Chapter 20
There are no festivals in June, only more ripe seasonal vegetables and fruits.
The excitement of the Tongcai Festival has completely passed, and I heard that all the guests in the village have left.
Xue Shun stayed at home for a long time after coming back from Hechun Court that day. However, the courtyard was quiet and nothing else happened. He had recuperated well and was even able to secretly practice the Turtle Fist in the backyard. He said it was the Tiger Subduing Fist. Shen Jiao, who accidentally bumped into her, couldn't really tell and could only praise her against her conscience. He didn't believe her and blushed as he told her to get out. It was really awkward.
Shen Jiao didn't care, she only had eyes for those two pieces of land.
The vegetables planted in the backyard have grown lushly, are green, several inches tall, and are almost edible.
Start thinning out the seedlings now, and it will be a good time to sell them in a dozen days.
Xue Shun, however, wouldn't let Shen Jiao touch a single leaf of vegetable.
Holding Xuan Xiao's family in his arms, he stood at the front of the field like a scarecrow and said in a rhythmic manner, "Thinning out the seedlings? Don't even think about it. All your vegetables are dead, and you still dare to touch mine? What if you kill them too?"
Shen Jiao weakly retorted, "Not all of them are dead. There's still one left."
"Ha, so many." Xue Shun curled his lips, looking down on the lonely seedling.
Shen Jiao was so angry that she tried to prove herself: "Sir, I also watered your vegetables!"
"I almost died from flooding."
"I weeded them!"
"Many seedlings were damaged."
“I fertilize.”
"It attracted bugs."
"I……"
"You... you took such good care of them, and yet you killed them all," Xue Shun was puzzled. "Aren't medicine slaves good at tending to flowers and plants? How come you're like a plant killer? You can't even keep a vegetable alive?"
Xue Shun, who works for three days and rests for two days, takes good care of his vegetable garden.
Shen Jiao said word by word with difficulty: "I thought... God rewards hard work!"
Xue Shun: "Come on, talent is everything. Go sell vegetables later. You'll get nine for me."
He then walked away leisurely, with six mice clinging to his body. As he was about to turn into the moon cave door, he said again, "Cook some meat. Ah Fu and the others must be hungry."
They just ate half an hour ago! Those mice are almost as fat as sweet potatoes, and they're still hungry...
Fatherly love blinded him.
Shen Jiao was in no mood. She was buried in sadness over those poor, dry, dead seedlings. The hoe accidentally scraped against them, as if... it had knocked down something weak.
Shen Jiao turned her head stiffly and saw her only 'child' lying there, dead, its roots broken cleanly and only a little juice oozing out...
"No!!!!!!!"
"You're still a child! You've never even been in a pot before, how could you die like this!"
Shen Jiao rushed over and held it in her hands, wailing softly, and sat helplessly on the ground, letting the mud stain her green silk skirt, crystal tears streaming down her eyes.
She is the only green color on this land. She deeply loves the vibrant green, but she has no roots in the soil. Instead, she buries everything that is truly rooted in the soil, leaving no grass behind.
"Sister, what's wrong with you?"
Qiongzhi trotted over and heard a mournful and gentle sigh: "Qiongzhi... fate is so fickle~"
Shen Jiao leaned weakly on her shoulder with tears streaming down her face.
How could one not be heartbroken to learn that she hadn't grown anything alive since she was seven?
Back then, she could just throw a seed between the cracks of a rock and a big cabbage would grow out of it.
Now... Well, let's not talk about it, she won't give up anyway.
Shen Jiao dug a hole, carefully buried her poor cub, and placed a small wooden stick on top. She poured the soup from cooking the meat on it, cracked eggshells, and decided to fertilize the soil before taking action.
After Xue Shun finished feeding the mice, he took a look out the back window and said again, "Hey, you can do whatever you want, but don't touch my land!"
Don’t touch them, don’t touch them. So many seedlings crowded together will definitely not grow well!
Shen Jiao curled her lips secretly and turned back to say, "This servant knows."
"You'd better really know." Xue Shun, who was narrow-minded, was still worried.
I can check the vegetable garden seven or eight times in one morning.
By the afternoon he had lost interest.
A maid from the main courtyard came in and said, "Mr. Song has returned. Madam asked me to inform Mr. Seventeen that classes will resume tomorrow."
Xue Shun was stunned: "You're back? So soon?"
The maid said carefully, "Seventeenth Master, Mr. Song has been gone for half a year."
Xue Shun forced a smile. "I know. I was thinking that the journey is long and the sky is high. It would take a lot of effort for the gentleman to go back and forth. I'm afraid he hasn't spent enough time with his family, so I asked this question."
"Don't worry, Mr. Seventeen. Mr. Song has brought his family here with him this time. You'll be able to see them every day from now on. You won't have to go back and forth anymore!"
“…That’s…great!”
Xue Shun's heart seemed to have died. As soon as the man left, he slumped in the chair and did not respond to anything anyone said.
He didn't even eat a single bite of his dinner. He sat there until the moon rose above the willow branches. Suddenly, he jumped up, walked quickly to the desk, and rummaged around, throwing things all over the floor. He looked like a madman, muttering, "No, no, not a single thing!"
After finding the last one, he sat down again in despair.
Shen Jiao: "Sir? Are you okay?"
Xue Shun didn't say anything. Jin Yu pulled her and took her outside. Then he waved his hand and said, "Don't ask any more questions. It's useless to say anything. Prepare the candles and ropes. I'll get the awl."
"Candle...awl? What do you need those things for?" Shen Jiao asked carefully.
Jin Yu said sadly, "What else can I do? I'll just stay up late to do my homework."
"Oh... I thought you were going to kill me, sir." Shen Jiao was really relieved.
"What?"
Jin Yu's eyes widened.
Shen Jiao: ...
"Nothing, I'm just joking, sister. I'll get it right away."
Shen Jiao had seen Xue Shun practicing calligraphy frequently on weekdays and thought that he was the kind of person who would finish his homework seriously even if he did poorly. However, she never expected that he was the kind of person who would not do a single stroke when he was free and would only practice calligraphy by staying up late on the last night.
Seeing that the handwriting was becoming increasingly messy, Shen Jiao suddenly thought, "Master, do you need me to write for you?"
Xue Shun, his scalp aching, tried hard to open his sleepy eyes: "You for me? That's not good, what if someone finds out..."
Shen Jiao picked up the pen and wrote a line of words like a three-year-old child's handwriting - 'No, leave it to me, no problem!'
Xue Shun decisively handed over the pen, slammed the table, and stood up, saying, "My dear sister, you are really my savior. I have never met anyone as good as you. There are still thirty-one articles and sixty or seventy pages of large characters. Do your best to finish them. I will go to sleep for a while and come back to take over for you."
The dog is spitting out ivory from his mouth. It seems that he is really exhausted.
Shen Jiao solemnly took the pen, as if she had taken on some important task, and said with a serious face, "Sir, just go ahead. Leave this to me."
After being here for so long, she finally found a place where she could use her skills.
I guess this is what the master said - useful people can always gain a foothold!
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