I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 141 Artificial Pollination

Jun Qirui...

Is this his biological mother?

They had never eaten this before.

Since coming to this family, they have been eating "delicacies" they haven't had in years.

He still couldn't get used to spicy food. Seeing his mother being led astray by Dongfang Jin, he felt not resentment, but rather gratitude.

Dongfang Jin took a big bite with a spoon: "Comfortable, this is the taste."

You shouldn't eat too much spicy food during your period.

She already suffers from menstrual cramps, so if she eats more spicy food, the medication will be ineffective.

"Stone, after dinner, you and Brother Xiaohui go to Grandpa Village Chief's house to buy a jar of sesame paste. We'll have hot pot tonight."

Gu Chenglin bought a sheep, and then looked at the sky outside. It was only noon, but it had become even more gloomy, as if it were about to get dark.

It looks like it'll snow soon, and snowy days are the perfect time for hot pot.

Jun Wenhui put down her spoon: "No need to go. Chenglin brought back a jar today. He said he happened to run into Lin Yu on his way to the county to deliver goods to Ping An Restaurant, so he gave it to him."

"Okay, that saves them the trouble of making a trip."

To be honest, she was also a little worried about letting the two children go out.

Jun Qixian put down her chopsticks and pointed to the small stones in the wooden basin: "Jin-jie, what do you need those small stones for?"

When Dongfang Jin was asked this, she slapped her forehead and said, "I forgot, those small stones are for roasting chestnuts."

She had been thinking about making roasted chestnuts for her two children, but she had completely forgotten about it.

Gu Jingye glanced at the basin of pebbles: "Young lady, is this the roasted chestnuts you mentioned?"

Stir-fry with stones? How would you stir-fry that?

Is my young mistress finding business for someone again?

"Well, I've already dragged this out for so long. If I keep dragging it out, you'll probably accuse me of not keeping my word."

Gu Jingye was a little embarrassed when she saw through his little scheme: "No, I know you're busy, and you always keep your word."

“It’s not that I’m busy, it’s that your dad is busy. If we don’t bury our grapevines in the ground soon, they’ll freeze and affect next year’s harvest.”

Thinking to himself, Gu Chenglin and the others had been busy for more than a month to bury those grapes.

Then I got busy with planting vegetables, and almost three months have passed in this whole process.

Jun Qirui then spoke up: "Next spring, when we build the house, let's go to the county and find a professional construction team. That's faster."

Chenglin and I also looked at it. He plans to build a house over the Nanhe River so that people who work in the vineyard can live there in the future.

Those who live here can simply take care of the servants at home.

Separating them like this will prevent chaos and make management easier.

“Okay, in the next day or two, you and Gu Chenglin will accompany Aunt Hui to the brokerage firm in the county to buy a few old women who know how to sew.”

You and these two young ones should each be assigned a servant, and Xian'er and Caiwei should each be assigned a maid.

Jun Wenhui jokingly asked with a smile, "Are you planning to fire me?"

Dongfang Jin laughed and said, "No, I just saw that you were too tired, and someone has to take care of the vegetables at home."

Also, it's not good to always ask villagers to come over for making clothes; they're all busy too.

"That's right. Xiao Zhao and Xiao Zhuang came over this morning, delivered the shoes, and then ran back."

She realized that ever since that Lord An came, her son had told her that the Chenglin family probably wouldn't stay in Lingwu Village for long.

At the time, her son asked her whether, if that day ever came, they would go with Gu Chenglin's family or stay behind.

In the end, the three of them decided that they would follow Chenglin's family wherever they went.

Furthermore, Xiao Jin's suggestion to have Shen Qijun follow Cheng Lin was probably also intended to train him to be a butler.

She could tell that Xiao Jin had initially been interested in Cheng Lin's brothers, but now it seemed she had changed her mind.

Come to think of it, those companies already have businesses, and bringing them over would seem a bit like taking advantage of someone's kindness.

