Good Deeds

Peach Blossom is pregnant!

This news was truly a massive, delightful surprise for Lin Fei.

At this very moment, he truly wanted to share this joy with his parents.

But he could not—at least, not right now.

His parents still did not know that he had broken up with Ma Weiwei; they all still believed he was going to marry her.

If he were to suddenly tell them he had a wife and that she was pregnant, they would surely think he had cheated.

His parents were rural folk, and in certain respects, they were still quite conservative, especially regarding their reputation in the village.

Furthermore, if he were to bring Peach Blossom to Earth, she would be an undocumented person.

Moreover, being suddenly uprooted from a familiar environment and thrust into a strange new one, Peach Blossom would likely find it difficult to adjust.

Therefore, for now, Lin Fei could only be happy by himself.

"Tell all the servants that everyone will receive a reward."

"In the coming days, everyone must serve the Mistress with the utmost care!"

The personal maid was very happy to hear this.

"Rest assured, Master, we will certainly do our utmost."

Xinghua also spoke up, "Brother-in-law, I accompanied my sister to see the doctor. The doctor said that since my sister has only just conceived, the fetus is not yet stable and she needs to focus on nourishing the pregnancy."

"Mm, Xinghua, take good care of your sister Peach Blossom, and I will not treat you unfairly."

Lin Fei had originally held some prejudices against Xinghua, but with such a happy event at hand, he no longer minded.

Besides, with Xinghua by her side, Peach Blossom was indeed more cheerful than before.

Peach Blossom said shyly and softly, "Husband, now that I am with child, I won't be able to serve you in the future."

Lin Fei laughed, "Haha, it's fine. From now on, I will serve you; you just focus on resting and nourishing the baby."

This was his first child, and Lin Fei took it very seriously.

Lin Fei was not sure about the level of medical expertise possessed by the doctors in Nanli City.

Although there were cultivators here capable of refining all sorts of spiritual elixirs, the medical arts learned by those doctors were merely superficial.

When it came to medical treatment, Lin Fei still trusted modern medicine and technological equipment more.

However, there was no need to worry too much during the current stage of the pregnancy; she simply needed to reduce physical activity and get plenty of rest.

That night, Lin Fei was too excited to sleep. Looking at Peach Blossom nestled in his arms, a sense of happiness welled up within him.

Early the next morning, Lin Fei planned to head to the large estate in South City to inspect the progress of the wasteland reclamation.

Xinghua said she hadn't seen her parents in a long time and wanted to tag along.

Peach Blossom was resting at home due to her pregnancy, so she did not go.

Along the way, Xinghua leaned toward Lin Fei intentionally or otherwise, telling him stories about her and Peach Blossom's childhood.

Lin Fei was bored on the road, so he just treated it as listening to stories.

After arriving at the estate, Lin Fei and Xinghua parted ways.

Accompanied by Bai Yansong, Lin Fei inspected the progress of the wasteland reclamation on the barren hills.

Because they were using only ordinary tools, the speed of the reclamation was a bit slow.

If they had modern mechanical equipment, just a few harrows could do the work faster than these five hundred servants.

"Steward Bai, has the estate been peaceful lately? Has anything happened?"

Bai Yansong bowed his head and reported the situation.

"Master, the estate is quite peaceful. Occasionally, there are some maids bickering or servants fighting. I have dealt with them according to the rules."

"It's just..."

Lin Fei saw him hesitating and seemed to have something on his mind.

"If you have something to say, speak up. Don't be evasive."

"Yes, Master. It's just that Xing'er's father is always gambling with some of the servants. After losing, he always tries to welch on his debts, and many servants are dissatisfied with him."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fei couldn't help but shake his head.

This degenerate gambler had only just started living a life where he could eat his fill, and he was already causing trouble again.

"And how did you handle it?"

Seeing that Lin Fei didn't seem to care, Bai Yansong relaxed.

"In large households, many servants often have no time to go out, so gambling in their spare time is a common occurrence."

"Usually, they don't bet much, and they don't resort to physical fights. So, sometimes, I just turn a blind eye."

"However, Xing'er's father owes money to quite a few people, which has angered many. If I don't deal with it, I fear it will incite public outrage. Therefore, I had the guards give those who were gambling twenty strokes of the cane as a warning."

Lin Fei nodded, feeling that Bai Yansong's handling of the matter was fair.

"Hmm, I am aware of this matter. Gambling is a corrupt practice that cannot be indulged."

"However, managing so many people requires more than just a stick. How about this: every so often, go out and hire theater troupes and storytellers to come here. Let them broaden their horizons and have some fun."

After all, people are not livestock that only know how to bury their heads in labor.

Providing a certain level of mental stimulation will actually make them more obedient and prevent the accumulation of too much negative emotion.

Bai Yansong was somewhat surprised by this suggestion from Lin Fei.

"Master, they are merely servants. To let them watch plays and listen to stories is, perhaps..."

"Steward Bai, if people are suppressed for too long, they are prone to causing trouble. Watching plays and listening to stories are not the exclusive rights of the wealthy; servants can enjoy them too."

Lin Fei patted Bai Yansong on the shoulder. He knew that Bai Yansong's mindset was the same as that of most people in Nanli City.

The way of the world here was simply like this.

Servants were worth less than livestock, their lives considered cheap.

The price of a single head of livestock was often much higher than that of a servant.

On the way back to East City, Xinghua's eyes were red, and she remained silent, seemingly troubled by something.

Lin Fei did not ask; he guessed she had heard about her father being caned, or perhaps she was simply sad about being separated from her parents.

In the days that followed, Lin Fei stayed in East City to accompany Peach Blossom, rarely visiting the large mansion in South City.

Occasionally, when bored, Lin Fei would take Peach Blossom to watch plays or listen to storytellers.

Entertainment options in Nanli City were relatively scarce. Aside from opera and storytelling, there were street acrobatics and the like, or visiting brothels for wine and women.

For the wealthy, frequenting brothels and drinking flower wine was the most common of occurrences.

Lin Fei had been in Nanli City for quite some time but had yet to visit a brothel; he had no desire to contract venereal diseases.

About a month had passed, and Lin Fei estimated that it should be the next day back on Earth; it was time for him to return and make an appearance.

After telling Peach Blossom, Lin Fei headed to the small backup residence in South City.

This was a safe point for Lin Fei to enter Nanli City and return to Earth.

Swish!

As soon as he returned to Earth and his network signal was restored, Lin Fei's phone began to vibrate.

There were several missed call notifications from Wu Yuqing.

There were also a few WeChat alerts, mostly news and group messages.

Lin Fei called Wu Yuqing back first, and the call was answered quickly.

"Hello, Lin Fei? Your phone finally connected. Why didn't you answer when I called so many times?"

"Uh... I turned it off while I was sleeping. Is something the matter?"

"Of course there's something, and it's good news. My father wants to invite you to dinner. Are you free?"