Chapter 328
Chapter 328
Absurdly, Jiang Yunsui even found snakes among the grapevines.
More than one.
Every time, she caught them, beat them first, and threw them away.
Today she caught another, a green one whose triangular head marked it as venomous.
“You eat meat. Why are you stealing my grapes?”
“Go away. Don’t come back, or Milk Tea will eat you. It’s eaten lots of snakes.”
Snakes were Milk Tea’s favorite food.
After throwing it away, Jiang Yunsui looked at the grapes and had Ji Si lift her so she could pick a basketful.
“Come on. We’ll take these to Grandmother and the others.”
“You get some too, Si Si. You can share with Yi Yi and the others.”
Holding the grapes, Ji Si did not particularly want to share.
The bunch was large and heavy, but he could finish it alone.
This year’s grapes bore a fine white bloom like sugar.
In the sunlight, they looked translucent, as though carved from crystal.
“Grandmother, Yangyang, come eat grapes!”
Jiang Yunsui happily shared what she had grown.
“They look delicious.”
By now, the women had learned to remain calm at the sight.
The first time, the grapes’ size had truly shocked them.
Calling Jiang Yunsui a genius at growing things hardly seemed enough.
The grapes were about the size of longans, and some were even larger.
The thin skins peeled away easily, releasing a rich grape fragrance.
The plump flesh overflowed with juice. Its fragrance and perfectly balanced sweetness and tartness burst across the tongue, leaving whoever tasted it deeply satisfied.
The grapes had seeds, but they were small and few.
That tiny flaw did not diminish their excellence.
Ji Yang’s eyes lit up as she ate.
“So delicious!”
“Little Aunt, you’re amazing. Everything you grow tastes wonderful!”
Old Madam Ji nodded. “In all my long life, I’ve never seen an ability like yours.”
“Will these grapes be made into wine?”
In excellent spirits, Jiang Yunsui nodded.
Of course she was happy when people praised what she grew.
“Then you must save some for me.”
Jiang Yunsui patted her chest. “The good things must be saved for our own people.”
Old Madam Ji laughed. “Exactly. That’s the right way to think.”
After chatting with Old Madam Ji for a while, Jiang Yunsui soon left.
Before she went, Ji Yang insisted that Jiang Yunsui call her when it was time to make wine. She wanted to help.
“No problem. I’ll call you.”
“Grandmother can come watch too.”
Old Madam Ji nodded. “All right. Go on.”
Within two or three days of the first grapes ripening, more than half the fruit on the trellis was ready.
Jiang Yunsui called the Ji women and Ji Yang to harvest grapes and prepare wine.
Everyone dressed in practical clothes suited for work and carried scissors and baskets.
The trellis was rather high, so they set up ladders.
“If this trellis weren’t strong enough, the grapes might crush it.”
“Indeed. If they grew on a tree, the branches would probably snap.”
“They’re delicious. Nothing we ate before can compare.”
The women chatted while harvesting.
Occasionally, they stopped to peel one or two grapes and pop them happily into their mouths.
At first they discussed grapes, but soon moved to other subjects.
Jiang Yunsui picked while pricking up her ears to hear their gossip.
Liu Huan said, “The Capital City is lively now. My close friend wrote to me. What a pity I couldn’t witness it myself.”
“You know Ma Juncai, the son of the Vice Minister of Personnel?”
The three Ji daughters nearby nodded.
“Yes. Wasn’t he personally appointed by His Majesty to lead troops?”
That had happened before they came to Mobei.
“Yes. He returned with a beautiful woman and wants to exchange his military merit for permission to marry her.”
“What? Doesn’t he already have a wife?”
Liu Huan curled her lip. “You know what Capital City men are like. He wants to make that woman a co-wife.”
The young women immediately expressed disgust.
“Where does that leave his wife?”
“Exactly. If I remember correctly, she bore him a son and a daughter.”
“What an ungrateful, faithless man.”
Liu Huan said, “Don’t rush. That beauty is no ordinary woman. She… pfft… is a man.”
“What?!”
Several pairs of eyes widened, and every pair of scissors stopped.
Jiang Yunsui stared eagerly at Liu Huan too.
Even Eldest Aunt and the other aunts nearby pricked up their ears.
Liu Huan chuckled. “No one expected him to be a spy from the Wu Kingdom, or a man.”
“Ma Juncai didn’t notice?”
“The spy got Ma Juncai dead drunk every time. I hear he used some kind of incense too, so Ma Juncai never discovered the truth. Later, Ma Juncai brought him to a palace banquet. The spy tried to assassinate the emperor, was captured, and his identity was exposed.”
Jiang Yunsui asked rapidly, “Did the emperor die?”
Everyone: ……..
“Keep your voice down. Is that something you can say openly?”
No one truly blamed her.
“But the emperor survived. He was only wounded, stabbed in the thigh.”
Her close friend had hinted that the blade had nearly struck somewhere else.
What a pity.
“Oh…”
Everyone uttered the same word, which contained a great deal of regret.
“The Ma Family will suffer now. They deserve it, if you ask me.”
“The Ma Family does, but his wife and children…”
Everyone sighed over it. But they were far away in Mobei and could only lament.
Even if they had been in the Capital City, they could not have changed the Ma Family’s fate.
Time flew as they chatted and worked.
Baskets of grapes lined the ground below, making an impressive sight.
The vines looked much barer.
Jiang Yunsui took some grapes for the household animals.
Recently, they had guarded the vines at night to keep wild animals from stealing the fruit.
They kept a little for eating, and moved all the rest away to prepare wine.
First, each grape had to be snipped from its stem.
With so many hands, cutting and washing went quickly. Everyone laughed and talked, creating a warm scene.
Old Madam Ji helped too. She even felt that life here was more comfortable and carefree than life in the great residence in the Capital City.
When Ji Yan’an, Shen Qingzhu, and the others arrived, they found the women working and laughing together.
Warmth rose in Ji Yan’an’s heart as well.
“Grandmother. Little Yunsui.”
The young man approached with a faint smile at the corners of his lips.
Jiang Yunsui’s hands were still wet, but she waved at him.
“Ji Yan’an, you’re back! Come help. I’m making wine, and this year I’m making more than last year.”
“Shen Qingzhu, Nanshu, Nanmo, you come too.”
Nanshu hurried over eagerly. “Coming! Save some for me when it’s ready, all right?”
Jiang Yunsui made an OK sign.
“Absolutely no problem!”