The couple played around by the brook side until late evening. By the time they started to walk back, the sky had turned starry.
It was a full moon and the light cast over the entire land, brightening their way back home.
It was tranquil and wonderful with insects chirping, bringing new experience for Shangguan Ning who had always lived in the urban area.
It was not a smooth path in the countryside. Jing Yichen was worried that she would trip, so he squatted down in front of her and said, “Hop on, let me carry you.”
Shangguan Ning jumped upon his broad back happily and allowed herself to be carried by him.
“Yichen, what is that? I have never seen it before.”
Jing Yichen looked at the plants between her fingers and said softly, “Hmm, you haven’t seen it before, but you ate it at lunch.”
“Ah, really? But which one is it? I ate so many things. Tell me!”
Shangguan Ning went through the dishes in her mind but still failed to think of anything that resembled this green plant in front of her eyes. She kept swinging on Jing Yichen’s back, wanting to get the answer.
Jing Yichen wobbled because of her actions. He patted her plump butt and said smilingly, “Don’t move. You will fall.”
“What is it?” Shangguan Ning felt a bit dispirited when she couldn’t recognize any of plants on the path.
“It is potato! Didn’t you just eat potato pancakes which Aunt Fu made? But the root is under the ground and what you see are the leaves. How dumb can you be for not recognizing potatoes?”
“What do you mean by dumb? I have only seen potatoes before, not their leaves. I thought that they grow on the tree. How could I have known that they are underground?” Shangguan Ning sounded dignified.
She was born as a daughter of the Deputy Mayor and had never seen potatoes when being planted or plucked. She hardly cooked and could only manage to make instant noodles and frozen dumplings.
Jing Yichen couldn’t help but laugh. It was definitely a new thing for him to know that potatoes could ever grow on the tree.
“Potatoes always grow in the soil, not on the tree. I seriously doubt that you were one of the top 10 students in the class. Is the rank counted from the bottom in your school?”
Shangguan Ning pinched Jing Yichen’s ears between laughs. “Bah, no teasing me! I was not a top student, but I was not a bad one either. I was not as smart as you but top 10 was not a problem. But no one tested me about whether the potatoes grow on the tree or underground.”
There was no such test!
That was common sense. Teachers would not possibly have designed such a stupid question. Teachers would probably only ask about the areas potatoes grew in and were distributed to.
Jing Yichen burst into laughter and said, “Oh, I see, honey, there were only 10 people in your class, right?”
Annoyed and amused, Shangguan Ning struck hard on his back and said, “Nonsense! We had 11 students in our class.”
Jing Yichen laughed loudly.
He knew pretty well that there were more than 11 people in Shangguan Ning’s class. Usually, there were 20 people in a class of the aristocrat schools of A City and 30 to 40 in a class of ordinary schools.
She was a good student and he was just teasing her. But she had started to tease herself as well.
Their laughter echoed across the farm field, startling off the birds that had just returned to their nests.
“What about this? Can it be a plant with leaves outside and fruit underground?” Shangguan Ning instantly asked without bothering about her dignity at the sight of another strange plant.
Jing Yichen saw it and laughed. “You have guessed right. A very good guess for an unknowledgeable person.”
Shangguan Ning was not pleased. She pinched hard on his ears and said sweetly, “No way, I didn’t guess it. I never saw this before, so I assumed that the leaves can’t be edible and only the underground part could be eaten. That was why I asked the question.”
“Ha, my wife is getting smarter. But she still has no idea what it is.”
Jing Yichen never stopped teasing her. He smiled and said, “These are sweet potatoes. We might be served sweet potato porridge tonight, because I saw Aunt Fu washing them as we came out.”
Shangguan Ning didn’t catch what he said in the last sentence. She got startled and said in astonishment, “So sweet potatoes grow underground as well? I thought that they are on the trees too.”
Jing Yichen was deeply amused by his wife. How could she be so silly as to think that all agricultural products grew on trees?
He laughed so hard that his body shook and voice changed. “Honey, you better not ask others about these questions, you will definitely lose face numerous times.”
Shangguan Ning flushed as well. But that was really what she had been assuming.
She had always lived in the city. How could she possibly have any idea about where these things grew?
“You can ask anyone else! I am sure that no one knows about it. It is quite normal that I don’t know anything about it… and I am sure that Anan knows nothing, nor does Zheng Lun…”
Jing Yichen laughed again when he heard Shangguan Ning defending herself.
“You did pick the right people. Anan has never been to the kitchen in her life, let alone in a farm field. Zheng Lun has been protected like a treasure and was never allowed near any dangerous place. What she knows is how to play the piano and paint. They are worse off than you.”
Ning didn’t get annoyed being demeaned by Jing Yichen. This man was, after all, a super student.
Being carried on his back happily, she allowed Jing Yichen to tell her about all kinds of plants.
“How did you know all of this? You are also the master of Family Jing then how did you get to know about so many agricultural things?”
Shangguan Ning was curious. Theoretically speaking, Jing Yichen shouldn’t have known so much about agricultural stuff. It was normal that he could speak all languages and decode encrypted information. It was also normal that he could run such an enormous business empire. But how come he knew so much about the countryside?
He smiled and replied, “I was born a master, but it was not an easy thing for me to stay as one. I started to make a living when I was little, because father didn’t give me any allowance. I have gone through all kinds of hardships and I have even planted some of these plants. Of course I know all about them.”
Shangguan Ning’s heart ached after hearing him tell all this.
She complained about Jing Zhongxiu for the first time. “What was dad thinking? Why did he ask you to go through so much hardship?”
