Ch 52: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

On the day the academy was on break, Jiang Ji took his whole family into town to see the newly purchased shop and house—to recognize the place and also to let Han Qingshan and the others meet his family.

Zhao Ru and the rest had all specially put on new clothes, their faces full of joy and excitement.

They first went to look at the shop. It was under renovation, so they just stood at the entrance to see the storefront before heading to the new house.

At the main gate, Han Qingshan was already standing to the side with Yu Yang and the others, waiting to welcome them. A plaque hung over the gate, covered with a red silk cloth, and strings of firecrackers were set on both sides.

“Mother, this is the place,” Jiang Ji said, stopping with his family.

Zhao Ru looked at the grand gate, smiling brightly. “It’s wonderful.”

Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei both looked around curiously.

Han Qingshan came forward. “Young Master, everything is ready.”

“Good.” Jiang Ji smiled and introduced everyone, “Mother, Xia’er, Jiang Nan, Jiang Bei—this is Han Qingshan, our steward. This is his apprentice Yu Yang, and this is Guihua…”

He introduced them one by one, then turned to introduce his family to Han Qingshan’s group.

Han Qingshan led all the servants to greet their masters.

“Good day, Madam.”

“Good day, Eldest Young Master.” “Good day, Second Young Master.”

“Good day, Young Lady.”

“Good day, Third Young Master.”

“Good day, Fourth Young Master.”

Zhao Ru and the others froze for a moment. They weren’t used to being addressed like that.

Jiang Xia held onto Zhao Ru’s arm, a little embarrassed.

Jiang Nan grinned at Jiang Bei and said, “I’m the Third Young Master.”

Jiang Bei pressed his lips together in a smile. “I’m the Fourth Young Master.”

(T/N: ML is the eldest young master).

The two boys looked at each other and burst out laughing, and Jiang Ji couldn’t help laughing and shaking his head.

Han Qingshan asked, “Young Master, shall we begin?”

“Alright.” Jiang Ji nodded, then turned to Zhao Ru. “Mother, you unveil the plaque.”

“Me?” Zhao Ru waved her hands. “No, no, you and Jiang Yan should do it.”

In her understanding, such matters should be done by the men of the family.

“You must do it,” Jiang Ji said, pulling Zhao Ru forward.

Zhao Ru looked nervous. “Xiao Ji, isn’t that improper?”

“There’s nothing improper about it. You’re the elder of this family—it’s only right for you to do it.”

Still worried, Zhao Ru was led by the arm as Jiang Ji said, “Then we’ll do it together.”

Seeing how insistent he was, Zhao Ru finally nodded. “Alright.”

Mother and son each held one end of the red silk cloth and pulled gently. Translated on Hololo novels. The cloth slid down smoothly, revealing the plaque over the gate with the characters “Jiang Residence.”

The characters were written by Jiang Yan—bold, powerful, and elegant. Even the craftsman who carved the plaque had praised them repeatedly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Firecrackers went off on both sides. Everyone turned their heads, faces glowing with wide smiles.

When the fireworks ended, Jiang Ji waved his hand. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

He linked arms with Zhao Ru as they entered the courtyard and showed everyone around.

“What do you think? Not bad, right?”

Zhao Ru nodded. “Good—very good.”

Jiang Nan was already choosing rooms. “Brother, where do I stay?”

“The main building’s two rooms are for Mother and Xia’er. You can choose whichever room you like in the east or west wing.”

“Really?”

“Really. Pick whichever you want.”

Jiang Nan cheered. “Jiang Bei, come on, let’s pick our rooms!”

The two of them ran off. Jiang Bei asked, “Should we live on the same side?”

“Do you want to live near Big Brother?” Jiang Nan countered.

Jiang Bei thought for a bit. “Then let’s stay on the same side.”

Jiang Ji overheard and couldn’t help laughing to himself. Oh, so now they dislike living near me? I didn’t want to live near you either.

After touring the whole place, they gathered in the main hall to rest.

Han Qingshan had tea and snacks brought out. Jiang Ji said, “Uncle Han, I’ll cook later. Have them wash the vegetables first and set them aside. I’ll come back to start prepping.”

By now Han Qingshan understood Jiang Ji’s personality well and simply nodded. “Yes, sir.”

After a while, Jiang Ji went to the kitchen, and Zhao Ru followed with the others.

“Oh, this kitchen is spacious—so convenient,” Zhao Ru said with a smile as she washed her hands. Used to doing housework, she rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a knife, and was about to start chopping vegetables.

