Chapter 153: Chapter 152 Estate Chapter 153: Chapter 152 Estate Young Master Tang had the guards help, bringing the gifts out from the carriage.

“Hurry, move those gifts into my room,” Mrs. Lai exclaimed upon seeing them, instructing the long-term workers of the house to carry the gifts into her room.

“Madam, this absolutely cannot be done like this; these gifts are meant for the wet nurse and for my elder and younger sisters, and there are also things for my younger brother,” he protested.

Tang Shunyan kept ordering the Tang Family guards to prevent them from listening to this shameless old granny.

“Hehe, Young Master Tang, I am the grandmother of this house. I manage everything here. It is only right for the gifts to be brought to my room,” she asserted.

Mrs. Lai stopped the actions of the guards under Tang Shunyan’s interruption but dared not show her anger. Her plump, old face smiled and wrinkled, her age spots particularly conspicuous.

Ever since her son became the boss, she used to wear silver bracelets, but now her adornments weren’t just limited to silver bracelets anymore. She also wore jade bracelets, gold earrings, gold necklaces, and on her head, silver and golden hairpins, flaunting all her valuable possessions.

Previously, she hardly did any work at home. Now that the house had workers, she did even less, spending her days idly giving orders to them.

The long-term workers who came to the Ye family because of Hongji put up with her rude commands every day, grateful that the small boss did not dock their pay.

Mrs. Lai could only boss around the long-term workers, and although the family had hired many for the lands and orchards, she was too lazy to go to the fields herself and direct their work.

Her son had started to disobey her a year ago; flush with money, he only gave her a small portion, and the earnings from the factory hardly ever reached her hands.

The lands and houses they bought were not registered in her and her husband’s names.

Fortunately, she still lived in a sizable brick and tile house, carrying the air of a landlord’s wife around the village, highly respected. Women who once looked at her unfavorably now treated her with reverence, not daring to talk back even when scolded.

Some villagers who had past grievances with her, especially women, were now particularly courteous toward her.

In the end, Mrs. Lai failed to move the gifts into her room. The gifts were in the living room, and Tang Shunyan ordered them to be taken out, one by one.

Each member of the Ye family received a share; they took their gifts back to their rooms and then returned to tend to the guests.

The Ye family now served their guests chrysanthemum honey tea. The chrysanthemums, dried after being harvested from their fields, and their own honey, brewed a fragrant and sweet tea for their guests.

The Ye family members also drank honey tea regularly; not only was it good for the eyes, but it also benefited their health.

Tang Shunyan had told the Ye family that he wanted to visit the orchard.

During the fifth and sixth lunar months, it was the lychee harvest season. The Ye family’s lychee trees, planted last year, were now laden with lychee fruits nearly falling to the ground despite their modest height.

The orchard also had longan trees, but it was not yet the season for them to bear fruit.

Mrs. Li heard Tang Shunyan’s words — how could she say no?

She had just received gifts, and moreover, those lychees were not worth much money.

Mrs. Lai wanted to refuse; the produce from the orchard was meant to be sold for money, and too much would be taken if so many went to pick.

Yet, glancing at the freshly placed gifts in the room–a fine piece of cloth she would never be willing to buy herself–
She couldn’t find such high-quality fabric in town, and the clothes she wore were made from material delivered by the Tang family, sewn into skirts by herself.

Her styled attire was all thanks to the Tang family.

The gold, silver, and jade on her body were gifts she had received over the past two years.

Ye Shuzhen pursed her lips upon hearing this, but she dared not speak, fearing she might say something inappropriate. If the Tang Family were to blame her, her future husband would blame her too.

They were going to the orchard to pick fruit, and the young Master was also going. All guards had to follow, and two horse carriages from the Tang Family came, carrying Mrs. Li and her five daughters.

Two carriages and horse riders traveled on the mountain road to the orchard. The mountain road was not very narrow, nor was it difficult to navigate. The weather was clearer in May and June, and the diligent farmers had filled in the pits and potholes.

The mountain of the Ye family’s fruit orchard was a small one, the whole mountain had been leased, covering over 20 acres of land. The mountain was completely planted with fruit trees, and chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, and bees were raised.

The Ye family had bought the small mountain and turned it into an orchard, and other rich men in the village followed suit. More than ten large and small mountains in the village had been purchased by others.

Strangely enough, the Ye family’s orchard thrived day by day, luxuriant in whatever they planted, and laden with fruit.

The mountains leased by other rich men, regardless of what they cultivated or raised, did not do so well. These rich men thought it was due to lack of farming experience.

Some experienced farmers and fruit growers were also invited to investigate. Those who had experience with orchards speculated that it was a problem with the soil.

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While those rich men thought it was a soil issue, one of them said that the soil of the large mountain he bought contained the same yellow mud with stones as that of the Ye family’s small mountain.

Only some rich men bought large mountains that had black sandy soil.

They also hired long-term workers, used a lot of manure including livestock droppings.

The fruit trees they planted grew weakly, with yellowish and half-dead appearances.

Not to mention bearing fruit, when they saw the mountain Ye Jia had recently leased was already bearing fruit only a few months later, everyone’s fruit trees were already fruitful, and the lychee trees stretched as far as the eye could see, completely covered with red lychees.

The section with longan was still in the flowering and young fruit stage, and other fruit like pomelo were already becoming mature.

There were even some citrus trees. This season was not the mature season for citrus, yet one could see the trees laden with green fruits.

The carriages stopped at the entrance of the small estate; they had to enter from this area of about ten acres to reach the mountain inside.

A small house had been built on the edge of the estate for the long-term workers to live in and eat.

A well had also been dug here. If there was not enough water in the fields, water could also be drawn from the well.

The area had an ample water supply, the sunlight was bright, and it did not snow in winter. In the winter, the trees still had green leaves.

Inside the estate, watermelons, various melons, and vegetables were grown, and workers were picking the melons and vegetables, preparing to transport them to the county.

Vegetable and melon traders also came here, and upon seeing the arrival of the horses and carriages, they made way.

A large group of people grandly dismounted the horses and carriages, then entered the fenced estate. As the Boss arrived, the long-term workers stopped what they were doing.

“They’re just visiting, going to pick fruit. Pick some melons to send back with them, continue with your work,”
When Mrs. Li saw so many long-term workers looking over, the estate’s housekeeper also came over and told them to keep working and not mind the visitors.

The traders who had not seen Mrs. Li before, upon seeing so many people and carriages, all started inquiring curiously.

The carriages entered the estate, everyone alighted, and seeing so many watermelons in the field, some traders had already started buying them.