The couple played around by the brook side until late evening. By the time they started to walk back, the sky had turned starry.
It was a full moon and the light cast over the entire land, brightening their way back home.
It was tranquil and wonderful with insects chirping, bringing new experience for Shangguan Ning who had always lived in the urban area.
It was not a smooth path in the countryside. Jing Yichen was worried that she would trip, so he squatted down in front of her and said, “Hop on, let me carry you.”
Shangguan Ning jumped upon his broad back happily and allowed herself to be carried by him.
“Yichen, what is that? I have never seen it before.”
Jing Yichen looked at the plants between her fingers and said softly, “Hmm, you haven’t seen it before, but you ate it at lunch.”
“Ah, really? But which one is it? I ate so many things. Tell me!”
Shangguan Ning went through the dishes in her mind but still failed to think of anything that resembled this green plant in front of her eyes. She kept swinging on Jing Yichen’s back, wanting to get the answer.
Jing Yichen wobbled because of her actions. He patted her plump butt and said smilingly, “Don’t move. You will fall.”
“What is it?” Shangguan Ning felt a bit dispirited when she couldn’t recognize any of plants on the path.
“It is potato! Didn’t you just eat potato pancakes which Aunt Fu made? But the root is under the ground and what you see are the leaves. How dumb can you be for not recognizing potatoes?”
“What do you mean by dumb? I have only seen potatoes before, not their leaves. I thought that they grow on the tree. How could I have known that they are underground?” Shangguan Ning sounded dignified.
She was born as a daughter of the Deputy Mayor and had never seen potatoes when being planted or plucked. She hardly cooked and could only manage to make instant noodles and frozen dumplings.
Jing Yichen couldn’t help but laugh. It was definitely a new thing for him to know that potatoes could ever grow on the tree.
“Potatoes always grow in the soil, not on the tree. I seriously doubt that you were one of the top 10 students in the class. Is the rank counted from the bottom in your school?”
Shangguan Ning pinched Jing Yichen’s ears between laughs. “Bah, no teasing me! I was not a top student, but I was not a bad one either. I was not as smart as you but top 10 was not a problem. But no one tested me about whether the potatoes grow on the tree or underground.”
There was no such test!
That was common sense. Teachers would not possibly have designed such a stupid question. Teachers would probably only ask about the areas potatoes grew in and were distributed to.
Jing Yichen burst into laughter and said, “Oh, I see, honey, there were only 10 people in your class, right?”
Annoyed and amused, Shangguan Ning struck hard on his back and said, “Nonsense! We had 11 students in our class.”
Jing Yichen laughed loudly.
He knew pretty well that there were more than 11 people in Shangguan Ning’s class. Usually, there were 20 people in a class of the aristocrat schools of A City and 30 to 40 in a class of ordinary schools.
She was a good student and he was just teasing her. But she had started to tease herself as well.
Their laughter echoed across the farm field, startling off the birds that had just returned to their nests.
“What about this? Can it be a plant with leaves outside and fruit underground?” Shangguan Ning instantly asked without bothering about her dignity at the sight of another strange plant.
Jing Yichen saw it and laughed. “You have guessed right. A very good guess for an unknowledgeable person.”
Shangguan Ning was not pleased. She pinched hard on his ears and said sweetly, “No way, I didn’t guess it. I never saw this before, so I assumed that the leaves can’t be edible and only the underground part could be eaten. That was why I asked the question.”
“Ha, my wife is getting smarter. But she still has no idea what it is.”
Jing Yichen never stopped teasing her. He smiled and said, “These are sweet potatoes. We might be served sweet potato porridge tonight, because I saw Aunt Fu washing them as we came out.”
Shangguan Ning didn’t catch what he said in the last sentence. She got startled and said in astonishment, “So sweet potatoes grow underground as well? I thought that they are on the trees too.”
Jing Yichen was deeply amused by his wife. How could she be so silly as to think that all agricultural products grew on trees?
He laughed so hard that his body shook and voice changed. “Honey, you better not ask others about these questions, you will definitely lose face numerous times.”
Shangguan Ning flushed as well. But that was really what she had been assuming.
She had always lived in the city. How could she possibly have any idea about where these things grew?
“You can ask anyone else! I am sure that no one knows about it. It is quite normal that I don’t know anything about it… and I am sure that Anan knows nothing, nor does Zheng Lun…”
Jing Yichen laughed again when he heard Shangguan Ning defending herself.
“You did pick the right people. Anan has never been to the kitchen in her life, let alone in a farm field. Zheng Lun has been protected like a treasure and was never allowed near any dangerous place. What she knows is how to play the piano and paint. They are worse off than you.”
Ning didn’t get annoyed being demeaned by Jing Yichen. This man was, after all, a super student.
Being carried on his back happily, she allowed Jing Yichen to tell her about all kinds of plants.
“How did you know all of this? You are also the master of Family Jing then how did you get to know about so many agricultural things?”
Shangguan Ning was curious. Theoretically speaking, Jing Yichen shouldn’t have known so much about agricultural stuff. It was normal that he could speak all languages and decode encrypted information. It was also normal that he could run such an enormous business empire. But how come he knew so much about the countryside?
He smiled and replied, “I was born a master, but it was not an easy thing for me to stay as one. I started to make a living when I was little, because father didn’t give me any allowance. I have gone through all kinds of hardships and I have even planted some of these plants. Of course I know all about them.”
Shangguan Ning’s heart ached after hearing him tell all this.
She complained about Jing Zhongxiu for the first time. “What was dad thinking? Why did he ask you to go through so much hardship?”
