Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 29

The fruits have just entered their ripening period, and there aren’t many that are fully ripe and edible.

The outer skin of the Cherokee Rose fruit is covered with dense, tiny thorns, making it easy to prick your hand if you pick it directly. Lu Sheng used a sickle to carefully cut a small handful of the darker-colored ones, then casually picked a large leaf from a nearby shrub to wrap them up.

Seeing her heading back, Yu Ling fluttered its wings and flew to another patch of shrubs, chirping happily, “Sister, sister, there are more over here.”

“These are enough for you to eat today. Those others aren’t ripe yet, they’re all sour. Come back tomorrow, and I’ll pick some ripe ones for you to eat,” Lu Sheng said. She looked up at the bushes in the distance; there was a large patch of fruit, but the fruits on the branches were still quite light in color and unripe. There was no point in picking them.

Yu Ling reluctantly flew back to Lu Sheng’s arm, hopping closer to the fruits in her hand. Its little claws reached out, then retracted, and it rubbed its head against her arm, “Sister~ Sister~”

Lu Sheng used the sickle to scrape off the small thorns on a fruit and handed it to the bird. Yu Ling chirped happily twice, grasped the fruit with its little claws, and flew to perch on her shoulder, starting to eat the fruit with delight.

“Thank you, Sister~”

“Sister is so good~”

Walking out from the shrubbery, Lu Sheng saw Qi Zhenshu, and was a little surprised, “Why are you here?” She wondered why Qi Zhenshu would come looking for her here.

Qi Zhenshu withdrew her gaze from Lu Sheng’s shoulder and said to her, “Eldest sister asked us to come home for dinner.”

“Okay, I’ve cut enough. I’ll head down the mountain now.”

Lu Sheng bent down to pick up the backpack full of herbs on the ground. Before she could reach out her hand, a pair of long, slender hands picked up the bamboo basket ahead of her.

Lu Sheng froze for a moment and looked up at the owner of the hands.

“I’ll take it,” Qi Zhenshu said naturally, then glanced at the sickle and fruits in Lu Sheng’s hand, “Put the things in your hand into the basket too.”

“Oh, okay,” Lu Sheng was slightly stunned, and then a warmth filled her heart. She smiled lightly and put the sickle and the fruits into the backpack, saying softly, “Thank you~”

Qi Zhenshu gave her a brief glance. She wanted to say it was nothing, but felt it wasn’t right.

Lu Sheng was already doing most of the household chores now; she was merely helping to carry a basket of herbs, and felt she shouldn’t be receiving thanks.

Qi Zhenshu considered how to reply appropriately, but for a moment didn’t know what to say, so she just silently pulled the ropes of the backpack and hoisted it onto her back.

The two walked down the mountain together, with Lu Sheng falling half a step behind, secretly observing Qi Zhenshu.

Qi Zhenshu wore a grey-edged white round-collared lanshan (scholar’s robe), her silky dark hair half-tied, half-cascading over her shoulders. The mountain breeze gently blew past, making her sleeves and hair flutter, making her look even more graceful and ethereal. The setting sun’s afterglow streamed upon her, outlining a perfect luminous silhouette. Coupled with the bamboo basket full of herbs on her back, she looked like a celestial being gathering herbs from an exquisite painting.

Lu Sheng was lost in wonder. Someone so beautiful could carry a battered bamboo basket and still exude a celestial aura.

“Are you going to…” Qi Zhenshu turned her head, directly meeting Lu Sheng’s staring eyes, and couldn’t help but ask with confusion, “What is it? Did something get on me?” She lowered her head to inspect her clothes, but after a careful look, she found nothing amiss.

“Ahem, n-nothing,” Lu Sheng coughed lightly, quickly suppressing the panic in her heart, and pointed at the red sun in the distance, covering up, “The scenery over there is too beautiful, I was momentarily lost in admiring it.”

The sunset was like molten gold, with rays of light illuminating the vast sky, staining the flowing clouds red. At the boundary between heaven and earth, red and blue intertwined, and as the clouds moved with the wind, the light and shadows shifted, creating a kaleidoscopic display of colors. The scenery was breathtaking, making people stop to gaze.

The two stood quietly side by side, looking into the distance, allowing time to slip through their fingers.

“Sister, I want more~” A sweet yet strangely toned voice sounded, breaking the beautiful tranquility.

