Chapter 526: Digging Sweet Potatoes

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Chu Yao couldn’t imagine what a ditch was like, but he felt that it would definitely be fun to fish in it. He looked at Yangyang with sparkling eyes and nodded. “Sure! I want to fish with you.”

Yangyang nodded. “Sure! Let’s go back and eat buns first. Grandpa Liu’s mutton buns are delicious. I can eat five at a time.”

Only five? Chu Yao glanced at Yangyang, stood up, and reached out his hand.

“Alright, I’ll try it too.”

The two of them returned to the table hand in hand. Liu had already begun to serve the dishes and buns.

Chu Yao saw the white and fat buns on the dining table and understood why Yangyang had only eaten five. The food outside the palace was too different from the dishes inside the palace, but it was very interesting.

Li Yu looked at the grape juice on their faces and said with a smile, “Hurry up and wash your hands. Come and eat the buns.”

Yangyang turned around and went to wash his hands. The eunuch dressed as a follower hurriedly followed Chu Yao and wanted to help. Chu Yao turned to look at him. ‘You don’t have to follow me. I know how to wash myself.” Chu Yuhao waved at the eunuch, who stood to the side.

Steamed Bun Liu had already realized that Lord Zhou was respectful to this noble. He also carefully brought the dishes to the table.

Chu Yuhao smiled at Zhou Jia, who was a little reserved, and said, “It’s rare for us to be free to come out and shop. Let’s be more casual.”

“Yes,” Zhou Jia replied respectfully.

The palace was particular about not talking when eating or sleeping. Everyone ate in silence and only the sound of cups clinking could be heard.

After dinner, Yangyang looked at Chu Yao and said, “I’m not lying, right? Grandpa Liu’s buns are very delicious!”

“Yes! They are so big.” Chu Yao thought for a moment before coming up with a word to express it. “It’s very satisfying.”

Yangyang asked softly, “How many did you eat?”

“Three. What about you?” Chu Yao looked at Yangyang in embarrassment.

Yangyang held out a hand. “Five.”

Seeing that the two children had become familiar in less than an hour, Chu Yuhao smiled at Li Yu and Zhou Jia and said, “Madam Li, let Yao’er sit in a carriage with you. I’ll talk to Jiahe.”

“Yes, Third Master.” Li Yu smiled and bowed.

Chu Yao followed Li Yu and her son into the carriage while Zhou Jia went to Chu Yuhao’s carriage and sat there cautiously. Chu Yuhao looked at Zhou Jia and smiled. “Jiahe, I think Yao’er likes Chenxi very much. Let your Chenxi come to my place to study with Yao’er and cultivate with him. Go back and discuss it with Madam Li?”

Zhou Jia hesitated for a moment and said, “Third Master, you know that my Madam dotes on her child very much, especially Yang’er. She raised him single-handedly. If he can go home every day, she might agree. If he only leaves the palace once every ten to fifteen days when he stays at your place, I’m afraid she won’t agree.”

Knowing Madam Li’s personality, Chu Yuhao smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll let him go home every day. I won’t detain him in the palace.”

Zhou Jia cupped his hands and said, “Thank you for your understanding, Third Master.”

Chu Yuhao smiled and waved his hand. “I’m the one thanking you.”

After the carriage crossed the bridge, Little Loach, Mao Dou, and the others had already reached the bridge. Yangyang looked at Li Yu and said, “Mother, I want to get out of the car and walk with Brother Loach and the others.”

“Madam, can I go?” Chu Yao looked curiously at Little Loach and the others standing under the car.

Li Yu glanced at Chu Yao’s curious expression and felt that such a young child was locked in the deep palace. He was either facing eunuchs or palace maids, as well as a group of women who were infighting. He might not have any semblance of normal childhood.

She smiled and said to Yangyang, “Go! Protect Young Master well. You can’t go to the river to play with the water.”

“Aye!” Yangyang agreed happily and jumped out of the carriage. Li Yu carried Chu Yao down the carriage and said to Little Loach and the others, “Mao Dou, watch Young Master. You can’t go to the river to play with the water.”

“Yes, Madam.” Mao Dou hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Chu Yao walked on the dirt road and looked at the ditches and haystacks in the fields. He even squatted down to take a look at the weeds along the road. He asked questions and was curious about everything.

Little Loach whispered to Yangyang, “Young Master, has this young master never been to the countryside to play?”

“Yes!” The mischievous Yangyang instructed them in a low voice, “His father is a very high-ranking official. You have to be respectful to him.”

“We understand. Are we still going to fish in the ditch?” Maizi asked from the side.

Yangyang nodded. “Yes. Have you prepared the things?

Little Loach said, ‘Yes, we can fish as soon as we get there.”

Yangyang held Chu Yao’s hand. “Young Master, let’s go and change our clothes. Then we’ll bring our equipment to fish.”

“Okay.” Chu Yao followed the children into the house and the two eunuchs hurriedly followed.

When Li Yu arrived at the entrance of the manor, Haitang and Han San had already Clit off the swept potatn vines and were waiting for T.i Vil and the others

to start the digging.

Chu Yuhao and Zhou Jia encountered a few villagers on the way and stopped the carriage to ask about this year’s harvest. The villagers said happily that the weather was good this year and the harvest of rice and corn was not bad.

Chu Yuhao was relieved when he heard that. He asked some more questions about the people’s livelihood before getting the coachman to drive the carriage to the manor.

Li Yu waited by the sweet potato field. When Chu Yuhao and Zhou Jia got out of the car, she smiled and said to Chu Yuhao, “Look, this area has a total of five acres of land and has been planted with sweet potatoes. I’ve already gotten someone to prepare a hoe. You’ll dig the ground today.”

Chu Yuhao looked in from the open fence door and saw ridges. Another sweet potato vine on the ridge had been cut and two hoes had been placed there.

“Okay, I’ll dig with the first hoe. The sweet potatoes are planted on a ridge that rises, right?”

Li Yu didn’t expect him to know the fields. She nodded and replied with a smile, “Yes, dig from near the sweet potato vines. As soon as you hoe them down, sweet potatoes will emerge…’

Zhou Jia looked at Chu Yuhao worriedly. He was worried that Chu Yuhao would dig at his feet. That would be troublesome. He might even be accused of harming His Majesty.

Li Yu was also worried initially. Seeing him wave the hoe, she was finally relieved.

Chu Yuhao dug down with the hoe and indeed dug out a nest of sweet potatoes. The soil was loose and with a gentle hook of the hoe, the sweet potatoes came out.

“Hahaha! Not bad. We dug out four of them with this hoe. They’re all quite tall.”

Li Yu smiled and said, “I didn’t expect your movements with the hoe to be quite practised.”

Chu Yuhao smiled proudly. “Of course. Every year, I have to go down to the field to plow and dig the first hoe.”

Li Yu smiled and said, “You’re our role model.”

Chu Yuhao continued to dig excitedly. Zhou Jia also started digging with a hoe.

Chu Yuhao looked at the sweet potatoes that had been dug out and said excitedly to Zhou Jia, “Send these sweet potatoes to those places with drought and little rain this winter. I’ve already gotten someone to write a farming book according to Madam Li’s planting method. These sweet potatoes can let more people eat their fill. Madam Li contributed greatly.”

Zhou Jia bowed and said, “It was you who was benevolent and loved the people. The heavens bestowed Great Yong with these things..”