Chapter 74: Young Master Jin’s Country Life
The two of them wandered around the field for another round before the other carriage finally arrived at a slow pace.
“Brother Wen, the seller’s here,” Broker Deng called out to the two of them, and they returned to the roadside together.
A short and thin man stepped down from the carriage.
The price negotiation went smoothly enough. With Broker Deng’s help, they managed to knock off another five taels, but that was the absolute limit.
The seller was in a hurry to sell the land—his son had made something of himself and was taking them to live elsewhere, so they had to sell what they had left. This plot was the last of what remained under their name.
In the end, they bought the land for one hundred and five taels. Since they had a carriage ready, they headed straight back to the city. Wen Yao had brought the money with her, so the group went directly to the government office to complete the paperwork, pay the silver, and receive the land deed. From now on, this land belonged to the Wen family.
Wen Xiuyi flipped through the land deed several times before finally handing it to Wen Yao for safekeeping, then immediately hurried off to the docks. Wen Yao returned to the medical clinic to thank Manager Qiu.
Wen Jun glanced at the land deed, reminded Wen Yao to keep it safe, then went back to work. Since there wasn’t much she could help with at the clinic, Wen Yao grabbed a vegetable basket from the kitchen and headed out.
It was nearly noon, and the market was mostly empty. Wen Yao wandered around a few times but couldn’t find much worth buying.
This wasn’t like her previous life, where there were greenhouses for vegetables. In winter, the options were extremely limited—usually just things that stored well, like cabbage and radishes.
She bought a pumpkin—planning to make some pumpkin cakes later. Both Doctor Jin and Jin Xiuyi had a sweet tooth.
Two radishes for pork rib soup, some tiger-skin eggs and mapo tofu, and a nice tenderloin from Butcher Zheng for boiled pork slices.
Though there weren’t any chili peppers, there was cornus fruit—it wasn’t perfect, but it would do in recreating the flavor.
She still didn’t know when she’d get the chance to bring out the chili peppers she had stashed. Sure, they were enjoying fresh flavors every day now, but it wasn’t ideal to keep doing it so secretly. Food was meant to be shared with everyone.
Whatever. Come spring, she was definitely going to secretly plant some peppers.
Once she’d finished all her shopping, Wen Yao returned to the clinic and dove straight into the kitchen to get to work.
Not long after, a small head peeked in through the kitchen door.
“Sister Yao Yao, what are you making? It smells so good.”
Wen Yao was holding the pan, making tiger-skin eggs. She shook the pan slightly, and the peeled, hard-boiled eggs rolled inside, gradually forming a golden, crispy exterior.
Jin Xiuyi leaned on the stove, eyes wide and fixed on the scene.
“What’s this?” he asked curiously.
“These are called tiger-skin eggs. You’ll get to try them soon. What brings you here?” Wen Yao asked.
But Jin Xiuyi had just been startled by a tiny splash of oil from the pan and had taken a few steps back from the stove. From a safe distance, he answered, “Grandpa had Brother Hong Hai come tell me that Sister Yao Yao was making something delicious, so I should come here for lunch. Sister Yao Yao, are you going home afterward?”
He asked with hopeful eyes.
Wen Yao nodded. After lunch, she had to head home—Wen Nong was still waiting there.
Seeing her nod, Jin Xiuyi beamed. “Then can I go to your house and find Wen Nong?”
Wen Yao looked at him, recalling what she knew of this character from the original book. His feelings for the female lead eventually bordered on obsession, and as a rival suitor, he naturally saw Wen Nong as a mortal enemy.
Who would’ve thought that in this second go-around, the two of them would actually become good friends.
Faced with the expectant eyes of a child, Wen Yao smiled. “As long as Doctor Jin agrees.”
“Okay! I’ll go ask Grandpa now!” Jin Xiuyi said, and ran out, looking far more spirited and childlike than when she’d first met him.
Now this is how a kid should act.
Before long, Jin Xiuyi returned, thrilled and excited, and told her his grandfather had agreed. From then on, he stayed in the kitchen, watching Wen Yao cook.
Amidst his constant praise—“Sister is amazing,” “Sister is so skilled,” “Sister’s cooking smells incredible”—Wen Yao finished preparing a full table of delicious dishes.
As expected, everyone gave it high praise again. Even Doctor Jin couldn’t help but ask her if she truly didn’t want to compete for a spot as an imperial chef.
Wen Yao once again declined his kind offer. But Manager Qiu smiled and said, “Come on now. If Yao Yao really did enter the palace and became an imperial chef, we’d never get to eat her cooking again.”
Doctor Jin was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and quickly said, “Right, right! How could I forget that? No, no, we’re not doing that. Being an imperial chef means endless scheming—every day it’s about beating the other guy or getting beaten. Exhausting. Better to be at home and comfortable.”
He’d nearly forgotten that he was no longer an imperial physician, and the days of having imperial chefs make him special dishes were long gone.
After lunch, Doctor Jin told Jin Xiuyi to listen to Wen Yao, then had Ah Wang hitch the carriage and send them back to Gutong Village.
Seeing the Wen girl once again returning by carriage, the villagers were no longer surprised. Of course, people like the Li Erhu family—who held a grudge against Wen Yao—still gossiped behind their backs, but others didn’t dare say anything.
After all, Granny Luo’s reputation was well known. If she found out someone’s household was talking bad about them, she’d stop buying eggs and vegetables from them—what would they do then?
Wen Yao brought Jin Xiuyi to the old house.
“I’ll take my leave then, Miss Wen. I’ll come back in the evening to bring Young Master Wen Jun home and pick up the young master. I’ll leave him in your care,” Ah Wang said respectfully to Wen Yao.
As for Jin Xiuyi, the moment he saw Wen Nong, he had already been dragged away. The two of them were off together, who knew talking about what.
Wen Yao nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
Only then did Ah Wang drive the carriage away.
Jin Xiuyi wasn’t shy at all. He politely greeted Granny Luo and Old Man Wen, and didn’t mind the countryside environment one bit. He fit in quickly, curious about everything in the Wen household—he even followed Wen Ying around eagerly while she was feeding the chickens.
“You want to feed them?” Wen Ying asked, holding the winnowing basket as she looked at this city child dressed in fine silk.
Jin Xiuyi nodded eagerly.
Wen Ying shoved the basket into his hands and tossed a handful of husk-mixed feed into a feeding tray nearby. “Like that.”
Jin Xiuyi nodded repeatedly, imitating her and scattering the feed into the tray. Once the basket was empty, Wen Ying took it back, set it down, and grabbed his hand.
“Come on, I’ll take you to collect the eggs.”
It was the first time Jin Xiuyi had been led by a girl like that. Even though he was only six, he knew enough to blush.
He quickly pulled his hand away, awkwardly saying, “I-I can walk by myself.”
Wen Ying looked at him, completely puzzled. What was wrong with this city kid? She held Wen Nong’s hand like that every day.
