49 White Mycelium
Don't overthink it. There's really nothing going on between Shopkeeper Chen and me.
Zhuang Xue glanced sideways at the frail Ah Sheng and said with a smile, "Chunhua has eggs to eat, just take them and eat them."
Ah Sheng was stunned and carefully peeled the shell. The white, tender and elastic egg came out. She took small bites of it with great care and felt a little touched.
Zhuang Xue took a bite of the mixed-wheat pancake in her hand and tilted her head. "Today we're going to Dongxiang to sell our wares in the mountain village. It's quite far. If you can't hold on any longer, you must let me know in advance."
Ah Sheng shook his head, his tone firm, "Xue Niang, don't worry. I'm not afraid of getting tired. When I was fleeing famine before, I walked all the long and dangerous mountain roads."
Zhuang Xue smiled, and the two of them walked side by side towards Dongxiang.
*
I don’t know if it’s because Ah Sheng entered the county school, but although there aren’t many students coming to the county school these days, it’s much better than the first day.
There were no proper teachers in the county school. Ye Yunzhao and Sun Ning had limited energy, so they only accepted seventeen students: two nineteen-year-old brides, twelve young girls who had just reached the age of marriage, and three maids who had not yet reached the age of marriage, including Dongbai who was not in good health and Erya who was as strong as an ox.
Ye Yunzhao and Sun Ning still had more important things to do, and being a teacher seemed a bit beyond their capabilities.
The girls who had not yet reached marriageable age were too young to learn any skills, so Ye Yunzhao only allowed them to come to the county school for one day every two days to learn simple arithmetic with other students. Occasionally, he would teach them to write some simple and commonly used Chinese characters based on his original memory.
Apart from the three little ones, the rest came for ten consecutive days. Ye Yunzhao taught them how to cook for two days, simple arithmetic for one day, and Sun Ning taught them how to weave bamboo for two days, and simple words for one day.
This process was repeated over and over again. Although the progress was slow, the county school was always thriving.
Several days passed like this, and it was time for the county school to have a ten-day holiday. The students had four days off every ten days during the ten-day holiday. Ye Yunzhao and Sun Ning still had a lot of questions for the students to think about when they returned home.
Taking this opportunity, Ye Yunzhao had the chance to check whether the morels he had buried had produced morel mycelium.
That morning, before she had breakfast, she hurriedly pushed open the wooden door of the utility room. The room, which had not been occupied for a long time, was filled with a light dust.
Ye Yunzhao coughed lightly a few times, then raised his hand and waved it gently a few times, covered his mouth and nose in self-abandonment, and walked towards where he placed the wooden basin with a bent waist.
She placed the wooden basin in a dark place, and covered it with half a worn hemp mat. Now there was a thin layer of dust on the mat, making it look even more worn.
Ye Yunzhao held his breath and carefully took the hemp mat off the wooden basin, fearing that if he was not careful, dust would fall into it and all his efforts would be ruined.
In the wooden basin were the rotten leaves and humus she had brought back from the mountain. It was black and gray before, but now it was covered with densely packed white, continuous mycelium.
Perhaps because the mycelium took too long to grow, two or three tiny morels with brown caps and white stems actually grew on the sheet of mycelium next to the wooden basin.
Ye Yunzhao was stunned when he looked at these tiny morels, and didn't know how to roll the mycelium into fungus strains.
She squatted there, thinking for a while, then ran to the yard, dug some soil, and covered the white mycelium bit by bit, wanting to try an experiment to see if the mycelium could grow into morels.
In her previous life, Ye Yunzhao had helped farmers sell mushrooms. It was then that she learned that when the mycelium was in a relatively simple environment, the same mycelium could produce different varieties of mushrooms. The environment today was far more difficult than it actually was, so just in case, she decided to try it herself.
Besides, the planting time for morels is mostly at the end of October and the beginning of November. Now it is only mid-September, so there is still a lot of time. If we plant them before November, they will be ripe just in time for the end of the year, and we can make a lot of money.
After Ye Yunzhao thought about these things, she was in a good mood. She gently patted the wooden basin that she had placed high hopes on, and left happily.
However, as soon as she walked out of the county government gate, she ran into Chen Jingshan.
Ye Yunzhao asked doubtfully, "Manager Chen, didn't you return to Yuezhou City?"
It was not that she took the initiative to inquire about Chen Jingshan's whereabouts, but Madam Cuihua had learned abacus in Xiao Ruyi Tower for some time, and had even come to the county government office to demonstrate it to Ye Yunzhao. Her technique was sophisticated and her speed was extremely fast.
At that time, Madam Cuihua wanted to thank Chen Jingshan and Manager Meng for this matter, so she came to ask Ye Yunzhao if he had any good suggestions.
But the next day, Madam Cuihua said that Chen Jingshan had returned to Yuezhou City and made some exquisite food, all for Manager Meng.
Therefore, when Ye Yunzhao suddenly met Chen Jingshan, he inexplicably had the illusion that he had seen a ghost.
Chen Jingshan was still the same, looking indifferent. He bowed and replied, "Something happened at the shop a few days ago. I couldn't say goodbye to you. It's my fault."
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao tilted his head and asked in confusion, "What's the impact of whether you say goodbye to me or not?"
