Chapter 478: Plucking Tomatoes
Other than talisman drawing, Chu Sihan had not seen Lu Sheng draw anything else, let alone know how skilled she was.
However, since she could say this, her drawing skills must be good.
“Ah Sheng, Uncle and Uncle Lai are here.”
Lu Ran ran back from outside and panted. “Let everyone pick the items first.”
The tomatoes had ripened over the past few days. They were now red. Needless to say, they were quite pleasing to the eye.
Lu Sheng nodded. She kept her fan and hurried everyone to stop what they were doing and help pluck the tomatoes and tabasco peppers.
“Greetings, Lord Chu!”
He Lai and He Qin walked in and bowed to Chu Sihan.
“Uncles, don’t stand on ceremony. When you see me in the future, there’s no need to bow.”
His addressing them as ‘uncles’ stunned He Lai and He Qin at the same time. Then, they looked at Lu Sheng.
Unexpectedly, Lu Sheng did not notice what Chu Sihan said just now. Instead, she instructed everyone to pluck the items.
“Ah… Yes!”
The duo could only nod with a dry smile.
They never dreamed that they would one day become Chu Sihan’s ‘uncle.’
Especially He Lai. To him, Chu Sihan was an unreachable existence, and he had always admired him.
He did not expect the person he admired to call him ‘Uncle’ one day. If he told his classmates and friends about this, they would probably scold him for being delusional.
Chu Sihan could not be bothered to guess their thoughts.
After nodding at the two of them, he naturally picked up the basket and helped pluck the tomatoes.
This scene dumbfounded the duo for a while.
“Lu Ran, how… how can you let Lord Chu do this?”
He Qin pulled Lu Ran over and asked fearfully.
When Lu Ran, who had been feeling apprehensive previously, saw He Lai’s and He Qin’s reaction, his heart immediately felt much better.
“Lord Chu volunteered. We can help too.”
Lu Ran wanted to know their reaction when they saw the Third Prince scooping prawns from the river.
He Qin blinked. “But I still have to discuss something with Lu Sheng.”
“Uncle, what do you want to discuss with me?”
When Lu Sheng walked towards them, she happened to hear their conversation.
“Then, you guys chat. Lu Ran and I will go and help.”
He Lai bent down and took two baskets. One was for himself and the other was for Lu Ran.
“Uncle, let’s talk in the tea room.”
Lu Sheng led He Qin into a small tea room.
After sitting down, Lu Sheng poured some tea before asking, “Uncle, what do you want to discuss with me?”
“You know that there’s a restaurant beside our Lu family’s restaurant, right?”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Yes!”
“The owner of that restaurant said he didn’t want to continue opening it. After your uncle heard about it, he said he wanted to buy it and expand our restaurant so that we can accommodate more customers. However, he still wanted me to come over and ask you.”
After all, the real owner of the Lu family’s restaurant was Lu Sheng. They could not make decisions casually.
“That’s good!”
Lu Sheng nodded and said, “I’ll leave the restaurant to you. You can manage it however you want. Anyway, you’re one of the owners.”
She was only in charge of providing the ingredients and did not care about anything else.
He Qin nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell your uncle when we get back.”
The Lu family’s restaurant was not to be underestimated. Many people went elsewhere because they did not have seats.
He Qin and He Zhang had always seen this. Every time they saw it, their hearts ached.
“Uncle, how many chefs are there in the kitchen besides Uncle?”
“Three.”
Lu Sheng nodded slightly. She thought of Lu Ran and hurriedly said, “Oh right, Uncle. If you have time someday, you can go to North City to take a look and see if there are better shops. It’s best if they’re close to the bustling city.”
“North City?” He Qin was puzzled. “Why are you looking for a shop there?”
“Open another restaurant and let my brother and Uncle Lai manage it. My brother is not studying anymore. We can’t let him work in the fields forever.”
He was a scholar after all. Although there was nothing bad about farming, there were a lot of people in the village and they always liked to talk about how a scholar would come back to farm.
Lu Sheng knew that Lu Ran did not care about these. However, she did not like to hear those self-righteous people always mocking her brother openly and secretly.
When He Qin heard that, he frowned. “Is that kid not studying anymore?”
He actually did not know about this at all.
