Lost
Amidst the chirping of cicadas, the annual inventory of items in Pingzhou's pharmacies has arrived again.
Qin Lan must have calculated the time accurately when delivering the minerals. Two hours before the competition, the mechanical bird delivered the minerals from the sect here.
Although it was a little late, it was not too late. When Jiang Nian was standing in the warehouse waiting for the mechanical bird to deliver the minerals, he accidentally caught a glimpse of a figure.
Xiao Yingzhu.
How did he get here?
The thought that flashed through his mind had not yet dissipated when Jiang Nian paused and saw the mechanical bird that was perched on his shoulder.
The mechanical bird looked left and right, very nimbly, until its eyes "looked" at Jiang Nian, then it flapped its wings and flew towards her.
Jiang Nian stood there, looking up at the empty mechanical bird. It just circled in front of her, as if it had made up its mind, and then turned around and started chattering at Xiao Yingzhu.
Xiao Yingzhu wasn't interested in this mechanical life form. She simply glanced at it and handed the item in her hand to her: "The mineral you requested earlier."
Before Jiang Nian went to Cang County, they had talked in a teahouse one night, and the recipe was handed over to Xiao Yingzhu's men.
It has only been a month. They were still wary and testing each other, but time has passed by in a flash, and now the secrets of both sides have been revealed.
...
Jiang Nian slightly shifted his gaze, lowered his eyelids, and took the item he handed over: "Thank you for coming here in person."
Perhaps she was the only one who could rescue Xiao Yingzhu from the pile of documents on the table.
She took the neatly classified minerals out of the bottle and put them on the scale, only to find that Xiao Yingzhu had already weighed them.
Jiang Nian put them into the semi-finished insect repellent in surprise. Just as he was about to turn around and say something to Xiao Yingzhu, Guizhi came in from the warehouse with the experimental field data that Jiang Nian had half recorded.
"Miss, according to the method you taught, Fuling and I have filled in the remaining observations."
Jiang Nian paused for a moment before speaking, his eyes falling on the form handed to him.
The comparative data of the experimental fields presented above did not change much from her previous estimates. Jiang Nian glanced at the sky and concluded that it would be too late to measure the values if the minerals were added to the experimental fields, so she had to give up.
She took a few steps back and called over her staff who were resting in the distance. "Add these minerals to the new insect repellent according to the formula I wrote."
"I'll take them to the competition later."
The staff looked at the distributed minerals on the table, then looked at the several bottles of freshly opened insect repellent on the table, and nodded in agreement.
It was just a matter of adding some materials. Now they just had to add the materials according to the proportions. It was not a difficult task. Not long after Jiang Nian gave the instructions, they started to move and gathered around the table where the props were placed in the warehouse.
Seeing that her guidance was no longer needed, Jiang Nian felt relieved and turned to walk towards where Xiao Yingzhu was standing.
The warehouse here was the one where she first met Xiao Yingzhu. The scene in her memory reappeared before her eyes. She walked a little further away from the crowd and smiled at Xiao Yingzhu:
"The last time I came here was the day I met you."
Xiao Yingzhu seemed to recall the time when Jiang Nian had people test his insect repellent formula on the spot to prove its effectiveness, and couldn't help but smile: "You must have wanted to find someone else at that time."
Jiang Nian listened to the words, lost in thought for a moment, and smiled helplessly: "That's right... Who knew you came prepared?"
"But fortunately, after forming an alliance with you, many things have become much easier."
If she had sought cooperation with others at the time, it would have been difficult to obtain the minerals. Moreover, the issue of identity...
Thinking about it again would make him feel bad. Jiang Nian always felt that his current avoidance towards Xiao Yingzhu was caused by what happened before he traveled through time.
Otherwise, why would she be willing to face all other matters except this one when she wants to escape from it?
Jiang Nian hid his thoughts and pointed outside the warehouse: "There are too many people here, let's go outside and get some fresh air."
Xiao Yingzhu responded to her words, stood up from the solid wooden frame against the wall, and walked outside.
The sound of the staff behind me chatting while processing the insect repellent was still ringing in my ears. The sunlight outside was blocked by clouds and the light was not too glaring.
Jiang Nian raised his hand to brush away his hair that was messed up by the wind, and glanced sideways at the experimental field not far away.
There were also several farm keepers standing there, gathered in groups of three or four around the edge of the field to prevent anyone from getting close to observe and pick the rice used for their herbal medicine shop's experiments.
The moist water vapor and the fragrance of rice mixed in the oncoming wind. Looking at the neatly arranged rice fields, Jiang Nian raised his hand and pointed to the high mountain behind the experimental field.
"Where did you see my experimental field?"
She had always been curious about how Xiao Yingzhu noticed her.
