Delivering Wine

Whether Susan Evans was happy or not was of little concern to Lily Evans. But she couldn't quite figure out if Susan would stir up trouble just because she was unhappy.

With this in mind, Lily said to Belle, "Tell Old Joe Zhou to keep an eye on how Sam Evans's household is collecting vegetables. If anything unusual happens, report back to me immediately."

Belle answered at once, planning to go to the fields to find Old Joe Zhou. She had just turned to leave when Lily called her back.

"Belle, take a jar of wine from home to the fields. It's freezing cold—let the farmhands warm themselves up with a drink. Oh, and the wine jar is heavy, so get a little servant boy to go with you," Lily instructed.

Belle bit her lip and nodded, looking at Lily.

Belle knew that someone from the family delivered food and wine to the fields every day. There was no need for her to bring an extra jar of wine.

Lily was only doing this because of the incident with Ernie Lee—she didn't feel comfortable letting Belle walk around the village alone.

But she couldn't say that outright, afraid it would make Belle sad, so she found an excuse—sending wine—to have a servant escort her to the fields.

Actually, outsiders rarely came to Clearwater Village. The population was simple, and nothing had happened in years. Villagers didn't even need to lock their doors at home, because any stranger would immediately attract the whole village's attention.

Usually, when women in the village went alone to the river or to the fields—even at night—they only worried about wild animals like wolves, never about running into bad people.

Belle had always been rather plain-looking; there were plenty of prettier girls in the village. Before the incident, no one would have guessed that after centuries of peace, Clearwater Village would produce someone as vile as Ernie Lee—a degenerate who targeted Belle because of her status and her mushroom-growing skills, and even tried to force her into marriage using despicable means.

Now that Ernie Lee had been dealt with, peace returned to the village. Still, Lily worried Belle might be afraid to walk alone, so she wanted someone to accompany her. Belle, touched by her mistress's thoughtful care, felt a warmth in her heart and hurried to the wine cellar in the backyard, calling a servant boy she saw along the way.

"Hey, it's that jar of wine—bring it out and let's take it to the fields together," Belle instructed the servant boy.

The boy, Aiden, had been carefully selected by the Evans family and specially trained before being sold as a servant to wealthy households. He was honest and reliable, far superior to the servants Lily had bought from the Greenfield City brokers.

Aiden, always obedient to Belle, the senior maid, brought out the wine jar she pointed to and grinned, "Belle, didn't we already deliver wine to the fields this morning? Why are we bringing more?"

Belle laughed, "It's Madam's idea. She knows it's cold and the workers are toiling, so she's sending extra wine to keep them warm."

Aiden hoisted the wine jar onto his shoulder and said with a smile, "Madam really looks out for us servants. Serving her is a blessing."

"She is—the best mistress anyone could ask for," Belle nodded, leading the way while Aiden followed behind, carrying the wine jar.

They passed through a corridor and, just as they turned the corner, they saw Eugene Jr., the young steward, standing beneath the walkway.

"Belle, where are you headed?" Eugene Jr. asked with a cheerful grin.

"Madam asked me to run an errand in the fields and deliver a jar of wine," Belle replied, lowering her gaze to avoid Eugene Jr.'s eyes.

Eugene Jr. strolled over to Aiden, deftly scooped the wine jar into his arms, and shot Aiden a look. Aiden understood instantly and dashed off.

Belle called out anxiously, "Aiden, why did you run off? I can't carry the wine jar by myself!"

"But you've got me! I was just heading to the fields myself—let's go together," Eugene Jr. said, taking the lead with the wine jar in his arms.