Chapter 456: Caretaker Shi
“Oh?”
Lu Sheng’s eyes lit up. “Is it far from here?”
To be honest, she was still a little worried about digging a pond to raise crayfish.
She was afraid that those little things would come up and break the farmlands nearby.
At that time, she would become a sinner.
“Not far. It’s on the hill near the village entrance. It takes less than fifteen minutes if we ride an ox cart.”
Lu Sheng nodded and asked, “Lord, rent that pond to me.”
Chu Sihan smiled lightly. “If you want it, just take it.”
It would be hers sooner or later anyway.
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony!”
Lu Sheng chuckled and turned around to remind those people that they did not have to come over to help tomorrow.
She and Chu Sihan returned to the Lu family to get the carriage and hurried to the manor.
A horse carriage was faster than an ox cart. An ox cart would take fifteen minutes, but a horse carriage would take less than fifteen minutes.
The road was good too. It was much smoother than the road to An Mu Village.
This manor was huge, and there were many servants.
Seeing a horse carriage enter, the guards wanted to stop them. However, when they saw the coachman, they were stunned.
“Lord… Lord?!”
Chu Sihan nodded slightly and said lightly, “Open the door.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll open the door for you now!”
The guards hurriedly opened the wooden door and let the carriage in.
When she entered, she saw a tea garden. There were various fruit trees that had just sprouted further in.
There were also loquat trees whose fruits were already half yellow.
On both sides of the road, there were Hall crabapples. They were blooming with pink flowers, and there were no leaves.
“Lord?!”
The old steward who was carrying the hoe and preparing to work was also shocked when he saw Chu Sihan.
The moment the carriage stopped, he hurriedly put down his hoe and ran over.
“Lord, why are you here?”
This was the second time Chu Sihan came to this manor. The last time he came was three years ago.
Chu Sihan introduced Lu Sheng, who had just alighted from the carriage, “This is Caretaker Shi.”
“Greetings, Caretaker Shi!”
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded at Caretaker Shi.
Caretaker Shi was suspicious, but he smiled and returned the greeting.
Chu Sihan asked calmly, “Is the pond where we kept the fish still there?”
“Yes, yes! I still want to wash the pond clean and put some baby fishes in it to raise.”
Although Caretaker Shi did not know why Chu Sihan suddenly asked about the pond, he still replied respectfully.
The others who were already working looked over. However, seeing that Caretaker Shi was personally receiving them, they did not dare to go forward and ask about the situation.
Chu Sihan said coldly, “Bring us over to take a look.”
“Lord, Miss, please follow me!”
Caretaker Shi turned around and gestured for the others to continue working. Then, he led the two of them towards the pond.
Walking in, there was an orange tree. A group of chickens and ducks were hunting for food under the orange tree.
After passing by this orange tree, they reached the fish pond.
There was a field of reeds beside the pond, and a squarish ditch surrounded it.
Lu Sheng’s eyes lit up. She said to Chu Sihan in a low voice, “Lord, that fish pond is too big. It’s probably not convenient to raise crayfish. However, this ditch is alright.”
She took a bamboo pole from the shore and tested the water depth. She realized that the ditch was about a meter deep and sixty to seventy centimeters wide. There was also a fence around it, probably to prevent chickens and ducks from escaping.
“You want to raise them here?”
Chu Sihan was stunned. He looked at the ditch and pondered. “However, there’s frequent drainage here. I’m afraid that they will escape.”
Lu Sheng looked at him and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll settle this.”
Caretaker Shi was confused by what the duo was saying.
Lord, didn’t you want to see the fish pond? Why did you stop here?
Chu Sihan nodded. “Alright, see what you need. I’ll get Caretaker Shi to prepare it.”
Lu Sheng looked at Caretaker Shi and smiled. “Caretaker Shi, can I trouble you to help me find a bigger wooden tablet?”
She made a hand gesture that measured about a meter long.
“Of course!”
Caretaker Shi nodded. “Miss, please wait a moment.”
Although he did not know why Lu Sheng wanted a wooden tablet, Caretaker Shi personally went to find it for her.
After Lu Sheng received the wooden tablet, she took out a dagger and made holes smaller than her pinky. Then, she blocked the drainage spots.
Chu Sihan said to Caretaker Shi, “Go and get a hoe.”
“Yes!”
Caretaker Shi wiped his sweat and carried the hoe over.
Chu Sihan dug at the two drainage spots and waited for Lu Sheng to place the wooden tablet in before burying it again.
“This will do?”
Chu Sihan raised his eyebrows.
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded. “Almost done.”
This was simply the best breeding ground for crayfish. It was several times better than the river in her backyard.
“Lord, is this Miss raising something?”
