The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 49: Charm

Chapter 49: Charm

Liu Chuo set aside the matter of summoning commoners to dredge the two lakes, and this was the result after he had thought it over deeply. That day, the stories carved on Song Yuyan’s bamboo carvings had left him displeased in his heart, so he had not met Song Yuyan, but those stories carved on the bamboo carvings had still imprinted themselves in the bottom of his heart.

Although he could figure out the intention behind them, he worried that he had guessed wrong. Moreover, afterward, he somewhat regretted that he had been so stubborn and self-willed that day, driving the person away without listening to the other party’s explanation.

He thought for several days without any result, and just then, when his wife went out to the temple to burn incense, she heard the complaints from the common people about being summoned as laborers during the busy farming season, and she came back and told him about it.

He said, “The common people are illiterate and do not know that this is for their own good; later they will be grateful to me.”

His wife rolled her eyes. “You will stay here for at most three years; by the time the common people know your good intentions, you will no longer be here. Besides, everyone says that Yang Guang’s canal construction was harmful at the time but beneficial for a thousand years to come, but what was Yang Guang’s end? Does the official also want to learn from Yang Guang?”

Liu Chuo was choked up, but he indeed could not refute it, and at the same time, more questions piled up in his heart; he was not clear whether the situation in Mingzhou was also as his wife had said.

Finally, he took advantage of a day off from duties, changed out of his official robes, put on short brown clothes, dressed like an ordinary commoner, and walked out of the yamen, and he also had someone go invite Song Yuyan to Treasure Mountain for an outing.

The reason for choosing this place was because of the painting on the bamboo carving; Liu Chuo believed that the painting had only carved a part, so there should be other scenery, and he wanted to appreciate the full painting.

Song Yuyan brought the painting and came; when she saw him, she was not tense or afraid like ordinary commoners seeing an official. Of course, the courtesy she should have was still very proper, and it did not make Liu Chuo feel any disrespect.

Liu Chuo did not mention that day’s matter but treated Song Yuyan as a pure “artisan” and, in the process of talking with her, he developed the idea of testing Song Yuyan’s cultural knowledge.

Song Yuyan: “…”

She said to the System, “The bamboo carving path is too difficult; I even thought I had seen my grandfather and teacher, and now they are grasping my cultural lessons all the way to ancient times.”

Although she teased Liu Chuo’s approach in her heart with the System, she still seriously answered Liu Chuo’s questions; for those she could answer, she explained in detail, and for those she could not, she did not pretend to understand but humbly sought instruction.

For this, Liu Chuo was still quite satisfied. Although Song Yuyan had read few books, she could recite the Analects and the Erya that she had learned, and after studying them day and night, she also had her own insights. If she learned some other classics, it would be no problem for her to take the examination for a scholar.

It was just that a scholar was after all from the miscellaneous subjects, not the jinshi examination, and he, who came from the jinshi examination, still somewhat looked down on people from the miscellaneous subjects. However, he did not think too much about it, because Song Yuyan’s talent in painting and calligraphy quickly raised the evaluation in his heart a bit higher.

The two people exchanged views on painting and calligraphy, and then Liu Chuo got to the main topic.

He had no intention of punishing Song Yuyan; after all, through the exchange, he also understood Song Yuyan’s intention—she did not hope that he would kick an iron plate here without knowing what was going on.

At this time, Song Yuyan then said, “Actually, this little one does not know the classics well, so although these paintings on the hollowed-out bamboo engravings were carved by me, the one telling the stories is someone else. And today, he happens to be here as well.”

Liu Chuo became even more curious and had Song Yuyan call that person over.

Tang Haogen then came before Liu Chuo in trepidation; unlike Song Yuyan, after all, the highest-ranking official he had dealt with was the county magistrate, and facing the prefect who governed the whole prefecture, his heart was still somewhat tense.

Although his heart was tense, he still sorted out his words in the end, and combining the situation in Mingzhou, he analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Liu Chuo’s policies.

Liu Chuo listened to his words, and the expression on his face showed no change; the two people also could not see what he was thinking, so when Tang Haogen finished speaking and Liu Chuo fell into silence, Tang Haogen felt twice as tormented in his heart, and even Song Yuyan could not help but feel anxious in her heart.

