With a wave of her hand, she said, "Just take it and eat. You can bring the bowl back to after you're done!"
Without giving Liu Ergou a chance to refuse, she turned and left.
Looking at Feng Chunling's retreating figure, Liu Ergou laughed helplessly.
Indeed. I still couldn't outwit Feng Chunling, that crafty old woman. It seems I'm still too green. When I go to return the basin, who knows how she'll try to seduce . If my willpower is weak at that mont, she might actually succeed.
At that thought, Liu Ergou shivered involuntarily. Looking up, he saw Feng Chunling's swaying hips as she left his yard and returned to her own.
Xu Yulan took the duck at from Liu Ergou, placed it in the kitchen, and then pulled him back into the room.
With a look of surprise, she asked, "Er Gou, what in the world is going on? You have to tell the truth, what exactly happened?"
It was no wonder Xu Yulan was astonished. The two families were like fire and water and had just had a huge fight that very morning. Now, only a short ti later, not only had she returned the money, but she had also delivered a basin of at. It was no wonder Xu Yulan was in disbelief—anyone in the village would have felt the sa. They wouldn't have believed it even if their jaws dropped to the floor.
Liu Ergou didn't answer right away. Instead, he put an arm around Xu Yulan, led her back into the room, and then told her the truth.
"It's like this, Sister-in-law. Feng Chunling wants to co work for when I start planting herbs. She also hopes that when I expand in the future, I'll lease her family's land first."
Hearing this, Xu Yulan looked at Liu Ergou in disbelief. "Ah? Is it really that simple? Are you sure it's not because of sothing else?"
Seeing the shock on his sister-in-law's face, Liu Ergou nodded. "It's that simple. I didn't expect it either!"
After hearing his explanation, Xu Yulan didn't say anything more but sighed deeply. Then she went into the kitchen, intending to transfer the at into another basin.
At this sight, Liu Ergou's scalp tingled with fear.
My sister-in-law has no idea how perilous that encounter was. If I'm the one to return her basin, I'll be eaten alive!
His eyes shifted, and a clever idea suddenly struck him.
"Sister-in-law, don't rush!" Liu Ergou said. "I'm actually hungry. Let's eat first, and you can take it over to her when we're done. I have things to do later!"
Hearing his suggestion, Xu Yulan didn't object and simply served the al.
Liu Ergou's appetite was now enormous. He single-handedly devoured the entire large basin of duck at, leaving nothing but a little broth. In contrast, Xu Yulan was full after only a few pieces. She simply sat there, watching him eat.
Lunch ended quickly. Afterward, Liu Ergou made up an excuse and slipped out.
Walking down the road, Liu Ergou fell deep into thought.
I'm aimless again. Where should I go now? It seems like nowhere is a good place to go. Liu Yunxi is busy with important work, and it wouldn't be right to bother anyone else in broad daylight.
Liu Ergou felt troubled, not sure what to do. So, he just wandered aimlessly around the village. As he strolled, villagers greeted him with smiles and asked about leasing the fallow land. He casually deflected all their inquiries with a few noncommittal words.
By the ti he had wandered around the entire village, it was already afternoon. This text is hosted at novel{f}ire
Standing on the village path, Liu Ergou gave a big, lazy stretch and decided to head ho.
I've been out all afternoon. My sister-in-law must have returned Feng Chunling's basin by now. There's nothing left for to worry about.
With that thought, Liu Ergou headed toward his ho. On his way, he happened to pass by the place where Liu Yunxi lived. Out of curiosity, he glanced in that direction.
One glance was all it took for him to stop in his tracks. Liu Yunxi was erging from her room, looking utterly exhausted. She staggered, seeming as if she might collapse at any second.
This scared Liu Ergou so much that he rushed forward to support her without a second thought.
"Yun Xi, why are you so exhausted?" Liu Ergou asked, his face etched with concern.
Supported by him, Liu Yunxi blushed slightly before explaining, "It's nothing much, just soil testing."
"But there were so many samples. I've been adjusting chemical reagents constantly, and I'm exhausted. It's been a long ti since I've pushed myself this hard on an experint. It's just too much!"
Hearing this, Liu Ergou asked in confusion, "Wait, Yun Xi, if I rember correctly, weren't the last soil samples sent to the city for analysis? Why are you testing them yourself this ti?"
Seeing his confused expression, Liu Yunxi explained again. "It's like this, Ergou. The soil samples were sent to the city last ti to get more precise data. Only with that level of precision could we determine if this land is truly suitable for growing dicinal herbs. After analyzing the data, it's been confird that your village's land is indeed suitable."
"This round of sampling from the fallow land is for localized analysis. We're just checking for any unusual conditions in that specific area, like, for example, if there's any heavy tal contamination... sothing like that!"
So that's how it is, Liu Ergou thought, nodding in understanding. I never realized it was so complicated. If Yun Xi weren't here, I'd be completely lost trying to handle this alone. I could probably sell myself into servitude and still not figure it all out.
"Ah, so that's how it is," Liu Ergou said aloud. "So, Yun Xi, about the soil testing, how many samples have you tested so far?"
Liu Yunxi answered, "I didn't need to test all fifty samples. I randomly tested thirty of them. The results for all thirty were excellent. The soil is healthy and perfectly suitable for planting dicinal herbs. The quality of the herbs grown here will be very high, too!"
As she said this, she looked at Liu Ergou with a puzzled expression. "Ergou, I don't understand sothing. Your village's soil is so excellent. Why doesn't anyone cultivate it, letting it lie fallow instead? I really don't get it. Is everyone in your village just lazy? It just can't be!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers