Chapter 222: Suspicion Arises Over Their Identities
Old Man Wen stated the situation in a straightforward manner. Those who were willing to do it could stay, and those who weren’t could just forget it.
The villagers stopped their movements, looked at one another, and discussed something in low voices.
Old Man Wen was in no rush either, walking back slowly with his hands behind his back.
With several hundred saplings, earning ten wen per sapling planted—and this task required at least two people working together since one person couldn’t handle the operation alone—if their hands and feet were quick, they could earn quite a bit in a day.
“Uncle Wen, but none of us have ever planted trees before; we don’t know how to do it either,” someone spoke up.
Old Man Wen pointed at the few craftsmen standing nearby.
“These few gentlemen will teach you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask the masters more.” Old Man Wen looked at the group with an expression of despair over their lack of initiative. Instead of taking this opportunity to learn more things, each and every one of them acted like a blockhead, completely failing to understand his painstaking good intentions.
When the crowd heard that there would be masters to teach them, it became much easier. One by one, they partnered up and went to help move the saplings.
Old Man Wen stood nearby to oversee the work.
By the time Li Fu and his group came over, the villagers had already begun moving the saplings up the mountain with the men.
The people working had also gone home to fetch their tools. Since the wages weren’t calculated by the day anyway, it was naturally the earlier they started, the better.
The few masters responsible for planting the fruit trees were surrounded by the villagers, who whirled around them in circles.
“Is everything arranged?” Li Fu asked as he looked at all this.
With his hands behind his back, the smile on Old Man Wen’s face was as bright as sunshine.
“All arranged. This is truly wonderful.”
He seemed to already see the future sight of this mountain laden with abundant fruits.
“Oh right, boy Yi, what kinds of fruit trees did you get after all?” Old Man Wen asked curiously; he hadn’t asked in detail yet.
Li Yi actually wasn’t too clear himself either. Aside from the cherry trees Wen Yao had specifically requested, he had let his imperial mother decide the rest as she saw fit.
“There are cherries.” After Li Yi spoke, he was given a glance by Li Fu. Seeing his father’s face full of bewilderment, he supplemented, “Which is to say, hantao. Yao’er said ‘cherry’ sounds nicer, so she changed the name.”
Li Fu: “Oh.” He had thought there was some rare delicacy to eat again.
Li Yi continued, “There are also peach trees, pear trees, and the like. They were all procured by my mother.”
As for whether there were other specific varieties, he truly didn’t know.
While the bustle on the barren mountain here was in full swing, the kitchen at home was also practically bursting into flames. Fortunately, they had developed experience in making large-pot meals by now. Everything was packed into clean wooden buckets and placed on handcarts, ready to be delivered to them.
Originally, Old Madam Luo had wanted to invite the men to the house to eat, but she was stopped by Nanny Shi.
Saying that it didn’t conform to the rules, Old Madam Luo didn’t understand all these rules, but since Nanny Shi said so, she listened.
In the end, Nanny Shi led Nanny Du, along with the dozen or so people Li Fu had brought, pushing three handcarts to haul the food and dishes to the foot of the mountain.
“What is that smell? It’s so fragrant. Is the food ready?” Li Fu was the first to catch the fragrance.
Nanny Shi curtsied. “It’s ready, it’s ready. The Old Mistress felt distressed over everyone’s hard labor, so she had this old servant bring the men to deliver it the moment it was finished.”
Li Fu chuckled. These Wen family members truly made a person feel warmed to the heart. They didn’t look at your identity, nor did they look at your status; it was pure, heartfelt sincerity, treating people with honesty.
“Alright, Old Tong, have them all take a break and come eat something. One sniff of this dish tells me it was made by Yao’er; it’s so fragrant,” Li Fu instructed Steward Tong.
Steward Tong smilingly complied, then began calling everyone to come and eat.
The working villagers could only look on with envy, but they didn’t mind either. After all, although the wages the Wen family offered this time didn’t sound like much, as long as their hands and feet were quick enough, they could still earn quite a bit.
After staying at the barren mountain for a while, Old Man Wen shifted to the empty land at the west side of the village. Their family’s ten dairy cows were still over there.
