Xu Jiang smiled and declined, "I appreciate your kindness, sir. However, I have to go to Longquan Township and Qinghuai Township to deliver books later, so I can't delay."
When Mr. Wang heard that she wanted to go somewhere else, he couldn't keep her any longer, so he sent her to the door and watched her leave before turning back to take care of the group of noisy monkeys.
Xu Jiang and the peasant woman walked down the hill. The peasant woman kept thanking Xu Jiang, which made her feel embarrassed. Then she wanted to take Xu Jiang and Wang to her house for dinner, but after much persuasion, they finally declined.
After saying goodbye to the woman, Xu Jiang and Manager Wang walked around Wangjia Village to inspect the fields. They asked about the growth of the crops in the fields, what crops were planted, and lent seeds and grain to several households.
After finishing their business, the two were about to leave, but were stopped by the villagers led by the peasant woman, who forced them to eat a lot of local products.
Seeing that she couldn't stop them, Xu Jiang had no choice but to drive away with Manager Wang.
The two walked south along the Fengshui River embankment to Longquan Township.
Xu Jiang turned around and waved to the villagers, shouting, "Don't send me off, go back." Then she whispered to Shopkeeper Wang, "Let's go to the next place. Don't say we're delivering books, just say we're looking for someone. The villagers are too enthusiastic and we won't be able to handle it."
Shopkeeper Wang said with a smile, "When you come to the countryside, you have to be thick-skinned and don't be polite to them. If you don't accept their kindness, they will think you are looking down on you, which is not good."
"Oh——" Xu Jiang stretched out the sound, meaning: So your skill of making the food three-quarters cooked immediately upon first meeting was cultivated in this way.
Shopkeeper Wang looked very proud.
Because of its proximity to the Fengshui River, Longquan Township's fields are fertile, green, and rich in crops. The houses here are well-maintained, and many of them are tiled, making them appear more orderly than those in Weiyin Township.
Shopkeeper Wang said, "Grain is in great demand here. Not only are the yields high, but the grains are also plump and full of grain, making them top-quality. Sorghum and japonica rice are especially popular. Every year during the harvest, distilleries rush to buy them. Many even build their own distilleries here, hoping to snag the first crop of fine grain before others."
"No wonder it looks richer than Weiyin Township." Xu Jiang suddenly realized, and then asked, "I wonder how the wine here is?"
"The wine is good, but expensive," said Shopkeeper Wang. "These distilleries are controlled by the imperial court, and most of the wine they produce is finely crafted, exclusively for high-ranking officials and the capital's famous restaurants and taverns. Even low-quality wines cost one or two thousand coins a bucket, and premium craft wines are even more expensive, sometimes as much as ten thousand coins a bucket. Ordinary people can't afford it."
Ten thousand for a dou, which is ten taels of silver for a dou. The last time she bought peach blossom wine, she didn't even spend ten taels. But this wine cost ten taels for a dou. Xu Jiang immediately gave up the idea of buying wine.
It’s too expensive, it hurts to drink it.
The two entered Longquan Township. Perhaps because of its wine and grain production, the villages here were concentrated, and the roads were wide and flat. There was a constant stream of carriages and horses on the road, and many of the merchants coming and going were dressed in fine clothes, making them look inconspicuous.
Xu Jiang followed Shopkeeper Wang and looked around. Many of the farmhouses on both sides of the road had been converted into shops, selling tea, noodle soup, and snacks, as well as cloth shops, groceries, and post stations. It couldn't be said to be prosperous, but it was bustling.
Shopkeeper Wang stared at the roadside restaurant and swallowed his saliva. "There are not many people planting grain in this village, so there is no need to inspect the fields. After we go to the village school, we can come here for a walk and fill our stomachs." After running for a whole morning, he was a little hungry.
"Okay." Xu Jiang licked her lips as she looked at the steaming steamer on the roadside. She was also hungry.
The two foodies hit it off immediately and quickly quickened their pace to deliver the books.
This private school in Longquan Township sits beside a riverbank, with a towering paulownia tree in front of its entrance. At this hour, the paulownia tree is in full bloom, looking from afar like a purple cloud floating in the sky, a magnificent sight.
As they approached, they saw fallen petals covering the ground and tiles, nearly drowning the school. Xu Jiang, reverent about the flowers, could not bear to set foot on them. But Shopkeeper Wang strode forward, tied his donkey cart to the tree, and left a trail of tragic footprints and tracks.
The sadness of spring suddenly disappeared.
Xu Jiang was speechless for a moment, and finally got off the car and led the donkey under a tree, leaving behind the same tragic scene.
You know what, this flower is so soft and comfortable to step on.
The stubborn donkey lowered its head, sniffed, snorted, and then used its hooves to poke the tung flowers into the air.
The school was shaped like a circle, with its back against the riverbank and facing the street, with one person entering and one exiting. The two men, holding their books, came to the door and looked up to see a plaque above it with the four large characters "Tongyun School" inscribed on it. The handwriting was neat and majestic, showing the artistry of the craftsmanship.
As soon as I entered, I saw that the courtyard was also covered with tung blossoms. A boy was scraping the blossoms along the eaves with a bamboo rake. Seeing someone coming in, he didn't stop his work. When he reached the two people, he looked up and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Xu Jiang smiled when she saw that he had a tung flower on his head without realizing it.
"I'm here to deliver some books. Is your teacher here?"
Seeing that they were holding books and speaking in a friendly manner, the boy said, "Wait a moment," put down his bamboo rake, and went into a room, probably to call someone.
Soon, a beautiful woman in simple clothes came out from the house. She smiled before speaking when she saw them. After approaching and bowing, she asked Xu Jiang, "I suppose this is Madam Xu?"
"That's right." Xu Jiang asked in surprise, "Madam, are you the teacher of this school?"
The woman shook her head. "It's my husband. He's teaching a class right now. I'm sorry I can't come out to greet you two."
Xu Jiang smiled and said, "It's okay. We will leave after delivering the book. There is no need to disturb him." After that, she and Shopkeeper Wang handed the book to her and the boy.
The woman took the books, her eyes slightly reddened, and she sighed, "I've wanted to buy this set of books for my students for a long time, but something happened a few days ago and I really can't come up with the money. When Mr. Ji heard about it, he took it upon himself to do it. A few days ago, he sent someone to bring a letter saying that you would come to deliver the books, and we have been looking forward to it every day, and now you are finally here." After speaking, she bowed to Xu Jiang again, "The master said that these books were donated by you and him. On behalf of my husband and the students, Tongyun deeply thanks Mr. Xu for his generous help."
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