Phew, thank goodness.
As long as the family scandal did not spread, her majesty as the master could still be salvaged.
She quickly adjusted her expression, pulled herself together, lifted her chin slightly, and shot Ye Jinzhi a look with an exaggerated tone:
"You, come with me."
Bella led the way, twisting and turning based on her memory, and finally crossed the vegetable patch to reach their destination.
She stopped, turned around, and deliberately pointed at the chicken and duck coops:
"Go, gather all the chicken and duck eggs in there for me."
Seeing Ye Jinzhi about to step forward, she raised her hand to stop him and added:
"Pay attention, you are not just simply picking them up. Before you pick them up, you must gently knock on the shells and say hello to them. Your movements must be very gentle. If you break any, I will hold you solely responsible."
She pointed at the eggs with a serious face:
"After all, they haven't been born yet. This is the critical period of prenatal education, and they can't handle being frightened. If you scare any egg and the hatched chicken refuses to crow or the duck refuses to enter the water in the future, you are dead meat."
Ye Jinzhi paused. His usually unhurried face was now filled with astonishment.
The young man turned his head and stared at her for several seconds.
Bella crossed her arms over her chest, her chin slightly raised, and looked back at him.
After a long moment, Ye Jinzhi chuckled softly. Not only did he not argue, but he actually rolled up his sleeves.
He walked to the chicken coop and, under Bella's teasing gaze, gently bent his knuckles and actually knocked on an egg.
"Excuse me, baby chicken," his voice was warm, revealing a gentle breeze-like softness.
"May I ask, unborn baby chicken, your master would like to invite you to move your nest now. Would you do me the honor?"
Bella: ...
Egg: ...
The air was quiet for a moment.
Bella gritted her teeth so hard that her cheeks ached, barely managing to hold back her laughter.
She looked at Ye Jinzhi's serious profile as he negotiated with the egg, and her heart bloomed with joy. This guy not only played along with her nonsense, but acted even more immersed in the role than she, the master, did.
Next, Bella watched helplessly as the young man followed her instructions for every single egg he picked up.
If it was a chicken egg, he spoke softly; if it was a duck egg, he seemed to deliberately lower his voice.
For the next half hour, Ye Jinzhi elegantly expressed his care and concern to a nest of poultry eggs.
After a long while, he finally stood up and slowly brushed off the hay on his fingertips.
He walked over with a basket full of eggs and handed it to Bella.
"A total of 24 babies."
He looked calm, and his tone was as serious as if he were reporting on a multi-hundred-million-dollar scientific research project.
"We had a very pleasant chat with each one, and they expressed their great willingness to move."
Bella happily took the heavy basket, in a great mood.
She turned around, pointed at the cows leisurely chewing grass nearby, and raised her chin at Ye Jinzhi.
"There, next are them."
She leaned closer to the cow and solemnly announced:
"Go, give them a bath one by one. Remember, I will absolutely not drink milk produced by a cow that hasn't been washed clean. After all, only hygienic cows produce pure milk."
After saying that, she felt it wasn't enough and added:
"Your movements must be professional. If any cow feels the water temperature is too hot or too cold and kicks you, that means your service is inadequate, and you need to reflect on it."
Bella naturally knew that with the Ye family's immense wealth, these cows lived incredibly comfortably. How could their environment not be clean?
Perhaps each cow even had a dedicated care log.
But she just wanted to torment him.
Bella led Ye Jinzhi through the door. She didn't dare to get too close. From a distance, she pointed pretentiously at the cow's smooth, shiny coat:
"Look, look at that, such a huge speck of dust. This shows that they are not clean enough and still need a comprehensive, loving SPA.
You did so well with the chicken and duck eggs just now, scrubbing a cow should be a piece of cake for you, right?"
Seeing him silently lead a cow to the next room, Bella muttered in her heart and quickly followed out of curiosity.
She even imagined a pathetic scene of the aloof young master washing a cow and getting covered in dirty water, and had even prepared her mocking words.
She had wanted to see him roll up his sleeves and bitterly brush cow hair, but as soon as she entered the room, she was stunned.
The room was spacious and bright, and metal robotic arms reflected the light.
Ye Jinzhi skillfully tapped the control panel a few times, and the cow obediently stood in the slot.
Bella watched the fully automatic cleaning machine automatically sense, spray, provide a full-body massage, and brush the hair...
For a moment, she fell deep into thought.
She had been too naive after all.
