Chapter 323: Have Nanny Find Someone
Early the next morning, Wen Yao sent someone to the market to buy a few rabbits, cooking spicy rabbit heads and spicy diced rabbit meat for lunch.
“Did you go poke a rabbit nest or something?” Old Madam Luo said, looking at the table full of rabbit meat.
Wen Yao offered a cheeky smile, packed the food into a food container, wrapped it in a cotton bag on the outside, and had Xun Feng quickly ride a horse to deliver it to the yamen for Wen Xiuyi and Magistrate Chen.
As for Xun Feng’s portion, Wen Yao put it in a separate bowl and placed it on the stove to keep warm so he could still eat it when he returned.
Having finished tinkering with all this, Wen Yao spoke up: “Didn’t I accompany my dad to Shanshu Village yesterday to check the situation? I saw rabbits on the mountain and craved eating rabbit, so try some, Grandma!”
Wen Yao picked up a piece with her chopsticks and fed it to Old Madam Luo.
At the first bite, Old Madam Luo knitted her brows—after all, it was far too spicy, as she still hadn’t adjusted to the taste of chili peppers even now. Yet after chewing for a short while, she found it extremely flavorful, wanting so badly to take another bite.
Old Madam Luo’s eyes lit up, and she ate several more pieces, stopping only when she could no longer bear the heat: “It truly is quite good! Steaming a few mantou, one could eat quite a lot of mantou paired with this small dish.”
Only after finishing did Old Madam Luo react, asking, “What’s this? Are you two planning to have the people of Shanshu Village raise rabbits?”
Stuffing another piece of rabbit meat into her own mouth, Wen Yao nodded: “That’s right! Their environment is most suitable for raising rabbits. Grandma, if their village raises rabbits, we won’t have to worry about having nowhere to catch rabbits whenever we want to eat rabbit in the future.”
By now, Old Madam Luo didn’t want to say much about the things this father and daughter pair did at all—growing increasingly outrageous and causing ever grander commotions, sigh.
“Pack the things up; let’s send food to your grandpa and second uncle.” Putting her thoughts away, Old Madam Luo set about organizing food to send to the people out in the wasteland. As for what her eldest son wanted to do, so long as he didn’t break the law or commit crimes, and lived his life steadily and dutifully, he could do whatever he pleased.
The grandmother and granddaughter packed the cooked rabbit into a large earthenware jar, steamed quite a few mantou, and prepared a large bucket of soup, placing everything onto the handcart. Seeing that the time was about right, Lu He returned with Mingyue in tow.
Mingyue, who had been delicate when first purchased, now wore Lady Li’s old clothes, having transformed entirely into a country girl.
“Miss, the Old Master asks if the food is ready yet,” Mingyue asked the moment she returned.
Overhearing this, Old Madam Luo said with disdain, “Is he a rice bucket? What time is it already that he’s hurrying for food?!”
Mingyue and Lu He exchanged a glance and burst into laughter—only the old lady could speak of the Old Master in such a manner.
The two immediately stepped forward to help Wen Yao push the cart, and Old Madam Luo tucked Wen Yao’s arm into hers as the group walked toward the wasteland.
Gutong Village held the largest expanse of wasteland among the numerous villages, yet its work efficiency was the fastest among all the villages. Beyond having many oxen, the greater reason lay in the village’s current unity—when collective labor was called for, not a single household fell behind.
Along the way, they bumped into many people from other families going to deliver food as well, chatting and laughing as a group until they arrived.
Regarding the fact that Old Master Wen’s family still came to reclaim wasteland with them despite their current wealthy circumstances, people in the village said all sorts of things behind their backs. Some said Old Master Wen’s family was foolish, while others said they were unethical—already so wealthy at home, yet still coming to split this with them.
Most, however, felt Old Master Wen’s family hadn’t forgotten their roots. No matter how much money they had or how good their life was, they remained folk of Gutong Village. Whenever a good thing came up, they thought of their own village at the very first moment, unlike those who couldn’t wait to hide any slight benefit tightly within their own homes—never mind sharing, even a single glance from others might make them feel someone harbored malicious intent.
How many people could display grand righteousness like Old Master Wen’s family?
Reaching the wasteland, people greeted Old Madam Luo and Wen Yao all along the way.