Liu Chuo finally just smiled and then said, “I understand.”

Song Yuyan and Tang Haogen exchanged a glance, and a big stone fell in both their hearts. No matter whether Liu Chuo had taken it in or not, they had already done their best.

After Liu Chuo went back, he did not act immediately but went to the countryside again to inquire about more news, and only after making himself more aware of the situation in Mingzhou did he sigh, and with great regret, he set the plan aside.

To avoid making everyone suspect why he had suddenly changed his mind, he could only say outwardly that it was because the weather was bad, and in this kind of weather where typhoons occurred frequently, the government’s focus should all be on farming and civil affairs.

No matter how many people believed this explanation, anyway, whether it was the common people or those local tyrants and evil gentry, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The former did not think much, while the latter could not help but mutter, “Could it be that our overtures worked? But we have not found that Lu Fang’s bamboo carving to send over these days.”

That was right; when Lu Fang’s name had become famous, it could not be without the role played by these local tyrants and evil gentry:

They all wanted to cater to his tastes and find objects that Liu Chuo liked to win him over. But if they talked about culture, they were not high enough to discuss it with Liu Chuo; if they talked about giving gifts, they lacked creativity, and apart from vulgar things like gold, silver, jewelry, there were only fine carriages and beautiful women. But Liu Chuo had the aloofness of a scholar and disliked these vulgar things the most, so they could only follow the crowd and flock to inquire about “Lu Fang.”

Although they later still found out that “Lu Fang” was Song Yuyan, Song Yuyan did not have a single bamboo carving work on hand.

Just when they were about to coerce and entice Song Yuyan to quickly carve hollowed-out bamboo engravings for them, the yamen announced that Liu Chuo had canceled the relevant policies on dredging the two lakes.

As a result, the Song family, which had been bustling with visitors for many days, suddenly became deserted again.

Tang Zhi was still worried that Song Yuyan could not stand such a drop and wanted to come comfort her, but when she arrived at the door, she heard Song Yuyan breathe a sigh of relief. “Finally, I can have some quiet days; if these people come again, my bamboo weaving work will be delayed!”

Tang Zhi: “…”

She finally understood where Ye’er’s obsession with bamboo weaving came from; it was all learned from this person!

Ye’er was also very happy; if the Song family had firecrackers, he would probably take them out and set them off. “These people come every day, and to show closeness, they even try to bribe me with malt sugar; am I the kind of person who is so easily bribed?!”

Song Yuyan: “You spit out the malt sugar they gave you first, then say that.”

Tang Zhi, standing outside the door, saw the interaction of the three siblings, and her gaze naturally focused on that slender figure, and this heart suddenly beat rapidly again.

This time, she finally understood what that awkward feeling from before was.

_____

“Sister Tang.”

With Bing’er’s call, Song Yuyan also noticed the figure standing at the door; she got up and went out to greet her. “Miss Tang, you came at just the right time.”

Tang Zhi gathered her thoughts and looked at her with slight expectation. “Have you made some new and ingenious gadget again?”

Song Yuyan seemed to see a little radish head full of anticipation for receiving a gift in this instant, but this time she really had not thought of any small and elegant object. To avoid disappointing this little girl, she felt in her pocket, took out a money pouch, and handed it to the little girl.

Tang Zhi took the money pouch and looked at her doubtfully, waiting for her explanation.

“I want to hire Miss and Miss’s ox cart; this is the wage.”

Tang Zhi: “…”

She took a deep breath, and then after her anger had built up to a certain level, she rolled a very forceful white eye.

Song Yuyan: “…”

Miss Tang had not rolled her eyes at her for a long time, and she actually missed it a bit.

Tang Zhi looked at the bamboo in the Tang family’s courtyard and asked doubtfully, “Don’t you still have a lot of bamboo? What are you going to do?”

“Go find privet and wax trees.”

The matter of Song Yuyan cooperating with Lou Gao and Bai Can to raise wax insects, Tang Zhi and Tang Haogen knew about it; the siblings both felt that this might be an opportunity for Song Yuyan to make a fortune, so they had also given many ideas on the contract.

