Chapter 56 - 55: Absolutely Not

Chapter 56: Chapter 55: Absolutely Not

In the pitch-black night, the Rose Mansion fell into silence once again. Huai Yu kept her eyes closed, taking a long moment to adjust before making her way back into the treehouse.

Exhausted, she collapsed straight onto her bed. A moment later, however, she sat back up. Grabbing her lantern, she marched aggressively over to the Rose Corridor and gritted her teeth.

"You, you, you—!"

A gentle breeze brushed past, sending a flurry of petals blowing right into her face and hair.

Huai Yu’s imposing aura instantly deflated. Setting the lantern on the ground, she pressed her palms together in prayer and pleaded pitifully, "Please! Don’t be like this, okay? I’m planning to farm tomorrow, and I need to use my Inducing Ability to sprout the soybeans...

"If you make a racket and draw everyone over, how am I supposed to explain it?"

Both the Inducing Ability and the Purification Ability seemed incredibly useful. While Huai Yu had no intention of taking on heavily polluted sources, surely she could practice on her own, right?

Growing crop after crop of soybeans to absorb contamination values seemed to be a widely accepted method. Even if someone came by and saw a lush green patch, they wouldn’t suspect a thing.

But if she relied purely on the Purification Ability...

Huai Yu stared at the roses in front of her. Yet, they merely swayed back and forth just as they always did, showing absolutely no reaction.

She immediately lost her patience and snapped, "If you keep acting like this—" She made up her mind. "I am absolutely never bowing to you again!"

Having vented her temper, she bent down and huffily picked up her lantern. Just then, she felt a cool sensation brush against her neck, accompanied by a faint floral scent. She looked down to see a small rose branch cautiously nuzzling against her. Its cool gray thorns were obediently retracted, not scratching her in the slightest.

Huai Yu pursed her lips, then suddenly burst into a smile. "It’s a deal, then! I’m farming tomorrow, so you need to restrain yourself a little!"

The next day brought another brilliantly sunny sky. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Because of all the tossing and turning last night, the morning broadcast had already ended by the time Huai Yu woke up. But she didn’t need to hear the weather report anyway; just looking up at the warm, beaming sun was enough to put her in a wonderful mood.

With practiced ease, she pulled back the waterproof tarp, quickly cleared away the dry leaves from the roof, and spread the large string of woven grass curtains out on the ground to sun-dry. She did the same with the solar lamps.

Next, she went to check on the pond. Only a day had passed, so the water wasn’t quite clean yet; it still retained a yellowish, murky hue.

However, contamination values weren’t inherently visible through water color. The suspended particles in the pond were mostly just mud and remnants of dead leaves. Deciding to make the best of it, Huai Yu brought over her basin and soap and scrubbed all her dirty clothes right by the pond. Afterward, she took them back and gave them a final rinse with clean water.

The clothes emanated a fresh soapy scent. Hanging them out to dry under the bright sun made her feel incredibly at ease.

Her newly bought fish traps were still sitting in the house. When the pond was still clear, she had already taken a good look at it; the biggest fish in there wasn’t even the size of her thumb. There was absolutely no need to set traps here. She would just have to wait until her next trip up the mountain.

By the time she finished all her chores, it was only 9:00 a.m. Relaxing a little, Huai Yu went back inside and scooped out two spoonfuls of flour. She added water and salt, then, with a mix of caution and boldness, sprinkled in a tiny bit of dried chili flakes.

She had almost forgotten what chili tasted like. She hadn’t dared to eat the dried chilies since buying them, afraid they would be too spicy. But on a clear, beautiful day like today, it felt like the perfect time to give it a try.

She stirred the flour mixture into an even batter, then tossed a bit of lard into the pan. The white lard quickly melted, giving off a savory, fragrant steam. Timing it perfectly, she tossed in some dried wild scallion pieces.

A soft SIZZLE echoed from the pan, and the room was instantly filled with the rich, spicy aroma of scallion oil.

After pouring out the excess oil, she didn’t even need to wash the pan. She carefully poured the batter in, spreading it out into a thin, round crepe. The off-white batter gradually took shape in the pan, solidifying into a glossy, creamy yellow. She drizzled the scallion oil, dotted with dark bits of fried scallion, back over the top. As the steam rose, the creamy yellow crepe began to develop slight char marks...

The savory fragrance only grew stronger!

Huai Yu happily scooped it up with her spatula. It was oily, savory, and had just a hint of spice—absolutely perfect!

Although there were no eggs, and she didn’t have any sauce to brush on for a richer flavor, she turned her head and looked at the few pounds of soybeans left in the corner, feeling a bit hesitant.

She wondered, "Should I ferment some soybean paste before I start farming?"

A moment later, she shook her head in disappointment. Never mind—she didn’t have any fresh chilies.

She quickly polished off the two thin scallion pancakes. Energized, Huai Yu grabbed her multi-purpose shovel and walked around the pond, intending to find a suitable plot of land to cultivate.

The surrounding terrain had a slight downward slope but was mostly even. The soil conditions seemed more or less the same everywhere, with the area by the pond being no different from the rest. However, even with rain, there would inevitably be dry spells. She didn’t have much physical strength; if she planted too far from the pond, watering the crops would become a huge hassle.

The three-to-five-acre pond had looked rather small when it wasn’t full, but now that the water had risen, all she could see was an expanse of yellowish, muddy soup. Huai Yu circled it once before finally selecting a spot that was visible from the treehouse. Taking her shovel, she earnestly marked out the exact boundaries.

She had no idea if she actually knew how to farm or if she could do it well, so the area she marked for her first attempt wasn’t very large—only about twenty square meters.

Within these twenty square meters, she needed to turn the soil, sift out the rocks and gravel, remove the thickly rooted weeds, and finally sun-dry the earth to kill off pests before building ridges to retain moisture.

Then, she had to hurry and plant the soybeans as soon as possible. Otherwise, she wouldn’t make it in time for the spring planting season...

This entire sequence of farming steps flashed through Huai Yu’s mind. Leaning on her multi-purpose shovel, she stood there in a daze, marveling at her own versatility.

How was this not knowing how to farm? She was clearly a seasoned expert!

But that wasn’t right. How did she know so much? Shouldn’t a true princess who lived a pampered life in a castle be unable to tell wheat seedlings from chives? Could it be...

Defeated by the possibility of a miserable past, Huai Yu’s mood immediately sank. Looking at her own fair, tender skin, she had assumed she was destined for a life of luxury in her past—at the very least, she could console herself that she had once lived well.

But now, it seemed...

Great. She was clearly a hardworking, long-suffering laborer who had never owned a thing. No wonder she could manage life so well all by herself—she had literally gained experience from being dirt poor!

As these thoughts swirled in her head, she drove the multi-purpose shovel heavily into the soil with her foot. With a practiced upward scoop, she dug out a chunk of earth, along with rocks and weed roots.

She then used the back of the shovel to smash the clods of dirt and tangled roots apart. Bending down, she reached out, picked out the roots and stones, and tossed them far away.

By the time the heavy stones landed on top of the light, airy roots, the heavy truth had landed in Huai Yu’s heart, too. These movements were so natural and practiced that it almost brought her to tears.

She wondered, "Was I a hardworking rural woman farming deep in the mountains in my past life?"