Reborn as a Landlord

First watch, asking for pink votes.

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

After returning from the backyard, everyone gathered in the front hall to chat again. Naturally, the conversation shifted to Wu Lang and Xiao Qi’s studies.

When Shen Liu learned that Wu Lang had passed the county exams and was preparing for the prefectural exams next, he nodded.

"What kind of topics were on the county exams?... Read me your essay." Shen Liu wanted to test Wu Lang’s knowledge.

Lian Manman quietly stood up and walked out of the front hall.

Shen Liu was a very busy man. Normally, if he had stayed for half a while, someone would have already come to him with matters or started preparing for a departure. However, today was different; judging by the Chinese hour, it was certain he would stay for lunch. Lian Manman hurried to the kitchen.

The kitchen was bustling with steam everywhere. Lady Zhang, Lian Zhizhi, Lady Zhao, Lian Yeye, and Da Liangzi’s Wife, who helped around, were all busy.

"Mom, how’s the food coming along?" Lian Manman asked Lady Zhang as she entered the kitchen.

"The dishes you asked for to prepare for Sixth Master are almost done," Lady Zhang showed Lian Manman the dishes being prepared and asked, "Just these few, do you think they’re enough?"

"It’s just the two of them, how much can they eat? Quality over quantity for these dishes," Lian Manman replied.

After inspecting the dishes prepared for Shen Liu and Fatty Shen, Lian Manman nodded silently.

"Mom, when serving, use the set of royal kiln bowls and chopsticks that Brother Youheng’s family sent last time," Lian Manman told Lady Zhang.

"Alright," Lady Zhang agreed and then directed Lian Manman’s attention to the large pots of food being prepared by Lady Zhao and the others. "The kitchen on the shop’s side has cooked a big pot of rice and steamed buns, and there are also four dishes made there. The rest were all prepared here. Manman, look, is this enough to host the people they brought along, or should we order a few boxes from the taverns in town?"

"It’s enough," Lian Manman looked through everything and said.

Shen Liu brought quite a few people to Thirty Mile Camp this time, but not many accompanied him to Lian Manman’s family, mostly trusted aides and personal attendants. While hosting Shen Liu at home, Lian Manman’s family also prepared meals for his entourage.

Because they had received notice beforehand, they were well-prepared with sufficient ingredients and manpower, so all the meals were handled by the family themselves.

Seeing that everything in the kitchen was in order, Lian Manman returned to the front hall.

"...The food is ready. No exotic delicacies, just regular dishes from a tenant farmer’s household. Sixth Master and Ninth Master, if you don’t mind, please give them a try." By now, it was noon, the time for lunch, and Lian Manman spoke to Shen Liu.

"Bring it up," Shen Liu, not being overly courteous, nodded in response.

Fatty Shen also nodded along. Though he didn’t speak, his sparkling gaze at Lian Manman clearly asked, "Manman, what good food have you prepared?"

Wu Lang and Xiao Qi brought over clear water for Shen Liu and Shen Qian to wash their hands and faces briefly, while Lian Shouxin and Lian Manman hurried to set up tables and serve dishes.

The dishes prepared for Shen Liu and Shen Jiu weren’t numerous, as they had been discussed and decided in advance.

A steamed chicken with lotus leaves and a steamed mandarin fish. Both dishes were prepared according to recipes from a food manual compiled by a renowned gastronome of the previous dynasty. Lian Manman had found the manual among the discarded books of Lian Jizu and had experimented with several dishes during her free time.

The chicken, fish, lotus leaves, and other ingredients used for these dishes were all sourced from Lian Manman’s family’s farmland.

Additionally, there were stir-fried baby bok choy with shiitake mushrooms, young lettuce stir-fried with eggs, fermented soybean lettuce leaves, and pork rib soup with baby bok choy.

Unexpectedly, vegetarian dishes dominated the selection.

And this was precisely what made it special.

During this season, tenant farmer families typically wouldn’t yet have fresh vegetables from their garden, and even affluent families, if they still had vegetables stored from last year, would have only tiny amounts left. The fact that Lian Manman’s family could prepare such a table of dishes was thanks to her early planning in spring—she had selected vegetable seeds and sprouted them indoors. Later, when the weather warmed slightly, she dug seedling beds in the garden to plant bok choy, lettuce, rapeseed, peas, and others, meticulously tending to them every day.

The lettuce seeds were something new Lian Manman had acquired this year.

At night, as temperatures dropped, thick straw mats were laid over the seedling beds to keep them warm. During the day, when the sun came out and temperatures rose, the straw mats were removed.

These two beds of fresh vegetables, matured through such careful cultivation, were at their tenderest now, and even the family themselves rarely ate from them.