Lu Sheng nodded. “He hasn’t been there for a long time. He said he wants to do business.”
“Forget it.”
He Qin sighed softly. “He’s a straightforward person. He’s indeed not suitable for the career path.”
If he accidentally offended someone, it would be troublesome.
Although He Qin had never interacted with officials, he had heard of the mutual deception.
“Okay!” He nodded slightly and said, “When we get back, I’ll get someone to ask if there are any good shops there.”
Lu Sheng smiled. “Thank you, Uncle!”
He Qin smiled and patted her head. “How can this be considered troublesome? Uncle should do these!”
If not for his niece, he would probably still be living in a mud hut and continue living life by the looks of others.
“Uncle, don’t always be busy with yourself. Go back and visit Aunt and Grandma more often.”
He Qin smiled. “Don’t worry. Uncle has already bought a small courtyard in town. We’ll bring them to town to stay together in a few days.”
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded. “That’s good!”
“What are you saying? Why are you smiling so happily?”
Chu Sihan walked in.
When He Qin saw this, he was about to get up when Chu Sihan walked over in time and pushed him back.
“Uncle, don’t mind me. I came in for a cup of tea.”
He sat down beside Lu Sheng.
He Qin looked at him nervously, then at Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng glanced at Chu Sihan and smiled at He Qin. “Uncle, ignore him.”
He Qin laughed dryly. In the end, he stood up and said, “You guys chat. Uncle will go out and take a look.”
Although Chu Sihan did not do anything, as long as he sat there, one would subconsciously feel a sense of oppression, causing one to involuntarily hold their breaths.
He Qin felt that he would suffocate to death if he continued sitting there.
Lu Sheng nodded. “Okay!”
After He Qin left, Lu Sheng raised her eyebrows and looked at Chu Sihan. “Weren’t you plucking tomatoes?”
“I was suddenly thirsty, so I wanted to come in and have some tea.”
His slender and fair fingers held the cup she had drunk. Then, he downed the remaining tea.
Lu Sheng blushed.
She snatched her cup back and snorted. “There are so many empty cups. Why did you pick mine?”
Chu Sihan’s thin lips curved upwards. Holding her chin, he looked at her and said, “This is the same logic as ‘there are so many girls in the world, but I only want to marry you.’”
Lu Sheng rolled her eyes at him. “Sweet talk.”
“I’ll only do that to you.”
He answered smoothly.
Lu Sheng sighed helplessly. “You’ve been staying here for a long time. Aren’t you going back to the Chu Mansion or Lin Jiang Mansion?”
“Nothing major has happened in Lin Jiang Mansion recently. Moreover, with Chu Yun and Constable Ji around, there’s nothing to worry about. As for the Chu Mansion…”
He smiled. “When the Lu family’s house in the countryside is built, they should be coming over. I don’t have to go back.”
Lu Sheng was speechless.
Was he bent on staying here forever?
She raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a faint smile, “It seems like our Lord Chu likes to do farm work a lot.”
She pondered for a while and smiled. “How about this? From tomorrow onwards, you’ll accompany me to pollinate the watermelons?”
The watermelons she planted in the Lu family’s courtyard had already bloomed. She planned to pollinate them tomorrow.
“Pollinate watermelons?”
Chu Sihan frowned. “What’s a watermelon?”
“They’re watermelons.”
Lu Sheng climbed up and patted his shoulder. “You’ll know tomorrow.”
He raised his eyebrows and smiled faintly.
“I’ll ask Uncle about something.”
She did not know if the guests could accept the peppercorns she plucked last time.
If everyone could accept it, she would go to An Mu Village to collect peppercorns and sun them. If not, she would keep the rest for herself.
When she went out, dozens of baskets of tomatoes had already been plucked.
He Qin and He Lai were packing the items into the cart with everyone.
“Uncle, I forgot to ask you something.”
“What’s the matter?”
He Qin placed a basket of tomatoes on the carriage and asked her suspiciously.
“Have you used up the peppercorns I asked you to bring back last time?”
“Yes, peppercorns!”
When He Qin heard the word ‘peppercorns,’ he immediately understood.
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, Uncle would have forgotten about this.”