With the Ye family's background, what was a fully automatic smart cleaning machine?
Bella stepped forward and tugged at his sleeve:
"I heard that the background music some cows listen to while eating grass is performed live by masters. Yours... wouldn't be this particular too, right?"
Ye Jinzhi leaned against the machine, looking at her curious expression with composure:
"Haha, it's not quite live performances."
He chuckled softly and pointed his finger upward at the hidden speakers on the ceiling.
"It's just that we hired masters to specifically target the cows' brainwave frequencies to play and record exclusive stress-relief music for them, that's all."
Bella: "..."
Fine, her perspective was too narrow.
Watching helplessly as Ye Jinzhi led the cow out, the machine even thoughtfully started the final warm air drying program.
The cow was blown until its hair was fluffy, smooth, and shiny.
Bella looked at the cow and then subconsciously touched her own hair.
Why hasn't anyone invented a fully automatic hair washing and drying machine for humans?
Every time she washed her own hair, the long process from shampoo to conditioner, to holding the hairdryer until her arms ached, was simply a double test of her physical strength and patience.
If she could just stand inside like this cow and come out with everything done, how wonderful life would be.
She stared at the machine that was still slowly retracting its robotic arms, her eyes gradually becoming resentful, and suddenly blurted out:
"Ye Jinzhi, tell me the truth, this machine... if a person crawls into it, can it wash with this kind of result?"
Ye Jinzhi passed by her and casually rubbed her slightly messy little head, his tone slightly raised:
"Why don't you give it a try? Maybe it really can."
"How bold! Servant Ye, you actually have such dangerous thoughts!"
Bella immediately widened her round eyes and scolded him with a false show of strength:
"How dare you instigate your master to risk her life, are you trying to usurp the throne?"
Ye Jinzhi stopped and looked at her with smiling eyes:
"Then what does the master want me to do?"
Bella coughed artificially twice: "Ahem, well... you go."
"Me?" Ye Jinzhi raised an eyebrow.
"Ahem, you go try it. As a male servant, you have to test for poison for your master... ah no, test the machine."
Ye Jinzhi genuinely laughed out loud this time. He took a step closer, lowered his voice, and spoke in her ear:
"Sure, I can give it a try. I just don't know... when I strip naked and go in, will you, Master, dare to keep your eyes open and watch the whole process?"
Bella: "..."
Bella didn't take the bait at all, not even turning her head.
Although she wanted to say that if he dared to strip, she dared to watch.
But in the end, she still pretended nothing had happened, turned around, and retreated to the side, trying to put some distance between them.
"Oh my, the weather is so nice today, bright sunshine, cloudless sky..." she said, looking up at the sky as she walked.
Then, she pointed at a flock of white figures strolling like old lords on the distant lawn, and exclaimed loudly:
"Hey, look! Those big geese in the distance are raised really well. So plump, at first glance... at first glance, they look perfect for an iron pot goose stew."
She spoke faster and faster, her strides growing larger and larger.
Ye Jinzhi followed behind, looking at her back, completely unable to hide the smile in the corners of his eyes.
"Servant Ye! Why are you walking so slowly? Hurry up and help me catch a big goose!"
Bella shouted at the top of her lungs, but her feet quietly shrank back half a step.
How could she dare to actually do it herself?
These long-necked guys were the "bullies of the village."
She still remembered the repeated screams let out by Tan Yanli.
Even though she hadn't seen the battle with her own eyes at the time, those wails were so tragic that the combat power of these geese was absolutely not to be underestimated.
While bluffing and giving orders, she stared warily at the goose bosses slowly spreading their wings in front of her, her heart drumming in her chest.
"Hurry up! Don't let them run away, we're eating them for lunch today!"
"Coming."
Ye Jinzhi replied, returned the cow to its original place, and then turned to walk toward Bella.
Bella glanced back at the dairy cow.
To be honest, after the cow had its bath, aside from its coat being slightly fluffier, it was completely indistinguishable from the other "socialite cows."
It seemed the Ye family really took good care of these major milk producers on a daily basis.
"Honk honk honk! Honk—!"
The urgent and shrill goose cries instantly pulled Bella's thoughts back.
She turned her head abruptly, only to see that Ye Jinzhi had somehow already grabbed a big goose in his hands.
One hand gripped the goose's long neck, while the other locked onto its shoulders. The "village bully" that was so arrogant just a moment ago was now completely immobilized.
Bella stood there dumbfounded, with only one thought in her heart: !!!
