Chapter 453: He Qin’s Big Day
“What do you think?”
Lu Sheng bent down and plucked two blooming wild chrysanthemums from the shore before throwing them into the pond. Her gaze was fixated on the surface of the pond.
Sensing the angle of the fishing pole, she lifted it again.
She had gained a lot this time. Five at once.
“But I don’t think it has much meat.”
How much meat could its head have?
It was probably not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.
Lu Sheng explained, “They lost some weight this season. The best season should be around May to July.”
If Lu Zhou wasn’t in a hurry to eat, she wouldn’t have wanted to fish.
“Really?”
After questioning her, Shi Yi continued digging into his rice.
After Chu Sihan and Yun Ting finished eating, they passed the task of keeping the cutlery to Chu Yun. The two of them followed them to the backyard.
When he saw the contents of the bucket, Chu Sihan raised his eyebrows and asked, “Could this be the crayfish you mentioned?”
“Yes, this is it.”
Lu Sheng smiled and said, “There’s nothing good to eat during this season. They’re too skinny. The best season will probably start in May or June.”
She turned back to look at Chu Sihan and continued smiling. “Lord, if you want to eat it, it’s best to wait until then.”
“Okay!”
Chu Sihan nodded slightly.
“What’s in the other pond?”
Yun Ting pointed at another pond.
“Those are river crabs. They shouldn’t be as yellow this month.”
“So these are river crabs!”
Yun Ting nodded and said, “They’re the most delicious in September.”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you still have a fishing pole?”
Chu Sihan stood beside her and asked.
“No.”
She only made one.
“Do you want to try?”
She shook the fishing rod in her hand and looked up at him with a smile.
“Yes.”
“Here.”
Without another word, Lu Sheng passed him the fishing pole.
After handing the fishing pole to Chu Sihan, they caught half a bucket of crayfish.
“Lord, that’s enough!”
Seeing that Chu Sihan wanted to continue, she hurried to stop him.
When Chu Sihan heard that, he could only keep his fishing rod reluctantly.
She looked at them and smiled. “Let’s go back to town. I’ll cook for you.”
When Chu Yun heard that there were delicious food, he hurried over to carry the bucket personally.
After returning to town, Lu Sheng brought them back to the Lu Mansion.
Lu Ran and He Lai had not returned from school yet. Lu Zhou, Shangguan Dian, and the two children were the only ones at home.
Lu Sheng let them sit first while she took the crayfish to the kitchen to prepare.
After placing the items on the table, Lu Sheng realized that Netherworld, who was still around last night, was nowhere to be seen today.
“Why don’t I see Young Master Tianxi?”
“He went back… home.”
Staring at the delicacies, Shangguan Dian almost told them about Netherworld’s return to the Demon Realm. Thankfully, he reacted in time.
“Go ahead and eat. I’ll go and pack some things.”
“Pack some things?”
Lu Zhou frowned. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the village and stay there for a while.”
As Lu Sheng spoke, she left the hall without turning back.
Lu Zhou looked at her back and then at Chu Sihan.
“Didn’t she just come back from the countryside?”
Chu Sihan explained in a low voice, “She said that she wanted to hire someone to plow the land, so she has to go back and stay for some time.”
Lu Zhou shook his head helplessly. “This girl just can’t stay idle.”
When Lu Xin and Lu Jiang heard that Lu Sheng was returning to the village, they did not care about the delicious food anymore. They climbed down from their chairs and escaped.
Lu Sheng was packing her clothes when she heard footsteps outside.
She went out and saw Lu Jiang and Lu Xin running towards her.
“Second Sister! Second Sister!”
“Slow down. Don’t fall.”
She smiled and reminded them before returning to her room to pack her things.
“Second Sister, we want to return to the village too!”
Lu Jiang held Lu Xin’s hand and looked at her.
They had stayed in town for a long time and did not have many playmates. Most of the time, Lu Ran would either catch them to study or practice calligraphy, or the two of them would wander around the house.
This was the busy season for farming. All the children in the village would follow them to the fields to catch loaches or play with mud. It was indeed more fun than in town.
“Alright, let’s go back if you want to.”
“That’s great! We’re going back to the village to stay!”
The duo clapped and jumped around happily.
Lu Sheng smiled. After packing her things, she went to their room to pack their clothes.
When she led the two children to the hall again, there were only crayfish shells left on the table.
“Master, come and clean up later. I still have some matters to attend to, so I won’t stay any longer.”
“Let me send you off.”
Chu Sihan was about to get up when she rejected him with a wave of her hand.
