Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 645 Second Update (2)

Lou Qianyu gazed into the distance and noticed a man dressed like a farmer. Twisting his body, he looked toward Shan Yi, "Bring him here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Shan Yi left, Feng Xuxu had finished her examination. Straightening up, she dusted off her hands and had just wiped them on her handkerchief when the man was brought over by Shan Yi.

Feng Xuxu sized him up and asked softly, "You’re from this village."

"Yes, yes, yes, I am the village chief here. My name is Zhao Dabao."

Feng Xuxu saw him nodding and bowing, his face stiff as he echoed her previous words, his hands tightly clasped. She frowned slightly, "Does your village’s ground have this kind of white powder everywhere?"

Zhao Dabao looked puzzledly at Feng Xuxu, realizing she was referring to the white substance on the ground. He had an epiphany, the white powder was actually that stuff, and he nodded, "Yes, this thing has been here since the year before last. At first, it was just a little bit and we didn’t pay it any attention. We even thought it was some naughty child spreading flour, but from last year, we started to see more of it, and later on, we realized this was not flour at all. We call this thing ’flour’ powder."

"From the year before last to last year, did you have a period of extreme heat and dryness?"

Zhao Dabao with a blank expression thought for a moment and shook his head, "Our place doesn’t usually get very hot in the summer. Yes, ah, that’s right, there was a heavy rain the year before last, and afterward, the weather became very hot, and the water in the farmers’ fields dried up very quickly. We were afraid the fields would be ruined, so we watered them again immediately."

Feng Xuxu pursed her lips and nodded, "I understand. You can take him back now."

Zhao Dabao was still confused when Shan Yi dragged him away.

"Sister-in-law, what’s going on?" Lou Qianyu followed closely by her side, walking side by side with her, voicing the question in his mind.

Feng Xuxu sighed almost imperceptibly, "It’s a long story. Better to talk about it outside."

Lou Qianyu, feeling anxious, grabbed Feng Xuxu’s cloak, "Sister-in-law, just give Qianyu a word, can the land be saved? Will we be able to produce crops next year?"

Seeing his frantic and anxious demeanor, Feng Xuxu still gave him a word of reassurance, "The land can be saved. There will be crops. Not only that, but there will be an unexpected harvest as well."

Lou Qianyu heard the assurance and the possibility of producing crops and let out a huge sigh of relief. Before he could fully relax, the mention of an unexpected harvest made him ecstatic, his mouth splitting into a grin that reached behind his ears.

Lou Qianyu helped Feng Xuxu into the carriage and only then returned to his own carriage, heading for the Capital.

More than an hour later, the two carriages finally returned to the Capital. When they arrived at the Imperial Palace, the two carriages went their separate ways.

Lou Qianyu was in a hurry to return to his own chambers, to wash up, so he could go to ’Zhaoxia Palace’ later to ask Feng Xuxu for further instruction.

When Feng Xuxu returned to the palace, she ordered Mei Lenglei to guard the house well, and she went to the space. In that space, she soaked in the bath for a while, feeling much more comfortable, before she got up.

Thirsty, she licked her lips and took a basket to the orchard, where she picked a variety of fruits. It was not until the basket in her hand was nearly full that Feng Xuxu stopped. She squatted beside the spring at the mouth of Spiritual Spring, washed a fragrant melon with a strong scent that made one’s mouth water, and bit into it. Her mouth was immediately flooded with the sweet and juicy liquid. After eating one melon, her stomach’s growling subsided.

Looking at the fruits in the basket, she thought of the girls outside. After finishing the melon, she left the space, her mood uplifted. As expected, even the normally steady and mature Mei Lenglei broke into a smile upon seeing the basket full of fruits.

Upon entering the room and seeing what Sister Mei held, Yingsu’s face lit up with a smile. She helped Madam sit at the dressing table and arranged her hair. She simply secured it with a Phoenix Step Hairpin, leaving the rest of the hair gracefully cascading down her back.

At noon, the palace doors were opened, and a line of Palace Attendants walked in to deliver food, neatly taking the dishes out of the food boxes and placing them on the table one by one. Feng Xuxu went over to take a look and noticed several more dishes than usual. She was puzzled and thought it might be Lou Qianyu’s special arrangement. But when the dishes and utensils were all set, there was an extra set for one more person. It dawned on Feng Xuxu that Lou Qianyu was also coming for the meal. Just as she realized this, Lou Qianyu himself appeared in the side hall.

"Hahaha, Cousin-in-law, it seems Qianyu has arrived just in time," Lou Qianyu said cheerfully as he stepped into the side hall.

Feng Xuxu smiled faintly, "It’s not about coming early but coming at the right time, and the timing is just right."

"You speak the truth, Sister-in-law," he said as he sat down opposite Feng Xuxu, scanning the dishes on the table. After inspecting them, he picked up some squid strips with his chopsticks and placed them on the plate in front of Feng Xuxu, "Sister-in-law, try this and see how it compares to the restaurant’s."

"It looks great, has a bright color, and a fragrant aroma. It should taste good, let me try it!" She took a bit, slowly savored it in her mouth, and indeed, it was no less delicious than that of the restaurant’s.

"Mmm, delicious, even better than the restaurant’s," Feng Xuxu sincerely commented.

Lou Qianyu laughed heartily for a few moments before he too picked some for himself and tasted it, finding it indeed delicious. Setting down his chopsticks, he looked around the side hall with a puzzled expression. Everyone was there except for Zhenzhen. After hesitating for a while, he asked, "Sister-in-law, is Zhenzhen still mad at me?"

"I suppose so, but that’s not the most important thing," Feng Xuxu contemplated with a frown before nodding.

Lou Qianyu didn’t quite understand her words, "Important? What is the most important thing?"

Feng Xuxu looked at him, her gaze flickering slightly, and asked seriously, "Do you truly like her?"

"Sister-in-law, I truly like Zhenzhen. Everything I’ve told her is true, I have never hidden anything from her," Lou Qianyu explained anxiously, hoping she wouldn’t misunderstand him.

Seeing his gaze firm and unwavering, his nervousness written all over his face, Feng Xuxu smiled and said, "Stop hiding, come on out."

A delicate figure emerged from outside the hall, walking over shyly with a blush on her cheeks. Lou Qianyu, surprised, stood up and quickly approached her. The two looked at each other, one with surprise and the other with shyness. Seeing that they didn’t speak, Feng Xuxu chuckled, "If you two aren’t hungry, I certainly am. Yingsu, serve the rice."

Embarrassed, Lou Qianyu turned around, stealing a glance at Zhenzhen beside him before awkwardly taking his seat. Zhenzhen also sat next to her cousin-in-law, shyly uttering, "Cousin."

"Mhm," Feng Xuxu was genuinely hungry and took particular liking to the squid strips and the steamed white fish on the table, almost single-handedly finishing those two dishes.

Zhenzhen and Lou Qianyu could only stare blankly, watching her eat with relish and not daring to reach for those two dishes.

After the meal, they all went to the main hall for tea. Feng Xuxu, feeling stuffed, walked back and forth in the hall, slowly digesting the food in her stomach, feeling contemptuous towards herself. She thought of herself as a starving ghost reborn, gobbling up food at the sight of it, without any semblance of dignity.