Chapter 871 Applying Knowledge

"Village chief, what's going on?"

The spectators below stood up and crowded around the platform to get a closer look.

Jiang Baozhu followed in the crowd, standing on tiptoe to observe carefully. The ten people on the stage varied in height and weight, but it would be wrong to judge them by that alone.

The village chief had already changed the game's rules. The men were all about the same size, but the difference was that some wore several layers of cotton-padded coats, while others had thicker soles on their shoes—it was all a deception.

"The young general is here."

The village chief lied through his teeth, trying to trick Lin Yuesha into coming to find someone.

If the village chief hadn't urged her, Lin Yuesha would still have been half-believing and half-doubting. But once the village chief made his move, Lin Yuesha became even more certain that Qi Heng wasn't among these people.

Trying to hook her? No way!

"Young Madam, why do you insist that the Young General is not among them?"

The villagers asked sincerely, and after discussing it, they realized that everyone seemed to be the same.

"Because of...the feeling."

Lin Yuesha winked mysteriously, concealing the truth.

There was no other way but to hide it. Inspired by Qi Heng, Lin Yuesha also cheated.

The two stood on the high platform, and Lin Yuesha took the opportunity to sprinkle some fennel powder on Qi Heng. As a qualified chef, Lin Yuesha was very sensitive to this smell, and even though Qi Heng had changed his clothes, he still had some on him.

Lin Yuesha had just walked past the crowd and didn't smell the familiar scent, so she suspected that the village chief had changed the rules at the last minute.

Judging from the village chief's reaction, she must have guessed correctly.

"Is there anyone here willing to come up and look for someone in place of the young mistress?"

Unable to fool Lin Yuesha, the village chief began to plot against the villagers.

The original plan was to assign the task of killing the chicken to Lin Yuesha, but it turned out to be a miscalculation.

"have!"

As soon as the village chief finished speaking, seven or eight women stepped forward and eagerly signed up.

They had heard that Qi Heng was a promising young man, skilled in both literature and martial arts. If they recognized him, they hoped to obtain a piece of his calligraphy to hang in their homes, which would bring great honor to their humble dwellings.

Jiang Baozhu looked around and finally decided not to join in the fun. She was recovering from her injuries and couldn't do heavy work.

After the women went on stage, they expressed their thoughts and made their choices.

The moment of truth was about to arrive, and the villagers who had been whispering just moments before immediately fell silent.

The hoods were removed, revealing grinning faces.

The women were very disappointed; there was no young general among them, and they had guessed wrong.

"Good heavens, not a single one of them is a young general. How did the young mistress know that?"

The villagers could hardly believe their eyes, suspecting that Lin Yuesha had known the answer beforehand.

"Quiet!"

The village chief didn't want to see this outcome either; he really didn't collude with the young mistress to cheat.

"Let's do it again, let them swap clothes and shuffle the order!"

The man in the blue jacket, who had just lost the game, had changed his clothes and returned, seemingly eager to stir up trouble, saying, "Let's select a few more people to go backstage and supervise."

"Yes, supervision!"

The villagers agreed with Lan Aozi's words, which meant that Lin Yuesha would have no chance to cheat.

"That's fine, but why should I cooperate with you a second time?"

Lin Yuesha rolled her eyes and smiled, "The New Year is almost here, you have to give me some good luck, right?"

"become!"

The man in the blue coat was the first to step forward. It was his idea to find someone to supervise, and he was willing to contribute two jin of rapeseed oil and two old ducks.

Although there weren't many items, they were all practical. Moreover, he was just setting an example. There were thousands of households in the surrounding villages, and every household could afford these things, so they joined in and contributed little by little until they had a large sum.

What do you think?

Blue Coat then set conditions: if Lin Yuesha couldn't find Qi Heng, the punishment would be simple: killing chickens was pointless labor that any villager could do; instead, Lin Yuesha would be punished by preparing spiced melon seeds and spicy peanuts for the villagers to use during the New Year.

The spicy peanuts were so delicious! The young mistress didn't bring many; they were for the little ones in the house. The men had to snatch the peanuts from the children, and their wives scolded them for it.

"no problem!"

Sunflower seeds and peanuts, which are profitable in the north, are essential items for the New Year. Lin Yuesha had long wanted to start this business, but her work as an undercover agent in Jinyuguan delayed her plans.

After both sides wrote the contract, the villagers waited patiently for the outcome.

About fifteen minutes later, the men stepped forward. Lin Yuesha didn't see the man in the blue coat, guessing that he had sneaked in to make up the numbers.

She counted them; there were two more people than before, making a total of twelve.

One was Qi Heng, and the other was the man in the blue jacket.

Lin Yuesha walked around and smelled the familiar scent of fennel, and she knew what was going on.

However, she did not immediately choose Qi Heng, but instead stood in front of one of them.

"Young Madam, are you certain this man is the Young General?"

The village chief was secretly delighted and couldn't wait to remove the hood.

"No, he's the guy who made the bet with me."

Lin Yuesha said to the villagers, "This is just a side effect to convince you."

Hmph, he stole the little kid's spicy peanuts, his breath smells of chili peppers.

The guy in the blue coat didn't choose chili oil again, so it's definitely him.

After pulling out the man in the blue coat, Lin Yuesha calmly found Qi Heng and removed her hood.

This caused the audience to erupt in cheers.

If finding Qi Heng is a skill, then finding Lan Aozi first is practically like being able to predict the future.

"Young Madam, you are a very capable person!"

The villagers were convinced; with so many people watching, the possibility of Lin Yuesha cheating was basically eliminated.

Moreover, when Lin Yuesha went looking for someone, there were seven or eight people around her, and no one would give her any hints.

"There's nothing special about it, it's just based on intuition."

Lin Yuesha was very modest, but she never expected that her modesty would be misunderstood by the villagers.

"Haven't you heard of the young mistress's name?"

The villagers who frequently went out to sell their goods were well-informed and knew a little about Lin Yuesha.

"Know what?"

The villagers gathered around, eagerly inquiring about the situation.

"The legend of the koi fish being alive was passed down by the soldiers of the Great Qi army. I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect it to be true."

The speaker automatically lauded Lin Yuesha, talking animatedly, while the surrounding listeners looked on with satisfaction.

"My wife is indeed clever."

Qi Heng didn't pay attention at first, but when Lin Yuesha made a bet with the villagers, he noticed the smell of fennel powder on his clothes. The little girl quickly put it to use.

"That's right, otherwise how could we win so many good fortunes?"

The village was well-off, so those things were nothing to the villagers; otherwise, Lin Yuesha wouldn't have accepted them.

Qi Heng remained silent; his attempt to outmaneuver Lin Yuesha had failed.

Feeling somewhat guilty for accepting the villagers' gifts, Lin Yuesha stood on the high platform and told the little boy a story from Journey to the West.

"If anyone can help me recall what happened before, I will give them a lantern with the image of Sun Wukong if they get it all right."

Lin Yuesha tested the children; she had already drawn several sketches of the characters from Journey to the West as small gifts for the villagers.

"I'll do it!"

The village chief's grandson wasn't intimidated. He had told the story countless times to others in the village and was just waiting for the next part.