Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 135 - 135 136 Slept Together_1

?Chapter 135: Chapter 136: Slept Together?_1 Chapter 135: Chapter 136: Slept Together?_1 “Yes, he’s so pitiful, we couldn’t just not take him in. After all, your wife here is a kind-hearted person,” Muniang followed up on Erliang’s words, embellishing as she went.

“Mmm! My wife is so compassionate!”

A torrent of curses raced through Jin Feng’s mind; he felt as if his lifetime of reputation was utterly ruined.

Zhuzi noticed his pallor and asked with concern, “If you’re not feeling well, just let me drive.”

Jin Feng squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, “I’m perfectly fine.”

Finally, they arrived at Tupo Village, and Jin Feng was genuinely shocked. He hadn’t expected the place to be so dilapidated, with every household living in adobe houses. He had yet to see even one tiled house. What sort of life was the master living?

As if reading his mind, Zhuzi boasted proudly, “Don’t be fooled by the poverty of this village; our family is the wealthiest here. Our Lady built up the family business with her own hands. Look, that whole mountain belongs to us, and there’s a thousand acres of fertile land at the east end of the village!”

Jin Feng was taken aback, not by the assets, but by Zhuzi’s statement that “the Lady built up the family business with her own hands.”

“Who did you say built it up?”

“Our Lady! You have no idea how formidable she is. She’s good-natured, fair in her dealings, and we servants all respect her. Not to mention her prowess in doing business and farming good land—it’s beyond words. Tell me, where else in this world can you find a lady as divinely beautiful and capable as our Lady?” As Zhuzi began praising Muniang, it was like opening a floodgate; he went on and on without stopping.

Jin Feng was left dumbfounded, staring at Zhuzi, who didn’t seem to be flattering his master on purpose, but rather, seemed to be speaking from the heart. Was this woman really that incredible? He hadn’t noticed it at all!

Soon, they saw a large house. Although it was not luxurious, it was certainly conspicuous in Tupo Village, where mud-brick homes were the norm.

As soon as Muniang and the others entered, Qingya offered tea, and Muniang said, “Find an empty room for this person and clean it up well.”

Qingya glanced at Jin Feng and without asking further, said, “Yes.”

But Jin Feng said, “I don’t need a separate room. General, which is your room? I can just arrange a soft couch in the outer room.”

Erliang hastened to say, “I’m definitely going to share a room with my wife! Don’t even think about living with us!”

In an instant, Jin Feng was petrified. Living together? Sharing a room? He remembered when a shameless dancer dared to tempt the General by touching his shoulder, only for her hand to be chopped off immediately!

The General had always been disinterested in the company of women, yet now he was actually sharing a room with someone.

Uninterested in engaging with this ridiculous individual lost in his own thoughts, Muniang left him behind and walked away.

In the end, Qingya still arranged a separate room for Jin Feng.

It was only now that Muniang found the time to truly contemplate Erliang’s background. She had considered many possibilities, only to encounter the most unbelievable one. Seeing Jin Feng’s behavior and conduct, she could imagine how perilous Erliang’s situation had been. Remembering how he first appeared in her room, covered in wounds, Muniang couldn’t help but feel pained. What kind of life had the former him endured?

Living on the edge of a knife, threatened from all sides, unable to trust even his own family. Indeed, the homes of the privileged were fraught with strife.

Muniang let out a sigh, and Erliang asked blankly, “Wife, why do you sigh?”

Muniang leaned into his embrace, “Nothing, my husband, I will never leave you.”

Er Liang cracked a smile and said, “I know.”

The next day, during the meal, Mrs. Lin asked Muniang about this Jin Feng, “Is he really Er Liang’s big cousin? How come we’ve never seen any other members of his family?”

“Yes, I’ve confirmed it. Their family was hit by a great flood that drowned many people. Now this big cousin has come to seek refuge. We can’t just turn a blind eye to him,” Muniang wasn’t trying to hide anything from Mrs. Lin, but Mrs. Lin always tended to overthink and was faint-hearted. If she really found out about Er Liang’s true identity, she might start having chaotic thoughts and not sleep well.

Mrs. Lin said with pity, “So it is. How pitiful.”

“Don’t worry. Now that he has found his way here, we will naturally take good care of him,” Muniang knew that Mrs. Lin’s kindness was overflowing, so she just went along with her words.

“However, I always feel that he’s a bit odd,” Mrs. Lin glanced outside at Jin Feng who was standing straight like a door god.

Muniang laughed and said, “Don’t worry about him.”

In a few days, Muniang thought of delivering new menu ideas to Dongxing Building, deciding it might as well be Dongpo pork. As soon as Er Liang heard Muniang had a new dish, he knew he was in for a treat and was overjoyed.

“Who is as greedy as you are?” Muniang said with amusement. “Hurry up, go and light the fire in the kitchen for me.”

Jin Feng was startled and shouted at Muniang, “What? Light a fire? How can I enter the kitchen?” Clearly, he thought Muniang was making fun of Er Liang’s slow wits.

But Er Liang, with his eyes wide, shouted even louder at Jin Feng, “Who gave you permission to yell at my wife?”

Jin Feng stumbled and nearly fell.

Muniang understood him, as ancient people held the belief that men shouldn’t enter the kitchen. He was merely being protective of his master, so she said, “We don’t have such strict customs here in the countryside.”

Er Liang glared at Jin Feng angrily and then headed to the kitchen. Jin Feng didn’t dare to offend Er Liang over such an issue and hastily followed to help. All that talk about a gentleman keeping away from the stove went out the window—if the master liked to go into the kitchen, then the gentleman should get close to the stove!

As the two were busy in the kitchen, Muniang was still washing vegetables outside. Jin Feng found a moment and whispered to Er Liang, “My Lord, who came up with your name?”

“My wife did,” Er Liang replied.

Jin Feng twitched his mouth, and Er Liang gave him a sidelong glance, “Do you think it sounds bad?” Although Er Liang himself thought the name wasn’t great, he couldn’t bear to hear others criticize it. He would staunchly defend anything related to Muniang.

This time, Jin Feng had learned his lesson and quickly said, “It sounds good, really good!”

He had suffered enough in the past few days, mainly because of the issues related to Qiao Muniang. Even the densest person would understand by now that everything was negotiable with Er Liang, except when it involved his wife. Once it came to Qiao Muniang, everything had to follow suit smoothly.

Er Liang, definitely pleased, smiled and said, “Of course, my wife is wonderful.”

The watermelons, loofahs, and yellow watermelons had sold for a total of seven thousand and three hundred silver. Muniang counted the money until her face beamed with joy. There were still two kinds of vegetables left on Tianzhuang that she planned to take with her next time she went to Dongxing Building to sell menu ideas, as they would likely purchase them at a high price. The fruits from the barren hill had also ripened, and she would take those directly to Chen Ji.

By the time all these were sold, it was feared that even ten thousand silver would be a conservative estimate. Indeed, the hard work of the past half a year had not been in vain.

Madam Liu had come over that day, originally to go over the accounts of Embroidery House for the month with Muniang, but she ended up sharing a piece of amusing gossip.

“You wouldn’t know, but that Tofu Zhang, wasn’t he engaged to Qiao Lianhua? Lately, I’ve found out that he has been discussing a match with Xia Bing. Everyone in the village knows Qiao Lianhua and Xia Bing are close as sisters, passing handkerchiefs between each other. I thought these two sisters fighting over a marriage proposal must have soured their relationship. But who would have thought, it was Qiao Lianhua who actively made the match for Xia Bing!”