The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0822 Little Queen of Destruction

Tan Tuo and An Zike went to the potato fields. As they watched several potatoes being dug from each plant, Tan Tuo grew excited and asked an elderly farmer holding a hoe, "Elder, would you mind lending me your hoe for a moment?" Tan Tuo was simply dressed and had only two attendants with him. He looked like a scholar, and no one would have guessed that he was a high-ranking official. Similarly, An Zike wore plain clothes.

The elderly farmer lent Tan Tuo the hoe he was holding.

Despite his frail, scholarly appearance, Tan Tuo was actually remarkably skilled at farm work. With a single stroke of the hoe, he dug up an entire potato plant intact. Seeing the seven or eight small potatoes attached to it, he crouched down, picked them up, brushed off the soil, and placed them one by one into a bamboo basket.

Compared to Tan Tuo, An Zike was much less practised at this sort of work. With one swing of his hoe, he ended up damaging several potatoes.

An Zike put down his hoe and asked Tan Tuo with a smile, "Tan Daren, have you done farm work before?" Judging by his skill, Tan Tuo had clearly done more than just work in the fields before. He was an old hand at it.

Tan Tuo nodded and replied, "I was born into a farming family, and I've been scraping food out of the fields since I was little. There isn't a single farming task I don't know how to do." He felt there was nothing shameful about his humble origins.

An Zike smiled and offered a few words of praise.

After an hour, they had finished digging up the potatoes from one mu of land. Tan Tuo had the harvest weighed to get a clear idea of the plot's yield. Upon hearing that the plot had yielded 1,780 jin of potatoes, Tan Tuo exclaimed, "Good!" three times in succession. Even if the crop could not be grown continuously and could only be planted once every two or three years, that was still an excellent result.

An Zike was also delighted beyond his expectations. These potatoes could fill people's stomachs, and such a high yield would go a long way towards solving the common people's food shortages. However, when he heard Tan Tuo say that the crop could not be grown continuously, he felt rather disappointed. "If only we could grow it year after year."

Tan Tuo replied with a smile, "A single season's harvest is equivalent to what we'd get from three or four seasons of growing wheat. That's already very good."

The two men stayed in the countryside until it was nearly dark before returning to Haocheng. If he hadn't had so many other things to attend to, Tan Tuo would have liked to stay in the countryside for another day.

The following day, Tan Tuo went to see Yuxi. He couldn't stop smiling as he talked about the potatoes. "Wangfei, we ought to start promoting the cultivation of these potatoes on a large scale immediately."

Yuxi shook her head. "I'm planning to plant 100,000 mu next season. We can't manage any more than that." Seeing Tan Tuo's puzzled expression, Yuxi did not elaborate. Instead, she brought up the matter of reclaiming wasteland. "How much land have we reclaimed in the northwest over the past two years or so?"

Tan Tuo replied, "Nine hundred and ninety-six thousand, eight hundred mu."

After a moment's silence, Yuxi lamented, "It's a pity we don't have enough water. Otherwise, we could have reclaimed twice as much land." When Tan Tuo and Yun Qing said the army could no longer continue reclaiming farmland, it wasn't because they had already reclaimed too much, but because they lacked sufficient water. No matter how much farmland they reclaimed, all their efforts would be futile without water to irrigate it.

Dams and irrigation channels were under construction, but progress on the water conservancy projects was painfully slow. So far, construction had only reached the third dam, which would not be completed until the fifth month. According to the plan, another six dams still needed to be built, which would take another two years. Fortunately, there was a gold mine propping everything up. Otherwise, Yuxi would never have been able to withstand the weight!

Tan Tuo thought for a moment before bringing up the Imperial Examinations again. "Wangfei, are we still holding this year's preliminary examinations in the sixth month?"

Yuxi shook her head. "Let's forget about holding them this year. We'll schedule them for the beginning of the third month next year!" The third month of spring was warm and sunny, making it an ideal time for the examinations as it was neither too cold nor too hot.

As the Imperial Court held its preliminary examinations in the middle of the second month, there was nothing wrong with the Northwest holding theirs a little over a month later. Tan Tuo immediately nodded. "That would be good too."

Time always seemed to pass particularly quickly when there was work to be done. Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, it was already lunchtime.

