It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

The weather was calm and peaceful; no suspicious persons were encountered, and nothing unusual happened.

Apart from the fact that the owners fled in fear of being affected by the unrest and never returned, resulting in some cracks in the farmland that was not irrigated in time, and the wheat seedlings turning yellow and wilting, everything is fine.

Spring planting is a yearly plan, and Jiang Yan didn't need to worry about the procedures for temporarily taking over the "lost owner's seedling fields" on the 25th. After being taken to the largest farm that the Fu family had recently acquired in Kyoto, her life became much easier.

The job was different, and as a capable assistant to the lord, Mu Jian, the farm manager who had been urgently transferred from another place, took great care of Jiang Yan. She didn't have to do any trivial things; she could just eat, drink, take walks, and give the lord and his several chief stewards pointers on their temperaments and preferences.

Their preferences... Jiang Yan pulled out a clump of hair but still couldn't think of two preferences that sounded impressive, reliable, and promising.

But we can't say anything too bluntly. For example, they are petty, love to scheme against others, and are capable of using their subordinates to the point of exhaustion. They are not good colleagues and cannot withstand the test.

Jiang Yan cleared her throat and, counting on her fingers, addressed the steward, who was sitting upright and listening attentively, saying, "The master likes to distribute wealth to help the people." The prerequisite is that he must first successfully rob the rich to help the poor; the more he robs, the more generous he can be in distributing it.

"My lord is fair and meticulous in his dealings." He will retaliate against anything he deems offensive, offended, or provoked, regardless of its magnitude. Minor offenses will incur a small penalty, major ones will lead to the entire household being purged. Even if immediate retaliation isn't possible, the matter will be added to the tally bit by bit.

"My lord is tolerant and generous, but occasionally a bit eccentric." He usually settles all scores after a revenge is over and won't deliberately target anyone, but sometimes he might have a brain fart and deliberately mess with someone.

"The lord and his chief stewards are all good at recognizing and employing people, and they are eager to find talented individuals." They all have one thing in common: the capable are given more work, more work, more work, until they are so busy that they are out of sight and temporarily forgotten, only then do their subordinates have a chance to catch their breath.

At this point, Jiang Yan suddenly remembered the advantage that kept her from quitting. She raised her last finger and said, "As long as the work is done well or the task is occasionally difficult, the manor will give a decent hardship allowance." It's more generous than working for the Song family. Perhaps this is the difference in treatment between headquarters and branches.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan clasped her hands together and looked expectantly: "Manager Mu, how many chickens, ducks and pigs are raised on the estate? Can I buy one of each and then board them up?"

The steward was slightly taken aback, thinking that the scribe who had come to recuperate was quite unconventional, suddenly jumping from the master to livestock.

He said, "We have chickens and ducks in the village, you can pick one, but we've never raised pigs. You... like to eat pork?"

Jiang Yan guessed that Steward Mu must have worked in a very nice place with good conditions, which made him uncomfortable calling pigs "pigs." The last time someone had to correct her "vulgar" way of addressing pigs was when she was reading pork recipes and getting annoyed by the word "pig" so many times that her brow furrowed.

She countered, "Does Steward Mu not like it?"

"I wouldn't say I like it or not, it's just that I rarely eat it."

Jiang Yan nodded in agreement. Indeed, she rarely ate meat. She couldn't think about it anymore; the more she thought about it, the more heartbroken she felt. She just had to endure it for two more years…

She feigned nonchalance: "It's alright, I'll figure out a way to get one..." Then she confirmed again, "Manager, is it possible to lend me a place to keep it?"

Manager Mu said with certainty, "Of course. But Jiang Shuzuo, you don't need to bother going anywhere to get the pig. I'll take care of it for you."

From today onwards, he will also raise a few. Jiang Shuzuo loves to eat pork, so perhaps he will follow suit.

