The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 53: Explicit

Chapter 53: Explicit

Huang Tusui finally learned the truth from others’ mouths. The Song Yuyan and Tang Zhi whom he thought had reached the stage of discussing marriage turned out to be just childhood sweethearts.

He asked his dad again, “In these times, how likely is it for a boy and a girl who are childhood sweethearts to buy land together?”

The matter of Song Yuyan and Tang Zhi each buying land for the father and son of Widower Huang to plant vegetables had not been known to the neighbors. On the surface, this vegetable garden was managed by Tang Zhi, so he had always thought Song Yuyan was the boss of the vegetable garden, and Tang Zhi was the one in charge at home.

His dad asked back, “Are you talking about a couple who ‘are already married but were once childhood sweethearts’? Besides that, there are no other possibilities.”

Huang Tusui could not figure it out no matter how he thought, and in the end he just shook his head: In these times now, are relationships between childhood sweethearts this complicated?

____

Besides working hard by his dad’s side as usual, whenever Song Yuyan appeared, Huang Tusui would definitely follow her and secretly learn the new methods she had figured out for getting rid of insects.

Song Yuyan felt he was still very eager to learn, but this twelve-year-old boy sometimes suddenly looked at her with a thoughtful expression on his face, and she wondered if the System had added some strange buff to her, otherwise why did everyone around her have some odd behaviors?

Finally one day, Song Yuyan stopped by the thatched hut where the Huang father and son were temporarily staying, and Huang Tusui took the chance to ask her, “Is Song Dalang childhood sweethearts with Madam Tang?”

Song Yuyan did not think much, “Sort of!”

“How long have you been childhood sweethearts?”

Song Yuyan calculated for a moment. Although she had only known Tang Zhi for two years, the original host had known Tang Zhi for many years already, so she said, “Six or seven years. What’s up?”

But she saw Huang Tusui’s small face seriously think for a bit, and say, “I also want to find a childhood sweetheart like Madam Tang in the future. I wonder if it’s too late to start getting to know one now.”

Song Yuyan paused, her gaze deepening as she looked at him, “What kind of childhood sweetheart like Madam Tang?”

This little kid wouldn’t have developed some improper thoughts, would he?

For a moment, bloody stories like “poor boy and rich young lady” and “older rich woman and younger wolf dog” flashed through her mind.

Huang Tusui did not notice the change in the boss’s eyes, but instead said with longing, “Kind and generous, bold yet careful, and has a vegetable garden at home! Hmm, then I also need to buy a piece of vegetable land first, best if it’s adjacent to hers…”

Song Yuyan unconsciously let out a breath of relief, “Then you work hard.”

“My dad also said I won’t find one, because if I want to buy land together with a childhood sweetheart, that’s no different from telling people outright that we plan to become a family, and that’s why we’re so close without distinction. But no matter, worst case I find a childhood sweetheart who can become my wife later!”

At this time, the boy’s face showed none of his usual cleverness, but instead had the innocence that should belong to his age.

Song Yuyan, “…”

She did not know if it was her illusion, but she always felt this little kid was hinting at something to her.

Immediately she shook off this thought. This little kid was only twelve years old, where would the hint come from? She was overthinking it!

“He did remind me though…” Song Yuyan thought to herself. When she had said she wanted to invest in Tang Zhi’s vegetable garden back then, she had not considered the issue of their identities. Outsiders did not know they had set up a vegetable garden together, but the Huang father and son knew, so in their eyes, was what she did very unreasonable?

Song Yuyan did not regret doing it. Because when the idea had come up back then, investing to make money was secondary; the main thing was hoping to make the Tang family’s vegetable garden achieve maximum efficiency. This way, Tang Zhi would not always have to worry about people stealing vegetables from the garden, nor work under the blazing sun all the time, nor patrol in wind and rain…

Madam Tang felt sorry that her hands always got injured, so she specially had someone install a wooden handle on the carving knife, and how could she not feel sorry for the young Madam Tang who had to endure wind and rain, sun and rain from such a young age?

Huang Tusui asked her again, “Song Dalang, have you ever thought of making Madam Tang your wife?”

Song Yuyan paused for a moment, then looked at him again.

This was no longer a hint, but explicit!

Huang Tusui did not get a response for a long time, so he looked up at her, then heard her ask, “Are you very curious?”

Huang Tusui’s eyes rolled around, and he smiled shyly, “I’m thinking, if I find a childhood sweetheart, I wonder if she will like me? What if she doesn’t like me? Then our thing about buying land together won’t happen!”

Song Yuyan, “You’re not old, but you think far ahead. Since you want a childhood sweetheart to be your wife so much, then you should hurry up and get to know a childhood sweetheart. In two more years, forget childhood sweethearts, even the pony will be gone.”

Huang Tusui recovered his clever look again, “That won’t do. If I don’t carefully watch the vegetable garden with my dad, I’ll get my wages deducted. Without wages, where will I get money to buy land!”

Song Yuyan smiled. She got up and said a couple words to Widower Huang, then left there.

