Chapter 59 Prize: Why don't you have any fresh fruit?
Ningzhou.
Ye Hui and Cao Ruheng sat together, listening to Zhu Yunwei report on the investigation of Anling County.
Zhu Yunwei: "...In short, under He Qinglan's leadership, Anling County has developed into a respectable place. Mo Jingchun's Ministry of Civil Affairs is conducting population checks, registering households, and allocating land; Wu Xiaoshan's Ministry of Agriculture is reclaiming land, planting crops, raising livestock, and planting fruit trees; Yun Youning's Ministry of Finance is selling the county's produce to various states. The books that Madam received earlier were sold by them."
"In addition, they also built roads on a large scale, seemingly in an attempt to connect the prefectures, counties, townships and villages."
"Because He Qinglan could provide an unlimited supply of food, the people of Anling County obeyed her every command."
Cao Ruheng's face turned sickly pale. He slowly asked, "Jingzhao said earlier that Sun Yannan had already sent people to Anling?"
Zhu Yunwei nodded, "That's right, they sent Xiao Yong. But He Qinglan refused."
Ye Hui was taken aback, then laughed, "You refused? That's interesting."
Zhu Yunwei offered her opinion: "He Qinglan has enough food and his own army, so it's inevitable that he might have other ideas."
Ye Hui agreed, "That's right. If you can make your own decisions, who would want to listen to others?"
Cao Ruheng asked, "Then what should we do?"
Ye Hui smiled gently, "Jing Zhao, would you be interested in making a trip to Anling?"
Before Zhu Yunwei could answer, Cao Ruheng exclaimed in shock, "She rejected Sun Yannan, how could she possibly agree to our request?"
Ye Hui: "..."
She said helplessly, "I sent Jingzhao to talk business with He Qinglan. Besides books, Anling also has very good tea, wine and sugar. I want to buy more of them."
Cao Ruheng coughed lightly, his face flushed.
Ye Hui turned to look at Zhu Yunwei, who did not refuse, "Okay, I will make preparations and go to Anling to meet He Qinglan."
Ye Hui said, "Thank you for your hard work. Pick some nice gifts. As for the people, you can bring whoever you want."
Zhu Yunwei thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Madam, did you send a copy of the books you received earlier to each of the renowned scholars from various schools of thought?"
Ye Hui wondered why Zhu Yunwei was asking this question, and she nodded.
Zhu Yunwei's face showed a helpless expression, "I'm afraid you've wasted your time with those Legalists."
He explained, “I have a brother in my family named Zhu Youchuan, courtesy name Jizhou, who is most fond of Legalism. He is currently in Anling County.”
“Yesterday I received a book he sent me, which is his own work, ‘On the Laws’.”
"This book..." Zhu Yunwei paused, then sighed, "will surely attract all the Legalists to Anling County to have long talks with him all night, including Pei Wenzhao." Pei Wenzhao is currently the leader of the Legalist school.
Ye Hui and Cao Ruheng exchanged a glance, both finding it hard to believe. Cao Ruheng asked, "He writes so well?"
Zhu Yunwei said, "After my elder brother finished reading the book, he sent someone to deliver it to Pei Wenzhao."
Ye Hui: "..."
After returning to Maozhou, Xiao Yong read Zhu Youchuan's masterpiece and was greatly shocked.
Immediately take the book to find Zhu Yunze.
While Zhu Yunze was surprised that Zhu Youchuan would be in Anling County, he curiously opened Zhu Youchuan's book.
...
A few days later, Xiao Yong went to Zhu Yunze to get the book, but Zhu Yunze shamelessly claimed that the book could not be found.
In reality, after reading the book, Zhu Yunze immediately arranged for someone from the Zhu family to send it to Pei Wenzhao in Qingzhou by fast horse. He also wrote a letter to Zhu Yunwei about the matter.
Ye Hui raised her hand to her brow. To be honest, it wasn't surprising at all. After all, one couldn't even write the character for "blessing" in one stroke, so his family must be...
Huh? Wait a minute!
Ye Hui's face was full of surprise. "You mean this Zhu Youchuan? He's in Anling County?"
Why would the Zhu family choose He Qinglan, who only has a dozen or so counties, instead of stirring up trouble in the court or using his talents in the governorships of various states?
Cao Ruheng also realized, "It seems that this He Qinglan is not simple at all..."
The extraordinary He Qinglan summoned everyone from the publicity department to the Goddess's Mansion, ordering them to carry away box after box of prizes to be given to the top three winners of various competitions.
The members of the publicity department were both curious and excited: What kind of prize will the goddess give this time?
Qingyang County.
Ma Qian, who came in third place in the women's ten-lap long-distance race, received her medal and prize from the head of the county's publicity department.
A round, bronze-colored plaque made of an unknown material, with a running human figure engraved on it.
The prize was a sealed cardboard box; if you shook it, you could hear the sound of objects colliding.
Ma Qian was incredibly curious.
As soon as she stepped off the stage, people she knew and didn't know surrounded her, all as curious as she was about what the goddess had given her as a prize.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ma Qian began to unpack the cardboard box.
...She couldn't break it apart.
Ma Qian was stunned.
Someone handed her a small knife. Ma Qian looked at the person in a daze: "Why do you carry a knife with you?!"
The person who handed her the knife couldn't empathize with her chaotic emotions and urged, "Open it and take a look!"
Ma Qian took the knife with trembling hands, cut open the cardboard box, revealing... two cardboard boxes inside.
Ma Qian: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Ma Qian had no choice but to continue dismantling.
A box of black pens!
