Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Part 2

Looking out, about five or six houses and courtyards were scattered along the mountain base. Presumably, these were where those tenant farmers lived.

Manager Tong brought them to a small, broken-down house and said, “This is where the previous family lived. They’ve all moved on now. The house is a bit shabby, but if you don’t mind, you can live here.”

After saying this, Manager Tong pointed to a few adjacent plots of land roughly a hundred paces from the house. “Those are the fields that haven’t been rented out yet. Two mu and three tenths. The usual rent for other tenants is fifty percent. For you, I’ll make it forty percent.”

Under the current circumstances, forty percent rent was already the best arrangement. Ming Rou understood these basic things and hurriedly thanked Manager Tong.

“Alright, you two settle in here with peace of mind now. We’re all acquaintances. Qiuniang worked on the estate for three years and is familiar with the area. If you need anything, you can go to the main courtyard to find me.” Manager Tong was about to leave.

Ming Rou recalled the matter of Du Xian sending people to follow them and quickly called out to him. “Uncle Tong, what if someone can’t stand seeing us settled here and comes to cause trouble?”

“Miss Ming, you can rest assured. This is Paulownia Village territory. This whole area is under our master’s name. If anything happens, we won’t just stand by and do nothing.” Manager Tong added, “I’ll have Fan Tao bring over some rice for you later. It’s just after the autumn harvest, so you have nothing at home. You’ll have to make do for now.”

After Manager Tong left, the two finally entered the house.

Ye Qiuniang had already been in contact with Tong Si before returning to the Ming family. They both knew that Du Xian driving Ming Rou and her mother out was only a matter of time. Even if it wasn’t, he would use other methods to control them. At that time, they had agreed that once Ming Rou truly had no other options, they would bring her to Paulownia Village.

Now, after going around in circles, it was Ming Rou herself who had suggested coming.

Ming Rou had never experienced any hardship since childhood. She had spent all these years studying, completely ignorant about matters of crop cultivation. Afraid of alerting Du Xian, the Old Patriarch hadn’t dared to arrange too many things in advance, lest he arouse suspicion and cause Ming Rou’s wings to be clipped before she could even grow them.

But here in Paulownia Village, the land deeds and procedures were complete. No matter how many people Du Xian could bribe or how powerful he was, his reach couldn’t extend this far.

This way, the two of them could stay here for the next two or three years. During that time, Ye Qiuniang planned to gradually teach Ming Rou the skills the Old Master had passed on to her, helping her step by step to reclaim the Ming Family’s assets.

Looking at the shabby, broken house before her, it had only two rooms: one bedroom and one kitchen. Beside it, a few sparse wooden planks were erected to form a small courtyard. The only consolation was a well in the courtyard, so at least they wouldn’t have to fetch water from afar.

Ye Qiuniang turned to look at Ming Rou, wanting to see the expression on her face.

Now that there were no outsiders, Ming Rou dropped the façade of a little adult she had put on, pouted her lips, and said pitifully, “Jiujiu, our new home is so shabby.”

Ye Qiuniang asked, “Can Eldest Miss not get used to living in a place like this?”

“I have to get used to it even if I can’t. At least it’s better than that crumbling temple last night.”

Ye Qiuniang was relieved when she heard this. She had truly dreaded this little ancestor being full of complaints. After all, this was where they would live for the next few years. If Ming Rou couldn’t even endure such simple hardships, then it would be infinitely harder to accomplish great things in the future.

Luckily, the young girl was accepting it even while complaining. Even if it was somewhat forced, at least she wasn’t throwing up her hands and quitting.

As long as she could accept it, it meant everything was still possible.

The house looked quite crude, but the furnishings were relatively complete. It was just that the previous family had been gone for some time, so everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, looking filthy.

Once inside, Ye Qiuniang rolled up her sleeves and began tidying the room.

As soon as she swept a few times with the broom, dust flew everywhere in the room. Ming Rou coughed several times. Ye Qiuniang, who had always doted on her, instinctively told her to go outside and rest until she was done tidying up.

Unexpectedly, even though Ming Rou disliked the filth, she picked up two dusty rags and said, “Jiujiu, you sweep the floor. I’ll wipe the tables.”

Ye Qiuniang had always spoiled her, so she instinctively refused.

Ming Rou looked displeased. “I want to do it.”

Ye Qiuniang then came to her senses, remembering the original purpose of having Ming Rou stay here. She said, “Then I’ll have to trouble Eldest Miss to tidy up with me.”

Ming Rou was doing something like this for the first time. In the past, she would never have touched it. But things were different now. Thinking that this would be her and Jiujiu’s home from now on, she felt that doing these chores wasn’t so detestable.

But when she remembered that she was no longer Eldest Miss and that with her thin, weak body, the household burdens might all fall on Jiujiu, she felt a little dejected.

At the same time, though, a sense of pressure and motivation emerged. She decided she had to do her best to help, however little.

Ye Qiuniang was physically strong. After leaving the Ye Family, she had been well taken care of at the Ming Residence before going to Paulownia Village to train for a few years. Now at the prime of her vigor, she worked swiftly and efficiently. In no time, she had swept the floor clean and taken the things that needed discarding outside to the courtyard.

