Chapter 149: A Busy Day, Brought to a Close
Dahong remained slightly dazed. Seeing that the plump auntie’s nose had turned completely red, she carefully set down her chopsticks.
“Mother, did something happen? I won’t eat it then. Please take it back.”
After a moment of thought, Dahong reached under the mattress and uncarted a small purse. “Ershun couldn’t bear to wear the shoes you gave us last time and took them to exchange for money. He originally said to save it so I could slowly buy meat to eat, and to buy sugar for our daughter in the future…” Dahong handed over the money. “Mother, see if this is enough to pay for the chicken soup.”
The auntie broke into a laugh through her tears. “Why is Ershun exactly like your father? He looks completely meek and useless, yet he sure knows how to look after his woman!” The auntie pushed the purse back. “The chicken soup is fine, go ahead and drink it. Your mother just missed your grandmother, that’s all.”
The auntie thought to herself that when she returned today, she would need to buy a bit more joss paper to burn for her mother. She had no idea where the little old lady had found the capability to secure such an incredible job for her daughter.
She had no desire to speak too much about these matters with Dahong, who was still confined after childbirth and looking after a nursing infant. Although it was a wonderful thing, it was undeniably extraordinary after all. A new mother during postpartum confinement and a nursing infant were both frail and shouldn’t hear such things.
The auntie told Dahong to put her mind at ease and drink the soup.
Taking advantage of the window while Dahong was drinking, the auntie opened the other pot to check. Sure enough, the half-portion of tea-oil duck had transformed into two half-ducks—an extra piece had been stuffed inside. Fortunately, the dishes wrapped in lotus leaves had been packed by her own hands and hadn’t passed through anyone else’s, so nothing extra had appeared there.
Sorting through the items, the auntie set aside several dishes perfectly suited for Dahong to eat. “Have Ershun find a way to hang these in a cool spot. When the time comes, heat them up in a clay pot and finish them within two or three days. Don’t leave them out for too long.”
With that, she questioned Dahong again, “Did you two buy a pot and a jar? If not, I’ll leave this one for you.”
Before Dahong could speak, the auntie thought about it and added, “Forget it, don’t leave them for two or three days. The weather is blistering hot; leaving them out for long might cause them to spoil.” The auntie sorted through them again. “These three packages—eat them tonight, or by tomorrow noon at the absolute latest.”
“As for this package, the stir-fried eggs with green peppers—give it to Ershun. Tell him to find a good opportunity to hand it to your sister-in-law, saying it’s an extra dish you provided for your father-in-law, mother-in-law, nephew, and niece.”
Fearing that these two honest souls, Dahong and Ershun, wouldn’t comprehend, the auntie explained the strategy in detail: “It’s best when the entire family returns from the fields and there are people out in the village and by the doorway. Shout it out loud so everyone hears it!”
Dahong nodded, indicating she understood, but she still urged the auntie, “Mother, don’t worry about them. You and Father have only just split from the main household; you must be short on grain and vegetables, right? Take these back for yourselves to eat.”
The auntie laughed. “Silly child, your mother is the head chef at the manor; how could I ever go hungry? Rest assured, your mother eats even more than you do! As for your father—” The auntie remarked, “Don’t you know what your father is like by now? He won’t let himself go hungry.”
Raising a daughter was like this—when a daughter was kind-hearted and possessed a good soul, the parents felt both immense joy and constant worry. Even if her daughter indicated she understood, the auntie still couldn’t set her mind at ease.
She reminded her meticulously again and again: “Your mother-in-law isn’t a peaceable soul, and your father-in-law turns a blind eye and plays the mediator, so he isn’t a good person either. Don’t let these two old things ruin your reputation in the village.”
“This bit of egg scrap isn’t worth much money, but some neighbors spotted me coming to visit you today. Have Ershun go out and shout a couple of times, and everyone in the village will know you are filial.”
“Furthermore, your mother-in-law saw me carrying things over. If you don’t offer a portion up, I’m afraid she’ll come around to pry.”
“Give her a little bit to string her along; it’ll make her easy to dismiss. If she asks, just tell her the other packages were also stir-fried eggs with green peppers, and that will be enough. No need to waste effort fabricating stories.”
