Chapter 065 A Breath of Fairy Spirit
Xu Qingying could see that she had been beaten with a rattan stick. It must have been Li Zhaodi's father, Li Xiucai, who beat her. The old antique couldn't stand her behavior, so he would naturally make things difficult for Li Zhaodi, who was on good terms with her.
Li Zhaodi didn't want to say anything, so Xu Qingying pretended not to see her embarrassment.
"Qian Zhenniang's matter has nothing to do with you, so you don't need to blame yourself. If you really want to show your kindness, I will find a reason to deduct some of your wages and give the money to her. However... if she knew the money you gave her, I'm afraid that with her temper, she wouldn't want it—"
"It doesn't matter. You don't have to tell her. Just find a reason to give her my wages. This will make me feel better. After all... my mother..." Li Zhaodi didn't say it after all.
"Okay." Xu Qingying promised immediately, then looked at Li Zhaodi, hesitant to speak. "Focus on making soap. Now your wages are calculated by volume. The more you do, the higher your wages will be. If your wife finds an excuse to make you work again, tell her that you are my employee now, and if you leave your post without reason, your wages will be deducted."
Li Zhaodi looked timid and a little embarrassed.
Xu Qingying then delivered a drastic measure, "Zhao Di, my management requirements for everyone are the same. I can't possibly give you special treatment. If others see this and follow your example, working for me while juggling household chores, how can I guarantee the quality of my goods and manage my employees? If this continues, I'll have no choice but to dock your wages."
Li Zhaodi looked guilty, but she made a decision. "Miss Xu, you're right... From now on, I won't bring my brother with me when I go to work."
Xu Qingying breathed a sigh of relief.
She had already discovered Li Zhaodi's problem while working that morning: she was the typical person who couldn't say no. The Li family was really strange. Madam Cao was responsible for taking care of Li Xiucai and the concubine, while Li Zhaodi was responsible for taking care of her younger siblings. Both mother and daughter were weak and easily bullied, without any opinions of their own.
Xu Qingying could only slowly teach Li Zhaodi to be independent. Being able to work outside and dare to say no was already a big improvement for Li Zhaodi.
Li Zhaodi quickly returned to her post.
A figure quickly flashed through the woods next to it.
Han Ruqing wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face still showing fear. He patted his chest and said, "Miss Xu Liu is really a fierce general. She dares to say anything outrageous. It's fortunate that you and I are gentlemen. Otherwise, if others heard it, they would definitely regard Miss Xu as a monster—"
Liu Dazhuang, who was squatting under a tree nearby, tutted his tongue and this time disagreed. "The grace of our parents in raising us is greater than heaven, but Miss Xu is erasing all that grace. Such alarmist talk is simply unworthy of being a son."
"What fairy lady? She's clearly a demon! She can bring the dead back to life, and she's spreading lies to deceive the public—and she's even talking about a harmonious society and a thousand-jin yield per mu. She's clearly a lunatic!"
Han Ruqing cursed him mercilessly, but after that he felt empty inside.
His mother had long since passed away. She was a singing and dancing maid, taken in by his father because of her beauty. It's said that when she died, his father wrote a poem in remembrance of her dancing. Within two years, he had taken in a beautiful concubine, completely forgetting both him and his mother.
He had never seen what his biological mother looked like, and with a father and a long line of illegitimate children, he was inconspicuous and perhaps even vaguely remembered his own name. Therefore, he could only survive in the shadows of his stepmother in the backyard. He had developed a keen eye for reading people's expressions since childhood, and only by pleasing his stepmother could he barely survive in the Han family.
But this time, he was only arrested and imprisoned. The parents of other classmates had already made arrangements, but his family was eager to expel him from the family tree before he was sentenced.
Han Ruqing suddenly felt ridiculous.
If they didn't consider him their own flesh and blood, why did his parents give birth to him? One to continue the family line, the other to gain favor and gain a foothold. He was just a tool to continue the family line.
What's more, after giving birth to the child, they did not fulfill their responsibility to raise the child.
Even so, he still needs to be grateful and remember the grace of giving birth to him?
Why?
An idea was growing wildly in Han Ruqing's mind, and for a moment, he actually felt that what Miss Xu said was absolutely right.
There was nothing much to see at the moment, and it was a clear and crisp autumn day. Everyone was quick and efficient, working in full swing according to Xu Qingying's division of labor and cooperation. It didn't take long before alkaline water, quicklime, lard and other materials were slowly prepared.
