Chapter 381: line with translation of chapter title

384. Chapter 384 Digging Potatoes

Princess Consort of Qi quickly mentioned another candidate: 'Another is the second granddaughter of Prefect Wen of West Prefecture, seventeen years old; because she observed mourning for her mother for three years, she was delayed until she was older and still unmarried; this year she just finished mourning, and I hear that the threshold of her family's home is about to be worn down from suitors—she is a straightforward, opinionated girl. Moreover, since her mother passed away and her elder sister married, she has been managing the household affairs for the past few years, and her stewardship is quite capable.'

Princess Consort of Qi is satisfied with both of these girls.

Especially Official Wen's granddaughter, aside from West Prefecture being somewhat barren, it is said that the girl, having long lived in that barren place, does not have the best skin, but otherwise she is quite good.

Regarding this, Princess Consort of Qi also voluntarily spoke up.

Although one takes a wife for virtue and a concubine for looks.

But if the virtuous wife is also a lovely beauty, isn't that even better?

Prince Qi listened, then waved his hand indifferently: 'Looking at that is useless; besides, the feng shui of the capital nurtures people, and after two years it will be fine—temperament is what matters most, and that cannot be cultivated in a short time.'

After saying that, he thought a moment and added: 'Forget it; this is Ze'er's own marriage, so we must consider his wishes. If he minds it, then we can choose the He family girl.'

Regarding this, Princess Consort of Qi had indeed asked earlier: 'Before Ze'er's birthday, I privately asked him, and he said he leaned more toward the Wen family girl.'

Feng Xuanze is the heir apparent and will later be the master of Qi Wang Fu; his wife represents the face of Qi Wang Fu.

Therefore, whether it is temperament, conduct, or administrative ability, all must be comprehensive.

As for appearance, it is actually not that important.

Moreover, it is said that the second Wen young lady is not bad-looking; her skin is just not particularly good, carrying a bit of the character of West Prefecture.

The capital is not lacking women from West Prefecture; after being raised there for a year or so, they become rosy-lipped and white-toothed; although one cannot say their skin is white as snow, they are indeed quite attractive.

The couple discussed it and both leaned more toward favoring the Wen family girl.

However, this matter still requires consulting the Empress Dowager's opinion and going through the proper procedures before His Majesty.

After Prince Qi's birthday, the weather grew hotter; early in the morning, just getting up feels stifling and makes people inexplicably irritable.

Sui Sui used to run outside happily every day, but now, upon seeing the big sun outside, she becomes worried.

On her cute little face is written utter helplessness.

Princess Consort of Qi delights in looking at her little daughter's appearance, so adorable it's deadly!

At the end of the month, a letter came from Zhuangzi saying that the unknown things the young mistress planted in early spring look as if they have ripened.

The steward daringly dug a bit, pulling out several unknown fruits that were hard and crisp; it was unclear what they were, so he fed them to the rabbits, but the rabbits refused to eat.

Later they fed the pigs and sheep; the pigs ate heartily and did not die, proving the food non-toxic.

The stewards do not recognize this thing, so they are also unsure whether it is ripe or not.

However, the other plants planted at the same time have reached harvest season, so the stewards discussed and decided to come to the residence to ask whether this thing is ripe and whether they should harvest it now.

Of course, whether it is ripe or not ultimately needs to be decided by the young mistress.

Upon hearing this, Princess Consort of Qi thought that the unknown thing being ripe, and according to the steward's description, it sounded quite interesting.

She became interested, and on the first day of July, after sending away the two scholars residing at the estate, she took the children to Zhuangzi.

Prince Qi happened to be idle, so he also came along.

The weather was hot, and even sitting in the carriage was stuffy, so Prince Qi simply rode horseback, taking Sui Sui along.

Princess Consort of Qi is also skilled at horseback riding when she is in her quarters.

However, for the sake of Princess Consort of Qi's decorum and dignity, after careful consideration she did not ride horseback and remained in the carriage.

Feng Xuanrui and Feng Xuanbin have short legs and cannot ride well, and there is no one to accompany them, so naturally they also rode in the carriage with their mother consort.

They set out early, as the sun was just rising.

Along the way they swayed; upon arriving at Zhuangzi, the sun had already risen, the weather began to heat up, and the cicadas started chirping 'wa la wa la'.

Sui Sui and they changed to a different place to play, naturally they were happy.

Recently, Feng Xuanrui and his group's martial training ground has been moved to Qing Wangfu; Sui Sui, because of her piano practice, also rarely has the chance to run over to Zhuangzi.

Now they can finally come to play, and they are quite happy.

The young lady no longer fears the sun; after dismounting, she grabbed her several sisters and rushed forward: 'My planted things are good, Steward Liu said they have already borne fruit—let's go dig!'

Ren Shu Han and the others did not know that Sui Sui had previously planted something; each was very curious.

They also disregarded the heat and followed Sui Sui running.

The many servants and aunties also had to run along, fearing that the little ancestors might meet with an accident.

Shen Hua Tang followed along with Sui Sui and also became much more lively.

Master Shen was very pleased about this.

Children, after all, are always so steady that just watching them is boring.

Children ought to have children's happiness!

A group of children rushed toward the plot of land where potatoes were planted.

The potato seeds were an unexpected gain, and the quantity was not large; after removing the rotten and bad ones, they ended up planting only about a third of the land.

For the children, that is still quite a large plot.

Moreover, Sui Sui still does not know how to harvest this thing.

The four little girls stood at the field's edge, looking at the long ridges, and fell into thought.

Looking at the tall green leaves of the potatoes, Ren Shu Han hesitated and asked: '……Are these leaves to be eaten directly?'

Sui Sui:

That's a good question; I also want to know.

Although Sui Sui does not know, she has Le Le.

So she actively asked the system.

【Le Le, Le Le, how should this be harvested?】

Children's speech is cute and lovable; even normal talking sounds like coquettishness.

The system frenetically took photos, capturing a cute moment of the children, and also did not forget to answer Sui Sui's question.

【Potatoes grow underground and need to be gently dug out; during the process we should pay as much attention as possible, because damaged potatoes don't store well. We haven't planted many, and it rained a few days ago, loosening the soil, so we can try having people dig them out by hand to minimize loss as much as possible.】

After the system told Sui Sui how to dig potatoes, it also reminded her: 【Right, once potatoes sprout they are poisonous and cannot be eaten; that's why the previous buyers said eating them killed rabbits—sprouting means it has become seed and will produce some toxins, the reason is complicated, remember that once it sprouts you should keep it for planting and not eat it.】

Sui Sui listened, confused.

But she understood that it was poisonous!

The little girl nodded heavily: 「Sprouting means it's poisonous, can't eat! 」

As soon as Prince Qi and his wife arrived, they heard the little girl muttering that.

The two exchanged a glance and both kept those words in mind.