Having failed to find anyone, Zhiwen took the last of the sweet potatoes from the cellar to the county magistrate's house and paid a polite visit.
The busy magistrate, Lu Fang, had no time to see guests, but his servant managed to visit him.
Zhiwen handed over the sweet potato and politely explained his purpose.
The magistrate's servant had been warned; he only spoke what he could, and revealed nothing he couldn't.
However, Zhiwen wasn't asking about any county or military secrets, so the servant took the sweet potato and told him what he knew.
Upon learning that the soldiers guarding the mountain had failed to capture the child, the scholar, the old man, or the bald man, Zhiwen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The servant weighed the heavy bamboo basket handed to him and offered a suggestion: "The town is not peaceful. You... you should go somewhere else to make a living."
It wasn't that the servant disliked Zhiwen and insisted on driving him out of town.
However, after the origins of Zhiwen and his bandits were exposed, countless people were filled with hatred.
Yesterday, when the servant went to the restaurant to order food for General Qi, he heard people cursing Zhiwen and his gang more than once.
It even implicated the county magistrate, who felt that Lord Lu had accepted bribes, which is why he didn't imprison Zhiwen and Zhiwang.
...Heaven and earth bear witness! No matter how lowly his father is in officialdom, he is not someone that Zhang Zhiwen can bribe with the little money he earns.
If it weren't for the fact that the vegetables Zhang Zhiwang was selling were so fresh, and that no one else had ever seen them before, how could his father have condescended to be someone's tutor!
Since the eldest son had already decided to go down the mountain, Zhiwen naturally had to follow suit.
He smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder. I will be leaving today. I came here now to kowtow to Lord Lu before I leave, to thank you for your protection over the past few days."
The servant nodded in agreement: "The master has indeed spent a lot of time and effort on your matter, and we should thank him properly... I'll go and ask if the master has time to see you."
After a short while, the servant returned with a smile: "Sir, you have some free time. Please thank him and leave quickly."
Zhiwen entered the study, knelt down respectfully and kowtowed three times. After rising, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to him.
"I am grateful for Lord Lu's protection this time. This is a gift from Elder Ye, which I hope you will accept."
Lu Fang put down the official document in his hand and said calmly without even looking at it, "No need. Keep the money for your own safety, and don't go astray in the future."
As soon as he finished speaking, the paper was handed to him.
"Sir, it's not a silver note, but rather instructions on how to plant sweet potatoes, written by Master Ye himself. You might as well read it before making a decision."
When Lu Fang was teaching the orphans at Zhiwen's house, he heard the name Ye Laoda more than once.
He originally thought that Boss Ye was similar to the Boss Nian that Zhiwen mentioned, both being uneducated and rough men.
Who would have thought that, according to Zhiwen's words, that Boss Ye was actually so bold as to kidnap General Qi's woman all by himself.
He became interested, not only in the woman among the bandits, but also in the contents written on the paper.
After taking the paper and looking at it for a while, Lu Fang suddenly stood up, his hand holding the paper trembling:
Is what's written here true?
Can sweet potatoes really yield such a high yield per acre?
And it can be planted regardless of whether the soil is fertile or not?
Zhiwen had never seen Mr. Lu so excited. He calmly nodded:
"To be honest, the sweet potatoes were dug up and planted by Boss Ye in the mountains. He didn't think much of it at first, but he found the taste unique and, since he was short of food and money, he planted more of them."
A few days ago, someone came to see Zhiwang and me, and their words implied that we should hand over the sweet potato seeds.
After informing Boss Ye, she sensed something was amiss and, fearing trouble, asked me to offer the method to the magistrate as a token of gratitude.
Lu Fang had regained his composure. He scanned the contents of the paper back and forth, scoffing at Zhi Wen's words.
He didn't believe that the person Zhiwen claimed dared to kidnap General Qi would be afraid of getting into trouble.
That person probably wanted to use him to get rid of some unscrupulous people and also to do him a great service, so that he would remember the kindness of Zhiwen and the Boss Ye he spoke of.
Still...
Lu Fang had been an official for several years and was familiar with the ways of officialdom. Normally, as long as he didn't accept gifts, he wouldn't be able to take on any miscellaneous tasks.
But... Lu Fang clutched the paper, his gaze sweeping back and forth across it.
He closed his eyes, slowly placed the paper filled with sweet potato planting instructions on the desk, and abruptly asked:
Where are you going?
Having completed his official duties, he was pondering how to take his leave when he heard this. He looked up, hesitated for a moment, and then did not hide anything:
"Tanzhou".
“Tanzhou?” Lu Fang glanced discreetly at the official documents buried underneath. “It’s a good place.”
He hesitated for a moment, then took out a jade pendant:
"Please deliver this to the Boss Ye you mentioned. If you encounter any difficulties, you can take the jade pendant to Tanzhou City and find a man named Xu Jiu. He may be able to lend a hand."
Seeing Zhiwen's shocked expression, Lu Fang shook his head: "You are still young and inexperienced. You don't know how valuable this piece of paper she sent is."
It was a rare and precious thing not only for him, but also for the court and the people of the world.
If the yield of sweet potatoes were truly as stated on the paper, who knows how many people could be saved, and how many soldiers could be fed.
Lu Fang let his thoughts wander for a while, and the smile on his face became even brighter.
Zhiwen couldn't help but shudder, then respectfully took the jade pendant and left.
Lu Fang couldn't wait to grab the paper and head to the kitchen, pulling his personal servant aside: "How many sweet potatoes are left? You can't eat any more."
The servant gave a number and quickly said it before Lu Fang could frown:
“General Qi has been thinking about this place ever since he had a meal at your residence a few days ago. Yesterday, while you were away, he insisted on taking most of it…”
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