10 Good Spring
◎Cluster Flower Mothballs◎
The spring equinox has just passed, and the weather is still cold.
The peach trees along the street have already blossomed with clusters of small pink flowers. Their tangled branches are eager to find willow branches on the other side of the river to play with, blocking the view of pedestrians on the bridge, but making people reluctant to criticize them.
Tian Nongxi gently pushed aside the wildly growing branches and looked at the other side of the river.
The creaking oars kept swinging, creating ripples.
The restaurants on both sides of the strait were trying their best to "compete for favor". As soon as the sound of the pipa stopped on this side, the flute came on the stage on the other side.
Tian Nongxi glanced at the bustling scene and couldn't help but stop at the most unusual place.
Linqing Pavilion.
At the door stood a crowd of more than ten eight-foot-tall men with swords, all with stern expressions and squinting eyes.
It completely stopped ordinary people from entering the store.
The waiter, with a rag hanging over his left shoulder, stood aside with a smile and bent down to take the token from the young man in brocade clothes.
A corner of her clothes shone with dazzling golden light as she stared at the person in the private room on the second floor from afar.
The man had a handsome face. He raised his glass without hesitation and smiled charmingly.
A pair of peach blossom eyes swept across the young man in brocade clothes and fell on Tian Nongxi on the bridge.
He raised his brows frivolously, shook the wine glass casually, and took a sip towards Tian Nongxi.
Tian Nongxi was stunned for a moment, but he didn't feel embarrassed about being caught peeking, he just smiled back.
A pair of slender hands tapped lightly on the table, and the maids on both sides lowered their brows and came forward to pull the screen.
Why make such a fuss about it?
The butcher on the roadside looked in her direction and sighed, "Girl, stop looking. We can't afford to offend these people."
She raised her knife and cut the pork ribs. The blood from the pulling stuck to the board and was wiped off casually.
Tian Nongxi asked, "Sister, who are these people? What a grand ceremony!"
The butcher smiled and said, "You should call me Auntie. Why are you calling me Sister at your young age?" After that, she wiped her sweaty face and whispered, "Do you see that guy on the second floor? He's the most famous talent in our county!"
"Jing...Jing, Wenshu?"
"Yes!" The butcher's eyes lit up, and he put down his knife like a teachable child, leaning closer and saying, "He's well-educated, but a mediocre person. He only cares about money and not people. Otherwise, how could he afford to eat at Linqing Pavilion every day just because he became an official?"
Tian Nongxi pulled down the backpack that was about to fall off his back, nodded with a smile, and left in the butcher's disappointed eyes.
Before he had taken two steps, the butcher pulled over another pedestrian and sighed, "Sir, please stop looking. We can't afford to offend them."
Tian Nongxi resisted the urge to look back and walked forward quickly according to his memory.
Before he had taken two steps, he was bumped into head-on.
Before she could even raise her eyes, the back of a cold knife was pressed against her neck. The man in black approached with a cold face, "Apologize."
Tian Nongxi held the sickle on his back with one hand and pushed the back of the knife away with the other. He frowned and looked at the man in black. After a while, he smiled and said, "Sir, I don't care about these people. It's okay if they bump into me. You can go first."
The man in black refused to give in. He used a little more force to push the blade back and shouted, "Where did you come from, you bastard? Do you know who I am?"
When he said this, everyone around looked over and formed a circle around the two of them. No one dared to get close to them.
The butcher heard the noise and stood next to Tian Nongxi, knife in hand, and asked angrily, "Who are you? Bullying a little girl here?"
Taking advantage of the moment when the man in black looked over, Tian Nongxi took off his sickle and put it on the man's neck, saying, "Yes, who are you, bullying a little girl?"
In an instant, there was a flash of cold light.
Seeing that the crowd was about to disperse, the butcher shouted, "You are Jing Wenshu's man! You are always bullying here, and we won't tolerate you!"
"Yes, I am." The man in black puffed out his chest and sneered, "Who do you think you are?"
After saying that, he used his strength to knock down Tian Nongxi's sickle, and with one hand he grabbed the butcher's neck and strangled him hard.
