"No need to persuade me," Doctor Gu said with a slightly cold expression. "If His Majesty comes, let him come. I will not avoid him."
“I knew you would say that,” Liu Zhiyuan said with a sigh. “Fine, I haven’t served you for many years, so I might as well stay a few more days.”
"Father, are you going to stay?" Liu Yuzhu asked, her eyes wide. "What about the imperial physician's heatstroke?"
How could he not know that the old man could be so willful?
"I have already taken leave, and the imperial physicians will be taken care of by others."
The Empress Dowager passed away two years ago, and the Emperor is not in the palace. What could the Imperial Physician possibly be doing?
This child, after handling medicine for so long, has become mentally impaired.
Perhaps it's time for him to return to the capital. Small places lack vitality, and he'll only become more dull the longer he stays there.
“Alright,” Doctor Gu nodded, “It’s a good opportunity to correct all your bad habits.”
Although Ping'an County is small, it is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. It would be good for the eldest apprentice to stay a while longer, to absorb the spiritual energy here and cleanse himself of the darkness.
If you stay in a wealthy and privileged environment for too long, nothing will seem right to you, and you'll have to analyze everything you do from multiple angles. If you don't wake up to reality, you'll never realize that you've been subtly influenced without even noticing.
"Master," Liu Yuzhu glanced warily at her father, "should we reconsider?"
He sensed that his hard times were about to begin.
“Rules,” Liu Zhiyuan glanced coldly at his son, “where are the Liu family’s rules?”
It's only been a short time, yet they dare to be so insolent, even daring to speak ill of their own father. Have they forgotten all the family rules? Can they really stay here any longer?
With a cold snort, Liu Zhiyuan looked at his son with displeasure and punished him as usual, "Go and copy the 'Compendium of Materia Medica' once. You are not allowed to eat dinner until you finish copying it."
"Insolence!" Doctor Gu rebuked coldly. "This is southern Henan. Don't bring your capital ways here. If you want to show off your power, go back to your capital."
I don't even know how many words are in the "Compendium of Materia Medica"? I can't finish copying it until midnight, what am I going to do for dinner?
He can't cook, and if he expects his eldest apprentice, who is supposed to be a gentleman who stays away from the kitchen, we might as well all starve to death.
“Master,” Liu Zhiyuan was stunned, not knowing how he had angered his master again, “Yuzhu is wrong, can’t I, as her father, teach her?”
"He's wrong, so you're right?" Doctor Gu pointed to the table. "Yuzhu, go copy the book. You wash the dishes, clean the pots and pans, tidy the table, and then cook dinner?"
The young apprentice, who was initially deeply moved, stared blankly at Doctor Gu upon hearing this.
He thought his master would back him up, but...
Sure enough, he was destined to be a menial worker.
He puffed out his cheeks angrily and resignedly said, "Grandmaster is right, I'll clean up the table right away."
After saying that, he quickly started tidying up.
Liu Zhiyuan watched helplessly as his son cleared away the dishes, his eyes burning with rage.
He strongly suspected that the kid was deliberately seeking revenge.
I rode for two days from the capital to southern Henan, and only ate at the post station yesterday noon. I was starving.
They've been talking non-stop since they arrived, and haven't even had a chance to eat yet...
"Yuzhu is getting more and more disobedient!" Liu Zhiyuan clenched his fist.
“I think it’s you who’s causing trouble,” Doctor Gu’s expression suddenly changed, “If you keep looking for trouble, go back to your capital.”
“Master, you don’t need to spoil him all the time. He’s not a child anymore.”
No, you're being too harsh!
Despite not being well-liked, Liu Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and stayed at the pharmacy. The small pharmacy appeared calm on the surface, but its interior was quietly changing.
After the ancestral worship ceremony, the people of Huangjiakou got busy again.
Busy days leave little time for grief and mourning.
Old Huang inspected all the watermelon fields in the village, his smile barely concealed. "This year's watermelons are good, growing vigorously, and there aren't many dead seedlings. Who knows, we might actually get three to five hundred catties."
"That's really good," Huang Shi said with a satisfied smile. "If we can get three to five hundred catties, we won't have to worry about food for everyone this year."
"The winter melon seedlings are so delicate, I thought we needed to replant them. No wonder Yaya didn't mention it."
Old Huang was amazed. He had never seen such strong seedlings before. Only a few died, and they were growing very well. They were planted yesterday and had taken root today, growing even deeper than if they had been sown directly from the seeds.
“After going through one thing after another,” Huang Shi said with emotion, “Ya Ya’s influence in the village is something we can’t compare to.”
“Yes,” Old Huang agreed. “Before, when she said that too dense wheat would reduce the yield, everyone thought she was talking nonsense. But now, they’re all braving the rain to pull up the wheat seedlings.”
The wheat seedlings that had already formed ears of grain could be harvested in a little over a month. They were pulled up without hesitation, which shocked Old Man Huang.
Young people are one thing, but if men in their thirties and forties get involved, aren't they afraid of not being able to harvest enough grain?
The fact that his daughter-in-law's efforts over the past few months were more effective than his own lifelong hard work hurt Old Man Huang a little.
“Yes,” Huang Shi shook his head, “they’re all acting like madmen.”
"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's go pull up some wheat seedlings."
"Dad," Huang Shi said, annoyed, "why did you get involved in this mess?"
“This isn’t just for show,” Old Huang said, pointing straight ahead. “Look who’s there! Xiao Chuan and his friends are so stubborn, yet they still pulled up the wheat seedlings in the field.”
“Really!” Huang Shi gazed into the distance. “Ya Ya is here too. Let’s go see them.”
Under the light rain, Jiang Nuan held up an oil-paper umbrella, watching her son working, lost in her own thoughts.
After the summer harvest, people in Huangjiakou generally plant millet and sorghum, which are easy to grow and are the staple food for most families. A few people will grow soybeans to feed their livestock.
However, Jiang Nuan felt that doing so did not realize its value.
However, given the current limited resources, we cannot think of a perfect solution in the short term.
More precisely, she hadn't figured out the future path for Huangjiakou.
Should we focus on flowers, medicinal herbs, or ecological agriculture?
Or perhaps we could simply create a comprehensive agricultural production and sales system?
“Mother,” Huang Lao Er called to Jiang Nuan, who was lost in thought, “You should go back first. Don’t catch a cold in this rainy weather.”
“It’s just a light drizzle, I’m not that delicate,” Jiang Nuan shook her head. “You continue with your work, don’t worry about me.”
She needs to think carefully about the future of the Huang family and Huangjiakou.
Selling wine may bring in money quickly, but it's not very secure; one doesn't feel at ease with such windfall gains.
"Mother, what are you thinking about?" Madam Xie asked, puzzled.
She always felt that her mother-in-law was somewhat restless.
"What do you want us to do?" Jiang Nuan didn't hide anything. "Our family's life has improved, but not in Huangjiakou or Jiangjia Village. I want to use my knowledge to do my part."
She had always dreamed of optimizing grain varieties to ensure people had enough to eat, but she always felt the time wasn't right and only dared to make small moves.
These days, as her influence grows, Jiang Nuan becomes increasingly audacious.
She felt it was time to develop her own experimental field.
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