However, according to the plan, the one providing money and people was Lou Gao, but right now the groves for planting wax trees and privet had not yet been found, and Song Yuyan was a serious person; since she had decided to develop this business, she would not be a hands-off boss.

Tang Zhi said, “The Lou family did not send people to look?”

“They sent people, but I also need to pay attention to this matter; after all, wax insects are quite delicate, and the requirements for tree species are different for parasitizing and for producing wax.”

Tang Zhi had not heard the breeding method for wax insects before, and now she became curious. “How so? Do wax insects have different requirements for different trees?”

“Hmm, although privet, small-leaf privet, wax trees, and so on are all trees that wax insects parasitize, wax insects generally like to parasitize on privet trees, but the wax secreted on wax trees is much more than the wax secreted on privet trees.”

These were experiences gained by later generations in raising wax insects, and at this time, who would think about so much; they only knew that privet or wax trees were trees that wax insects would parasitize. But because wax trees were rare in the south, many places’ people did not even know that wax insects could be raised.

So what Song Yuyan thought was to find privet to hang the insects, and when the female insects laid eggs in May or June, move them to wax trees. As for the insect strains, Song Yuyan had Lou Gao directly send people to the Huai River region to buy them; as long as the first batch of wax insects was raised, there would be no need to buy insect strains from other places.

After Tang Zhi listened to Song Yuyan talk about breeding for a while, she asked again, “Why did you tell me all this at once? Could it be that facing Fifth Lang Bai and Young Master Lou family, you are also this silly?”

Being called “silly” by a little girl, Song Yuyan was unconvinced. “Miss is not the same as them.”

Tang Zhi’s heart went thump, thump. “Where is it not the same?”

Song Yuyan thought for a moment. “The gender is not the same.”

Tang Zhi: “…”

Was this gender discrimination?

Song Yuyan saw her puffed-up appearance and could not help but laugh out loud. “I am teasing you, little girl. The reason I told Miss is because I believe that even if Miss knows how to raise wax insects, she will not have crooked thoughts.”

Her trust in Bai Can and Lou Gao was based on the contract, but her trust in Tang Zhi was pure recognition of her character—although this kind of trust had no basis at all, but who let Tang Zhi have this kind of charm that made her trust!

Moreover, she actually also wanted Tang Zhi to master this breeding technique; no matter whether this little girl would抢 her rice bowl in the future, letting the Tang family have one more skill could be considered her repayment to the Tang family for all the help over the years on behalf of the original owner!

Tang Zhi did not know what she was thinking, but her heart felt much smoother because of her words, so she gladly took the money pouch, drove the ox cart, and went with her to survey around Cixi County.

Song Yuyan was very attentive to this matter but not anxious at all; every time Tang Zhi went out with her, it was like sightseeing, and she asked, “You have been going out frequently lately; what about the work at home being delayed?”

Song Yuyan said, “Recently I sold some bamboo carvings, which made up for two months’ income from selling bamboo weaving, so slowing down for this month is no problem.”

Before, she had given Lou Gao a poem tube, and as a result, Lou Gao came again shamelessly to ask for a bamboo carving for his father Lou Hao as well. Song Yuyan, having time, casually carved a brush holder for him.

Lou Gao did not take it for nothing and directly gave eight mace of money, about four hundred fifty-some wen.

And Lou Gao’s action was like opening some buff; the Song family, which had finally quieted down, became lively again because one after another people came admiringly to seek bamboo carvings.

And among the people seeking bamboo carvings, the first to rush in were the rich second generations from the county school; although there were not many studious ones among them, they would gather together on ordinary days to mutter about current affairs.

At first, when they heard about “Lu Fang’s” bamboo carvings, they did not take it to heart; after all, they had many high-end, grand, and classy jade carvings in their collections, and bamboo carvings, this kind of worthless object, were equally worthless in their eyes.

Until one rich second generation took out a paper fan, on which was a landscape painting with profound artistic conception. And what was eye-catching was that the fan ribs had also been worked on carefully; the carved scenes connected with the landscape painting on the paper, and others could tell at a glance that the fan ribs and the painting on the paper were one piece, with a very ingenious conception.

