Chapter 232: What to do if mistaken?_i

Translator: 549690339

These people were looking at Wei Ruo with hostility.

The several Madams who witnessed this scene revealed expressions of surprise on their faces.

Seeing the villagers before her filled with hostility toward her, Wei Ruo explained again, “Your rice seedlings may have been affected by the pestilence disease. They show symptoms consistent with it: the blades and sheaths of the leaves are elongated, leaf colors are yellowish, internodes are larger than normal, and the nodes have some curvature showing outside the sheaths. If not treated in time, this will affect your harvest this year. There’s still time to replace the seedlings and cultivate anew.”

“Nonsense, you’re trying to scare us! What pestilence disease? From where did you hear of this?” The elder who had spoken first asked angrily.

“I read about it in a book on farming.” Wei Ruo answered.

She could only say this, she couldn’t reveal that it was knowledge obtained from her past life, that it was an infection caused by a plant pathogen.

“Rubbish! I’ve farmed for thirty-eight years! I’ve never heard of this pestilence disease! I don’t care what book you read.”

The other villagers nodded in agreement.

“Old Jiang is right. Farming is our business, it has nothing to do with you or your book. Just stay away and don’t curse us.”

“Just a young girl and so malicious? Cursing us with a poor harvest right at the start, you should accumulate more virtue!”

Under the angry gazes of the villagers, Wei Ruo got up and returned to her group.

“Ruoruo, what’s this all about?” Madam Yun asked with concern.

“It’s nothing, let’s keep going.” Wei Ruo said.

“Wei Ruo, they didn’t harm you, did they?” Madam Tongzhi came over, giving

Wei Ruo a concerned look.

“Thank you for your concern, Madam. I’m fine, it’s just that I have some disagreements with them. Let’s keep going.” Wei Ruo answered.

Hearing this, Madam Tongzhi didn’t ask further.

After Wei Ruo left, the villagers muttered some curse words at her back.

Arriving at Madam Tongzhi’s farm, workers were busy in the fields.

Wei Ruo also observed the seedlings in the field, finding the situation here the same as that outside.

Wei Ruo looked at Madam Tongzhi beside her and after some consideration, said, “Madam, I suspect that this batch of rice seeds may have some problems, and the seedlings grown from them may have contracted a disease.’

Madam Tongzhi looked at Wei Ruo, recalling the words she had just spoken with the farmers outside.

Thinking for a moment, Madam Tongzhi said, “I’m clear on all the accounts of the farm. However, I don’t know much about the details of how the crops are grown. I’ll call over the manager of my farm later and ask if you could explain to him what should be done with these diseased seedlings and how to remedy this.”

Wei Ruo looked at Madam Tongzhi with surprise, “Madam, you don’t suspect what I said? What if I was wrong?”

Madam Tongzhi laughed, “To begin with, you have no reason to intentionally lie about this. As for you, there is no advantage if you’re right, and if you’re wrong, you would just be somewhat embarrassed. Also, even if you were wrong, so what? I may not know much about farming, but I know that it’s still early, and there is still time to replace the seedlings. The effort required to do so is not much, and I don’t need to personally do it.”

Madam Tongzhi’s words increased Wei Ruo’s favorable impression of her significantly.

Wei Ruo also breathed a sigh of relief, “Then Madam, please introduce me to the farm manager later, and I will explain in detail the remedial measures.”

“Alright. Well, thank you.” Madam Tongzhi said.

After Wei Ruo finished speaking with Madam Tongzhi, Madam Yun pulled Wei Ruoruo aside and asked quietly,

“Is this so-called pestilence disease real? Could you have made it up? Or perhaps the book you read about rice farming was unreliable. What will we do if it’s wrong?”

Wei Ruo said, “Rest assured, even if I was wrong, it was my own reputation at stake. If Madam Tongzhi were to be upset, she would be upset with me alone, not you or the Wei Family.”

“What are you saying? You’re the eldest legitimate daughter of the Wei Family. Everything you say and do represents the Wei Family. When did you start making such clear distinctions?” Madam Yun was unhappy with Wei Ruo’s words.

“Even if the distinction isn’t clear, there’s no helping it. I’ve already said it. You can choose to either believe me this time or continue living in fear.” Wei Ruo said.

After all, words once spoken can’t be taken back. Even if Madam Yun doesn’t believe her, she can’t change anything now.

Hearing this, Madam Yun was somewhat dissatisfied but indeed had no way to deal with Wei Ruo.

What she was unhappy about was Wei Ruo’s attitude towards herself, her mother. Her mother had only asked her a few questions. She should respond properly rather than with such an attitude. It seemed as if she didn’t even care about her own mother.

Could it be wrong for a mother to ask her daughter a few questions?

If it weren’t for the many outsiders present, Madam Yun would have definitely taken this opportunity to give her a thorough talk!

While Madam Yun and Wei Ruo were talking, Madam Tongzhi had already sent someone to call over the farm’s manager.

Then, Madam Tongzhi indeed asked the manager to consult with Wei Ruo about the disease-stricken seedlings.

Wei Ruo then told the manager about the possible disease of the seedlings and the need to replace them. She also told how to choose seeds and cultivate seedlings anew to avoid such happenings in the future.

The manager was Madam Tongzhi’s confidante and naturally could understand Madam Tongzhi’s intentions.

He took down Wei Ruo’s instructions carefully and promised to handle things exactly as Wei Ruo had said.

After the minor interruption, everyone spent some time strolling around Xiu Family’s farm. Then they gathered in a pavilion arranged by Madam Tongzhi to have tea.

Though they talked about spring outings and sympathizing with farmers, everyone knew that these noble ladies, accustomed to luxury and leisure, couldn’t possibly be made to truly exert themselves. Even walking a bit more was considered troublesome.

Therefore, this trip was more for show than for meaning, just to earn a reputation.

Wei Ruo naturally understood this; thus, she wasn’t surprised when everyone sat down to rest after walking for little more than the time it took to brew a pot of tea.

Wei Ruo casually joined the others in sitting down to sip tea and enjoy the sun, while also admiring the scenery.

Then Wei Ruo noticed a group of students from Anzhou Academy riding horses in the distance.

It seemed they were having an archery competition, and the venue was the open space on the Xiu Family’s farm.

They had set up targets on the open ground. As they rode past, they would draw their bows and shoot, and scores were judged based on the accuracy of their shots.

While Wei Ruo was watching, Madam Tongzhi said to her, half-joking and half-teasing, “I heard during lunch that they planned to compete in archery. Since there’s an open space available on the farm, I let them practice there. It conveniently provides us with some entertainment.

“Yes.” Wei Ruo replied with a nod.

Then Madam Tongzhi pointed to a man in green in the crowd, “The one in green, riding the brown horse, is my son. He’s currently studying at Anzhou Academy like your elder brother. This autumn, he’ll also be taking the township examination..”