Han Qingshan and the others quickly stopped her. “Madam, please rest—we’ll do it.”

Zhao Ru stared blankly as they took the knife from her hand. “Let me do it.”

Jiang Ji smiled. “Mother, just relax. They’re practicing their cooking—let them handle it.”

“Yes, yes, Madam, we’re learning to cook. Please let us do it,” Ding Xiaojun said cheerfully.

Jiang Ji pointed out a few people currently training in knife skills and told them how he wanted the vegetables cut, while Han Qingshan stood by giving instructions.

Zhao Ru and Jiang Xia looked at each other helplessly and could only stand aside to watch.

Jiang Ji didn’t cut anything himself; the prep work was done by Han Qingshan’s group under his supervision, and he took charge of the actual cooking.

Today marked a small, formal housewarming, and the dishes were plentiful—all prearranged by Jiang Ji.

He cooked ten dishes in total, symbolizing perfection in every way.

Braised lion’s head meatballs, spicy diced chicken, stir-fried lamb, duck with young ginger, braised pork trotters, diced rabbit, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, poached shrimp, glutinous rice ribs, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, plus a soup of corn, carrots, and pork ribs.

He didn’t make any of the dishes Han Qingshan’s group had been learning lately. Since they’d been practicing their cooking every day and eating their own trial dishes, they were probably sick of those flavors by now.

These new dishes, Jiang Ji cooked with practiced skill while explaining his process. Han Qingshan and the others stood by watching and learning; Han Qingshan, especially, paid close attention.

Before long, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei came in too. The kitchen was full of people, all watching Jiang Ji cook—even Jiang Yan was standing nearby. Luckily, the kitchen was large enough for everyone to fit.

“Wow, it smells so good!” Jiang Nan stood beside his mother, sniffing with his little nose, practically drooling.

Jiang Bei tugged on Jiang Nan’s arm. “We haven’t eaten those dishes before.”

Jiang Nan nodded. “We’ll try them later. Big Brother made them—they’ll definitely be good.”

“Yeah.”

Han Qingshan overheard the boys and felt curious. So these dishes were ones even the young masters hadn’t eaten before?

How did the young master come up with so many new recipes?

When the food was ready, they set up two tables—Han Qingshan’s group at one, and Jiang Ji’s family at the other.

The new dishes were all visually appealing, fragrant, and flavorful, and everyone couldn’t stop eating.

“Heavens, I’ve never eaten food this good. The diced chicken smells amazing!”

“This fish looks beautiful and tastes even better. I didn’t know a sweet-and-sour fish could be so delicious!”

“Steaming glutinous rice together with ribs—the rice soaks up the pork fat, and the ribs turn even more tender. How did the young master think of combining them like that?”

Jiang Nan shouted, “Brother, I want another lion’s head meatball! Let’s eat them again tonight—you didn’t make enough!”

“Alright. Want some shrimp? I’ll peel them for you.”

“Yes!”

Zhao Ru smiled as she looked at the full table. “Are these dishes going on the restaurant’s menu?”

“Yes, all of them,” Jiang Ji nodded. “We’ll probably need to prepare at least twenty or thirty dishes.”

Zhao Ru glanced at Han Qingshan’s group. “That many? Can they learn them all in two months?”

Jiang Ji had already planned. “If there’s not enough time, we’ll split them into two groups—start with what they’ve mastered, and add more later.”

Jiang Nan was eager. “When I grow up, I’ll learn too. Then I can eat tasty food every day.”

Jiang Ji raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you wanted to be a shopkeeper when you grow up?”

“Can’t a shopkeeper learn cooking too?” Jiang Nan asked in confusion.

“Sure, but I’m just afraid you won’t want to learn later.”

Jiang Nan replied confidently, “No, I will. I’ll learn.”

Jiang Bei said, “Go ahead and learn, then you can cook for me.”

Jiang Nan widened his eyes. “You’re not going to learn yourself?”

“I’m going to study,” Jiang Bei reminded him seriously. “I won’t have time.”

Jiang Nan thought about it, sighed, and said, “Alright then.”

Everyone, including Zhao Ru, couldn’t help laughing.

The meal was full of laughter and chatter—everyone was in high spirits.

Jiang Ji noticed that ever since Xiang’er had been brought back, Han Qingshan and Yu Yang both seemed much more cheerful, which reassured him.

After lunch, they rested for a bit before Zhao Ru and the others prepared to return home.

Guihua asked, “Madam, aren’t you staying here?”

