Ch 68: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

“Really?” Jiang Ji was afraid he had misheard and asked again, uncertain.

Jiang Yan nodded and said seriously, “Anything I promise you counts.”

Jiang Ji’s eyes lit up instantly at his words. The heaviness that had been lodged in his chest a moment ago vanished in an instant, his heart blooming like fireworks.

He looked at Jiang Yan. The other man gazed back calmly, his eyes gentle yet deep, neither evasive nor flickering, his attitude earnest and sincere.

“Were you serious, or were you just comforting me back then because you thought I was about to die?” Jiang Ji asked worriedly. “If you were only comforting me, then forget it.”

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you think I was just comforting you?”

“No counterquestions. Answer me directly.” Jiang Ji glared at him. “I want a definite answer.”

Jiang Yan paused, then nodded. “Not comforting you. I was serious.”

The corner of Jiang Ji’s mouth lifted. He pressed it back down again and said in an affected, tea-scented tone, “Don’t force yourself. I don’t want you to wrong yourself.”

Jiang Yan laughed softly and said warmly, “Mm. Not forced. I’m willing.”

Jiang Ji nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and said, “Alright then. You go on with your work. I won’t disturb you.”

With that, Jiang Ji strolled out of the east wing, his smile so bright he couldn’t hide it.

Jiang Yan watched his retreating figure. His steps were light, almost bouncing a little, and Jiang Yan’s lips curved up at once.

Looks like he’s not angry anymore.

Jiang Yan withdrew his gaze and continued writing his letter.

Outside the east wing, Lu Jiu and Lu Wu exchanged a look, both staring blankly.

Lu Jiu silently mouthed, “What did the young master promise him?”

Lu Wu shook his head. “No idea.”

Lu Jiu was completely confused, but he felt that something was a bit strange between Jiang Ji and his prince. Like they were speaking in riddles.

Jiang Ji went to the study shared by Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei. With the bandits wiped out, they had returned to school, and the study was empty.

Jiang Ji had placed four desks in this room. Jiang Nan, Jiang Bei, and Jiang Xia each used one to do their homework. The fourth, larger one, was shared by Jiang Ji and Jiang Yan. It was bigger so he could supervise them, and his pencils, ruler, and other things were kept here as well.

Jiang Ji walked around the room, thought for a moment, then took out some paper and opened the livestream.

“Guys, the simple bow we had someone make earlier is done. But the more complex one doesn’t have precise data yet. The result wasn’t very good, and it’s still being adjusted. Do you have bows like this on your end? Can you tell me the exact specs? Mainly the bow length and the curvature.”

【Didn’t the bandits already get wiped out? Why are you still making bows?】

【We might have something similar. Let me look it up for you】

【Oh, is this for Jiang Yan and his people】

“Thanks, guys. Help me look it up. As for the use, Jiang Yan is going to fight a war. If his arrows can shoot ten meters farther than others, that’s already a huge advantage. The bigger the advantage, the better. Since I know about this kind of bow, I have to get it right. There’s nothing else I can really help with.”

【Knew it, this is all for Jiang Yan】

【You must be over the moon】

【I told you Jiang Yan definitely likes you】

【Congrats, streamer】

Jiang Ji chuckled. “I really am very happy.”

【Look at you, acting all shamelessly happy】

【Streamer resurrected in one second, I’m dying】

【Who was it just now acting like the world was ending, thinking they were just being delusional】

【Guys, what if I really misunderstood everything?】

【Guys, what if I really misunderstood everything?】

【Guys, what if I really misunderstood everything?】

A stream of identical questions flooded the screen. Jiang Ji stayed smiling. “Laugh all you want. I’m happy today, I won’t argue with you.”

【……】

【That little tail is practically sticking straight up】

【Hahahahaha young people in love are really something】

Jiang Ji couldn’t get angry no matter what right now. His smile was stretched high, his tolerance unusually great.

“Alright, stop teasing me. Hurry and tell me how to make that bow. If you don’t have exactly that kind, then tell me about something more advanced than the bows here, as long as it’s something that can be made locally. Hurry, hurry, this is urgent.”

【There is something similar to what you drew. It can be made with wood and iron】

“How far can it shoot?”

【Pretty far. Straight-line range is about 130 meters. With an arc shot, around six hundred meters】

“Good, good, good, this one.” Jiang Ji said. “Guys, please keep quiet for a moment so I can see that person’s message.”

That viewer posted a long block of text full of data. Jiang Ji copied all of it down first, then roughly redrew the bow he had sketched earlier, and modified it bit by bit according to what the viewers said.

The progress was a little slow, but at least it was moving forward.

