Sun Heng's words have revealed the inside story of the cultivation of oriole fruit in the Golden Kingdom. Cultivating oriole fruit has brought huge wealth to a few people, but most people are still poor, and a large number of people die from exhaustion in the plantations.
"Are there any oriole plantations nearby? Could we go and take a look?" Zhao Xian asked.
"Planting iris requires certain soil conditions; it needs loose and fertile soil. Our area is a mountainous region, and the soil is mostly sandy and gravelly."
Large areas here are unsuitable for growing iris; it's only near the town that the soil becomes loose enough to be used for iris cultivation.
To get to the oriole plantation, you have to go to the town. The oriole plantation there is very strictly managed, and ordinary people can't get in.
I know the owner of a pharmacy in town, and he has a good relationship with the owner of a nearby orchard. If he's willing to help, he can go into the orchard and take a look.
Zhao Xian nodded and said:
"Okay, are you going to town again tomorrow? I'll go with you."
"I'm going to the mountains this afternoon to collect some herbs. I need to deliver them to the pharmacy in town tomorrow morning. I'll take you to meet the pharmacy owner, who is also a descendant of the Great Northern Dynasty."
“Really? Then go and gather herbs. I’ll go to town with you tomorrow.”
Sun Heng nodded, stood up, looked at the old man, and said, "Grandpa, I'm going into the mountains to gather herbs now."
"Okay, be careful once you're in the mountains, and be sure to come back early."
"I understand, Grandpa."
After Sun Heng finished speaking, he picked up his tools for collecting medicinal herbs and went out of the house.
By this time, the camp had been set up. Zhao Xian and Li Xue came out of the old man's house, preparing to return to the camp to rest. The camp was built under several big trees, which was quite cool.
As evening approached, the number of mosquitoes increased significantly, so Zhao Xian had someone light mosquito repellent to drive them away.
At this time, the villagers started lighting fires at their doorsteps to make smoke, and the whole village was filled with smoke, and not a single mosquito could be seen.
Although the air was filled with the smell of smoke, there were fewer mosquito bites.
The villagers began moving their bamboo beds outside, and some even brought out tables and chairs, so the whole family could enjoy the cool air outside.
This custom remains unchanged from the villagers of Shuixian Village; they all have the habit of coming out to cool off on summer nights.
Zhao Xian brought some cooling mats and laid them on the ground so that everyone could rest on them. The effect was quite good; they were very cool.
Many children from the village came to play and quickly became acquainted with the soldiers. The children begged the soldiers to tell them stories, and the soldiers did not disappoint them and began to tell stories.
The story is very engaging, and not only children love it, but adults do too. They come here to listen to the stories, and some villagers even bring their bamboo beds over to lie on and listen to the stories – it's so enjoyable!
The soldiers told the same old stories, but the villagers loved them. The soldiers took turns telling stories and were already hoarse.
The soldiers then asked the villagers to tell one as well, wanting to hear a local story.
The villagers immediately looked at a middle-aged man next to them. He was the village's storyteller, with a wealth of fascinating tales to tell.
The storyteller did not refuse and said, "Most of the stories I tell you have been heard before, but today I will tell you a story that you have definitely never heard before."
"Right? Then tell us quickly, let's see what story you're going to make up today," a villager said.
"This story isn't made up; it actually happened, you just don't know it. The story is called 'The Fool and the Princess.'"
"I don't think I've heard this story before, please tell us!" The villagers were getting impatient.
Zhao Xian and Li Xue sat to the side, and since they had nothing to do, they listened to the story. As they listened, they found it quite interesting.
Now, a local villager was telling the story, and I listened with great interest.
It was very quiet around them, and everyone was listening attentively to the story.
“A long time ago, there was a fruit plantation. This plantation was very large, with several thousand laborers just for planting. Even so, there was still not enough labor, so they had to look for people everywhere to come and work in the orchard.”
One day, someone brought a fool to the plantation. The fool was very young and handsome, and no one would have thought he was a fool based on his appearance.
Working in the orchard is nothing more than weeding, fertilizing, pruning, and picking fruit. When this fool entered the orchard, it was harvest season.
The laborers picked the fruit from the trees, put it into baskets, and carried the baskets out of the orchard.
To everyone's surprise, the fool was incredibly strong. He effortlessly carried the two baskets of fruit and walked straight out of the orchard, leaving everyone stunned.
There was a strongman working in the orchard, and the orchard's boss was overjoyed. Wasn't this like finding a treasure?
That day, the laborers continued picking fruit. The fruit on the branches was very difficult to pick. One of the laborers saw the fool walking over and joked.
Come here, you fool! This tree is too tall, and the fruit on the branches is hard to pick. Pull the tree down, and then you won't have to climb it.
The fool was very obedient. He went to the fruit tree, bent down, hugged the trunk with both arms, and began to pull hard, trying to uproot the fruit tree.
Everyone burst into laughter upon seeing this. This fool was truly utterly stupid; he actually wanted to uproot the fruit tree.
Soon, the laughter stopped, and people began to look surprised. As the fool exerted force, the ground began to loosen, and the fruit tree was lifted up little by little until the entire tree was uprooted.
The fool finally let go, and the entire fruit tree crashed to the ground, its fallen fruit scattering everywhere.
The laborer who had just asked the idiot to pull up the tree was terrified. He had made a mess of things; why had he asked the idiot to pull up the tree?
If the orchard owner blames you later, you won't be able to compensate for the fruit tree even if you sell yourself.
The orchard owner quickly learned of what had happened. He arrived with several thugs and saw a fruit tree uprooted and lying on the ground. He hurriedly asked what had happened.
No one dared to speak out of turn. The laborer who had ordered the idiot to uproot the tree pointed at the idiot and said that he had uprooted the fruit tree. The orchard owner looked at the idiot, who did not deny it and even laughed.
The owner immediately flew into a rage and ordered several thugs to beat the idiot first, and then tie him up.
One of the henchmen reminded the owner that this man used to be a general, but he became mentally impaired after falling off his horse.
This guy is too powerful; he can uproot a huge tree. We are no match for him at all.
The owner glared at him and said, "He's an idiot. No matter how you hit him, he doesn't know how to fight back. You think you can't beat him?"
He used to be a general, but what about now? He's still at the mercy of others.
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