Chapter 57: We Have a Carriage Now

Hearing Leng Xiao praise her, Wen Nuan Nuan felt herself swelling with pride.

After that swell of pride, what came to mind was to keep up the good work!

When it came to “having principles as a person and employing means in doing things,” Leng Xiao was the most ruthless.

Wen Nuan Nuan’s little face was beaming with joy, utterly delighted. “It’s so satisfying not letting those who love taking advantage get their way. Second Brother, remember to wash the rabbits and pheasant that person touched clean. I’ll go to the kitchen first to make something delicious!”

Seeing Aunt Wang get her comeuppance was even more joyful than finding money.

In an exceptionally good mood, Wen Nuan Nuan skipped lightly toward the kitchen.

Without hesitation, Leng Xiao followed her inside.

Turning around and seeing Leng Xiao, Wen Nuan Nuan asked in surprise, “Why did you come? You should be outside getting more sunlight now; it’s good for your health.”

“I came to tend the fire.” Seeing Wen Nuan Nuan about to object, Leng Xiao added, “My body feels cold; the stove pit is warm.”

Wen Nuan Nuan immediately retracted her intended refusal, showing understanding. “Hmm, maybe you lost too much blood. I’ll start the fire first and add the firewood, then you can come sit by it to warm up.”

The wound was so deep, and it took so long to get out of the deep mountains—not only did he lose a lot of blood, but his body was probably too exhausted and hadn’t recovered properly.

Wen Nuan Nuan pondered which foods could replenish blood and nourish the body.

Replenishing blood mainly meant replenishing iron, with pork liver having the highest content—unfortunately, she didn’t have any.

Next was lean meat, of which she had plenty, enough to eat every day without needing to spend effort or money to buy more.

The spinach in the yard hadn’t been pulled yet. Originally planned to be picked and eaten fresh for hot pot that day, it could now be put to good use…

Lowering his eyes, Leng Xiao argued, “Actually, tending a fire won’t affect the wound; there’s no need to be overly concerned.”

“If I had that wound, I’d still be lying in bed unable to get up. How can we not be concerned?” Wen Nuan Nuan’s expression showed clear disapproval.

Even with a cold, one might want to rest in bed. But Leng Xiao, despite being injured, not only didn’t rest but always wanted to work!

Was he looking down on the work she did?

Was she someone who couldn’t even tend a fire?

“Look, I start fires perfectly well!”

Skillfully starting the fire with her hands, she added some straw and leaves before placing small twigs. Once the twigs caught fire, she added firewood.

After the fire in the outer stove pit was lit, she used fire tongs to transfer some embers to the inner stove pit. After replenishing enough firewood, Wen Nuan Nuan waved to Leng Xiao. “Come, you can sit now.”

Hmph, if this were over twenty days ago, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it.

But now she was a skilled fire-tender, having regained proficiency in this skill after many years—how awesome!

Although there were no matches or lighters, the fire starter worked quite well!

Looking at Wen Nuan Nuan, who treated him like an invalid and misunderstood his meaning, Leng Xiao sighed silently and quietly sat down.

Still, the feeling of her concern and care was an unprecedented comfort.

Leng Tian returned home at noon.

He had ridden out on a horse but came back in a carriage, loaded with a full cart of goods!

This time, however, learning from the morning’s experience, as soon as the carriage entered the yard, the gate was promptly closed.

When Aunt Wang and the others came in the morning, Leng Tian had already left early with a large quantity of goods and hadn’t been seen. The remaining century-old ginseng was also safely stored in Wen Nuan Nuan’s storage room.

Yet even with just that pot of meat and one horse, Aunt Wang had already developed covetous thoughts. If people knew the true gains from Leng Xiao’s trip this time, there would likely be many more in the village like Aunt Wang trying to take advantage of the Leng Family.

The entire cartload of goods was something the Leng family unanimously agreed to keep from outsiders.

“What material is this carriage made of? It looks unremarkable in this grayish-yellow color, but it feels so sturdy to the touch,” Wen Nuan Nuan asked, running her hand over the smooth carriage fabric.

“It’s oilcloth. The stablehand said it has five layers! Very thick.”

Leng Chen’s gaze fell on the wooden frame. “Is it cedarwood?”

“Yes, Eldest Brother said to choose the sturdiest wood available.” This type is the strongest!

“The carriage interior is so spacious, and it can hold so much,” Leng Yun remarked as he lifted the carriage curtain to peer inside.