“No, there’s still a lot to do at home,” Zhao Ru replied. “We just came to see the place and meet everyone. We’ll go back now.”

Jiang Ji said directly, “Why don’t you come with us this afternoon to the village? Get familiar with the way—so if anything comes up later, you’ll know where to find us.”

So the group followed Jiang Ji back to the village.

When Han Qingshan and the others saw the thatched house Jiang Ji’s family lived in, they were stunned.

Ding Xiaojun asked in surprise, “Young Master, you really live here?”

“Yes, this is my home,” Jiang Ji nodded.

Everyone was dumbfounded. They themselves were living in a big house in town, while their masters were still living in a thatched hut—it didn’t feel right.

Ding Xiaojun scratched his head. “Young Master, since you’ve already bought such a large house, why don’t you move into the city?”

That was everyone’s question.

Jiang Ji smiled. “We still have to farm. There are forty mu of farmland at home that need tending.”

Everyone: “…”

Someone asked, “Young Master, do you personally farm?”

“Yes.” Jiang Ji looked around and said, “To tell you the truth, our family only recently earned enough to buy the house. Our new home’s being built now. Come, I’ll show you.”

He led everyone to the construction site of their new house, with Zhao Ru staying behind. Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei came along.

When they saw the size of the house being built, everyone felt a little relieved.

So the young master hadn’t moved to the city yet just to avoid trouble—or maybe he just preferred country life?

Jiang Ji then took them to see the family’s forty mu of fields and the chili crops.

When the villagers saw such a large group coming, one auntie stopped Jiang Nan and asked, “Jiang Nan, who are they?”

“They’re the master chefs my brother hired,” Jiang Nan said.

The auntie blinked. “What kind of master chefs?”

“The chefs for our restaurant—the ones who cook.”

The auntie was startled. “You’re opening a restaurant?”

“It’s not open yet.”

From up ahead, Jiang Bei shouted, “Jiang Nan, hurry up! Brother and the others are way ahead!”

“Coming! Bye, Auntie!” Jiang Nan called and ran off after them.

After touring the fields, when they were about to head back to town, Han Qingshan glanced at Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei and said to Jiang Ji, “Young Master, how about leaving Xiang’er here to serve the young lady or the two little masters? She can work now—serve tea, pour water, wash clothes.”

Jiang Ji refused. “No need. The house isn’t finished yet; there’s no room.”

“Then perhaps let Qiaomei or Hongxiu stay behind? They can just lay a mat on the floor for now.”

Jiang Ji glared at him. “You’re the chefs I hired for the restaurant, not personal servants. If I ever need attendants, I’ll go to the labor market to hire some.”

Han Qingshan hesitated, then replied, “…Yes, Young Master.”

On the way back to town, everyone started chatting.

“Our young master’s family is really strange. They’ve got money now—why do they still farm instead of living in the city?”

“Maybe they’re just used to it? Everyone they know is in the village.”

“The young master’s house doesn’t even have any servants.”

“Didn’t you hear what he said? They only came into money recently. Once their new house is done, they’ll probably hire some.”

Han Qingshan frowned. “Alright, enough gossiping about the masters.”

Everyone immediately fell silent.

Back home, Jiang Yan asked Jiang Ji, “Why didn’t you let anyone stay to help?”

“There’s no room yet,” Jiang Ji said, scratching his head. “Besides, this is the age when Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei are forming their characters. If they get used to being waited on now, they’ll turn out spoiled later. Once the new house is done, we can hire a couple of people to clean the yard and do chores—but Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei don’t need attendants. They should at least learn to take care of themselves. I don’t want them growing up into pampered young masters.”

He spoke from experience. He himself had been spoiled and idle as a child—never did anything on his own. After transmigrating, he couldn’t even tell scallions from wild grass, didn’t know how to cook or wash clothes, and could barely survive on his own.

He wasn’t going to let Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei become like that. What they needed to know, they would learn—there was no harm in that.

Jiang Yan glanced at him. “Didn’t think you had your own philosophy about raising children.”

“…An older brother is like a father, right? Someone’s got to do it,” Jiang Ji sighed.

Then he leaned closer, covering his mouth and whispering, “Besides, I’m definitely not going to have kids of my own, so I’ve got to raise my little brothers and sister well. They’ll be the ones carrying on the Jiang family line. I can’t let them grow crooked—or they’ll blow through everything I’ve worked for!”

Jiang Yan stared at him wordlessly for a while. Jiang Ji felt his stare and got goosebumps. “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”

Jiang Yan turned away. “No. You’re right—you’re thinking ahead.”

