mine

After returning to the mansion, Jiang Nianwan declined Guizhi's offer of company. He first went to the bedroom to take a bath for a while, then got up to wash up and returned to the desk to take out the white paper on the desk.

She slowly spread out the white paper, and the shadow of the brush in her hand cast a light on the paper, making her light-colored pupils shine brightly with a hint of bright color.

There were many things in her mind that she had not yet put down on paper, but her heart was in turmoil because of Xiao Yingzhu's behavior in the afternoon.

But the messy one was not the kiss that touched and left immediately, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

But it was the allusive words Xiao Yingzhu said before that.

He never thought that what Xiao Yingzhu brought up was related to his dismissal from his position. Therefore, when he understood what he had heard at Yu Youguan Mansion in the afternoon, Jiang Nian was stunned and did not come to his senses in time.

She was even in a daze for a long time.

My thoughts seemed to be blocked by some soft object. No matter how hard I tried to think, I couldn't think smoothly. I could only stay where I was, stagnant.

The ink on the brush tip formed a dark circle, about to fall onto the white paper on the table. Jiang Nian's eyes fell on the brush for a moment, and then he hurriedly put the brush away.

Really...

After all, she is older than Xiao Yingzhu in modern times. How could she be more innocent than Xiao Yingzhu when encountering such a thing?

Jiang Nian was puzzled. With some doubts, he brushed the white paper on the table again, smoothing the already flattened paper for a moment, trying to clear out the thoughts related to Xiao Yingzhu from his mind, and lowered his eyes to start writing about the plan for the school.

When I went to see Uncle Xu in the morning, I hurriedly mentioned to him that the school had started and subconsciously said that classes had started. I should explain it to Uncle Xu again when I am free tomorrow.

As for the young man named Shang whom I saw at dusk.

Jiang Nian paused writing, a flash of thought passing through his eyes.

The young man had little connection with the events of the time travel, and he did not have the same ethereal feeling as the things used by Shou Zan or that associated with Lan. He was truly just a student who came to learn how to repel insects.

It was just a coincidence that she came here, just when she was planning to set up the school.

Although it sounded a bit conspiratorial when Guizhi mentioned it, when he actually met the person, Jiang Nian didn't think such an innocent boy would have any bad intentions.

When he was lost in thought, Jiang Nian would always subconsciously move the brush in his hand along the edge of the inkstone to scrape off some ink lumps on the brush hair.

Since the young man has no problem, she should compile the knowledge she wants to pass on into a book so that when she is not in Pingzhou in the future, the young man can continue to pass on this knowledge.

But in addition to that...we also need to prepare some tools for making simple pesticides to facilitate demonstration.

Are the minerals in the warehouse still there? I don't know what the situation is like at Qin Lan's mine.

Jiang Nian was silent for a moment. She was about to call Qing out, but then she remembered that she had just said goodbye to Xiao Yingzhu in the afternoon. Maybe she would see her again tomorrow. She didn't ask earlier or later. She didn't think of asking for so much time in the afternoon. Now she deliberately sent Qing out. It was a bit of an overreaction.

The lips that were about to open closed again. Jiang Nian sighed, put the brush in his hand aside, and pressed his solar plexus with a headache.

It turns out that he is uneasy.

Whenever it came to matters concerning Xiao Yingzhu, no matter how calm she was, she would have to panic for a bit in order to calm her somewhat restless mood.

The candlelight burned tirelessly, and the sound of the tiny candlelight exploding was like white noise, once again soothing Jiang Nian's somewhat confused mood.

She lowered her eyes and stared at the paper in front of her for a moment, then folded up the filled plan and put it aside on the desk for the time being.

It was dinner time. Jiang Nian had just closed her eyes and rubbed her blood for a while when Guizhi knocked on the door of her wing room from outside: "Miss, dinner is ready in the kitchen. Madam wants you to come in for dinner."

Jiang Nian pulled himself away from his chaotic thoughts, nodded subconsciously, raised his eyes and replied, "Okay, I understand."

Once the plan here is completed, the next step is to wait for the school to open.

As for the matters in between, just leave them to Guizhi and the others.

—

The moonlight shines on the same sky, which decorates the hot and cold courtyard in summer, and gives people the comfort of seeing each other's faces clearly.

Qin Lan came up from the foot of the mountain and when he looked up, he ran into Yan who was guarding outside the mine.

The dim moonlight and the fire burning at the cave entrance made the long mine behind him seem even longer and deeper. Occasionally, a few bright lights flashed across the stone walls of the mine, and the bright red light lit up in people's eyes for a moment before disappearing.

“How are those guys handling it?”

These days, he either went to Yu He to check on the epidemic situation in the city, or went outside the mine to inquire about the progress inside.

When Jiang Nian and Xiao Yingzhu left, they left him something called a "mask" and asked him to wear it when entering the mine to prevent infection by harmful gases, dust or microorganisms.