Jiang Yan finished writing the letters and handed them to Lu Wu to be sent out, then headed over to the study on the west wing.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Jiang Ji looked up at him, eyes bright. “You’re done writing?”

“Mm. They’ve been sent.” Jiang Yan walked over to his side and took a look. It was a drawing of a bow, a bit different from the one before. “You figured out a solution?”

“I asked the immortals,” Jiang Ji said. “There weren’t any blueprints, so I drew this based on what they described. Let’s try it first. It’d be great if we can get it done before you head south.”

Jiang Yan lowered his gaze to him, feeling a stir in his chest. “Is there anything I can help with?”

“Hm…” Jiang Ji thought for a moment. “Call Lu Jiu in. Have him roughly sketch out the weapons currently used by the army. I’ll see if there’s anything that can be improved.”

Jiang Yan nodded and went to call Lu Jiu in.

Lu Jiu had followed the army before. Hearing this, he sat down at Jiang Bei’s desk, ground some ink himself, and started drawing.

“Jiang Yan, help me assemble the cotton gin and the spinning machine,” Jiang Ji said as he picked up his drawing tools. “Come on, let’s go to the workshop.”

Jiang Ji and Jiang Yan walked side by side to the backyard, leaving Lu Jiu alone in the study to draw.

The workshop was in a room on the west side of the backyard. Inside were the parts for the cotton gin, spinning machine, and loom that Jiang Ji had previously commissioned from carpenters, along with some iron components.

There was a workbench in the room. Jiang Ji found the blueprints and handed them to Jiang Yan, giving him a rough explanation. Jiang Yan then started assembling the parts on his own according to the drawings.

Lu Jiu came in to help him.

Jiang Ji sat by the workbench and continued drawing, chatting with Jiang Yan as he worked. “We’ll need to go into town tomorrow.”

“For something?”

“Yeah. The house is bigger now. We need to buy two or three servant women to handle cleaning and laundry, and the horses need people to look after them too. I also want to have Sister-in-law Guihua come back to cook for us. There are so many people at home now, it’s too much for Mother alone. And we should buy two more carriages for getting around. Walking is too slow.”

“Alright.”

The two of them worked and chatted at the same time, the atmosphere warm and homely.

Lu Jiu kept glancing at the prince, then at Jiang Ji. It really felt like an old married couple chatting about household matters.

And it felt like Jiang Ji truly regarded his prince as family, discussing everything with him.

As for his prince… it seemed he had already started seeing himself as part of this household too?

…Lu Jiu found himself slipping into self-doubt from time to time.

Toward evening, the two guards who had gone to deliver watermelons returned. They were later than usual and brought back some news.

After hearing them out, Jiang Ji was surprised. “Someone caused trouble at the restaurant?”

“Yes,” one of the guards replied. “At noon, a man ate lunch at the restaurant. About half an hour later, he came back with people, claiming that after eating our food he’d gotten diarrhea and demanding compensation.”

Jiang Ji frowned. “How did the manager handle it?”

The guard answered, “The manager immediately called for a doctor. When the man heard a doctor was coming, his expression changed. Xiao Shan noticed it. The doctor took his pulse and said the diarrhea was caused by consuming cold-natured substances, similar to something like croton.”

“Xiao Shan has sharp eyes. He noticed yellow powder on the man’s sleeve and had us restrain him. The doctor checked and confirmed it was croton powder. The man had put it into the soup himself to frame the restaurant. We escorted him to the authorities.”

Jiang Ji asked, “What was the outcome? Was someone behind it?”

The guard nodded. “Yes. It was Jufu Restaurant on East Street.”

“Jufu Restaurant? Not Xiangman Lou?” Jiang Ji was a little surprised.

“Yes, Jufu Restaurant. Since Xiangman Lou reopened, their business has been mediocre, barely holding on. Then after Jiang Ji Dining Hall opened, they practically had no customers and were on the brink of closing. The owner blamed our restaurant and, in a fit of anger, hired a ruffian to cause trouble.”

Jiang Ji: “……”

Jiang Yan: “……”

After thinking it over, Jiang Ji said to the guards, “Brother Jiang, Brother Luo, get yourselves ready. Starting tomorrow, go work at the restaurant and stay there at night. Let Yu Yang and Xiao Jun return to stay with Uncle Han and the others.”

The guards nodded. “Understood, young master.”

After they left, Jiang Ji said to Jiang Yan, “I really thought it’d be Xiangman Lou.”