Unlike the calligraphy brushes they usually see, this one is two fingers long and comes with its own ink.
Ma Qian picked up one curiously, touched the pen barrel and cap, and then subconsciously pulled it open!
She looked at the extremely fine pen tip, brought it close to her eyes, and exclaimed, "So fine?"
It can...
Ma Qian casually drew a line on the cardboard box, leaving a black line.
"Why don't you try writing a word?" someone suggested.
Ma Qian then wrote her name on the cardboard box.
Everyone stared in surprise at the two characters with very thin strokes.
The man who had provided the knife couldn't help but exclaim, "This pen is really useful!"
Ma Qian glanced at the name she had written, then at the pen in her hand, and thought to herself, "Indeed."
The other box contained some fine pens. Ma Qian held one and found it very inconvenient to write with.
Someone suddenly had a thought: "Is it inside a shell?"
Ma Qian looked at the fine pen, then at the ink tube inside the transparent casing of another pen, and suddenly realized.
Dongkou Village.
Liu Ping, who came in second in the men's long jump, received a white circular medal engraved with a jumping human figure, as well as his prize: three small yellow balls and a pair of nets.
Liu Ping's eyes widened to one large and one small: "???"
What's the net for? To catch dragonflies and moths?
He picked up a net and tested its feel: it felt good to hold and easy to swing.
A net? He pressed it; it wasn't sticky. Spider webs were more suitable for catching insects.
However, it is flexible.
Liu Ping's gaze darted back and forth between the net and the yellow ball, when suddenly it dawned on him: Could it be!
The young man stands still, holding a racket in his right hand and a ball in his left.
The left hand releases, the ball falls, and at the same time the right hand swings out, hitting the ball.
The ball flew out.
It drew a beautiful arc in the air at an astonishing speed, passed over the distant teaching building, and landed on the other side of the building.
Liu Ping's eyes widened.
Wow, so that's how you use this net!
But there are two nets, so is this for two people to play together?
Liu Ping thought he needed to find someone to try immediately.
He grabbed his racket and the ball and ran to the other side of the teaching building to retrieve it.
Hulin County.
The players from Shifang defeated everyone else in the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition in Hulin County and won first place.
They happily accepted the medals and prizes.
The medal is yellow, with a human figure kicking a football engraved in the center.
Prize: A four-wheeled board with a black left side and a white right side.
The players looked at each other in bewilderment: What is this?
“Since it has wheels, then…” One of the boys placed the four-wheeled board on the ground, pressed down on the board with one hand, and pushed it forward.
The wheels carried the plank forward for a while, then stopped.
Others: "..."
They also put their boards on the ground and tested the wheels.
Is this just for pushing around and playing with? But we adults are imitating kids by pushing these boards...
"Bang!"
With a loud thud, a young man fell to the ground, his board overturning at his feet.
"What's wrong?" someone asked.
"I'm fine!" The young man quickly got up, straightened the board, and tried to stand on it again. He pushed off with his feet, and the board carried him forward a few steps.
Then... he lost his balance again and fell, taking everyone and the board with him.
But his companions had already realized the correct way to play this board!
After thinking for a moment, someone grabbed his companion's shoulders and stood on the board. With his companion's help, he slid forward a few feet on the board. He cheered with delight and then jumped off the board.
The Goddess's Palace.
[Maple Leaf Galaxy Grand Prize Winner: You gave pens, tennis rackets, and skateboards for the preliminary rounds, what are you going to give for the finals? I'll buy them and send them to you early.]
He Qinglan was also having a headache. What should she give him as a gift? Sports clothes? Sneakers? Basketball? Sports watch?
Ideally, it should be something that every winner can use.
[Maple Leaf Galaxy's Grand Prize-winning Actress: How about a box of strawberries or lychees for each of us?]
[Maple Leaf Galaxy Award-winning actress: You should also consider the archaeologists and historians of your future generations. It's one thing if they dig up zinc alloy and plastic from a thousand-year-old tomb, but what if they find a calculator and a lamp? How are they supposed to convince themselves?]
He Qinglan didn't take it seriously; these things wouldn't last long before they broke.
When she leaves this world, she can just take the trash with her.
However, Xia Wei's suggestion was quite good, and He Qinglan replied: "Then let's get some strawberries and lychees."
He Qinglan: [Is it strawberry and lychee season where you are?]
[The Maple Leaf Award-winning actress: Strawberries are in spring, lychees are in summer, but that's okay, I can get you the freshest ones.]
He Qinglan: [...]
Are you trying to force them to bloom and bear fruit out of season?
He Qinglan: [No need to trouble yourself, just send me some strawberry seeds.]
If it's about "forcing" them, I can do that too.
He Qinglan: [Prepare a batch of small cakes for me.]
She tapped the system that was floating around in her mind's eye, "Why don't you have any fresh fruit?"
The system was bewildered: [Huh?]
The electronic voice remained silent: "I'm just a cafeteria system, not a supermarket system, nor a planting system."
He Qinglan suddenly had a whimsical thought: "But aren't there dishes like stir-fried tomatoes with pineapple, stir-fried watermelon with apples, stir-fried corn with grapes, spicy bananas, stir-fried pumpkin with kiwi, stir-fried celery with strawberries...?"
System: [Don't insult me with those bizarre dishes!!! I'm the super delicious, world-famous cafeteria system!!!]
He Qinglan: "..."
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The author's note: The Zhu family is the kind that casts a wide net; as long as one descendant successfully buys stocks, the family can continue.
I've been admiring lychees on Pinduoduo lately, but I'm too scared to buy them QAQ
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