Chapter Twenty-Nine: Those Who Are Willing Take the Bait
With the sky clear and the moon bright, I felt especially at ease walking home.
Even if the fence surrounding the courtyard is dilapidated, no one will come into the courtyard to cause trouble.
Shen Zhiyi opened the door to the house and, by the moonlight, could see a large number of intact and broken earthenware pots scattered throughout the room, interspersed with greenery, which stirred up complex emotions in her.
The soil in the neighboring villages hasn't even been preliminarily examined, yet some seeds are already eager to sprout, and other sales channels for the chili peppers haven't been established yet...
They won't voluntarily plant it unless people see that it can be profitable.
Someone needs to take the lead, just like they did back then, but the seeds she brought won't last that long.
Is this what they mean by "every gain has its loss"?
How can one have the best of both worlds?
Shen Zhiyi asked herself this question. The few patches of green reflected in her eyes seemed to represent hope. She couldn't let herself be stopped by this small difficulty.
Think back to the experience of promoting new types of seeds, and the words that professors and colleagues often repeated in your ears...
After hundreds of flashes of inspiration, Shen Zhiyi finally grasped it, and her expression relaxed as a result.
With her worries resolved, she was finally able to get a good night's sleep.
The heavy mist surrounding Xiaba Village made it look like a fairyland.
Shen Zhiyi looked at the swirling mist outside the house and knew what this ethereal atmosphere signified.
She took out her remaining savings of over four hundred coins, carefully picked up the broken earthenware pot, and saw the tomato seedling with five true leaves swaying in the mist. Although this was its first time outside, the temperature was not high enough to freeze the seedling.
Before she could even bake the flatbread, Shen Zhiyi carried the earthenware pot toward the village entrance. She encountered several early-rising villagers heading out and said, "I'm going to the county town," which was equivalent to leaving a message throughout the village. Then she went to the roadside to wait for the first oxcart that would pass by.
This time, she also used the patchwork headgear made by Aunt Zhao, and sat in the corner, using her legs to firmly protect the broken pottery jar at her feet, curling herself up into a ball so that no one would notice her presence!
"Hey, how many acres does your farm cover?"
"Don't even mention it, my lazybones..."
"Let me tell you how to cure him..."
She had been listening to a conversation about land reclamation, but the conversation "naturally" turned into how to tame a husband, and Shen Zhiyi was starting to feel drowsy.
Having gotten used to the bumpy ride in the oxcart, she was able to fall asleep on the journey.
"We're here!" the old driver shouted, waking Chen Zhiyi from her slumber.
Shen Zhiyi was the last to get off the carriage. Just as she was about to carry her things away, she heard the old driver say again, "Girl, come here."
As she walked, she asked, "Uncle, what's the matter?"
Suddenly, a warm lotus leaf package was placed in front of him. The old man driving the cart said slowly, "My wife prepared an extra half-cake for me today. You can take it and eat it."
"Uncle, I don't need it, I..." Before Shen Zhiyi could finish speaking, the old man driving the carriage interrupted her, "Stop pushing it back and forth, hurry up and eat! When people are hungry, they are prone to dozing off. You are still young and can't stand being hungry."
Shen Zhiyi felt a warm feeling in her heart. She took the lotus leaf package from the other person and said sweetly, "Thank you, sir. I'll go back to work now!"
"Go on, go on," the old driver said impatiently, turning his head away.
"Alright!" Shen Zhiyi said loudly, and with a mindset that it had to be done, she walked towards the yamen.
Let's finish the important business first, then we can talk about other things!
The peddler on the street carried his load out of the house. He would stop when someone called out to him. Shen Zhiyi took a special look at the contents of the peddler's load: handkerchiefs, needles and thread, and hair ties, etc.
She couldn't help but think that the fact that such peddlers rarely came to Xiaba Village could only mean that the village's overall consumption level was not high.
Now that the chili peppers have grown, it's these peddlers who are kept in the dark about the news.
Originally, Shen Zhiyi didn't care whether peddlers came to the village or not. However, several times before the "meeting" in the ancestral hall, she overheard the aunts and young wives chatting about how inconvenient it was to buy things.
If she hadn't seen it now, Shen Zhiyi would have forgotten that the "peddler" even existed.
They are not only carrying goods and selling them from village to village, but also the most readily available and best-quality promoters!
Make a note of this; it can add a few more feasible points to your plan.
When Shen Zhiyi arrived at the yamen, she saw that the main gate was not open as usual. Looking at the still dark sky, she guessed that it was not yet time to go to the yamen.
In order to get in as soon as possible, Shen Zhiyi sat down next to the county government office, unwrapped the lotus leaf package, and began to eat her breakfast.
With something in my stomach, the coldness that had been clinging to my body was expelled, and the fatigue dissipated.
Just as she was idly looking around, her attention was suddenly drawn to two figures approaching. She quickly picked up the earthenware pot beside her, ran to the other side, and said, "Lord Lu! I think I've discovered new seeds! Please take a look!"
What lay before Lu Jingbai were tiny green leaves. Although it was impossible to tell if they were new seeds, upon seeing that smiling face, she instinctively spoke tactfully, "Miss Chen, please don't be in a hurry. Take me to check the records, and perhaps we can find out what this thing is called."
“Then you must look carefully, sir!” Shen Zhiyi said, handing the earthenware pot to Lu Jingbai. Seeing that the other party did not intend to take it, she could only hold it herself and explain, “From my observation, its leaves have a layer of fine white down, this is…”
Almost letting slip, Shen Zhiyi quickly added, "It's a strange thing, the leaves are rough, and the edges are sharp and chipped..."