When Caretaker Shi heard this, he only knew that Lu Sheng wanted to raise something, but he did not know what it was.
Lu Sheng introduced herself. “My name is Lu Sheng. I’m a villager from Liu Yue Village.”
Caretaker Shi nodded blankly, but she continued, “I want to raise some things here. When the time comes, I’ll have to trouble Caretaker Shi to take care of them.”
Lu Sheng?
Why did this name sound so familiar?
Caretaker Shi scratched his head and could not recall where he had heard this name before.
“She’s my fiancée.”
Chu Sihan glanced at him and explained calmly.
Caretaker Shi was stunned before realization dawned on him.
“So it’s the future Young Madam!”
No wonder he found it familiar. When he delivered the dishes to the residence, he had heard someone from the Chu Mansion mention it.
“Don’t worry, Young Madam. No matter what you’re raising, I’ll definitely take care of them for you!”
Lu Sheng chuckled. “Thank you!”
Chu Sihan cast an admiring gaze at Caretaker Shi.
Caretaker Shi was much more discerning than the others.
Chu Yun had followed him for so long, yet he only knew how to address her as Miss Lu. It was Caretaker Shi who addressed her as Young Madam.
“Have Lord and Young Madam eaten? If not, why don’t I get someone to prepare some food?”
Chu Sihan shook his head. “There’s no need to trouble yourself. We’ve already eaten.”
“Oh!”
Caretaker Shi thought for a while and smiled. “The loquats will only be riped next month. However, the plums and peaches are already ripe. Why don’t I pluck some for Young Madam to bring back to eat?”
Lu Sheng’s eyes lit up. “Where are we going to pluck them?”
“They’re in the backyard. If you want to pluck them, you can go with us.”
She heard that Lu Sheng was a farm girl and these items were sold quite expensively in town.
However, with the Lord around, she must have eaten a lot, right?
Lu Sheng nodded and smiled. “Then, Caretaker Shi, bring me along.”
It did not matter if she ate them or not. She mainly wanted to experience the joy of plucking them.
In her previous life, she had planted a lot of things on the mountain. However, fruit trees were mostly planted alone. It was interesting to see them without an orchard.
“Then, I’ll get a basket for you first.”
In the backyard, Lu Sheng initially thought that there were only peaches and plums. Who knew that there were even mulberries? Furthermore, they were ripe.
After Lu Sheng plucked the plums and peaches, she plucked half a basket of mulberries.
When she came, she was empty-handed. However, when she returned, she gained a lot.
Lu Sheng squatted on the cushion and ate all the way from the manor to Liu Yue Village.
“Where did you go? Why are you only back now?”
Lu Zhou frowned and spoke unhappily.
“I went to a good place.”
Lu Sheng placed the two baskets of fruits on the table.
Seeing that Lu Zhou was alone, she raised her eyebrows in confusion. “Master, where are the others?”
“Shi Yi, Yun Ting, and the rest said they wanted to take a walk at Qingshui River. Your Uncle Shangguan is catching crayfish in the backyard.”
Lu Sheng was speechless.
If she did not fish out her crayfish and raise them, that glutton, Shangguan Dian, would probably eat them up.
One had to know that she only had this small number of crayfish in this era…
“Lord, come over early tomorrow. If we don’t change the farm, my crayfish will be gone.”
Chu Sihan smiled and nodded. “Okay!”
Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t they just a few crayfish? If they’re finished, they’re finished. Don’t you have a pond of river crabs?”
“How can that be the same?”
Lu Sheng snorted coldly. “There are river crabs everywhere. I only brought a few crayfish here. If they’re eaten to extinction, where can I find them?”
Lu Zhou scratched his nose and mumbled, “At most, I’ll find a way to get them for you.”
“Really?”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Then you’ll lose another skin?”
Lu Zhou disapproved. “It’s just a skin. If I lose it, so be it. I can just change to another one.”
Anyway, this was not his real body. His real body was still frozen in the ice cave on Green Peak.
Oh, the little girl’s body was also frozen in the ice cave.
The little girl still had to use this in the future. He could not just bury it.
After all, the little girl came here only to help Chu Sihan overcome the love tribulation. After completing this lifetime, she still had to return to her original world.
“Anyway, I’ll be moving to another place to raise them tomorrow morning. If you want to eat more, take it easy. Don’t destroy them.”
Lu Zhou glanced at her lightly and did not speak further. Instead, he picked up a peach and ate it slowly.
During dinner, Lu Sheng fried the crayfish that Shangguan Dian caught. She only sent them away after dinner.
—————
The next day.
When the morning light was slightly warm, Lu Sheng had already carried the bucket to the backyard to catch crayfish.
After fishing two full buckets of crayfish, Chu Sihan and Chu Yun arrived.
