Chapter 30: Rare Seeds
Lost in his reverie, Lu Jingbai caught the words "many" and "strange" in his ears, and his eyes immediately lit up. He looked at Shen Zhiyi and asked, "Is what you say true, Miss?"
"Really!" Shen Zhiyi replied, then saw Lu Jingbai hesitate and stop, immediately understanding that this was a sign of the other party's excitement but also his need to maintain etiquette. "Why don't you come with me to the village to take a look, sir?"
She also paid attention to her wording to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
“Okay.” Lu Jingbai replied quickly, then turned to Xuan Yan and instructed, “Prepare the carriage.”
Xuan Yan silently withdrew.
Although the door to the room not far away was open, the two, who were not very familiar with each other, still felt a bit awkward there. Shen Zhiyi was not one to let the conversation fall flat, so she said, "There are so many books here, has Lord Lu read them all?"
“Yes, not just this one, but the others as well.” Lu Jingbai spoke honestly, then paused as if he had thought of something and added, “If Miss Chen wants to read, you can ask Xuan Yan to get you some books that you can understand. As long as you keep reading, you can keep learning, and in the future you will be able to know the origin of those rare seeds.”
Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but turn her head to look at Lu Jingbai. She felt that there was sarcasm in his words, but his expression was very serious. He had already gotten up and was walking out.
It should have come from the heart, but the words were misinterpreted.
Seeing Lu Jingbai leave, Shen Zhiyi didn't try to chat with him. She politely finished the remaining sweet water in her teacup and waited to be told to leave.
She waited for a while and saw Lu Jingbai return with several books in his hands. He said, "Miss Chen, this is the Thousand Character Classic, this is the Standards for Being a Good Student and Child, this is the Young Scholar's Jade Forest and the Thousand Family Poems, plus the Three Character Classic. That will be more than enough for you to learn how to read. If you encounter any characters that you don't understand, you can write them down and then come and ask me... Xuan Yan will be fine."
Shen Zhiyi thought that she had to trouble the people in front of her with so many things, even about the seed. As for "reading characters", it was just a small problem of switching between simplified and traditional characters. She could still tell which was more important.
"Thank you, Lord Lu!" Shen Zhiyi solemnly accepted the book and said, "I will keep it safe and return it after I finish reading it."
"I only wish you to be diligent," Lu Jingbai said slowly.
"Young Master, Miss Shen, the carriage is ready." Xuan Yan's voice rang out from outside the door, and the two did not continue their conversation.
"Miss Chen, please go first," Lu Jingbai said.
This was probably not genuine politeness, and Shen Zhiyi hesitated to take a step, hurriedly saying, "Lord Lu, please go first."
Then, seeing Lu Jingbai politely step aside, she said again, "Miss Chen, please go first."
It was foreseeable that if they continued to invite him like this, it would waste more time. At the same time, Shen Zhiyi gained a new understanding of Lu Jingbai's "politeness". When he said "please", he really meant it!
Shen Zhiyi understood and said, "Then thank you very much, sir."
She tried to take a step forward, but Lu Jingbai picked up the earthenware pot that had fallen on the table and carefully handed it to Xuan Yan after walking out of the room.
Seemingly noticing Shen Zhiyi's gaze, Lu Jingbai said frankly, "It would be best to leave this seedling to Miss Shen to take care of."
Upon learning that the seedlings she had displayed could be taken back, Shen Zhiyi visibly became happy. Although they were rare seeds that she had "discovered," she knew that if she were to verbally describe exactly how to care for them, she would definitely give herself away.
"Thank you, sir! I will definitely take good care of it and try my best to record all its growth!" Shen Zhiyi said with a determined look on her face.
This emotion, which resembled a tangible belief, appeared before Lu Jingbai's eyes. He was so captivated by it that he said, almost unconsciously, "Of course I believe in Miss Shen."
Shen Zhiyi was even happier to receive the certification.
Her sincere, kind, and warm smile was like the winter sun, capable of melting away the frost and snow. Lu Jingbai realized he had been staring at the girl for too long and quickly looked away.
Shen Zhiyi was unaware of these things. She thought that the horse-drawn carriage was faster than the donkey cart or ox cart, so she could quickly take the people to see the seedlings and finish explaining the follow-up plan.
Upon entering the carriage, separated by a curtain, she sat on the left and Lu Jingbai on the right. Their figures were only outlined in the curtain, and the seedling pot was placed at her feet.
“Miss Chen, why don’t we take this opportunity to teach you the Three Character Classic?” Lu Jingbai said slowly.
Hearing this tone of voice, Shen Zhiyi felt as if she were back in the classroom. She subconsciously opened the "Three Character Classic" and saw the characters she had already learned. With the idea of learning as much as she could, she said, "When Lord Lu was looking for the book, Brother Xuan Yan had already taught me."
“Then read it to me,” Lu Jingbai said.
"At the beginning of life, people are inherently..." Shen Zhiyi opened the book and read aloud. She might not be very familiar with these enlightenment books, but she would definitely pass this open-book test.
"I didn't expect Miss Shen to remember it after only a few lessons." Lu Jingbai's voice was filled with joy, as if he had seen a promising talent. "Then please open the 'Elementary Learning Compendium'."
Shen Zhiyi did as instructed, gently turning the pages of the book, and the voice on the other end began to narrate: "In the beginning of chaos, heaven and earth..."
Lu Jingbai's clear and melodious reading voice has a calming power; just listening to it is a pleasure.
