47 Chapter 47
◎Prepare for a rainy day◎
The next day, the rain eased slightly.
Jiang Jingyun walked towards the academy holding an umbrella. The road was too muddy and he walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow. After a while, his body was splashed with dirt. He immediately regretted that he had rejected Xiao Muyan's offer to drive him there when he went out just now.
Although the city is located on high ground, the inner city has been flooded due to the continuous heavy rain for several days. He stared at the sewage accumulated in the low-lying areas beside the road and frowned: the situation may be worse than he thought.
After finally reaching the entrance of the academy, we were told that due to the heavy rain last night, several of the more dilapidated buildings in the academy had been washed down and needed to be repaired before they could be used again. Students were asked to go back and study on their own and come back after being notified by the academy.
Jiang Jingyun stood still when he heard the news, looking at his cloth shoes that were covered in mud. After a while, he turned around and went to Su Yuheng's house.
Su Yuheng saw that he had just returned from the academy and was still wet from the rain. He was not surprised to see him coming over. "I said I would send someone to tell you so that you don't make a wasted trip. I didn't expect you to come over so early today."
"The road is difficult to walk on because of the rain, so I left home half an hour earlier." Jiang Jingyun also looked depressed.
Seeing that he was soaked all over, Su Yuheng suggested, "Change into some dry clothes first, I'll have someone take you back later." Then he told the maid beside him to get him a set of clothes, which were the ones Su Yuheng wore two years ago when he was a little shorter, and they fit Jiang Jingyun perfectly.
"Come, have some hot tea." Su Yuheng greeted him, and seeing that he looked depressed and silent, he asked, "What are you doing? You look depressed. What happened?"
"I want to ask you a favor." Jiang Jingyun looked hesitant. He wanted to deliver a letter home.
But the recent rainy season has not only affected the restaurant business, but also the business of merchants and travelers. Therefore, many caravans have recently stayed in the city and have not gone out. He can't find anyone to send letters to the uncles in the village. After thinking about it, only Su Yuheng has people who can go back and forth to the county town. "I want to send a letter home, but I can't find the right person..."
"Well, I thought it was something that was worth your agonizing over for so long." Su Yuheng agreed without any hesitation, "Write it and give it to me later. I'll have someone send it back to you later."
"Really?" Jiang Jingyun was so moved that his eyes were filled with tears. "You are truly my best friend in this life..."
"Hiss, stop it. I'm getting goose bumps." Su Yuheng touched the standoff hairs on his arms and bluntly exposed Jiang Jingyun's pretense.
"oh."
Jiang Jingyun's expression returned to its original state in a second, and the speed was so fast that Su Yuheng was a little unhappy. "Anything else? If not, get out."
"have."
"explain."
"It has rained frequently recently, and each time the rain is getting heavier. I'm worried about floods. You should also write a letter home to remind them that it's best to strengthen the protection of the river embankment and stockpile some food and medicinal materials..." The county town is located upstream of the provincial capital, and the terrain is higher. The risk of floods is not so great, but there are many hills there, and the possibility of mudslides cannot be ruled out, so it is better to make some preparations in advance.
As he was talking, he saw Su Yuheng reaching out to touch his forehead, but Jiang Jingyun turned his head away and said, "What are you doing? Touching me?"
"I just wanted to see if you had a fever because you were caught in too much rain. Otherwise, why would you be talking nonsense in broad daylight?"
"I'm talking to you seriously." Jiang Jingyun emphasized with a serious face, "I'm not worrying too much, but the rainfall this year is really a bit abnormal. If you don't believe it, you can ask a Taoist priest who is proficient in astronomy... By the way, isn't your third uncle working in the capital? Has there been a flood here in the past?"
Seeing him like this, Su Yuheng couldn't help but become serious. He stood up and asked, "Are you sure about what you said?"
"Not sure." Jiang Jingyun answered without hesitation, "I'm not a Daluo immortal who can communicate with heaven and earth, know the past and predict the future. This is just my personal ominous premonition."
"Oh, you are quite capable of making things sound true based on your premonition." Su Yuheng said speechlessly, and his tense body relaxed again. "If it weren't for the fact that I have known you for many years, you would have been kicked out as a lunatic."
"My hunch is a reasonable guess based on reality."
Seeing his insistence, Su Yuheng couldn't help but agree to it, but his attitude was still nonchalant, "Okay, I'll write a letter to my father and tell him about it. As for whether he believes it or not, and how much he believes it, that's not up to me to decide."
Jiang Jingyun nodded. It was already very good to be able to do this, but he still said, "Then what about your third uncle..."
Su Yuheng stared at him with his head down. "You must have been beaten a lot by your family since you were a child, right?"
Jiang Jingyun's face was innocent, "No, who would want to hit me if he had nothing to do." He was an orphan in his previous life, and no one beat him up; his parents died early in this life. As for his uncle and aunt, it was too late to take care of him, so how could he bear to beat him?
"But I really want to beat you up right now." Su Yuheng felt his hands itching and he really wanted to do something ungentlemanly.
Jiang Jingyun's speculation is totally without any factual basis. It doesn't matter if I tell him about it here. If I tell his father, I will just get scolded at most. But if you tell others that it's accurate, at best you'll be regarded as a pessimist, at worst you'll be regarded as an ominous thing that will bring disaster; if it's inaccurate it'll be even worse, as you'll be regarded as an alarmist who intends to cause panic, and if you're not careful you may even lose your life.
All in all, it's not pleasing no matter what.