He Qin patted the dust off his hands and continued, “Everyone loves to eat the steamed fish with peppercorns. There’s only a little left now. Your uncle said that if there’s more, he’ll get me to bring it back.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Lu Sheng returned to the kitchen and scooped some peppercorns out. She placed the rest on the carriage.
“Uncle, when are you returning to the village?”
Lu Sheng asked He Lai.
“I’ll go back tomorrow morning. Why?”
He Lai walked to the side of the pond and washed his hands.
“I want you to do me a favor.”
He nodded. “Speak.”
“Help me collect the peppercorns.”
“Collect peppercorns?” He Lai stood up suspiciously. “How?”
“It’s very simple. After you go back, tell the villagers in An Mu Village to collect these peppercorns and dry them. I’ll give them fifty coins a pound.”
“Fifty coins for every pound?!” He Lai was shocked. “No one eats this. If you want it, I’ll tell my parents when I get back so that they can go into the mountains to harvest them when they’re free. Why waste money?”
“No way!”
Lu Sheng glanced at him and said, “Grandpa and Grandma are already old and it’s time for them to enjoy life. How can you bear to let them enter the mountain?”
Seeing her ‘do you still have a conscience?’ expression, He Lai was speechless.
In his impression, his parents had always been busy. They were unwilling to be free and have nothing to do. Hence, as time passed, he felt that his parents could still do a lot of things.
He Qin chuckled. “Lu Sheng is right. It wasn’t easy for Uncle and Aunt to succeed, but you made them go up the mountain again. You, as a son, is really filial.”
He Lai sighed helplessly. “I was wrong.”
He looked at Lu Sheng and said, “Okay, I’ll tell the villagers when I get back tomorrow morning.”
Lu Sheng thought for a while and said, “In that case, it’s alright for them to sell raw peppercorns as well. Tell them that the raw ones are twenty-five coins a pound, while the dried ones are fifty coins a pound.”
Afraid that some people would not believe her, she could only resort to this method.
If they spent money to collect the raw ones, everyone would definitely believe them. They would also collect the dry ones.
He Lai nodded. “Okay.”
Lu Sheng smiled and returned to her room. When she came out, she already had a banknote in her hand.
“Here’s a hundred taels. Take it. When you return to town later, take it to the bank and exchange it for silver and copper coins. If it’s not enough, take it directly from my uncle.”
He Lai nodded and said jokingly, “If there’s anything left, I’ll keep it.”
Lu Sheng chuckled. “Okay, keep whatever’s left. If it’s not enough, add more.”
“It should be about time. Everyone, stop. There’s no need to pluck them first.”
Seeing that the ten carriages were full, He Qin hurriedly asked everyone to stop.
As it was fresh, everyone loved it.
The ten carriages of tomatoes were usually sold out in three to four days.
If they were too ripe, Lu Sheng would get everyone to pluck them and make ketchup.
She only plucked half a bag of tabasco peppers. If she plucked too much, they might spoil.
Lu Sheng would usually pluck them and dry them. The dry ones would not spoil easily, but the raw ones rotted easily.
Especially in this season, the weather was hot and they would rot easily.
Speaking of tabasco peppers, Lu Sheng remembered that she still had a bunch of pepper seeds.
She had gotten the King of Hades to buy them previously.
There were capsicums, sweet bell peppers, chili peppers, and lantern peppers.
These didn’t exist in this era. If she could monopolize them, she would not lack opportunities to become rich.
Since she could still plant these things now, she had to collect them all before winter arrived.
After He Qin, He Lai, and the rest packed the items into the carriage, they were about to say goodbye to Lu Sheng and Chu Sihan when they saw Lu Zhou and Shangguan Dian walking over with buckets.
Perhaps to experience the joy of touching the prawns, neither of them seemed to have used magic. Their clothes were covered in mud, and even their faces were stained with mud.
“Third… Third Prince?”
He Lai shouted uncertainly.
“Yes.” Lu Zhou nodded and raised his eyebrows. “You’re leaving now?”
He Lai and He Qin nodded in a daze.
They were already surprised to see Chu Sihan helping them pluck the tomatoes.
They did not expect the Third Prince to personally go to the river to catch prawns.
What did these high and mighty people who did not know the hardships of the human world owe their niece in their previous lives? They were actually being treated like this!