Shen Zhiyi inexplicably felt that this person should not be an official, but a teacher, as he was gentle, reserved, and extremely talented.
"Miss Chen, have you memorized everything?" Lu Jingbai asked gently.
Shen Zhiyi was instantly awakened, putting aside her random thoughts. With the book still stuck at the second half, she started reading from the beginning, feeling a little guilty.
Although I couldn't see her expression, judging from her frequent nodding, she must have read it quite accurately. I could roughly guess the meaning of some of the traditional characters in the latter half, but the last few characters were unfamiliar, so I could only read half of them: "雨场时若，系是休证..."
As he read on, Lu Jingbai spoke up to remind him, "It means that the rain and sunshine will arrive in due time. The rest of the text will explain that this is a good omen."
Hearing these explanations, Shen Zhiyi felt even more ashamed and sincerely said, "I'll remember it."
"There are annotations along the way; Miss Shen can look them up if she wishes," Lu Jingbai continued. "Now, turn to the next volume on geography..."
Chen Zhiyi focused more intently on the contents of the book, carefully comparing each word one by one.
The wheels rolled on, and a gentle breeze lifted the carriage curtains, softening the sound of reading aloud.
From the Three Character Classic to the Young Scholar's Jade Forest, the distance from the county town to Xiaba Village was calculated. Xuan Yan called softly from outside, "Young Master, Miss Chen, we've arrived at Xiaba Village."
Shen Zhiyi closed the book on her lap and was about to reach for the earthenware pot containing the seedlings when that fair hand picked up the pot first and got off the bus.
"Oh, Lord Lu, what brings you here!" The village chief's voice rang out at that moment, "This earthenware pot looks so familiar..."
"Grandpa Village Chief," Shen Zhiyi called from behind, and walked to the village chief's side as soon as she came down. "Lord Lu has come to see the rare seeds I found."
"Those seeds aren't..." The village chief was about to say, but then, remembering Lord Lu's arrival, he suppressed his shock and quickly changed his words, "They're everywhere in that house!"
"Yes, when I found it, I thought it looked like a seed, so I tried planting it, and I didn't expect it to sprout!" Shen Zhiyi exclaimed, explaining the origin of the seed so tacitly.
The villagers who overheard the conversation immediately said they had seen the seedlings before, and they filled in the details one by one, allowing Shen Zhiyi to mentally review their account so that she wouldn't make a mistake when she mentioned this part later.
With the entire village as "witnesses," Lu Jingbai became even more curious about the sprouting seeds, listening as he walked towards Shen Zhiyi's house.
The courtyard wall was still as dilapidated as ever, and the cabbages in the vegetable garden were still quite vigorous, though there were fewer of them than when I last visited. In contrast, the empty house had some strangely shaped things, while the chests and boxes were neatly arranged on the kang (a heated brick bed)...
Lu Jingbai quickly surveyed the room and quickened his pace toward the greenery. Some of it resembled the seedlings he had seen that morning, while others did not, and he could not tell them apart for a moment.
The more this happened, the more excited he became!
"Xuan Yan, move this and that to a brighter place," Lu Jingbai instructed.
Shen Zhiyi watched from the side, not daring to make a sound to disturb him. However, she still marveled in her heart at Lord Lu's sharp eyes, which allowed him to quickly identify the two types of seedlings she had never seen before—watermelon and sweet potato seedlings.
"These seedlings have really sprouted! When I looked at them, they were just tiny sprouts."
"I didn't expect it to grow like this, it's red, so festive."
The villagers and those nearby started talking, and even if they tried to lower their voices, they could still hear each other clearly.
Sweet potato seedlings are naturally purplish-red, which can be classified as "red" even for people with poor eyesight. However, as they grow, they gradually fade from red, large leaves turn green, and the leaves become nearly heart-shaped. The fruits, stems, and leaves underground are all edible, and the yield is high.
At this moment, Lu Jingbai's hand gently stroked the leaf, his thoughts surging, without a single clue, yet he was certain that this seedling was no ordinary specimen.
"That plant is a bit strange; its three leaves can grow into two different shapes."
"With so many seedlings to take care of in Zhiyi's house, it's normal for one or two to grow a little strangely."
"It's good enough if we can even feed them!"
Shen Zhiyi didn't even need to say anything; someone had already covered for her.
Actually, the seedling wasn't damaged; it was just a necessary process for the watermelon leaves to grow. Initially, it had round leaves, which then grew into leaves that were pointed at both ends and round in the middle. At the same time, the stem of this leaf would have white downy hairs. When the other two leaves grew to this size, it was time to transplant them.
“I’ve seen this in the Travels of Western Chu. Sometimes the leaves are round, sometimes the tips are round, and eventually the leaves are large and symmetrical. It has yellow flowers, green skin, black stripes, and a red heart. It’s called the Cold Melon,” Lu Jingbai said with a sudden realization.
"Cold melon? I didn't expect it to be called that!" Shen Zhiyi said in surprise.
The villagers watching were even more bewildered, muttering "cold melon" several times, and then curiously asked, "Green skin, black stripes, and red heart, it's so strange. Has Lord Lu ever seen one? Does such a thing really exist?"
"You're just talking nonsense in broad daylight. We'll know if it even exists once the seedling grows!" someone nearby laughed.
They started chatting as they talked, leaving no room for Chen Zhiyi to speak. She glanced at Lu Jingbai out of the corner of her eye, but didn't interrupt their rambling conversation.
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