Chapter 134

"That sounds familiar," Qin Su thought hard. "Didn't you say that to me last year?"

She remembered that when Ye Yan entered the palace for the second time last year, he said a lot of strange things to her, as if he thought she knew him before that.

At the time, Qin Su was still somewhat wary of Ye Yan. She made a pinky promise with him, and Ye Yan promised to tell her the secret in two years.

Thinking of this, Qin Su counted on her fingers and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, two years? Doesn't that mean it'll be over next year?"

Ye Yan looked at Qin Su, who still looked like a little baby: "..."

Qin Su asked warily, "Why do you look like that? Are you going to go back on your word?"

Ye Yan was speechless and tried to explain to her: "The two years I mentioned are not real two years. This 'two' is an approximate number, like words such as 'many' or 'some'."

Qin Su covered her ears and argued back, "I don't understand, I don't understand! What do you mean by 'covering trees and flowers'? I don't care! If it's two years, it's two years!"

Ye Yan was speechless, all his reasoning was choked back.

That wasn't all. Qin Su glanced at him sideways and grumbled, "Besides, even if you wanted to say it, I might not want to hear it."

She rested her chin on her hands, which were as thin as lotus roots, and sighed like a little adult: "After all, sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing."

Ye Yan was amused and asked, "So, do you still want to listen or not?"

"Of course I want it!" Qin Su's expression immediately changed. "I've been keeping track of the date, so don't even think about going back on your word. Oh, by the way, you still owe me a storybook from last time."

Qin Su read Emperor Jingxi's books in the palace, so the palace servants would not put folk tales in front of her. Therefore, she could only read travelogues and miscellaneous essays at most.

She had long developed a strong interest in folk tales, and once mentioned it to Ye Yan, who promised to bring her one from outside the palace.

Qin Su had completely forgotten about the incident, but today, when Ye Yan mentioned encountering the old man at the night market, it came back to her mind.

She grabbed Ye Yan's wrist unhappily: "Did you forget if I didn't say something? Why didn't you bring it in on your own initiative?"

Qin Su started to shift the blame: "You're not taking my affairs to heart anymore."

Ye Yan couldn't bear to see her pitiful expression and quickly clarified, "I haven't forgotten, it's just that the storybook is still being printed."

Qin Su was taken aback: "So, reading storybooks actually requires printing them out on the spot?"

"That's not it," Ye Yan said with difficulty. "It's just that the novels in the bookstores right now are not suitable for Your Highness to read."

He had promised Qin Su that he would bring her the book, and after leaving the palace he went to look for it. However, he found that the content of the storybooks on the market was too monotonous. They were either supernatural tales, love stories, or supernatural tales mixed with love stories.

Ye Yan felt this wouldn't work, so based on his modern reading experience, he made up a few stories and had them polished and printed.

After listening to his explanation, Qin Su asked, "Since stories can be made up and printed on the spot, does that mean the person who wrote the story decides what's in it?"

Ye Yan: "You could say that."

Qin Su tilted her head and said something surprising: "Then can we compile the imperial edicts into written form and sell them all over the world?"

Ye Yan was taken aback: "Isn't that just a newspaper?"

Qin Su: "What is a newspaper?"

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

One has no memory but possesses naturally keen and imaginative ideas; the other has a comprehensive memory and is rich in modern knowledge but has not yet realized how to adapt and apply it.

Ye Yan pondered for a while and said, "No, there is no compulsory education now, and the literacy rate of the people is very low. We cannot generalize from ancient times to the present. Newspapers will not work."

Education, unlike other things, cannot be changed quickly. It takes at least five or six years to educate an illiterate person to be able to read.

Qin Su didn't understand: "Then we can start promoting literacy now, and after a few years when everyone can read, we can continue promoting it, right?"

Ye Yan shook his head and said patiently, "Things are not that simple. The common people have neither money nor time. Writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones are luxuries for them. They can't afford them. They need to take care of farming and are exhausted every day, so they don't have the energy to study."

That's why there are so many stories like "studying by the light of fireflies and snow," "carving a hole in the wall to steal light," and "writing down notes by hand and returning them in a day."

He had explained the meaning of "luxury goods" to Qin Su before, and Qin Su understood.

"So it's because everyone is too poor, right?" she asked.

Ye Yan: "Essentially, it is a limitation of productive forces and relations of production."

When he actually arrived in ancient times, he realized how unreliable those time-travel movies and TV shows he had watched in modern times were. Ancient times were an era in which even food could not be produced in self-sufficiency!

No wonder agriculture was the foundation of ancient society; there were simply too many people in this era who couldn't afford to eat, something many modern people can hardly imagine.

In an era where people can't even afford to eat, it's unrealistic to pursue science, technology, industry, or commerce. Let's focus on ensuring that ordinary people have enough to eat first.

Qin Su: "That experimental field you set up last time, talking about the two-line and three-line method, and having people find male-sterile plants, how much can it increase grain yield?"

Ye Yan: "It might be one or two times, but that won't achieve the best results. The best results can only be achieved by very great and capable people."

Qin Su: "You're really amazing too. After your coming-of-age ceremony, I'll give you the courtesy name Ye Lixing."

Ye Yan couldn't resist the urge to pinch her nose when he heard her talking nonsense. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he said, "Nonsense."

Qin Su pushed his hand away with her forehead and said with a grin, "You can also call me Ye Congming."

Ye Yan laughed and said sincerely, "I haven't studied these things professionally. I've only heard about the principles behind them. I don't know if it will be successful. If it is, it will be achieved by standing on the shoulders of predecessors."

Qin Su: "It will definitely succeed. If it doesn't work this year, we'll try next year, and if it doesn't work next year, we'll try the year after."

Ye Yan took her hand and smiled, "Yes, I also think it's definitely going to succeed."

Qin Su jumped off the swing with his help and said, "It's a bit hot outside, let's go back to the palace and find someone to play the zither."

Ye Yan's mind was still preoccupied with the discussion he had just had with Qin Su about newspaper education when he suddenly heard Qin Su mention listening to the zither, and an idea flashed through his mind.

Text doesn't work, and pictures are time-consuming, but what about soundscapes? Take theater, for example.

The reason why drama flourished before the advent of television and movies is that in those years when entertainment options were limited, things with both visuals and sound were the most attractive to people.

In the past, many places carried out the "Three Services to the Countryside" campaign, and the way to bring culture to the countryside was by performing operas, which were popular, easy to understand, and interesting.

There is currently a folk opera called Nanxi, which can be considered an early form of drama. It wouldn't be too difficult to promote its integration.

Finding actors to perform is easy; the problem is, if you're going to do theater, what kind of script should you write?

I definitely need to write about a major event, something that ordinary people care about.

After much thought, the best topic for the near future is the battle between ducks and locusts.

Qin Su was happily walking towards Zhaoning Palace when Ye Yan grabbed her arm.

Qin Su turned around: "What?"

Ye Yan asked her in a serious tone, "Your Highness, I sincerely invite you to serve as the character template for the first theatrical cultural performance in Dayu. Is that alright?"

Qin Su: "?"

What is it?