Jiang Yan analyzed calmly. “For Tian Yuanwai to build such a large business, he must know how to judge the situation. We have good relations with the county office, so he wouldn’t pull something this crude and easily exposed. If he were to use underhanded tactics, he’d do things like bribing chefs or sabotaging ingredient supplies, methods that strike at the root and benefit him. He just didn’t succeed.”

“That’s true. A clan head wouldn’t lack that kind of foresight,” Jiang Ji nodded.

Jiang Yan continued, “If he wanted to poison us, he’d most likely start from our ingredient sources. For example, secretly buying up all the ducks in the market, then selling them to us. He’d only drug a few ducks from each batch, using something that doesn’t show symptoms in the meat, or that doesn’t harm the duck but harms people. Sooner or later, we’d pick one of the drugged ones. Once it’s cooked into dishes, it’d be very hard to trace.”

“……I’m enlightened,” Jiang Ji said, staring at him in shock. “How did you even come up with such a vicious tactic?”

Jiang Yan: “……”

Seeing his speechless expression, Jiang Ji burst out laughing. “I was complimenting you on being smart.”

“Oh, I should thank you?” Jiang Yan shot him a sideways glance.

Jiang Ji grinned. “You’re welcome?”

Jiang Yan shook his head, laughing helplessly.

That evening, Jiang Ji told Zhao Ru about his plan to buy more servants.

There really were a lot of people in the household now. Just cooking meant preparing meals for over a dozen people. Zhao Ru had help washing and chopping vegetables, but she still did the cooking herself. With someone helping her now, Zhao Ru was naturally happy and agreed immediately.

…

The next day, after harvesting the watermelons, Jiang Ji and the others went into the city together.

Jiang Ji’s wound had healed, but he still couldn’t make big movements. He sat in a flatbed wagon pulled by a horse, with Lu Jiu driving. Jiang Yan rode on horseback beside them, with Chen Feng following behind, looking imposing. Jiang Ji watched him with a bit of envy.

Once his injury healed, he really needed to learn how to ride a horse.

But for now…

Jiang Ji looked at his flatbed wagon. “Jiang Yan, come down and sit with me on the wagon.”

Jiang Yan: “?”

“Come down quickly, I need to talk to you,” Jiang Ji waved at him.

Jiang Yan dismounted, switched places with Lu Jiu, took the reins, and drove the wagon. “What is it?”

Jiang Ji paused. “Oh, nothing. I just wanted you to sit with me.”

Jiang Yan glanced at him and shook his head helplessly.

Lu Jiu looked up at the sky.

Here it comes again, that strange feeling.

Chen Feng looked at him. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing at all. The weather’s really nice today, hahaha…”

When they arrived in the city, they first went to the restaurant. The manager reported what had happened the day before to Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji nodded. “I know. Brother Jiang and the others already told me. Starting today, the two of them will work at the restaurant and be responsible for security. Manager Lü, make them some work uniforms. Their monthly pay will be covered by the restaurant. They’ll stay here at night. Let Yu Yang and Xiao Jun return to live at the residence.”

“Alright.” With dedicated guards, Manager Lü felt much more at ease.

Jiang Ji then went to the back kitchen to find Han Qingshan and Sister-in-law Guihua.

“Uncle Han, I’d like to transfer Sister-in-law Guihua back to the house to cook. Can the kitchen handle things here? Have the newer hires gotten the hang of it?”

Han Qingshan nodded. “No problem. Xiao Wei and the others can handle cooking now. I can arrange it.”

“Good,” Jiang Ji said, then asked Sister-in-law Guihua, “Sister-in-law Guihua, are you willing?”

“I’ll follow the young master’s arrangements,” she agreed without hesitation.

Jiang Ji nodded. “Also, now that there’s space at home, have Xiang’er and Xiao Yi come back with us. They’re still young. Let them go to school with Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei.”

Han Qingshan and Sister-in-law Guihua were both stunned.

“Young master, you want to send Xiang’er and Xiao Yi to school?” Han Qingshan asked.

“Yes,” Jiang Ji replied. “They’re at the right age for studying. Before, there wasn’t space at home, so they had to help you at the restaurant. Now the house is spacious. After the New Year, I plan to hire a tutor to teach Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei at home. They can study together.”

Han Qingshan and Sister-in-law Guihua were visibly moved. As servants, for their master to allow their children to attend school was an enormous kindness. And from the way Jiang Ji spoke, it seemed he’d planned this ever since he bought them.

“Thank you, young master,” Han Qingshan said gratefully.

“Thank you, young master,” Sister-in-law Guihua added sincerely.

“No need to thank me,” Jiang Ji said. “Go back and pack with Xiang’er and Xiao Yi. We need to go to the labor agency first. When we’re done, we’ll come back and take you all with us.”

