Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 696 - 356: End of Hibernation_2
"That would be appreciated," Lian Manman said with a smile.
After they had arranged for the delivery of the message, several people left Shi Mansion and returned to Jisheng Hall. Shopkeeper Wang welcomed them in.
"The meal is ready. Young Owner, should we start eating? ... I’ve already sent the errands to deliver the message to Lian’s, and Fourth Master Lian and Fourth Madam Lian also had the errands bring a basket of salted duck eggs over..."
Lian Manman chuckled to herself, wondering when it had started that Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang of Thirty Mile Camp had gradually become known as Fourth Master Lian and Fourth Madam Lian to everyone.
Wang Youheng had someone set up the meal on the stone table in the courtyard. After an errand came to bring clean water, everyone washed up and then gathered around the table to sit.
This wasn’t the first time Lian Manman and the others had eaten at Wang Youheng’s place. His old house, which was far from the county town, was there for two reasons: first, to learn how to manage the business in the shop, and second, to concentrate on his studies. The cook in the kitchen was an old servant of the Wang Family, sent here especially to look after Wang Youheng’s diet.
Eating with Wang Youheng, the children felt no restraint at all. Lian Manman enjoyed her food immensely, relishing the tender sweet and sour pork loin and the crispy fried small fish, both of which were her favorites.
After the meal, Lian Manman and the others were about to go home when Wang Youheng had someone bring in a basket of sand pears for Lian Manman to take back. It was not yet the season when sand pears were abundantly ripe, and the early-ripened ones were scarce. These had been sent over by an elder sister of Youheng’s who had married into a neighboring county.
Lian Manman made a slight gesture of refusal but accepted them nonetheless.
Wang Youheng also took two books from the bookshelf and handed them to Wu Lang.
"Take these back to read, and return them to me when you’re done," said Wang Youheng to Wu Lang with a smile.
Youheng’s study was filled with an impressive array of books. Wu Lang loved reading, and every time he visited, he always made time to look for books to read. However, he was a very considerate child who disliked causing inconvenience to others. Even though he truly enjoyed the books, he never asked to borrow them. Sometimes, when Wang Youheng noticed him taking an interest in a particular book, he would take the initiative to lend it to him.
Wu Lang took the books and carefully tucked them into his robe. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Lian Manman and the others were about to walk back to Thirty Mile Camp when Youheng didn’t heed their objections and insisted on having the shop’s carriage take them back.
"Look at you girls, going out on one trip and people give you sweet potatoes and vegetables from their own gardens. And now you return from a meal with even more things," Lady Zhang said with laughter as they returned.
"Young Doctor Wang is truly beyond reproach," said Lian Shouxin.
...
Time flew quickly, and it was only when Lian Manman felt a hint of chill in the air one early morning that she realized the dog days of summer had passed. This summer, without air conditioning or fans, was not at all unbearable upon reflection. The dog days in Thirty Mile Camp, despite the scorching sun overhead, were blessed with plenty of shade, unobstructed breezes not blocked by high-rise buildings, and an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. Being close to the earth and nature, even though their skin had darkened and they were covered in sweat, it was all very refreshing.
The end of the dog days meant the arrival of autumn. The Lian Manman family began to get busy with the work in their vegetable garden yet again.
The season for string beans and cucumbers was over; it was time to remove the trellises. The stalks that had been used as supports had become unusable after days of sun and rain. But the tenant farmers would never waste anything – these dried stalks were still excellent kindling.
The cucumber and bean plants were pulled down from the trellises and tossed into the pigpen; the Manman family’s pigs, which by now weighed over a hundred pounds each, relished them.
As for the last small cucumbers harvested from the plants, Lady Zhang carefully washed, dried, and tossed them into a large jar of soy sauce. After marinating for a period, they would become delicious pickled cucumbers, perfect for meals.
Furthermore, the overly mature and thick cucumbers, which had turned from green to white, were not kept for eating. Of course, no one would stop anyone who wanted to eat them, but raw old cucumbers did not taste good. However, peeled and sliced to make soup, they had a unique flavor. The hard seeds inside the old cucumbers were carefully collected by Manman, to be saved as seeds for next year’s planting.
Some large beans from the bean plants were also set aside. By this time, they were somewhat dry and desiccated. After peeling off the bean pods, the inside revealed plump, firm beans – these were also carefully stored away as seeds for next year. As for the fibrous bean pod skins, which were too tough to be digested by human stomachs, they too were fed to the pigs.
Next up were the eggplants. Other vegetables like hot peppers and leeks could be left a bit longer. Leeks could be harvested well into late autumn, while hot peppers, if left to grow from green to red on the plant and then dried out, were easiest to store.
This left plenty of space available in the vegetable garden. Manman’s family quickly got to work planting autumn crops.
The main autumn crops were still cucumbers and beans, but the varieties planted at the end of summer differed from those in spring. The end-of-summer cucumber was a dryland variety, as opposed to the spring water cucumber. The beans were winged beans, as Lady Zhang called them – actually, they were flat beans.
Many radishes and mustard greens were also planted, giving the abundance of space and an ample supply of seeds. Manman’s family also planted more eggplants to later dry for winter consumption.
After the heatwave broke, the corn from the garden had all been sold, and Manman had tallied up the accounts and presented the results to Lady Zhang and the others for review. The family couldn’t stop smiling. Initially, they had conservatively estimated a profit of three hundred and eighty-four taels, but in the end, they actually received three hundred and ninety-six taels and eight mace of silver in total.
This was the largest sum of money they had earned since splitting the family’s assets, even more than what they had made from selling grape wine last year, and understandably, everyone was thrilled.
"Mother, the tender corn from our fields could still sell for a few hundred taels," said Manman with a smile, watching the joyful expressions of her family.
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Publishing the second update of the month, as it’s the end of the month, I am asking for your support with pink votes. (To be continued... If you enjoy this work, welcome to QiDian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
