When Qin Junyao left the Qu Bing Tang, her basket held eight red eggs, a token of return gift or a sign of good news.
An even number signified a boy, and the black dots on the red eggs were also a great omen, meaning a son was born. Su Dan Novel Network.
These eight eggs reminded Qin Junyao that she could buy some eggs for home, or buy hens. She had grain in her space and could afford to raise chickens.
As Qin Junyao walked along the street from the Qu Bing Tang towards the main street, she was attracted by a shop that was moving musical instruments.
She looked up at the plaque, only to find it covered with red cloth.
Qin Junyao wanted to step forward and ask, when she saw a sedan chair stop at the shop entrance, and a maid reached out to help a woman out.
“Sister Man Shuang?” Qin Junyao was surprised to find that the woman getting out of the sedan chair was Ling Man Shuang, the owner of Ting Yin Ge from the Northwest City.
Ling Man Shuang was surprised that someone here knew her when she heard someone call her name. Turning her head, she saw Qin Junyao with wide eyes.
“Sister Junyao? What a coincidence. I was just planning to invite you to my opening,” Ling Man Shuang released the maid’s hand and walked quickly to Qin Junyao, grabbing her hand.
“You’ve grown up and become even more beautiful than last year.”
“Sister Man Shuang, don’t tease me. Why are you here in Yan County?”
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
“Shuang Xi, go arrange a banquet,” Ling Man Shuang instructed her maid as she pulled Qin Junyao into the shop.
Qin Junyao exerted force on her hand, “Sister Man Shuang, I’ll just sit for a while and then leave. My family is waiting for me to return.”
“You can go back after lunch. Shall I send someone to inform your family?”
“Please spare me, Sister Man Shuang. You go ahead.”
Qin Junyao followed Ling Man Shuang to the reception room in the backyard.
The reception room was elegantly decorated.
On the display shelves were exquisite porcelain and small musical instruments. The carved rosewood tables and chairs, and the calligraphy and paintings on the walls, all showcased the owner's taste and wealth.
“My reception room was just finished a few days ago, and it’s still a bit plain. It will look more lively with some flowers and plants. Please sit here, Sister Junyao,” Ling Man Shuang led Qin Junyao to her left.
As soon as the two were seated, a maid brought tea and snacks.
“What kind of flowers and plants would you like, Sister Man Shuang?” Qin Junyao thought about the flowers she had planted in her space.
She was also thinking about what gift to give Ling Man Shuang for her opening. Now it seemed that some flowers and plants would be a good idea.
“Sister Junyao, I like whatever you give me. I’ll make sure the gardener takes good care of them. Oh, and Bai Qing will also come to Yan County in a while.”
“I was just asking, why is Sister Man Shuang opening a shop in Yan County? Is it a branch?”
Ling Man Shuang picked up her teacup and took a sip, “It’s not a branch. I opened this shop simply to find something to do. The world is unstable now, and big cities are not necessarily safer than county towns.”
“Besides, anyone who wants to buy musical instruments from my shop will find me no matter where I move.”
From Ling Man Shuang’s actions and tone, Qin Junyao sensed that she didn’t want to say much about the reason for moving to Yan County.
After all, they hadn’t known each other for long, and Qin Junyao couldn’t demand that she explain everything.
Changing the topic, the two began to chat about musical instruments. After lunch, Qin Junyao took her leave.
“Miss, does this Miss Qin have any special qualities to make you entertain her with a banquet?” Shuang Xi stood behind Ling Man Shuang, watching Qin Junyao walk away.
Ling Man Shuang didn’t answer Shuang Xi’s question but instead told her to find someone, “Shuang Xi, go and call Manager Ling for me.”
Shuang Xi withdrew and found Manager Ling, who was directing the servants to tidy up the shop. The manager respectfully asked Ling Man Shuang upon arrival, “Miss, you were looking for me.”
“Sell Shuang Xi and find two more people who know the rules.” Ling Man Shuang smiled and looked at Manager Ling, “Manager Ling watched me grow up. At your age, you should be enjoying your grandchildren, yet you still work tirelessly for me. This is truly not right.”
“Manager Ling, please take a good rest after finishing with this shop.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Qin Junyao was unaware that because of her, a maid was sold, and an old housekeeper who had served for decades had his power reduced.
Qin Junyao was familiar with all the places that sold seeds in Yan County. After another round, she found the same seeds.
The most common were leeks, spinach, chili peppers, and scallions, which were not as abundant as what she had in her space.
Qin Junyao rented an ox cart, then found a deserted alley and took out the more than five hundred saxaul trees she had cultivated in her space, along with a small bundle of scallion seedlings and a large bundle of leeks with roots.
She thought for a moment and cut off the leek roots. These were to be taken home. She only kept a handful of leeks, and the rest were put back into her space.
She prepared some chili seedlings, tomato seedlings, eggplant seedlings, and cucumber seedlings, and put them into her basket. These seedlings could all be grown as long as Qin Junyao concentrated for less than the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep in her space.
A cart full of saxaul trees entering Yangshu Village naturally caused the villagers to talk.
When they saw that the things on the cart were trees that grew in the desert, they all wondered if the granddaughter of the old woman with the red headscarf had some serious illness.
Looking at the neat saplings on the cart, they estimated they were five or six years old. They couldn't understand who would plant these trees, nor could they understand what use Qin Junyao had for buying these saplings.
“Dad, Mom, where are you going?” Before Qin Junyao reached her courtyard gate in the ox cart, she saw her father, Qin Fu, driving a donkey cart with her mother, heading somewhere.
Qin Mu quickly asked her husband to stop when she saw Qin Junyao, “Why are you only back now? Your father and I were just about to look for you.”
Qin Junyao rubbed her nose, “Aunt Sheng gave birth safely this morning, so I was delayed a bit.”
“Really? A boy or a girl?” Qin Mu was very excited to hear that Aunt Sheng, who was older than her, had given birth safely.
“A boy.”
“A boy is good, a boy is good! Don’t stop, hurry home, unload the things, and let them go home early…”
While Qin Fu and Qin Mu were unloading the saxaul trees from the ox cart, Qin Junyao ran to the water cellar they had dug and started filling it with water. She had to plant all the vegetable seedlings she brought back today, and she couldn’t do without water.
The water cellar was half full, and the well in Qin Junyao's space had lost half of its water.
Alas, growing crops in her space was tiring and a long process.
“Second brother, be careful not to spill the water.”
“San Niu, use less water, just a little for each plant is enough.”
“Xiao Yu, you can’t play with water.”
Qin Junyao felt heartbroken as she watched the buckets of water being carried out of the water cellar. By the time she finished planting those saxaul trees, the well in her space would likely be dry.
She had to practice martial arts, practice the zither, and also plant and harvest crops.
Sigh~~
After planting all the vegetable seedlings in the courtyard, only less than a quarter of the space was used.
Qin Junyao then pretended to take out seeds for beans, pumpkins, spinach, and so on from her basket and asked everyone to help plant them in the courtyard. Only then was the ground in the courtyard fully planted before dark.
“Mom, I bought eggs and leeks. Let’s have dumplings tonight,” Qin Junyao took out the eggs and leeks she bought from the basket moved to the kitchen and handed them to Qin Mu.
Seeing Qin Mu’s hesitant expression, Qin Junyao remembered that all the fine grains were kept in Grandma Qin’s room.
To prevent her daughter-in-law from being overly kind, the old lady kept the fine grains in her own room.