“Yes, yes.”

After settling that, Jiang Ji and Jiang Yan took the others to the labor agency. They selected two servant women for cleaning, one kitchen helper, and two coachmen to drive the carriages and care for the livestock. After completing the paperwork, they bought the bodies for two new carriages.

The horses were harnessed, the coachmen took up their posts immediately, and Jiang Ji sat inside the carriage, letting out a sigh of relief.

“This is way more comfortable than the flatbed wagon.”

On the way in, the flatbed hadn’t been designed for passengers. It was uneven and tilted slightly backward, so sitting on it required constant care.

Jiang Yan sat to the side. Jiang Ji suddenly remembered the time they’d ridden in Magistrate Xu’s carriage, when he’d knelt and bumped into Jiang Yan. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Jiang Yan glanced at him. “What are you laughing at?”

“Thinking about when we rode Magistrate Xu’s carriage,” Jiang Ji whispered. “I bumped into you… there.”

Jiang Yan: “……” His legs unconsciously drew slightly closer together.

Seeing this, Jiang Ji burst out laughing even harder. “Traumatized?”

Jiang Yan: “……”

He simply shifted seats and plopped himself down right next to Jiang Ji, taking the center seat.

Jiang Ji laughed so hard his stomach hurt, leaning against Jiang Yan’s shoulder, laughing nonstop.

“Is it that funny?” Jiang Yan squinted at him.

Jiang Ji couldn’t stop laughing and nodded. “So funny. Oh my god, I’m laughing tears out, hahaha…”

He was almost honking like a goose.

It really had been an awkward incident. Jiang Yan ground his teeth, but seeing him like this, he couldn’t help laughing too.

Their laughter drifted out of the carriage. Lu Jiu and Chen Feng exchanged looks, both astonished.

When had their prince ever laughed like this?

Not since he was ten!

They returned to the restaurant, where Sister-in-law Guihua was already waiting with Xiang’er and Xiao Yi.

Han Qingshan gave Xiang’er a few instructions. Sister-in-law Guihua then led the children onto the carriage behind them.

Jiang Ji also stopped by a stationery shop to buy supplies for Xiang’er and Xiao Yi, along with a large stack of practice paper. He then bought two big bundles of cotton and various colors of cotton thread before heading home.

The household suddenly had many more people. Fortunately, when building the house, Jiang Ji had included plenty of rooms. Both sides connecting the backyard to the main courtyard were lined with rooms, more than enough to accommodate everyone.

Jiang Ji arranged everyone’s living quarters. All the men stayed in the rooms on the west side, where Jiang Ji’s workshop was located. All the women stayed in the rooms on the east side.

Xiang’er shared a room with Sister-in-law Guihua. Xiao Yi had a room to himself.

Jiang Ji exchanged some mosquito nets for them and let them hang them up themselves.

“Ah! Auntie Guihua, look at the net the young master gave us!” Xiang’er came back holding the sheer netting. “It has holes!”

Guihua was making the bed. Hearing this, she looked over and was immediately amazed as well.

The two of them spread it out to take a look and immediately understood how precious the net was. It was light, soft, and breathable. You couldn’t even buy something like this in town.

“Did the young master give this?” Sister-in-law Guihua asked.

“Yes,” Xiang’er nodded. “A guard uncle handed them out. Every room has one.”

Guihua stepped out to the doorway. A guard was handing out nets on the opposite side, so she went over and asked, “These nets are really for us to use?”

“Yes,” the guard replied. “They’re from the young master. We all use these. The young master and the others use the same kind.”

The newly arrived servants were all stunned.

“The young master uses these, and we can use them too?”

“How can we use the same things as the young master?”

The guard said, “Since the young master gave them, just use them.”

The group nodded blankly.

Jiang Ji was in the tool room when he overheard them. He suddenly remembered that Han Qingshan and the others didn’t have any yet. He immediately redeemed many more and called over a guard.

“This afternoon, give these mosquito nets to Manager Lü as an employee benefit. Hand out one to each person at the restaurant.”

“Yes, young master.”

That evening, all the employees at Jiang Ji Dining Hall switched to the new mosquito nets.

It was already high summer, and the heat was growing heavier. At night, everyone had to sleep with the windows open.

Ordinary mosquito nets didn’t breathe well and were stifling. Most people would wake up in the middle of the night from the heat. But without nets, there were too many mosquitoes, buzzing so loudly that no one could sleep.

That night, however, cool air flowed through the nets. Everyone felt as if these nets were something immortals used.

The young master was simply too good to them.