Huang Tusui saw her walk far away, then slipped to the door and said, “He didn’t answer.”

The person inside said, “I heard it.”

In a moment, Tang Haogen came out from inside. He touched his chin, somewhat happy: No answer means there’s a chance. I knew this kid wasn’t clueless; he definitely has feelings for A-Zhi, but it looks like he has some concerns.

It was no wonder Tang Haogen used this way to test Song Yuyan. Mainly, after the new year Tang Zhi would be sixteen, and if Song Yuyan still had not expressed anything, then he should also consider other marriage candidates for his sister, to avoid delaying her lifelong matter because of Song Yuyan.

For this test, he decided to give Song Yuyan another half year. If Song Yuyan still did not express, then even if Song Yuyan was excellent again, he could not let his sister follow this person.

____

Song Yuyan did not think Huang Tusui was someone who would care about her and Tang Zhi’s lifelong matters. Although his words had no flaws, but in the latter half of the conversation, the purpose was too strong, so she knew for sure someone had taught Huang Tusui to say it that way.

And this person… she thought, besides Clerk Tang, there was no one else.

She was not unaware of Tang Haogen’s meaning. To say before, she had indeed been a bit unclear, worrying that she had misunderstood, after all people here did not express thoughts as directly as in modern times, so subtle that she always worried she was overimagining.

But Aunt Fierce was not such a subtle person, so one time she inquired about her and Tang Zhi’s matters. Before she could deny, Aunt Fierce saw through her thoughts and said, “You want to say there’s no such thing, right? Heh, go ahead and deny it. After you deny it, I’ll see if your face is made of iron, thick and hard.”

Song Yuyan, “…”

Aunt Fierce’s scolding words had reached a new height.

Although Aunt Fierce did not say much more, she did learn that in the eyes of outsiders, her interactions with Tang Zhi had long exceeded the boundaries of neighbors or ordinary friends.

So, later when Tang Haogen made a few indirect probes and hints, she then understood that this big brother had also misunderstood her relationship with Tang Zhi.

It did not matter if Aunt Fierce, Tang Haogen and others had misunderstood; what she cared more about was, how did Madam Tang view the relationship between them?

What she least wanted to see was the golden eight o’clock idol drama plot of “Tang Zhi mistaking her for a boy and falling for her.”

The System asked slowly in a voice full of affection, “What you mind is Tang Zhi liking you, or liking the male identity you?”

Song Yuyan, “…Are you switching to psychologist today?”

System, “My identity has always been the host’s caring little padded jacket.”

Song Yuyan, “Oh, right, I forgot you only chat and have no other uses.”

System, “Hate it, don’t change the subject. If you have issues in your heart, you need to vent them in time, otherwise you’ll collapse mentally from confusion and pressure, then get depressed, fall into world-hating emotions, and finally commit perverted acts like stealing people’s underwear!”

Song Yuyan thought to herself, with such a silly System around, the possibility of her turning perverted was pretty high.

She still bickered but seriously answered the System’s question, “What I mind is ‘her liking Song Dalang’.”

The System had thought she would answer “I don’t know,” so the draft it had prepared for half a day had no place to be used.

It suddenly understood that Song Yuyan had actually always known her own emotional orientation; it was just that sometimes she was too rational, so it did not show obviously.

____

Song Yuyan did not go ask Tang Haogen, and did not even mention this matter again. It was just that Huang Tusui would occasionally glance at her with little looks, making her both amused and helpless.

Soon, the vegetables in the garden sprouted. Although they were not as fresh and green as those grown in the Tang family vegetable garden, for a plot that had been harmed by pests, this harvest was still very good.

Because the weather had already turned much colder, and there would even be frost in the mornings, to prevent the frost from freezing the vegetables, Song Yuyan gathered a lot of rice straw and covered it over the vegetable seedlings. This method, though not as effective as greenhouse planting, was how the older generation did it before greenhouse vegetables came about.

Of course, there were still many people who did not understand her approach. Song Yuyan did not say much; anyway, these were all theoretical knowledge she had accumulated from previous observations. If the experiment succeeded, great; if it failed, she could accept it calmly too.

Not long after, everyone magically discovered that this method really worked quite well. In such cold weather, few vegetable bugs could be seen, so this crop of vegetables grew much better than the previous one.

Originally in winter, the vegetables people could grow were only frost-resistant ones like Chinese cabbage, and many people believed in letting the land rest in winter. With fewer people growing vegetables, the supply decreased, and prices rose accordingly. When Song Yuyan and Tang Zhi’s this crop of vegetables came out, they were quickly bought up by the surrounding folks.

Someone saw there were still quite a few vegetables in the garden and said, “There’s still some there, why not sell them?”

Tang Zhi said, “Those are to be sent to the lumber yards, shipyards, and kilns.”

Neither she nor Song Yuyan had expected that they could sell so many vegetables, so before the first crop came out, Song Yuyan had spent a lot of effort to negotiate these deals; their vegetables would be supplied from here.

