Chapter 278: First Day at the Field Manor

It was agreed that the entire field manor would be bought and sold, including the houses inside and all remaining items.

No wonder Gu Xixi needed to go to the city that very day, hurrying to obtain the deed from the seller.

He Jinglan grinned and said, "Just this pile of things under the felt cloth alone is worth about half the field manor, right?"

Anything that can be made into nail plates, utensils, or weapons must be fine iron and fine copper.

Even if we have no use for them ourselves, selling them off would still be a considerable sum.

Gu Xixi smiled and did not deny it.

But this is only one of the reasons.

When she first saw the spiked nail plates in the miscellaneous room, Gu Xixi thought of her and He Jinglan's situation as "reserved hostages."

The saying "a cunning rabbit has three burrows" perhaps means we could set this place up as another refuge for the two of them.

But I never expected this day to come so quickly.

He Jinglan frowned again, wondering, "I don't know what background the previous owner of this field manor has. Who would spend money on these things in normal circumstances? And they're hidden in the farmstead, even the steward doesn't know about them."

"Could it be that they were planning a rebellion?"

Gu Xixi said, "If they were plotting that, they would have already defected to General Huo; why would they need to relocate the whole family?"

"Besides, the most they could forge for a rebellion would be swords, spears, and halberds; these things…"

"They were probably used here in the past to defend against bandits."

She said this, then pulled out a long five‑pronged iron fork.

This is actually common; after the wheat harvest it's used to turn and air‑dry the straw.

He Jinglan had the dark guard take the iron fork out, saying, "Setting a mechanism with it to stab bad guys wouldn't be bad either."

The dark guard looked at the five points of the iron fork and nodded in deep agreement.

"Miss, you're clever; this is indeed a rare and effective weapon."

He Jinglan felt encouraged and dug through the trash with even greater vigor.

By noon, everything usable in the miscellaneous room had been dug out.

The two strongest large heavy crossbows, along with several iron‑shafted feathered arrows.

Two fine‑iron nail plates, three meteor hammers, six bronze pots, five iron forks, a bundle of sharp long iron awls as thick as a clothes‑drying pole, several copper bells, iron chains of various thicknesses, several more bronze pots, and several lengths of coarse hemp rope.

There were also everyday wooden buckets, iron buckets, hatchets, axes, iron hoes, and so on.

Among the He Family Dark Guards, there are people skilled in all kinds of abilities.

When Gu Xixi and He Jinglan came out of the miscellaneous room, some of the mechanisms had already been set up.

The focus was on the two entrances at the front and back gates of the field manor, as well as the area around these two houses right in front of us.

Bell chimes were hung in several concealed spots, tied with thin threads; once an outsider entered and touched the mechanism, the alarm would ring loudly.

At the front and back gates, intruders would encounter nail plates dropping from above.

Under the eaves on both sides of the bedroom beside the miscellaneous room, iron forks were hidden.

The dark guards specially explained the mechanism locations in detail, so that our own people wouldn't accidentally trigger them.

This is exactly the hottest time of the day.

He Jinglan had just finished work, feeling parched, and grabbed a newly found palm‑leaf fan to fan herself vigorously.

"Have you drawn water? Take some to drink!"

Coachman Old Li laughed and said, "I know Miss is working hard, so the food and drinking water have already been prepared."

He bowed his hands to Gu Xixi and said, "Please, Boss Gu and Miss, come together to have a meal."

Gu Xixi glanced at He Jinglan.

I almost forgot that all these people need to eat; coming to the field manor to eat and drink means we have to take care of it ourselves.

Gu Xixi apologetically told Old Li, "Sorry, I asked you to come help on my field manor in this scorching heat, but I haven't looked after your food and drink. All matters still require you to handle them yourselves."

Old Li laughed and said, "Boss Gu, there's no need to be polite."

"These little things are what we do every day anyway."

When the dark guards go on missions, wilderness survival is a basic skill.

Finding something to drink and making something to eat is utterly trivial.

Only the choice of ingredients and how tasty the dish turns out are up for debate……

Not far from here is a thatched pavilion, open on all sides, with a stove built inside; it's where the people who used to work in the field manor cooked their meals.

The dark guards were scattered in the pavilion and in various shady spots outside, sitting or squatting, and had already begun eating.

Seeing He Jinglan approach, they all rose and saluted.

He Jinglan waved a hand and said, "Now that we're out here, there's no need to bother with these empty formalities."

"You've worked hard enough; just relax as you like, it's fine."

Beside the pavilion stands a cherry tree, past its fruiting season, its leaves lush and green.

Under the tree a table was set, with food and drink prepared for Gu Xixi and He Jinglan.

He Jinglan was already thirsty, she lifted the water jar and poured two full bowls.

She lifted one bowl and drank it all at once, as if she had received sweet dew.

Gu Xixi was also thirsty; after drinking half a bowl she tasted a grassy odor.

She saw the water was clear and colorless, and couldn't help wondering what had been put in it.

He Jinglan had already asked, "Li Bo, what's been soaked in this water? It tastes of grass."

Old Li was startled, ran to the pavilion to ask a young dark guard.

After a while he came back laughing, "It's willow leaves; this clears heat and reduces fire."

"When boiling the water, use a little less; it has a fresh fragrance and tastes better than plain water."

Inside the field manor there was a clear-water canal; they put the hot water with its jar into the canal, and it cooled shortly after.

He Jinglan's mouth corner stiffened, and she hastily broke into a smile, "Oh, it's indeed delicious!"

Actually, compared to Gu Xixi's tea and sweet water that are hardly ever the same each day, how could this be tasty?

But when thirsty, having this jar of cooled willow-leaf water to drink is already quite good.

He Jinglan refilled another bowl, sipped it in small mouthfuls, and then looked at the food on the table.

Several pieces of hard, dead flatbread, their edges still dark and dull.

Another plate of dark brown, sprinkled with salt powder…

How come there are still claws and eyes?!

Watching Gu Xixi calmly pick up something with claws and toss it into her mouth, there was a crunching sound as she chewed.

He Jinglan's scalp went numb, and she asked in disbelief, "Is this… a bug?"

"Mm." Gu Xixi nodded, "The cicada before it sheds its skin and grows wings—this is a fine thing; roasted, it's fragrant and crisp, and eating it replenishes strength."

She said this while taking another bite of the flatbread, drinking a little water, and forcing herself to chew.

"Look at what they're eating—we've already saved the best for you and me."

He Jinglan glanced around furtively and saw that everyone's flatbread was more or less charred.

The flatbread on her table was the least burnt.

He Jinglan silently reached for a flatbread, then mustered courage to pinch a roasted cicada, closed her eyes, and shoved it into her mouth.

Even though she had been pampered and spoiled since childhood.

She did not want to show any spoiled attitude at this moment.

Fortunately, Gu Xixi still had some wheat noodles, millet, mung beans, and tea leaves on the cart.

In the afternoon, everyone drank mung bean soup.

That night, someone was prowling outside the front gate of the field manor, and the dark guards immediately shot a warning arrow with a strong crossbow.

The people outside were merely scouting ahead; not knowing the manor's true situation, they dared not approach any further for the time being.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan slept in the same room.

Both of them couldn't sleep.

He Jinglan said, "Won't they go to our homes to seize people and force us to submit?"