Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 52 - 52 053 Dont Provocation My Bottom Line_1

?Chapter 52: Chapter 053 Don’t Provocation My Bottom Line_1 Chapter 52: Chapter 053 Don’t Provocation My Bottom Line_1 Muniang chuckled lightly, “No worries, even if they saw my myriad of grafted fruit trees across the hills, they wouldn’t know what to do. Do you really think that simply wrapping a branch onto a mother tree would make it grow? That’s wishful thinking; it truly requires genuine skill and there’s much to pay attention to—a single mistake could easily lead to all the effort being in vain.”

Er Liang finally smiled with relief, “Then we have nothing to fear.”

“Let’s first set up their tents; it’s going to be dark soon, and it is better to settle down early.”

At Muniang’s command, everyone began to set up the tents.

They had also procured the necessary bedding for them in town, which would suffice for one day; the rest would have to wait until tomorrow.

Once all the tents were set up, Muniang gathered everyone for a talk.

There were a total of ten farmhands and two women, their faces bearing a look of confusion and helplessness about their future, and above all, apprehension towards their new master, Muniang.

Muniang cleared her throat before saying, “Now that you’ve come into my hands, you must follow the rules here. Ten farmhands, you have signed a lifetime Servant’s Certificate with me. Your task is to take care of the vast expanse of fruit trees on the back hill every day. My requirements are simple: be diligent, honest, and sincere. If you can do that, I won’t treat you unfairly.”

“Work hard and honestly, and I can give you a silver each month as wages. That’s not all—if any of you perform well and please me greatly, what if I even give you back your Servant’s Certificate? I am not stingy, but that doesn’t mean I am an easygoing pushover to be taken advantage of. I demand diligence and honesty, and if you dare to challenge my bottom line, the consequences will be dire. Do you understand?”

Everyone’s hearts went up and down like a roller coaster ride. This slender woman before them commanded an aura no less intimidating than that of these broad-shouldered men, and they hastily responded, “Yes!”

Muniang turned her gaze to the woman, “What’s your name?”

The woman trembled and hurriedly responded, “I, I, I am Fang Cao.”

“Hmm, how is your culinary skill?”

“Passable.”

“Good, you’ll be in charge of the workers’ food and accommodation from now on.”

“Yes.”

Muniang nodded, “Everyone, go rest. We shall start our respective tasks early tomorrow, don’t delay. Hong Luo, stay behind.”

Muniang led Hong Luo into Mrs. Lin’s room, where Mrs. Lin was resting against the headboard, embroidering a pattern. Seeing Muniang enter, she set her embroidery aside.

“Lady, I have brought someone for you.”

Only then did Mrs. Lin’s gaze fall upon the girl behind Muniang, “Who is this girl?”

Muniang pulled Hong Luo closer to Mrs. Lin and smiled, “I went in search of farmhands through the Human Trafficker today and took the opportunity to bring you a maid. Have a look, does she suit your needs?”

Mrs. Lin was startled, “Why would I need a maid? A lifetime of hard work, and now this? No, no, definitely not, I can’t get used to it, you keep her for yourself.”

Muniang took Mrs. Lin’s hand and sat down with her by the bedside, “Mother, I’m also worried about you, you know? Your illness isn’t something that can be cured overnight. Now that I’m busy developing the wasteland, I won’t have much time to stay with you. It’s not convenient for you to move around on your own during the day, and I’m not saying she has to wait on you hand and foot. Just think of her as someone to keep you company, to help you with meals and when you need to relieve yourself, isn’t it better to have someone to assist?”

Mrs. Lin felt warmed by her daughter’s filial piety but still frowned, “But I’ve been a peasant for a lifetime, serving others all my life; now, suddenly having someone to serve me, I just can’t feel at ease.”

However, Hong Luo suddenly bent down and saluted, “Lady need not worry, if you’re not accustomed to being waited on, just consider me as mere company. When you don’t need me, I won’t hang around under your eyesight; just call for me when needed.”

She really wanted to stay here. Having lived half her life in a household of high standing, although only eighteen, she was an extremely discerning person. A master like Muniang was hard to come by a second time. Even though she appeared strict on the surface, she thoughtfully considered all the details for them. If Mrs. Lin adamantly refused her, Muniang might very well send her straight back to the Human Trafficker. At that point, her fate would likely be even more difficult.

Therefore, she had to do her utmost to win over the Lady’s heart.

Mrs. Lin looked Hong Luo over, a young girl, not much older than Muniang, with calmness feigned in her eyes, beneath which lay terror and nervousness. Mrs. Lin knew what she was afraid of, but being a kind-hearted person by nature, she could not bear to push such a seemingly strong yet vulnerable child away and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Muniang was delighted inwardly and smiled, “Mother, her name is Hong Luo. You just order her around if you need anything, alright?”

Mrs. Lin smiled helplessly, “Alright, whatever you say.”

Hong Luo also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. If she missed out on such a master, it would likely be hard to find another.

The next day, some long-term workers were left behind to fix their houses, while the rest followed Muniang up the mountain.

Since they were utterly unfamiliar with this grafting technique, Muniang had to teach them hands-on. Teaching ten people at once might be too troublesome though; it would be better to have small class teaching if this crash course was to succeed. Once the group building the houses had their dwellings erected, she would have those who had learned to teach others one-on-one.

Using a tree as an example, Muniang demonstrated the process for them, leaving the onlookers in stunned silence—it was inconceivable to them that fruit trees could be cultivated in such a way!

“Did you all understand? Remember, the part where the scion is grafted should be flat and smooth, both the slanting cuts must be of equal length, and the grafting areas must align. When you tie it up with rope, make sure it’s very tight so that they can integrate more easily. Your task now is to graft all the fruit trees on this mountain using the method I’ve shown you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come and ask me.”

Though taken aback, the workers listened very attentively, afraid that any mistake they made would result in a scolding or beating.

“Go ahead and try it on your own now. I’ll check on the situation.”

Once most of the workers had completed grafting one tree, Muniang began to inspect each one and point out issues. Despite a few whose minds weren’t quite up to the task, being slow and confused, Muniang showed great patience. She understood them; as people of ancient times encountering something foreign for the first time, there was indeed a process of adaptation.

The workers, who thought their foolishness would earn them their master’s reproach, were immensely grateful when Muniang showed no signs of blaming them, and they learned diligently and earnestly.

Muniang taught them on the mountain for most of the day until they more or less got the hang of it, then she left them to their work on the mountain.

After coming down from the mountain, Muniang headed straight home, only to encounter Madam Liu stepping out just as she reached her doorway.