……

The days of being a hands-off pig farmer pass by exceptionally quickly. Before you know it, the pigs under Jiang Yan's name are several sizes larger than the other pigs in the same pen.

Jiang Yan had already finished two chickens and half a duck, and planned to stew the remaining half into soup on an auspicious day.

Seeing how much she was eating, Steward Mu couldn't help but feel a little envious. However, eating a whole duck at once would be a bit extravagant, and keeping half a duck wouldn't keep well in the hot weather. So, he decided to combine the ducks with Jiang Yan's, slaughter them on the spot, and eat them fresh.

March 29th, a day with a gentle breeze and warm sunshine, is a good day for nourishing the body.

When the steward finished his work and came over, he saw Jiang Yan standing with her hands on her hips, intently watching the kitchen helper remove the feathers from the duck.

He joked, "Jiang Shuzuo, you're not going to do it yourself this time?"

"No, no," Jiang Yan refused. "Last time I only pulled out half of it and I was dizzy and lightheaded. I need to let it heal a bit more."

The first two chickens were eaten by Manager Mu, who then prepared chicken soup for her. Manager Mu said that the kitchen staff were skilled at this and it didn't take much effort, but she suddenly felt uneasy and thought she had fallen into depravity.

As expected, all this trouble only proves once again that you should ask for help when you need it. Why make things difficult for yourself when you can do nothing else?

After thinking it through, Jiang Yan quickly slipped a few copper coins to the aunt as a token of appreciation. The first two times, the aunt had earned favors from Steward Mu, and it was inconvenient for her to settle debts for her.

Instead of taking the opportunity to make a few more jokes, Steward Mu asked, "How do you plan to eat this time?"

Jiang Yan pouted and said, "Chef Li secretly pickled two jars of radishes to eat all by himself. I thought they tasted good, so I bought a bowl. I'll make old duck soup with them later."

"These ducks I'm raising aren't old yet!" The last half of one that Manager Mu ate was incredibly tender and juicy. It's only been a few days; the meat quality couldn't have changed so quickly.

Speaking of the date, Steward Mu recalled the curiosity he had when he came to him. "Why did you choose this auspicious day? I thought you would choose the day after tomorrow."

Jiang Yan recalled that March 29th was auspicious for fasting, praying for blessings, offering sacrifices, weddings, and praying for offspring, while April 1st was also auspicious for these activities. "Is there a big difference if only praying for offspring is missing?"

The steward confidently declared, "Today we'll have the ritual, and the day after tomorrow we'll pray for blessings. During the ritual, the Taoist priests will bathe and change clothes, set up an altar and offer sacrifices, then burn incense, burn talismans, and eat vegetarian food. Although we're not Taoist priests... you don't believe me, do you?"

Jiang Yan shook her head.

“Although we don’t believe in it, if we follow their procedures, we will definitely get more good luck. Praying for blessings is different. It has lower requirements. You just need to take a bath and change clothes, set out some good offerings, and then light incense and pray. Eating meat or vegetables doesn’t matter.”

"You mentioned before that you would choose an auspicious day to eat the remaining half, didn't you mean you planned to offer it as a sacrifice before eating it?"

Are there priorities for auspicious activities listed in the Chinese almanac? Jiang Yan wondered, she had never heard of such a thing before.

The older woman quietly interjected, "Jiang Jishi, are you going to offer this duck as a sacrifice? I heard that offering only half a duck shows a lack of sincerity. Why don't you discuss with the steward whether we should cut it in half first?"

“No need for offerings, just cut my portion into small pieces.” Jiang Yan then explained, “The day my cravings kick in is my lucky day, it has nothing to do with what the almanac says. Besides, if I really wanted to choose an auspicious day, I would definitely choose one that is suitable for seeking medical treatment or receiving wealth.”

The steward pondered for a moment: "How about we smoke the duck and eat it on a day auspicious for healing or bringing good fortune? I'm not in a hurry."

Jiang Yan: ...