“No need, Lord. You just came back. If you go out with me again, you’ll be quite tired.”
“I’m not tired.”
Chu Sihan turned his head and said to Chu Yun, who was still sucking his fingers, “Chu Yun, Miss Lu and I will go to the countryside. Pick me up in the evening.”
“Yes, Lord!”
When Chu Yun heard that, he hurriedly stood up and agreed.
“Little niece, Uncle and your master will visit you tomorrow. Prepare more of these little crayfish.”
Shangguan Dian wiped his hands and instructed with a smile.
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded. “Okay, but you can’t come every day.”
Without Shangguan Dian, Lu Zhou alone could finish all her crayfish.
It seemed like she had to get someone to dig a few more ponds. Otherwise, not to mention selling them, but just providing these people food would not be enough.
Shangguan Dian chuckled and did not agree or disagree.
Lu Sheng smiled and said to Chu Sihan, “Lord, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
—————
Lu Sheng went to the market to buy some rice, noodles, meat, vegetables, and some cutlery.
When she returned to the village, it was already afternoon.
When the carriage entered the courtyard, Lu Xin and Lu Jiang went off to find their friends to play.
The children were forgetful. No one mocked the duo anymore, so the group of children could play together again.
When Aunt Yu heard that she was back, she hurried over with Xiao Yuan Zi to play.
When she saw Chu Sihan, she became reserved again. After sitting for a while, she returned.
Chu Sihan’s identity was almost publicized in Liu Yue Village. This was also the reason why no one dared to gossip about Lu Sheng despite him repeatedly following Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng, who was washing the pot, saw Chu Sihan sitting under a big tree in a daze. She hurriedly smiled and said,
“Lord, if you’re bored, you can walk around. I’ll prepare dinner first.”
Chu Sihan shook his head. “It’s not boring with you around.”
Lu Sheng’s expression froze. She glared at him and continued with her work.
Chu Sihan chuckled and propped his chin up, staring at her unblinkingly.
These peaceful days were quite good.
In the future, he would resign and bring her back to the countryside to give birth to two fat children. Then, they would lead a peaceful life.
At the thought of that scene, his thin lips curved upwards.
“What can I do to help?”
Seeing the girl busying herself, he could not sit still.
“Lord, do you know how to cut meat?”
Lu Sheng placed the basket on the stone slab and tilted her head to ask him.
Chu Sihan nodded. “Yes. Should I cut it into thin slices or cubes?”
Lu Sheng pointed at the big piece of pork belly in the basin and said with a smile, “Cut them into cubes of the same size. Lord should have eaten braised pork before, right?”
“Yes.”
Chu Sihan replied softly and hurried over to help.
After a busy afternoon, they finally prepared eight dishes and a soup.
Afraid that there would be a lot of people, Lu Sheng made a lot of dishes.
“Lord, take a seat first. I’ll go to Uncle Li Zheng’s house.”
“Okay!”
This time, Chu Sihan did not follow her.
Lu Sheng left for a while. When she returned, there were not only Li Zheng but also thirteen middle-aged men.
They seemed tough.
“Lord… Lord!”
When Li Zheng saw Chu Sihan, he was first surprised before hurriedly bowing. “Greetings, Lord!”
When the others heard that, they hurriedly cupped their hands and bowed.
Chu Sihan nodded slightly and said lightly, “Everyone, there’s no need to be so polite. Take your seats.”
Everyone sat down nervously. When they saw the dishes on the table, they could not help but be shocked.
Everyone knew that the Lu family was different from the past.
They also knew that this dinner was definitely not simple. However, they did not expect it to be so sumptuous.
There was chicken, duck, and fish on the table. Even during the new year, they did not dare to eat like this.
In the past, the Lu family could not even bear to eat rice. Now, they could eat big fish and meat without blinking.
Lu Sheng carried the rice out and greeted them with a smile. “Everyone, eat quickly. The dishes won’t taste good if they’re cold!”
When everyone heard that, they were not in a hurry to eat. Instead, they looked at Chu Sihan from the corner of their eyes.
Chu Sihan poured a glass of wine and said to Li Zheng and the rest, “This glass is to everyone. Thank you for helping Sheng Sheng.”
“Lord, you’re too polite. We’re all villagers. It’s only right to help.”
“Yes!”
…
Everyone spoke one after another, but they also raised their cups in return.
Lu Sheng smiled and hurried out to find the two children.
She also brought some dishes to the Liang family.
Liang Ping and Mdm Chen were not around. They had gone back to Chen Village to help plant rice and might not be back until late.