Lu Sheng had placed the fruits in the backpack, and Yu Ling didn’t dare fly over to take them itself, so it could only call out to ask Lu Sheng to retrieve them.

Lu Sheng retracted her gaze, took out two fruits from the backpack, scraped off the fuzz, handed one to it, and teased with a smile, “Eating so much, be careful you turn into a little fat bird.”

Yu Ling snatched the fruit, flapping its wings and squawking stubbornly, “Not fat, not fat.”

“Look how round your tummy is, and you still have the nerve to say you’re not fat,” Lu Sheng poked its belly, laughing.

“Sister is mean~” Yu Ling squawked indignantly. It stretched its neck to peck at her fingertip, but the next second, its peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a certain person’s cool gaze. Yu Ling stopped moving, turned around, perched on Lu Sheng’s shoulder, and obediently munched on the fruit.

Lu Sheng thought the petty bird was sulking again, and raised her hand, wanting to stroke its feathers a couple of times to soothe it.

“Lu Sheng.”

“Hmm?” Lu Sheng withdrew her hand and looked at Qi Zhenshu.

“Are you still going up the mountain to cut herbs tomorrow?” Qi Zhenshu asked as if casually.

“Yes,” Lu Sheng nodded and said, “While the weather isn’t too cold, I want to cut more herbs before they wither and make enough fermenting starter for the wine.”

“I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Qi Zhenshu said. She had seen Lu Sheng making the wine starter and could roughly calculate that if she wanted to prepare enough for the winter, she would need to cut herbs for at least half a month.

“No, no need. You focus on your studies,” Lu Sheng replied with a smile. Now that she knew Qi Zhenshu’s ideals and ambitions, Lu Sheng naturally didn’t want these trivial chores to take up her time.

Lu Sheng waved her hand, handing the other fruit she had scraped to Yu Ling. The petty bird twisted its little bottom to turn around, and she smiled as she stroked the bird’s head.

“I’ll ask Qinan to come with me tomorrow.”

“Alright.” Even though she could understand why Lu Sheng would ask Qinan instead of inviting her, Qi Zhenshu’s heart still sank abruptly. However, she didn’t show it on her face. After speaking, she turned and continued down the mountain.

“Let’s hurry down the mountain, don’t let Eldest Sister and the others wait too long.”

“Mhm.” Lu Sheng followed behind her. After thinking for a moment, she added, “I think Qinan is a good person. What do you think if I teach her the method for making the wine starter?”

Compared to the distillation method, the wine starter could be considered the true key to the wine recipe. There were eight kinds of herbs used to make the starter, and the proportion of each was extremely important; if the dosage of any herb was too much or too little, it would affect the final flavor and yield of the wine. Therefore, unless someone was personally taught, others would struggle to secretly learn the recipe effectively.

After more than half a month of getting along, Lu Sheng found that Qinan appeared shy, but was clever and diligent, and her hands were particularly skillful. She could make any tool Lu Sheng described, even without a diagram. As the winery’s production volume was only going to increase, they would need someone dedicated to making the wine starter to meet the demand. Lu Sheng felt that Qinan had a gentle nature and was very committed to the winery, so she considered entrusting the task of making the starter to her.

The formula for the wine starter was usually a closely guarded secret that no winery wanted to leak, generally passed down within the family and not taught to outsiders. Therefore, hearing that Lu Sheng was willing to teach the wine starter formula to Qinan, Qi Zhenshu was quite surprised. However, considering what Lu Sheng had been doing these past days, she felt it wasn’t entirely unexpected. She could vaguely guess Lu Sheng’s thoughts and plans.

When the shop opened, they would be moving to the county seat, and it would indeed be less convenient to make the wine starter there. Furthermore, she thought that even if the wine starter formula were to be leaked, Lu Sheng would still figure out other ways to make wine and brew new and different types of wine.

“Qinan is reliable, and is indeed the most suitable candidate,” Qi Zhenshu said, then reminded her, “However, you should still discuss it with Uncle first before making a decision.”

“Mm, I know.”

After dinner, Lu Sheng spoke to Lu Hualin about the wine starter. Although Qinan was an apprentice, she had been with him for many years, practically like his own child. He had no objection to teaching the wine starter formula to Qinan. Originally, Lu Hualin had planned to teach her the old wine starter formula after the new year anyway.

