Chapter Thirty-Five: A Gift from Heaven
After surveying the wasteland of Shangyan Village, Shen Zhiyi became even more certain about the soil conditions and his confidence was further strengthened.
Suddenly she heard a very loud gurgling sound, which attracted everyone's attention.
Zhao Daya said shyly, "I'm a little hungry."
She then took out some broken pickled cabbage pancakes from her waist pocket and distributed them to the others, saying, "It's almost noon, everyone should have something to eat. We can't go hungry when we're out and about."
Upon seeing the pickled cabbage pancakes, Shen Zhiyi felt no hunger at all and said with great humility, "I'm not hungry. Fatty and Brother Xuanyan haven't tried Da Ya's pickled cabbage pancakes yet, have they? Why don't you try some?"
"My dad's sauerkraut pancakes are so delicious!" Zhao Daya said proudly, handing over a crumb of sauerkraut pancake as she spoke. "Don't let its current appearance fool you, it looked amazing when it first came out of the pan!"
Under Zhao Daya's enthusiasm, Wu Pangya and Xuan Yan couldn't refuse and accepted the small piece of pickled cabbage pancake.
"Thank you, Miss Zhao." Xuan Yan spoke up, breaking the awkward atmosphere that had inexplicably arisen. He quickly finished his meal and said sincerely, "Although the pancake was cold, it was still very delicious."
"It's delicious," Wu Pangya agreed.
Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but look over at them and realized that their words came from the heart. She could only sigh in her heart that she and that pickled cabbage pancake were not a good match.
As the group embarked on their return journey, Wu Pangya, preoccupied with her own thoughts, wanted to ask questions several times, but she didn't want to disrupt the cheerful scene.
"Don't worry, there's always a solution," Shen Zhiyi said earnestly, comforting Wu Pangya's anxious heart.
The people from Shangyan Village were already standing at the crossroads. When they saw them, they quickly greeted them and led them towards the larger stone house in the middle.
Shen Zhiyi then noticed the unique features of Shangyan Village: the fields were connected in one place, the houses were connected in one place, and the roads were paved with stones, which made them look very clean and tidy without being muddy.
The closer she got, the clearer she could see the person sitting on the bench. Shen Zhiyi had never imagined that Lu Jingbai, the county magistrate, would be sitting among the villagers, seemingly talking about something, which made both of them look very serious.
She walked to the back of the crowd and overheard the village chief saying, "Sir, it's not that we don't want to clear the land, but it's too much work and resources to do so. We've already broken six or seven hoes!"
Shen Zhiyi had heard Wu Pangya mention this topic before; now it was just a matter of seeing what their attitude was.
“Village Chief Zheng, while land reclamation is of paramount importance, we must prioritize the village’s actual conditions,” Lu Jingbai said seriously. “If we simply leave the reclaimed land uncultivated, it would be a waste. Has your village considered what to plant?”
“The soil isn’t fertile enough, so we have to plant a year’s worth of beans to nourish it,” Village Chief Zheng said helplessly. He glanced at Lu Jingbai and added, “Our village has been growing rice for generations, and we don’t know how to grow anything else. Even if the soil is well-nourished, we’ll only grow rice.”
Lu Jingbai was about to say something when he looked up and saw Shen Zhiyi standing outside the crowd. He then asked, "Miss Shen, how is the view of the wasteland?"
As soon as she spoke, everyone turned to look at her. Shen Zhiyi, seemingly used to being the center of attention, said without any hesitation, "If we plant rice, the harvest might not be good."
“You’re just a little girl…” The man sitting there stood up to say something, but after hearing Village Chief Zheng cough, he forced what he thought was a smile onto his tense face. “Go on.”
Although it was a case of the fox borrowing the tiger's power, Shen Zhiyi did not want to miss this opportunity and continued, "The soil in the wasteland cannot be compacted. Even if beans are planted to nourish the soil, the subsoil still needs to be compacted to form a watertight land. Otherwise, a lot of water will be needed. Either way, it is a waste of manpower."
Village Chief Zheng remained silent, but his gaze was fixed on Shen Zhiyi, clearly indicating that he had taken her words to heart.
“Instead of doing that, why not focus on growing beans and then develop bean products?” Shen Zhiyi earnestly suggested. “Our Xiaba Village grows chili peppers on wasteland, and we are now developing other varieties of chili peppers. We can discuss and verify them together and try to sell them as soon as possible.”
“This…” Village Chief Zheng hesitated, clearly trying to figure out how to refuse tactfully.
But Shen Zhiyi didn't give him a chance, and continued, "Even if I didn't make this suggestion, Village Chief Zheng plans to plant beans on the wasteland for a year, which would complement my suggestion and let's see how it goes. However, there are many kinds of beans, and I don't know which kind of beans Village Chief Zheng plans to plant?"
"I didn't expect this young lady to know about bean varieties." Village Chief Zheng was surprised and wanted to see if she was just pretending to know or if she had real skills. He whispered a few words to his son, Zheng Lengzi, behind him, then turned around and said, "I'll have Lengzi go inside and get some bean seeds. Could you please help me choose them?"
Shen Zhiyi knew that she was being tested, but she was not afraid and replied, "Okay, let's see if there are any bean seeds that I don't recognize."
Such a confident demeanor caused whispers among those around her, with many believing the girl was just bragging and thinking they should save face for her if she made a mistake.
Zheng Lengzi reappeared carrying a sack. Shen Zhiyi walked forward as the path was cleared, and stood right in front of Village Chief Zheng and Lu Jingbai.