Over time, it's inevitable that resentment will arise.

When a person has more things in their pockets, they also have more thoughts and ideas.

In truth, she admired Dongfang Jin's foresight and character, qualities that made her feel inferior.

Gu Yumei didn't say a word during the meal. Thinking about last night, when she stood outside and heard her eldest son's suppressed sobs inside, her heart ached.

Cheng Lin didn't treat them as outsiders, she knew that, but she didn't really understand Cheng Lin, her new daughter-in-law.

Fourth Aunt said that she bought the house because Chenglin agreed to it privately, and she was already feeling uneasy.

This morning, after hearing what Cheng Lin's family said, she knew that she and her two children were saved.

This was a life she had never imagined in the more than ten years she had lived in the Shen family.

Having enough to eat? That was something I dared not even think about, and I had never even had the luxury of it.

Thinking back to when Xiaojun's father was alive, she used to joke that if she could eat her fill every day and have meat to eat, she would do anything for him.

But the three of them, mother and daughters, were at Chenglin's house, where they had meat with every meal, three times a day, and were well-fed. They also lived in a very comfortable place.

……

They had just finished eating when snowflakes began to fall. Judging from the size and density of the snowflakes, it seemed that this snowfall would be heavy and would last for a long time.

Jun Qixian ran out excitedly and stood in the yard with her hands outstretched: "This is the first time I've ever seen snowflakes!"

Gu Caiwei ran out after her, mimicking her, "Auntie, haven't you ever seen snow before?"

Jun Qixian caught the falling snowflakes: "Yes, because where my aunt used to live, although it was cold in winter, it never snowed."

Even if it rains, it's just sleet, which melts into water as soon as it hits the ground.

Looking at them, Gu Yumei's mood improved as well: "It rarely snows heavily here. It usually snows during the New Year or the first month of the lunar calendar, but even then, it's only a thin layer on the ground."

This year it's unusually cold here, and I've never seen such heavy snow before.

Dongfang Jin looked at them and asked, "Is it cold at night? Do you want another blanket?"

Shen Qihui raised his chin and said, "Auntie, I was sweating all night."

This is the first time I've ever slept on such a warm kang (heated brick bed) and been covered with such a cozy quilt.

The new quilt is soft, smells nice, and isn't hard at all.

Gu Yumei's tears immediately welled up.

Jun Wenhui patted her shoulder and laughed, "Kids are so energetic, but two beds each should be enough for the winter."

……

In the afternoon, Dongfang Jin did not go to the space. Instead, she and Jun's mother and daughter performed artificial pollination on the vegetables in the greenhouse.

Gu Yumei watched as the three of them each held a small brush and brushed the flowers, and asked curiously, "Jin-jie, is this what you call artificial pollination?"

"Yes, see this flower? This is called a male flower. Just take this small brush, dip it in the pollen in the center, and brush it onto this female flower."

Jun Qixian: "At first I didn't know that these flowers had male and female parts, hehe... Now I understand."

"Aunt Mei, the one with small fruits at the base is the female flower, while this larger, more vibrant one is the male flower."

Seeing her daughter return to her former self, even more lively than before, Jun Wenhui remarked, quite unusually, "Females aren't as beautiful as males, not only flowers but also animals."

When I was a child, my grandfather liked to keep birds, and the female birds didn't have the bright and beautiful feathers of the male birds.

Some of the female birds are quite plump, unlike the small, pretty, and cute male birds.

Some female birds don't have tails as long as the males.

Dongfang Jin said with a smile, "I heard that there is a kind of male bird that can weave its own nest, and the more intricate the nest they weave, the more female birds they will attract."

She only caught a glimpse of it when she occasionally saw her grandfather watching Animal World; the bird seemed to be called a weaverbird.

Jun Wenhui laughed and said, "Yes, I've heard that too. Some male birds even dance to attract females."