Chapter 401 - Chapter 401: Chapter 401 - Dividing the Land_1 (1/2)

Chapter 401: Chapter 401 – Dividing the Land_1

Wei Ruo had no intention of being overly involved with Chu Lan, hence, she spoke sparingly throughout. She only responded to him when he initiated the conversation, and she was silent when he was silent.

Despite this, Chu Lan did not appear upset, but quietly enjoyed his time with Wei Ruo.

“I find that the days I spent on the farm were actually the most comfortable ones I’ve had during my time in Taizhou prefecture,” Chu Lan commented thoughtfully.

Wei Ruo wanted to retort that during that time he was physically wrecked and his face was horribly disfigured; how could he describe those days as comfortable? She figured he must have lost his senses!

Wei Ruo did not engage in the conversation, focusing instead on stoking the fire in the furnace.

Suddenly, Chu Lan untied a jade pendant from his waist, placed it on the table, then pushed it towards Wei Ruo.

“You should keep this.”

“Master Zhu, I’ve already accepted your medical fee, there’s no need for more,” Wei Ruo replied.

“Take it. If you ever need help in Capital City, you can use this pendant to find me. Perhaps I might be able to assist you.”

Before Wei Ruo could reject him again, Chu Lan added: “If you don’t accept, I won’t leave today.”

Wei Ruo was left speechless, unable to utter her ‘No’.

After numerous thoughts, caught between accepting the jade pendant and Chu Lan not leaving, Wei Ruo chose the former.

“I will accept it then,” Wei Ruo picked up the jade pendant and placed it in her pouch.

Once the tea was consumed, Chu Lan got up to leave.

“Mr. Xu, until our paths cross again,” Chu Lan offered a bow, formally bidding Wei Ruo farewell.

“Until our paths cross again,” Wei Ruo responded.

Chu Lan turned around and left the farm.

Before getting onto his horse, he gave one last glance to the place where he had resided over the winter.

He then rode away, his black silhouette fading into the distance until it eventually disappeared from Wei Ruo’s view.

Once Chu Lan had left, Wei Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.

She was unsure why Chu Lan was so fixated on repaying her for saving his life. He’d already given her silver as repayment, so they should be even by now.

Furthermore, given her attitude towards him, it was surprising that a proud man like him still insisted on showing gratitude. She didn’t expect him to have such a strong sense of gratitude.

Declining to mull it over further, Wei Ruo hurriedly went to Caili Farm and Stone Village to inspect the growth of the crops and the state of the winery before returning to the General’s Residence.

Upon returning, Wei Ruo was unable to rest. She pulled out the maps of the two farms and nearby mountain villages again, with the intention of finding another empty plot of land.

The fabric Wei Ruo had previously promised to the Madams of several noble families was met with their fondness. Now, more people were asking Wei Ruo about the source of the fabric and expressing a strong desire to buy it.

Wei Ruo told them that the fabric was limited, and those who wanted to buy would need to wait.

As of now, she didn’t have a way to mass-produce either the fabric or the dye, and she didn’t intend to either.

However, she still needed to figure out how to set up a place to work on dying fabric, since she couldn’t always use a large water vat in her small yard. It was simply not convenient and could easily be discovered by others.

The next day, Wei Ruo received another letter from the nurse, updating her on the progress at Fengting Villa in the provincial city.

Following Wei Ruo’s instructions, they had taken in some refugees and started clearing some of the relatively flat land on the mountain, preparing to plant long-life regenerative rice.

Due to the terrain, the initial planting would be relatively strenuous. For the next half a month, they would plant as much as they could, and not rush what they could not finish in time. The remaining work would be planned for the warming-up period next year.

Other areas with a bit more slope in the landscape had been planted with tea trees.

These tea trees were wild tea bushes that Wei Ruo had asked people to fetch from the mountains around the provincial city and Taizhou prefecture.