Chapter 509 - 509: Who’s Testing Who?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Later on. Luo Cheng slowly grew un and left the foval family for Sichuan.

Mr. Huo was already used to life in the capital, so he was unwilling to travel far. Only then did he get Luo Cheng’s permission to stay in the farmstead outside the capital.

Li Xiaoran didn’t know the true relationship between Huo Changdong and Luo Cheng and thought that he was only the head of the farmstead.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Huo Changdong had seen many people and witnessed many things before.

Therefore, what kind of person Li Xiaoran was couldn’t escape Huo Changdong’s eyes.

After following Li Xiaoran around the farmstead, Huo Changdong occasionally asked some farming questions and Li Xiaoran answered them readily.

Li Xiaoran even told Huo Changdong about the growth habits of several crops.

Initially, Huo Changdong was vexed since he didn’t know why these crops didn’t grow well. Now that he was reminded by Li Xiaoran, he was immediately enlightened.

“Sigh, I knew it! I clearly added fertilizer in time! Why aren’t these fruits growing well? It turns out that I needed to cut off the fork branches when they were growing. Unfortunately, in the past, I only thought that the more branches there were, the better. I didn’t expect that by doing so, the fruits would fall off before they were ripe!”

Looking at how excited Mr. Huo was, Li Xiaoran couldn’t help but laugh. This farmer was quite innocent at heart. No wonder the crops in this farmstead were the best.

After returning, Li Xiaoran told Luo Cheng what had happened today.

After Luo Cheng heard this, his expression became a little strange.

“I know you trust Mr. Huo, but after all, you haven’t been in the farmstead for so many years, so I was afraid that Mr. Huo was the kind of person who used his power to intimidate others and treated himself as the master. But from what had happened today, I realized that Mr. Huo is a reliable farmer. All his attention is on the cultivation of crops. No wonder the things in this farmstead are growing so well!”

When Luo Cheng heard Li Xiaoran’s words, he smiled and sat beside her.

“I was so busy that I actually forgot to tell you Mr. Huo’s identity. Mr. Huo’s real name is Huo Changdong and he used to be a guard. Once, he was schemed against and was almost beheaded by my father. Later, my mother said something to my father, who changed his mind and only removed Mr. Huo from his official position. Then, he let him leave the royal family. After my mother passed away, Mr. Huo came to look for me. He said that he wanted to repay my mother for saving his life and support me until I was an adult.”

“So although Mr. Huo isn’t my family member, he’s like family to me. Don’t test him next time!”

Li Xiaoran didn’t expect Mr. Huo and Luo Cheng to have such a relationship.

If she had known about this, she wouldn’t have probed Mr. Huo to see what he was like.

“When Mr. Huo saw that I was testing him, did he think that you were the one who instigated all of this? Would it cause a rift between the two of you?” Li Xiaoran said gloomily.

Luo Cheng reached out and patted Li Xiaoran’s head. “Don’t worry! Mr. Huo isn’t such a person. On the contrary, Mr. Huo probably likes you very much. Look, Mr. Huo asked people to pick these fruits and wash them before being sent to you!”

When Li Xiaoran heard Luo Cheng’s words, she recalled the planting method she had taught him previously and immediately laughed.

“That’s because I’m also good at farming, so Mr. Huo took a fancy to me and acknowledged me as his junior!”

“Yes, yes, yes. You’re the best!” Luo Cheng said with a smile.

Early the next morning, as soon as breakfast was served, Mr. Huo ran over anxiously.

“Madam, all the fish in the lotus root fish pond in our farmstead have died.

We’ve checked, but we still don’t know what’s going on.”

When Li Xiaoran heard this, she quickly followed Mr. Huo towards the lotus root fish pond.

When she arrived at the edge of the fish pond, Li Xiaoran immediately saw many fish floating on the surface.

Li Xiaoran quickly scooped up two and observed them carefully.

“Mr. Huo, bring all these fish up! The fish are fine, but they died from lack of oxygen! It seems that it’s going to rain heavily soon. Let’s get ready! Have you cleaned all the drainage ditches in the farmstead? If not, clean the drainage ditches in the next few days to prevent the rain from being too heavy and accumulating in the courtyard before leaking into the house in the end!”

At first, Huo Changdong thought that these fish had been poisoned. Now that he heard Li Xiaoran say with certainty that the weather had caused the deaths of the fish, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

Then, Huo Changdong organized people to salvage the dead fish floating above

the water.

“Sigh, there are so many fish. They were about to be sold. Now that so many of them have died, it’s such a huge loss!” Huo Changdong said with some heartache.

“Mr. Huo, you can’t sell these fish. Dig a pit and bury them. Also, before burying them, you have to sprinkle some lime powder. After throwing the dead fish in, sprinkle some lime powder again and bury them. After you’re done, explain to the people in the farmstead that they can’t secretly dig out these fish and eat them, or they’ll die!” Li Xiaoran thought of something and reminded him. Huo Changdong originally planned to let the chef see if these fish could be cooked.

Unexpectedly, before he could voice this thought, Li Xiaoran told him how to deal with the dead fish.

“Madam, didn’t you say that the fish weren’t poisoned to death? In that case, why can’t we cook them?” Huo Changdong couldn’t help but ask.

Li Xiaoran could actually understand the thoughts of the commoners of this era.

It would be a pity to lose so many fish, so he thought that if he brought them back and cooked them, they should be edible.

Many people had such thoughts.

Li Xiaoran’s expression became very serious. Then, she raised her voice and explained, “Mr. Huo, there’s nothing wrong with the fish now, but in a while, these fish will completely rot and stink. At that time, fish will have a toxin in their bodies. If people eat them, they will suffer from diarrhea, or worse, they might die.”

Sensing Li Xiaoran’s sternness and seriousness, Mr. Huo nodded.

“Madam, don’t worry. I’ll send someone to watch that place and won’t let anyone approach! I wonder how long that place will have to be guarded for?”

“Mr. Huo, there’ll be no need for anyone to keep watch after ten days,” Li Xiaoran replied.

Now that the weather had turned warm, the fish would quickly decompose and the remaining fish bones would continue to decompose over the years.

Huo Changdong nodded and made a note of this. Then, he arranged for people to dig a hole in an empty space.

In addition to burying dead fish in the pit, Li Xiaoran was also concerned about the fish in the fish pond.

After finding Luo Cheng, Li Xiaoran stayed in Luo Cheng’s pharmaceutical room for two hours as she made some potions..