Wen had been completely hoodwinked into the clouds by Wen Yao, agreeing to whatever she said. This plot of land marked out for it was a full two mu.
Wen Yao hadn’t built over all of it either, as everything had to be taken step by step. However, the cellar for storing wine had to be constructed exceptionally well; if it wasn’t built properly, not only would it easily cause problems, but it would also affect the taste of the wine.
Therefore, not only did they need to construct the buildings on the ground, but the underground cellar was also a massive project. It wouldn’t be finished without a few months of work.
When Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi arrived, Old Man Wen was holding his tobacco pipe, hands behind his back, pacing around the construction site on inspection.
Someone spotted Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao and called out to Old Man Wen, “Uncle Wen, your family’s scholar and Yao’er are here.”
Only then did Old Man Wen look toward the entrance of the path. It truly was the father and daughter pair.
“What did you two come here for?” Old Man Wen walked over.
Wen Yao looked at everyone’s progress and replied, “Just came to check on the progress.”
Old Man Wen was so angry he laughed. “Now you remember to come and check.” He shouldn’t have agreed to this wretched girl building some winery in the first place.
By now, the above-ground work was nearly finished. It was just that cellar for storing wine—this wretched girl truly had too many requirements. To meet her demands, they would have to fuss over it for at least another half a month before it could be completed.
“This winery is almost built. Have you made any headway regarding the wine brewing?” Old Man Wen asked. She had said she would ask Qiu Rongrong to help look for a master wine brewer, yet there was still no news.
Wen Yao was also bewildered. It had been so long, yet why hadn’t Sister Qiu replied to her? It seemed she would have to make a trip to the Xie residence to ask Sister Qiu properly. If there truly was nothing that could be done on her side, she could only ask Broker Deng for information.
In any case, Wen Yao was absolutely determined to brew this wine. Even Heaven was helping her, so she would truly be letting down Heaven’s favoritism if she didn’t brew it.
“Soon, soon, Grandpa. You all just focus on building the structure well; leave the rest to me, there definitely won’t be any problem.” Although she lacked confidence in her heart, Wen Yao still set the old man’s mind at ease.
Old Man Wen didn’t harbor any doubts toward her words either. He led the two of them around the winery buildings, then took them to look at the entrance of the underground cellar. Wen Yao was thoroughly satisfied with both the progress and the construction of the structure.
As it turned out, before two days had passed and before Wen Yao could go look for Qiu Rongrong, Qiu Rongrong ran over to the Wen family to find her on her own.
Furthermore, she didn’t come empty-handed, bringing a whole carriage full of things.
“Sister Qiu, what are you doing?” Looking at the large and small bundles, Wen Yao was utterly dumbfounded. Was this sister moving house?
Today, Qiu Rongrong wore a simple dress, and her hair wasn’t styled into such intricate braids either; she had simply pinned a basic bun on her head. Her face no longer bore the exquisite makeup from before, carrying only a light touch of powder instead, which actually made her whole person look significantly more capable and energetic than before.
While directing the servants to carry the items down, Qiu Rongrong said, “I heard from Anyi that Datou’s savior has been found, and he even wants to teach them martial arts now. Anyi clamored and threw a tantrum, insisting on moving into your house to live alongside Datou and Jin Xiuyi. Some of the things in this carriage belong to Anyi himself, and some are gifts I prepared for the benefactor. Take a look and see if they are appropriate; if anything isn’t suitable, just pick it out and keep it for yourself.”
Wen Yao: “…”
What in the world was going on? Is she trying to open a daycare?
