"What do you want to do?" Shui Qing felt that although Fan Jin was not suitable for the imperial examination, he was quite suitable to be a teacher. He would not take on everything himself, but would guide students to grow.

However, it is precisely this flexible and adaptable way of thinking that is not suitable for the rigid and formulaic imperial examination system, which only requires empty rhetoric, that led to repeated failures in the imperial examinations.

Alas, I can only say I was born at the wrong time.

Fan Jin was unaware that Shui Qing had already made so many connections. He was about to say, "Shui Qing, buy a few more kudzu roots."

I took it to the village chief's house and said it was dug up from the mountain behind us. It tastes good and can fill our stomachs. I also collected a lot of seeds. If anyone in the village is willing to plant it, they can come to his house and get it for free.

I've thought about it. The heavy rains happen in the summer, when the kudzu roots have already sprouted and grown. Flooding only occurs in fertile fields; there's no flooding or water accumulation on the mountains, so it shouldn't affect the growth of the kudzu roots.

As you said, its harvest season is in September and October, when the villagers' food supplies are running low, and kudzu root is just what they need to replenish them.

After saying that, he asked uneasily, "Shuiqing, do you think what I said is right?"

"Yes, that's right!" Shui Qing affirmed without hesitation.

The tall, elegant man before her blushed, even his ears turning red. He gave a soft "hmm" and said in a low voice, "I'm glad you don't think I'm talking nonsense."

Ever since he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, it seemed that everything he did was wrong and everything he said was incorrect.

Shuiqing proved her point by quickly buying dozens of kilograms of kudzu seeds and five raw kudzu roots, which she then handed over.

Fan Jin put aside his worries, a smile playing on his lips, looking extremely relaxed and happy. "Then I'll go find the village chief now."

·

Except for the elderly with mobility issues and young children, everyone else in the family was picking mushrooms on the mountain.

However, since it was dinnertime, in addition to the elderly and children, people would also be sent back to cook.

In the courtyard, after carefully chewing the kudzu root, the old village chief instructed his eldest daughter-in-law: "Take out the gong and go around the village ringing it."

This means that everyone in the village should be notified.

Upon hearing the instructions, Wang Guifen immediately did as instructed.

Before long, the clear sound of the gong echoed throughout every corner of the village and the surrounding hills.

"What's going on? The old village chief doesn't usually ring the gong."

"Let's go back first. It's time to have dinner. Let's go listen to what the old village chief has to say, and then go home for dinner before coming back."

"That's right, let's go to the old village chief's house."

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the village chief's house was filled with the people who were in charge of each household.

The old village chief had his grandson Changlin count the people inside and outside the village. After finding that almost every household had someone there, he cleared his throat and said, "Young man Jin found this root-like food on the mountain behind his house. Eating it can fill your stomach."

When the old man told him that the weather this year was unusually cold and that there might be floods next year, he took out all the seeds he had collected, remembering that we were all from the same village.

"Come and try some. If you'd like to grow it, I'll take a count and distribute it according to the number of people in each household."