Chapter 54
"So it seems you were the one who did it?"
The two walked along the pebble path in the small garden. Song Chaoli, watching the scene unfold, couldn't suppress her smile and burst into loud laughter, "Why did you release snakes?"
As she spoke, she turned to look at Yinglian, her fingers twirling a strand of hair by her temple, her expression thoughtful.
"They bullied me." After a long pause, Yinglian finally answered abruptly.
"Then why didn't you teach Mom a lesson in the kitchen?" She let go of the other woman's hair, squatted down halfway, and her dark eyes shone brightly in the night. Because Yinglian had kept her head down the whole time, Song Chaoli reached out and gently lifted Yinglian's chin, forcing her to look at her.
She didn't ask Song Chaoli how he knew about it, but Yinglian stared at him and honestly replied, "I haven't decided yet."
"I haven't thought about it yet."
"I haven't figured out how to get revenge."
Qingyun sat on the chair, bored out of her mind. She had almost finished eating the pastries beside her. Now she was thinking that if Song Junwu didn't come, she should go back first. After all, he was a very busy person and might not be able to spare so much time.
As soon as she stood up, a maidservant hurried in, bowed to Qingyun, and then said respectfully, "The master is training troops in the army and asked you to come here. If it is urgent, please go directly to the camp to find him." Before leaving, she added, "The master also said that you don't need to go through the trouble of walking; a carriage has already been arranged at the gate."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun glanced at the maid, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Is there an oxcart?"
The maid replied, "This servant will go and prepare it immediately."
Could Qingyun say that she gets a little carsick in carriages, and that it would be too conspicuous for her to sit in such a luxurious carriage?
Perhaps having received word that Qingyun was coming, the oxcart didn't head towards the drill ground. Instead, it stopped in a tent. Qingyun glanced casually to the side and saw the jackal that had terrified him last time. It seemed that Song Junwu really treated this wolf like a dog, just putting it on a chain and then ignoring it.
She dared not wander around the military camp, letting her attendant lead her. However, instead of entering a tent, they circled around to an open area. Before she could even see clearly, she heard the sound of weapons slicing through the air. A tall, imposing figure brandished a sword, its shadow flashing.
Song Junwu swept his leg, then swung his sword left and right before turning and sweeping horizontally. His opponent was a woman wielding a double-tasseled longsword. She spun around, flashed her sword, and stepped back, blocking the attack. Her blade flashed out in a counter-attack, but the man immediately countered with a parry, then raised his knee and twisted the sword, striking Song Junwu's wrist and arm.
In a flash, the woman moved swiftly, retreating a few steps, her heels kicking up dust. The white tassels swayed with her movements. Her eyes were fierce, and without a word, she launched another attack. She assumed a dual-sword stance, her left and right wrists moving in unison, a cross-shaped flourish behind her back. The movements were so fast that Qingyun could only see the long tassels forming a blurry circle in the air, and he could still hear the whistling of weapons rubbing against the air.
He then changed his sword stance to a double-sword attack.
Just as the attendant beside him was about to report, Qingyun quickly pulled him back and turned to watch the two swordsmen dance with great interest, feeling deeply shocked.
Suddenly, the woman split her two swords, revealing two arcs of light on their blades, and thrust them forcefully at the man. The three swords clashed with a loud clang. The man met the attack with one sword, blocking her. After a brief standoff, both retreated. Thrusting, slashing, and thrusting—the three moves were vicious and ruthless, the clanging sounds of their attacks ringing out. The two fought like titans, neither gaining the upper hand.
There was no winner or loser in this competition. Song Junwu suddenly noticed Qingyun standing to the side and laughed, saying that they would stop fighting.
Seeing this, the woman didn't press the matter further. She sheathed her sword, clasped her hands in greeting, and Qingyun was truly going to become this girl's fangirl.
Dual weapons are difficult to wield, and adding two long tassels only amplifies the difficulty. The tassels must not get tangled in the hands or wrapped around the body. This woman moved with her steps, the sword followed her movements, and the tassels danced with the sword. She had truly put in a tremendous amount of hard work. According to Qingyun, this girl should have won the contest.
With a lingering look of reluctance, Qingyun watched the other person leave before turning back. Song Junwu wiped the sweat from his face and gestured for her to walk with him.
"Who is that person?" Qingyun asked impatiently, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how stupid he was. She must be Song Junwu's subordinate or a female general? Her demeanor was truly remarkable.
"You like her?"
Upon hearing this, Qingyun immediately nodded, "You really have a knack for swordsmanship." He then raised his thumb, vividly expressing his admiration.
Song Junwu's lips twitched. He wanted to ask if Qingyun hadn't seen him, but he swallowed the words and took the initiative to ask about Qingyun's purpose.
Do you know a girl named Lin Wanjun?
"She is also..." Qingyun paused for a moment, then decided against saying what she originally intended, and instead reorganized her thoughts before continuing, "She's someone I worked with. I haven't seen her for almost half a year. Do you have any information about her?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man stopped and turned to look at Qingyun. Seeing this, Qingyun also stopped abruptly and stared at the other man.
"You should know her, right? After all, she used to be Song Chaohua's close friend. Although the two had a falling out before, judging from the current situation, they have made up."
With a discerning look in his dark eyes, Qingyun smiled and continued, "I heard she's getting married?"
Song Junwu: "You've come to me with an answer in mind."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun lowered her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. The two looked at each other, and she replied, "No, I want to confirm whether she is really going to marry Qin Yao."
"Yes." The man answered readily, casually draping the handkerchief over his shoulder and walking forward. Seeing this, Qingyun quickly asked, "Is she still in Muyun City?"
