Everyone just thought she was super organized, who would have thought she had a magical space for storing things? She wasn't worried that Tong Bajin would be offended. After all, they would go their separate ways when they reached their destination, so who cared.
Tong Bajin quickly brought back a bundle of dry firewood and a wild rabbit he had shot. Erniu and Sanniu both exclaimed "Huh" at the same time. Sanniu quickly picked up Yuanbao and looked up at him and said, "Uncle Tong, please don't kill little rabbits in the future, okay?"
"The little rabbit is so pitiful." Erniu also said with a pout.
Tong Bajin was a little confused. The result was not what he expected. Was he wrong?
"It's okay, Brother Tong, you've already beaten them, so let me take care of it." Jian Ning knew that his two children were living a good life now, and naturally they couldn't bear to see small animals being abused and killed. If it was when they had just been driven out by Old Ding and Mrs. Meng, if you brought a rabbit to see them, I'm afraid these two girls would eat the rabbit alive.
Tong Bajin handed the rabbit to Jian Ning and walked to the fire with dry firewood on his back. Jian Ning and Ding Youtian had already picked up some hay nearby, tied it into a ball, started a fire, and put on the pot to cook.
He put down the dry firewood, sat cross-legged on the ground and concentrated on adding firewood to start the fire.
The ingredients that Jian Ning brought from home had all been washed and cut, and all they had to do was put them in the pot. Ding Youtian also sat cross-legged on the grass, stirring the rice in the pot with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot, while chatting idly with Tong Bajin.
After a while, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Brother Tong, I hired your carriage because you are from the north. Can you tell me about the customs and practices in Danyang County?"
"There's not much to say right now. There are only two seasons a year there. Right now, the snow hasn't completely melted in many places. But when it does, it's hot, and only cool in the mornings and evenings. In two or three months, it will be winter again."
"What are the customs like over there? How do the lives of the local people compare to here?"
Tong Bajin glanced up at Ding Youtian, then lowered his eyelids and said, "Rich people live a hard life, while farmers live to survive. If the harvest is good, the rent is paid and the remaining grain is enough to barely feed the family. But when natural disasters and famines occur, few families can escape with their lives. Many die of starvation on the roadside without anyone noticing."
Jian Ning was picking up rabbits nearby. She raised her wrist and smoothed the strands of hair on her forehead with the back of her hand. She raised her eyes and continued, "Has no previous county magistrate ever considered improving the lives of the local people?"
Ding Youtian added, "My wife's idea is to make life easier for the people, perhaps by improving the soil, or encouraging the city's wealthy households to donate their surplus grain during famine years. At the very least, we could borrow from the wealthy households in the name of the government to alleviate the people's immediate needs, and then apply to the court for relief grain. How could anyone have ever done this?"
A hint of bitterness played at the corners of Tong Bajin's mouth. Who with even a little bit of connections would want to go to that freezing cold place? How many of those sent there were from wealthy families? Even a brave man could be killed by a penny. If he hadn't been ill, he wouldn't have sold Jifeng to a horse dealer for 800 coins. And the county magistrate, unwilling to collude with the wealthy, had worn his official uniform to tatters after three years, with no replacements available. He was little better off than a beggar.
And those corrupt officials who, within six months of arriving, had already colluded with wealthy businessmen, didn't even care about the lives of the people? Not only did they not care, they strictly forbade the people from fleeing famine, preferring to let you starve to death at home rather than escape and earn your life. They deceived their superiors and subordinates, committed all sorts of evil deeds, and when their term was up, they simply walked away. Who cared about the lives of the people?
However, Tong Bajin silently glanced at Jian Ning, who had almost finished cleaning up the rabbit, but the half basin of water was still full. He was surprised and thought to himself that the court's sending of Princess An Ning and the new number one scholar might be a blessing for the people in the north.
He felt the couple were capable individuals, and crucially, they were kind and didn't seem like treacherous or cunning. However, since they had only been together for a short time, he didn't want to jump to conclusions, so he said, "I'm just a hunter from the countryside, dozens of miles from Danyang County. I don't know the specifics of the situation very well. Anyway, you'll find out when you get there in two months."
"Brother Tong, do the local people grow other crops besides corn?" Jian Ning knew that the land over there was all yellow sand and that corn was the main crop. She brought a lot of sweet potatoes this time and also had peanut seeds in her herb room. When she was still in the capital, she had specifically asked the old tutor how to improve the soil. Without visiting the north in person, she didn't know the actual situation of the soil there.
Jian Ning originally thought that her father, King Pingnan, would know the whole story, but King Pingnan was only concerned with fighting wars and didn't know much about farming. He only knew that the north was windy and sandy, and that the people in remote mountainous areas lived a hard life.
"Being able to grow corn is already a blessing from heaven. How could we even dare to hope for other crops? Apart from corn, only golden cauliflower grows well. It's easy for humans to eat except for feeding cattle, sheep, and horses, but most of it is taken away by the government to feed the imperial war horses. Ordinary people can hardly even eat a bite of golden cauliflower."
Ding Youtian was afraid that Jian Ning didn't know what golden lily was, so he added, "It's the alfalfa that Jin Yu mentioned."
Jian Ning knew about golden clover, also known as clover. Its roots, stems, and leaves can all be used medicinally, treating indigestion, increasing appetite, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and also relieving jaundice, promoting diuresis, and reducing swelling. Crucially, it's easy to grow, both cold-resistant and drought-tolerant, making it a world-class forage grass. However, extreme cold temperatures can easily kill young plants, so warming the soil can help them survive the nascent stage.
The medical book Grandma Wu gave her covered almost every type of Chinese herbal medicine, so how could she not know about it? She also knew that alfalfa sprout salad drizzled with Sichuan peppercorn oil was tender and smooth. Grandma Wu loved her alfalfa salad in the summer, paired with a bowl of cold noodles, and it would leave her feeling completely satisfied.
"Let's build another fire and roast the rabbit." After Jian Ning finished speaking, Tong Bajin stood up and said, "I'll build the fire, and let me roast it."
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