In an instant, the situation changed.
Tian Nongxi, who had just had a knife at his neck, regained his freedom, but the butcher who came to help was restrained, breathing with difficulty, and his face turned purple.
Tian Nongxi picked up the knife and prepared to step forward, but stopped abruptly and stood aside, watching the two of them leisurely.
The man in black glared at her and walked away with the butcher.
Everyone made way for them.
The scholar who stood up for justice scoffed, "Ignorant bastard!"
The lady who was observing the situation rolled her eyes and asked, "Why didn't you come up if you're so capable?"
The lady with the child loosened her hand that was covering the child and comforted her, "The county government office is not far away. If you want to report to the authorities, I will accompany you."
The scholar-looking man beside her held her back and sighed, "The county magistrate is now surnamed Jing, why are you getting involved in this mess?" He then tried to comfort Tian Nongxi, "Miss, if you're scared, go to the stall next door and have some tea. Don't go around here for the next few days. Ever since..."
He stopped talking and forced a smile.
Tian Nongxi put the sickle back on his back, smiled at the three people, thanked them and left.
Not to mention that she had something to do today, even if she had a free day, she wouldn't have this matter.
How could the scholar who was so gentle and elegant a few days ago become a bully and tyrannical villain today?
If no one fanned the flames, it was because this scholar, who was highly praised by the country ladies, was too good at flattery and waited until he became an official before he dared to tear off his disguise in a place far away from the emperor.
Just when the two of them were arguing with each other, she happened to catch a glimpse of the butcher's hand - as white and tender as a catkin, with only a thin callus at the base of the palm.
The way he held the butcher knife was also very strange. He held the front part of the handle with his index finger squeezed to the jaw of the knife.
It doesn't look like he's used to using a butcher knife, but rather like he's using a sword.
Tian Nongxi thought of the illustrations in the book he had read before and glanced back uncertainly.
The stall is empty when people leave.
The meat stall that was bustling just a moment ago seemed to have disappeared and was occupied by a peddler selling jewelry.
Tian Nongxi withdrew her gaze, took a shortcut through the alley, and walked up to the owner of the seed stall who was munching on melon seeds. She put down her backpack and asked, "Sister, is business good?"
The boss looked her over and said, "Wow!" He clapped his hands and laughed, "Aren't you the girl with those red and swollen eyes? Now that they're gone, you look so beautiful. Why were you crying so hard the other day?"
Tian Nongxi smiled awkwardly, squatted down and fiddled with the seed, and inadvertently lifted the hair that was in the way.
"It smells so good." The boss picked up a bunch of hair and sniffed it closely.
Tian Nongxi took out the prepared mothballs from his backpack and said, "This is it."
"What is this?" The boss took it with great interest, looked at it again and again, and smelled it again and again. "It smells so good."
"This is the new mothball I made, made from camphor tree resin and beeswax. It is not only fragrant, but also has miraculous effects." Tian Nongxi pretended to be mysterious.
"What miraculous effect?" the boss asked with a faint smile on his face.
"Our climate is humid, so we often have things getting moldy and tables and chairs getting moth-eaten. These mothballs not only prevent them from getting moldy and moth-eaten, but they're also a great mosquito repellent in the summer. They also have a wonderful fragrance, making them the most effective deodorant."
"Is it that powerful?"
Tian Nongxi took out three mothballs packed in sachets from his backpack and handed them to the boss, saying generously, "These are for you. You'll know once you try them."
"This...I can't accept this."
"It's not worth much!" Tian Nongxi pushed the mothball back. "It's just that I figured it out myself. No one else can make it. Don't tell me the recipe."
The boss smiled and said, "You're just giving it to me for free?"
"Of course I have something to ask my sister."
The boss laughed even more happily when he heard this, and took out a small stool from behind him, "Go on!"
Tian Nongxi sat on a chair, thought for a moment, and said, "To be honest, I'm in urgent need of a dozen bamboos. It's just that I'm not well-informed and haven't found anyone willing to sell them to me after walking around all morning."
