Reborn as a Landlord

"That’s right, only really close people call each other by nicknames, Brother Xiao Jiu." Xiao Qi turned his head back and chimed in.

Shen Qian immediately perked up, his lips curling into a smile.

"Then Manman, you should also call me by my nickname, just like Xiao Qi does. Just call me Brother Xiao Jiu." Shen Qian said, his face filled with a warm smile and hopeful anticipation as he looked at Lian Manman.

Fatty Shen, that guy, really knows how to seize an opportunity! He actually wants her to call him Brother Xiao Jiu!

"Xiao Qi calls me sis, too. So, Fatty, are you going to call me sis like him?" Lian Manman quipped.

This little rascal—if you don’t put him in his place, he’ll climb all over you before you know it, Lian Manman thought as she clenched her fists secretly.

"But I’m older than you." Shen Qian countered.

"...How about you just call me Xiao Jiu instead?" After a while, seeing that Lian Manman wasn’t budging, Shen Qian reluctantly settled for a compromise.

"Alright, I’ll call you Xiao Jiu from now on." Lian Manman nodded. Fatty Shen was still a sweet kid, so she couldn’t be too mean. "Here, I’ll let you pet Second Fatty."

Lian Manman held the little puppy and offered it to Shen Qian for him to pet.

Shen Qian reached out, stroked the puppy’s fur, and gently smoothed it down.

"So adorable." Shen Qian clearly enjoyed the little puppy a lot.

After playing with the puppy for a while, Lian Manman, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi led Shen Qian to visit the study.

"My older brother just passed the county examination and is now reviewing for the prefecture exam, which he’ll take in a few days." Lian Manman remarked.

"I also took the county exam." Shen Qian stunned them with his reply.

"You... you took the county exam too, Xiao Jiu?" Lian Manman was taken aback. "Well... did you pass?"

"I passed, and I’ll be taking the prefecture exam in a few days too." Shen Qian responded.

"Fatty, how many years have you been studying?" Lian Manman couldn’t help but ask.

"Since I was five, I started my schooling at five." Shen Qian explained. "But the lessons have been on and off, and this year, my family hired another teacher specifically for the exams."

So it was only this year that he started studying with the imperial exams in mind, Lian Manman thought.

"Xiao Jiu, you’re really impressive!" Lian Manman praised.

Shen Qian’s eyes brightened with joy.

"By the way, Fifth Brother will also be taking the exams in Prefecture City, right? Make sure you come find me then." Shen Qian said to Wu Lang.

"Sure." Wu Lang agreed with a hearty nod.

If they were really heading to Prefecture City, the Shen Family would surely stop by to pay their respects.

"My family’s farmstead expanded this year; we’ve added lots of new things. Xiao Jiu, let me take you to see it." Lian Manman offered.

Fatty Shen eagerly nodded.

The group of children left the yard and headed west, first visiting the vegetable garden.

"The blue flowers blooming there are malan—aren’t they beautiful? Over there are peas, rapeseed... corn..." Lian Manman pointed out various crops to Fatty Shen.

"Manman, your family planted so much corn this year." Shen Qian observed as he looked at the corn stalks, which were already half a foot tall.

Leaving the vegetable garden, they followed the bluestone road beside Lian’s, then joined the main road, crossed the stone bridge to the opposite side of the river, and turned off the main road again.

"These are our newly built fish pond and lotus pond." Walking along the freshly built river embankment, Lian Manman gestured at the nearby ponds as she explained to Fatty Shen.

Standing beside one of the fish ponds, Lian Manman took out a handkerchief, opened it, and scattered the corn cake crumbs inside into the water. In no time, several fish, each about the size of a hand, swam over to compete for the crumbs.

The two long-term workers in charge of the fish pond and lotus pond approached and bowed to the children, addressing them as Young Master, Second Miss, and Second Young Master.

"Carry on with your tasks, we’re just looking around." Wu Lang waved casually, letting them return to their work.

After the fish pond, they visited the lotus pond. On the surface of the water, many lotus leaves had already sprouted.

"Come back in a few days, and you’ll get to eat fresh fish and see blooming lotuses. In the autumn, there’ll be lotus roots, lotus seeds, gorgon fruit, and water chestnuts. If you like them, Xiao Jiu, I’ll ask my dad to send you a few baskets." Lian Manman offered.

Walking along the river embankment covered with tender green grass, the children made their way to the lower reaches of the river. At the calmest, shallowest part of the river, there was a small, man-made stone bridge.

This so-called "stone bridge" wasn’t exactly accurate—it was simply a few stone blocks placed in the river at intervals. The stone nearest to the opposite bank was set further away, requiring a little jump to reach the other side.

In rural areas, such small stone bridges on rivers were common. During summer floods, the higher water levels would often submerge these stone bridges, leaving people to cross the river by wading through the water.

But now, the water was still shallow, with half of the stones above the surface.

Crossing such a stone bridge was never a challenge for farmstead children; they often treated it as a game, running back and forth or purposely skipping a stone to show off their courage and skill.

Though Lian Manman was a girl, she had natural feet, and she crossed this small stone bridge nearly every day, making it easy for her.

The three kids looked expectantly at Shen Qian.

"I can manage too." Fatty Shen noticed the determined expressions on Lian Manman and Xiao Qi’s faces and realized they thought of him as a child again. He clenched his fists secretly and added, "Manman, I could carry you across, really."

Lian Manman laughed.

The kids crossed the river smoothly, and Lian Manman led Fatty Shen to her family’s expanded orchard and the new beehives next to it. These were delivered to Manman’s family by Wang Shiliu at the last Back Mountain Village market, thanks to Zhang Qingnian.

Strolling back leisurely, they passed through the miscellaneous grove, and Lian Manman let Shen Qian see her family’s duck and geese flock. This year, Manman’s family bought fifty ducklings, hatched five geese themselves, and hired several village families experienced in poultry to hatch ten more—fifteen geese altogether. They raised them in the grove and river.

Wu Lang and Xiao Qi carried baskets to collect duck eggs in the grove.

Shen Qian tugged at Lian Manman’s sleeve.

"Manman, I have something to tell you."

***......*****

Here’s the second update. Pink tickets requested!

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Recommended finished work by Ruoyan: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles," a light house fight farmland tale focusing on family life and daily drama in grand households.

Book ID: 1771214

A direct link is available below; click to go straight to it. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for it with recommendation or monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)