The Landowner And His Wife - Chapter 15

Disclaimer:

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests.

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author.

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

That’s right, Shi Cheng was Liu Xu’er’s husband in her previous life.

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Liu Xu’er was just a baby when she was transferred here. When she was two, during Shi Cheng’s yeye’s big birthday celebration, she accidentally discovered that her husband had also come over. At that time, both of them wept inconsolably on each other’s shoulders!

After crying, both of them felt immensely fortunate. It was wonderful that they could still be together, that they could still continue to look out and help each other.

Shi Cheng’s family was much better off than Liu Xu’er. His father was a businessman, but because he had accidentally offended the person in power in the city, he could only retreat to the village to avoid him.

Fbk Ubldt pyo vbyv Nkw Dw’la’p qyxkzu oyp ps rssa vbyv vblu cyalzu bye ldswtb vs qlle vblxplzhlp – Nkw Dw’la blaplzq oyp ps vbkd, y twpv sq okde nswze jdsnj bla shla – ps sq nswapl bl nswze dsv clya kv, yde oswze yzoyup vyjl vbkdtp qasx bkp bsxl vs blzr pwrrsav bla. Gv qkapv, bl oswze pvkzz kdqsax bkp xwx, yde kq bkp xwx oyp wdokzzkdt, bl oswze lmrlde yzz bkp lqqsav vs olya bla esod vs bkp oyu sq eskdt vbkdtp.

Gqvla y obkzl, bl fwpv curypple kdqsaxkdt bla. Gqvla yzz, Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla oyp yoyal vbyv Fbk Ubldt oyp tsse qakldep okvb vbl Nkw qyxkzu’p vbkae tkaz. Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla oyp yzps blzrzlpp kd vbkp altyae, bsolhla, pkdnl vblu olal yzz fwpv qkhl, pbl eked’v vbkdj vss xwnb ycswv kv. Fbl fwpv vbswtbv vbyv bla psd yde vbyv tkaz qasx vbl Nkw qyxkzu olal hlau nzspl.

Fzsozu, wdela Fbk Ubldt’p kdqzwldnl, Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla pvyavle vs zkjl bla. Nkw Dw’la oyp yzps dsv y dsaxyz hkzzytl tkaz obs eked’v jdso bso vs prlyj rasrlazu vs svblap. Tla xswvb oyp pollv, yde pbl oyp y nbyvvu zkvvzl vbkdt. Tla zkvvzl rlapsd oyp yzps yzoyup hlau nzlyd yde dlyv obknb Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla alyzzu zkjle.

Jakdtkdt vbl uyad cypjlv shla, Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla pxkzle yde vssj vos pvaydep swv qsa Nkw Dw’la. “Dw’la, ts yblye yde olyhl vbl pkxrzl vypplz vbyv Gwdv vywtbv usw ralhkswpzu. Nlv xl pll kq vblal’p yduvbkdt usw’hl qsatsvvld.”

Nkw Dw’la iwknjzu dseele bla blye yde vssj vbl uyad kd csvb bydep clqsal plakswpzu pvyavkdt. Fbl oyp yzoyup hlau plakswp ycswv zlyadkdt lhlauvbkdt, oblvbla kv oyp xyjkdt elnsayvkhl jdsvp, olyhkdt caykele nsaep sa eskdt lxcaskelau osaj, . Fbl eked’v qllz yv yzz vbyv vblpl olal vbkdtp vbyv pbl pbswzed’v byhl vs zlyad. Gqvla yzz, pkdnl pbl bye nsxl vs vbkp vkxl, vbld pbl dllele vs tlv wple vs vbkp oyu sq zkhkdt yde nsdvkdwl vs zkhl vbl clpv zkql pbl nswze blal.

Fbl cldv vs es bla osaj plakswpzu yde xyel vbl pkxrzl vypplz clqsal ryppkdt kv vs Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla. “Gwdv, eke R es vbkp aktbv?”

Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla vssj y zssj yv kv clqsal dseekdt yde pyukdt, “Mbyv’p aktbv, Dw’la eked’v qsatlv yduvbkdt elprkvl kv clkdt y obkzl. Qsse.” Msoyae vbkp nzlhla zkvvzl Dw’la, pbl clnyxl lhld xsal olzz ekprsple. Fbl vssj swv y nasnblv bssj, vywtbv Nkw Dw’la bso vs xyjl y xsal nsxrzlm jdsv, yde tsv bla vs pzsozu raynvknl kv. Mbld Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla tsv wr yde zlqv.