When she first traveled to this era in May, the Xu's pharmacy should have been more popular. At that time, she had not yet fully developed the anthelmintic formula. The anthelmintic formula sold in Liangdu Pharmacy was an old version and was very inconspicuous. It should not have caught Xiao Yingzhu's eye.
The person beside him was silent for a moment, then spoke calmly, "Originally, I was just checking the rice planting situation in Pingzhou before preparing to control the entry and exit of pedestrians in Pingzhou City."
"I was planning to look for an anthelmintic prescription at Xu's Pharmacy, but I had some concerns."
"...They've made their insect repellent recipe quite famous, and anyone with an eye for it would definitely notice it. So while I'm keeping an eye on them, I'm also sending people to inquire about other shops in Pingzhou City that make insect repellent."
Jiang Nian and Xiao Yingzhu stood side by side, thinking back to when they had just traveled here and were trying to prove to their father the crafting skills they had learned from the "Strange Book". So every day they would go to the experimental fields and the pharmacy to obtain data and search for information so that they could find an anti-worm recipe suitable for this era.
During that period, it happened to be the same time when Xiao Yingzhu arranged for people to inquire about the anti-insect recipe.
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment, then sighed and shook his head: "I didn't expect it to be like this. When I saw you coming, I thought you were a nobleman from some wealthy family. Don't enter this rice field."
"But seeing your confident words at that time, I started to have doubts. After all, I didn't meet anyone like you on the road..."
Jiang Nian paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully: "Such a person with such elegance."
Xiao Yingzhu turned her eyes away from the rice and looked at Jiang Nian for a moment: "Really? I thought you mistook me for..."
He hadn't finished speaking when Jiang Nian suddenly thought of the ink-black hair and the scarlet clothes.
At that time, she really felt that Xiao Yingzhu was a deadly ghost.
Seeing the subtle change in Jiang Nian's expression, Xiao Yingzhu stayed for a few more seconds with interest, and then casually changed the subject: "Forget it, it's all in the past."
"Huandu and Donglan... the time will come soon."
"If that happens..."
There was no one around where they were standing, and the only thing that could hear their whispers was the gentle breeze. Jiang Nian's gaze fell on the experimental field in front of her. The bright beam of light shone on her face, making her peaceful and gentle features appear even brighter.
Sensing that the person next to him had said something again, Jiang Nian belatedly turned his gaze away from the experimental field and glanced at Xiao Yingzhu curiously: "What did you just say?"
"......" Xiao Yingzhu fell silent at this moment, lowering his eyes for a moment, and then restrained the expression on his face, "Nothing, I'll bring it up later when I have time."
? Now that he has time, he won’t say anything.
Jiang Nianben wanted to ask a few more questions, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Guizhi coming out of the warehouse in the distance. He looked around for a moment and saw her standing with Xiao Yingzhu. He paused for a moment, then walked towards her again.
"Miss, the time is almost here. Pack up and get ready to go."
The time they spent alone together was always so short, usually ending without a beginning or an end before they could finish their conversation. Or perhaps, due to their own thoughts, they gave up the idea of continuing the conversation early.
They are all afraid to show the deepest part of their hearts to each other.
It's as if if the other person knows what you are thinking, you will worry that the other person will retreat so far that you can no longer see him.
Whether it is Jiang Nian or Xiao Yingzhu.
The pendulum struck time, tying each other's past worries into a knot. If either party couldn't find an answer to the knot, then they would neither take a step forward nor a step back.
I don't want to damage this fragile yet closely connected relationship, nor do I want to treat something that can determine the future as ordinary as daily diet when I am not ready, and make a vow before everything is settled.
Jiang Nian stopped talking to Xiao Yingzhu in time, smiled at him, and his mind instantly turned to the current competition, and he ran forward quickly:
"Have you finished dealing with the insect repellent? If so, I'll go to the competition venue right now."
Guizhi shook the cloth-wrapped bottle in her hand.
"Yes, everything is ready, miss. All that's missing is you taking part in the competition."
She turned sideways and motioned Jiang Nian to look at the street not far from the warehouse - the Jiang family's carriage was already parked there.
"Miss, please take these items with you."
"Well, thank you for your help."
Jiang Nian didn't take his eyes off the carriage parked on the side of the road. He took the cloth bag in his hand and subconsciously looked back, but saw that there was no one where he had just stood.
Xiao Yingzhu left the place while she was talking to Guizhi.
Guizhi had already walked forward for a while, but when she turned around, she saw that Jiang Nian had not caught up with her. She looked at her with some doubt: "Miss, did you leave anything behind? I will go get it now."
"...No." Jiang Nian shook his head slightly, "Let's go quickly, otherwise it will be too late."
I have just said goodbye to Xiao Yingzhu, so I shouldn't feel lost or distracted as if I had lost something.
Jiang Nian collected his thoughts, turned around and walked towards the carriage in front.
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