Chapter 233 - 142: Vegetable Greenhouse

Standing at the Han Family’s doorway, Su Lanxin and Su Lanfang could hardly believe their eyes, They’d heard that their cousin didn’t marry well, and they thought that must be a rumor. How could the only legitimate daughter of the Second House and even of the entire Su Family possibly have married poorly? Now standing here, is this really where their cousin lives? It seemed rather shabby.

Naturally, Su Wenyue saw the expression on Su Lanxin’s and Su Lanfang’s faces. They were still young after all, and even though they had been raised under the Queen Mother’s care, they had not yet completely learned to conceal their emotions.

“Cousins, we’re here, This is my home,” Su Wenyue said with a tinge of humor as she stood at her own doorway, “It may look a bit simple, but its charm lies in its coziness. Don’t look down on it. Besides, it’s too late for that now, you’ll have to stay here for a few days before going back.” Her home was indeed much simpler compared to the Su Mansion, not to mention the Marquis Beian Mansion.

“Cousin, don’t say that. I think it’s quite nice here. We just didn’t expect it to be like this, After all, Second Uncle and Second Aunt love you so much, we meant no offense,” Su Lanxin said somewhat awkwardly, afraid that Su Wenyue might misunderstand.

“Don’t be formal with me. Father and Mother do love me, but this is my own choice. Besides, these conditions aren’t bad at all. I’m quite happy to share joys and sorrows with my husband,” Su Wenyue said with a smile. Hearing this, Han Yu felt very warm inside. With such a wife, what more could a husband ask for? He silently vowed to make sure his wife would have a better life and no longer be looked down upon by relatives from the Su Family.

Su Lanxin and Su Lanfang laughed at these words, not quite sure what else to say.

Once inside the Han Family home, they realized it wasn’t as bad as they had imagined. At the very least, it was clean and tidy, and the food was quite good. They found themselves more comfortable and at ease here than at the Su Mansion, and they started to really like it.

“Cousin, what is this? I’ve never had it before. It’s crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and really sweet,” Su Lanxin asked cheerfully after spending some time with Su Wenyue and feeling more at ease with her.

“Yeah, and this one too, it’s so refreshingly delicious, even better than green vegetables,” Su Lanfang chimed in, picking up another chopstick full and putting it in her mouth. She had set aside the manners that the old women had taught her and was enjoying the pleasure of sharing delicious food with her two cousins.

These were seeds introduced from foreign countries, which Su Lanxin and Su Lanfang had naturally never tasted before. Although the Su Family had some, they would send a few to the Marquis Beian Mansion, the quantity was not much. As concubine’s daughters, it was not something they had access to. Su Wenyue patiently explained to them.

“This is a hash brown made from sweet potatoes and rice flour. Sweet potatoes come from seeds introduced from outer domains; they look like lumps of earth on the outside, with some having yellow flesh and others purple. Later on, go to the kitchen and you’ll see what I mean. This is cauliflower, no wonder you’ve not seen it before—it’s from seeds from foreign countries, and we just started planting them on the estate this year. I’m glad you could try something new. If you like it, you can ask the kitchen to make it,” Su Wenyue explained.

Su Lanfang was still young, and upon hearing about delicious food, she eagerly nodded her head. In her view, the food at her cousin’s place was even better than what they had at the Su Mansion. Once they returned home, they wouldn’t have such good opportunities. Their meals were delivered to them by the kitchen on a regular schedule. Although the Queen Mother wasn’t overly harsh, by the time the food from the big kitchen made it to them, it would be nearly cold and lose much of its taste.

“These pickles are even more delicious than any I’ve had before. Cousin, your house really has a lot of good food,” Su Lanfang said with envious admiration.

“Yes, and every meal is so lavish. Even in our Marquis Mansion, these days are tough, and only the Old lady and Madam have such fine dishes,” Su Lanxin observed the table, which, aside from those few fresh items they hadn’t seen before, didn’t lack chicken, duck, fish, or meat, and even had fashionable vegetables. It was then that she truly understood that her cousin’s home might not be as shabby as it seemed. The food wasn’t any worse than what was served in the Marquis Mansion or the Su Mansion, and was perhaps even better. Was it possible to live this way without some savings?

“My favorite is these green vegetables. Now that it’s winter, the variety of vegetables we can eat is becoming scarce, even more expensive than meat. It’s only at my cousin’s place that I can eat so much,” as Su Lanfang spoke, she continued to pile more veggies onto her plate, having eaten nearly half of the green vegetables on the table. She seemed to really love them.

Having spent so much time in the backyard in her previous life, Su Wenyue understood the bitterness and hardships of being a concubine’s daughter, and with the way the world was, although the Marquis Bei’an had a high status and considerable power, in terms of wealth, they couldn’t compete with their family’s merchant Second House, and their meals weren’t even on par with the Su Mansion. The treatment of concubine’s daughters was naturally not great.

However, Su Lanfang’s words gave Su Wenyue an idea. The availability of vegetables was dwindling in winter, but there was a way around it. By building a greenhouse, they could grow vegetables there and not worry about having none to eat during the winter.

Before, Su Wenyue hadn’t thought much of it, but now she was extremely grateful to Noble Consort Li, who was forced to death by courtiers in her early years. Thanks to Noble Consort Li, Su Wenyue had benefited a great deal. Greenhouses for growing vegetables were, after all, first experimented with by Noble Consort Li. It turned out to be quite a boon for her. She remembered many of Noble Consort Li’s ideas, with people praising her and the little girls at home gossiping about this legendary figure, she could almost recite Noble Consort Li’s life story by heart.

Perhaps this was Providence looking out for her. Noble Consort Li flourished with such methods, and now they could help Su Wenyue live a good life too. Of course, she needed to be discreet and cautious, otherwise, she might meet the same fate as Noble Consort Li.

Su Wenyue was lost in thought and didn’t feel like laughing and chatting with Su Lanxin and Su Lanfang anymore. If she managed this project well, it could save her a lot of expenses. In these times, foodstuffs were actually more precious than gold, silver, or jewels. She had instructed the servants to collect plenty of seeds. As long as she had more than enough seeds, and aside from the greenhouse and labor costs, there were no other expenses. It was indeed a splendid idea.

Su Lanxin and Su Lanfang were clever and knew how to interpret others’ expressions, having grown up in the Marquis Mansion. Seeing that Su Wenyue was preoccupied, they intuitively did not disturb her any further and went off to play on their own.

“Grandma Chen, have the caretakers go to the estate and call Xiao Xi back. I have urgent tasks for her,” Su Wenyue instructed, “She should drop whatever she’s doing and come quickly. This is more important.” Xiao Xi had essentially become her external steward, often busy managing outdoor affairs rather than serving at home.

Grandma Chen could tell that Madam must have come up with another good idea, otherwise, how could the Han Family’s life be so comfortable and prosperous? They would have been worrying about food and other necessities a long ago. It wasn’t just because Madam had a generous dowry, but also because she knew how to manage everything so well.