“Include your nephew and niece, and your sister-in-law will bound to think a bit better of you. You’ll have an extra person to talk to at home, and in case your parents-in-law hatch some scheme, it’ll be a good thing if she tips you off.”
The auntie stated a whole abundance of things in a single breath. Dahong listened intently, her heart feeling both warm and aching. She leaned her head against the auntie’s broad shoulder. “Mother, it’s so wonderful to have you. If only I could go my whole life without marrying, so I could stay by Mother’s side forever.”
The auntie patted Dahong, her heart also carrying a trace of emotional sighs. “You don’t say. While I was working at the manor today, a lady who came up to wash dishes said the exact same thing. She mentioned wanting her daughter to study and marry a bit later in the future, or even not marry at all.”
When the auntie had heard it at the time, she had still felt Auntie Lu’s words were a bit far-fetched. Where on earth was there a woman who didn’t marry? If she didn’t marry, how would she live alone once she grew old? But looking now at how Dahong suffered grievances and put up with tempers at her in-laws’ house, the auntie felt Auntie Lu was truly a mother who doted on her child, capable of thinking to that extent for her daughter—it was no easy feat.
The mother and daughter huddled together and chatted for a while before the auntie finally stood up to leave. “I won’t stay long. The young mistress owner’s guesthouse has only just opened, so I have to go up every day for the next few days. Keep some space in your stomach; if you don’t like what your mother-in-law cooks, just skip it. I’ll bring meals to you in the late afternoon.”
With that, she picked up the remaining packages of food. “Let your father sample my culinary skills too.”
Meanwhile, back at the manor.
The afternoon guest traffic was noticeably lower; only two people arrived during the entire afternoon. They were both from the Insomnia Support Group, refusing to believe the reality and insisting on coming up to see if there were any vacancies left.
Jian Xingxia took the group to the greenhouse for picking at two o’clock.
This time, she stated the rules upfront: five catties per person. Any excess would be reclaimed by the manor to serve as dinner fruit, and violators would be banned from entering the picking greenhouse again within a month.
People weren’t particularly afraid of the excess being reclaimed as dinner fruit—anyway, they would still get to eat it, and if they picked a bit more, maybe their dinner portion would be larger. But no one could withstand the consequences of the second rule. If such a premium and affordable picking activity was banned for a month, how could they bear it?
Thus, everyone behaved immaculately, keeping their harvest strictly around the five-catty mark. Jian Xingxia also stayed true to her word, reclaiming whatever exceeded five catties—which came perfectly in handy to top up the portions for guests who had misjudged their estimates and hadn’t harvested enough.
The afternoon picking group was actually far larger than the morning batch. The dozen or so guests from the morning had spontaneously broadcasted an immense wave of promotion for Jian Xingxia inside the manor.
The teenage boy who had kept his eyes glued to his phone actually showed up in the afternoon as well. His parents looked at Jian Xingxia, their smiles both complex and excited. “It’s truly a miracle! This morning he was highly reluctant to go to the greenhouse, and he wasn’t particularly happy upon returning either. This afternoon, before we even said a word, he proactively stated he wanted to go again!”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “Some children are like this. Their love for playing on their phones doesn’t necessarily mean they are genuinely addicted to something; they just feel the life around them is too peaceful and boring.”
“They aren’t necessarily interested in the activities you arrange for them, which is why they appear highly uncooperative.”
“But once they locate something they are genuinely interested in on their own, you won’t even need to speak before they set their phones down to do what they find far more engaging.”
The boy’s parents nodded continuously. “Yes, yes, yes. We listened to a lecture by an expert before, and the expert meant the exact same thing. But previously, we took him traveling everywhere, bought him gaming consoles, accompanied him to play games, watch movies, and attend concerts… yet he wasn’t interested in any of it.”
“This is the very first time he has proactively brought up wanting to do something!”
Watching the boy move around the greenhouse to harvest and occasionally chat with the other young tourists, the parents’ eyes welled with tears of pure excitement. “We’re coming back tomorrow!”
Jian Xingxia: “Welcome!”
During the afternoon picking session, Jian Xingxia turned another tidy profit.
Following the picking, the guests dispersed to camp by the stream, stroll and take photos along the Berry and Blossom Pathway, or embark on casual hikes along the wild mountain tracks. Jian Xingxia rode her tricycle to deliver items to the camping guests by the stream several times, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to prepare dinner.