It was Qinan, on the second day, whose reaction was the most intense when Lu Sheng said she would teach her the method. She repeatedly refused in disbelief, and only after Lu Hualin personally spoke to her did she finally dare to follow Lu Sheng and start learning.

They spent the morning cutting herbs together on the mountain, and the afternoon washing and drying the gathered herbs at home. Lu Sheng also took the opportunity to tell her about the selection, sun-drying, and proper storage of the herbs.

“These are the main points to pay attention to. Once they are dried in a couple of days, I will tell you what to do next.”

Lu Sheng had been talking for a long time, and her throat felt dry, so she coughed a couple of times.

“Cough, cough.”

Qinan quickly hurried to the main hall and poured a cup of water for her.

“Thank you, Sister Nan,” Lu Sheng thanked her with a smile. Her eyes curved into crescents when she smiled, making her look exceptionally beautiful. Qinan scratched her head, feeling a little embarrassed.

Lu Sheng finished the water in one go. Qinan instinctively reached for the cup. “I’ll pour you another cup.”

“No need.” Lu Sheng smiled and waved her hand, placing the cup on a nearby long bench, and sat down herself. They had finished selecting and arranging the herbs they had cut today, and Lu Sheng was tired, her limbs aching slightly.

“You should sit down and rest too,” Lu Sheng patted the empty spot on the long bench and told Qinan.

“Mm.” Qinan smiled shyly and sat down a little distance away from her.

“Qinan, where are you originally from?” Lu Sheng noticed her slight reserve and started a conversation with a gentle smile.

“I only remember it was Qianzhou Prefecture, but I can’t recall the specific county or village,” Qinan shook her head, a hint of melancholy in her voice.

Seeing that she had brought up an unpleasant topic, Lu Sheng quickly offered words of comfort, “When you have time in the future, you can go there and have a look. Maybe you’ll remember.”

“Mm,” Qinan’s brow smoothed out as she said, “I’ll go back and see when I’ve saved enough for the journey. I have an older sister at home, ten years older than me. Her husband’s family was well-off, so she probably didn’t have to flee. I want to try and find her.”

“Once you’ve mastered this method for making the wine starter, I’ll ask Uncle to raise your wages,” Lu Sheng said with a cunning smile.

“Master has already told me that he will raise my wages after the new year,” Qinan chuckled, her momentary sadness completely gone.

“So, Uncle is preparing for you to finish your apprenticeship?” An apprentice getting a raise in a winery usually meant they were being promoted to a master brewer, capable of independently handling the brewing process.

“Yes, I’ll be able to start my own brew next year,” Qinan nodded happily.

“Amazing!” Lu Sheng praised, giving her a thumbs-up. It usually took a regular apprentice at least ten years to complete their training and become a master brewer. If Lu Sheng remembered correctly, Qinan had only been an apprentice for about seven or eight years, which was considered quite fast learning.

The two chatted under the eaves of the kitchen for a long time. Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Sheng prepared to make dinner. Knowing that Qinan usually lived alone at the winery, she casually invited her to stay and eat before leaving.

Inside the study.

Tangtang had finished writing a character and was waiting for her mother to teach her the next one, but her mother remained silent. She looked up and saw that her mother was staring out the window. The little girl also turned to look out, but aside from the empty courtyard, she didn’t see anything special.

“Mama?” the little one asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Qi Zhenshu withdrew her gaze and replied calmly, then lowered her head and began teaching her the next character.

At the same time, at the Lin family residence in Binhe County.

Lin Shuqing sat in the main hall with her eyes closed and her brows tightly furrowed, her right hand propping up her forehead, her fingers continuously massaging her temples.

It wasn’t until hurried footsteps sounded outside the door that she suddenly opened her eyes, stood up eagerly, and walked out. Before the person could speak, she impatiently asked, “How is it? Have you found the person?”

“Found, found them,” the person replied, wiping the sweat from their forehead and bowing.

Lin Shuqing let out a deep sigh of relief upon hearing the news, then asked again, “Where is the person now? How are they?”

The following afternoon.

Lu Sheng and Qinan were still drying herbs in the courtyard when a knock sounded at the gate.

“Shuqing.” Lu Sheng opened the door and saw Lin Shuqing. She greeted her with a smile, “You’re here.”

“I had planned to come yesterday, but something came up and caused a delay,” Lin Shuqing explained with a smile.

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