“…” Jiang Ji squinted suspiciously. “I feel like you’re mocking me.”

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow. “Mocking you? What do you mean?”

Jiang Ji rubbed his nose. “Nothing. Anyway, the ducklings and fish are being released in a few days. I’m going to check on the ducklings.”

Jiang Yan watched him trot off toward the duck pen, his brow twitching slightly. That was clearly an escape.

…

The next day, word spread through the village that Jiang Ji’s family was opening a restaurant. The people seen yesterday were said to be the master chefs for it.

Many villagers asked him about it when they saw him.

It wasn’t something he needed to hide, so Jiang Ji explained, “It’s not open yet—will be in a while. We’ll need to hire waiters and busboys, and people to wash dishes and clean. If your family has anyone available, they can apply then.”

“Really? We can apply?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “As long as you meet the requirements. But let me warn you—I’ll be strict. I don’t hire out of favoritism. If someone doesn’t meet the standards, I won’t take them.”

“Got it. How much will the pay be?”

“Not decided yet.”

“When will you start hiring?”

“It’ll be a while—the restaurant’s still under renovation. I’ll let everyone know when recruitment starts.”

“Alright, we’ll wait for your word.”

“Where’s the restaurant?”

“On North Street.”

“Oh heavens, shops on North Street are expensive, aren’t they?”

“Not too bad.”

That day, the news spread again—when Jiang Ji’s restaurant opened, villagers could go work there. Everyone was suddenly excited.

…

The following day came the time to release the ducks and fish.

Before letting the ducklings into the rice fields, they had to be trained a bit—to swim and peck at food scattered in the water, so they’d later eat water grass and insects in the fields.

Jiang Ji built a small mud enclosure filled with water, where the ducklings practiced swimming and pecking at floating feed.

On the day of release, Lord Chen and Magistrate Xu came again to watch, along with many curious villagers.

Jiang Ji had reorganized his family’s fields—combining smaller plots into large ones. At each end of every field, he’d dug small ponds for the ducklings to play in.

They carried the ducklings to the edge of each field and released the right number according to its size. It was about a week after the rice had turned green again, and the shallow water level was perfect for the young ducks to move around.

Jiang Ji opened the cages, and the ducklings jumped one by one into the water, swimming between the rice plants. They pecked at the bran sprinkled earlier or preened their feathers, but not a single one touched the rice shoots.

Magistrate Xu was amazed. “They really don’t eat the rice seedlings.”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Right. They eat water grass but don’t like the rice. However, they love mature rice grains, so once the ears start forming, we can’t let them into the fields anymore.”

“Oh.” Magistrate Xu smiled at Lord Chen. “Learned something new today.”

Lord Chen laughed and nodded, watching as Jiang Ji’s people released cage after cage of ducklings. “They’re so small—can they swim all the way across the field in a day?”

“Tomorrow we’ll release from the opposite side, or even from the middle,” Jiang Ji said. “We’ll adjust flexibly. Once they grow, their range will expand.”

“You’ll collect them back every evening?”

“Yes.”

After releasing the ducks, before long the fish fry arrived.

These were fish Jiang Ji had ordered in advance from fishermen—grass carp, common carp, and crucian carp. He examined them carefully; they were all healthy.

The fishermen brought out a porcelain bowl and a wooden basin to count the fish fry for Jiang Ji and his group.

In the rice fields, Jiang Ji had already changed out all the water the day before. He’d also installed double-layered barriers of fishing nets and bamboo slats at both the inlets and outlets to ensure the fry couldn’t swim away. On the surface of the water, he had sprinkled chopped grass and bran as feed.

He’d even set up many scarecrows in each paddy. These were designed to rotate with the wind, to scare away birds that might come to eat the little fish.

He released four to five hundred fish per mu of field. After the fishermen counted one basin, Jiang Ji poured it into the water.

The tiny fish scattered as soon as they entered the paddy. Some stayed in the small ponds, while others swam deeper into the fields, nibbling at the grass and bran floating on the water.

After about an hour of work, all the fish fry were released.

This was a pilot project, and everyone who came to watch was full of questions, eager to see whether Jiang Ji could actually raise fish successfully in the fields, and what the results would be in two or three months.

Officials Chen and Xu were particularly interested. Every seven or eight days, they would come by for an inspection, and even on their rest days they sometimes visited together.

They didn’t just look at the rice, ducks, and fish—they also checked the growth of other crops.

