Chapter 145
The next day, Lin Shuge finally got rid of the official duties that had been busy for a long time. He finished dealing with all the official documents and was about to go out to see how the cotton was growing. He saw a figure flash past the door.
He walked out without looking around, and sure enough, a voice came from behind him, "Brother, are you done?"
Lin Shuge was calm and composed. "No, what's wrong?"
"Are you going out? Then I'll go with you." Xie Chen followed him.
"Is the army not busy anymore?" Lin Shuge turned around and asked him.
"I just came back from the military camp. It's nothing serious. It's just training. He Xin is watching. I'll have a day off tomorrow. Brother, do you want to go out with me? Mu Yuanzhou said there is a foothill not far from the Moshui Valley. It's very suitable for summer vacation. Do you want to bring Ayuan and Axuan with you and go together?" Xie Chen talked freely. Lin Shuge felt that his tone sounded like a sales pitch from later generations.
"No, I'm going to go check out the cotton these days. Mu Yuanzhou is not going to teach the people of Moshui how to grow potatoes, and he still has the mood to find a summer resort. It seems that he is too idle." Lin Shuge rejected his sales pitch and thought of Mu Yuanzhou again, "Did you reach any deal with Mu Yuanzhou?"
If he hadn't heard the conversation between Xie Chen and Mu Yuanzhou at that time, he would probably still be kept in the dark.
Lin Shuge took the reins from the officer, jumped on his horse, and headed for Moshui Township. "By the way, how is the cotton growing in Pingxiang? Are there any insect pests?"
Xie Chen also got on his horse and caught up with him, "Brother, wait for me, the cotton is growing well. I used peach leaves and lime to kill insects as you said, and the effect is very good."
There were no pesticides in ancient times. Lin Shuge had seen this somewhere before: first put peach leaves and limestone in clean water and soak them, then take out the peach leaves, squeeze them dry and remove the residue to make the original liquid for removing pests. The original liquid could then be diluted with water and sprayed onto cotton leaves to remove cotton aphids.
The horse galloped past, creating a gust of wind. Lin Shuge rode on his horse and looked at the Moshui River Valley surrounded by green grass. One side of the valley was planted with neat rows of millet seedlings, potatoes and other grains. In the distance, cattle and sheep grazing could be seen everywhere.
Lin Shuge got off his horse and walked over with his horse. A commoner was weeding in the field. When he saw Lin Shuge, he smiled and said, "This lord looks unfamiliar."
Mu Yuanzhou and other county officials lived directly in Moshui Township and were very familiar with the local people. He thought Lin Shuge was a new minor official.
Lin Shuge also said: "I just got here, you may not have seen it."
"Master Guess has just arrived as well. I know all the masters here. Master Mu has a good temper and strong abilities. This year's harvest is so good, thanks to Master Mu. But if I were to say, the master in the county is the one with the best heart. Otherwise, those of us who have left our hometown would have a hard time."
Lin Shuge smiled and said nothing, preparing to go to the cotton field to check.
"Hey, sir, do you know if there are any potato seeds left this year? I didn't plant the first crop, so I only bought two kilograms from my neighbor for the second crop and planted a small plot of land. My wife saw the ones grown by the neighbor and said they were big and good, but it's a pity that we planted too few."
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "We can only wait until next year."
"Sir, why are you here in such a hot day?" When Mu Yuanzhou heard a runner come to report that Lin Shuge had arrived, he hurried out to greet him, but he didn't expect that he was here.
"I came to see the cotton and chat with the villagers." Lin Shuge stood up and saw the people just looking at him with horror. "It's too hot. Be careful of the heat."
"Oh, okay, okay." The man responded several times.
"Come on, follow me to check on the cotton." Lin Shuge said to Mu Yuanzhou, "What has happened in the past few days?"
"Don't worry, sir. As you said, Lu Fu has been watching over it every day. The crops have been toppled and fertilized. The cotton wheel that you asked the craftsmen to make is very useful. It saves a lot of effort to irrigate the cotton." Mu Yuanzhou said as he walked.
The two came to the cotton field and saw that the cotton field had grown large leaves and branches. Some of the branches had small light yellow flowers. After a while, the cotton should produce snow-white cotton.
Lu Fu was explaining something to a few common people when he saw Lin Shuge trotting over and asked, "Sir, are you here to see the cotton?"
Lin Shuge responded with a smile, "After planting for so long, how do you feel about it?"
"It is more difficult to take care of than potatoes. We have to prevent pests and fertilize and irrigate carefully. Some time ago, the leaves of several plants turned yellow, which almost scared us to death. I observed for a while and thought that we had watered that place too much." Lu Fu was still frightened, thinking about the scene when several cotton plants died that day and everyone was so worried that they couldn't eat every day.
"Don't be afraid. This is the first time we grow cotton here. I won't cause you any trouble unless all the cotton plants die." Lin Shuge patted Lu Fu's shoulder.
"Sir, I know that potatoes are grains, which can allow the people to harvest an extra grain. I heard from Sir Mu that cotton can be used to make clothes. How is it used to make clothes?"
Lin Shuge pinched a cotton bud and said, "It will form fluff here in the future. After removing the seeds, it can be stuffed into clothes to keep warm, or woven into cloth to make clothes. It is warmer than linen and cheaper than cashmere and fox fur. You just came to the northwest and haven't felt the severe cold there. If you have a cotton coat by then, you will know how comfortable it is."
Mu Yuanzhou had experienced the cold winter and knew the benefits of cotton immediately. "Zixing, you will know when winter comes."