Xu Qingying walked around the venue wearing her coat, and this time she clearly felt that everyone was more enthusiastic towards her.
"Miss Xu, you're feeling better now. Why don't you lie down for a while?"
"I'll ask my son to pick up some more firewood for you. Even though it's autumn now, the water in the mountains is very cold. Be careful not to catch a cold. Our soap business still depends on you..."
"Miss Xu, you're here?"
Xu Qingying found the warm and gentle smiling faces a little unbelievable.
It seems that she is using the soap business to help people get out of poverty and become rich, but it is not as good as her blowing her magic to save someone?
Even Zhao Bantou waved at her from afar, patting his chest and saying, "Miss Xu, why are you up? Don't worry, we brothers are keeping an eye on you. No one dares to slack off! Go lie down quickly. Even if you are the reincarnation of an immortal, you are still a mortal body now. It will take decades before you can return. You must take good care of yourself."
Xu Qingying said helplessly, "Why is Zhao Bantou also joining in the fun?"
Zhao Bantou laughed heartily and said, "I wouldn't dare. Miss Xu can save people with just a breath of immortal energy. She must be the reincarnation of an immortal. I feel much more at ease with you in charge of our soap business."
Zhao Bantou clasped his hands together again and bowed devoutly, "Don't worry, Miss Xu. I have already told them that I won't let them say that you have magical powers."
"Zhao Bantou, I've already made it very clear. It's nothing more than CPR and artificial respiration. How about this, next time someone drowns, I'll teach you how to do it. I guarantee you'll become an immortal too."
Seeing her serious expression, Zhao Bantou became even more certain that Xu Qingying was a capable person, but she just couldn't show it in front of others, so he smiled and made an "I understand" gesture.
Seeing that her explanation was useless, Xu Qingying had no choice but to let him go.
But she noticed a cold gaze staring at her. She subconsciously looked up and saw Liu Jieshi hiding in the corner.
When their eyes met, a smile quickly appeared on Liu Jieshi's face, but the smile never reached his eyes, instead adding a bit of sinister and cold feeling.
Xu Qingying nodded slightly.
The moment he turned around, he was thinking that he must find a way to get rid of Liu Jieshi, otherwise, with such a cunning and vengeful person hanging around him, he might be killed by a knife in his sleep.
Miao had already seen Xu Qingying, but she pushed her back and said, "Qingying, why did you come out? Go lie down and warm up. Your father and I are watching over you here."
Xu Degui also said, "You just fell into the water, so take it easy. The plan you came up with is good, with a clear division of labor. Three people form a group, which serves as a mutual oversight. I see that apart from a few who like to gossip about other people's private affairs, no one is slacking off. You don't need to waste so much energy."
"Mom and Dad, even though I fell into the water, I drank the ginger soup and changed my clothes. I'm in good spirits now and I really can't stay idle."
"You don't know, this illness comes on like a mountain. What if you get a cold after a good night's sleep? You can't get tired now. Go back and lie down..." Miao's motherly heart didn't allow Xu Qingying to resist. She summoned Xiao Meizi, "Meixiao, take my sister back to the tent and make sure she rests and sleeps. Don't let her run around. Got it?"
Xu Meixiao nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, looking eager to try, "Mom, I understand. Make sure you don't let my sister go to the fields today—"
Xu Qingying smiled, "What if I need to go to the bathroom?"
Xu Meixiao's face was stern, and she said seriously, "I'll bring you the chamber pot! You can take care of it in the tent! Anyway, don't even think about leaving the tent today. You need to have a good rest - hurry up, hurry up -"
Xu Meixiao pretended to push her towards the tent. Xu Qingying sighed helplessly, "You old-fashioned little thing, you'll be fit to be a censor when you grow up!"
"What's surveillance?" Xu Meixiao poked her head out and asked, biting her finger. "Can I eat it?"
"Supervision is an official position responsible for monitoring corruption among officials, enforcing the law impartially, and ensuring that corrupt officials receive the punishment they deserve."
Xu Meixiao clapped her hands and said with a grin, "This sounds impressive!"
Then she pouted again, "But I'm a girl, and girls can't be officials."
"Who said that?" Xu Qingying touched her head and said ambiguously, "Who can predict the future? If you don't even dare to think about it, how can you do it? It's not a good habit to deny yourself before you even do anything."
