Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

The Eastern Depot's spies are everywhere, and neither Young Master Wu nor Young Master Chen knows any martial arts.

Therefore, Liu Ruyan and Liu Songnian are most likely the ones who delivered the message.

Xiao He took a bite of the pastry, her face expressionless, but her mind was racing.

The lock was quickly replaced. The new lock gleamed, and the key was handed to Lin Xiuer.

She paid the locksmith, thanked him, and saw him out.

The people cleaning the well over there were already busy at work.

The man in the lead stood by the well and looked down for a while. He then called to the two men, who connected the bamboo poles they had brought, tied an iron shovel and a net to one end, and slowly lowered them into the well.

Lin Xiuer leaned over and looked at it for a long time; this job was indeed difficult.

One person held onto a bamboo pole, while another used a rope to descend into the well. The people above then hoisted buckets of silt up.

The silt in that well had been accumulating for who knows how many years. The first scoop of mud that was pulled up was a mixture of black, rotten mud, withered leaves, and decaying grass, and it smelled terrible.

Xiao He glanced at it from the side, covered her nose, and took two steps back.

"This well hasn't been cleaned in years," the leading man said, wiping his sweat.

"The bottom is very silted up, so it needs to be thoroughly rinsed before it can be used. After rinsing it today, it needs to sit for two days until the water is clear before we can drink it."

Lin Xiuer nodded: "Thank you for your help, gentlemen. I'll pay whatever it costs."

The man waved his hand and continued working.

Liu Songnian didn't go to the well; instead, he wandered around the front yard. Several chickens that had just been delivered were piled up at the entrance of the west wing.

In the shady spot under the eaves of the main house, there were several baskets containing plates, bowls, tofu, lotus root, and a large bag of pig offal wrapped in lotus leaves.

He glanced at the open space next to him, where Hu Yidao was squatting on the ground mixing mud, with newly dismantled adobe bricks piled up beside him.

Liu Songnian walked over and squatted down to watch him work with the mud. The yellow mud was mixed with chopped straw, making it sticky, and he tossed it around in his hands.

"Are you preparing to build a stove and cook something delicious?"

Hu Yidao looked up and grinned: "Yeah, we need to hurry up and finish stacking them. Sister Lin said she's going to braise a whole pot!"

"Braised chicken, braised lotus root, braised tofu, and all that offal—broil it all! Mr. Liu, would you like to stay and have a taste?"

Liu Songnian raised an eyebrow: "I wonder how good Lin Niangzi's cooking is? If this isn't done properly, it can be very fishy."

"How was it?" Hu Yidao's eyes widened. "It's not just any ordinary product!"

"Let me tell you, I had her braised offal once, and the taste—tsk tsk, my mouth is still watering just thinking about it!"

He wiped the sweat from his face, making the mud spot even more smudged.

"Mr. Liu, you should stay and have a taste! The flavor is guaranteed to be irresistible; you'll never forget it after just one bite!"

Liu Songnian stroked his beard and laughed: "Oh? Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After he finished laughing, he looked up at the empty west wing.

The four walls were completely stripped down, even the broken window frames were removed, and the ground was piled with junk; there wasn't even a place to sit.

"There's nothing here. Where are we going to eat later?" he asked.

Hu Yidao followed his gaze and was also stunned.

Yeah, we're so focused on eating, what are we going to do if there's nowhere to sit later?

Liu Songnian frowned, glancing at everyone else who was busy.

Ping An was chopping up those unusable broken cabinets to burn as firewood, while Lin Xiuer was sweeping the floor.

Chen Mingxuan and Wu Liangcai, along with their little followers, were cleaning the yard, while Ruyan and Xiaohe were washing the newly bought dishes and chopsticks.

He nodded and said to Hu Yidao, "You guys go ahead with your work, I'll go back for a bit and be right back."

Before Hu Yidao could react, Liu Songnian had already walked out with his hands behind his back.

About half an hour later, the stove in the west wing had been built.

Hu Yidao was burning some rotten wood nearby, the flames slowly drying the newly built stove so he could make braised dishes.

Lin Xiuer was picking out the spices she had brought one by one and putting them into small white cloth bags to make braising packets.

Suddenly, they heard a noise outside the courtyard gate. Looking up, they saw that Liu Songnian had returned, followed by two young men pushing a cart.

The cart was piled high with several old tables and chairs, as well as a few benches.

Liu Songnian walked in with a smile: "I just looked around, and you have nothing here, not even a stool to sit on."

"It'll be braised soon; we can't just squat in the yard to eat it."

"I figured there were a lot of old ones in the teahouse's storeroom, and they were just sitting there doing nothing, so I brought them over."

"Although it's old, it's still sturdy and can be used after a wash."

"Mr. Liu, this..."

Lin Xiuer looked at the table and chairs on the cart, and her nose suddenly felt a little sore. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

These tables and chairs, though old, can definitely be used after a thorough cleaning.

Moreover, judging from the workmanship, it's made of genuine, high-quality wood, much better than the dilapidated furniture they have at home now.

Liu Songnian waved his hand at her, "No need for formalities. It's just gathering dust anyway, so why not let you use it?"

"That girl, Ruyan, has been making a living by performing with me since she was little, and she doesn't have many friends. Now that she sees that you two get along well, she likes to come here, and I'm happy to see that."

He paused, then said half-jokingly, "From now on, once you've tidied up this garden, just don't complain about this old man coming over for meals. Hahahaha."

Lin Xiuer was amused by his words, and the slight feeling of guilt she had felt vanished.

"Mr. Liu, you're too kind!" she replied with a smile. "It's the best thing that you could grace us with your presence."

"I won't say anything else, but you absolutely must stay and try the braised dishes tonight!"

Liu Songnian had been waiting for this response, stroking his beard and nodding repeatedly: "That's great! I've been waiting for this all afternoon!"

The two young men had already pushed the cart into the yard and started unloading the tables and chairs.

Lin Xiuer smiled and, no longer being polite, instructed people to move the tables and chairs into the west wing.

Wu Liangcai and Chen Mingxuan ran over to help, each carrying a stool and placing it in the west wing.

Ping An put down the firewood he was holding and came over to help.

Liu Songnian looked at the tables and chairs unloaded from the car, then at the empty space in the west wing, and pondered for a moment.

"These two tables aren't enough for everyone today. There are still quite a few left in the storeroom; I'll go get more. You guys keep busy."

After saying that, he called to his two young assistants, and they pushed the empty cart out the door again.

Lin Xiuer watched his retreating figure walk away, then turned around and began to busy herself.

Fill a basin with clean water and soak the tofu pieces in it. Wash the lotus root thoroughly, place it on a cutting board, cut it into thick slices, and soak it in water as well.

Tie the prepared spice bag tightly and set it aside for later use.

Several live chickens were fluttering around in the cage; they needed to be dealt with first. She rolled up her sleeves, picked up the chickens one by one, and prepared to kill and pluck them.

On Hu Yidao's side, a fire had already been lit in the stove.

Although the newly built stove was still a bit damp and produced a lot of smoke, the fire was finally lit.

The large pot that Lin Xiuer had just bought today was placed on top, and the water inside slowly heated up and began to steam.