227, Xiaoyuan Comes (1 Update)
“Actually, your calligraphy is quite good!” Li Hengyi said, against his better conscience.
“…” Xie Zhinuan glanced at him and chuckled.
She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that.
But after her initial complaints, Xie Zhinuan arranged her schedule, ensuring she woke up half an hour earlier no matter how busy she was, practicing calligraphy for a quarter of an hour, reading for another quarter, and doing the same in the evenings.
Then they returned to the topic of wine.
After some thought, Xie Zhinuan said, “I did find a few places, but I’m not familiar with wine and can’t really tell the good from the bad. How about you accompany me to have a look when you have the time?”
She had found a few wine workshops, but Xie Zhinuan hadn’t visited them yet.
She thought that Li Hengyi, being accustomed to fine wines, would be able to discern their quality.
“Sure!” Li Hengyi agreed at once.
A flicker of excitement stirred in his heart.
Xie Zhinuan sat for a while, agreed on the time to set out, called for Li Hengyi, then went off to attend to her errands.
Li Hengyi sat by the window alone, holding a book and smiling faintly.
“…” Yuanbao stole a glance.
Musing to himself, what exactly is this thing called love?
It was beyond his understanding.
On her end, Xie Zhinuan worked hard to teach those from the braised meat shop how to make the meat more aromatic. The most important elements-spices and Spiritual Spring water-were already there. They just needed to master the heat, choose the right meat, and perfect the stewing time, so she didn’t need to worry too much.
The residence had been tidied up with a new door opened on the side.
She considered inviting Aunt Chen and grandma Chen to the county town. As for the residence, she thought about selling it to Xiaoyuan and Dong Sheng or asking them to look after it…
Whether to sell the house to them or to ask them to manage it was a decision Xie Zhinuan hadn’t made yet.
Before she had made her decision, Xiaoyuan had already found her way to the county town.
Accompanied by her older brother.
Upon seeing Xie Zhinuan, Xiaoyuan greeted her with a smile, “Master!”
After some days apart, Xiaoyuan looked healthier, her eyes and brows full of happiness and joy.
“Xiaoyuan!”
Xie Zhinuan invited Xiaoyuan to sit down in the parlor.
After taking a sip of tea, Xiaoyuan said, “I thought it would be hard to find you in the county town, but as soon as I arrived, I heard people talking about the braised meat shop. I went to take a look, and sure enough, it was Xieji Braised Meat. I asked a few questions and then found my way here!”
Xiaoyuan’s eyes and brows were smiling.
She then took out her things, “All these were picked from Xiaohe Village-tangerines, pomelos, and these melons and fruits, tomatoes and the like. Aunt Chen knew we were coming and asked us to inquire when you would collect everything from Xiaohe Village and bring it to the county town!”
“Has something happened in Xiaohe Village?” Xie Zhinuan asked.
She took a few tangerines and had Silly Girl send them to Li Hengyi first.
She also peeled one for herself to eat.
The taste was truly exquisite.
“There’s no big issue, just that we’ve harvested quite a bit of Jiji grass and the house can’t hold it all, so we’ve stored it in the residence across the street. Also, there are always people causing trouble at the town’s braised meat shop. I reported it to the Governor’s Office and had those troublemakers arrested. Only then did we learn someone paid them to cause trouble. They were punished with caning but no one found out who was behind it,” Xiaoyuan explained, visibly angry.
Such disturbances had hurt the good business, causing some losses, and she was understandably upset.
Xie Zhinuan frowned.
Her hand holding the tangerine paused momentarily, “No leads were discovered?”
“Hmm, the Town Chief said there was no news. Master, do you think someone’s intentionally targeting us?”
After reflecting for a moment, Xie Zhinuan said, “There’s no rush on this matter. When you go back, make sure to secure the well, don’t let anyone poison the water. Also, continue to do good deeds but don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. If someone comes to make trouble, drive them off forcefully. If anything happens, I’ll take care of it!”
Chapter 228