The painting on this paper fan happened to be drawn by Lu Fang, and the elegant and exquisite hollowing on the fan ribs was also carved by Lu Fang.

He said, “This is what I sought with heavy gold.”

Speaking of this matter, it had to go back to this rich second generation’s family; their family had dealings with the Lou family, and his old father was also friends with Lou Hao.

One day Lou Hao invited old friends to gather, and his old father went too, but he came back fuming and said that he had been shown off by Lou Hao full in the face, and this made his heart uncomfortable.

The rich second generation thought that his family was no poorer than the Lou family; what gold, silver, treasures, rare birds and beasts had his old father not seen, and he could still be shown off?

His old father was still there indignantly shouting, “What Lou Hao has, how can I not have?!”

So the rich second generation then watched his old father send people to buy Lu Fang’s bamboo carving, but the people who came back said that the “artisan” named Song Yuyan refused him.

The rich second generation still thought his old father would fly into a rage out of humiliation, but unexpectedly his old father had foreseen it. “That fellow Lou Hao told me that it was the prefect’s favorite that he had sought with great difficulty, showing how big Lu Fang’s temper is, so we cannot come on strong; we must come soft!”

The old father saw the rich second generation dangling in front of him and came up with a plan, immediately directing him to go to the Song family. “I heard that Lou Gao moved Lu Fang because of filial piety, so you go show some filial piety too, perform it well for me, and Father will give you a gift.”

Since the old father had spoken, the rich second generation could not refuse, so he could only go to the Song family to act as a filial son.

No matter whether Song Yuyan believed his acted play or not, she finally agreed to help carve a hollowed-out piece.

The rich second generation also said, “It is best to make it something different from the others.” This way, his old father would have face, right?

Song Yuyan then drew a landscape painting for him and made a paper fan; because the process was many and it involved her painting, the price was slightly higher.

The rich second generation bought it without even wrinkling his brow: the more expensive, the better; only if it was expensive could it let his old father outdo Lou Hao, right?

However, this paper fan had not been in his old father’s hands for a few days before he shamelessly took it out to show off. And his classmates really were stirred to competitive thoughts by the showing off.

…

Song Yuyan also said, “Putting this matter aside, I also do not plan to spend this much time every month on surveying, because if it is delayed any longer, it will miss the best time to build the wax garden.”

Tang Zhi saw that Song Yuyan had a plan in her heart and did not say more.

The two people searched and sought for more than half a month, and with the Lou family and Bai Can each playing their roles, they finally found a low hill forest near Three Passes Mountain fifteen li south of the county; there were many privet trees growing there, and it was close to a water source, the soil was also suitable for transplanting wax trees, and it was one of the few wooded areas not reclaimed as farmland.

Of course, the most important factor was that there were many wax insects appearing there. The presence of wax insects parasitizing showed that the area was suitable for wax insects to survive.

And it was precisely because many people did not recognize wax insects that they thought this piece of forest had severe insect damage, so it had not been developed into an orchard.

After more than a month’s exploration and discussion, they finally settled on this place.

Lou Gao hurriedly went to handle the procedures for enclosing this piece of forest, and the people who went to the Huai River region also brought back news, saying that there were indeed people raising wax insects there.

As for how to buy wax insects at the lowest price, Song Yuyan and Bai Can did not care much; this matter still had to be handled by the professional Lou family, and they only took care of building the wax garden.

However, on the matter of selecting insect strains, Song Yuyan ran into difficulty. The “excellent insect strains” and “insect strains that should be eliminated” that she talked about, although Bai Can could understand, he would not identify them, and she happened to dislike insects and was unwilling to get too close at all.

Tang Zhi, who was temporarily hired as a driver, figured it out. “You are not afraid of insects, are you?”

Song Yuyan was very frank. “Is this strange?”

Tang Zhi: “…”

Having known this person for so many years, this was the first time she knew that she originally had something she feared.

Tang Zhi felt that this person finally had a bit more of the breath of ordinary life.