Li Mu, seeing Shen Jianrong actively organizing things, also joined in the preparations with enthusiasm.
No matter how many local specialties Shen Jianrong bought, the Li family should prepare some for Ziyu.
Lu Shi and Lili also needed to be prepared with some things to take away.
Li Weihao planned to go to the western greenhouse to buy vegetables to take back. Li Mu asked her eldest grandson to prepare an extra portion. Shen Jianrong heard this and quickly followed him, wanting to buy some easily preserved vegetables herself.
The Li family's courtyard seemed even busier than the previous two days.
Han Lu Shi and Li Wei Li, following their mother's instructions, gave Xiao Yuan a red envelope of twenty thousand. Xiao Yuan accepted it. After she had taken it back last time, her great-aunt had said to accept it if it was given, and not to let the Yuan family feel they owed the Li family. She said her fate with Captain Tian and Mayor Li did not require anyone else from the Yuan family to compensate.
Xiao Yuan took her leave. As she passed the end of the village, she was stopped by a stern-looking man.
"You're from the Yuan family, aren't you?"
Xiao Yuan felt as if she were facing a great enemy. The man explained, "I am Zeng Lin, a retainer of the Zeng family."
The Zeng family? Xiao Yuan frowned. "Great-Uncle is not here today."
Zeng Lin said, "I'm not looking for him, I'm looking for you."
"Is something the matter?"
"I wish to inquire about the recipes for the two cold dishes served at today's banquet."
"Impossible," Xiao Yuan refused. "You can approach Great-Uncle, and then ask Great-Aunt. It's impossible for me." With that, Xiao Yuan left.
Zeng Lin returned to the small Western-style building. "Second Young Master, your plan didn't work. Lin can find a farmer."
"Stupid!" Zeng Jingchu berated him. "You go ask your Eldest Young Master for ideas."
Zeng Lin didn't understand. "Second Young Master, why do you insist that Lin find someone from the Yuan family?"
Zeng Jingchu glared at him fiercely. "Because your young master likes them very much. If you don't give birth to a descendant of the Yuan family, how will your son learn culinary skills?"
"How can you be a steward if you don't carefully observe your young master's preferences?"
Zeng Lin had every reason to believe that his Second Young Master was truly ill.
...
After returning to Hot Spring Valley, Xiao Yuan told Zeng Jingliang about Zeng Lin intercepting her. Zeng Jingliang pondered. As the full-time external steward of the family head, cooking was an essential skill. It was possible to inquire about the recipes of two dishes from someone from the Yuan family, but he felt something was strange. Thinking of his changed younger brother, he decided to call him.
Upon hearing his brother's answer, Zeng Jingliang wanted to bang on his brother's head. "You are three generations apart! You have your son follow a junior? How can you manage the future family head?"
Zeng Jingchu paused and retorted, "Should it be a generation higher? The elder is the servant of the junior, which doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"
"Get lost!" The usually gentle and refined Zeng Jingliang was so angered by his brother that he swore.
After hanging up the phone, Zeng Jingliang paced for a few turns and then picked up the phone to call Tian Jing. Tian Jing's mouth twitched. She felt Zeng Jingchu's shifting of affections was unfair. "Don't worry about him for now. He's going to have his legs broken tomorrow."
"I'm very busy lately. After I finish, I'll take him to see that woman."
...
Li Weihao only bought tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots, as these three could be eaten raw. He then picked them separately into a basket and a box, giving a box to Li Mu. Shen Jianrong was still selecting in the greenhouse. Li Weihao called his younger brother to help carry them, and they returned with two large baskets of vegetables.
Tian Jing chuckled. "In-laws, one basket can hold two to three boxes, so it won't all fit." Looking at the two baskets of vegetables, Shen Jianrong also became troubled. She didn't want to throw away a single vegetable leaf.
Ouyang Meihua helped her pick through them, trying to fit as many as possible into the cardboard boxes.
Yu Ziyu and Li Weibo returned after scrubbing the floor and saw that the seven-seater vehicle was already almost full. The remaining space was reserved for her to put the items her grandmother had prepared. When she saw what her grandmother had prepared, Yu Ziyu held her forehead. How would the car fit everything?