The duo pondered foolishly and stood rooted to the ground, not knowing how to react.
“Oh, good harvest!”
Lu Sheng lifted the basket and looked over. She realized that the two of them had scooped up a basket of river prawns.
Shangguan Dian’s wooden bucket was half full.
“There’s a lot. If it’s delicious, we’ll go and get more tomorrow.”
Shangguan Dian put down the wooden bucket and spoke with a smile.
“I’ll make stir-fried river prawns for you today.”
Lu Sheng picked up the half bucket of river prawns and the fish basket Lu Zhou was carrying and returned to the kitchen.
She asked He Qin and He Lai to stay for dinner, but they rejected her.
As the restaurant was still waiting for the ingredients, they had to go back early.
Lu Sheng did not force them.
That night, after eating stir-fried river prawns, Shangguan Dian said he would go again the next day.
In the end, Lu Sheng asked them to grow various peppers the next day.
This kind of thing was simply easy for Lu Zhou.
After all, he had done a lot on the mountain in his previous life.
As for Lu Sheng, after handing the task to Lu Zhou and Shangguan Dian early in the morning, she pulled Chu Sihan back to the Lu family to pollinate the watermelons.
“How… do we do this?”
Seeing her pluck watermelon flowers one after another, Chu Sihan could not help but be puzzled.
Weren’t they all flowers? Why did they have to be sacrificed?
“This is a female flower. Do you see it? There are already some fruits growing below. A skinny and long one like this is a male flower. This can’t bear fruits. You have to pluck them and pollinate the female flower.”
“Doesn’t it already have fruits? Why do we still need to pollinate them?”
Chu Sihan asked seriously.
Lu Sheng also explained seriously, “Because if you pollinate, it can increase the chances of them bearing fruit. If you don’t pollinate, they will turn yellow halfway and spoil.”
“I see!”
Before he met Lu Sheng, the only plant he had planted in his life was the Red Spider Lily on the road to the Netherworld.
However, after following Lu Sheng for this period of time, he had seen a lot of things.
Indeed, one had to put it into practice personally. Otherwise, it would be easy to feel that these things could be bought with money.
He did not know how much effort the farmers had to spend to create these crops.
After pollinating, the two of them returned to the vegetable field and saw a bunch of lotus on the table outside the courtyard.
Lu Jiang, Lu Xin, and Letong were busy peeling the lotus seeds and eating.
Looking at the lotus seed skin on the ground, Lu Sheng frowned.
“It’s not good to eat too much. You can’t eat anymore.”
She walked forward and tied the remaining lotus seeds together.
The three of them stopped what they were doing and looked at her eagerly.
“Second Sister, this lotus seed is tender and sweet!”
Lu Xin peeled a fair and tender lotus seed and passed it to her.
Lu Sheng received it and was about to put it into her mouth to try when a hand reached out from the side and intercepted the lotus seed.
“Yes, it’s very sweet.”
Chu Sihan swallowed the lotus seed in his mouth and spoke faintly.
Lu Xin blinked at him and pouted with an innocent expression.
Lu Sheng tilted her head and looked at him speechlessly.
Chu Sihan took out a lotus and plucked the lotus seeds before peeling off the skin.
“Here, try it too.”
He pulled her hand and placed the peeled lotus seeds into hers.
Lu Sheng sighed softly and picked one up.
The lotus seed was tender and sweet. They were indeed delicious. No wonder these children were greedy.
“Who gave these to you?”
Lu Sheng asked the three of them.
Lu Jiang said, “Brother brought them back from Grandma’s house.”
So Lu Ran personally went to An Mu Village to pluck them?
Lu Sheng looked at Letong and smiled. “Tong Tong, bring some back for your sister later.”
Letong said, “Sister already has some.”
“Oh?”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Your sister came here before?”
Letong shook his head. “No, Brother Lu Ran sent the lotus seeds to our house. I followed Brother Lu Ran here.”
So that was the case!
Lu Sheng smiled faintly.
She looked at the three children and said, “Don’t eat anymore. You’ll get sick if you eat too much.”
This thing was cold in nature. It was beneficial to the body if one ate a few. People who were cold would cough if they ate too much.