It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 400

After returning to his residence, Inspector Fu continued to nitpick at Jiang Yan.

After several attempts, some people noticed something was amiss, and soon the news that Jiang Shuzuo had apparently offended his lord spread rapidly throughout the entire staff of the Fu family.

Yang, the secretary, walked into the room and paced around the desk several times. When he saw Jiang Yan, who was still engrossed in reading without any awareness, he couldn't help but say, "Jiang Shuzuo, you... as subordinates, it's alright for you to apologize to your master a few more times and plead for leniency."

Jiang Yan's face, now pale and bloodless, looked up. Her voice was hoarse as she asked, "Secretary Yang, do you know what I did wrong?"

Yang, the secretary, shook his head and asked with a hint of curiosity, "What is it?"

Jiang Yan laughed, and after laughing, she casually said, "He's probably gone mad."

Yang Jishi was taken aback.

Someone also went to the inspection office.

The news of the return of the chief steward Fu Jia to Rongcheng County reached his ears, and he went straight to the point, saying, "I wonder what Jiang Yan did to offend the lord, and whether he can be let off the hook?"

"Who asked you to plead for them? Meddling in other people's business isn't your style."

Fu Jia shook his head: "No one. It's just that news has come from the two farms in Changning Prefecture and Rongcheng County that the grain selection and cultivation method she mentioned earlier is showing initial results. The managers of the farms hope to ask for some other methods, and it would be best if they could go and take a look."

At this point, Fu Jia couldn't help but advise, "The last few times when you were in a bad mood and couldn't bear to see her happy, I didn't say much. But recently you've been in high spirits, so why are you still bothering her? Is it really as rumored, that you, my lord, are reluctant to give her because of your status, and your love for her has turned into resentment?"

"Nonsense! What love or resentment have I ever had with her?!" Fu Jian rebuked. "Who exactly is spreading these rumors, and you actually believed this absurd nonsense?!"

"In Kyoto, they say that you, my lord, have taken great care of Jiang Shuzuo, and even though she ruined your marriage, you couldn't bear to punish her, and only let her go back to her hometown."

"And what about resentment?"

"Some people in the manor are speculating that Your Majesty has been displeased with Jiang Shuzuo lately, yet you haven't kicked her out of the manor. It's likely that you harbor deep resentment, probably because something went wrong after she handled your marriage certificate."

Not long ago, under the matchmaking of General Song, Fu Jian was engaged to a young lady surnamed Xie. As part of the sincerity of the peace treaty between the North and the South, he will lead a delegation to Guyuan Prefecture to hold the wedding ceremony.

In the eyes of Fu Jian's many admirers, this made him feel inferior for no reason.

For the first time in so many years, Fu Jian showed a twisted and bewildered expression. After a long pause, he said to Fu Jia, "Resolve this matter as quickly as possible. I don't want to hear any rumors related to this, not even in private."

“Okay,” Fu Jia readily agreed, “but you have to give me a plausible reason.”

"...She looked so lifeless. If she were to die in the manor, I wouldn't know how to explain it if Afu suddenly felt like missing her. So I gave her more things to do. You see, her emotions and will to live have both returned."

Fu Jia: "..."

Jiang Yan knew nothing about the reasons why Master Fu was torturing her; otherwise, she would have immediately scoffed at it.

When she first returned to the manor, she wasn't listless at all. Although she was physically exhausted, she was in high spirits. Even as her excitement and anticipation gradually faded, she didn't become listless.

She was just a little lost, suddenly losing the motivation to keep going and moving forward.

The last batch of grain in Dongshan Village had long been harvested, but she still couldn't find an opportunity to return home.

"Perhaps that person still had unfinished business and couldn't leave in time," Yi Le analyzed calmly.

Jiang Yan unexpectedly met Yi Le on her way to the Kyoto farm. Upon seeing a familiar face, she felt a long-lost joy.