"So you are interested in my bamboo?" The boss smiled when he heard that.
Although everyone knew that she owned a bamboo forest, the woman in front of her had only met her once, yet she dared to visit her directly.
"Bu Qin." Bu Qin raised the corners of her lips, her eyes filled with admiration.
Tian Nongxi looked up and smiled knowingly.
"Tian Nongxi."
"You'll just exchange this for it?" Bu Qin shook the mothballs in her hand and looked at the stall.
This coincided with Tian Nongxi's idea, so she naturally agreed.
Bu Qin smiled, "I haven't said anything yet."
Tian Nongxi simply said, "How about you three and I seven?"
Bu Qin stood up and casually took a sachet and hung it on her body. "Come on, I'll take you to see the bamboo forest."
She pushed open a door opposite and suddenly there was a commotion inside.
Tian Nongxi looked over instinctively, only to see Bu Qin gently closing the door and carefully locking it, and—
A rather strong, slender neck was draped with a pink satin shawl, and its gray-black nose was breathing heavily, leer- ing at her donkey.
Bu Qin patted its head and said, "Sit down."
Tian Nongxi looked at the donkey sniffing around and wanted to ask if it could accommodate two people. After thinking about it, he stepped on the stirrups and got on.
This donkey looks like it can be worth three horses, so it's useless to ask.
She pulled the reins, squeezed the donkey's belly, and steadied herself under Bu Qin's astonished gaze.
My palms were already slightly sweaty.
But Bu Qin never stopped talking, and Tian Nongxi had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure it amid her endless praise.
"drive--"
Following Tian Nongxi's command, the donkey adorned with gold and silver slowly stood up, raising clouds of dust.
She automatically blocked out Bu Qin's constant praise and just concentrated on riding the donkey until she followed the instructions and got out of the alley.
Tian Nongxi breathed a sigh of relief and murmured, "The people here are quite open-minded."
In broad daylight, on a busy street with huge flow of people, pedestrians did not even glance at the two people riding donkeys.
If she were driving at such a slow speed in modern times, she would be greeted by a symphony of trumpets from the cars behind her in less than three seconds.
Bu Qin was puzzled. "Riding a donkey is nothing. There are also people riding rabbits."
The two men walked out of the alley. The donkey seemed to have become a spirit and no longer needed to obey orders. It walked around with its hooves and took them around here and there. In less than half an hour, they stopped in front of a house.
Bu Qin jumped down first and rubbed the donkey's face, "Be good, Ma Bao."
Tian Nongxi praised, "What a nice name." Then he asked, "Is it here?"
This place is deserted and there is only this one family around. It looks very much like the place where scholars in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" must stay overnight.
"Yeah." Bu Qin gave Tian Nongxi a little support after he jumped down, and asked suspiciously, "You don't think I'm going to kidnap you, do you?"
Tian Nongxi shook his head.
Bu Qin said to herself, "This place is quiet and secluded, and the woods are beautiful, so I'll stay here. The house in the alley is too small, so I'll use it to raise them."
She reached out and teased Ma Bao, then led it into the donkey stable.
As soon as she finished speaking, a man walked out of the door. Before he got close, Bu Qin rushed over.
“Snap—”
The crisp sound of the slap scared away the birds, but Ma Bao continued to chew grass calmly.
Tian Nongxi turned his back and watched the fleeing birds.
Behind him was a noisy chattering sound, occasionally accompanied by the man's aggrieved reply.
As soon as the last word fell, another slap came.
Tian Nongxi gritted his teeth and was just about to take up the post of family mediator when he was patted on the back.
Looking back, I saw the smiling Bu Qin.
"Excuse me, excuse me."
"No, nothing."
The man in cloth clothes held his face with his left hand, smiled apologetically at Tian Nongxi, and said to Bu Qin, "Xiaozou, I'm going back to rest."
Bu Qin laughed, "If I find you climbing over the wall to escape, I'll break your other leg." She took Tian Nongxi's arm again and pulled her forward, "Come in and have some tea first. We'll go straight through the backyard later."
Tian Nongxi gritted his teeth and followed.
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