Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 48 Exposure

Feng Xuxu went to Yunyi Workshop but didn’t see Aunt Yun. She bought several bolts of pure white cotton fabric, two bolts of light blue, one bolt of purple, one bolt of bright red, two bolts of white, one bolt of peach-pink and one bolt of jade-green, as well as one bolt of crimson silk fabric. She also bought two bolts of navy blue, two bolts of sky blue, and one bolt of silver-grey silk fabric. After choosing everything, they paid the bill, and several people got on the ox cart and headed back to the estate.

Sitting in the ox cart, Feng Xuxu happily hummed a tune. The two people listened to Feng Xuxu’s slightly off-key tune, laughing and joking all the way until they quickly reached the village. As they passed by the large locust tree at the entrance to the village, they greeted the uncles and aunties, then led the horses and drove the ox cart towards Zhang Hui’s home, swaying back and forth.

When they arrived at the entrance to their house, they stopped the ox cart, opened the courtyard gate, drove the ox cart and horse inside and tied them up. Afterward, the three of them began taking turns bringing things into the house. Zhang Hui came out to help them move things while Feng Xuxu organized stuff beside the ox cart. About a quarter of an hour later, they finally moved all the purchased items into the house, and the three of them took a breather.

Zhang Hui circled around the ox and the horse several times, touched them with joy, and reluctantly went back into the house.

"Xuxu, why did you buy so much fabric? Your uncle and I are old, there is no need for us to wear something so fine. As for you, you are at the age of a spring onion and have only these two pieces of clothing to wear back and forth. It’s time you got yourself a few more clothes," Aunt Hui said with concern as she looked at the many silk fabrics, thinking about how much silver they must have cost. But then she felt comforted that Feng Xuxu always thought about them.

"Aunt, just wear what I bought for you. If not now, then when? If the silver runs out, we’ll earn more," Feng Xuxu cheerfully persuaded Aunt Hui. You need to spend to earn.

"You! I can’t win an argument with you," Aunt Hui playfully scolded Feng Xuxu.

As soon as Uncle Hui entered the house, he looked at Feng Xi with a beaming smile, "The ox you bought is really good, ha ha. It’s going to make plowing the land much less tiring, and faster too."

"You old man, how can you be so inappropriate in front of the younger ones?" Aunt Hui chided, patting Uncle Hui on the shoulder.

"What’s wrong with you, old lady? How am I being inappropriate? I’m just happy. With the ox helping with the work, it’s going to save effort and be faster," he then turned to Feng Xuxu with a hearty smile, "Don’t mind her, this old lady."

"Uncle Hui, how are things in the fields?" Feng Xuxu asked about the seedlings after drinking some water. She remembered having Xiaobai pour some Space Creek Spring Water into every family’s rice paddies last night and hoped there would be some improvement by now.

"I checked, and almost all the seedlings have turned green, with just a small part left. Judging from the situation, I reckon they’ll all recover by tomorrow." Zhang Hui spoke with a puzzled face, shaking his head incredulously, hardly believing that the seedlings would recover overnight, but the reality was right before his eyes. You had to believe it.

"Uncle Hui, I’ve ordered some fish fry. As soon as all the seedlings recover, we can release the fish into the paddies," Feng Xuxu nodded, finding things better than she expected. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Fish fry? To put in the rice paddies?" Yijiang asked Feng Xuxu repeatedly.

"Yes, polyculture. This way we’ll have an additional source of income."

Uncle Hui, who was initially dumbstruck, came to his senses and said, "If we release fish fry, won’t they eat all the rice shoots?" Uncle Hui expressed his disapproval.

"Uncle Hui, that won’t happen. The fish fry will only eat the weeds in the rice paddies, they won’t nibble at the rice shoots," Feng Xuxu patiently explained.

"Alright, then I’ll go around and tell everyone. They’ll be thrilled to hear it," Uncle Hui dismissed his doubts and then volunteered excitedly to notify the rice planting families the next day.

From hesitant to high-spirited, dancing with joy, Feng Xuxu shook her lovely head with a smile.

"Xuxu, what are you doing with so much sugar and all those pots?" Jiaojiao asked, looking at the table which held a bamboo basket full of white sugar.

"I’m preparing to brew wine." This time, not just one person was stunned; the whole group was taken aback, and the first to snap out of it was their eldest brother.

"Sister, when did you learn to brew wine? Why don’t I know about it?" Big Brother stared intently at Feng Xuxu, trying to discern something from her eyes.

"I saw it in a book, and as for whether or not it will be successful, I have never tried before." Feng Xuxu avoided Feng Xi’s piercing gaze, knowing that sooner or later he would suspect her, especially since her personality was completely different from her predecessor’s.

Feng Xi felt deeply saddened as he watched his sister evade him. His sister wouldn’t be so shrewd; though she was somewhat introverted and a little clever, she never had such decisive ways of handling things. If the person before him wasn’t his sister, then who was she? And where had his sister gone? A cluster of doubts entangled Feng Xi.

"Big Brother, what are you thinking about?" Feng Xuxu called out several times, noticing that her brother’s looks were very unfamiliar. They weren’t tender like in the past, but rather, they were scrutinizing.

"Oh, nothing. I’m just relieved to see that my sister has grown up and understands so much now," Feng Xi replied with a smile.

"Then Brother, do you prefer the current me, or the me from before?" Feng Xuxu tentatively asked Feng Xi.

"I like both, as long as it is ’my sister,’ I like you." Feng Xi emphasized ’my sister’ with a meaningful look at Feng Xuxu.

As clever as Feng Xuxu was, she could surely read between the lines, but still, she responded cheerfully to Feng Xi, "As long as Big Brother continues to love his sister just as before, I will always hold Big Brother in the highest regard."

"What are you two kids talking about, speaking in riddles? Xuxu girl, when you’ve brewed the wine, you must let me have a taste," Uncle Zhang, who had no other hobbies, needed to have a couple drinks with every meal.

"Sure, Uncle, I’ll take full responsibility for your family’s wine from now on," Feng Xuxu declared generously, patting her small chest.

"Haha, that’s wonderful! From now on, I’ll just wait for Xuxu girl to bring me wine," Uncle Zhang laughed heartily, his joy causing him to slap the table.

"Xuxu girl, you just indulge your uncle, look how happy you’ve made him," Auntie Zhang chuckled, pursing her lips and lightly tapping Feng Xuxu’s forehead.

"I say you, old lady, why do you always have to be against me?" Uncle Zhang glared at Auntie Zhang unhappily. Auntie Zhang winked at Feng Xuxu, then turned to Uncle Zhang with a grin and said, "Alright, I won’t stoop to your level, I’m going to cook now."

With that, she left, not giving Uncle Zhang a chance to reply. Uncle Zhang pointed at the doorway, then said to the three youngsters in the room, "Hey, this old lady, she’s becoming more capable."

Laughter erupted in the room. Sister Jiaojiao stepped forward, took hold of her father’s sleeve, and said coquettishly, "Mom is just looking out for you, afraid you might drink too much and harm your health."

Uncle Zhang chided his daughter, "After all these years, do I not know your mother! She’s tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She says she won’t let me drink, but she ends up pouring me wine anyway."

"Uncle, then you should just be content," Feng Xuxu said with a laugh, watching the endearing couple.