Besides vegetables and herbs, the He family also initiated fruit gardens and a weaving factory, with Zhenzhu spearheading these ideas. Ah, her new friend had been full of surprises from dawn till dusk. Li Si watched as Zhenzhu grilled mushrooms with a fragrant aroma. “Why are you staring at me like that?" "I just wonder what’s inside that little head of yours." "Stop talking nonsense. Bring me a plate quickly, it’s ready." Li Si hurriedly passed a plate to her friend excitedly. The aroma of the mushrooms was truly enticing, making her forget everything else. "Peipei, take some food over to guard uncles over there." Miss Wang had prepared more food today, so Zhenzhu shared some with Li Si’s guards as well. The He family sat down for dinner as they did every day, but today they had an additional member. They ate while discussing the day’s events and consulting on various household matters, creating a lively atmosphere. When He Yu mentioned Teacher Li, everyone would laugh. This warm and understanding family atmosphere was something Li Si had never experienced before. She used to eat alone every day, with only the moon for company at night. Only on some rare occasions would her father and brother come home to eat with her. Even during the New Year’s festival, she might have to celebrate with only her nanny. When she was little, she once asked her wet nurse, "Hu Qi, where is my mother, and why doesn’t she come to see me?" The wet nurse replied, "Young Miss, your mother is in the sky, among the twinkling stars. Whichever star shines brightly, that one is Miss." Since then, little Li Si had always believed that her mother was a star in the sky, waiting for the day her mother would come back to her. Unfortunately, no matter how much she waited or prayed every night before closing her eyes, her mother never returned. Yet, she still believed that one day, one of those stars would truly be her mother. She was merely lying to herself to ward off the coldness in her heart. The truth was that her wet nurse had lied; her mother was not among those stars. Her mother had gone far, far away. “Sob!” Just this thought made her nose stuffed. "Eh, Lady Si, why are you crying? Didn’t you like the food?" Miss Wang was deeply concerned, wondering why this lady suddenly started to cry. The more she was asked, the more Li Si cried. "Well, if you miss her, why don’t you go back to her?" "She’s not there anymore. Sob! My mother has become a star in the sky," she said, sobbing, wishing she had a mother to embrace like others do. "Come here, dear, come to me," Miss Wang opened her arms wide. Li Si threw herself into Miss Wang’s embrace, wondering if her mother’s hug would be as warm as this. Over the past few days, Li Si had come to see Miss Wang as a mother figure, following her and Zhenzhu around like a little puppy with its owner. "A’Zhu, this place is really nice. I don’t want to go back to the capital anymore. Can I stay with you?" Li Si lying on a bench under a tree, one hand rubbing Baihu’s soft white fur, while the other hand putting green bean cake in her mouth, enjoying a relaxation she hadn’t felt in a long time. At home, she would have been scolded by her nanny for such unladylike behavior. "Look, you even have a white tiger. I’m so jealous of you." "A’Zhu, what are you drawing there?" Li Si leaned in to see the intricate designs on a piece of paper that had been blank. "A formation! Wow, you even know how to set up formation. Can you teach me?" She had heard that the art of formation was exceptional, it could defeat dozens of assassins in a blink of an eye. There were many well-known formation grandmasters in this realm. If she could master it, her father and brother would be so proud. "Sure, but let me finish designing this formation first." Zhenzhu needed to quickly complete the formation in the vegetable garden to adjust the climate before the arrival of the cold season to prevent the crops from being ruined by snow. "Thank you, A’Zhu." Li Si lay back, chin resting on her hand, watching her friend work, feeling completely at ease. Not only Li Si was happy while staying with the He family, but even her many guards were very pleased. For the past several days, they had been resting and eating at the He family home, and every meal was filled with blue-level spirit energy food, which was exceedingly pure. It wasn’t that they had never eaten food with spirit energy before; in the capital, their master had spirit energy farmers for the family, and as high-ranking