Huo Changqing had gone out to attend to business that day and wasn't at the residence. Zaozao didn't want to eat lunch alone, so she went back to the rear courtyard to join Yuxi and Liu-er.

Watching Zaozao gobble down her food like a wolf swallowing and a tiger gulping, Yuxi could not help but advise her, "Zaozao, don't eat so quickly. No one's going to snatch your food away." This was the downside of letting her daughter spend so much time under a grown man's care. If things continued like this, Zaozao would probably be no different from a man when she grew up.

Zaozao replied, "Mom, I don't want to be like Meimei! She takes two or three quarters of an hour just to finish one meal." As far as Zaozao was concerned, Liu-er's behaviour was simply a waste of time.

The moment Liu-er heard the word 'Meimei', she immediately raised her head, looked at Zaozao, and gave her a sweet smile. Seeing that rather silly expression, Yuxi felt like holding her forehead in exasperation again.

Even Yuxi found it hard to believe. Liu-er was particularly fond of Zaozao, and whenever the two sisters were together, they somehow had endless things to talk about. It should be noted that Liu-er would never usually speak of her own accord unless prompted. Furthermore, the usually lazy and reluctant Liu-er often followed Zaozao into the courtyard to play. Yuxi once mentioned this to Momo Quan. However, Momo Quan thought this perfectly normal. After all, they were full-blooded sisters who had grown up together since infancy, so it was only natural that their bond was deep.

After lunch, Yuxi took the two little ones for a walk around the residence to help with their digestion. Zaozao held Liu-er's hand in her right hand and pointed towards the jujube tree in the courtyard with her left. "Meimei, in three months' time, the jujubes on that tree will be ready to eat. When the time comes, Jiejie will knock some down for you."

Liu-er broke into a broad smile and replied, "All right."

The two sisters then launched into another conversation about the jujubes. Of course, Zaozao did most of the talking, while Liu-er chimed in only occasionally.

A quarter of an hour later, Yuxi told the two sisters, "Go inside and have your nap." Young children needed plenty of sleep, which was why Zaozao had also maintained the habit of taking an afternoon nap.

Holding hands, the two sisters prepared to go back inside. When they reached the steps, Zaozao did not ask any of the attendants beside her for help. Instead, she supported Liu-er herself and helped her climb the steps one at a time.

Yuxi couldn't hide the smile in her eyes. Zaozao was only four, but she already knew how to look after her younger sister. Despite Zaozao's usual mischievousness, Yuxi was delighted that her daughter could be so considerate at such a young age. What Yuxi did not know was that Huo Changqing deserved the credit for this. He often told Zaozao that, as the eldest sister, she would have to look after her younger brother and sister in the future. Having heard this so many times, Zaozao had taken his words to heart.

Usually, Yuxi slept only half an hour during her afternoon nap. But her circumstances were different now, and she wouldn't wake up until she had slept for a full shichen.

"Clang..." In the middle of her sleep, Yuxi heard a harsh, jarring noise, followed immediately by a child crying.

Yuxi's eyes flew open, and she jumped out of bed immediately, hurrying outside. Standing in the doorway, she saw water gushing from the large, blue-and-white porcelain vat in the courtyard. The vat was decorated with a design of carp frolicking among lotus blossoms.

Meiyun said cautiously, "Wangfei, the Eldest Young Miss has smashed a hole in the large vat and got herself completely soaked. Er Guniang was so frightened that she burst into tears."

Yuxi made her way to the side room, where Mama Zeng and Momo Quan were changing the two children's clothes. Knowing that she had done something naughty, Zaozao felt her heart go hollow when she saw Yuxi. She shrank back slightly and called out softly, "Mom..."

Yuxi ignored Zaozao and walked over to Liu-er instead. She asked Momo Quan, "Did Liu-er's clothes get wet too?" Liu-er wasn't in good health, and Yuxi worried she might catch a chill if she got wet.

Momo Quan shook her head. "Only Liu-er's shoes and the hem of her skirt got wet. The rest of her clothes are dry. Zaozao, on the other hand, is soaked from head to toe." They had merely taken their eyes off Zaozao for a moment, and she had already smashed a hole in the water vat.

