Chapter 68 Unpleasant Things
Cui Qingyi never thought that one day she would be so heartbroken over a chili seedling that she would bleed.
Kane took the pot of peppers and talked a lot.
After hearing the slightly apologetic retelling, Fili said, “We got this chili pepper plant when we passed through a small country. We originally had several plants, but they all died along the way.
Its fruit is beautiful, but it is slightly poisonous and can cause stomach pain and diarrhea if eaten."
(It is said that peppers first appeared as ornamental plants.)
Cui Qingyi was a little disappointed at first. She wanted more ready-made peppers, but now she thinks that it is good enough to find peppers that were said to have been introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty in this strange era. Why would she need a motorcycle?
In the end, Kane gave this half-dead pepper to Cui Qingyi as a gift.
Because Cui Qingyi had to buy some other things, she left everything at Kane's counter and waited to pick them up when she left.
Knowing that Cui Qingyi wanted to buy something else, Phil happily accompanied her all the way. It was actually because Cui Qingyi had just bought some spices herself and introduced the functions of pepper and other spices to several onlookers. The man was curious and bought some too.
Next, Cui Qingyi bought an exquisitely shaped peep show for herself and Konjac. Although the bronze mirrors made in the Dajin shop were also very good, their clarity was still somewhat lower than that of the peep show.
As a modern person, Cui Qingyi had seen all kinds of mirrors, but Konjac was completely shocked.
She couldn't bear to put down the peep show that was only as big as her face.
Cui Qingyi also bought a clock about 30 centimeters in size, which she could put at home to check the time.
She originally wanted to buy a watch, but such a small piece would cost over one hundred taels of silver, and Cui Qingyi was reluctant to spend it.
They also bought some cloth and gold and silver products, and then the two of them took back the goods they had stored from Kane and went home.
With Cui Qingyi taking the lead and this group of blond-haired, blue-eyed people being so enthusiastic, the market for foreign merchants at the Bay Wharf gradually became lively.
On the way back, Cui Qingyi held the pepper pot plant tightly in her arms, for fear that she would accidentally break this precious plant.
Konjac looked at the valuable goods in her arms and felt very strange. She didn't realize that her daughter liked flowers and plants so much before.
The girl only took care of the flowers and plants in the yard because she was bored. Every day, Wangcai used the flowers and plants to grind his teeth, but the girl never said anything.
"Girl, this flowerpot is heavy. Let me hold it."
Cui Qingyi waved her hand and said, "No, I can do it myself. This is my precious baby."
Konjac doesn't understand what's so precious about a half-dead potted plant.
The two returned to Huaihua Lane. Cui Qingyi didn't even bother to rest, but first dug out the wilted pepper seedlings from the pot.
Perhaps because sailing on the sea was too boring, its owner only watered it from time to time, and there was not enough sunlight, which caused the soil to become compacted and some of the pepper roots had begun to mold and rot.
Cui Qingyi simply cut off all the rotten roots and placed them in the sun to dry before transplanting the pepper seedlings into the field in the backyard.
There is fertilizer for vegetable seedlings in the backyard that was not cleaned last year. After turning the soil at the beginning of the year, wood ash was sprinkled on it. Looking at the growth of the vegetable seedlings in the field now, it can be seen that the fertility is still good. If the pepper seedlings are planted here, they should be able to survive if they are lucky.
After the soil was leveled, Cui Qingyi brought in a few green bricks left over from building the kang and surrounded the pepper seedlings. Anyone could tell how much she valued the seedlings.
After arranging the care of her beloved baby, Cui Qingyi called Wangcai, who was having fun in the yard, over and carefully instructed him to take good care of this little seedling.
Wangcai wagged his tail happily, knowing that this little thing was not something he could eat.
Cui Qingyi's guess was correct. Before evening, all the information about the Phili caravan's every move was placed on Zhou Yanxiu's desk.
However, the county government focused on the Phili caravan itself and did not pay much attention to the local people.
Therefore, Zhou Yanxiu only briefly mentioned the news that the female teacher from Cui's Girls' School in Houya Lane was the first to go up and buy goods.
Seeing that Phili and others did not take the opportunity to inquire about the specific situation in Dongping County, Zhou Yanxiu sent the memorial about Phili and his group to the capital.
He just had to wait for the news from the capital so that he could send people away.
Phil's caravan stayed in Dongping County for seven consecutive days. In the first three days, there were only local people from Dongping County. It was not known whether County Magistrate Zhou had done something, but gradually, people from several counties around Dongping County came one after another.
Many merchants also brought their own goods and sold them at the dock. Of course, their main target was this group of foreigners.
Cui Qingyi wanted to buy a watch for herself and Konjac, but that thing was too expensive, and with the current limited technology, it was likely that the lifespan of the thing would not be very long. If it broke in the future, no one would repair it. It seemed like a big loss to spend so much money on it.
Later, when she saw many new merchants around, Cui Qingyi suddenly had an idea. She really had a treasure in her possession but didn't know how to use it.
Later, Cui Qingyi exchanged two double-sided portrait embroidered pieces for two watches, one for her and one for Konjac.
In her portrait, Cui Qingyi used the modeling of the flying fairies from Dunhuang in later generations. The portrait is dazzling and has an indescribable divinity, making it a masterpiece among masterpieces.
The merchant selling watches widened his eyes and exclaimed in amazement when he saw the double-sided embroidery.
Therefore, he did not bargain and directly exchanged the watch to Cui Qingyi.
On the day the caravan left, the pepper seedlings planted by Cui Qingyi in the backyard finally regained their vitality. The leaves that had been a little wilted also regained their vitality, and each one looked full of energy as if it had been well-nourished.
Cui Qingyi was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
Konjac and Wangcai were squatting not far away. Because of their temporary fall from favor, the man and the dog were living in rare harmony.
As the caravan left, Cui Qingyi and Konjac's girls' school was about to start.
But on the first day of school, something unpleasant happened.
Chen Yingchun's mother-in-law chased her to the girls' school and dragged Chen Yingchun away while cursing Cui Qingyi.
They said she was ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. It would have been bad enough for a woman to open a school in a man's family, but she also used sweet words to trick her daughter-in-law into learning embroidery.
The old woman was very strong, and even though Chen Yingchun was young and strong, she couldn't easily break free from her big hands.
The other party was her mother-in-law. She was concerned about filial piety and didn't want to argue with her in the street. She could only blush and whisper to her to stop talking.
But some people are just like this. If you are strong, she will be weak, and if you are weak, she will take advantage of you.
It was obvious that Chen Yingchun was such a person. Seeing that Cui Qingyi was silent for a long time and was a young lady, the old woman thought she had the upper hand and started to curse Cui Qingyi even more.
When a drop of saliva was about to hit her face, Cui Qingyi swung her arm and slapped the old woman in the face.
“Pah.”
The sound of the slap was crisp and pleasant, and Cui Qingyi felt that her ears were finally at peace.
(When I was in elementary school, there was a small brick garden in the yard of my house. I planted a few peppers in it. At first, they grew well. But one day, I diligently applied a little chemical fertilizer to each pepper plant, and they all burned to death.)
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