Chapter 234 Pastoral Elegance
The layout of the farm was planned by Ye Jiayao, and Manager Bai was responsible for its implementation. Ye Jiayao never came here again after that. Unexpectedly, in just a few months, the farm had changed so much that Ye Jiayao could hardly recognize it.

In the flower field of more than twenty acres, red roses are in full bloom, dotted in the endless green, as if on fire, and the fragrance is intoxicating.

Xiang Tao and the others had never seen such a spectacular view before. They were extremely curious and exclaimed in amazement. If they were not afraid of losing their manners in front of their master, they would have rushed into the flower field.

Xia Chunyu was also amazed: "I have seen ten miles of peach blossoms and a garden full of plum trees with a sea of ​​fragrant snow, but I didn't know that this fiery rose would be so spectacular when it grows to a large scale."

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "I have temporarily allocated more than 20 acres of land for planting. If the rose cakes are popular, I plan to expand it."

"Rose cake?" Xia Chunyu frowned, then smiled slightly: "It sounds delicious."

Ye Jiayao said: "I'm going to do it today."

Xia Chunyu couldn't help but look forward to it. When it came to food, Yaoyao was almost omnipotent.

Manager Bai pointed to the short trees in the distance and said, "That's the orchard. There are apricot trees, pear trees, peach trees, and orange trees planted over there. The vineyard is on the other side, but the fruit trees don't grow that fast. I'm afraid we can only eat grapes this year."

Ye Jiayao said: "This is a long-term plan, there is no problem."

Manager Bai added, "The farm is behind the orchard, next to the river. The terrain there is wide and open. If the prince wants to raise a few horses, it would be nice to come here and gallop around in his spare time."

Xia Chunyu nodded: "That's exactly what I meant."

Ye Jiayao glanced at the big black horse that was leisurely walking behind her and asked, "What kind of breed is Dahei? Is he very precious?"

Dahei immediately pricked up his ears and looked at Ye Jiayao warily.

Xia Chunyu said proudly: "Of course, Dahei is a purebred wild horse from Tianshan Mountain, absolutely no less beautiful than a Ferghana horse, and is worth a fortune."

Dahei stretched his neck out and held it high with a proud look, as if to say, "What's a Ferghana horse? Come and fight me if you're brave enough. I'll shake my head so hard that you can't even see your horse's tail."

Ye Jiayao glanced at Dahei, and a sly smile flashed across her eyes.

"Such an excellent breed should be put to good use. Manager Bai, go to the market and buy a few good-looking mares. Mating them with Dahei will produce a group of foals. Although they are hybrids, I believe they won't be too bad. Then we will be rich."

Dahei shuddered and snorted angrily in protest. I am the king of Tianshan. On the battlefield, all war horses must follow my lead. I am the general among horses. How can I be used as a stud by you to make money? It is too cruel to horses. Thinking back to the past, I didn’t even look at any mares who tried to seduce me. Now that I think about it, I have failed many of their kindnesses. Humph, it’s okay to mate, but at least I have to find a mare of the Ferghana level. How can you just get a few mediocre horses from the market to deal with me? I will resist to the end…

Xia Chunyu glanced at the furious Dahei and said with a smile, "Your idea is good."

Dahei became even more furious. You are a master without manners, a master who forgets his friends for the sake of beauty. I have carried you through life and death several times, and now you have found a good match and you don’t care about me anymore.

Xia Chunyu then said, "I guess Helian Xuan will bring back a few of Simon's Ferghana horses this time. We'll talk about it then."

Upon hearing this, Dahei immediately stopped his aggressive behavior, lowered his head and looked submissive, and danced happily with his horse's hooves. Oh, my master really understands my thoughts!

Ye Jiayao watched Dahei's reactions one by one and was secretly amazed. Could this guy understand human language? Has he become a spirit?
No matter whether it becomes a spirit or not, just think about the offspring of Dahei and Ferghana horse, it must be very powerful, and it is another way to make money! Oh haha, I really have a brain for business.

As they were talking, the group arrived in front of a simple courtyard. Steward Bai pushed open the door and invited the Young Master and the Second Young Lady to come in first.

"The Crown Prince and the Second Young Madam arrived suddenly, and I was unable to prepare in time, so I temporarily called Zhu Wang's wife and others to come and clean up. However, the kitchen that the Second Young Madam mentioned earlier has been prepared." said Manager Bai.

Zhu Wang's wife came out of the house and saw the Crown Prince and the Second Young Madam. She had a complicated expression, feeling both grateful and guilty. She had done something wrong in the past, but the Crown Prince and the Second Young Madam not only did not punish her, they also paid for her child's medical treatment and arranged such a good job for them. This kindness could never be repaid even if she worked like a slave in this life.

"Master Young Master, Madam Second Young Master, the house has been cleaned. If you need anything else, just let me know." Zhu Wang's wife said respectfully.

What Ye Jiayao was interested in was the kitchen. No matter where she went, the kitchen was her base, so she ordered Xiangtao and others to go in and check to see if there was anything else that needed to be purchased.

Manager Bai accompanied Xia Chunyu to see the newly dug fish pond, while Ye Jiayao went straight into the kitchen.

When Xia Chunyu came back from strolling around the fish pond, Ye Jiayao had already taken Xiangtao and the others to the flower field to pick roses.