“Miss Lu, have you caught enough? Do you need my help?”
Chu Yun walked over and asked Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng passed him the fishing rod. “Go ahead and catch some. I’ll bring an empty bucket to the front courtyard.”
“Yes!”
Chu Yun took the fishing pole and fished seriously.
“Lord, please sit here first. I’ll be right there.”
Lu Sheng took a small stool and placed it by the side, gesturing for Chu Sihan to take a seat.
Chu Sihan nodded and sat down on the stool.
Lu Sheng went to the front courtyard to get an empty bucket. Then, she used a bamboo pole to make a fishing pole and passed it to Chu Sihan so that he could fish with Chu Yun.
“I found some duckweed in the nearby river.”
There were a lot of reeds over there, but no duckweed was seen. Lu Sheng wanted to bring some over to fill the bucket of water. Crayfish liked to eat these water plants.
When she returned with a basket of duckweed, the two of them had already caught half a bucket of crayfish.
Afraid that the crayfish would escape, Lu Sheng hurried to stop the duo from continuing.
Chu Yun, who was in the midst of his excitement, could only reluctantly retract his fishing pole.
Lu Sheng told Lu Jiang and Lu Xin to find Xiao Yuan Zi to play next door. Then, she, Chu Sihan, and Chu Yun went to the Chu Mansion’s farmstead again.
Before leaving yesterday, Lu Sheng specially instructed Caretaker Shi that she would come again tomorrow.
Hence, Caretaker Shi was already waiting outside the door early in the morning.
“Caretaker Shi, who was that girl yesterday? There doesn’t seem to be a girl in the Chu Mansion, right? Could she be a cousin?”
The old guard looked puzzled.
“What cousin?”
Caretaker Shi snorted coldly. “That’s the Chu Mansion’s future Young Madam.”
“Huh?”
The old man was stunned. “Could she be that Miss Shangguan?”
“Nonsense!”
Caretaker Shi reprimanded the old man and warned in a deep voice, “Miss Shangguan is the Second Madam of the Chu Mansion, not our Young Madam. The lady from yesterday was specially chosen by the State Minister for our Lord. It’s said that our Lord is destined to meet with a calamity. He has to marry this lady to survive this calamity.”
“I see!”
The old man sighed. “When I was in the Chu Mansion in the early years, Miss Shangguan would still come over to the Chu Mansion to find the Lord every day. I didn’t expect her to become the Second Madam.”
“Life is hard to predict.” Caretaker Shi smiled. “Moreover, I feel that Miss Lu is much better than Miss Shangguan. No wonder Lord is so protective of her.”
They were all from the Chu Mansion and naturally knew Chu Sihan’s attitude towards Shangguan Linger.
However, at that time, Mdm Chu treated Shangguan Linger very well. They even thought that Chu Sihan would listen to his parents’ orders and marry Shangguan Linger.
The old man wanted to say more when he heard the sound of wheels approaching. He hurriedly shut his mouth.
Caretaker Shi’s eyes lit up. “It must be the Lord and the rest.”
Indeed, from afar, Caretaker Shi saw Chu Yun, who was riding the carriage.
“Guard Chu, you’re here too?”
The carriage had just stopped outside the door when Caretaker Shi opened the door with a smile.
“Caretaker Shi.”
Chu Yun nodded at him before entering the manor.
“What’s this?”
Looking at the three buckets of crayfish that Chu Yun placed on the ground, Caretaker Shi was filled with curiosity.
Chu Yun explained, “This is crayfish. It’s different from the prawns we usually eat.”
After Lu Sheng alighted, she was about to pick up a bucket when Chu Yun beat her to it and lifted two buckets.
When Caretaker Shi saw this, he hurriedly lifted the remaining bucket.
He looked at Lu Sheng and asked, “Young Madam, should we put these prawns in the ditch?”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
“Wait.”
Chu Sihan said to Caretaker Shi, “Go and move the basket of duckweed from the carriage. Leave this bucket to me.”
“Oh, alright!”
Caretaker Shi thought that there was only this bucket of crayfish. He did not expect there to be a basket of duckweed on the carriage.
“Young Madam, why did you bring these duckweeds?”
Caretaker Shi really did not expect Lu Sheng and the rest to personally bring over the duckweed that he would get someone to clean every once in a while.
“This is the food for crayfish. They like to eat these things.”
“I see!”
Caretaker Shi smiled and said, “We have some here too. However, I always get someone to clean them up.”
When Lu Sheng heard that, she was enlightened. No wonder she did not see any duckweed. It turned out that they had been cleaned.
Hence, she instructed Caretaker Shi, “Next time when the duckweed grows, you don’t have to clean them. I’ll get someone to come over and drain the water.”