Chen Jingshan looked up at her. Although she was wearing a common green dress, it made her cheeks look smooth and white. She had her hair in a simple and unique bun. She tilted her head and looked at him with her watery eyes blinking.
His heart moved, and he dared not look directly at her, so he had to look away: "The water chestnut flour cake is selling very well... Thank you..."
Ye Yunzhao was confused and wanted to ask: I originally used the recipe for the Lingfen Cake to exchange for my quilt, so why should I thank you? He also wanted to ask: Why do I need to make another special trip for such a small matter?
But she was afraid that he was here to press for the second prescription, so she replied, "Then I'm relieved."
At this point, the two of them stared at each other in silence, somewhat at a loss for words.
"you……"
"you……"
The two hesitated to speak, and unexpectedly their words collided with each other's.
Ye Yunzhao quickly smiled and said, "You speak first."
Unexpectedly, Chen Jingshan, who was standing opposite her, spoke at the same time as her: "You speak first."
Ye Yunzhao laughed out loud, and she said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Chen, if you have something to say, just tell me first."
Chen Jingshan hesitated and said, "County Magistrate Ye, you should speak first."
Ye Yunzhao had no choice but to nod and ask, "The water chestnut flour cakes are selling well, so do you need water chestnut flour?"
He then remembered their previous agreement and immediately said, "Of course it's necessary. From now on, Ruyilou will send staff to Lingnan County to collect water chestnuts every three days."
Ye Yunzhao smiled, and out of excitement, she once again raised her hand and took Chen Jingshan's hand out of habit from her previous life: "That's great! Thank you, Shopkeeper Chen."
Chen Jingshan felt his body stiffen. The voice that was clearly right next to his ear seemed to be getting farther and farther away. Only a pair of soft hands with light calluses on the palms gently held his hands.
The thin callus slid gently across Chen Jingshan's hand as she moved, as if gently caressing his pounding heart.
"County Magistrate Ye, Shopkeeper Chen, what are you doing?"
A sudden voice woke Chen Jingshan up. The hands holding his quickly left, and he felt a little lost and irritated.
When Ye Yunzhao saw Aunt Hu staring at her hands, she realized belatedly that she had made the same mistake again.
She quickly let go and said angrily, "Aunt Hu, please listen to my explanation..."
Aunt Hu didn't let her finish her words. She was only slightly surprised, with a somewhat ambiguous smile on her lips, and said:
"Well, Magistrate Ye, you don't need to explain. I didn't see anything."
Ye Yunzhao couldn't explain, nor did she not explain. She said anxiously: "Aunt Hu, don't think too much. There is really nothing going on between me and Shopkeeper Chen."
Although Aunt Hu is now a single woman, she has been married after all. If she can no longer see the situation of the two of them, all her efforts over the years will be in vain.
Chen Jingshan, who was standing aside, thought Ye Yunzhao's words were just a girl's shyness, and with a faint smile on his face, he said to Aunt Hu:
"Aunt Hu, please stop teasing her."
Yo yo yo, stop teasing her~ Aunt Hu covered her mouth and smiled, sighing in her heart.
He understood clearly in his heart, but pretended to be confused on the surface: "I really didn't tease County Magistrate Ye."
Ye Yunzhao had no choice but to give up on himself and gave up explaining. He asked, "Aunt Hu, why did you leave the county government office?"
Aunt Hu replied, "Yesterday, County Magistrate Han ordered some pork belly, and I'm bringing it to him today. Okay, since there's nothing else to do, I'll be leaving now."
Ye Yunzhao nodded and was about to say a few words to "be careful on the road" when she saw Aunt Hu leaning over her stealthily, leaning her head out and whispering, "County Magistrate Ye, please be restrained when walking back and forth in broad daylight. Men and women are not allowed to touch each other."
After saying that, Aunt Hu quickly turned around and left. Ye Yunzhao's face flushed red, and he turned around to explain: "Aunt Hu, I, he...we..."
Seeing her blushing face, Chen Jingshan asked curiously, "What did Aunt Hu say to you just now?"
Ye Yunzhao looked at her "rumored boyfriend." He had an upright figure, a high nose, thin lips, and a pair of starry eyes staring at her. Even she, a modern person, had to admit that Chen Jingshan was indeed a good-looking man.
She sighed softly and changed the subject: "Manager Chen, don't worry about purchasing the water chestnuts."
After saying that, Ye Yunzhao walked away, leaving Chen Jingshan alone standing there, as if he was still savoring her actions.
*
The next morning, Liu Mazi brought two or three yamen runners to post notices everywhere in Lingnan County.
Someone who was not afraid of trouble took the initiative to ask, "Sir, what does this notice say?"
"That's right, sir. We can't read either."
An old man beside him sighed, "Could it be another tax notice?"
Hearing this, the man who was excited just now also shrank back. The crowd surrounding the yamen runners was boiling with excitement, and everyone was complaining about taxes.
Liu Mazi turned around and said with a smile, "What's written here isn't about taxes, but about a great benefit."
"Good news?!" The man suddenly rushed out again, showing a flattering smile, "Sir, please tell us quickly, what is the good news?"
Some people couldn't wait any longer and shouted to the sky, "Who can read? Who can read? Come and read to everyone what's written on the notice!"
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