Thanks to the villagers’ help, a large portion of the empty land had been cleared. The trees chopped down from the barren mountain were readily available, so they had built a simple shed and made a fence. At this moment, the ten dairy cows were released from their cages and settled here provisionally.
It was still unknown whether the fodder here would suit them, so what they ate was entirely the fodder brought over from the capital, with three servants who cared for the dairy cows attending to them.
Old Man Wen made a round and questioned them about the situation. They all said the cows had no major problems and would be fine once they adapted for a few days. Only then did Old Man Wen set his mind at ease, telling them to just raise any needs they had, and their family would cooperate fully.
The three men respectfully bowed to Old Man Wen before Old Man Wen returned to the barren mountain.
Just like that, everyone remained busy until it was nearly dark, and less than one-fifth of the trees on the mountain had been planted.
Seeing that it was dark and no longer suitable for working—in case someone tripped, bumped, or fell on the mountain, it would still be their family’s responsibility—Old Man Wen drove everyone home.
He bade them to come early the next day.
Of the people Steward Tong had brought, aside from the few who planted the fruit trees being settled in the winery’s dormitory, the rest were all chased away by Li Fu. Some returned to the boat to head back the way they came, while others were driven to the inns in the city to stay temporarily.
The three who looked after the dairy cows set up a simple thatched hut next to the cowshed to make do, since the dairy cows couldn’t be left unattended right now. In the future, they would still need to arrange to build a few proper rooms on the empty land.
Looking at all this, Old Man Wen felt it was truly one link locked into another; there was simply not a single moment of idleness.
But being busy was good; being busy indicated that life had something to look forward to.
By evening, the entire family was thoroughly exhausted. Nanny Shi had been heavy-hearted the entire afternoon. When it was nearly time to rest, she actually took the initiative to offer to make the bed for Wen Yao.
This was something that hadn’t happened before. Nanny Shi had tried to attend to Wen Yao like this in the past, but she had always been refused. Now that Nanny Shi brought it up again, Wen Yao knew she bound to have something to discuss with her, so she brought her back to the room.
“Nanny, what is it?” Wen Yao sat down on a stool and asked.
Nanny Shi stood respectfully opposite Wen Yao. After hesitating for a moment, she said in a low voice, “Young Mistress, regarding Master Li’s servants today, this old servant observes that they do not resemble the servants of an ordinary household.”
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow, recalling Nanny Shi’s background. Before her former masters moved here, they had also lived in the capital, and she heard they used to be officials.
“How so?”
Nanny Shi continued, “When they bowed to Master Li—when this old servant was with my former masters, I had the fortune of following the old mistress to see the noble personages from the palace. The servants by their sides bowed in exactly this fashion. Although our Kingdom of Annan does not place heavy emphasis on grand rules, the etiquette of princes, grandchildren, and noble lords is different from that of our ordinary families.”
What Nanny Shi said was already obvious enough. Furthermore, their surname was Li. Although there were many people with the surname Li under heaven today, the one with a noble identity was only that one lineage.
Yet thinking about it, it was also impossible; the age didn’t match up.
It was highly possible, however, to be a sibling or relative of that person.
Hearing this, Wen Yao stood straight up.
“Nanny, are you certain?”
Nanny Shi nodded. “Although this old servant is up in years, my memory remains good; I would not remember incorrectly.”
Court etiquette. Just what kind of background did this father and son possess? Wen Yao wanted to scratch her head again, thoroughly complaining about the original book’s author in her heart—how could they have failed to write such a name?
“Nanny, when you were in the capital, did you ever hear of a royal relative named Li Fu?” Wen Yao asked Nanny Shi.
Nanny Shi racked her brains to think, then shook her head. “Replying to the Young Mistress, no. This old servant is precisely puzzled by this as well, which is why I came to inform the Young Mistress first. Master Li’s name is highly likely to be merely a pseudonym.”
Wen Yao truly scratched her head this time. Along this entire journey, aside from Datou and those few unfortunate male supporting characters, the other people didn’t seem to be overly important figures in the original book. It could even be said they were ignored to the point of not even counting as extras.
The direction of this story seemed to have warped quite severely.