Xu Meixiao thought about it seriously, then nodded vigorously, her bright smile reappearing. "Sister is an immortal, everything she said is right!"
Xu Qingying was stunned, then corrected herself, "I'm not an immortal."
"But they all say that my sister can bring people back to life with a breath of fairy air, and she can also make soap. If she's not a fairy, what is she?"
Xu Qingying squatted down, her eyes level with Xu Meixiao's. She rubbed Xu Meixiao's head and said word by word, "That's not immortal energy, that's the oxygen people breathe. Without oxygen, people will die. Qian Zhenniang's body was temporarily stiff and she couldn't breathe on her own. I helped her breathe a breath so that her body would react and she could start breathing on her own."
Xu Meixiao's eyes sparkled. She thought her elder sister's words were very interesting. "Sister, I think what you said makes more sense!"
"Yes, because it's science."
"What is science?" Little Meizi jumped up and down, obviously very interested.
"Science is..." Xu Qingying paused for a moment, then organized her words. "Science is the laws governing the development of things. For example, people die without air, plants die without water, and the sun rises in the east every day. In short, it's what we can see, explain, and understand."
Xu Meixiao immediately drew inferences from one instance. "Just like the immortals they talk about, I've never seen one, so they must be fake! Then, sister, are ghosts fake too?"
This made Xu Qingying a little embarrassed.
She was afraid that if she spoke too deeply, Xu Meixiao would not understand; and she was afraid that if she spoke too shallowly, it would lead her astray.
So she tried to be as concise as possible. "I've never seen either ghosts or immortals. I believe they don't exist, but I'm not 100% sure they don't exist. I can only say that if I encounter a ghost next time, I'll first suspect they're people pretending to be gods, or some kind of hidden weapon, before I suspect they're real ghosts. Xiaomeizi, remember when we were in Bianjing, we saw a Taoist priest on the street who claimed to be a ghost catcher. He wielded a peach wood sword and swung it at a paper figurine, and the figurine bled profusely."
Xu Meixiao nodded immediately. "I remember! They all said they hit a little ghost. Could it be that ghosts also bleed red like humans?"
"Actually, it's just a chemical reaction. The Taoist's knife was soaked in so-called holy water beforehand, which actually had alkali added to it. And the paper figures being chopped were usually made of yellow talisman paper soaked in phenolphthalein. So when the knife and paper come into contact, the paper turns red, looking a lot like blood."
Xu Meixiao's eyes lit up and she looked eager to try. She just wanted to get the things to test right away. She had obviously forgotten the task that Miao had assigned to her at the beginning.
"Mei Xiao, observe and analyze more carefully in the future. Don't listen to rumors. Just like what I said today about saving people with a breath of divine energy, if you understand the principles and methods, you will be able to save people from drowning in the future. This isn't some kind of magical technique; it's just basic science. Do you understand?"
"Science..." Xu Meixiao's eyes sparkled as she kept repeating, full of curiosity. "Sister, please tell me more. This is more interesting than the stories in the picture book..."
Xu Qingying then listed a few common ways to play ghost tricks, such as ghosts knocking on the door, bloody handprints, and will-o'-the-wisp in the forest. Xu Meixiao listened intently, her chin in her hand. At the end, she concluded seriously, "Sister, I want to be a scientist when I grow up!"
Xu Qingying almost choked on her saliva. In modern times, she had often heard children say that they wanted to be scientists, but in ancient times, when she suddenly heard this familiar sentence, she couldn't help laughing.
Did she plant the seeds of science in ancient times?
Why does it feel distorted?
"When I grow up, I'm going to write a book specifically about how ghosts are fake. I'm going to write down everything my sister just said, so people won't be fooled anymore!"
Xu Qingying encouraged her: "Where there is a will, there is a way. In the future, you can pay more attention to the unsolved mysteries around you and publish a suspenseful and terrifying picture book. Write ghost stories and then reveal that the secrets are man-made. This will not only attract the audience's interest, but also dispel feudal superstitions-"
Xu Meixiao became even more excited now. She waved her fists and began to plan in an orderly manner. "But I...but I can't read yet..."
"Then just learn slowly. We have a second uncle who is a Jinshi in our family. If you ask him, he will teach you how to write."
"I will definitely study hard and never be lazy again! I will learn twenty Chinese characters every day, and then I will be able to read and write quickly!"
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