Chapter Thirty-Four: Views on Kamijou Village
Shangyan Village is located between the town and the county, which was originally a very advantageous location. However, the village is surrounded by rocks, and going out is like climbing a cliff.
Shen Zhiyi initially dismissed it as an exaggeration, but upon seeing the stone-paved mountain path, she realized just how significant the elevation difference was in the village. Although the stone tablet at the entrance read "Shangyan Village," it was still quite a distance to walk into the village.
“This road…” Shen Zhiyi said in surprise. Obviously, the stones on this stone road were carefully selected and piled up here, much smoother than the randomly placed stones outside.
“It was built with the hard work of four generations of their village,” Lu Jingbai said in a deep voice, his heart still filled with awe no matter how many times he saw it.
Later, he went back to check the county annals, but there was no record of this event. He then asked the village head of Shangyan Village and finally got it recorded in the annals.
“Truly magnificent,” Shen Zhiyi said solemnly.
If one generation can't do something, then two or three generations will... A village with such determination shows how strong its cohesion is.
Upon hearing this, Lu Jingbai couldn't help but glance at Shen Zhiyi a few more times, his drooping eyelashes revealing his admiration for her.
The carriage stopped in front of the stone tablet and was looked after by the driver. The group then walked up the stone path.
The rocks along the mountain path are covered with moss, blending in with the wild grass, and glistening with the morning dew that has not yet dissipated, creating a picturesque scene full of wild charm.
However, once you're in it, this wildness becomes an obstacle to your progress. Sometimes the road is flat; sometimes there are steps half a person's height or a person's height in front; sometimes the road is suddenly blocked or turns sharply downwards...
We must not let our guard down.
"Watch out!" Lu Jingbai's voice rang out urgently.
Shen Zhiyi instinctively pulled her feet back. As her old and new forces shifted, her center of gravity became somewhat unstable. Below her was a ravine higher than herself, and looking down would only make her more terrified.
Therefore, most of her gaze was focused on the upper diagonal, which was the position she was moving forward from. At this moment, Shen Zhiyi's wrist was being tightly gripped by those fair hands.
The warmth of his palm felt like a brand, burning his heart and making his heartbeat seem louder.
"Zhiyi, quickly grab my hand, I'll pull you up," Zhao Daya said loudly. As she came to help, Lu Jingbai slowly withdrew his hand.
Following Zhao Daya's force, Shen Zhiyi stepped over the ditch. Whether it was because she was still shaken or because the burning sensation on her wrist hadn't subsided, she seemed quite concerned.
“If you walk in front of me, I can still keep an eye on you,” Zhao Daya said.
“Okay,” Shen Zhiyi said slowly.
With this change of position, she was now walking behind Lu Jingbai, occasionally catching a glimpse of his fair hand, and a strange sense of panic washed over her.
Fortunately, her good mood didn't last long. As soon as she arrived at Shangyan Village, Shen Zhiyi returned to work mode. Seeing that Lu Jingbai was still talking to the village chief, she asked someone nearby, "Where is the wasteland in your village? Can you take me to see it?"
The other person hesitated slightly, his gaze falling on the village chief, and then said, "Then come with me."
As Shen Zhiyi left, she seemed to catch a glimpse of Lu Jingbai's gaze out of the corner of her eye, but it quickly disappeared, as if it were just her imagination.
Just as her figure was about to disappear from Lu Jingbai's sight, he whispered to Xuan Yan beside him, "Go and protect Miss Shen."
Having visited Shangyan Village several times, Lu Jingbai knew where the reclaimed wasteland was located.
In this village where his ancestors have lived for generations, the roads are at least flat, but the wasteland is in similar condition to the mountain roads, so he still needs to keep an eye on things to put his mind at ease.
He walked towards the fields while talking with the village chief. After studying many books, Lu Jingbai was able to chat with the old farmer about things in the fields.
"Is the heated kang (traditional Chinese bed) all finished?" Lu Jingbai asked.
"Since you've spent money and sent someone to teach me, if I still can't handle it well, I'll be too ashamed to face you," the village chief said gratefully.
"Take me to see it," Lu Jingbai said earnestly. He had seen some villagers ask them to build a kang (heated brick bed), but they would make excuses and eventually manage to build a few, only to find that the kang would smoke as soon as they lit a fire...
Checking the condition of the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) is of paramount importance.
As the next month drew closer, he became increasingly uneasy, fearing that the scene of people freezing to death described in the county annals would repeat itself. Therefore, even if it meant paying out of his own pocket, he was determined to do things well.
Shen Zhiyi followed the villagers to the outside of the village and saw a stone wall. Then she saw the stone path next to it and knew that there was still a way to go. Without waiting for them to call her, she walked up the path.
The woman leading the way looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, but she was very agile. She walked forward on her own, seemingly forgetting that there were two guests behind her who needed her care. After she had traversed the difficult path ahead, she suddenly remembered what she had forgotten and quickly looked back to see that they had already caught up.
"What's wrong?" Shen Zhiyi noticed the woman's gaze and couldn't help but ask.
Then she suddenly remembered that she hadn't introduced herself yet, and couldn't expect the other person to take the initiative, so she continued, "My name is Shen Zhiyi, and her name is Zhao Daya. We're from Xiaba Village. What's your name?"
