Chapter 288: Manor

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After taking Xiaoyu’s pulse, Mr. Wen said with a smile, “That’s right. It’s a happy pulse. Ruyi is going to be a father again. Her qi and blood are a little weak. Get the kitchen to stew some soup to drink.”

“Is that true, Old Master?” Xiaoyu sat up happily, scaring Li Yu and Mr. Wen. Mr. Wen said happily, “This girl is already a mother, but she’s still so scary.” As he spoke, he deliberately bluffed. “Why don’t you believe in the old man’s medical skills?”

Xiaoyu looked happy. “I believe you. I just didn’t believe I can still get pregnant.” Mr. Wen put away the pulse pillow and smiled. “Alright, rest well for a few days and you’ll be fine.”

Li Yu was also happy for Xiaoyu. She smiled and instructed, “Sir said that you have to recuperate well for a few days.”

When Li Yu went out, she saw Zhou Jia returning from outside. She smiled and asked him, “Why did you come back from there? Didn’t you go to the government office?”

Zhou Jia walked forward and hugged Li Yu. “I went to the academy to ask the Head of the Mountain to introduce a teacher. This person’s surname is Lu and his name is Shi. He’s a scholar. His tuition fee is 12 taels a year, plus expenses for clothing. He went back to pack up. He said that he would come after noon tomorrow. Yu’er, get someone to tidy up the main room and study in the courtyard. One will be a classroom for Sir.”

Li Yu replied softly, “Alright, I’ll get Old Madam Yun and Old Madam Xu to pack up.”

When he reached the corridor, Zhou Jia stopped in his tracks. “Yes! I still have some business to deal with. I’ll go deal with it first before coming back.”

“Alright!” Li Yu watched as Zhou Jia passed through the corridor and walked toward the front office. She called the two old women over and got them to retrieve the mattresses from the storeroom and clean up the room.

After Old Madam Liu returned from gifting mushroom sauce, she also brought back gifts from Madam Gao and Madam He. Madam Gao asked the maidservant to send over a pot of bright red camellias. Madam He gave her some salted duck eggs that she had marinated. Li Yu placed the camellias in the courtyard and thought to herself that it would be good to have two female friends if the two of them were sincere in their relationship and had no schemes. Li Yu immediately warned herself that she had to be careful in official matters.

After Zhou Jia left the government office, he took a piece of paper with a few names written on it. He smiled and handed it to Li Yu. “Yu’er, the teacher is already here but we haven’t decided on Yang’er’s name yet. Which one do you want to choose?”

Li Yu took it and took a look. Zhou Zhibang, Zhou Xi, Zhou Xu… She pointed at Zhou Xi and said to Zhou Jia, “Zhou Xi it is!”

“Alright, I think Zhou Xi is not bad either.”

“Then do we have a name for Seven Pounds?”

Zhou Jia nodded. “Seven Pounds has had a proper name for a long time.

After noon the next day, the teacher Zhou Jia invited arrived. Mr. Lu was in his forties. He had fair skin and was of medium height. He was neither fat nor thin and looked amiable. Yangyang and Seven Pounds liked Mr. Lu at a glance.

Zhou Jia brought the two children to pay their respects. Mr. Lu gave the two children a disciple book and said some encouraging words and rules before bringing them to the classroom.

Li Yu and Zhou Jia sat in the carriage and walked towards the manor at the foot of Mount Spindle outside West City. When they left the city gate, Li Yu saw a few children of different ages in ragged clothes running back and forth at the city gate, chasing after the passing people and begging. Li Yu said to Zhou Jia, “Why are there so many children begging? I didn’t see them the first two times?

“Some of them died young and lost their support. Some of them might have been controlled by the head of the beggars. There are all kinds of people in the city. There are also many families in West City who have nothing to do. Some have lost their ability to live, and some are lazy by nature. There are also people who gamble and sell their children when they run out of money.” Li Yu said angrily, “People who drink and gamble are the most detestable.”

When the carriage approached the abandoned house, Zhou Jia looked at it and frowned. “Its not good to have this house here. It’s not in front or behind. When we go back, we’ll investigate. If it’s ownerless, I’ll send someone to tear it down.”

Li Yu took a look and felt that it made sense. If a single woman walked past here, it would really be impossible to guard against someone hiding inside.

“Yes! Our Xiao Xi is really a good official who thinks for the people now!”

Zhou Jia smiled proudly and kissed Li Yu. “Your husband has always been an upright and kind person.”

“Don’t you have any shame ?” Li Yu glanced at him. Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu’s cherry-red lips and suddenly felt his mouth itch. He lowered his head and bit Li Yu’s soft lips. Li Yu punched him and whispered with a red face, ‘We’re outside. There’s still someone!”

Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu with a lazy expression. “We’re a legitimate couple. So what if there’s someone?”

Li Yu glared at him and pinched the soft flesh on his waist. “Aiya!” Zhou Jia cried out. Ma Gui thought that the carriage was too bumpy, causing Zhou Jia to hit his head. He asked worriedly, “I’m sorry, Master. I didn’t notice a pit in front.”

“Watch out next time.” Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu and gritted his teeth. Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia and laughed out loud.

When the carriage reached the foot of the mountain, Zhao Cai saw the two of them coming over. “Master, Madam, you’re here!”

Zhou Jia patted Zhao Cai and smiled. “Yes! I’m here to take a look at the leisure villa built by your Madam.”

Zhao Cai pointed at the wasteland and the farm that was about to be completed. “Then you’ll be disappointed. We’re busy reclaiming and building the farm now. The villa hasn’t been built yet!”

“Alright, go ahead. We’ll take a look around.” Zhou Jia and Li Yu walked towards a path covered in stone seeds. Beside the path was a dug ditch. The short-term workers were tidying up the fields. At a glance, the large piece of land was filled with busy figures.

The couple walked along the path for fifteen minutes and arrived at the farm that was being built. Ji Xiang was leading a few craftsmen to lay the soil. When he saw the two of them, he was about to come over to greet them when Zhou Jia waved at him to dispense with the greeting. Ji Xiang bent down and smiled at the two of them before starting to work again.

There were two workers pulling a large stone mill to compact the soil. The drying field was rectangular and about four acres in size. In front of the drying field was the back door of the barn. When they walked in, they saw that the barn was not partitioned. It was fully supported by pillars in the middle. There was also a wooden building above that was used to stack food for drying when it rained.

There was also a drying field outside the barn. This drying field had already been laid with three pieces of soil. The row of houses opposite the drying field for the long-term workers had all been partitioned into suites. The two of them walked through a corridor and past the upside-down house. They entered the courtyard and saw a few workers sweeping away the trash in the courtyard. The two of them retreated.

When they walked to the edge of the field, Li Yu said to Zhou Jia, “We’ll be soaking the rice seeds in a few days and starting to sow them. I plan to let them plant these fields first and keep dozens of acres to continue breeding. The rest will be planted with corn. We can transport the corn seeds to distant mountain villages next year..”

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