The farmhands gathered to eat and chat, as was normal.
However, as they spoke, the conversation veered off course.
After the words of the person who spoke with immediate aggression, everyone fell silent.
Some dared to disagree.
Because he believed that the new owner visiting their living quarters upon arrival was a genuine concern for their lives, and that she truly treated them well.
But some were also prompted to doubt by these words, and muttered softly whether it was because the busy farming season was not far off.
There would be much work to do next.
Their mistress was merely putting on a show to win their hearts, so that they would work for her like oxen and horses, just like the former Steward He.
When she first arrived, her outward appearance was impeccable, but in the end, she couldn't even take care of her own family.
How could she possibly have the mood to care about their lives and deaths?
“You are not allowed to speak about our young mistress like that,” Guo'er swallowed a mouthful of rice, and with courage she didn't know where it came from, she suddenly stood up and glared at everyone in the dim light, shouting her rebuttal.
“You are not allowed to speak about our young mistress like that, she is the kindest and most generous.”
“Hey, you little girl, you don’t understand anything, what are you blabbering about?” Zhang Haojiang, the farmhand who had initiated the conversation, said dismissively.
It had only been two days, how could they possibly see that this mistress was very good.
When Steward He took over Li Zhuang back then, everyone also spread rumors that Steward He was a good old man.
The kind who would open sheds and distribute porridge during times of famine.
But later, they still lived in the mud-slope houses they had occupied for over ten years.
“I am also a farmhand, why wouldn’t I know?” Guo’er retorted unconvincingly, speaking from her own experience.
She told them about their origins from Yizhou Prefecture.
She also said that the houses for the farmhands in Yizhou Prefecture had already been built.
Everyone had already moved in.
“My family is large, so I was allocated the biggest one, with five rooms, it cost the mistress ten strings of cash.”
Guo’er, seeing everyone looking at her in surprise, straightened her back, and pulled Li Shushao, who was quietly eating without saying a word, to also speak.
“Ah, say, say what.” Li Shushao was a bit dull-witted, but he quickly reacted.
He quickly told the truth.
Everyone marveled at what they heard.
What they imagined was different from what they heard directly.
With Guo’er and Li Shushao’s testimony, everyone felt reassured.
Zhang Haojiang, who had intended to stir up trouble and cause a scene, was struck speechless.
Furthermore, the farm foreman Li Dahu seemed to have figured something out, glared at him, and tossed him a chicken tail, saying:
“The mistress gave us so much meat, with food to eat, can’t that shut your mouth?”
Li Dahu still had some authority, and with his words, everyone fell silent.
They quietly looked forward to the houses the mistress planned to build for them.
After the meal, Guo’er helped Li Wangshi and the others tidy up the backyard. She then ran to the main courtyard and found Su Xiaoqi, who was sitting opposite Shen Yun in the room, writing and drawing.
Seeing Guo’er enter, Su Xiaoqi put down her brush and smiled, asking, “You’re back, how was it, did they say anything?”
Guo’er reported everything she had heard and seen in detail.
“Zhang Haojiang, alright, I understand. You’ve worked hard. I’ve left a side room for you in the backyard, go and sleep there.”
“Thank you, young mistress.” Guo’er bowed and retreated, feeling a layer of reverence for this gentle and approachable mistress in her heart.
Earlier, she had eaten with those people in the backyard.
No one had thought much of it, they just assumed it was normal for the farmhands to eat together.
But who would have thought that she was someone the mistress had sent to gather information.
As expected, they had no defenses against her, who was also a servant.
They said everything they should and shouldn’t say.
And arranging her room in the backyard, it was foreseeable that her mission was not yet over.
But no matter what she thought in her heart, she would not say it. She was a servant and had to follow the rules of a servant.
She respectfully bowed and withdrew.
Su Xiaoqi watched her retreating figure and chuckled softly.
“They are just ordinary farmhands, worthy of you bothering to place someone.” Shen Yun gently picked up the calligraphy she had written and shook his head.
His wife was good in everything, but her calligraphy, no matter how she wrote it, was merely superficial, lacking spirit.
Su Xiaoqi saw his disdain and pouted in displeasure.
She simply grabbed the half-written paper in her hand, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the bamboo basket far away.
“Be patient,” Shen Yun, however, did not relent. He grabbed her hand, forced the brush back into her palm, and made her continue practicing.
He even said that if she didn’t practice, he wouldn’t draw for her anymore.
He also moved the completed membership card logo for Chen Jin Ji to the side.
This was Su Xiaoqi’s weak point.
She still had many ideas that required Shen Yun’s divine brush.
The style for Chen Jin Ji’s membership card was settled, and now she needed to design an anti-counterfeiting logo, and the supermarket also needed a card with a different design.
These were all her rough sketches, which she then asked Shen Yun to refine. Otherwise, her drawings were too ugly, and she was afraid the artisans responsible for making them wouldn’t be able to recognize them.
She was unwilling, but under Shen Yun’s gaze, she had no choice but to take the brush and practice reluctantly.
During this time, Li Shushao came to say that someone from the village was looking for them.
Shen Yun glanced at Su Xiaoqi, who was diligently practicing her calligraphy, and went out to handle it himself.
Shen Yun returned shortly after and didn’t say what it was about.
Su Xiaoqi originally wanted to take advantage of the inquiry to slack off a bit, but they directly held their books and read, not speaking.
Su Xiaoqi pouted. Well, she couldn’t slack off now, so she had to obediently continue practicing her calligraphy.
It wasn’t until the end of the Hai hour that Shen Yun finally let Su Xiaoqi go to sleep.
Her right hand, however, was now extremely stiff.
She couldn’t help but act a little spoiled in front of Shen Yun. Shen Yun rubbed his nose and massaged her.
As they massaged each other, their hands eventually led them to the bed.
The quilt on the bed was newly changed and had been sun-dried.
As soon as they lay on it, it emitted a strong scent of sunshine.
Su Xiaoqi was very satisfied, exclaiming that she loved the smell of sunshine the most.
At the same time, she was thinking about a large number of money-making plans.
But at this moment, Shen Yun was very fond of her pretty expression and was “molesting” her, making her unable to concentrate on thinking.
In anger, she leaned forward and bit Shen Yun’s lips.
She cursed inwardly, “Let you pester me.”
Little did she know that Shen Yun had been waiting for her to use this move for a long time.
Her leaning forward now was tantamount to delivering herself to his door.
He immediately caught her red-handed and sealed her lips fiercely.
After a long period of intimacy, Su Xiaoqi suddenly heard a long-awaited “beep” sound.
The space had been upgraded.
Ah, that’s great, it’s upgraded, it’s finally upgraded again.
Su Xiaoqi cheered inwardly, and increasingly felt that the intimately embracing Shen Yun was a hindrance.
She wanted to struggle out of Shen Yun’s embrace, but he saw through her thoughts completely.
He wanted to push her a little.
To see if she would tell the truth and explain to him what this so-called space was.
And what did “upgraded” mean?
Shen Yun was secretly plotting, when suddenly Su Xiaoqi cried out. She squirmed in his arms and said pitifully:
“Ah, husband, that, that I think my period has come.”
Shen Yun didn’t know what a period was at first, but after Su Xiaoqi’s coaxing for a while, he had some understanding.
He had read that women’s menstruation should occur once a month.
He remembered that Xiaoqi’s was due on the tenth of each month.
Now it was only the fourth, how could it have come already?