guards, they also benefited. However, the spirit energy vegetables from the He family were not only plump and pure but provided far more spirit energy. They never expected that such high-quality vegetables would be sold at such low prices. In the capital, vegetables of this quality would easily sell for at least 5-7 taels per bundle. If Fengfu wasn’t so far away, they would come to buy vegetables from the He family’s shop every day. After days of adjusting with intense focus, Zhenzhu finally completed the formation. "Baihu, take a look. Will this work?" she said, laying the paper down for Baihu to inspect. The tiger glanced at it briefly before laying back down. This formation for vegetables garden, Zhenzhu would use the Pearl of Fertility as the core for the formation in the vegetable garden, while opting for a different approach in the fruit orchard. "Let’s go check out the fruit orchard today," she proposed. It had been days since she last inspected the orchard to see how much the workers had managed to plant. "Great! Let’s go," Li Si responded eagerly. "I just need to put this away first," Zhenzhu said, putting away her papers and drawing tools before leading Li Si to the orchard. Aside from the orchard visit, Zhenzhu also planned to show Li Si around the town, hence they took a carriage driven by Xin Xi. Now, both sides of the road were lined with newly opened shops, including restaurants, tea houses, pickled vegetable shops, jewelry stores, and rice sellers. The area, once a wild grassland, was bustling with activity, with people from the city and wealthy individuals from other cities buying land for holiday homes. Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of an orchard that had been cleared and tilled. Several dozen workers were diligently working, having already planted more than half of the 200 trees of each fruit variety. The allocation and care of the plants were well-organized. Upon seeing Zhenzhu arrive to inspect the work, one of the slaves put down his hoe and ran over to her. He was a young slave, and Zhenzhu, noticing his good build, appointed him as the head worker to oversee all the tasks in Xin Si’s absence. Some of the female slaves were responsible for preparing food for the laborers working in the fields. "Miss, did you come to see the orchard?" "Yes, how’s it going, Dao Tou?" "Everything’s going great, Miss. Over half of the fruit trees you purchased have been planted exactly as you instructed." "Thank you, Dao Tou. Tell everyone to keep up the good work. I’ll have a special reward for you all if it turns out well." "Thank you, Miss," Dao Tou bowed respectfully. They were lucky to work for the He family, receiving fair wages and accommodation, and even bonuses for good work. The beggars who hadn’t sold themselves to slavery initially were now envious of them for being treated so fairly by their masters. "A’Zhu, when these fruits grow, I’ll come back to eat," Li Si exclaimed, amazed by the vastness of the orchard. Her A’Zhu had an orchard this big. "Of course, or should I send some to you in the capital if you can’t come?" Zhenzhu didn’t forget to check on the caomei trees she had planted in the beginning of previous month. Thanks to being watered with spiritual energized water, they were thriving beautifully. "What tree is this, A’Zhu?" "The caomei tree is a type of fruit tree. Once ripe, it bears bright red fruits that are deliciously tart and sweet, melting on your tongue. I’ll share some with you when it bears fruit." "Sure, I’ll wait to try it," Li Si said with a broad smile. Her A’Zhu really is wonderful. If she could stay here longer, she would enjoy good food and a good life. It’s a pity her home isn’t here, or perhaps she should convince her father to build a holiday home here. Official source ıs 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅✦𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾✦𝗇𝖾𝗍 After checking the fruit orchard, Zhenzhu planned to take Li Si into town since she hadn’t taken her out since her arrival. Zhenzhu took her young guest to various entertainment spots, including theaters, storytelling houses, and street acrobatics, then sampled street snacks along the way. "A’Zhu, this is delicious. I’m going to buy more to share with everyone," Li Si dragged Zhenzhu back to a local snack shop they had passed, buying several large bags of snacks to share with the He family. "Step right up, step right up! Today we have turtle shells for fortune-telling for sale, very affordable." "Come