Song Junwu walked ahead, his burly body casting a huge shadow that enveloped Qingyun's entire figure. "He returned to the capital half a year ago, so he's probably married by now."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun fell silent for the first time, unsure how to answer. After a long while, she finally asked, voicing her doubts: the two of them had never seemed to be in love, so how could they suddenly get married? In other words, she wanted to know if the two of them had a different relationship before she transmigrated.
However, Song Junwu's answer dashed that possibility; judging from the meaning of his words, it was probably not possible.
"Perhaps I am unaware of this; you should ask Song Chaoyun about it."
Qingyun thought it made sense, but she didn't know how to write to the other party to ask, so she asked Song Junwu to help her inquire.
Song Junwu: "Is this all for?"
Qingyun nodded.
Song Junwu sighed and brought up the issue of cotton planting. In fact, Liu Ruo had handled everything, and he had been busy planting trees and inquiring about Lin Wanjun these past few days.
Cotton is a warm-loving plant, so it shouldn't be difficult to grow in this environment. It needs at least ten hours of sunlight every day; insufficient sunlight will cause it to grow leggy and produce fewer bolls.
"Speaking of which, I haven't taught him how to plant it yet." Thinking of this, Qingyun asked, "Do you have paper and pen here?"
Upon hearing this, Song Junwu raised an eyebrow. "He hired a master to plant it."
Qingyun waved his hand, "Then we need to make it clear that my seeds are different from those here."
The two returned to their tent and wrote down the precautions one by one. Qingyun gave them seeds of two varieties: one was long-staple cotton, the most common Xinlu series on the market, Xinlu No. 35 and No. 55; the other was genetically modified BT cotton, which is an insect-resistant variety that will reduce the damage caused by bollworms; and the other was fine-staple cotton, which is characterized by high and stable yields. However, considering that everything was still in the usage stage, it was not included in the planting scope.
First, it is susceptible to waterlogging and waterlogging, but it also requires a lot of water, especially during the flowering and boll-forming period. If it is dry, the flowers and bolls will fall off, and if there is too much rain, the bolls will rot and become diseased. It also requires deep plowing for planting. Qingyun has already taken care of sun-drying the seeds for them in advance, but if they want to plant again in the future, they need to soak the seeds in warm water. Originally, they were soaked in a chemical solution, but Qingyun cannot provide that much chemical solution.
Fertilizer should be applied during the seedling stage and the flowering and boll-forming stage. Additional fertilizer should be applied before the bolls open, and the top should be pinched off before full bloom to prevent excessive growth.
"By the way, in the meantime, the pesticides stored in the east wing of the manor need to be delivered to the various cotton-growing farms. The specific pesticides used at each stage are different, so I will re-prepare them." Qingyun paused, seemingly thinking of this, and said to Song Junwu. The pesticide for controlling spider mites is readily available; the real issue is preparing pesticides for controlling bollworms and aphids. Qingyun won't need to remind them during the later harvesting period; the experienced farmers know how to do it.
That day, I even checked the system and found that the sandy soil was very suitable. Looking at it this way, this place is similar to Xinjiang. Xinjiang's cotton is world-famous and was once exported abroad. The most important thing now is how to retain water and resist wind and sand within the limited conditions. This is similar to growing vegetables. Qingyun knows how to do it. Use a lot of straw or other dry grass to spread it evenly, which will keep it warm, waterproof, and prevent excessive evaporation.
She was engrossed in writing, and Song Junwu, standing behind her, was also engrossed in watching. As she wrote, she seemed to be thinking about something again. She looked up and turned to look at the man, "All of these should be planted in the grass squares, and a low windbreak should be built every ten acres."
These details are very thorough, and Qingyun followed the standardized procedures completely. Adjustments will be made for any unforeseen circumstances. As things stand, there are no major problems. The main issue is that the pests that caused her so much trouble when planting trees previously had to be taken into account. All aspects must be considered.
“You are truly remarkable.” Song Junwu sat down, took the paper pattern handed to him by Qingyun, and said from the bottom of his heart, “However.” Then he changed the subject, “If I may presume to say something, if you had offered these things to the Emperor while you were still young, you might have been able to save your father’s life.”
Song Junwu looked at her and said, "Your talent is wasted on being an official, or even a high-ranking one." The man's expression was serious and earnest, not flattery.
Could Qingyun really say that this body had been replaced by a different soul? She smiled at Song Junwu, a hint of helplessness on her face. "Father did wrong and deserves to be punished. Besides, how can we disobey the imperial decree? Back then, when I was in the capital, I was short-sighted and unaware of the suffering of the people. Now that I have seen it, I must do something about it." As she spoke, she glanced at him. "Systems, orders, provisions, supplies—how much of it actually reaches the people after all these layers of government?"
Ten bushels of rice were distributed, but by the time they reached the people, it was still only ten bushels. However, how much rice was actually in those ten bushels? Gravel, fine sand, anything that could be mixed in was mixed in. Furthermore, the seedlings were not properly preserved, and eight out of ten plants died. These were all real events that happened when Qingyun first arrived here.
Of course, she wasn't blaming Song Junwu for being incompetent. Everyone has their own difficulties. The forces here are deeply entrenched and each has its own faction. The poorer the place, the more trouble there is. The dark past is irretrievable. As long as he can make achievements now, that's enough. It can't be said that he is a bad official.
Now that Qingyun has arrived, the number of trees planted every day has increased many times over compared to before. The days of waiting anxiously for the imperial court's seedlings are over, and the days of not having enough to eat are over. Things will only get better from now on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