One couldn’t strike a smiling face, so Old Madam Luo could only respond to others with a beaming smile, until her mouth grew stiff from smiling later on.
“You come by yourself tomorrow—I’m definitely not coming again!” Old Madam Luo complained.
At this moment, on the patch of wasteland allocated to the Wen family, apart from Uncle Qin and the others from the winery, everyone else was present. The men wielded hoes to break up the soil, while the women cleared away weeds and debris. Old Man Wen wore a straw hat as well, his hoe striking down time after time upon those overturned hard clods of earth.
“Everyone take a break! Time to eat!” Old Madam Luo called out loudly, standing at the edge of the field.
Seeing them arrive, Old Man Wen waved his hand: “Alright, everyone rest a bit!” Saying that, he set his hoe down and walked toward them, looking at the several jars on the cart and asking curiously what they were.
“A rabbit nest your granddaughter poked!” Old Madam Luo rolled her eyes at him with disdain before peeling back the small quilt keeping things warm, beginning to distribute the food.
Several earthenware jars were packed; Uncle Lu and the other servants carried one away, while the rest belonged to Old Man Wen’s group.
Noticing that her eldest granddaughter wore a glove on her hand, Old Madam Luo couldn’t help asking, “Wen Di, what happened to your hand?”
Just as Wen Di prepared to speak, Wen Yao, who was munching on a mantou stuffed with rabbit meat off to the side, cut in first: “I had her make a pair of gloves for herself! Those hands of hers are precious nowadays—they can’t be getting hurt.”
Wen Yao had secretly procured quite a bit of hand cream, repackaging it to give to this eldest sister of hers—who had suffered the most hardship—to nourish her hands.
Hearing this and looking closer, sure enough, Old Madam Luo saw that this eldest granddaughter of hers—whom she had finally managed to pamper into looking much more delicate and fair—looked somewhat rough once more.
Her brows knitted instantly in deep heartache. Although one shouldn’t forget one’s roots, doing enough was fine—their family didn’t need to rely on these fields to get by like before, after all.
“Alright, all you girls come back with me in a moment.”
Old Man Wen held no objections; after all, the patch allocated to their family was nearly finished, and two more days would see it entirely cleared up.
Four people had come, yet upon leaving, Old Madam Luo was joined by Wen Yao, Wen Di, and Wen Ying, alongside Mingyue, Minglan, and Nanny Shi—all departing together. Mingyue and Minglan pushed the handcart, upon which little Hua’er sat as well.
Wen Yao, Wen Di, and Wen Ying walked at the very front. Though biological sisters, the three possessed entirely distinct temperaments. Wen Yao was lively and playful at times, yet steady and composed at others, depending entirely on her mood.
Wen Ying was a complete tomboy, fighting wherever she went.
Only Wen Di—this eldest granddaughter—conformed most to the image of a well-bred young lady in Old Madam Luo’s heart. Even at this moment, as her two younger sisters chased each other and played off to the side, she stood in the middle watching quietly with a gentle expression. If anyone ran and was about to trip, she would reach out to give a hand, steadying her before continuing to watch them play with gentle warmth.
As for who this temperament was inherited from, no one knew.
Walking in the middle were Mingyue and Minglan pushing the handcart, plus little Hua’er being pushed along, and bringing up the rear were Old Madam Luo and Nanny Shi.
“Nanny, how is the matter I asked you to help inquire about earlier going? Can the person still be found?” Old Madam Luo asked in a low voice.
Nanny Shi cast a glance at the three sisters ahead and replied, “This old servant has written a letter and entrusted people to search. After trouble befell her former master’s household, this female tutor perhaps feared being dragged in, so it is unknown whether she remains in the prefectural city. However, rest assured, Old Mistress—so long as she is still in the prefectural city, she will definitely be found.”
Old Madam Luo nodded: “Mm, search until the New Year. If she still can’t be found after the New Year, I’ll ask Rong’er to lend a hand and see if there’s a suitable candidate. She hails from a prominent family and knows many people.”
Old Madam Luo let out a sigh. Now that their family’s conditions were good, Old Madam Luo felt heartache for her granddaughters as well, which was why she had entrusted Nanny Shi to help find a suitable female tutor to teach music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She hadn’t told them either, intending to give them a surprise once the person was found.
