Country Maiden: Fields and Fortune

31, Moved

He hurried to find Xie Zhinuan, and when he learned that Xie Zhinuan had gone to sleep, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He wanted to keep her at the inn.

This girl’s culinary skills were truly exceptional, each dish she casually whipped up was delicious, and if he could keep her, expanding his inn to the prefecture city, even the capital, wouldn’t be a problem.

But this young girl, seemingly gentle, was actually quite opinionated, and didn’t care much for money-it might be difficult to persuade her.

He found his wife, “Zhinuan is heading back to Xiaohe Village tomorrow, prepare some fabrics for her, a pair of silver bracelets, and pick out a few pairs of silver earrings as well, buy two silver hairpins too, and give them to her tonight!”

“…”

Lady Yuan was stunned.

All these items together would cost at least twenty taels of silver.

“Don’t be short-sighted, she doesn’t care about these things at all. Remember, it’s us who will be asking for her help in the future, not the other way around!” Yuan Cheng whispered.

Thinking of the five-tael gold ingot, he decided he would also give it to Xie Zhinuan that evening.

Lady Yuan thought about it and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Xie Zhinuan woke up from her nap feeling refreshed.

She got up to take Routuan, her pet dog, to pee and played with it in the courtyard.

“Miss Xie!”

Xie Zhinuan looked up upon hearing the voice, and saw several head chefs from the kitchen, “Do you need something?”

“Miss Xie, this is a little token of our appreciation!” the leading chef said as he handed a small red cloth package to Xie Zhinuan.

“?”

Xie Zhinuan was quite surprised.

“Miss Xie, thank you for guiding us in cooking these past few days. This is a bracelet we all chipped in to buy for you, you must accept it!”

As seasoned chefs, their cooking skills had not improved for years.

It was Xie Zhinuan’s selfless guidance that helped them, unlike their own master who had held back some secrets.

“…”

Xie Zhinuan really didn’t want to accept the gift, but seeing the hopeful look on the chefs’ faces, she smiled and accepted it.

“Thank you!”

Upon opening it, she saw that it was a simple design, but solid and quite heavy.

“Hehe!”

The chefs smiled, wanting to say something but uncertain how to begin, and could only take their leave.

Xie Zhinuan looked at the bracelet in her hand and felt a heartfelt warmth.

Her thorough guidance had not been in vain.

Holding the bracelet, she took Routuan to a spot under a tree and they whispered to each other.

Azhu watched them, quite envious.

Such a bracelet was worth several taels of silver.

However, Xie Zhinuan didn’t seem to care much; after returning to her room, she casually placed it in her bag and took Routuan into her arms to scratch its belly.

The little milk dog was cute and very smart.

She taught it to sit, and after a few tries, it could sit on command.

“Azhu!”

“Hmm?”@@novelbin@@

“Do you think it’s a male or female?” Xie Zhinuan asked.

Azhu stepped forward and looked at Routuan’s belly, “Looks like a female!”

“Good!”

So, it must be a female.

She didn’t care whether Routuan was male or female; she was going to pamper it regardless.

As she pinched its chubby little paws, Xie Zhinuan’s lips curved into a smile.

When Yuan Wang came over, he caught sight of this scene, pursed his lips, clenched his fists at his side, and coughed.

Xie Zhinuan looked up, blinking, “Brother Yuan!”

“I heard from Donghua that you bought a little dog, is this the one?” Yuan Wang asked.

“Yes, this is it, its name is Routuan!”

“It’s very cute!” said Yuan Wang softly.

Ever since he started his studies, he had no opportunity to mingle with many people.

Let alone with a beautiful woman like Xie Zhinuan.

Seeing her sitting there, playing with the puppy, was like watching a painting-there was a gentle warmth and an indescribable comfort that made it hard not to immerse oneself.

Xie Zhinuan smiled, “I heard you were sick; are you feeling better now?”

“After taking medicine, much better!” Yuan Wang said softly.

He wanted to say more, but with Azhu staring directly at him, he felt uncomfortable and hurriedly said, “You continue playing, I’ll go back to studying!”

“Okay!”

Xie Zhinuan did not try to keep him.

Indifferent.

She didn’t care when Yuan Wang left and continued to play with Routuan by herself.

Lady Yuan watched from outside the archway for a while and, seeing that the two did not overstep boundaries, with the elder son only speaking a few words before leaving, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Zhinuan!”

Upon hearing her call, Xie Zhinuan stood up, “Auntie!”

She was still holding Routuan in her arms.

“…”

Lady Yuan didn’t particularly like cats or dogs, and when she saw Xie Zhinuan holding one, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, “It’s not good to hold the dog like that when it’s dirty.”

“I gave it a bath!” Xie Zhinuan said softly, handing Routuan to Azhu, “Help me take it to the basket!”

“Yes!” Azhu took Routuan and immediately went inside.

Rebutted in such a way, Lady Yuan felt somewhat displeased and said, “Come, sit with me for a bit!”

“Okay!”

Chapter 33