Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 530 Reunion Joy (1)_1

Chapter 530: Chapter 530 Reunion Joy (1)_1

The orchard housed over a thousand chickens, and Mo Yan had not restricted their range of movement. It could be said that there wasn’t a spot in the entire orchard where the chickens couldn’t go, nor where their droppings weren’t found. Fortunately, the chickens primarily fed on grass and vegetable leaves, so their manure was not as foul-smelling. Despite that, stepping in it was still somewhat disgusting.

Gazing at the scattered chicken droppings all over the ground, Yan Junyu, left with only one shoe, refused to set foot in the orchard ever again. He insisted on waiting for Mo Yan to bring back the fruit before tasting any. Subsequently, he had Guan Yu fetch a spare pair of shoes from the carriage to wear, then he hurriedly descended the mountain.

Mo Yan didn’t press the issue, picked a variety of fruits--one or two of each kind--until the bamboo basket was overflowing, and then carried the heavy load back home.

Yan Junyu had been waiting under the vines all along. Not only had he changed his shoes, but he had also put on a fresh set of clothes from head to toe, again in purple, looking incredibly handsome and noble, exuding an air of aristocracy.

Upon seeing the vibrant and plump fruits in the bamboo basket, Yan Junyu’s eyes lit up, "It seems that the feng shui here is indeed excellent. Lord is considering to build a villa here for regular stays."

With a thought, Mo Yan began rinsing the fruits beside the basket and suggested, "The feng shui here is truly good, and the local customs are honest and simple. It’s not a bad place to relax one’s mind and body! Young Master, if you were to construct some exquisite villas here, you could make a good profit."

Yan Junyu raised an eyebrow, actually giving the proposal serious consideration, "Your suggestion isn’t bad, girl. Once the wine estate is built, Lord will think it over properly."

Mo Yan hadn’t expected that a casual remark would truly pique his interest. Should she say he was bold, or just wealthy and capricious?

Nevertheless, this was good. Building villas was no small project, and workers would certainly need to be hired from the village. For the impoverished Liu Yang Village, this was indeed good news.

Once the fruits were thoroughly washed, Mo Yan carried the basket straight to the stone table, letting Yan Junyu help himself. This time, she didn’t peel or cut the fruit. The freshly picked fruits had juicy and sweet skins—peeling them would have been wasteful.

Yan Junyu washed his hands, set aside his usual fussiness, and picked a glossy, purple-red grape. Without peeling it, he popped it directly into his mouth. Like the pear and peach he had eaten before, his eyes filled with delight, "Not bad, not bad at all. They’re better than the ones contributed by the Barbarian Countries! Hmph, Lord wants to see what those old fellows at the Agricultural Politics Department have to say now!"

By the end, the smugness on his face was unmistakable, as if he had trampled those officials’ faces underfoot, releasing a burst of pent-up frustration.

Like apples, grapes were extremely rare fruits. Every year, they were tributed by small countries from the South, and usually, only the Imperial palace and nobility could taste them. Ordinary folks, let alone eat them, couldn’t even lay eyes on them.

The Agricultural Politics Department spent a considerable sum of silver each year to transport these rare fruit seedlings over great distances from the South. However, it was rare for the seedlings to survive, much less bear fruit. Last year, under pressure from officials at the Department, Yan Junyu had managed to get hold of the seedlings, relying on Emperor Huian’s favor. If the seedlings had not survived, he would have had no face left in front of those officials.

Now, not only had Mo Yan succeeded in making the fruit trees thrive, the fruits they bore were large and delicious, which naturally made Yan Junyu happy.

On the other hand, he was still somewhat worried about the wine estate he would soon be building. After tasting these fruits, those worries instantly vanished without a trace. Even if the grape wine didn’t sell, just selling the grapes could make him a huge profit. In any case, the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver he had invested were not going to be a loss.

Perhaps feeling that he had lost his composure, Yan Junyu touched his nose and haughtily said to Mo Yan, "When Lord presents these fruits at court, you won’t be left without a reward! Take good care of those fruit trees. Lord is counting on them to slap those old fellows in the face every year!"