Chapter 490 Endless Life
She used a combination of modern pharmaceutical knowledge and ancient alchemy techniques to carefully slice and dry these medicinal materials, refine them into pills with honey, or seal the juice in special jade bottles.
Each item comes with a detailed label indicating the name, medicinal properties, year of harvest, and possible uses.
She was focused and precise as she prepared the food, as if she were not preparing for her own death, but creating exquisite works of art.
She categorized these finished products and placed them into temperature- and humidity-controlled jade boxes in the warehouse.
Secondly, there is the collection and cultivation of seeds.
This was the work she valued most. She knew that simply providing medicinal herbs would eventually run out; but if she could leave behind seeds that were adaptable and of excellent quality, that would be the true "passing on of the torch," continuously benefiting future generations.
The crops in the space, after years of being irrigated by the spiritual spring and undergoing natural selection, have seeds that are already extraordinary.
There are high-quality rice and wheat varieties with full ears and grains, and resistance to drought and insects;
There are seeds of fruits and vegetables that yield more fruit and taste better...
Instead of large-scale planting, she carefully selects each of the strongest mother plants, waits for them to mature naturally, and then carefully collects the seeds, packs them in specially made moisture-proof and insect-proof paper bags, and records the characteristics of the crop, planting points, and expected yield in detail.
She also collected a large number of seeds of rare medicinal herbs from the space. Although she knew that these herbs were extremely difficult to cultivate in the outside world, leaving the seeds was always a glimmer of hope.
This task is tedious and meticulous, requiring immense patience.
She often spends most of the day in the space, hunched over, moving slowly between the ridges of the fields, carefully selecting items by the brighter and softer light inside than outside.
When you're tired, take a sip of the sacred spring water and rest for a while on the edge of the field.
Looking at the plump seeds brimming with vitality, her eyes revealed the tenderness and expectation one would show to a child.
Finally, it's time to organize the other items in the space.
Most of the items she collected in her early years, bearing modern traces but with inexplicable origins, have been carefully disposed of by her.
The remaining items are mainly a large number of her handwritten notes and manuscripts, which integrate her experiences and thoughts from both lifetimes, covering many fields such as agriculture, medicine, education, economics, and management.
These manuscripts are the crystallization of her wisdom, more precious than any gold or silver treasure.
She carefully wrapped them in oiled paper and placed them in a moisture-proof sandalwood box.
The transfer process is slow and continuous.
She used a secret passage that was left during the construction of the warehouse, known only to her, to carry only a small number of items in each time and arrange them herself.
She refused any help from the servants, and even Daiyu, she only told her that the storeroom had been opened and was storing some old things, without letting her participate in the initial stages.
Since Daiyu married the Tenth Prince, she could no longer freely enter and exit the space; she could only enter with Yuan Hongqu by her side.
Therefore, Yuan Hongqu had to do all of this herself.
She needed to ensure everything was perfect, and she also needed the right moment to completely entrust everything to him.
Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.
The warehouse's contents grew increasingly abundant, with shelves filled with jade boxes, porcelain jars, seed bags, and book chests.
Yuan Hongqu's body was like a candle flame that had burned out; although the light was still gentle, one could already sense the approaching end.
Her movements became increasingly sluggish, and her periods of lucidity became shorter and shorter, but her eyes remained clear and peaceful.
On a spring afternoon when the magnolias were in full bloom, she called Daiyu to her bedside.
“Yu’er,” she said, holding Daiyu’s hand, her voice weak but clear, “that storeroom deep in Jing’an Garden… the things inside were left to you by Granny. I’ll only tell you the key and the method to open the mechanism.”
Daiyu's heart sank suddenly, and an indescribable sorrow welled up inside her. She tightly grasped the old woman's withered hand and choked out, "Old woman, please don't say that... You will live to be a hundred years old..."
Yuan Hongqu smiled and shook her head, her gaze loving and profound:
"Silly child, it is the way of heaven for a lamp to burn out its last oil. I have lived for so long, witnessed the best of times, and seen you at your happiest. I have no regrets. Make good use of the things in the storeroom. The medicine can save lives in times of crisis, the seeds can benefit all people, and the manuscripts... may provide you and future generations with some inspiration."
She paused, her breath slightly weak, but she still managed to say:
"Remember, things are inanimate, but people are alive. How to use them and where to use them is up to your conscience... I trust you."
This is the most solemn entrustment.
Tears streamed down Daiyu's face as she kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Yu'er... will remember your teachings, Granny! I will certainly not fail you!"
Yuan Hongqu closed her eyes contentedly, a peaceful and relieved smile on her face.
A few days later, on a quiet night, Yuan Hongqu passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of eighty-six. She died without illness, her face serene as if she were asleep.
At the very moment her breath ceased, Daiyu, and all her loved ones who had indirectly sensed the subtle aura of the space through Yuan Hongqu, felt as if a faint, clear sound, like shattering glass, resounded in their hearts. A unique vitality and spiritual charm that had always lingered around Yuan Hongqu completely dissipated into the world.
Daiyu was heartbroken. She knew that with the old woman gone, that magical space had also mysteriously disappeared, just as it had appeared.
She suppressed her grief and completed the funeral arrangements for the old woman.
In accordance with the nanny's last wishes, the funeral was kept simple, and she was buried together with Lin Yuanhang's cenotaph in a scenic spot on the outskirts of Beijing.
When the world heard of this, regardless of whether they had received any favors from her, everyone lamented her loss. The Women's Academy was draped in mourning, and cries of sorrow echoed throughout the land.
Once everything had settled down, Daiyu, alone, opened the secret storeroom according to the method taught to her by her dying nanny.
As the heavy stone door slowly slid open, the scene that came into view left her breathless with shock.
It wasn't the dazzling gold and silver one might imagine, but a deeper, more magnificent kind of "wealth." On the neat sandalwood shelves, countless jade boxes and porcelain jars were arranged in categories, each with a meticulously labeled label; bags of sealed seeds were piled up like mountains, as if one could smell the fragrance of soil and life; boxes of manuscripts weighed down with wisdom; and there were also those unique fabrics and objects... Each piece embodied the painstaking efforts and far-sighted considerations of the old woman in her final days.
She walked slowly past rows of wooden shelves, her fingertips brushing against the cold jade boxes, rough seed bags, and heavy book boxes, as if she could touch the old woman's wrinkled but still warm hands, and feel her broad mind that was still planning for future generations and for this land until the end of her life.
Tears blurred my vision again, but this time, a surge of immense strength and responsibility welled up within the sorrow.
The old woman sealed her world, her wisdom, and her hopes here and entrusted them to her.
Daiyu took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and her eyes became incredibly firm.
She knew that she was not only taking over the key to a warehouse, but also a heavy mission that she needed to fulfill and pass on for the rest of her life.
When the fuel is exhausted, the flame is passed on.
(End of article)
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