Xia Chunyu had nothing to do, so he asked Manager Bai for a fishing rod to go fishing, and asked Yaoyao to make some sweet and sour fish for lunch.

Xiangtao and the others were all very excited. Last time, they helped the Second Young Madam to make some coconut flakes. They didn't expect that such a light and unpalatable thing would become so delicious when sprinkled on cakes and rolled on glutinous rice balls. They believed that the rose cakes this time must be delicious as well. They couldn't wait to try them.

"Second Young Madam, can we pick these flowers, steam them, and use them as fillings to make flower cakes?" Xiang Tao asked curiously.

Ye Jiayao sneered, "It's not that simple. When we get back, we need to pick the petals and remove the center of the flower. Then we need to wash them with clean water and dry them in the sun for at least two days. Then we need to marinate them with honey and sugar to make rose jam. Only then can we use it as filling."

Xiang Tao cried out in disappointment: "What a hassle! I thought I could eat it tonight!"

Ye Jiayao said with a smile: "Hurry up and work, otherwise, you won't have anything to eat when you get back."

Soon, the four of them had picked four large baskets and returned with full loads. Ye Jiayao handed the task of picking petals to Xiangtao and others, and Zhu Wang brought a large basket of freshly picked vegetables from the field, including tender greens, sweet peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, etc., with a wide variety of varieties, as well as a chicken and a duck.

Zhu Wang's wife rolled up her sleeves and said, "Second Young Madam, I'll kill the chickens and ducks."

Ye Jiayao went to the backyard and saw Xia Chunyu sitting by the pond fishing. He caught a fish with one swing of the rod. Song Qi ran to get the fish off the rod. Xia Chunyu seemed to be in a good mood and laughed loudly.

Ye Jiayao smiled. It was rare to have half a day of leisure in this life! Such pastoral joy was peaceful and tranquil. It would be great if it could always be like this. Forget it. Just let him go and start making lunch.

Soon, wisps of smoke rose from the courtyard.

The chicken is stewed with fresh mushrooms and newly emerged spring bamboo shoots. It simmers over a low fire, slowly giving off a rich aroma.

The duck is fat and greasy, so it is best to braise it. Unfortunately, there is no beer now, otherwise I would make beer duck. The taste made Ye Jiayao swallow her saliva and make herself greedy.

Stir-fry green vegetables with mushrooms in boiling oil and then serve. The vegetables should keep their color, tender and green. They will not taste good if they are dry and yellow.

The most common and homely way to cook tomatoes is by scrambling eggs.

"Second Madam, the prince caught some fish and he said he would make sweet and sour fish." Song Qi brought in a few crucian carps that looked pretty good, weighing about three or four taels.

Ye Jiayao was speechless. How could she make sweet and sour fish with such a small fish? I could cut it from head to tail with just two cuts.

Ye Jiayao said, "Tell the prince that if he wants to eat sweet and sour fish, he should catch a big one for me. I can only make braised fish for such a small one."

Song Qi laughed and said, "Then we won't be able to eat sweet and sour fish. Manager Bai said that these fish fry were not released long ago, and these are considered big ones. I picked them out carefully."

"Go and fillet the fish." Ye Jiayao ordered.

Hey, Song Qi obediently went to cut the fish.

Xia Chunyu was so excited about fishing that it didn't take long for him to fill his basket with more than twenty fish. Alas, they were too small, so he planned to put them back.

Manager Bai said, "My Lord, these fish have eaten the hooks and hurt their mouths. They won't survive long if we put them back. It's better to use them as food."

Xia Chunyu thought about it and it made sense, so he told Manager Bai to buy more fish fry, including carp, herring and catfish.

Manager Bai said, "Don't let the catfish in, or the other fish will be eaten."

Uh...it turns out that fish also prey on the weak!

Song Qi had just cut up several fish when he saw a fish basket thrown in front of him.

"Song Qi, please fix these as well." Xia Chunyu walked away leisurely with his hands behind his back.

Song Qi looked into the fish basket and almost fell off the stool. Oh my god, there were so many small fish as long as fingers. How long would it take to trim it?

After working for half an hour, lunch was ready, but a few peach petals had not been picked yet, so Ye Jiayao asked them to eat first and then continue.

The servants were eating in the kitchen, and Ye Jiayao took the dishes to the room. She saw Chunyu drawing something at his desk.

"Chun Yu, it's time to eat."

"I'm coming..."

He came as soon as he said he would, but the dishes and chopsticks were already set, and he didn't even move his butt. Ye Jiayao leaned over to take a look. On the table was a distribution map of farms, and Chun Yuzheng was drawing on it with a pen.

"Are you designing a villa?" Ye Jiayao asked.

"Yes, I plan to build a water pavilion here in the pond and a nine-curve bridge here in the river. Then I will get some Taihu stones to decorate it and plant some exotic flowers and plants..."

Xia Chunyu pointed at the distribution map and described his ideas.

"Do you think this is okay?" He asked for her opinion at the end.

Ye Jiayao didn't know much about architecture, but after listening to him, the pavilions, towers, bridges and flowing water all seemed very elegant. She nodded and said, "Okay!"

"I just gave a rough idea. The specific design will be left to Master Jiren." Xia Chunyu himself was also very satisfied.

Ye Jiayao hesitated and asked, "Can we build another secret room?"

(End of this chapter)