on, today we have beautiful wooden pins carved by skilled artisans." "Delicious stuffed dough pyramids here." "Beautiful jewelry this way," vendors called out to attract customers periodically. "A’Zhu, they have turtle shells for fortune-telling too. Let’s go have a look," Li Si dragged Zhenzhu to a stall selling turtle shells. The stall displayed various animal bones, turtle shells, cow horns, and boar tusks. What were these things for? Wasn’t this a deception? "Are you two ladies interested in anything? Today we have many turtle shells for fortune-telling." "Ah, A’Zhu, look, they have tusks too. What kind of tusk is this?" she pointed to a small, dull white tusk. "This is a wild boar tusk. It’s good for warding off dark magic. Only 1 tael," the middle-aged vendor cheerfully explained. Zhenzhu was shocked. A boar tusk for 1 tael? Whether it really wards off dark magic is still questionable, especially since it’s so small and inedible. "I’ll take this one," Li Si was particularly taken with the boar tusk. "Sure, young miss, that will be 1 tael." "Let’s go, A’Zhu." By now, Li Si had turned her guards into porters. Every time she found something interesting and novel, she’d buy it all, wondering how many carts she’d need to transport her purchases back to the capital. As they were about to leave, Zhenzhu caught a glimpse of a small turtle shell, the size of a child’s palm, among the items. It was small and ugly with cracks, but somehow, it seemed to have something that attracted her to look once again. As if it was drawing her towards it slowly, making it impossible for her to look away. Despite its unsightly appearance, she felt an inexplicable sense of sublime value far beyond understanding. "Uncle, how much for that turtle shell?" "This one? The small, cracked one? If you’re interested, I’ll sell it to you for 100 brass coins. Even though it has some flaws, it can still be used for divination," the merchant explained. The truth was, he had received the small turtle shell as a freebie with another purchase, but if a customer wanted to buy it, why not sell it? "If you’re interested in another piece, feel free to look around. For example, this larger, beautifully shaped piece without any flaws is just 5 qian," he continued, trying to sell another turtle shell, hoping the customer might be interested. "I’ll take the small one," she quickly handed over 100 brass coins to the merchant and took the turtle shell. The moment it touched her hand, it felt as if some sacred power enveloped her grasp. She swiftly tucked it into her shirt. "A’Zhu, why not choose a more beautiful one?" "No need, this one can also be used for divination and it’s cheaper too." After making their purchases, they both load the goods onto the carriage to head home. By the time they arrived, it was already dark. Miss Wang was just arranging the dinner. "Auntie, I’ve brought back lots of things for you today," Li Si hurried to flatter her, planning to adopt another mother for herself. A’Zhu, you should share me your mother. "Oh my, Si’er, why go through the trouble of buying all this? Auntie doesn’t lack anything. You’re wasting your money," Miss Wang gently patted the girl’s head with affection. "I wanted to buy them for you, Auntie." "Then, thank you very much. Come, let’s have dinner." Once Li Si’s guards had stored away the young lady’s purchases, one of them seemed about to head towards the fence for a little relief. It was too far to go back to the servants’ quarters at this time of night, and it was unlikely anyone would see. "Zhao Yong, where are you going?" Zhao Xiong inquired. "Captain, I just need to relieve myself, if you’ll excuse me," Zhao Yong said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Why can’t I go that way, Captain? I’ll only be a moment." "There’s a formation," Zhao Xiong frowned in disapproval. Why did he have to explain such a simple matter? The newer generation of guards seemed to be lacking. Upon hearing Zhao Xiong’s words, all the guards suddenly looked pale. There’s a formation here! Why hadn’t they sensed it despite being here for days? The He family continued to surprise them. But when they looked at Zhao Xiong’s face, they paled even more, realizing if they returned to their camp, they might be retrained. What a disaster! They all glared at Zhao Yong through their eyes. To be continued in Volume 2 Read ‘Rebirth: This Farmgirl Has Spirit Fish Scales’ before anyone else with more Chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en