Jldekdt shla, zkvvzl qkdtlap swvpvalvnble, Nkw Dw’la nyalqwzzu blze vbl nasnblv bssj, vokdkdt psxl uyad yaswde kv, clqsal bssjkdt kv qasx vbl xkeezl…. Ebkzl alrlyvlezu raynvknkdt vbl ynvksdp, pbl oswze snnypksdyzzu vwad vs zssj yv vbl nbyka pbl pyv sd.

The chair she was on had a decorative covering, with a tassel that was combined with a crocheted braided cord. When she could make something like that, she would know that she had achieved a decent standard in her handiwork, and could use it to go and earn some money.

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Shi Cheng’s mother re-entered the room, bringing with her a few sweets. She came and put it into Liu Xu’er pocket. When Liu Xu’er quickly offered her thanks, Shi Cheng’s mother smiled and asked. “Xu’er, I heard your sanshenzi’s xiaoshushu had been along some water routes? Did you hear what the adults said? Which routes did he follow? Was the route out at sea, or was it along the rivers?”

Liu Xu’er thought for a while, but she couldn’t recall anyone saying anything. So she shook her head and said, “I don’t know. I didn’t hear sanshenzi say.”

Shi Cheng’s mother then asked. “Then what did your sanshenzi say?”

Liu Xu’er continued to shake her head. “She didn’t say anything. When they came back, it was time to separate the family. Sanshenzi was busy all day packing up, so she didn’t come out. Dashenzi did go over to ask, but she didn’t manage to get any answers.” After thinking for a while, she added, “I just happened to be in the courtyard when I saw dashenzi go in to ask her. After a short while, she came back out and looked unhappy.”

Shi Cheng’s mother nodded, her face thoughtful.

Liu Xu’er continued to practice, but she wondered. Was Shi Cheng’s mother asking all this because she thought that sanshenzi’s xiaoshu went out to sea? All those who did were very rich, but was Shi Cheng’s mother really thinking of developing business along those lines?

Shi Cheng’s mother taught her another two ways of crocheting when Shi Cheng came in, laughing. The instant he came in, he quickly said. “My afternoon homework is done.”

Shi Cheng’s mother couldn’t do anything, so she nodded. “Go and drink some water, and eat a little.”

Who knew what Shi Cheng was thinking? He agreed, and ran out before coming back in a while with two white glutinous rice cakes. Eating one, he passed the other to Liu Xu’er. “For you!”

Liu Xu’er quickly shook her head. “I don’t want it, you have it.”

“Just eat, eat! There’s no problem, so have it!” Shi Cheng warmly said, before pushing it toward Liu Xu’er’s mouth. Liu Xu’er attempted to duck backwards.

Shi Cheng’s mother was exasperated. Laughing, she gave Shi Cheng a look before saying to Liu Xu’er, “Go ahead and eat it, Xu’er! Remember all the different styles I taught you today – when you go home, practice them frequently. The two of you stay in this room to play. You are not to go out.” Saying this, she stood and left.

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Both Shi Cheng and Liu Xu’er simultaneously sighed in relief. Shi Cheng passed his half eaten cake over to her. “Have this as well. This thing is so sweet, it’s not nice at all.”

Originally, Liu Xu’er wanted to glare at him – these things were so expensive, yet he could affecting disinterest! But on second thought, Shi Cheng had never liked eating sweet things, so what he said could just be the plain truth.

She wrapped the uneaten cake in a clean handkerchief and kept it in her pocket, before taking the half eaten piece and taking a bite. Shi Cheng may not want it, but she really craved it.

“Shi Cheng, can you help me get a few things? One is a book on how to rear long-furred rabbits, another is….” She started to issue instructions around her mouthful.

She hadn’t finished speaking when Shi Cheng laughed and took a book out from behind his back. “I guessed you would want that! I spent half a day searching my house, before finding this. This is actually a book on farming, but there’s a section explaining how to rear livestock. You go ahead and have a look…. Oh right, if you bring it back, how are you going to explain it to your family members? That you suddenly can read?”

“Don’t worry, I will just say that you taught me…. Furthermore, I won’t claim to understand everything, only a few words, and that I’m waiting for you to explain more! That should do it shouldn’t it?” The minute Liu Xu’er saw the book, she immediately smiled widely. She quickly stuffed the cake into her mouth, patted her hands before taking the book to flip through.

Shi Cheng pointed her to the relevant few pages before saying, “There are a lot of unfamiliar words in here that I don’t recognise. Just look through and have a rough understanding first. Whatever you don’t understand, I will go and check and teach you after that.” Saying this, he paused for a moment and asked. “What else did you say you wanted?”

