CHAPTER 170: CHAPTER 170 (2)

The Princely Heir was stunned, "..."

Miss Chai laughed again, "My Uncle Gui is a master at farming, he will drive the ox to your place and plow your fields as well, saving you the trouble of finding someone else."

It was Uncle Gui who was driving the cart for Miss Chai.

He got off the mule cart and said with a smile, "Indeed, I’ve been farming for the Chai family for thirty years; there’s no farming task I’m not acquainted with."

Liu the bricklayer also smiled and said, "This old fellow is not lying; he’s really good at farming."

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Then I’ll have to trouble Uncle Gui."

The Chai Family Servant quickly waved his hand, "This won’t do, I’m just a servant."

Miss Chai said, "Brother Li, Miss Li, let’s settle it like this then; you can go back first, I’ll have Uncle Gui drive the ox over to your place."

She glanced at the Princely Heir, got into the mule cart, and left.

She didn’t even mention anything about payment.

By the time the Princely Heir thought of it, the mule cart had already gone twenty paces away.

Liu the bricklayer watched the mule cart leave, sighed, and said, "This Miss Chai seems much better than before. Just over a month ago, she looked seriously ill, but now she seems just like a normal person."

Li Yuzhu said, "Yes, her illness has improved."

Liu the bricklayer shook his head, "This poor girl; her maternal home and half the village were washed away by floods. Her father died young, her mother remarried and also passed away. Now, she only has one brother by her side."

The Princely Heir said, "But she seems very strong."

Liu the bricklayer said, "Her circumstances are already like this, can’t change it. One must be strong, aren’t we all supposed to forge ahead?"

The matter of borrowing the ox was resolved; there was no need for Liu the bricklayer’s help anymore, so he went home.

Li Yuzhu and the Princely Heir took a different route home.

"Third Sister, Miss Chai didn’t mention payment, we mustn’t owe a favor," said the Princely Heir.

He had asked the villagers, and they said when lending out an ox, a fee was usually charged.

For simply lending the ox, it’s a hundred coins a day, and you also have to clean the ox and feed it well.

If they also help with plowing, it’s a hundred and eighty coins a day, plus meals.

"Indeed, but we forgot to mention it just now; let’s bring it up when the ox is delivered," Li Yuzhu said, "They are willing to help, but we shouldn’t take advantage."

"Alright, I’ll bring it up later," said the Princely Heir.

The two of them returned home.

They rested for a moment, just had a cup of tea, when there was a shout from the Chai Family Servant at the gate, "Li Family’s eldest son? Miss Li?"

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Uncle Gui is really fast, has he arrived already?"

The Princely Heir put down his teacup, "Let’s go and have a look."

The two went to the front yard, opened the gate, and saw a sturdy buffalo standing on the village road outside.

The ox was also pulling a plow.

The Princely Heir marveled, "Uncle Gui is very fast."

The Chai Family Servant laughed, "Our Miss said, the Li Family has quite a few fields, it’s best to come early."

The Princely Heir said, "Then I’ll have to trouble Uncle Gui."

"What are you saying, Miss Li saved our Miss’s life; this little help is nothing," laughed the Chai Family Servant.

The Princely Heir said, "In the village, people pay for borrowing an ox; we should stick to the village rules. I’ll pay two hundred coins a day."

Miss Chai had given him several albums; he hadn’t thanked her yet, so he thought he’d just pay more to her servant.

The Chai Family Servant waved his hand repeatedly, "Our young lady just asked me to help; she never mentioned any charge."

The Princely Heir said, "If Uncle Gui doesn’t accept payment, then I won’t ask for his help; I’ll go to Qingshui River Village to borrow an ox."

The Chai Family Servant looked troubled, "But the young lady didn’t say..."

The Princely Heir said, "Your young lady is young, hasn’t managed things before, how would she think about money? You as a servant should consider this for her. Otherwise, if her brother finds out, he might blame you."

The Chai Family Servant, fearing the Eldest Young Master Chai, reluctantly said, "Alright, I’ll accept it then."

"Good, so it’s settled then; two hundred coins a day, plus meals," the Princely Heir said, leading the Chai Family Servant to the wasteland.

"This is all recently reclaimed by our family; about twenty-five acres," he pointed to a large area of land,

The Chai Family Servant was surprised, "You are impressive, if you turn all this wasteland into fertile fields, you won’t have to worry about food or clothing."

The Princely Heir smiled, "Turning wasteland into fertile fields isn’t easy; I’ve heard that these lands, after long years of growing weeds, don’t have much fertilizer in the soil, and they don’t produce good crops."

The Chai Family Servant nodded, "Indeed, a significant amount of fertilizer needs to be invested."

The Princely Heir humbly sought advice on farming, and the Chai Family Servant explained patiently.