Although the buying price from the lumber yards and such was a bit lower, they bought in large quantities, so overall, Tang Zhi and Song Yuyan’s earnings were still quite significant.

Moreover, Song Yuyan, because of the cooperation with the lumber yards, also bought a lot of charcoal at a lower price. She divided some to the Tang family, and gave a few pounds to the Huang father and son; it was enough to burn for a long time.

By the time December arrived, Tang Zhi, based on her past experience in growing vegetables, said to Song Yuyan, “Once we enter the twelfth lunar month, the vegetable garden needs to rest. The ground will be frozen then, and seeds planted won’t sprout easily.”

Song Yuyan took it in, but she did not plan to leave the land idle. Instead, she took the chance to deeply plow all the unplanted areas, eliminating those hibernating pests and eggs.

Besides the vegetable garden matters, she also had to often worry about the wax garden situation. While many folks stopped their work because of the cold and comfortably enjoyed the ease of the New Year period, she was still weaving her bamboo crafts, and taking advantage of folks buying New Year goods, she figured out New Year gift packages and made a small profit.

Tang Zhi saw the person who used to be the most idle become a big busybody, while she, who could only properly rest during the New Year each year, had instead become the idle one. A sense of urgency rose in her heart, so besides settling the Tang family’s accounts for the whole year clearly, she also borrowed her little sister’s copybook to practice writing.

Tang Ye’s copybook was handwritten by Song Yuyan herself. Every time Tang Zhi copied it, she had the feeling of touching Song Yuyan, which made it hard for her to practice calmly, not to mention her heart beat particularly fast.

In the end, she grabbed her little sister, “How is that Song Yuyan guy so narcissistic, not letting you practice other copybooks but instead hers? Don’t you have other copybooks?”

Tang Ye, “…”

She pointed at the pile of copybooks on the table, “Big Sister, there are copybooks from every famous calligrapher up there. It was you who just flipped to Song Dalang’s copybook and didn’t look further, then decided to take it to practice.”

Tang Zhi’s face turned red, and she huffed in anger as she switched to another copybook, then chased her little sister away, “Go do your homework.”

Tang Ye did not leave. She was already fourteen this year, no longer as naive and ignorant as two years ago. The sisters had always stayed in the same room, so she had seen some of her big sister’s feelings toward her.

“Big Sister, why not take Song Dalang’s copybook back and hide it?”

Tang Zhi shot her a sideways glare, “What’s good about hiding her copybook? You’re hiding words in your words, aren’t you!”

“No.” Tang Ye quickly denied.

Tang Zhi snorted, “After learning bamboo carving from her for a year, you’re as disobedient as Bing’er.”

Tang Ye stuck out her tongue, went forward to hug Tang Zhi’s waist, and said with a playful smile, “No way, I still listen to Big Sister the most. Big Sister, do you want me to help you sound out Song Dalang’s intentions? If he also has interest in you…”

The death glare shooting from her big sister had just disappeared, but with this sentence it stabbed straight back at her. She subconsciously let go of Tang Zhi and ran out of the room without looking back, “I know nothing!”

“You really are hiding words in your words—” Tang Zhi cursed once. By the time she chased out, Tang Ye was already out of sight, “Count on you running fast!”

Thinking of the pointed words from her little sister, Tang Zhi’s face flushed again, but in a moment, she suppressed this fawn-thumping feeling.

It had been over half a year since she vaguely realized she had feelings for Song Yuyan. At first, she had not thought much, only believing that since the feeling in her heart could not be controlled, then just let it be natural.

But over this past half year, she occasionally thought deeper: What had made her develop this feeling for Song Yuyan?

She clearly knew Song Yuyan was a girl, so there was no situation of her being confused by Song Yuyan’s outward male identity. Then, on what basis did she think Song Yuyan would be the same as her?

This rational thought became clearer with age, and it was like a basin of cold water, pouring down mercilessly when her love was budding…

As she was thinking, Tang Ye ran back, “Big Sister, Song Dalang asked me to pass a note to you.”

“Isn’t she home?”

“She is.”

Tang Zhi could not hold back; while taking the note, she rolled her eyes, “What’s wrong with her? She’s clearly home; if there’s something to say, just walk two steps to the door and say it. Why bother with these notes? Could it be she knows I’m practicing writing, so she’s deliberately testing me? But I’m practicing writing, not illiterate!”

She unfolded the note and looked, then paused. Tang Ye’s heart itched; she wanted to lean over and see, but remembering the etiquette Song Yuyan usually taught, she did not even stretch her neck.

“Big Sister, what does it say?”

“She invites me to see the lanterns on Lantern Festival.” Tang Zhi said, paused, and the corners of her mouth curved up, “What a waste of paper. Wait a bit; I’ll write back to her.”

Tang Ye, “…”

Big Sister, if you think it’s a waste of paper, then don’t write back!

Was she unfortunately becoming the tool for passing messages between the two?

Song Dalang and Big Sister really know how to play!