Liu Xu’er raised her head. “I also want some apple tree saplings. This climate is suitable for raising apple trees. Can you help me get a few?”

Hearing that, Shi Cheng said. “That’s easy! My family has an apple tree orchard, did you know? On a faraway ravine, atop the slope….” He sighed, “But it is a bit far, so I haven’t been there before. We will need to wait for a chance.”

Liu Xu’er nodded. “I know, there’s no urgency. When you get the chance, then we will discuss it again.” She thought of something else and softly said, “Oh, and don’t keep bringing things to my family. Don’t let your mum become upset.”

Shi Cheng nodded, “ I know, I’ve considered all this. I won’t do things too excessively and cause my mother to get upset…. Actually, my mother is really lonely here; there’s no one to chat with her. If she could become good friends with your mother, that would be good.”

Liu Xu’er laughed in spite of herself. “As if that’s so easy – there’s a huge difference in terms of family standing. There’s no way they can become good friends.”

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Shi Cheng sighed, and nodded. After a while he said, “You can now tell your family members that I want to teach you how to read. That way, I can give you more books and no one would become suspicious.”

Liu Xu’er agreed. “Ok.” Thinking about what happened earlier, she asked, “Shi Cheng, what business did your family do previously? Was it …. Tea and porcelain? Did your father go out to sea when he was younger?”

Shi Cheng shook his head. “No, I didn’t hear anything about him going to sea before. However, my family does sell tea…. Why?”

Liu Xu’er shook her head. “It’s nothing, your mother was asking about whether sanshenzi’s xiaoshu went to sea….”

The instant he heard it, Shi Cheng immediately said. “Yeah, I know about that. My mother wants to ask my father to go out to sea. She worried that by leaving the business alone for so long, it would wither, and the family would never be able to reverse our fortunes.”

Liu Xu’er was stunned. “Huh? Out to sea…. I heard the life is very hard.” She thought to herself, Aunt Shi sure was eager to get ahead!

Shi Cheng also nodded. He said softly, “My mother is overambitious. She feels that living in the village like this is unbearable. But I won’t let my father go, it’s too dangerous. Furthermore, we need to take things one step at a time. It’s not realistic to suddenly strike it rich.”

Liu Xu’er also approved. She definitely did not want anything bad to happen to Shi Cheng’s family, so she nodded and said, “That’s right, it’s too dangerous, and he’d be gone for such a long time. You’d best advise her not to push your father to go out to sea. Even if you are here in Taohua Village, you can still think of ways to better your life. Furthermore, there are still options – your family has businesses in town, it’s only that they’ve been inactive for these two years.”

“En, relax, I have this under control. Oh right, Xu’er, was it a difficult separation from the rest of the family? Is there not enough to eat? I see that all of you…. Why don’t I give some more things to you?”

Liu Xu’er frantically shook her head. “Please don’t! I will raise the rabbits well, so that they start producing some fur and start breeding by the time of the New Year. There currently is enough for us, and next year during spring, I will plant some apple trees and raise two pigs, as well as a few more chickens ….”

Shi Cheng laughed despite himself. “To rear pigs and chickens all require money, do you have any?”

Liu Xu’er sighed again when she heard that. “I will take things slowly. We will first monitor the rabbit’s development.”

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Shi Cheng paused for a moment before nodding. “Actually your plan is sound. There’s no hurry, things will definitely progress.”

Liu Xu’er agreed. “Help me keep an eye out for those apple tree saplings. Also, help me ask the gardener what to take note of when growing these trees.”

Shi Cheng nodded his head. “Don’t worry.”

From the doorway came the sound of footsteps. Shi Cheng’s mother’s voice was heard. “Liu Shu, why don’t you let Xu’er stay for the meal?”

Liu Xu’er abruptly recalled, “Oh no, is it already the afternoon?”

Liu Shu’s polite voice drifted from outside. “No need, Aunt. Thank you. Xu’er has already bothered you for long enough. We can’t impose any further.”

Liu Xu’er hugged the book to her chest. She had already jumped off the chair to run out. “Dage.”

Shi Cheng didn’t manage to say anything before seeing that she had run out. He had originally wanted to discuss their plans further, but could only leave it for next time. He quickly followed her out.

Liu Shu was standing in the courtyard. Seeing Liu Xu’er, he laughed. “Did you forget the time, Xu’er?”

Liu Xu’er stuck out her tongue, “Yeah, I forgot.” She smiled and turned to give Shi Cheng’s mother a bow. “Bye, Aunt. Bye Shi Cheng.”

“Bye Xu’er, come again tomorrow!”

“I will.”