"Your family’s fields are about twenty-five acres, this ox can only plow three acres a day, and it needs a day’s rest after a day’s work. By that calculation, it will take half a month to plow twenty-five acres. Our young lady has only one ox, and plowing like this might affect your sowing time," the Chai Family Servant shared his thoughts.

The Princely Heir hadn’t thought of this.

"But we can’t borrow another ox right now, let’s just plow like this first," the Princely Heir frowned.

Li Yuzhu looked around and said, "Don’t worry, Brother, our seeds are not many, we don’t need twenty acres. Let the ox plow whenever it has the time, otherwise, leave it empty for now; we can plant next year. Besides, we don’t have farming experience; planting twenty-five acres at once might be overwhelming."

How many in the family can endure the hardship in the fields?

Li Yuzhu didn’t wish for all twenty-five acres to be farmed at once.

This would scare those pampered family members.

The best way is to plow three to five acres first, plant enough grains to feed ourselves.

Once the family sees the benefits, then expand the planting.

The Princely Heir felt that Li Yuzhu’s idea was viable, "Third Sister’s idea is feasible, let’s do it this way first; you can’t gain weight by eating too much at once."

The Chai Family Servant let the ox eat some grass before starting to plow.

The Princely Heir watched for a while, finding it interesting, even took over the plow handles to try it himself.

Li Yuzhu watched for a bit, then went to look at the scattered seeds.

The seeds had all sprouted four leaves.

Once a field was plowed, she could start transplanting the seedlings and planting vegetables.

As Li Yuzhu was observing the seedlings, the Second Princess ran over in a hurry and said, "Third Sister, Third Sister, where’s Brother?"

Li Yuzhu stood up, "He’s learning to plow over there; what’s wrong, Second Sister? What happened?"

The girl was sweating, looking anxious; what happened?

"Second Brother got into trouble! He broke a child’s arm, and that family is holding him. I dare not tell Father and Mother, so I’ve come to find Brother," the Second Princess said after taking a deep breath.

Li Yuzhu was shocked, "Broke a child’s arm? That doesn’t sound like something Second Brother would do. Why would he quarrel with a child?"

The Second Princess was so anxious she stomped her foot, "I can’t explain it; I was busy selling pancakes and when I turned around, he was already arguing."

The Second Princess’s business wasn’t limited to just going to the market. On non-market days, she would push a small cart around the village selling.

She dared not go alone, so she took Old Third, Li Xing’an, and Second Young Master, Li Xingsheng, along.

The brothers alternated accompanying her.

Which village did they go to where they got into a conflict?

"Where were you when Second Brother started arguing?" Li Yuzhu asked.

The Second Princess, after taking a breath, said, "Not far, just while walking through Taohua River Village; that family is holding Second Brother, along with our cart and jars and pancakes on the cart."

The Second Princess began to cry as she spoke.

Those were the Second Princess’s merchandise; without them, she felt devastated.

Li Yuzhu comforted her distressed sister, "Don’t cry, we’ll sort it out. I’ll go get him back now."

Turning to the Princely Heir, she said, "Quick, Brother, let’s go. This isn’t something I can handle alone."

Understanding the urgency, the Princely Heir nodded, "Alright, let’s get moving then."

They instructed another member of the Li Family to watch over Uncle Gui and the water buffalo, then quickly left the house.

While they walked, Li Yuzhu asked more details, "So who was the person starting trouble?"

The Second Princess sulked, "It was that Eldest Young Master Chai. When he saw me he said something unpleasant, then Second Brother asked him to apologize and then they started arguing."

The Princely Heir shook his head and sighed, "He always looks for trouble. Avoid him whenever you can, just get away far from him the next time."

"I will, I don’t want to argue with them." The Second Princess said, "How bothersome."

When Li Yuzhu saw her wiping her tears, she consoled her while walking, "Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen."

"Why aren’t you hurrying?" Second Princess pouted, urging.

Li Yuzhu said, "You have to walk quickly like this." She reached out and lifted Second Princess under her arm, who was over a hundred jin, and walked on ahead.

但她却老实得很,走了两里地不喊一句累,摇摇晃晃的踉跄着跟在后面,还不忘高叫着,"大哥,那地有好大呀,亩数足,有的种了!"

一个时辰后,李三姑娘才带二郡主走回来.

对上世子的目光,二郡主低下头,"让她小姐发卖,我是死也不赔钱..."

李玉竹走过去,戳了下大哥的肩,轻声说道,"这事就看你了,你好好和三姑娘解释."

世子只好说道,"妹妹不说话,她心里跟咱们想得不和."

他说得含糊,李玉竹只得眨了眨水光潋滟的眸子,"哦.那——"胳膊便让亲大哥挡了回去.

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