Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

Chapter 123: Garden for Growing Vegetables

After finding out about the guards' plan, Liu Rusi returned to the house in a rage. She really couldn't concentrate on reading the medical books.

Liu Rusi tentatively asked Qiu Ju, who was about to go out, "Can you help me buy some vegetable seeds?"

Chu Shiyu probably didn't explain this, Qiuju nodded readily and asked, "What kind of seeds does Madam Liu want?"

After reporting several common and easy-to-cultivate vegetables in the capital, Liu Rusi's mood brightened up a little. As long as it is not large-scale intensive labor, growing vegetables can be a very leisurely activity.

Seeing that there was no one in the clinic, she left Xue Fei and Chun Lan here to watch the clinic, and asked one of them to go inside to find her if there was anything. Then Liu Rusi slowly walked to the East Garden.

The overgrown weeds that appeared when I first saw the house are gone. Half of them were cleaned by people, and the other half was let out by horses to eat them every time Liu Rusi suggested. Natural weed cutter is environmentally friendly and labor-saving.

The East Garden is nearly 300 square meters, but it has a toilet and roads leading to the main courtyard, stables, and front yard. It is paved with blue bricks to prevent mud on rainy days, so half of it cannot be used for planting.

Liu Rusi planned to plant only fruit trees throughout the house. There were some trees in the garden originally, but fortunately there were no towering ancient trees, so all the trees except the fruit trees were removed. Only one peach tree, one plum tree and one pear tree were left in the garden, and the whole garden looked a little empty.

There were some rare ornamental flowers and plants before, such as orchids, roses, etc. Liu Rusi was not the kind of person who would waste natural resources, so she just transplanted them all to the front yard and the main yard.

The East Garden is used to grow vegetables.

I roughly planned in my mind that I could plant about twelve rows of vegetables on both sides of the road from the toilet to the front yard.

Liu Rusi walked towards the back door. The small room with a curtain as a door was where horse gear and farm tools were stored...

"Ma'am, what do you want?"

There are two guards guarding the back door of this house.

Liu Rusi shuddered and asked with a half-smile, "Mao Wu and Mao Qi?"

The two guards nodded in agreement immediately, and were even a little surprised that their master remembered who they were so quickly.

This is the name Chu Shiyu gave them. He asked Liu Rusi to name them, but Liu Rusi felt that naming an unrelated adult was a bit weird. Then, Chu Shiyu named them according to the convention of naming guards, adding one to eight from the earthly branch Mao...

If she had known, she would have named it herself! This is no different from modern people naming people A3 and C5! It is objectification to the extreme!

"Well, I'll get something. You can move the stools to the passage and sit on them to avoid the strong smell next to the stable." Liu Rusi said amiably while going to get the hoe hanging on the wall.

"Madam! The prince has instructed that you cannot take these sharp weapons!" Mao Wu stepped forward and took the hoe first.

Don't get angry, it's useless to get angry at them, they are also helpless, just oppressed by Chu Shiyu! Liu Rusi took a long time to adjust her mentality, and asked with a smile: "Daiyu can still bury flowers, a hoe is not a sharp weapon, right?"

Both of them were puzzled, and Mao Qi asked tentatively: "Who is Daiyu?"

Liu Rusi was stunned. She almost forgot that this world had Confucius, Mencius, and Zhuangzi, but not the Four Great Classics... She always felt that this was a parallel world that was hundreds of years earlier than the original world. In the previous dynasty, some events took different directions, so that now it was the Great Xia Dynasty that did not exist in the history of the original world...

Recovering her scattered thoughts, Liu Rusi asked calmly, "Young ladies from various families... or the royal ladies in the palace can also hoe the land and plant flowers, right? Why can't I hold a hoe?"

Mao Wu and Mao Qi showed signs of agreement, but still said awkwardly, "That's what the prince said, and we dare not ask why... Madam, tell us to do whatever you want to do!"

Turning her head to look at the garden vegetable plot she had already planned... Liu Rusi sighed softly: "That's troublesome, please help me turn the soil, I will point out which ones need to be turned."

"Why bother? It's my duty to help the master!"

Mao Wu eagerly followed Liu Rusi with a hoe in hand. They all came from the palace. It was much more promising to stay with the favorite concubine of Prince Duan than to waste time in the palace. If Prince Duan... he would definitely be able to return to the palace! Maybe he could rise to the top in one step!

Liu Rusi didn't know what they were thinking, nor did she care much, but she only flipped through the pages for a short while before asking Mao Wu to stop.

After all, it's a garden. Planting vegetables like this seems a bit ugly...

"Is there any remaining wood in the house?" Liu Rusi pinched her chin as if thinking.

"What do you want to do, madam?"

"Who among you knows how to do carpentry? I want to make some wooden frames that are ten feet long, three feet wide, and one foot high, about twelve of them, to be used as planting frames. This way the vegetables will look better."

