Chapter 548 Hybrid Wheat
Li San Niang left the dewdrops with her mother, and then she, Qiu Xiang, and Lao Shi rode in a carriage to Ma Ti He Village, which was about ten miles away from Wu Family Village.
Matihe Village enjoys a convenient location, situated beside the official road and connecting five or six nearby villages, and is also very close to the Beijing outskirts military camp.
Therefore, the standard of living in Matihe Village is much better than that in Wujia Village. For example, when Li Sanniang arrived at the entrance of Matihe Village, she saw a teahouse that was not small.
Because pedestrians and merchants often pass by, this teahouse already has more than a dozen tables just outside.
Although it's called a tea house, it doesn't just sell tea.
Li San Niang had excellent eyesight; even standing outside, she could see the sign hanging on the wall inside the teahouse. It not only sold tea but also wine, as well as staple foods, a few side dishes, and meat dishes. It was a small, simply run restaurant.
Besides a dozen or so tables, there was a long, three-sided thatched shed not far from the teahouse, where two donkey carts were already parked.
Li San Niang watched as the waiter in the teahouse led Lao Shi to the car, and then she and Qiu Xiang stood at the entrance of the teahouse waiting for him.
Li San Niang was not the first to arrive. When she stood at the entrance of the teahouse and looked inside, she saw Bi Qionglan already sitting down on the east side of the teahouse.
Although it appeared that only Bi Qionglan was there, Qiu Xiang tugged at Li San Niang's arm and whispered in her ear, "San Niangzi, there must be quite a few people hiding behind the teahouse."
The breathing sounds are off; this doesn't seem like the place where there are only a few people.
After Lao Shi stopped the carriage and came over, he reminded Li San Niang, "San Niangzi, there are hoofprints in the thatched shed, and there are leftover beans from horse feed in the trough where the livestock are fed."
"How many horses do you estimate have ever lived in that shed?"
The tenth brother lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "We do have eleven or twelve horses."
Li San Niang nodded, indicating that she understood. She patted the gold needle pouch at her waist and the medicine she had prepared herself in her sleeve, and led Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi into the teahouse.
"Grandma Bi, are you well?"
"Dr. Li has arrived. Please have a seat."
Although not located within Chang'an city, the rough porcelain bowls of tea at this teahouse have a unique and delightful flavor.
As soon as Li San Niang sat down, another waiter came in from the back of the tea room and gestured for Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi to follow her to a table to sit down.
When Qiu Xiang saw the waiter pointing to the location on the west side of the teahouse, near the main road, she was about to refuse when she saw Li San Niang nod. Qiu Xiang thought that it wasn't too far, and if something really happened to Li San Niang inside, she and Lao Shi could come in and rescue her in no time. Besides, Li San Niang and her group should be able to talk things over.
Only then did Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi exchange a glance, and the two followed the waiter outside.
Li San Niang and Bi Qiong Lan chatted intermittently for more than a quarter of an hour before there was movement on the official road again.
Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan arrived at the teahouse together in the same carriage.
As for Xing Yu's family, they were naturally settled in a manor some distance away from here. However, Xing Yu brought seven or eight skilled men with him.
This group of about ten people, traveling in two carriages with seven or eight horses, brought a touch of novelty to the overly quiet teahouse.
Xing Yu recognized Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi, who were sitting outside the teahouse. He was tactful enough to let the seven or eight people protecting him also find seats outside the teahouse.
Then Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan entered the teahouse at a leisurely pace. Upon seeing Bi Qionglan and Li Sanniang, the two quickly bowed in greeting.
Before the four could exchange more than a few words, another commotion broke out outside the teahouse, and Ding Anbo and Ding Mingxuan arrived.
Xing Yu winked at Chang Siyuan from inside and whispered to him, "I think they were probably following behind us. They only jumped out from the shadows when they saw us come in."
Chang Siyuan did not answer Xing Yu's question, but just smiled and nodded without saying anything more.
As soon as Ding Mingxuan alighted from the carriage at the entrance of the teahouse, he saw two groups of people sitting outside.
Qiu Xiang spent all her time with Li San Niang, so Ding Mingxuan naturally knew about her.
Looking at the seven or eight people sitting around the table across from Qiu Xiang and Lao Shi, Ding Mingxuan knew they must be the bodyguards Xing Yu had hired to protect him.
Actually, Xing Yu was wrong.
The Ding family also owned a farm outside Chang'an City. The two brothers left the city yesterday afternoon and stayed at the farm that night.
They weren't actually following behind Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan. It was just a coincidence that they turned onto the main road just as Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan arrived at the teahouse, which is why they arrived at the teahouse after Xing Yu and Chang Siyuan.
Before Ding Mingxuan and Ding Anbo could exchange more than a few words, they heard the sound of galloping horses not far from the official road. When they looked in that direction, they saw someone they knew.
Jiang Yiyun rode up on horseback, wearing a crimson round-necked robe and with her hair in a high bun, looking quite dashing and heroic.
"Whoa~" Jiang Yiyun pulled the reins and came to the tea house. He dismounted nimbly and bowed to Ding Anbo and Ding Mingxuan, who were standing at the door. Before they could return the greeting, he followed the waiter who ran over to the thatched shed to settle his mount.
When Jiang Yiyun tied up his horse and arrived at the teahouse, Ding Mingxuan and Ding Anbo were already seated and drinking from their large teacups.
Those who are meant to come will come; those who aren't meant to come, who knows where they're hiding?
Once everyone had arrived and exchanged greetings, Bi Qionglan stood up and bowed to them.
"I am very grateful that you all came to this meeting."
Although our previous two meetings ended unpleasantly, it is fate that we are all sitting here today.
Without further ado, let's get straight to the point.
After saying that, Bi Qionglan clapped her hands twice, and two waiters came over from behind the teahouse carrying a rather large wooden board.
The dark-skinned man who had followed Bi Qionglan around in the past, who was now Bi Qionglan's eldest son, Bi Dalang, also carried a stack of four-foot-long square papers and walked over step by step. He stood in front of the stand that the shop assistant had set up and hung up the stack of papers that was tied with hemp rope.
Li San Niang immediately understood what was going on when she saw this.
Isn't this just a simplified version of PowerPoint?
"It seems that Bi Qionglan is going to give us a report?"
Just like when I posted an invitation to everyone to participate in matters related to smallpox vaccination?
(Chapter 469 plot)
No one spoke, only watching to see what Bi Qionglan was going to say to them.
Bi Qionglan turned to the first page and pointed to the simple map drawn on it. It was the simplest kind of map, with only an outline and no mountains, rivers, roads, or cities shown. She picked up a charcoal pencil and circled a few places on it in front of everyone.
"I used to be an agricultural worker, mainly growing wheat. In this life, I will still be a wheat grower, and I will only ever be a wheat grower."
Gentlemen, have you heard of hybrid wheat?
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