Rebirth of a Farming Wife

“Wife, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you on this holiday.” Han Yu felt sorry for his wife, but necessary social interactions among colleagues couldn’t be neglected. Eating and drinking together would naturally lead to closer acquaintances. Originally, Han Yu planned to treat everyone to a meal at a restaurant, but they all insisted on coming to his house. It was also because during a previous visit to the military camp, his wife had prepared a lot of food for him, and Han Yu generously shared it with everyone, so they all knew he had a talented wife when it came to culinary skills.

“Husband, why do you say such a thing? We are husband and wife, where does the question of hardship come into it? Taking care of you is my duty; to speak like this would seem to create distance between us.”

Su Wenyue was afraid she wouldn’t be able to help Han Yu enough, and now with the opportunity to use her cooking skills to bring him closer to his colleagues, she was more than willing. She knew Han Yu was concerned because she was pregnant with their child, but she had already passed the first three months, and the child in her stomach was healthy, so there was no need to be overly cautious. Moreover, with Grandma Chen and Xiao Xi to help her, cooking wouldn’t be too tiring.

Han Yu originally just wanted Su Wenyue to oversee things, and leave the actual cooking to Xiao Xi, whose culinary skills weren’t bad after being guided by Su Wenyue. However, Su Wenyue decided to cook herself, to show sincerity, and also because there were some complex dishes that Xiao Xi could not make.

On the holiday, two full tables of guests came. Han Yu had been busy lately, not just managing his subordinates well, but also establishing many connections in the military camp and developing his own power.

As the mistress of the house, Su Wenyue naturally had to come out to meet the guests. Like Madame Liu Zhao when she first met Su Wenyue, they initially thought that Han Yu’s wife was a country woman with little vision and only cooking as her redeeming quality. Only after meeting her did they realize their mistake. With such conversation skills, temperament, character, and appearance, she could not possibly be raised in the countryside. After inquiring, they learned that Han Yu’s wife was actually Miss Su from the Su Family, which explained a lot.

Many people knew Master Su because his businesses were broad and involved deep connections with some influential people in Chang’an City, not merely that of a simple businessman. In Xinye County, no one dared to offend the Su Family, and it was no wonder that Han Yu, a farmer with no previous achievements, could suddenly occupy the position of an eighth-rank captain – he had such a powerful backing behind him. Still, even with support from his wife’s parents’ home, Han Yu’s character and abilities were excellent, which helped him gain Shangfeng’s favor. He was a young man with bright prospects, which was also why they were willing to build connections with Han Yu.

After learning about Su Wenyue’s background, Han Yu’s colleagues treated her with much more respect. Seeing that Su Wenyue was pregnant and still personally cooking to entertain them, they all felt very honored. The meal was quite enjoyable for everyone involved, and when they left, Su Wenyue prepared a special product from her “hometown” for each person. Except for the pedantic Lord Fang, everyone else happily accepted the gifts and left.

“Wife, are you tired?”

After sending his colleagues away one by one, Han Yu immediately came to attend to his wife – today, she was the real hero.

Su Wenyue wasn’t really tired. Having witnessed Madam Fang’s abilities before, and today having met Lord Fang, she paid special attention to him. There’s a saying, “Like husband, like wife,” and compared to Madam Fang’s sense of superiority, Lord Fang also possessed an arrogance common among the literati. Among all the guests today, only Lord Fang stood out as someone who didn’t fit in.

“Husband, why did you invite Lord Fang? I feel that he is not someone suitable for making friends with. His pedantic ways and lack of worldly wisdom aside, his intentions do not seem pure. While he displays arrogance, he lacks the integrity of a learned man. You usually don’t like to interact with such people,” Su Wenyue voiced her confusion.

“Wife, you are indeed clever. Actually, I don’t really want to be close with Lord Fang either, but there’s a reason behind my actions. This Lord Fang has some background; although his family has declined by his generation, his great-grandfather was once a renowned general, General Hu Wei, whose contributions on the battlefield were immense. His experience in leading troops was vast, and he made many significant contributions to Daming.”

“So, it was because of General Hu Wei that you befriended Lord Fang?”

“General Hu Wei wrote down his experiences in leading troops into a Military Book before his death, and it was passed down. I want to get hold of this Military Book through Lord Fang.”

Han Yu didn’t keep his motive from Su Wenyue. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tolerated Lord Fang for so long. Han Yu thought he was well-read and talented enough to achieve great things, but only after joining the military camp did he realize his arrogance. There was so much more for him to learn. While Lord Fang was old-fashioned and good only for armchair strategizing, some of his words were insightful, showing he had read that Military Book. If those strategies could be applied flexibly, they would be immensely valuable.

“So, it’s for the Military Book.” Su Wenyue’s mind raced. She had heard of General Hu Wei’s Military Book. However, according to other people’s opinions, while General Hu Wei’s Military Book was good, it was no match for The Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems passed down from Consort Li, which were truly exceptional. Mastering even a third of their content would be infinitely beneficial, not just in battle but in other areas as well. That person often asked her to recite The Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which she, being a woman, did not fully understand, yet she found some of the strategies quite useful.

“Actually, General Hu Wei’s Military Book is not the best. Husband, even if you want to study strategy, you don’t need to rely solely on General Hu Wei’s Military Book. Perhaps there’s something even better that you just don’t know about,” she hinted.

At hearing his wife’s words, a glimmer shone in Han Yu’s eyes, and that mysterious aura he always felt around her surfaced again. Now that he knew his wife so well, the implication of her words was that she had better Military Books. General Hu Wei’s book was already highly sought after, and astonishingly, his wife had something even better. Even with his steady disposition, Han Yu couldn’t help feeling excited.

“I saw those two Military Books when I was a child in my grandfather’s library. One is called The Art of War, and the other, the Thirty-Six Stratagems. I don’t remember where they are placed, but fortunately, I still recall their contents. I’ll write them down for you,” Su Wenyue said, aware of the many flaws in her story, but not minding another in front of Han Yu. Knowing his character, Su Wenyue was aware that Han Yu had long realized some things but pretended not to know. Without probing, their acceptance and trust in each other remained unspoken, and now all she wanted was for Han Yu to surpass his achievements in his previous life with these two books.