Hearing these words, Lu Jingbai also bent down to carefully observe the seedling.
Xuan Yan silently took the earthenware pot from the side and naturally raised it a little so that it wouldn't be difficult to see from either side.
“That’s true,” Lu Jingbai said slowly.
As the number of people on the street gradually increased, Lu Jingbai realized something was wrong and said, "Miss Chen, let's go into the yamen first."
“Okay.” Shen Zhiyi quickly replied. She came here to settle this matter and was not afraid of wasting time on it.
As soon as she entered the yamen, the occasional glances from all around made Shen Zhiyi feel awkward. At this moment, she was too lazy to delve into it and quickly followed the people in front of her.
Shen Zhiyi walked past the house where she had last met Lord Lu, and went around to a row of houses behind it. Each door had traditional Chinese numbers written on it. She saw the other party glance at it and then push open the door with the number "three". Xuan Yan carried the earthenware pot inside.
She quickly caught up with him, and the first thing she saw was row after row of bookshelves, which seemed to be arranged neatly according to some kind of pattern. She saw Lu Jingbai walk to one of the bookshelves, quickly take out a bamboo scroll, read it, put it down, and then look at another one.
The bookshelf contained books in various forms, such as bamboo slips, parchment scrolls, and oracle bones. Lu Jingbai seemed to have no trouble picking them up, reading them, and putting them down. No one suspected that he was pretending to know what he didn't.
Shen Zhiyi had to walk very quietly here, afraid of disturbing the person over there who was looking up information.
“Miss Shen, there’s no need to be so reserved. The young master will inform you once he finds it,” Xuan Yan said slowly. The earthenware pot was already placed on the dark desk, and he was placing the teacup he had brought on the low table next to Shen Zhiyi.
"Alright, then I'll wait here for Lord Lu." Shen Zhiyi was still thinking about how to pass the boring waiting period when a refreshing tea was brought to her. "Thank you, Brother Xuan Yan."
As she spoke, she picked up the tea, but upon lifting the lid, she saw no tea leaves. Instead, the tea appeared yellowish-orange, as if it contained some impurities. Under Xuan Yan's friendly gaze, she could only taste the tea first.
This sip tasted a little sweet? Somewhat like the sweet water Aunt Zhao gave me?
Shen Zhiyi looked at Xuan Yan in surprise, and then heard the explanation: "Miss is still young and not suitable for drinking tea, so I took the liberty of making you sugar water instead."
"Thank you," Shen Zhiyi said softly. In the village, she was treated as a young woman, but now in the county government, she was considered "still young." Perhaps it was because her thin frame made it impossible to tell her real age.
Without any refreshing tea, Shen Zhiyi could only rely on distracting herself to stay awake, but the warm room was filled with a sense of drowsiness.
She couldn't even remember how many times she had lowered her head.
Until a brand-new traditional Chinese "Three Character Classic" was placed in front of her, Shen Zhiyi looked up and saw Xuan Yan's face. She heard him say, "Seeing that you are a little bored, I have the good fortune to know a few characters. If you don't mind, I can teach you to read."
"I don't mind! I don't mind!" Shen Zhiyi quickly replied.
At first, she thought of finding an opportunity to eavesdrop on classes at some school for a while so that she could learn to read legitimately. However, the nearest school was in the county town, so this plan had to be shelved.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. She was so eager to get rid of her illiteracy that she couldn't possibly refuse!
Xuan Yan turned to the first page and read aloud earnestly, "At the beginning of life..."
Shen Zhiyi read along, her mind rapidly switching between simplified and traditional characters. Besides the content of the Three Character Classic, she also noticed the small annotations next to it, written with exceptional neatness, as if drawn on a grid, with strokes and hooks that looked exactly like printed characters.
"Brother Xuan Yan, where is this character?" Shen Zhiyi pretended not to understand and pointed to the smaller character next to him.
“This is pronounced ‘gang’, and together they form the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues,” Xuan Yan explained patiently. “This Three Character Classic was the book you read when you entered school, so these small characters are all your annotations.”
"Ah? When Lord Lu entered school..." Shen Zhiyi found it hard to believe that the books from when he first started school could be preserved in such good condition?
Just as Xuan Yan was about to say something, Lu Jingbai's voice came first: "Found it!"
The words had barely left his lips when the figure, carrying a book, strode over and stood directly in front of the desk. His gaze was fixed on the tomato seedling, and he murmured as if in a nightmare, "In the West there is a plant with small, toothed leaves covered in fine hairs..."
As Shen Zhiyi listened to Lu Jingbai read the passage, she tried her best to understand part of it. She was surprised to find that there was indeed an "ancient book" describing tomatoes. She peeked over and saw that the yellowish paper had tattered pages, but the handwriting was neat and just like the annotations in the Three Character Classic.
"Yes! That's it! So what's it called!" Shen Zhiyi pressed, craning her neck to see the final name.
"Miss Shen, you flatter me. This is a copy of a friend's travelogue that I made. I have tried my best to reproduce the text, but I really can't make out the characters at the end, so I don't know the name of this thing for the time being," Lu Jingbai said frankly, unfolding the page of the record.
“Since it’s such a apt description, why don’t we wait until it grows before naming it?” Shen Zhiyi suggested, not wanting to get bogged down in the naming process. “Besides, I have many seedlings that have sprouted in my house. Why don’t you come with me to identify them, Lord Lu? I think they’re all quite rare.”
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