“There are many of us, and with two horses, I chose a double-horse carriage compartment,” Leng Tian replied with a sheepish grin, feeling somewhat awkward.

It was the first time he realized that answering questions could be so tiring.

No wonder Eldest Brother didn’t like answering their questions.

The two younger ones and Wen Nuan Nuan were equally excited. The three of them, looking like they had never seen anything like it before, circled the carriage, examining it from every angle—the more they looked, the better it seemed!

Leng Tian had no choice but to first unhitch the carriage from the horses and then slowly unload the items from the compartment.

Once freed, the horses instinctively trotted to the stable, nuzzling each other head-to-head before starting to eat the fodder.

Seeing that the horses had already made this place their home, Wen Nuan Nuan turned to Leng Xiao, who was standing under the eaves, and asked, “The horses worked today. Should we give them some extra food?”

Earlier, Eldest Brother had inquired and learned that working horses needed supplements like corn or beans—probably to boost their nutrition.

Her refrigerator had green beans, red beans, and soybeans. Although there was only a small handful of each, over twenty days, they had accumulated to nearly half a basin.

She had also saved about ten ears of corn.

Before Leng Xiao could respond, Leng Tian eagerly chimed in, “Yes, Eldest Brother told me about it! Sister-in-law, look inside the carriage—we bought a whole vat of corn!”

Eldest Brother said to give the two horses a handful of corn or similar supplements every few days.

You can’t expect the horses to run without feeding them well.

This large vat of corn would be enough to feed the two horses until they reached the capital!

The thought that the horses could eat their fill and occasionally enjoy better food made Leng Tian as happy as if he himself could eat well. He effortlessly unloaded the items from the carriage one by one, arranging them in the spacious courtyard.

“Second Brother, why did you buy so many vats?” Leng Yun counted the vats lined up before him. “There are seven of them, big and small!”

Wen Nuan Nuan and Leng Chen were equally curious, eagerly waiting for Leng Tian to explain.

Aside from one large vat filled with corn, there were six others stacked from large to small!

Arranged in a row, they looked like nesting dolls.

Even the smallest one at the top was filled with miscellaneous items.

“Eldest Brother ordered them,” Leng Tian scratched his head, unsure how to explain with his two younger brothers present.

Leng Xiao, who had been standing and observing, approached and said to the two younger ones, “You two go tidy up the room where we store the grain. We’ll move the grain in there later.”

“Okay!” The two younger ones felt reassured knowing they had brought back a large vat full of corn. They nearly sprinted toward the house.

Leng Xiao turned back and explained clearly to Wen Nuan Nuan, “You mentioned that your storage room also has two levels, each divided into five sections. Only one area on the lower level doesn’t require containers, which you use to store water.

I thought that if a drought occurs, the more water we have, the better. Buying vats allows us to store some cool boiled water, which would also save us the trouble and time of boiling water on the road.”

Leng Tian: Didn’t Eldest Brother dislike answering questions?

Could it be that he just doesn’t like answering the three of us?

…

Leng Xiao’s words opened up a new line of thought for Wen Nuan Nuan.

Right, then we can add large water vats to the kitchen. Two big vats for cool boiled water, and these smaller ones for soups and such. Paired with buns, steamed buns, and crispy pancakes, we can eat quickly in the carriage—filling and thirst-quenching.

“Good. When heavy snow falls and we can’t go out, I’ll make some soups and prepare food to store,” Wen Nuan Nuan agreed with a nod.

She had long planned to take advantage of the heavy snow, when other tasks couldn’t be done, to make food suitable for the road at home.

For now, it was just cold, and going up the mountain to gather chestnuts and hazelnuts wasn’t affected at all.

“Mm, no rush,” Leng Xiao softly reminded. “These things are heavy. Don’t move them yourself—call us.”

Before the roads were blocked by snow, the academy would also be on break.

Leng Tian thought: Eldest Brother would only make them do the work right now, immediately, without delay…

But Sister-in-law was different from them. He completely agreed with what Eldest Brother said. “Eldest Brother is right.”

With them around, how could they ever let Sister-in-law do such heavy work!

Sister-in-law already worked hard cooking for them every day. They couldn’t help with the cooking, so they could only do the tasks they were capable of and knew how to do.

Wen Nuan Nuan felt a warm surge in her heart and replied, “Okay.”