Chapter 271
Chapter 271
The moment Huohuo saw Jiang Yunsui, it began complaining to her, chirping without pause.
Jiang Yunsui pinched its pointed beak. “Don’t bother. I can’t beat him.”
“Didn’t you see that I got punished too?”
Ji Yan’an cast the two little creatures a casual glance, and both girl and bird immediately fell silent.
“You did a good job this time. That will do,” Ji Yan’an told Jiang Yunsui. “But if it happens again, your assignment will be doubled.”
Then he looked at Huohuo. “And if you do it again, you’ll sort twice as many beans!”
Jiang Yunsui nodded obediently at once.
Seeing her do so, Huohuo copied her and bobbed its head.
At last, Jiang Yunsui was allowed outside to play. The instant she received permission, she dashed away.
For now, she had no desire to see Ji Yan’an’s face.
She carried Huohuo into the neighboring courtyard. The bird immediately chirped with delight, its two spindly little legs pumping as it raced around like a chick.
Then it crawled straight into the mouth of the sleeping Zuozuo.
Jiang Yunsui was speechless.
Zuozuo lifted an eyelid, opened her mouth, and spat Huohuo out with the ease of long practice.
“Chirp, chirp… chirp, chirp…”
After harassing the dogs, Huohuo went to bother Milk Tea and had the eagle carry it into the air.
Perhaps because there was something special about a Phoenix-Mimic Bird, Qianqian, Houhou, and Milk Tea-all fellow birds-were remarkably indulgent toward it.
Jiang Yunsui merely told Milk Tea not to fly too high.
What if Huohuo fell and died?
“Miss.”
The children were tending the plants in the courtyard.
Jiang Yunsui strolled around with her hands clasped behind her back, then nodded in satisfaction.
The weeds had been pulled, everything that needed water had been watered, and the pests had been caught.
The children worked diligently and cared for one another because they wanted to stay here rather than return to wandering the streets.
At that moment, for instance, Dawa-the oldest-was working with the youngest, Wuwa, strapped to his back.
“I spoke to Ji Yan’an. We’ll hire two teachers for you here. One will teach you to read, and the other will teach martial arts. After you’ve studied for a while, if there’s anything else you want to learn, tell me and I’ll find someone to teach you.”
Surprise and gratitude filled the children’s eyes.
They immediately knelt before Jiang Yunsui.
“Thank you!”
Jiang Yunsui scratched her cheek. “If you want to thank me, remember that you must never betray me or Ji Yan’an. Otherwise, Ji Yan’an will kill you, and I won’t plead for you.”
The children nodded repeatedly, promising that they would never betray them.
But who could know what the future held?
Jiang Yunsui grew worried. Human children truly were difficult to raise.
She had to worry about this and that, including whether they might betray her after growing up.
Why did humans always think so much and keep changing their minds?
In front of the children, Jiang Yunsui did her best to keep her little face stern and appear mature and composed. She clearly regarded herself as the adult among them.
She inspected the saplings she had cultivated. The tea plants had grown considerably taller, so she needed to ask Ji Yan’an for an estate suited to growing tea.
The sweet osmanthus saplings had also taken root.
There were saplings from other fruit trees as well, especially Peach Trees.
Nearly all the soil in this courtyard was now being used as a nursery.
“The corn is taller too. It should be ready to eat in another month.”
They had not brought back many corn seeds. There were roughly two hundred plants now.
Jiang Yunsui possessed an innate gift for growing things. No matter what forgotten corner she planted them in, they flourished.
She had not even set aside a proper field for the corn. She had simply planted it in the gaps between the bricks around the edge of the courtyard, yet it grew beautifully. Compared with the thin, spindly stalks they had discovered in the valley, these plants were incredibly robust.
“Huohuo, come look! I grew the Moonlight Flowers too!”
Jiang Yunsui pointed to the flowers beside a small pond.
Moonlight Flowers required special conditions and normally grew beside mountain springs.
By all reason, they should not have thrived in Mobei’s harsh environment.
Previously, even when Jiang Yunsui supplied them with copious Imperial Flowing Essence, they remained malnourished and half-dead.
Forget blooming-it had been uncertain whether they would survive at all.
Then Jiang Yunsui had a flash of inspiration and built a small pond. Its water was replaced daily with fresh water drawn from the well.
The pond had even become a scenic feature.
Stones ringed the water, and bamboo grew around it. The bamboo rhizomes she had purchased earlier had survived and were now planted here.
Water lilies and several koi lived in the pond.
The area had become much more humid. Jiang Yunsui planted the Moonlight Flowers nearby and cultivated close to them each time.
Now she had finally managed to keep them alive.
The koi, once only as long as her fingers, had grown to the size of her palm.
There were five in total: one pure gold, one white, one red, and others patterned in red and white. Every fish was different.
But they all adored Jiang Yunsui.
She crouched beside the pond and tapped a stone lightly with one finger. The koi immediately crowded toward her.
Jiang Yunsui fed them crushed pieces of Beauty Mushroom.
That was right. They loved her because her food was simply too delicious.
The five koi were not large, but Jiang Yunsui had raised them to be pleasantly plump.
After inspecting her home, Jiang Yunsui headed out with Huohuo and the two dogs.
Beizhen City was bustling now because of the cement roads.
White Wolf and the two roosters, meanwhile, were homebodies and disliked going out.
The cement roads inside Beizhen City had been dry for many days, yet both residents and visitors remained fascinated by their clean, solid surfaces.
First-time visitors were especially amazed.
Their astonishment began outside the city and lasted all the way in.
“This… This road is unbelievably long!”
“There truly isn’t a single break in it. Surely only immortal magic could accomplish such a thing.”
“It’s so smooth. I’m almost afraid my footsteps will dirty it.”
Fortunately, the weather was dry. Even wagons arriving from outside raised only a little dust when they rolled onto the cement, so the road did not look dirty.
On rainy days, mud from the roads outside would be carried onto the cement and make a genuine mess.
Still, workers swept the streets every day.
Holding Huohuo, Jiang Yunsui listened proudly to everyone’s exclamations.
She was the one who had told people how to make cement!
“Have you investigated this cement thoroughly? And what exactly is the situation with Young Master Ji?”
Jiang Yunsui, who had been strolling along like a free-range chicken while listening to everyone praise Mobei and its roads, abruptly stopped. The voice came from a room overlooking the street on the second floor of a nearby restaurant.
Uh-oh. Another secret conspiracy.
A certain Little Mushroom immediately grew eager.
She sent away Zuozuo and Youyou, who were far too conspicuous, then suppressed her presence, carried Huohuo into the restaurant, and went upstairs.
All she had to do was lean beside the door to hear every word inside.
“Eunuch, strange as it sounds, Beizhen City is governed extremely strictly now. With so few men, it’s very difficult to investigate clearly. Perhaps… we should pay Young Master Ji a visit?”
The eunuch’s shrill voice answered from within.
“No! If Ji Yan’an is dead, then fine. But if he’s alive and I go there, he’ll curse me to death! You useless fools-I ordered you to gather a little information, yet you learned nothing. Must I personally do everything?”