Chapter 1069: Chapter 1066: Strawberry

“You’ve worked hard, my lord.”

Seeing that she had once again changed her address to him, Chu Heng’s eyes darkened as the gaze on her face shifted away. He hummed in response, turned around, and headed into the village. His back was straight, his clothing swaying with the wind, and he left unhurriedly.

Only when Ye Muyu and the others had walked far away did the gaze lingering on his figure retract.

“What’s wrong?” As she turned her head, she saw Zhao Qingqing looking at her thoughtfully.

“Ah? Nothing, nothing at all.” Zhao Qingqing’s eyes curved into a smile as she quickly changed the subject, not wanting Sister Ye to know that she felt Lord Chu’s reaction was somewhat… How should she put it? It seemed he wasn’t quite indifferent to Sister Ye.

Ye Muyu did not ask further, leading the way ahead and introducing the grains grown on the manor.

They quickly arrived at the warm house.

A few rooms were built outside the warm house, where the long-term laborers responsible for the warm house usually sat.

Zhang Shi walked over and hurriedly called out several people from inside the rooms.

There were also long-term laborers in the warm house taking care of the watering.

“Lady, young miss, the laborers greet you,” a few long-term laborers said after Zhang Shi introduced them, promptly paying their respects to the two.

Ye Muyu said, “It’s fine, we’re just coming to have a look. Uncle Li, come with me. I need to ask about the warm house. Everyone else, continue with your work.”

“Yes, lady.”

The laborers paid their respects, and only a middle-aged man followed behind Ye Muyu; the others did not dare to stay in the room and busily sought chores to do.

Ye Muyu did not say much upon seeing this.

“Wow, Sister Ye, what are these fruits, they look so pretty?” Zhao Qingqing lifted her skirts as she entered the warm house and saw the hundred square meter space, first expressing her amazement and then being attracted by a bright red object. She quickly walked over to observe the leaves and fruits laid out on the ground.

“These are strawberries, the capital should have them. The seeds were brought in by foreigners,” said Ye Muyu as she walked over, not expecting her luck to be so good to find the strawberries ripe. It was hard to grow these strawberries successfully; there were always laborers taking special care of them, fearing they wouldn’t bear fruit.

“Lady, most of these strawberry fruits have turned red. I don’t know how long they can last on the plants if they are not picked. I was just planning to send a message to the lady,” said Uncle Li, who was an old farmer but had never grown such rare fruits, was unsure about it. Luckily, he could report news to Yuzhou without hindrance, and as long as there was an issue, he would promptly report it and the lady would not reprimand him, which gave him a bit of confidence.

“Uncle Li, look at the strawberries. If the roots are entirely white or red, they are ripe and can be picked; that’s ten degrees of ripeness. If there is still a bit of green, then it’s nine degrees of ripeness. If the green is clearly visible, then it’s seven degrees of ripeness,” explained Ye Muyu.

“Fully ripe strawberries are not easy to transport. If they get bumped, their skin will be damaged and they’ll start rotting in less than half a day. Those that are nine degrees ripe can be stored for roughly two days, and those at seven degrees of ripeness can be stored for about five to six days.”

“However, strawberries that are seven degrees of ripeness are not sweet enough; unless necessary, they can be picked when they reach nine degrees of ripeness.”

“Also, when picking them, wear gloves. Right, and get two more bamboo baskets,” Ye Muyu instructed methodically.

Uncle Li quickly went to see to it. The lady had said early on to prepare bamboo baskets for when it was time to pick the strawberries, and they had made them in advance. “Sister Ye, you know so much.” Zhao Qingqing looked longingly at the strawberries: “Actually, I have only eaten them once in the capital, and like you said, even the imperial gifts are difficult to preserve.”

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