She spoke seriously, so Qin Lan asked his men to study this thing again and replaced the simple masks they wore when entering the mine with a piece of cloth with a few folds that looked very thin.

Under the bright and cold moonlight, one of the threads of the cloth was hooked on Qin Lan's fingertips.

Yan lowered his eyelashes and wanted to shake his head, but suddenly nodded, and a thoughtful light flashed across his eyes.

"Yes, Pavilion Master, but..."

"The situation regarding those 'people' inside still requires the Pavilion Master to personally confirm."

Qin Lan stood in the hazy moonlight, turned the mask in his hand a few times, and turned to look at the bright moon in the sky.

"I understand. I'll leave the mine guarding here to you and Yan."

Yan nodded: "Okay, Pavilion Master."

…

Without saying anything more, the smile on Qin Lan's face faded, and he walked inside with a serious expression, until the silent darkness in the mine quietly crept up his cheeks.

—

The sound of mining could be heard faintly from the front, mixed with the conversations of several soldiers while they were resting.

The flame of the mining lamp burning in the cover was dancing with color. Qin Lan followed the planned route and turned into one of the paths. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the two figures talking in front of him.

"What's going on?"

"Pavilion Master."

"Pavilion Master!"

Hearing Qin Lan's muffled question, two soldiers who were sitting on a slightly flat open space stood up and walked towards Qin Lan.

"Ahead are the 'people' controlled by Lu. They're still digging. We went to see their mines—they're no different from normal ones. The plants slowed down their mining."

"Would you like to go over and take a look?"

"Um."

Qin Lan nodded slightly and signaled the two soldiers in front to lead the way.

"You go ahead and take me to see the situation."

"yes!"

When talking about serious matters, the two soldiers' casual smiles disappeared and they walked towards the mine ahead.

The regular sound of mining echoed in the mine. Qin Lan looked around with his eyes raised, and his sight was fixed on the "person" standing in front of him who was mining.

They were no different from ordinary people, with nothing special about their appearance, except that their movements were stiff and their eyes were looking straight ahead, not paying any attention to the people around them.

Qin Lan stood beside these tireless 'people' for a while, turning his head to look at the mine wall next to him.

Many pits have been dug on the top, some deep, some shallow, and some undug, remaining intact in the middle of the bumpy area.

He stared for a moment, then turned to look at the two men standing nearby: "Where are the plants?"

"Here, Pavilion Master."

The soldier who was being questioned stood up in shock, walked a few steps to the side, and pointed to a basket of mineral grass piled up on the ground to Qin Lan.

Qin Lan didn't know much about this kind of plant. He had only seen it in the book that Tao Yu had given him before - of course, that book had even been soaked to pieces by him now.

After taking a glance at the snail basket, Qin Lan subconsciously tapped a few times with his fingertips.

"When were these grasses found... from this mine or from somewhere in this mine?"

In Qin Lan's imagination, these magical plants that can grow in the mine are these "people" who are digging the mine. After digging to a certain extent, these plants suddenly fly out and throw an arc -

Then it fell into the basket accurately.

It was as if Buqu had seen the strange thoughts of his own Pavilion Master from Qin Lan's emerging thoughts. After a moment of silence, he explained, "Pavilion Master, it shouldn't be what you think..."

Qin Lan, who was just about to come up with a child-like graffiti painting, paused, and the white bubble in his head suddenly burst: "What?"

The soldier was looking angry. He pointed at the mineral grass and then at the road ahead.

"These mineral grasses grow specifically in areas with minerals and can be used as a marker for the presence of minerals."

Qin Lan followed the direction of his subordinate's finger and looked forward. He found that at the end of the mine tunnel there were a few small green and tender mineral grasses growing in the soil. There was also mist around them, as if silently inviting him to pull them out.

“……?”

"Then why don't they cut down the grass in front?"

The troupe replied in a serious tone, "We need to give the mineral grasses time to grow. Otherwise, excessive cutting might prevent them from growing, or slow their growth. We need to preserve their roots so they can regrow."

"I see." Qin Lan nodded in sudden realization and became serious again. "Apart from the 'people' on this side, there are other 'people' like this in the mine, right?"

The guard nodded and turned to look back the way they came. "Go out from the fork in the road and turn right, and you'll find the road to the other side."

The sound of excavation next to him continued, but after hearing it so often, he got used to it. Qin Lan raised his hand and pulled up his mask a little, covering his high nose bridge.

Under his black hair, his eyebrows were deep, and his pupils were dark under his crow-feather eyelashes. He looked at the people passing by following the words of his subordinates, and then glanced at the people who were still digging at the wall tirelessly, and raised his hand to point at the people passing by.

"Let's go. Let's try another way."

The messy footsteps of the three people echoed in the mine again. The gravel that was collapsed by the shoe soles made a few sharp sounds, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of excavation behind them.

Inside the mine, the lights that illuminated the people who were excavating the mine wall flickered a few times and then went out as Qin Lan and the others left.