Hence, only Aunt Yu and Xiao Yuan Zi were left at home.
Initially, Lu Sheng wanted Aunt Yu to bring Xiao Yuan Zi to the Lu family to eat. However, Aunt Yu said that there were men there and it was not appropriate for her to go alone.
Chu Sihan was only halfway through his meal when Chu Yun came to fetch him.
He toasted everyone before saying goodbye to Lu Sheng.
After sending Chu Sihan off, everyone was full.
Lu Sheng told them to come over tomorrow and she would bring them to that plot of land. Everyone agreed and left.
The next day, Lu Sheng woke up early.
She had just finished cooking the lean meat porridge when everyone brought their cows over to wait.
After eating the porridge, she led the way to that plot of land.
In one day, thirteen people plowed forty mu of land.
Although it was not as fast as the machines in her previous life, it was still faster than what she expected.
That night, Lu Zhou and Shangguan Dian came. However, Lu Sheng did not make crayfish for them because she did not have time.
The two of them were not angry. They even took the initiative to help her. At night, they drank with everyone and only left at midnight.
By the fifth day, the fields were basically done plowing.
After that, Lu Sheng asked someone to chop the trees to make a fence.
After she was done, Lu Sheng specially bought two pigs from the village’s pig farm and invited the families of these thirteen people and the nearby families whom she had a good relationship with to come over for a meal.
When everyone heard that she wanted to kill a pig, they all came over to help.
Instantly, the Lu family was bustling.
“Girl, you plowed hundreds of mu of land all at once. If you don’t plant anything, won’t you plow for nothing?”
One of the thirteen people asked suspiciously.
Lu Sheng smiled and said, “I just want to flip the land. I’ll flip it again when we’re planting it. Let’s dry the weeds first.”
Almost half of the land had not been farmed before. Only twenty to thirty mu had been farmed before. In order to make it easier to plow later, she got everyone to help plow first.
That person nodded. “I see!”
“Hey, Lu Sheng, why did you buy so much land? What are you going to plant?”
A woman was very curious.
“Plant good things.”
Lu Sheng smiled mysteriously. “Aunt, remember to come and help when the time comes.”
When the woman heard that, she laughed and nodded. “Definitely!”
Two days after the pig slaughtering banquet, it was He Qin’s and Duan Xiang’s big day.
The previous afternoon, Lu Ran returned to the village and went to An Mu Village with Lu Sheng and the two children.
The next day at the banquet, Lu Zhou, Shangguan Dian, Chu Sihan, Fu Xianyun, and the rest came.
They even sent a lot of gifts. When the Zhang family saw this, they were filled with regret.
Putting everything else aside, Fu Xianyun was famous for being close to the people, so everyone basically knew him.
When he came out of He Qin’s house, everyone in the village was shocked, let alone the Zhang family.
They discussed in private about how amazing the He family was now.
Some people even mocked the Zhang family in private. They said that if they had not caused trouble back then, the person who would be enjoying life at the He family now would not be Duan Xiang, but Duan Xiaohua.
Their voices were neither too loud nor too soft. Coincidentally, Mdm Luo, who came over shamelessly to freeload some food, heard them.
She was so angry that she did not even want to eat the banquet anymore and went home angrily.
However, no one cared about her departure.
In the past, everyone avoided He Qin’s house. As they were too poor, they had to rely on He Hu’s family most of the time.
However, it was different now. The two families’ standards were basically the same.
“You are… Lu Sheng?”
It was rare for Lu Sheng to be free. She sat in the room and drank a cup of tea when she suddenly heard a gentle voice.
She looked suspiciously out the door.
A tanned and slender woman with good facial features walked in.
“You are… Sister Yaner?”
Lu Sheng asked the woman uncertainly.
The woman smiled and nodded. “It’s me!”
“Sister Yaner, why did you…” become like this?
Lu Sheng could not believe that the person in front of her was her cousin, He Yan, who was doted on by the He family previously such that they could not bear to see her suffer.
In the past, except for needlework, He Zhang could not bear to let her do anything.
Moreover, in the owner’s impression, this cousin who was less than two months older than her was almost the same as a lady from a rich family in town.
“It’s a long story.”
He Yan smiled bitterly. “I should have listened to Father and Grandma back then. I shouldn’t have married afar.”
She wanted to come back previously, but her husband kept using the excuse that he was busy and refused to let her come back.
Her mother-in-law was even more mean. She kept her busy every day, but she sat at the entrance of the village munching on melon seeds and gossiping about her daughter-in-law.