Perhaps they would only travel together briefly before parting ways, and who knew when they would meet again. When Yi Le inquired about her situation, Jiang Yan unexpectedly put together a scenario to express the helplessness she had been keeping hidden in her heart, and then poured it all out.

"Is there anything left undone?"

……

By the time we returned to Rongcheng County from Kyoto, it was already August.

The superior of the Fu family had already led his men south to welcome the bride. When Cao, the secretary who was left behind in the mansion, saw that Jiang Yan was "emaciated," he asked for leave for her without saying a word and then asked someone to send her home to recuperate.

Chunying, who rushed over after receiving the news, sat opposite Jiang Yan, her brows furrowing and relaxing intermittently. "Before coming, I asked Dr. Li, and he said that in your current condition, dietary supplements are the most effective. I just asked Tian Jiu to slaughter the pig that was being raised in your village, so you can nourish yourself."

“No need, his pigs can still fatten up,” Jiang Yan declined. “I’ll just kill a chicken and make soup. The bunch of chicks I brought to the village after the New Year have all grown up and are ready to be raised.”

Then she asked, "Are you two going to drink the soup, or chop up the meat and stir-fry it? The village has finally started brewing soy sauce and fruit vinegar; it will definitely taste great with these."

Chunying poked Jiang Yan's arm with her finger: "Tell me, what price do you plan to sell these two for?" By sending them to the main family through her channels, she could, to a certain extent, prevent the Fu family and the Hao family from joining forces to drive down the price.

Jiang Yan smiled and said, "There's no rush. We don't even know how many finished products we'll have yet."

……

Two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, other Dongshan villagers who were busy working outside gradually found the opportunity to return to the village, and the village suddenly became lively.

After much discussion, everyone quickly decided to hold a joint village feast to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Jiang Yan, who was classified as an elderly and weak group and was only allowed to talk but never fight, still felt unsatisfied after giving away one of her fat chickens. She paced around the house for a long time before finally realizing what was missing.

She's been feeling terribly tasteless lately, and chewing meat and swallowing noodles makes her cheeks feel tired; all she's missing is a bowl of tofu.

Fortunately, Chunying brought a small jar of plaster blocks with her. Jiang Yan immediately took it up to Aunt Panyu for help, grinding the plaster into a paste, testing the plaster solution, and then making tofu.

Previously, safe-to-eat gypsum blocks were very rare in Rongcheng County. Jiang Yan inquired at pharmacies many times, but was often rejected outright before she could even express any intention to buy them.

However, recently, there may have been an increase in mining and quarrying activities in the mountains. As soon as Chunying entered the clinic, she was told that the pharmacy next door had goods for sale and that her companion, Jiang Yan, could come and buy them quickly.

Zhou Panyu took the jar of plaster blocks with a heavy heart, but relying on her trust in Jiang Yan and her intentional indulgence, as well as her experience that a little bit of soil and stone in food wouldn't kill anyone, she turned a blind eye and satisfied the request without any objection.

On the day of the feast, Zhou Panyu carried two slabs of tender tofu to the center of the village. The people helping around the stove couldn't help but come over, gently poking it with their fingers and praising, "What you made today looks even better."

When stewed in chicken broth, the taste is even better, and the elderly people with poor teeth are very happy with the meal.

Jiang Fu and his wife, who had rushed back home, followed the sounds of conversation and the aroma of food to the center of the village. Beside them was a burly man who looked both strange and familiar. After sniffing a few times, he abruptly interrupted the greetings, "What are you all eating? It smells so good!"

This was a very outgoing guest. After eating and drinking his fill, his eyes kept darting around the faces of everyone present.

Yu Qian looked displeased and forcefully tugged at Jiang Fu's sleeve, signaling him to stop. Just then, they saw this uninvited guest, whom they had tried to shake off several times, shouting loudly at Jiang Yan:

"My dear niece, when will you repay me for the stewed chicken you owe me?"