She didn't see it! She felt like she had missed out on a million bucks!
Just because she was looking at a cow, she didn't even catch a blurry afterimage of it?
"Do you want to, maybe, do it again?"
Bella stared at the tightly locked goose, her tone full of regret.
Hearing this, Ye Jinzhi tightened his grip on the goose's neck, turned his head, and gave her a half-smiling sideways glance:
"Do it again? Do you want to see me catch a goose, or do you want to see me get bitten by this 'village bully'?"
"That's not it at all!"
Bella's eyes darted around. "I just... wanted to record a tutorial video for you, didn't I? In case you're not around someday, I'll have a reference to learn how to 'subdue a goose with virtue'."
The big goose: "Honk—! (Like hell I'd believe you!)"
Ye Jinzhi chuckled softly. Not only did he not let go, but he also carried the big fat goose closer to her, his tone teasing:
"Since Master is so eager to learn, why don't you come closer now, and I'll teach you hand-in-hand how to have an in-depth exchange with this goose boss?"
Seeing this, Bella retreated several steps, waving her hands frantically in front of her chest:
"No, no, no! Stay away from me!"
She definitely didn't want to offer her arms and legs to the big goose as "teething toys" just to watch a show.
Especially seeing the goose's beak still opening and closing unwillingly, Tan Yanli's screams grew a bit louder in her mind.
"Forget it, forget it, you've already caught it, let's go back."
Her last bit of interest in teasing Ye Jinzhi dissipated along with the goose's struggles.
Bella turned around and swaggered ahead, not forgetting to put on her masterly airs as she waved her little hand behind her.
"Servant Ye, hold our lunch properly and hurry up. If you let it run away, I'll punish you by making you pluck goose feathers barehanded when we get back."
Ye Jinzhi carried the heavy big goose, looking at her back ahead of him. He shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were full of indulgence.
Bella swaggered into the garden. Before she had taken many steps, her gaze was drawn to a swing covered in wisteria flowers not far away.
"Quick, quick, quick! I want to swing!"
She trotted all the way over. When she sat securely and turned her head, she found Ye Jinzhi empty-handed.
Bella paused for a second, not looking too deeply into whether he had stuffed the goose somewhere or handed it directly to a servant hiding in the shadows. She just focused on waving at him:
"What are you standing there for? Hurry, give me a push!"
She tilted her face up, her dress hem spreading out on the lawn, ordering him with absolute self-assurance.
"Are you ready?"
Ye Jinzhi stood behind her, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Yes, sir!"
Bella straightened her little waist and shouted crisply, grabbing the ropes on both sides of the swing with her two hands.
The young man's warm palms pressed steadily against her thin back through the light fabric.
He exerted force with his arms and gave a sudden push. In an instant, the swing flew up.
Bella only felt a rush of wind sweep past her ears. The blooming flowers and green grass in her vision rapidly retreated, and she felt as if she were going to launch into the azure sky.
Her dress hem bloomed in the air like petals, and her laughter rose and fell with the height of the swing.
Ye Jinzhi stood under the shade of the trees, looking at her back swaying joyfully in mid-air, a touch of tenderness unconsciously coloring his features.
Bella swung extremely high on the swing. Because her back was to the sun, it wasn't glaring at all. Overlooking the entire garden, it was as beautiful as an oil painting.
However, at the exact moment the swing climbed to its highest point again, Bella's originally smiling pupils suddenly contracted.
The originally azure sky ahead looked as if someone had violently torn a rift in it.
Several strings of green digital code appeared in the void and rapidly reassembled.
"That is..."
Bella's heartbeat skipped a beat, and she subconsciously blinked hard.
But when she opened her eyes again, the rift had vanished without a trace.
The sky was still deeply blue, and the sun shone warmly on her.
It was as if the scene just now was merely a hallucination caused by weightlessness.
"Ye Jinzhi! Quick, stop pushing! Stop it now!"
The swing swayed under its momentum for a while before slowly coming to a steady stop.
Her face was a bit pale as she abruptly turned around and pointed at the spot in the sky that had just torn open.
"Did you see that just now? Right there!"
Ye Jinzhi's originally smiling face gradually grew serious as he looked into the distance, following the direction of Bella's fingertip.
The sky was clear; aside from a few drifting clouds, there was nothing at all.
"See what?"
He turned his head and placed a large hand on her forehead, his tone laced with concern:
"Did you get dizzy from swinging too high? There's nothing there but clouds."