Li Mu came out to take a look and told Shen Jianrong to remove some boxes of leafy greens, as they were not easy to preserve and took up space. "Jianrong, it's not cost-effective to bring leafy greens all this way. Ask Tiantian to give you some seed packets and take some seedlings back to plant."
"The villa is so large, what else would you plant if not vegetables? That little Cai is good at farming."
Shen Jianrong slapped her hand. "Oh, in-laws are far-sighted. I was only thinking about the next few days."
"Xiao Bo, take these, these, these, and these boxes down. I'm going to ask your mother for some good things." Seeing her mother run into the courtyard, Yu Ziyu gave Li Mu a thumbs up. "Grandma is still amazing. Food that reaches my mother's hands isn't easily taken away."
Li Mu smiled heartily. "Isn't the idea I gave her to harvest more? Tomorrow morning, Grandma will catch a few more wild chickens for you. Have Xiao Cai use a net to fence them in and raise them. Once there are enough, you won't have to worry about food."
Yu Ziyu... Her villa was becoming a farm and ranch. She had to nod in agreement. "Yes, yes, yes. Aunt Cai also said the villa was too quiet, and more animals would make it more lively."
Li Weibo quietly squeezed Yu Ziyu's finger. "The large villa opposite is even more in need of life."
Li Mu nodded. "Xiao Bo is right. The villa opposite is also idle. Planting vegetables and raising chickens is fine, but you'll need to get a couple of puppies to watch over it." Yu Ziyu agreed.
Then, after her mother-in-law got seeds and seedlings for her mother, she secretly asked her mother-in-law if she could plant vegetables and raise chickens in the large villa opposite. Tian Jing didn't mind. "It's a waste to leave it idle. As long as it's not messy, you can use it however you like." Yu Ziyu was then relieved. "Grandma said it's okay. I was worried about appearing to contradict her without your permission. Please don't tell Grandma, okay?"
Tian Jing shook her head. "It's fine. From now on, just listen to whatever your grandmother says. Our family doesn't care about these small details. As long as things go smoothly and everyone is happy." Yu Ziyu nodded repeatedly.
...
Zeng Jingrong was preparing to take his team back. He had two large bags of toys and clothes for Jiqing and Jixiang. He asked Li Weihao to carry them and then noticed the basket of fruits and vegetables in Li Weihao's hands. He pointed at Li Weihao. "You selfish guy, couldn't you bring more?"
Li Weihao shook his head. "Those team members are insatiable. Once you start, it's hard to stop."
"Am I the one responsible for their stomachs?" Zeng Jingrong angrily slapped him. "I'm only responsible for your Sister Shi."
Li Weihao was surprised. "You come here so often, and you don't even know to prepare special products from Kūshān for Sister Shi? You... I'll have to complain to Sister Shi about you."
Zeng Jingrong glared at him. "Stop talking nonsense and get ready quickly. Li Weiyan, you go too. Stop playing on your phone."
Li Mu pointed at the boxes by the kitchen door. "Haohao, there are several boxes of leafy greens here. Go buy some beans, eggplants, bitter gourds, and the like. Also, take some cucumbers and tomatoes for your maternal aunt."
"Got it!"
By the time Li Weihao and Li Weiyan returned with the vegetables and finished organizing them, the sun had already set. Li Weihao and Li Weiyan each carried six cardboard boxes, while Li Weixin and Zeng Jingrong each held a child and left. Chen Fu comforted his wife at home and came to see his son off. Jiqing and Jixiang showed no sign of reluctance, happily waving goodbye to their father and saying they would see their younger siblings next time.
Yu Ziyu, who had come out to see them off, lingered behind with Li Weibo. "Tomorrow morning, don't say goodbye to me. Just leave."
Li Weibo put his arm around his wife and returned to the courtyard. "We'll rest early tonight. You won't be able to get up tomorrow morning." Yu Ziyu angrily stepped on her husband's foot. Li Weibo asked solemnly, "Don't you want to get pregnant as soon as possible? If I don't work hard, how can that happen?" Yu Ziyu applied more pressure with her foot. Li Weibo feigned pain. Yu Ziyu then let him go.