"It's not that I don't want to say it. Although I call you Third Uncle in terms of seniority, there are actually several rooms between us, so we are not particularly close. Besides... forget it. I'll see what the situation is. I'll mention it if there's a chance."
Seeing Jiang Jingyun still standing there, Su Yuheng felt inexplicably annoyed, "Do you have anything else to do? If not, get out. I don't want to see you again today."
"Oh, I'll get out of here after I finish writing the letter."
"......" Su Yuheng pointed at a servant and said, "Get him paper, ink, brush and inkstone. Once he's done writing, get out of my sight. I'm annoyed when I see you."
"Tsk, you're really hot-tempered. I'll ask Zhang Zhengbai to prescribe a few pounds of Coptis chinensis for you to drink later..." Jiang Jingyun muttered softly.
"What are you mumbling about?"
"I am praising Young Master Su for his informality and warm-heartedness. It is my great honor to make friends with someone like you!" Jiang Jingyun replied loudly.
"Humph, you're smart."
After writing the letter and handing it to the servant beside him, Jiang Jingyun was ready to leave. Before leaving, he added one more worrying reminder: "Remember to store some food at home. You are not short of money anyway. Buy enough to last for a year or two and keep it at home. If you can't finish it, you can move it to the restaurant and sell it later."
"Okay, okay, okay, got it, let's go." Su Yuheng waved his hand impatiently to send him away.
After leaving the Su family, Jiang Jingyun did not go back directly, but asked the Su family's coachman to take a detour to the Zhang family first.
There, he repeated the same words to Zhang Zhengbai and emphasized that he should remember to stock up more dry food at home.
With the same puzzled look in his eyes, Jiang Jingyun told Zhang Zhengbai all the plans he could make, and that was all he said. As for whether Zhang Zhengbai listened to him or not, that was unknown.
Afterwards, he bought a lot of medicine for treating colds and injuries in Zhang's pharmacy, in two copies, one for himself and the other for the coachman to take back to the Su's house later.
As for the Zhang family, they have plenty of medicinal herbs and he doesn't need to worry about them.
Afternoon, Su's house.
Su Yuheng looked at the half pound of Coptis chinensis in front of him. The person who delivered it seemed to be afraid that he would not know how to use it, so he specially prepared Zhang Qingxin's prescription for reducing internal heat. When he looked at the handwriting on it, he saw that it was written by Zhang Zhengbai himself, and he was also reminded to pay attention to a light diet today. He was so angry that veins on his forehead popped out, and he tore the note to pieces.
But after he calmed down, he looked at the full cart of medicinal materials in the back, thought for a while, and finally opened his mouth and ordered:
"Come here, send these two letters back as quickly as possible and make sure they are delivered to me personally."
"Butler Liu, have someone clear out the warehouse in the west wing, and send someone to buy food so it can be filled up before tomorrow."
"Change your clothes and prepare the car. I need to go out for a while."
***
When Jiang Jingyun returned home, Jiang's second brother and his wife had also returned from shopping.
The rice and flour filled the room that had been specially cleaned up yesterday. As long as they were properly stored, it would be enough for them to eat for a year or so.
When I bought it, I was asked why I bought so much. Luckily, the restaurant tried to cover it up and I was able to get away with it. It's a pity that half of the beef was bought by someone else first.
When Brother Jiang thought of this, he slapped his thigh with some regret, "If we had gone a little earlier, it would have been ours."
However, is beef jerky the only thing that tastes good? Can it be made with other meats? His eyes turned to the stable in the yard...
…
Let those cattle and horses go. It’s miserable enough that they are ordered around and forced to work non-stop. Stop eyeing the little bit of meat on them!
"Well, second brother, it doesn't matter if there is no beef. Let's buy some pork and make pork jerky. Meat floss is also good..."
It is delicious, easy to make and preserve, and is perfect as a snack. There seems to be a market for it as a commodity... Jiang Jingyun did not forget his promise to help his second brother figure out the business of traveling merchants, so when he thought of it, he quickly took out his notebook and wrote it down.
Hearing that he could make money, Second Brother Jiang became more energetic. He stood up as soon as his butt touched the stool and said, "I'll go buy it now. Tell me which part of the meat you want and how much you want. Or you can just catch a pig and bring it back. Didn't you say last time that you wanted to eat the pig-killing dish? It just so happens that I'll make it for you today!" As soon as he finished speaking, he excitedly pulled Xiao Muyan out.
Poor Xiao Muyan, after moving things for the whole morning, he finally had a chance to stop and rest. Just when he wanted to get close to Jiang Jingyun for a while, he was dragged out to catch pigs again.
It was so sad and moving that anyone who heard it shed tears. Looking at his sad and resentful eyes, Jiang Jingyun laughed out loud without any conscience from behind him.
In the next few days, it was still raining intermittently outside, and the Jiang family stayed at home and were busy with their own things.
Jiang Jingyun and his second brother were busy developing various convenient, ready-to-eat and durable foods. Xiao Muyan and Jinglin dug drainage ditches and piled up earth in the yard according to Jiang Jingyun's arrangements. Jingfeng and Qingrong were less strong, so they were responsible for organizing the food so that it could be stored in a dry and high place.
Everyone had work to do and was busy with their own affairs. Their lives were quiet and fulfilling, which made Jiang Jingyun wonder if he had been too worried before and that no natural disasters or man-made disasters would happen at all.
Until three days later.
There were loud noises throughout the night, waking everyone up from their dreams.
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