The woman paused slightly, then slowly said, "Wu Pangya."
After saying this, she seemed ashamed of her name and dared not look at Shen Zhiyi again.
Such a petite girl being named "Pangya" must have embodied the family's hopes that she would grow up and survive if she gained weight.
"What a lovely name!" Shen Zhiyi praised sincerely. Sensing Wu Pangya's discomfort, she changed the subject, "Pangya, how many acres of wasteland has your village cleared? What do you plan to plant?"
“The wasteland is hard to clear, and even my hoe is worn out…” Wu Pangya said, then realized she shouldn’t have said that, so she quickly covered her mouth and looked at Shen Zhiyi with regret and worry.
“Hoeings are very expensive,” Shen Zhiyi remarked at the opportune moment. A single hoe costs one or two taels of silver. “If it were in our village, we would feel the pinch.”
“Yes! It’s heartbreaking to see anything break down,” Zhao Daya chimed in.
From these words, Wu Pangya gradually realized that they were different from the county magistrate, and couldn't help but say, "Our village has a lot of stones, and many are still hidden in the soil. We have to dig out the soil and clear out all the stones before we can loosen the soil..."
Shen Zhiyi listened very attentively, which was also a way for her to learn about the village from the sidelines.
"The magistrate wants us to cultivate another ten acres of wasteland. Isn't this just making things difficult for us?" Wu Pangya couldn't help but complain. "Just these ten acres have taken so long. We had to build roads and find water sources..."
Suddenly, Wu Pangya stopped talking and carefully looked back at the road she had come from.
Shen Zhiyi turned around and saw Xuan Yan rushing over. She couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Brother Xuan Yan, does Lord Lu have any instructions?"
“The wasteland in Shangyan Village is a bit difficult to traverse, young master, please allow me to protect the two young ladies,” Xuan Yan said earnestly.
"Lord Lu is truly considerate of his subordinates," Shen Zhiyi said hastily, trying to steer the conversation back to business. She then changed the subject, "Does Lord Lu still want ten acres of wasteland to be cleared in Shangyan Village?"
Wu Pangya was startled by these words and trembled.
"The master hopes that Shangyan Village will reclaim more wasteland, but as for the specific number of acres, I don't know," Xuan Yan answered honestly.
"I see. Then it seems it's not mandatory." Shen Zhiyi said, glancing at Wu Pangya's worried expression out of the corner of her eye. She turned to comfort her, "Lord Lu is very easy to talk to and reasonable. If you have any difficulties, just tell him, and maybe he can help you resolve them."
Wu Pangya remained silent and hid behind Zhao Daya, as if doing so would make her completely ignore her presence.
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyi stopped insisting, and the group headed to the wasteland.
Shen Zhiyi changed her relaxed demeanor from when she was chatting, and seriously grasped the soil in the ground. With this action, the soil formed a half-clump.
Because the soil is cleared from rocky ground, it has a high permeability of air and water. When combined with river mud and farmyard manure, the soil becomes fertile.
If there is a serious lack of river mud and farmyard manure, beans must be planted first to nourish the soil.
"Do you have any plans to plant anything?" Shen Zhiyi asked, returning the soil to the ground.
“Our village has always grown rice, so we plan to divert water to grow rice,” Wu Pangya said slowly.
“It’s a bit difficult,” Shen Zhiyi said in a deep voice. On her way here, she saw the small ditch. Trying to make the permeable soil retain water would waste a lot of manpower and yield very little benefit. In comparison, it would be better to give up planting rice.
Shen Zhiyi began filtering the seeds of this era in her mind, quickly selecting suitable solutions, which was also one of the routines of her work.
“Perhaps planting beans would be better,” Shen Zhiyi said earnestly.
“But eating too many beans can make you sick,” Wu Pangya retorted softly.
Eating too many beans can indeed cause bloating and indigestion, making it even more difficult for people who are already weak. That's why products like fermented black beans, soybean paste, soy sauce, and bean sprouts were invented to avoid the negative effects of beans.
Upon hearing Wu Pangya's words, Shen Zhiyi realized that bean products had not yet been developed.
"We could try making bean products from the beans; that might prevent them from getting sick. If we're lucky, we could even make money from them," Shen Zhiyi tentatively suggested. Seeing Wu Pangya's confusion, she was about to say something when Xuan Yan, who had been silent, spoke up: "Does the young lady mean something like chili peppers?"
"Yes, that's right." Shen Zhiyi hurriedly replied. If Xuan Yan could understand, how far away could Lord Lu be?
"But there are many kinds of beans, and not every kind can be turned into a chili pepper. We need to consider it carefully," Xuan Yan reminded him.
Shen Zhiyi paused. She had a plan in mind, and she could even immediately figure out how to select bean seeds, but if she said it out loud, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
However, if we don't say anything, we'll have to try things one by one, which will only waste time...
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Shen Zhiyi. Since she knew the answer, why not just use the answer to "calculate" the change in front of her and ultimately attribute it to good luck?
Having figured this out, Shen Zhiyi's mind cleared up, and he said loudly, "Let's finish looking at the remaining wasteland first, and then go back to the village to see what kind of bean seeds are planted there..."
You could sense Shen Zhiyi's composure in her voice, and the confidence she exuded made everyone present believe that "she must have a solution."
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