When she came back inside, she saw her own Eldest Miss kneeling by the bed with her rear up in the air, huffing and puffing as she wiped the bedposts and slats.

She found this tiny figure incredibly cute and couldn’t help calling out, “Eldest Miss.”

Hearing someone call her from behind, Ming Rou turned her head to look at Ye Qiuniang.

Ye Qiuniang saw the young girl’s originally fair and clean face smeared with dark and gray smudges, like a little tabby cat. It was so comical she couldn’t help but laugh.

After kneeling on the floor and wiping for so long, Ming Rou’s knees were numb and her mind was foggy. Seeing Ye Qiuniang laughing, she stared at her with big, innocent eyes, as if asking: What is it, Jiujiu?

Smiling, Ye Qiuniang waved her over.

Ming Rou also felt tired, especially since she had been sick the night before and her back hurt. Seeing Jiujiu summoning her, she immediately tossed the rag aside and stood up to run toward Ye Qiuniang.

But after kneeling for so long, her legs were numb. After just two steps, her legs buckled and she nearly fell to the ground.

Ye Qiuniang quickly stepped forward and caught her.

“Slow down. Why are you so careless?”

“Jiujiu, I’m so tired.”

Seeing her frail, weak state, Ye Qiuniang couldn’t bear to let her toil any longer. Furthermore, Ming Rou’s growth couldn’t be achieved in just a day or two; it had to be gradual, step by step.

“Eldest Miss is still weak. You can sit down and rest for a while. I’ll finish the rest.”

Ming Rou shook her head. “I said I’d wipe the tables, so how can I leave it to you halfway through? I’ll be fine after a short rest.”

Ye Qiuniang lightly tapped a smidge of dust on the tip of her nose. “Then let’s wipe together, so we can finish faster. Otherwise, it’ll be dark by the time you’re done.”

Only then did Ming Rou reluctantly agree.

After the two of them cleaned the room and saw Ming Rou covered in filth, Ye Qiuniang dusted off her hands and went next door to boil water to wash this little ancestor.

With the two rooms so simply furnished, there was nothing for Ming Rou to play with. Seeing Ye Qiuniang go to the kitchen, she followed her in, carrying a small stool to sit beside her and watch her work.

After starting the fire and filling the pot with water, Ye Qiuniang somehow found a small square cloth. She walked over to Ming Rou, crouched down, and carefully wiped the grime off her face.

Back when Ming Rou was little, Ye Qiuniang had cared for her in the same way. But separated for three years, after returning, they’d been awkward and not as close as before. Now that Ye Qiuniang was caring for her like old times, it made Ming Rou, who had grown into a young lady, a little shy.

Seeing her still feeling awkward, fidgeting on the little stool as if she couldn’t sit still, Ye Qiuniang couldn’t help but say, “Have you grown a tail on your bottom? You can’t even sit still, just like a little monkey.”

Upon hearing this, Ming Rou sat up straight and stopped wriggling, obediently letting Ye Qiuniang clean her little face.

With a gentle wipe of the small cloth, her face was clean and fair again, her skin white, tender, and seemingly delicate enough to break. After wiping, Ye Qiuniang couldn’t resist lingering, lightly pinching the baby fat on Ming Rou’s cheeks that still hadn’t receded.

“Bad Jiujiu.” Ming Rou felt she was teasing her like a child and turned her face away so she couldn’t pinch her anymore.

Ye Qiuniang pursed her lips in a smile, then stood up to wash the cloth outside.

Next, she went into the bedroom first to move the bamboo mat outside and rinse it, letting it dry in the sun. After that, she returned to the kitchen, gathered a pile of pots and bowls, and went out to the well to wash and scrub them.

Seeing no one in the house, Ming Rou couldn’t sit still either. She carried her small stool outside. Watching Ye Qiuniang bent over scrubbing a pot, she felt it wouldn’t do to just not help. So she went back inside to get a small stool for Ye Qiuniang to sit on, while she stayed beside her, scooping water to rinse.

Ye Qiuniang saw her finally darting in and out like a little spinning top and couldn’t help but say, “Eldest Miss, aren’t you tired? Going back and forth like this when you’re not fully recovered yet.”

But Ming Rou had found a pair of wooden clogs from somewhere and was scooping water to pour over her own feet. Hearing Ye Qiuniang’s question, she paused.

Tired?

No, not at all. She was having a great time.

Before at the Ming Residence, her wet nurse had kept a tight watch on her, not letting her play with water. This was forbidden, that was forbidden, afraid she’d get sick. Ever since she was little, she hadn’t been able to play freely like other children. Now, here, feeling the hot weather, she couldn’t resist cooling off with a little water.

Ye Qiuniang had raised her since she was small and knew exactly what was on her mind from that expression. She didn’t expose her.

“It’s autumn now. The weather is turning cool. After this splash, no more.”

“Oh.” Ming Rou answered somewhat unwillingly. “But later when you rinse these pots and bowls, I can help scoop water.”

“No need to trouble Your Elderliness. I can handle this myself.”

“Hmph—” Ming Rou pouted, set the water ladle down, and sat huffily on the little stool.

Just as Ming Rou was sitting there pouting, a young lad of sixteen or seventeen appeared outside the courtyard gate. He carried a heavy sack over his shoulder, and in his hand he held another lighter bag.