The boy approached Zhao Xian, knelt down, and said:
"Junior Sun Heng greets elder."
Zhao Xian quickly stepped forward and helped the boy up. The boy was well-mannered and sensible, which Zhao Xian had not expected.
"Your name is Sun Heng. Have you been to school?"
"No, there is no school in the village. There is one in the town, but they teach the language of the Kingdom of Jindian, which I have known since I was a child. There is no need for me to learn it."
"Can you read?"
"I know some of them; my grandfather taught me. The couplets on the door were written by me during the Chinese New Year," the boy said proudly.
Zhao Xian looked at the gate, and there was indeed a couplet on it. Due to long-term exposure to sun and rain, the red couplet had turned white, but the characters on it were still clearly visible.
Although the characters on the couplet weren't written very well, it was clear that the boy had put a lot of effort into it, and the handwriting was very neat.
It seems that the people of the Great Northern Dynasty who were stranded in foreign lands did not change much in their lifestyle. Although they were far from their homeland, they came to this remote place, built it into a small kingdom, and passed on the civilization of China from generation to generation.
At this moment, the old man came out of the house and, seeing his eldest grandson return, immediately beamed with joy.
"Heng'er, come inside and eat. There's something delicious to eat at home today."
Seeing Zhao Xian and Li Xue standing nearby, the old man invited them to come inside for a meal.
Zhao Xian smiled and said:
"No need, the food is ready. Besides, there are many of us, so we won't eat with you. Please come inside, the food is getting cold. We can continue our conversation after you finish eating."
The old man had no choice but to nod.
"Okay, let's go inside and eat first, then we'll talk later."
Seeing that the old man and his family had all come inside, the group prepared to eat.
The meal was quickly finished, and several soldiers began to clean up the pots and pans, then took them to the river at the village entrance to wash them.
Zhao Xian needed to learn more about the situation in Jindian Kingdom and see if he could find out any information about Li Ru, since so much time had passed and not many people would know.
Besides the twenty grenadiers, he also brought several veterans and guides, plus Li Xue's guards, making a group of more than thirty people.
Zhao Xian didn't want to disturb the villagers too much, so he planned to set up camp in the village and stay there temporarily.
At this time, the old man and his family finished lunch, and he invited Zhao Xian and Li Xue into the house for tea.
Zhao Xian nodded and went inside with Li Xue, intending to ask Sun Heng about the Yingguo plantation and see if they could find any clues about Li Ru's disappearance.
The old man took out several large teacups and placed them on the table, then took out a cloth bag and opened it.
"This is a fine tea that I have treasured for many years and have been reluctant to drink. Today, we have distinguished guests, so let's take this opportunity to taste this tea."
Judging from the packaging, it's probably not green tea. Green tea wouldn't be packaged like this; if it were packed so tightly, the tea leaves would have turned to powder long ago.
The old man finally opened the package; inside was another package, wrapped even more tightly.
Li Xue was also very curious about what kind of tea it was that was preserved in this way.
After the old man opened four or five layers of packaging, he finally saw the tea leaves.
This is indeed black tea, very well preserved, dark brown in color, and is a tea cake.
Looking at the tea cake, Zhao Xian had a thought: it looked exactly like dried cow dung.
In Shuixian Village, villagers have a habit of making cow dung cakes from wet cow dung, sticking them to the walls, and then scraping them off after they dry. They then pile them up at home, where they can be used as firewood when firewood is scarce.
The old man took some tea leaves from the tea cake and put them into several teacups. The woman brought over a pot of boiling water and poured the scalding water into the teacups.
The tea leaves in the teacup quickly dissolved, the tea turned yellowish-brown, and a refreshing fragrance wafted over.
The aroma of the tea leaves tells you that it is indeed a good tea.
Seeing that the tea leaves had fully unfurled, the old man said, "The tea is ready. It tastes best when drunk while it's hot."
Zhao Xian nodded, picked up the teacup, and began to sip the tea.
Zhao Xian has a habit of drinking green tea and doesn't like the taste of black tea, but today's tea is different. It's smooth on the palate, has a pure tea flavor, is incredibly fragrant, and has a subtle sweetness.
“This is fine tea, Your Highness, please have a taste,” Zhao Xian said.
Li Xue nodded and began to sip her tea.
At this moment, the old man looked at Sun Heng beside him and said:
"Heng'er, come here. Our distinguished guest wants to know some things about the cultivation of oriole fruit. Your grandfather doesn't know much about it, but you often go to town and know more. Why don't you tell us?"
“Okay, Grandpa.” After saying that, Sun Heng walked over and sat down next to him.
Zhao Xian looked at Sun Heng and said:
"I chatted with your grandfather this morning and learned that there are two major families in Jindian Kingdom: the Xie family and the Peng family. Both families are very powerful and control the cultivation of oriole fruit in Jindian Kingdom. Even the royal family can't do anything about these two families."
But the royal family is, after all, the ruling class of the Golden Kingdom, and they have many expenses. Do they also cultivate oriole fruit?
"The royal family does not cultivate oriole fruit. As far as I know, oriole fruit cultivation in the eastern region of the Golden Kingdom is controlled by the Xie family, while in the western region it is controlled by the Peng family. Both families hand over 20% of their annual income to the royal family."
Don't underestimate these two percent; the income handed over by the two families is also a huge figure, enough to meet all the royal family's expenses.
Neither family was willing to pay more tribute, their aim being to control the nation's military development. They knew that the royal family had always wanted to wipe out both families, but unfortunately, they lacked the power to do so.
Neither family wanted the other to grow too powerful, and they both needed to rely on the royal family to keep the other in check, paying the royal family 20% of the profits annually. The purpose was simply to ensure the royal family still had the ability to control the country, but nothing more.
Sun Heng's words made Zhao Xian look at him with new respect. Although he was young, he had a great understanding of the situation in Jindian Kingdom and his analysis of the situation was very insightful.
"So, what do you know about the Yingguo plantation?"
"Those who run oriole plantations are usually local small forces, which are under the control of the Xie and Peng families. To outsiders, running an oriole plantation seems very profitable, but that's not actually the case."
Since the two families control the sales of iris fruit, the products grown and processed in the plantation must be sold to these two families, who then resell them to the outside world.
One thing that outsiders don't know is that the main income of the Yingguo plantation comes from exploiting cheap labor.
In the Oriole Plantation, most of the laborers were of dubious origin. Even the slaves who were purchased didn't cost much, and most were tricked into coming, requiring virtually no cost.
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