The Slender Waist-Chapter 120 - 93: Heartfelt Desires_2

Pei Jue did not have much to say and took his leave.

-

Huaxi Village.

The sun slanted westward, and the seedlings in the courtyard grew well, almost visibly changing every day.

Feng Yun looked at the two little ones running wild on the field ridges, quite a headache.

How could there be such mischievous children?

When Queque was young, he was not naughty at all. He was obedient, docile, and sensible.

He was always afraid that the slightest mistake would draw disapproval from others, draw criticism from his father. In that resplendent palace, although Queque had the esteemed identity of the eldest imperial son, he lived every day on tenterhooks...

Actually, back then, she had considered what it would have been like if Queque had been born in Jin Country, born alongside Pei Jue...

Pei Jue had never shown any fondness for children. If he knew that he had once had a son, she wondered whether he would be happy or angry.

"Miss..."

Ayou and Azuo finally learned to call Feng Yun the same way everyone else did.

But their voices were childish, and it sounded somewhat funny no matter how one listened.

"What is this vegetable? Can it be eaten? I want to eat it tonight..."

Feng Yun was too lazy to move and signaled Xiaoman to go and take a look.

Soon, laughter echoed.

"My little ancestor, this is greater celandine, also known as cow’s ear dock. It’s bitter and astringent, and eating it will upset your stomach."

"Then what can be eaten? We want to go pick wild greens..."

The children chattered incessantly, extremely noisy.

Feng Yun shook her head and called the two children over.

"I’m going to check on the village’s farm tool workshop. Do you want to come?"

Interest sparked in Ayou and Azuo immediately, "Yeah, let’s go!"

The tool workshop was still under construction, being made of wood, stone, and rammed earth.

A crowd worked vigorously, and some villagers, whose houses were cramped, also came over to ask if they could make do with the mud brick molds, to also repair their own homes.

As Feng Yun approached, people enthusiastically greeted her.

"Miss."

"Village Chief’s wife."

Feng Yun did not come empty-handed.

Two attendants carried a wooden barrel, the same sweet herbal tea that the villagers had tasted before. It was sweet with expensive sugar and had a scent of lotus. The workmen, exhausted from their labor, found it refreshing and fragrant.

No longer thirsty, they felt hungry again.

Many people regarded the young lady before them and even felt that serving in her household was far better than being in an ordinary family.

Hence, someone joked.

"Village Chief’s wife, do you need more people in your estate?"

Feng Yun laughed along, "Indeed, I do."

Another person added, "I’m fast and diligent, what do you think about taking me in? I’ll be content with two meals a day."

Feng Yun’s expression did not change much. She thought seriously, looked at the sweating craftsmen and laborers before her, and said, "Then, starting from tomorrow, everyone working at the farm tool workshop will get two meals a day."

Everyone was surprised by Feng Yun’s generosity.

Just when they were about to express their gratitude, they heard Feng Yun say:

"But the work must be finished at least ten days earlier."

They looked at each other, realizing there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Feng Yun continued, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up. Let’s work harder to finish making the farm tools. After the autumn planting, we’ll have time to repair everyone’s houses before winter. Adults can endure the cold, but it’s tough on the children..."

Most of the farmhouses in Huaxi Village were very dilapidated.

The current season is still tolerable, but as soon as winter sets in, the cold becomes unbearable.

Seeing the Village Chief’s wife being so thoughtful, everyone agreed.

"Fine, ten days then ten days, we’ll all listen to the Village Chief’s wife."

Feng Yun called for Xing Dala to come, took down the number of people, and then instructed the kitchen to arrange meals for the workers.

Xing Bing’s eldest son, currently working in the farm tool workshop, is specifically in charge of documents and accounts, earning thirty coins a day, not any less than the laborers who do the exhausting work. He studied harder, and worked even harder.

Alou was growing desperate.

Although he hadn’t fully recovered, with the bruises on his face not yet faded, the fourteen-year-old assistant steward who knew how to write and calculate, and was moreover quick-witted, just couldn’t lie still any longer. He hobbled up to Feng Yun with his crutches and pleaded to return to work.

"It’s harder for me to just lie in bed and eat than to work out in the fields. It feels like I’m covered in fleas."

How could Feng Yun not know what he was thinking? She simply ordered him to act according to his ability and left it at that.

Alou replied with a beaming smile.

A cheer erupted in the farm tool workshop.

Feng Yun looked at this scene, and her thoughts wandered to the graphite in Yunchuan. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

With graphite, she could make carbon rods, and she could set up a floor heating system in her room.

By the time winter came, she wouldn’t have to fear the cold.

Feng Yun hated the cold; in previous winters, she loved to stick her ice-cold feet into Pei Jue’s embrace. He didn’t mind at all and often played with her feet before warming them up. Even the affected scoundrel Xiao San knew about this habit...

So when Xiao San hated her, he deliberately threw her into the coldest Xipei Hall in Qi Palace, insisting on subjecting her to all kinds of misery...

Just thinking about the bone-chilling cold of the Cold Palace made her shiver uncontrollably.

"We must get good-quality charcoal this winter!"

It would be best to set up a carbon workshop in Huaxi Village and make a fortune.

If Yunchuan’s graphite could be transported and she could work well with Chunyu Yan, she would have nothing to worry about.

"Lady, look quickly," Xiaoman’s voice pulled Feng Yun back from her thoughts.

She said, "There’s an ox cart coming over there."

Ox carts were a common sight in Andu City, and Xiaoman had seen her fair share, but this one still caught her attention.

Because the ox cart was too luxurious.

Covered with a tent of purple brocade and hanging with gemstone curtains, wheels forged of fine iron painted with gold lacquer were pulled leisurely by two strong oxen side by side, bringing with them an air of carefree grace as if the path itself were fragrant.

Only the royal family and nobility could afford the luxury of two oxen pulling a cart.

Feng Yun laughed the moment she saw it.

In the fields, people pull the plow; on the road, oxen pull people.

She stood still until the ox cart came to a halt.

The servant driving the cart asked loudly, "May I inquire where Doctor Yao from Huaxi Village lives?"

The craftsmen, who were having a drink, looked up at the sound.

Someone pointed towards Changmen Village near Feng Yun’s home.

"Right next to the Village Chief’s wife’s house."

The servant bowed with his hands clasped and was about to drive away when the curtain of the luxurious cart opened, revealing Xiang Zhong’s honest and simple face.

"Oh, isn’t that Feng Ji?"

Then he said cheerfully, "Feng Ji, our young master has come to Huaxi Village to seek Doctor Yao for a consultation. Please may you guide us?"

So Chunyu Yan hadn’t died yet?

What was that talk of "Crane Feather Shocking Swan" and an incurable poison? Was it all just a joke?

If he didn’t die, then Chunyu Yan was nothing but a wealth-bringing boy.

Feng Yun smiled faintly and gave Xiang Zhong a polite bow.

"Eunuch Xiang, please follow me."