Yuxi said nothing. She simply went over and helped Liu-er change her clothes. Once Liu-er was changed, Yuxi carried her back to the bedroom, without so much as acknowledging Zaozao.

Zaozao knew that her mom was angry. As soon as she had finished changing, she went to the bedroom. Upon entering, Zaozao stood obediently in the middle of the room, lowered her head and confessed, "Mom, I was wrong."

Yuxi turned her head and asked, "You were wrong? Then tell Mom, what exactly did you do wrong?" Zaozao was certainly earnest and sincere in admitting her mistake, but the very next moment, she was wreaking havoc all over again.

Zaozao raised her head and looked at Yuxi. "Mom, I just wanted to see the fish in the big vat." Water lilies were growing inside the vat, and two carp had also been placed in it. As Zaozao was too short, someone usually had to lift her whenever she wanted to see them. Today, however, she did not want anyone to carry her. She wanted to see them on her own. After much thought, she came up with the idea of smashing the vat so that she could see the fish.

Yuxi was both angry and amused. "If you wanted to see the fish, you could have asked Mama Zeng to lift you. Why did you have to smash the vat?" This girl was certainly going to grow up to be a family-fortune-wasting little wretch.

Zaozao shook her head and pointed out, "Mom, didn't you say that fish can't live without water? If I smashed the vat, the water would flow out, and the fish would come out along with it."

At that moment, Yuxi no longer knew what expression to make. After a long pause, she said, "Tonight, you must practise writing twenty pages of large characters. If you're even one character short, you won't be allowed to go to bed." Usually, Zaozao only needed to practise five pages, so this was six times the usual amount of work.

Seeing the anger on Yuxi's face, Zaozao wisely decided not to argue and merely said in a small voice, "Mom, I have to go to the front courtyard to practise martial arts. If I don't practise properly, Yeye will punish me when he returns."

Huo Changqing was different from Yuxi. He was perfectly willing to mete out severe punishment without showing mercy. If Zaozao failed to meet his standards, at best, Image Credit | Xinshou" data-type="image" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaw5twcuFCkUbB7LSNATdzfHnVqHlJKB_URP0OApmXEzQeUmCGepW_iIdq8LXMq7vJRDZeHwwwDRW11Zgt7JA9skLTOOYYXn4g4BTgG0OKm08FntdEfdMMPr-sexGmAmSPNpCOmPeLM6xHEhJjagJVqPiJijvb1vE1W0UsEYovjLmxu47HWT3yaZ5dIc/s1254/Chibi%20Martial%20Arts%20Courtyard%20Training.png">she would be made to hold a martial arts stance with a bowl of water balanced on her head🖼️, and at worst she would be whipped. Yuxi could not bear the thought of Zaozao being punished. After struggling with herself for a moment, she could only say, "Come back early to practise your large characters." As the girl grew older, her capacity for destruction grew greater.

Whenever something like this happened, Yuxi felt particularly regretful. If she let Zaozao keep training in martial arts under Huo Changqing, her behaviour would become even worse or more excessive than before. If she wanted to bend the child straight again, she couldn't allow her to keep training under Huo Changqing. However, Yuxi knew without a doubt that Huo Changqing would certainly never agree.

Seeing Momo Quan enter with some water, Yuxi asked, "Momo, what do you think will become of this child if she carries on like this?" If things continued as they were, she truly would not be able to keep the girl under control.

Momo Quan smiled and replied, "The child is a little mischievous, but once she grows older and becomes more sensible, she'll be fine." She was only four years old, after all, precisely the age when children were at their most mischievous.

Yuxi muttered bitterly, "She's already like this now. Won't she be charging headlong into trouble every single day once she's grown up?" When that happened, she and Yun Qing would have to follow behind her and clean up the aftermath.

Momo Quan was still smiling. "You're behaving like the man from the State of Qi who worried that the sky would fall. Zaozao is simply a little more curious and a little more energetic than other children. Besides, you can also look at it from another angle. The fact that Zaozao came up with the idea of smashing the fish vat to see the fish proves that she can solve problems herself. For a four-year-old child to be capable of that is actually quite remarkable."

Yuxi sighed and said nothing more, because there was no point in saying anything else.