"There are some wood piled up by the horse gate in the front yard. Mao Er seems to know some carpentry skills. Can I go and get them for you?"

Maowu put down his hoe and fawned on his master. He didn't think that his master was just doing whatever he wanted. There were vicious concubines in the palace who enjoyed beating and scolding their servants. What was the big deal if he suddenly wanted to make some wooden frames? The servant just wanted to please his master.

Liu Rusi nodded, and walked with Mao Wu along the blue brick path in the garden towards the horse gate leading to the front yard.

The one-meter width is enough for horses to pass through, but the purpose of the passage is not to let horses pass through, but to lead to the stable at the back, so that the guards can pass through the garden to guard the back door and take care of the horses. This was arranged by Chu Shiyu. The guards cannot enter the main courtyard or the back yard without the master's summons, and they are expressly forbidden to enter the kitchen. Liu Rusi also agreed with this. It is indeed necessary to guard against these people having ulterior motives.

The front yard was originally very long, but now three-tenths of it is divided by the Women's Medical Clinic. Another two-tenths is separated by a seven-foot stone mountain on the east side close to the screen wall and used as the living yard for the guards. In addition to the firewood and sundry sheds beside the two walls, their clothes are also hung in the middle to dry.

The host usually doesn't need to come here, but if Liu Rusi wants to come, no one can stop her from coming here, right?

"The well is in the main courtyard... Is it convenient for you to get water?"

In this era, there was no convenient resource like tap water. The Qin residence in Dongshan Village used spring water from the mountains. In the capital, families with the means would dig wells in their yards. The well in Liu Rusi's house was in the east corner of the main courtyard, and the silt was cleared before moving in.

"It's quite convenient, but... we need to trouble a few girls who get up early to carry the water to the garden gate for us."

Mao Wu felt a little embarrassed. He didn't expect that his master would ask about their daily lives. It must be troublesome to work anywhere. Not every palace in the palace has a well, and some well water is not drinkable... The servants have to walk a long way to carry water.

From the age of one to eight, they will be sent out of the palace to Madam Liu. Apart from having some skills that meet the emperor's requirements... nothing else matters. Most of the work they do in the palace is hard labor.

"Well, these little girls don't have much strength... How about this, starting from the first quarter of the morning, they can go to the main courtyard to fetch water for half an hour every day. Is it more convenient to go through the garden gate?" Liu Rusi suggested.

"This... the prince said..."

"I know. He said that no one can enter without the master's summons. Isn't this a summons? Or am I not the master?" Liu Rusi raised her eyebrows and asked. At the time she suggested, Chu Shiyu was usually in court, so even if he came here, he would not bump into him.

"Of course! Madam Liu is the master!" Mao Wu dared not refute, although the prince was the priority...

"Don't worry, I'll have the girls watch you fetch water. You're still not allowed to enter the kitchen." Liu Rusi was not without vigilance, but she could find a way to make everything reasonable. Then she thought of asking, "By the way! Is the water you usually drink boiled?"

"Yes, the girls will give us a bucket of boiled hot water every morning and tell us that it is for us to drink." Mao Wu said gratefully. Although there was no difference in drinking it when it was cold, he felt that he was being treated preferentially.

"Well, that's good."

Liu Rusi turned to look at the pile of wood and asked hesitantly, "Do you know what kind of wood this is?"

"Madam, wait a moment. I will go get Mao Er."

Mao Er, who was sleeping in the house, was called up - the eight guards were divided into shifts, and four of them had to guard the front and back doors at night.

"I didn't know you were resting. Sorry for disturbing you." Liu Rusi said apologetically.

"No way, madam, you can call us anytime if you have any instructions." Mao Er and Mao Wu had the same attitude. It should be said that most servants had this attitude.

"Well...give me your duty roster from now on. I'll try to be on duty if anything happens."

They have a slave mentality, and Liu Rusi doesn't want to treat them like slaves. In her mind, they are just long-term security guards.

"Duty roster?" Both of them were confused.

Liu Rusi paused, then asked another question that she was always concerned about: "Can you all read?"

The two of them lowered their heads in embarrassment. Mao Wu whispered, "Only Mao Yi knows a few basic words..."

Liu Rusi soon understood that the Xia Dynasty, which valued boys more than girls, was most likely too poor to make ends meet to send its boys to the palace to be eunuchs. How could it afford to teach them to read and write?

"It's okay. I'll make some arrangements in the next few days and let Xue Fei or Chun Lan teach you some words. At least you need to know your...code names and basic words."

Liu Rusi wrote down the matter and then turned to the main topic and asked, "What kind of wood are these?"

"My Lord, most of these are golden nanmu, and a small part is rosewood."

Liu Rusi grinned immediately! Even if she was ignorant, she had heard that these woods were precious! Chu Shiyu used these to build a living room, but it was definitely too much to use them to make a planting frame in the vegetable garden!

"Well, don't touch these. Can you leave the house?" Liu Rusi changed her mind instantly.

