Chapter Three: The Future Is Before Us
The morning rain was light and intermittent, and the rising mist made the distant mountains look like a fairyland. With such a scene, there was no need to bother watering the plants.
People huddled in thatched huts seem to be growing mushrooms, looking rather listless.
Shen Zhiyi moved a low stool and sat under the eaves. She looked at the distant mountains and then at the cabbage seedlings nearby. Sure enough, her little cabbage was more beautiful.
Knock knock.
There was a sudden knock on the courtyard gate. Shen Zhiyi couldn't really figure out who it was. It must be someone in the village who cared about her, so she called out, "The gate isn't locked."
When she saw who it was, she smiled and said, "Grandma Qin, why did you come on a rainy day? It wouldn't be good if you caught a cold!"
"This little rain won't bother you at all," Grandma Qin said as she walked inside, her eyes showing some disapproval. "But you, girl, you've only just recovered from your cold, hurry inside."
As soon as she arrived, Grandma Qin pulled Shen Zhiyi into the house.
"Thank you for your concern, Grandma!" Shen Zhiyi said sweetly.
Grandma Qin pulled Shen Zhiyi to the door, took out a bundle of tattered cloth from her bosom, and patiently unwrapped it layer by layer to reveal a dark silver coin of about one and a half taels inside. She whispered, "This is the money from selling the rabbit. You should keep it safe."
“But the rabbit, I already…” Shen Zhiyi hadn’t finished speaking when Grandma Qin shoved a handful into her arms and rudely interrupted her, saying, “You only caught the rabbit because of your idea, so you have to take it all this time! We’ll talk about next time!”
"Okay," Shen Zhiyi said slowly, feeling that if she refused, she would definitely be scolded by Grandma Qin.
Grandma Qin's expression softened, and she said, "Chen'er, I know you have your own ideas, but some things can't be revealed. Do you understand what I mean?"
Shen Zhiyi thought about it and realized that Grandma Qin was talking about seeds. But when she embarked on the path of researching vegetable seeds, she still remembered the professor's important words. How could she possibly keep it a secret?
“I understand what Grandma means,” Shen Zhiyi said earnestly. Knowing her modern ideas wouldn't prevail, she had to find another way to put it. “Since we’ve obtained these seeds, we’re destined to bear responsibility. First, we’ll use the seeds to change the current situation in our village, then ensure every household has surplus grain and spare money, and finally, we’ll extend this from village to village, and then to the county…”
"In this way, the mission of this seed to come into this world will not have been in vain—to change the world with seeds!" Shen Zhiyi became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she could see that great man standing in front of her, and the light in her eyes was even more dazzling.
Grandma Qin was completely stunned and couldn't speak for a long time.
Shen Zhiyi could understand this feeling; she felt the same way when she first heard it.
"Grandma understands." Grandma Qin said slowly, gradually recovering from her shock, and grasped Shen Zhiyi's hand with trembling hands. "Since you have such ambition, you must take this money! Grandma will be going now."
In fact, Shen Zhiyi was well aware that her easy success was only possible by standing on the shoulders of giants.
But if she tells the truth, who will believe her?
As long as she remembers the origins in her heart and puts them into practice the ideals and beliefs they taught her, one day when the world can hear her voice, she will remember them as well.
As the light rain subsided and the sun began to shine, the still-dewdrops reflected the light, like jewels fallen from the heavens.
Shen Zhiyi also got up to check on the chili seedlings in the wasteland behind the house. After half a month of growth and with her additional fertilizer, flower buds began to form in the leaf axils. Once the flower buds open, they will need to be artificially pollinated.
It was also because she took good care of the plants and manually removed small insects in time when they appeared; otherwise, the survival rate would have dropped by another 10%.
Once she has all the ingredients, she is determined to make a simplified version of the insect repellent; otherwise, she simply won't have enough time to handle it by hand.
"I knew you'd be here!" Tang Huaya said cheerfully. "I just went to see the rabbits. They've grown a bit. How big should they be to fetch a good price?"
“I checked yesterday, and I have to say we’re incredibly lucky! Two out of the three rabbits are female, which means we’ll have lots of baby rabbits to come!” Shen Zhiyi said.
At the time, she specifically asked Tang Huaya to go back and ask Old Man Tang. She learned that the three little rabbits were not caught in the same trap and there was no possibility that they were from the same nest, so she could rest assured that they would have more litters.
However, after that, we need to bring in more rabbits from outside the area to raise in order to achieve long-term benefits.
Tang Huaya's face lit up with joy when she heard "lots of little rabbits".
"Whether we'll have an endless supply of rabbit meat and fur, whether we'll have enough to eat, and whether we'll stay warm in the winter, it all depends on you, Huaya!" Shen Zhiyi said encouragingly.
“Okay, leave it to me!” Tang Huaya said firmly, clenching her fist.
Shen Zhiyi listened with a smile, her encouragement over the past few days had not been in vain, and Huaya had become more confident!
A touch of red amidst the green leaves—this is the scene Shen Zhiyi most desires to see.
The bright red chili pepper glittered like a jewel. She hurried forward, picked it up, and couldn't help but call out into the house, "Hua Ya! Hua Ya, come quick! The chili pepper is ripe!"
The wait of more than seventy days was later than Shen Zhiyi had expected. If she hadn't seen the green peppers appear, she would have thought that the seeds had undergone some kind of mutation.
The sound of footsteps approached, and Tang Huaya saw Shen Zhiyi holding the chili peppers. She couldn't take her eyes off her and murmured, "So beautiful."
"Yes, it looks amazing!" Shen Zhiyi exclaimed happily. "Chili peppers need to be picked in time so that there will be crop after crop!"
As they were talking, Shen Zhiyi picked ten red chili peppers.
Tang Huaya didn't stop picking them either, and picked a total of twenty.