Most of the guests departed around four or five o’clock; only the overnight guests and a portion of visitors who loved eating farmhouse food stayed behind. Jian Xingxia summoned the plump auntie and Auntie Lu once again. However, one was summoned through the system, while the other was called via cell phone.
Before four o’clock, both arrived, returning to the routine of one prepping veggies and washing dishes while the other cooked the meal.
At five-thirty, dinner was supplied. After dinner, the sun hadn’t set yet, but the evening glow had already blanketed the mountains.
Lin Shuang, Fang Xiaoying, and Ai Jinjin had already taken countless photos during the day and had originally planned to return early to rest. However, the moment they caught sight of this evening glow, they couldn’t resist running back down to the stream and the Berry and Blossom Pathway to snap more pictures.
By the time the sky finally darkened with great difficulty, the three returned, eagerly showing Jian Xingxia the photos they had captured.
“Owner Xiaxia, this manor of yours is simply too beautiful! Any casual shot turns out incredibly picturesque.”
“Look, these are the Douyin and Xiaohongshu posts we put up today. The one with the highest engagement has already reached over ten thousand likes!” The views numbered in the millions.
Because the posts included local coordinates, a significant portion of people from surrounding counties and cities had scrolled past them, leaving a flood of comments requesting the specific address, travel guides, and pricing. As members of the rural mobile task force, Lin Shuang and the other two answered without a second thought.
The happiest was naturally Lin Shuang. She had originally merely wanted to come support the economic activities she oversaw for the village and town, never expecting the trip to offer such incredible value for money. At noon, someone had even asked if they could purchase their room reservation at a premium.
What was even better was that through her first-hand experience, Lin Shuang felt immense confidence right now. “Xiaxia, your manor is bound to explode in popularity! Lu’an Village’s poverty alleviation work this year will absolutely feature a massive bright spot!”
In front of her two close friends and colleagues, Lin Shuang felt too embarrassed to say it out loud—but if the guesthouse progressed smoothly during the second half of the year, the “Advanced Village” and “Advanced Task Force” awards at the end of the year would undeniably belong to her group!
Jian Xingxia didn’t think that far ahead; she was simply stunned as she stared at the comments on Lin Shuang’s phone. If she had known that posting videos and pictures to build hype was this effective, she wouldn’t have needed to ride her tricycle all over town distributing flyers!
Jian Xingxia felt deep heartaches—it was still her impoverished working-class life that had restricted her imagination regarding the internet!
After the sun dipped below the horizon, by seven o’clock, all the non-staying guests had departed. The final two members of the Insomnia Support Group were also persuaded to leave by Brother Zhang and Sister Yu, leaving only the overnight guests behind.
The plump auntie had returned long ago—in their world, sunset marked the time to rest, and everyone standardly went to sleep the moment the sky darkened, so her work today already counted as working overtime. But considering she had carried quite a few clean leftovers back with her both at noon and in the evening, the auntie was highly happy even while working overtime. Of course, she was also highly prompt to clock out.
Auntie Lu had also headed down the mountain. Jian Xingxia asked her to help convey a message to the villagers—once the three-day trial run concluded, she would close the doors for two days to rest and make adjustments. She would head down to the village then to settle all the accounts, telling everyone to set their minds at ease.
Jian Xingxia knew that even if she didn’t say it, the villagers wouldn’t press her for payment. But putting herself in their shoes, back when she did part-time work, if the boss explicitly stated which date the payment would drop, she would also feel far more secure. Although the money was bound to be paid, hanging in limbo without knowing when it would arrive felt completely different compared to having a clear, designated date. The villagers were genuinely helping her, and she had no desire to cause them any worry.
Auntie Lu accepted the task, telling Jian Xingxia to hurry back to her busy work. “No need to see me off. Your Uncle Lu is already waiting at the gate, so I’m heading back right now.”
Only then did Jian Xingxia turn back inside.
At night, the mountains were pitch-black. Although accompanied by starlight and moonlight, it was still far quieter and darker compared to a brightly lit city. The guests had retired to their rooms early, and Jian Xingxia could finally grab a tiny breather.
But right now, an even more exciting matter prompted her to drag her exhausted body forward, refusing to sleep until it was done.
And that was—calculating the accounts! Or rather, counting her money!
