The two of them talked and then went up to the yard for a walk.
There were many loquats, plums, mulberries, and bayberries in the garden, which looked very attractive as they were hanging on the branches.
The two of them held a few in each basket. They washed and sundried them, so that the whole family could eat it.
Wild lemons had grown quite a bit, so had peaches, as well as dates, persimmons, pears, grapes, and figs.
The watermelons' veins were everywhere, casting a patch of greenness on the ground, looking really interesting.
The watermelons were round and in different sizes. The large ones were as big as bowls. Qiao Xuan felt that she could pour in some power so the watermelons could be ready to be eaten earlier.
What a wonderful thing!
The pomegranates were also blooming, and they were particularly bright and dazzling. No wonder there was a sentence in the ancient poem, 'In May, the pomegranates shine brightly'.
The planted Panax notoginseng and ginseng had already sprouted and grown more than two inches tall. Gastrodia looked even more energetic and neat.
Shao Taotao was very careful and excited when seeing the medical herbs. They were all worth a lot of money!
She was so happy for Fifth Sister-in-law, even though the plants did not belong to her.
By evening, the whole family was back and learned about the maid.
For farmers' families, it was a fresh thing, so Liu Yan attracted a lot of attention as if she were someone rare.
Liu Yan started to feel quite proud inwardly. She could not help but straighten her back, thinking that these rural people must have not seen the noble air around a girl like her.
The maids from large families were surely more noble than ordinary daughters!
Also, she was in a better position than those from the large families, since she was working at the officer's home.
These rural people must feel so ashamed and jealous seeing her!
But those villagers felt strange as to why she looked so proud?
Only Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan could tell what she was thinking, and they rolled their eyes inwardly.
Qiao Xuan decided to get two crucian carps from the backyard water tank and braised them.
There were many fish and shrimps in the river and Shao Xiaoqi always brought back some and added them to the water tank when they ran out of ingredients.
Qiao Xuan was used to making meat dishes, and Ms. Xu, as well as Shao Taotao would take care of the preparations.
Seeing Qiao Xuan working so hard in the kitchen, Liu Yan stayed far away from them, fearing that Qiao Xuan would ask her to help as well.
She laughed at Second Miss. She was even worse than a maid like her.
She had never needed to do any work in the kitchen.
She was going to remember this and tell Elder Miss about this. Her Elder Miss was definitely going to be very happy.
Qiao Xuan made braised carps, steamed eggs and then walked out of the kitchen.
Ms. Xu made fried yam slices and stewed beans.
They added a bowl of sponge gourd and the whole family started to eat together.
Before Liu Yan could see the dishes, Qiao Xuan took her to the kitchen.
"We don't have any rules here, you don't have to stay by our side when we eat. You can eat in the kitchen if you want to."
Staying by their side? What were they dreaming about?