"I'll give you more cotton this year so you can buy some cotton-padded clothes and quilts for your family." Lin Shuge said quickly when he saw that Mu Yuanzhou was a little afraid of the cold winter in the northwest.
The two were delighted. It was fine for them as they were young and strong, but their family members at home were not having a good time. If the cotton was really as good as Lord Lin said, it could make their family's life easier in winter.
Lin Shuge walked westward for a long time. The wind blew the cotton leaves and made a slight rustling sound. Lin Shuge heard Mu Yuanzhou call out "Master Wei."
He turned around and saw Xie Chen standing among the green. When he saw him looking at him, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, looking handsome and unrestrained.
"Brother, I'm late. I was delayed by something just now." Xie Chen walked up to him and explained.
Lin Shuge glanced at Mu Yuanzhou who was peeking over here, and said to Xie Chen: "Don't you have anything to tell Mu Yuanzhou?"
"Brother, please stop teasing me. He came to me that day and said that he recognized who I was and asked me to save his brother's life. I just put him here to watch over the Qiang people, nothing else."
Lin Shuge didn't say anything. He turned his back and looked at the other side of the Mo River. There were also many people living there. At the beginning of spring, Lin Shuge ordered the county workshop to build a bridge. Now, a bridge connecting the two banks can be seen across the river.
"Brother, please trust me. How could I place someone around you? Although Mu Yuanzhou has selfish motives, he is a decent person. The people you ran into last time were actually a group of rabble. They wanted to overthrow Ding Yanhe under the banner of redressing the Xie family, but they turned the tables on them. Although Mu Yuanzhou is in the northwest, he still has contact with those people. I just warned him not to act rashly." Xie Chen told him the whole story of that day.
So that's why. No wonder Ah Chuan got the news that the Ding family was in trouble. In fact, it was just a warning to the enemy and could not hurt the Ding family at all.
"What about you? Are you still in touch with Yandu?" Lin Shuge looked around. Mu Yuanzhou knew that the two were going to talk, so he and Lu Fu stayed away from them. In the distance, there were only the figures of local people working in the fields.
Xie Chen looked into his eyes and nodded, "Brother, do you still remember Lord Ruan who came here before?"
"Are you an old acquaintance of him?" Lin Shuge asked in shock. No wonder Ruan Qingyun went to the Duwei Mansion at that time. Could he have met Xie Chen?
Xie Chen knew what Lin Shuge wanted to ask by looking at his expression, and then nodded again, "Lord Ruan saved my life. He used to have a close relationship with the Xie family, and my aunt has known him for many years, so I asked him to deliver something to my aunt."
Aunt, yes, Lu Yuechuan once talked about the heroic deeds of the second wife of the Xie family. I really want to meet such a woman who is as brave as any man.
"My aunt loved me the most in the past. Later... I will take my brother to meet her." Xie Chen reached out and stroked his hair, his voice a little low.
Lin Shuge thought to himself: That's not necessarily true. I am a few years older than Xie Chen. If others see it, they will think he has abducted you. It's good enough that Madam Xie didn't kick him out.
Xie Chen seemed to know what was in his mind, "No, brother. You are such a good person. Naturally, my aunt will like the person I like. She won't be bound by worldly views." He spoke slowly, as if he was swearing an oath.
Lin Shuge did not respond to his words, but asked, "Where is the summer resort you mentioned?"
Xie Chen looked at him, raised his hand and pointed in a direction.
"Let's go and take a look."
The two men mounted their horses and crossed the bridge. There was lush vegetation on one side of the river bank. Some Qiang people saw them and hurriedly called their children into their homes. Qiang, Han and Qiang people lived together here. Lin Shuge noticed that there were many wooden houses next to the former felt tents.
A Qiang woman observed carefully for a while, took out a jar and shouted a few times in this direction.
"Zhongxuan, what is she talking about?" Lin Shuge asked.
"He's going to treat us to something to eat." Xie Chen got off his horse first, looked at the totems on the surrounding yurts, then reached out to Lin Shuge to help him down.
Lin Shuge refused, got off his horse and walked towards the Qiang woman. Xie Chen hurriedly followed and talked to the Qiang woman for a few words. The woman bowed to him. Xie Chen took the bowl from her hand and walked to Lin Shuge's side.
"Brother, I am from the Huatu tribe. This is milk. Please try it."
Lin Shuge took it and took a sip. It had a strong milky taste, but it was salty, which gave it a unique flavor.
Several Qiang children, who had been hiding behind the yurt and peeking, now came over quietly, looking at Lin Shuge curiously with their clear eyes.
Lin Shuge waved at them. The child looked at the woman and approached only after getting her approval. Lin Shuge took out a few candies from his sleeve and gave one to each of them.
Several children licked the candy coating with their tongues and were immediately surprised. One of the older girls took the candy and ran to the woman to talk to her for a long time.
When Lin Shuge saw this scene, he touched his sleeve again. He left in a hurry and didn't bring much candy with him.
"Brother, we just need to walk a little further west and we will be there." Xie Chen looked at Lin Shuge's actions and chuckled.
Suddenly, all the Qiang people around stood up. Lin Shuge looked over there and found that it was Huawei.
"Lord Wei, Lord Lin." Hua Wei greeted the two of them.
Lin Shuge nodded in return, "Chief, it's been a while since we last met."
Hua Wei asked the woman to take the children away and said, "The children are naughty and disturbed the adults."
It turns out to be Huaxu’s child?
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