As the weather grew hotter, all the crops were thriving. Each time the two officials came, they marveled at how much everything had changed in just a few days.

Jiang Ji and his family were now extremely busy—transplanting vegetables, weeding, turning soil, fertilizing, watering—and every other day, Jiang Ji also went to the city to teach Han Qingshan’s group how to cook.

When the fieldwork got too heavy, they hired extra help.

Then one day, Jiang Ji told the two officials, “Sir, everyone’s sweet potato vines are ready for cutting and selling. Families who didn’t plant before can now buy seedlings. People from other counties can also come to purchase. As for the price, it’s up to you—either let the villagers set their own or have the county office fix a uniform rate. Either way works.”

Earlier, the villagers had planted sweet potato shoots, and now the leftover vines had grown long.

The two officials were delighted. After discussing it, they quickly issued a notice with a suggested price: one copper coin per cutting suitable for planting. Since one long vine could usually yield two to four cuttings, the count would be based on that.

Within the county, people could trade freely, but outsiders had to come to the county office on a set date. Villagers brought their vines there, and money and goods were exchanged on the spot.

Changping County had been the first to cultivate sweet potatoes, and almost every household had bought some, so most of the sales now were to other counties.

Soon, every household followed the notice—cutting the vines, sorting them by length, bundling twenty vines per bunch, and hauling them to town.

Officials from other counties came with silver ready, counting the vines one by one before paying. Once they met their quota, they hurried to transport them home. Some even traveled through the night, afraid that if delayed, the vines would dry out and fail to take root.

With the officials like Chen and Xu overseeing everything, no one dared to cheat. The trading went on for three or four days without a hitch.

Each vine sold for two to four copper coins, and one sweet potato could grow five or six vines. After saving a few for replanting, people still had plenty left to sell. Just from this sale, most villagers earned back all the money they had spent on the original seedlings.

It was the first time they had made money from sweet potatoes, and everyone was overjoyed.

Jiang Ji had been right—sweet potatoes were the most profitable crop: easy to plant, hardy, and every part edible.

From now on, whatever Jiang Ji said to plant, they would plant!

Jiang Ji and Jiang Yan also came to sell vines, pulling a cartload.

When the village head and the clan elder saw them, they recognized him right away and pointed them out to others.

“Look, those two young men over there—the shorter one is Jiang Ji.”

“Which one?”

“Over there in line—two handsome fellows, one tall, one shorter. See them? The darker, shorter one is Jiang Ji. The taller one is Jiang Yan.”

“Oh, I see. So they’re the ones who brought us the sweet potatoes.”

“Yep, the very same—the ones who sold them to us.”

Then a young man shouted from across the crowd, “Jiang Ji!”

Jiang Ji turned toward the voice. The place was packed, so he couldn’t tell who had called him.

He raised his voice, “Who’s calling me?”

Now everyone knew which one he was.

“Ah, so that’s Jiang Ji!”

“So this is the young man himself.”

“Jiang Ji, thank you! We’ve already earned back what we spent on the sweet potatoes!”

“Young man, thank you. During this lean season, we can finally make a bit of money.”

“Yeah, the vegetables aren’t ready yet, so these sweet potato vines came just in time.”

Everyone came up to thank him, smiling sincerely with gratitude.

Jiang Ji smiled back. “You all paid for them—no need to thank me.”

Then he reminded them, “In six or seven days, remember to turn over your sweet potato fields. This time, you can dig deeper and pull out the roots of the weeds, because once the tubers start forming, you won’t be able to dig that deep anymore. After that, you can only do shallow weeding. Just follow the planting guide—it’s really easy to grow.”

“Alright, we’ll do as you say!”

Watching everyone leave contentedly with their earnings, Jiang Ji felt a warm satisfaction himself.

“Hey, Jiang Yan, why am I so happy seeing them make money?”

Jiang Yan looked at him deeply. “Because you have a soft heart.”

“…Feels like you’re teasing me again,” Jiang Ji said, waving a hand generously. “Forget it, I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let it go.”

Jiang Yan’s lips curved slightly; he probably understood now what that phrase meant.

“I’m not teasing you,” he said.

“Huh?” Jiang Ji turned to look at him. “What did you say?”

Jiang Yan met his gaze and said earnestly, “I wasn’t teasing you—I was praising you.”

Jiang Ji looked into his dark eyes, where small points of light shimmered. In that reflection, he could see himself.

Jiang Ji looked away and blinked. “Oh. Got it. Thanks.”

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