That night, no one woke up from the heat. They finally had a good night’s sleep.

The next day, they worked with even more energy.

There was no better master or proprietor than the Jiang family.

After three days of revising and adjusting, confirming every line with the viewers, Jiang Ji finally finished the new bow design. It included the overall drawing, detailed parts, and clear measurements.

This bow looked very similar to the composite bow Jiang Ji had drawn before. But back then, he had no way of knowing the correct dimensions. This one, however, was drawn based on what the viewers described, a bow from their world.

“Take a look. This is right, isn’t it?”

【Yes, yes, that’s right. You can go make it and test it now.】

【You’re actually pretty talented at drafting.】

“Of course,” Jiang Ji said proudly. “I learned drawing when I was little. Then I’ll have them make it. Thanks, everyone!”

Jiang Ji showed it to Jiang Yan, then handed it to Lu Jiu to take to the blacksmith and carpenter.

On Jiang Yan’s side, the cotton gin, spinning machine, and loom Jiang Ji needed had also been assembled.

Jiang Ji pulled Zhao Ru over. It was time to test the machines.

“How do you use this?” Zhao Ru asked, looking at the gin.

“This is for removing cotton seeds and doing an initial ginning. I’ll show you.”

Jiang Ji sat down, grabbed a handful of cotton, and placed it on the platform. One foot pressed the pedal, one hand turned the crank. The two cylindrical rollers on the gin began to rotate inward.

He fed the cotton with seeds between the rollers. As the rollers turned in opposite directions, the cotton was pulled through to the other side, while the seeds were left behind on this side.

Zhao Ru stared in amazement. “This… it really removes the seeds?”

“Yes. Easy, right? Mom, you try,” Jiang Ji said, standing up.

Zhao Ru tried it herself. It didn’t require much strength at all, and the cotton seeds were removed with ease.

“This is way too convenient!” Zhao Ru said excitedly. “Before, we had to pick them out one by one by hand. It took so much effort.”

“That’s the advantage of machines. They save time and labor,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. “Let’s process more first, then try the spinning machine. That one’s great too.”

The three of them fed cotton together. Before long, they had finished ginning half a bag.

Zhao Ru and Jiang Ji then carded the cotton and made coarse yarn. Jiang Ji placed eight spindles of the coarse yarn onto the spinning machine.

Zhao Ru and Jiang Yan watched as Jiang Ji worked for a bit, then turned the wheel. The eight spindles began to spin, and the horizontal bar in front of him pushed and pulled. Soon, the coarse yarn became fine cotton thread.

Both of them were shocked. What amazed Zhao Ru most was that it spun eight threads at once.

She stared in disbelief. “This… this makes eight threads in one go?”

“Yes. It can make even more,” Jiang Ji said with a smile. “But this is enough for us right now.”

Zhao Ru was deeply astonished. “One person doing the work of eight.”

“That’s how it saves labor,” Jiang Ji said. “Mom, take a look at the quality of the thread.”

Zhao Ru examined the spun yarn. “It seems a bit finer than the ones sold in town.”

“Finer threads make softer fabric. Mom, do you want to learn?”

“Yes.” Zhao Ru nodded eagerly. “Teach me.”

“Sure. We’ll keep these machines secret for now.”

“I know.”

Jiang Ji spent some time teaching Zhao Ru, then let her spin yarn on her own.

After that, Jiang Ji went to test the loom himself, with Jiang Yan watching beside him.

The loom worked well and was usable. Jiang Ji felt relieved.

Once Zhao Ru became proficient, she went over to observe the weaving. She already knew how to weave, so she picked it up even faster.

“Mom, use the bought thread to weave one chi of cloth, then use the thread we spun ourselves to weave another chi. Let’s compare the quality. I need to work on something else.”

“Alright, go ahead. Leave this to me.”

Zhao Ru busied herself in the room.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ji focused on the weapons Lu Jiu had drawn. Combining what he had seen in museums, on TV and in films, and what the viewers described, he decided to first improve the crossbow and the sleeve arrow.

The next day, Zhao Ru brought two pieces of cloth to Jiang Ji.

“Xiao Ji, I’ve finished weaving!” Zhao Ru said, her face lit with excitement. “Take a look.”

Jiang Ji examined the cloth. One piece was cotton fabric woven from purchased thread. The other was white cotton fabric woven with the same technique but using the thread they had spun themselves.

He touched them, then tested the feel against his arm, and even had Jiang Yan try them.

Jiang Yan smiled. “The white one is softer.”

“Yes, this machine works,” Jiang Ji said happily. “Tomorrow, we’ll go to the carpenter and have them made in batches!”

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