Village Chief Zheng brought a winnowing basket, took out a neatly arranged small cloth bag from the burlap sack, and poured some of the contents into the winnowing basket. Even though they were different colors, they were all round.
“Young lady, take a look. Can you recognize it?” Village Chief Zheng asked.
“Soybeans, red beans, mung beans, and broad beans.” Shen Zhiyi read them out one by one. Seeing that Village Chief Zheng looked a little confused, she added, “Each village has a different name for them. They are distinguished by color, with yellow, red, and green beans being different colors. Broad beans are relatively long and flat.”
Seeing common beans, Shen Zhiyi was naturally more confident, and she could quickly tell you how to make fermented black beans, bean sprouts, and tofu, but...
Shen Zhiyi glanced at Lu Jingbai out of the corner of her eye, still needing to maintain the facade to avoid being discovered.
When she's out in the world, she no longer has the whole village to cover for her.
“That’s absolutely right,” said Village Chief Zheng. “Does the girl know how to plant it?”
“Of course! They need…” Shen Zhiyi spoke eloquently, explaining the subtle differences, and convinced the people of Shangyan Village that she was a girl who knew how to farm.
After a moment's thought, Village Chief Zheng said, "What the young lady said is not wrong. We can try planting beans this year first."
As for whether to continue planting beans or irrigate rice, that's not something Village Chief Zheng is willing to discuss.
Shen Zhiyi didn't want her opinion to be ignored, otherwise her trip to the village would be pointless. So she said directly, "Since Village Chief Zheng has agreed, I'd like to discuss the follow-up matters. I'll come back after the bean harvest and try to develop other bean products. If they can be sold, I'll take 10% of the selling price as my wages."
These words caused an uproar among the villagers.
In the past, beans were grown to cook and eat when there was no other food, because they were worthless! Unless they were used to fertilize the soil, people would not grow these worthless beans, which could also make people sick.
Village Chief Zheng's expression turned extremely serious. Taking advantage of the momentum, Shen Zhiyi said, "Since we are discussing business, with Lord Lu here as a witness, we can draw up a written agreement, which will be revealed after the seeds are harvested. How about that?"
“Young lady, you’d better think this through. Our village has cleared eight acres of wasteland. If we plant soybeans and feed them to the soil, the yield will be at least 240 jin!” Village Chief Zheng said hurriedly, glancing more at Lu Jingbai during this time.
Noticing the shift in gaze, Shen Zhiyi coughed lightly to draw his attention back and said, "Of course! The village chief will probably complain that we didn't clear a few more acres of wasteland to cultivate!"
"Why don't we write this down and have Lord Lu be our witness?" Shen Zhiyi suggested again.
That completely confident attitude immediately emboldened those around him, and one of them asked, "So, how much will it be charged?"
"We'll wait until the bean products are researched and developed, then 90% of the selling price will go to your village! I'll only take 10%." As Shen Zhiyi said this, she saw that the people who were initially interested gradually calmed down, and even became somewhat disdainful. It seemed that she was taking too little, which made them think it was "a pie falling from the sky, don't believe it."
"As for if you want to sell the same bean products again, you'll need to buy them at half the selling price. Of course, the premise of negotiating the price is that you have to sell all the beans grown in the wasteland, which will depend on my abilities." Shen Zhiyi glanced sideways at the chattering people, trying her best to show off her profound knowledge.
“Of course.” Village Chief Zheng’s words interrupted the whispers. “Since the young lady has a plan, let’s sign it in front of the magistrate so that both parties can feel at ease.”
“Okay!” Shen Zhiyi nodded in response.
Lu Jingbai had already taken out pen and ink, and Shen Zhiyi pointed out the key information at the right time, making the document more like a modern contract and making the obligations and remuneration of both parties clearer.
They read it aloud again in front of everyone, and Shen Zhiyi and Village Chief Zheng finally pressed their fingerprints to finalize the matter.
After the crowd dispersed, Zhao Daya finally found an opportunity to get close to Shen Zhiyi. When she saw the magistrate in front of her again, she subtly tugged at his belt.
"Lord Lu, you must keep this document safe. We'll need you to come back and be a witness again!" Shen Zhiyi said solemnly before leaving with Zhao Daya.
Lu Jingbai watched Shen Zhiyi's retreating figure before turning his gaze away, a sense of anticipation rising within him that he couldn't quite explain.
Shen Zhiyi was led away from the vicinity of the house by Zhao Daya to a deserted back slope.
She knew that her actions would arouse suspicion, but her inner convictions did not allow her to hesitate even slightly in the face of such a situation.
"Qianshan Village also has rocky soil, can they also grow beans on wasteland?" Zhao Daya asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Huh?" Shen Zhiyi was prepared to face questions, but she didn't expect to hear this and was a little taken aback. She continued, "It's possible, but it depends on the soil..."
Shen Zhiyi explained in detail, and Zhao Daya listened attentively.
After fully understanding the meaning of "stone" and "soil," she exclaimed in a flash of realization, "So that's how it works! Zhiyi, you're so clever!"
It seemed that no one in Xiaba Village had questioned anything, which made Shen Zhiyi feel complicated. She tentatively asked, "Why didn't you ask me how I knew all this?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Daya pulled Shen Zhiyi closer to her, her face grave: "Shh! This is a gift from heaven, we can't reveal it, lest others find out."
Having been given such a careful explanation, Shen Zhiyi suddenly understood how the people of Xiaba Village were able to make sense of themselves, and she was able to let go of such mystical things as "time travel" in her heart.
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