"It seems that's all we have for today. Let's call your parents and the village chief, and have a taste!" Shen Zhiyi turned around and saw Tang Huaya's hesitant expression, and explained further, "We ultimately want to sell chili peppers, but we also need to know the benefits of chili peppers, otherwise how can we promote and recommend them!"
Shen Zhiyi said happily, "I'll go pick cucumbers and eggplants, Huaya, can you help me pick some cabbages!"
After explaining these words, Shen Zhiyi carried her basket and went out. Passing by Tang Huaya's and the village chief's houses, she explained the matter of tasting the chili peppers. With chili peppers involved and the village chief taking the lead, the heads of every household who were interested in planting chili peppers came to the courtyard.
When Shen Zhiyi returned home and saw about ten people, she was overjoyed.
This time there were ten, next time there will definitely be more...
Each family brought their own food rations, and with the addition of a large amount of vegetarian dishes from Shen Zhiyi, there was absolutely no problem with the meals this time.
The bright red and lush green colors, when combined, create a unique flavor.
The same spicy flavor that Shen Zhiyi misses.
"I'm so sick of eating this cabbage, but I never expected it to taste better with this ingredient!"
"Is this the eggplant that Da Ya was talking about? It looks a bit strange, but it tastes pretty good."
"My mouth finally tastes better!"
Hearing these words made me happier than if they were praising me.
Riding on this momentum, Shen Zhiyi said, "Everyone seems to be enjoying the food! Once all the peppers are ripe, I plan to send them to the city to sell! At that time, everyone has to plant them with me!"
"Okay! Let's plant them together!"
"Since the wasteland is just sitting there, might as well plant some crops!"
Listen to it, how melodious it is!
If you think deeply, seeds can bring power!
A few days later, the peppers ripened one after another, and Shen Zhiyi no longer needed to pick them. People from the village chief's family, Tang Huaya's family, Tietou's family, and the family with the crutch all came to help with the picking. She ended up with an easy job—grading the peppers.
Looking up after a short while, Shen Zhiyi saw that Tang Huaya had also been brought over. She smiled and said, "You're being told you're too slow too?"
"Hmm," Tang Huaya said sullenly, "Why are they divided into so many piles? Is it just because they're pretty?"
“Yes,” Shen Zhiyi said frankly, “The more visually appealing the dishes are, the higher the price they can fetch. This pile is suitable for selling to wealthy people or officials. This one is suitable for selling to those who are slightly wealthy. And that one is suitable for selling to restaurants.”
"Zhiyi, you know people from the government?" Tang Huaya asked in surprise.
“I don’t know them, but once we’re in the city, we’ll have a chance to get to know them,” Shen Zhiyi said naturally.
Tang Huaya listened with a look of surprise on her face, but did not say anything more.
Several more days and nights passed, and the first batch of chili peppers was harvested. The best grade peppers could only fill half a basket, while the slightly lower grade ones could fill two-thirds, and even the lowest grade ones could fill a whole basket. Overall, the harvest was very bountiful!
The sun was shining brightly that day. Shen Zhiyi and Tang Huaya, carrying baskets on their backs, took a ride on an oxcart for one coin each to the county town at her strong suggestion.
The oxcart swayed back and forth, and the people on it started chatting.
"Our county doesn't have a city fee, but in other places it costs two coins to enter the city!"
"Grain prices are clearly rising this year, but the purchase price is only half of what it should be."
"I originally wanted to adopt a piglet this year, but I can't afford it anymore."
"Yesterday I bought linen at Miao Ji Cloth Shop in the city. The price was half a coin cheaper than other shops."
As Shen Zhiyi listened to their wide-ranging conversation, she gleaned key information, which actually gave her some insight into the situation in the city.
The ancient road eventually comes to an end, and all the topics of conversation vanished as soon as they were disembarked from the oxcart. Shen Zhiyi looked at the words "Pixian" written on the city gate and inexplicably thought of the word "Douban" (a Chinese social networking service), quickly shaking off this old modern cliché.
The streets weren't as clean as they looked on TV. If you weren't careful, you might brush against the excrement left by horse-drawn carriages or other vehicles. Shen Zhiyi carefully avoided these, walking and stopping with the crowd.
The distance saved from the village to the county seat is calculated from here.
Shen Zhiyi followed the street to find the government office. She saw a man dressed in a scholar's robe standing in front of what looked like a notice board, reading aloud: "It is said that Heaven and Earth give birth to people..."
Can't understand.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard someone say, "Scholar, read something we can understand. What is the magistrate posting here today?"
"I urge everyone to clear the land," another man said succinctly.
Shen Zhiyi ignored the rest of the complaints, but in her heart she felt that the magistrate's idea of persuading people to reclaim wasteland was correct, but the situation was not right.
However, the fact that he did not charge city fees and encouraged people to cultivate wasteland shows that the magistrate cared about the people. Even if he came to the magistrate's door abruptly, he would most likely not be driven away directly.
"Let's go to the back gate of the county government office," Shen Zhiyi said softly, bypassing the crowd and leading Tang Huaya toward the county government office with traditional Chinese characters written on it.
Based on her limited knowledge of ancient architecture, Shen Zhiyi found the side gate of the yamen (government office).
She went up and knocked on the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Tang Huaya looked nervous, so she couldn't help but reassure her, "Huaya, don't worry. The magistrate is a good official. Even if we don't buy it, he won't make things difficult for us."
Squeak.
The wooden door slowly opened, revealing the figure in azure blue inside. Shen Zhiyi said without any hesitation, "Young man, would you like to buy some chili peppers? These are from a new type of vegetable. Adding some to your dishes will instantly change the flavor!"
The man was immediately drawn to the voice and asked uncertainly, "A new type of vegetable?"
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