CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 147: RAISING TURTLES IN THE LOTUS POND

The midday meat dishes consisted only of a snakehead turtle soup and two braised fish.

The rest were all vegetables from the field, eating whatever was available.

When the elder arrived, Qixi was too timid to sit at the table, so she simply took the soup intended for the workers and went over to eat with them.

Li Sheng, thick-skinned, stayed behind to help with the cooking, and now he was drooling at the table.

"Brother Ze, you’d better sit here with me, so we don’t get too crowded."

Little Xue placed two bowls of soup on the table, calling to Liu Ze, who was still washing his hands.

In the afternoon, Jiang Yu wasn’t home, but with the addition of Elder Liu and Li Sheng, along with Liu Ze and the five members of the Jiang family, there were exactly eight people.

Although Iron Egg and Millet were old enough to eat on their own, Jiang Hu’s second wife was still accustomed to having them sit beside her, so she could help them with their food and serve them.

Usually, Little Xue and Liu Ze sat together, mainly because, even though Qixi was at the table, she was still too shy to sit next to the young master.

After all, Liu Ze was still young, so it was fine for them to sit next to each other.

Elder Liu couldn’t wait to sit down at the table, and Millet placed her and Liu Ze’s soup bowls in another direction.

Their bowls contained the snakehead turtle soup, and besides Elder Liu, everyone else got a small piece of snakehead and turtle meat, while Elder Liu got two pieces.

Except for Elder Liu, everyone else was young or children, so they couldn’t eat too much of such rich food.

And the remaining soup, a big pot of it, was all taken by Qixi to the field folks.

Elder Liu was in such a hurry that he forgot his manners. He picked up the bowl and took a big gulp; it was both delicious and fragrant, an absolute delight.

"This tastes incredible. Giving you the turtle meat to cook was definitely the best decision!"

He praised while drinking the soup.

The food from the Jiang family, truly, had to be cooked by the Jiang family to taste the best!

Last time he returned, Jiang Hu sent him away with some vegetables and counted out a dozen or so eggs for him.

But when he had his cook prepare them, they just didn’t taste as good as the Jiang family’s.

"If you like it, you should eat more."

Second Aunt smiled as she brought over a large wooden basin filled with sorghum rice mixed with white sweet potatoes.

They’d been busy these days, not even having had the chance to grind the millet yet, so they still had to eat coarse grains.

But since little Ze could eat it without complaint, Elder Liu likely wouldn’t mind either.

"It’s just that our house is small. Otherwise, Uncle Liu, you could stay with us, and you wouldn’t have to worry about little Ze every day."

After becoming familiar over the course of half a day, mostly thanks to Elder Liu’s enthusiasm, Second Aunt began calling him Uncle Liu.

Liu Ze was tempted.

Though his illness made him more mature and stable than his peers, he was, after all, just a seven-year-old child who missed his family.

If Grandpa could really live here with them, that would be wonderful.

It wasn’t just Liu Ze—Elder Liu was also tempted by the idea.

"Really? I’d love to stay with your family; this good food and drink are much better than the restaurants. I just worry you’d find an old man like me a burden, unable to help with anything."

Good food was important, but most important was his well-behaved grandson.

Letting his well-behaved grandson, who’d never been away from adults, stay in the countryside alone was something he wouldn’t have considered if Liu’s brother hadn’t personally vouched for the Jiang family’s character.

Even so, he couldn’t help but worry when apart from him.

Were it not for the fact that his grandson was assured of getting enough to eat and wouldn’t fall ill at the Jiang family’s, he couldn’t have had the heart to let him stay there.

But leaving him aside, the longing remained.

If he could also live in Fu’an Village, that would be truly wonderful!

At this moment, Jiang Hu also sat down with Iron Egg and Millet, smiling at Elder Liu’s words.

"Uncle Liu, you’re not old at all, still robust and strong."

"How about when the new house is built, I specially arrange a room for you? You can live with us anytime, how does that sound?"

The new house was personally designed by Uncle Liu, who considered the terrain and even covered the labor costs himself; their family only had to live in it.

Moreover, Uncle Liu, worried about extra concerns, urged them to take the blueprint early to the village chief to obtain a permit for processing the house deed in town.

Once the property deed was secured, regardless of who built the house, the person with the deed was the owner.

Uncle Liu’s sincere help called for an equally sincere invitation.

Elder Liu lit up instantly.

"Really?"

Jiang Hu nodded: "Of course, really. I’ll prepare a sunny room for you when the time comes; good light is also good for your health."

Uncle Liu nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, good, that sounds wonderful. We can agree on it: when the house is built, and you’ve moved in, I’ll come over to have meals with you!"

His beaming expression looked as though he’d gained some great windfall.

Beside them, Li Sheng was envious to death. Brother Jiang’s family had such a big yard, not spending a dime, yet directly having a formidable patron!

Not to mention in town, even in the county, he’d have some influence.

After all, he’d heard Elder Liu’s son ran a big business in the county!

Millet listened to the adults’ conversation while sipping turtle soup in little sips, then blinked at Elder Liu.

"Grandpa Liu, how long will it take to build our house?"

Since Grandpa Liu specialized in this field and used his own people, he must have a good grasp of the construction timeline.

Listening to Millet’s crisp voice, Elder Liu felt like he was savoring honey, his smile becoming even more kind and amiable.

"Don’t worry, Millet. It’ll take about two months to finish, and then you can move in right away."

Millet continued to ask, "Can we dig a small pond in the yard then? By then, my turtle eggs will have hatched."

Even if those under the bed were ruined, those in the space would certainly hatch successfully; at worst, she would take some from the space.

When Grandpa Liu and dad discussed the yard before, she had secretly overheard that it was quite large.

"Raise turtles?" Elder Liu was taken aback, thinking for a moment: "But let’s not raise them in the yard."

"Once the yard is complete, we can find a suitable spot nearby and dig a mud pit like a paddy field, then surround it with something to keep them in."

Jiang Hu patted Millet on the head.

"Don’t worry, Millet. We’ll talk about it when the turtles have hatched. Aren’t we planning to plant lotus roots? You can raise them in the lotus field then, no need to find another separate place for them."

Elder Liu didn’t know about this, so he quickly inquired.

Jiang Hu glanced at Li Sheng but didn’t hide anything from him, nodding directly.

"Indeed, we plan to plant lotus, but not using lotus roots, rather using lotus seeds. I’ve asked Master Zhang to help me find out the planting method. In another two months, when the lotus seeds are completely matured, we can harvest them."

Millet quickly remembered and almost forgot about planting the lotus roots.