The two guards nodded.

"Then help me buy some of the cheapest wood... Just buy the processed boards and ask the boss to cut them into the required size, and then you can just nail them when you come back."

Liu Rusi explained in detail the size of the wood boards she needed, then took out ten taels of silver and said, "Have the wood shop deliver them to your door. If they're not enough, come back and settle the bill."

"Madam Liu, you don't have to take the money! The prince has already given us a hundred taels of reserve money so that we can buy firewood and charcoal for the house! We can take the receipts to settle the expenses every month!" Mao San respectfully avoided the ten taels handed to him.

Liu Rusi took back the money awkwardly. She understood why the guard refused to take any more money, because there was a profit in reimbursement... If the seller had a deal, the invoice would be higher than the actual amount, usually 20% more, and even more if he had connections with the accountant! - In short, it was called kickbacks.

This is how she used to earn more from egg orders. When she sent them to vegetable vendors, the wholesale price was only 70% of the market price, but when she sent them to large households, she could earn 10% more than the market price. She was able to get the orders because she knew how to issue invoices and even help them with their accounts. This was also the reason why she was able to hand over her business to her uncle, who was also good at math and writing.

Seeing the two of them leaving happily, Liu Rusi felt melancholy. Is it really okay to let them cheat Chu Shiyu of his money?

No matter! This is the retribution for his meddling in her family affairs!

In addition to the horse gate, the guardhouse also has a small door leading to the main gate, which is between the gatehouse and the main gate. When you open the small door, the first thing you see is the right door panel of the main gate.

In this way, when the main door is open, guests coming in will not notice the door leading to the guardhouse and will go to the living room where they need to go.

As soon as Liu Rusi pushed open the door, she saw a figure that was so familiar that it made her teeth itch!

Chu Shiyu had just walked into the gate, and was looking at Liu Rusi walking out of the small door with an inquiring look on his face. His face was slightly gloomy, but his tone was still gentle as he asked: "Rusi, what are you doing there?"

"Hehe... nothing much, I just found out that I can neither leave the house nor pick up a hoe, and it seems that I don't have to take care of the expenses of the house anymore."

Liu Rusi spoke word by word through gritted teeth, then walked around the people blocking her way and headed towards the blue brick road in the main courtyard.

The gloom on his face suddenly disappeared, and Chu Shiyu hurriedly followed and explained, "I just asked you to bring some people with you when you go out. The capital is actually not as safe as you think, especially for a woman as outstanding as you. You should be more careful."

Do you think she will be happy if you praise her? ! Liu Rusi walked into the hall without looking back and asked coldly: "What about the other two?"

"Well... you can plant flowers and vegetables, but you can ask the servants to help you with the hoe..."

"How about I use my hands to dig? You can't forbid me to use my hands, right?" Liu Rusi turned around and asked with a smile.

Ruifeng's eyes widened slightly, looking at her as if she was joking, but seeing that she seemed to really take action to resist, Chu Shiyu asked awkwardly: "Do you have to do this?"

“I get up early in the morning to clean up the wasteland, and return home in the moonlight, carrying a hoe… Have you heard of this? What does it mean?”

Liu Rusi walked around the corridor on the upper right corner of the living room and headed for the courtyard, but was stopped by two fingers hooked on the back of her collar... She waved her hand away speechlessly, turned back and asked angrily: "What are you doing?!"

"I agree to use the hoe, but we can only do it when it's bright day. We can't do it when the sun is too strong or when it's windy and rainy." Chu Shiyu compromised.

Liu Rusi's anger abated a little, but she still asked with a straight face: "Why are you pulling my collar?!"

"Ahem... I want to see if the bruise has healed." The slight redness on his fair face was very noticeable... Just thinking of yesterday's beauty made him feel hot.

Speaking of which, yesterday when I left here and went to Prince Duan's Mansion, my restlessness gradually subsided... He suspected that the effect of the medicine had been relieved after the first two times, and the latter was purely because of the beauty in my arms...

Liu Rusi felt embarrassed! She had finally forgotten about it! Gnashing her teeth, she turned around and walked towards the well again, but was stopped again!

"Besides, what are you doing walking toward the well?!"

The redness on her cheeks faded quickly, and Chu Shiyu grabbed her arm tightly with a serious expression. No matter what the situation, her safety was the priority. A six-meter-deep well was obviously a dangerous place!

"I want to see how big the well mouth is. If it's too big, it's better to put a cover on it to block the dust and leaves, and also prevent Qin Hao from falling in..." Liu Rusi pried Chu Shiyu's hand and still wanted to go there.

I'm afraid you'll fall! Chu Shiyu muttered to himself as he pulled the person into his arms and held her hostage as he walked away.

"Just install the lid. I'll ask the craftsman to measure it. You don't need to take any more glances at it!"

"Okay! I get it! I won't look at it anymore! Let go!" Liu Rusi felt like she was a shoulder bag, basically being half-carried away by him!