Chapter 46: Pointing to the horse as the father [Jinjiang genuine exclusive release · sweet potatoes, potatoes...
Xu Wang was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling all the way. When he heard His Majesty mention two unfamiliar crops, even though all the officials wanted to jump over the wooden fence at the end of the field and rush into the melon field to touch the pleasing big melons with their own hands, when they saw His Majesty pick up his feet without hesitation and hold the little grandson to follow Xu Wang forward, they had to reluctantly withdraw their gaze from the melon field and follow His Majesty to the last few endless green fields.
Xu Wang came to the wooden fence on the ridge of the field, pointed to the fertile fields in front of him and said to the First Emperor:
"Your Majesty, after the potato and sweet potato tubers sprouted, I planted them loosely, planting two mu of each. Later, the sweet potato rhizomes grew very lushly, so I led my disciples to use the rhizomes to plant a total of three mu of sweet potato fields. Now there are two mu of potatoes and five mu of sweet potatoes on the imperial farm. However, the potatoes and sweet potatoes are not yet ripe, so I guess they won't be ready for harvest until late autumn."
The First Emperor smiled and nodded.
Seeing the endless lush sweet potato and potato fields before them, the grandfather and grandson's joy finally reached its peak. After all, both the old and the young knew very well that the most important ones in that big bag of seeds were these two crops that could be eaten as staple food after they matured.
However, because the potatoes and sweet potatoes were still growing in the soil, the officials who had not been able to see the fruits did not understand the importance of these two crops. They all turned their heads to look at the pumpkin and winter melon fields behind them.
After the First Emperor held his grandson in his arms, he followed Xu Wang to see the small grape seedlings and pomegranate seedlings about the length of a palm that he had grown with seeds. He had then looked through a large bag of alien seeds, all of which were suitable for farming season.
The harvest scene was even more delightful than what the First Emperor had expected when he came!
His Majesty Zulong, who was always generous to his subjects, immediately smiled and said:
"Mr. Xu, have the disciples of the farm pick forty tomatoes, forty cucumbers, thirty pounds of beans, ten large winter melons, and ten large pumpkins. Combine these with the poultry and fish from the farm, and have the palace kitchen prepare the food. This afternoon, I, your grandson, and I will join you all at the farm to taste the wonderful flavors of these exotic crops!"
Upon hearing that His Majesty was going to hold a banquet, the officials who had gotten up before dawn and followed His Majesty all the way to the suburbs with their beeping beeps lit up their eyes and hurriedly leaned forward to express their gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the banquet!"
Xu Wang was both happy and reluctant. No matter what kind of seeds they were, as long as they were grown, they were meant to be eaten. He was an ordinary person with a desire for food, so he was naturally curious about the taste of these alien seeds. But then again, after all, he and the farming disciples had toiled for three months on the imperial farm, enduring wind, sun, and rain, bending over to pull weeds, chase birds, catch insects, and apply fertilizer, to grow the finished fruits from the seeds bit by bit with great difficulty. He felt sad to pick so many fruits at once, but the anticipation of delicious food overwhelmed that little bit of heartache.
After arranging the farm disciples to pick fruits and vegetables, Xu Wang saw the little grandson looking around in His Majesty's arms. He instantly understood what the little guy was looking for, and hurried forward to say with a smile to the grandfather and grandson:
"Your Majesty, since we've already finished looking at the seeds from outer space, why don't you accompany you and the young prince to the zoo to see the two auspicious animals?"
It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s finally here!
Qin Ying saw that his grandfather and all the officials had been appreciating the fruits and vegetables for more than half an hour. He couldn't wait to see the two auspicious animals!
After all, that's a good omen! Not to mention being gifted, I think she'd have to be beautiful enough, right?!
He guessed.
The First Emperor lowered his eyes and saw the little fat boy in his arms dancing with excitement. He smiled and nodded and said, "Cheers!"
The ministers then followed the grandfather and grandson and continued to go to the zoo.
After walking north for about two quarters of an hour, Qin Ying seemed to see a small zoo. However, there were no ferocious beasts here. The larger animals were basically horses, fat sheep, oxen, donkeys and yellow dogs guarding the farm. The smaller animals were various poultry kept in wooden fences. Chickens were pecking at insects with their heads down, ducks were quacking while drinking water, and big white geese were tucking their wings and stretching their necks to peck at each other.
Further away there is a small river more than two meters wide. Under the sunlight overhead, big fat fish jump out of the water. Grass and flowers grow by the river. Several elegant cranes stand by the water with their wings spread. Several beautiful peacocks walk around the cranes with their long tails.
Apart from the somewhat shocking name of the beast, "beast", the entire zoo actually looks very harmonious and lively.
Qin Ying withdrew her gaze from the cranes and peacocks. She remained in her grandfather's arms, her eyes sparkling as she searched everywhere, hoping to spot the legendary "auspicious animals." Unexpectedly, Xu Wang led everyone directly to a series of wooden sheds. Pointing to two small black animals on all fours, their ears twitching, inside one shed, he excitedly shouted to Qin Ying, "Your Highness, look! These are the two auspicious animals that were just born in the menagerie! Their fur is soft, shiny, and each one is black!"
Hearing the enthusiastic praise, Ying, the little fat boy, also looked in the direction of Xu Wang's finger with a bright smile. When he saw the two little animals that looked like neither horses nor donkeys, drinking water with their heads down from the pottery basin, the bright smile on his lips froze instantly.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, realizing he hadn't seen them wrong. They were two animals diligently helping humans with farm work! How did they become "auspicious animals"?!
The accompanying historian Sima followed all the way, walking, reading, and writing, and had already recorded three volumes of bamboo slips. Seeing the little grandson in the emperor's arms pointing with his little finger at the two auspicious animals that were drinking water, and then looking at the emperor with surprise with his little head tilted up, the historian with keen insight felt that something was wrong, and hurriedly moved closer with a brush in one hand and bamboo slips in the other.
Seeing how Xu Wang had truly shined in front of all the officials today, especially speaking so much to the Emperor and the young grandson, how could Li Si, determined to be the most capable minister under the First Emperor and the eldest grandson, just stand by and watch Xu Wang bask in the presence of the royal grandfather and grandson?!
His family also keeps auspicious animals! Seeing the puzzled expression on the emperor's eldest grandson's face, Li Si quickly seized the opportunity, stepped forward with a smile and leaned over to preach:
"Your Highness, according to my observation, the auspicious animal drinking water in the wooden shed is the smaller one, probably a 'horse-donkey,' while the larger one is a 'donkey-horse.' The 'horse-donkey' is the auspicious offspring of a female donkey and a male horse, while the 'donkey-horse' is the auspicious offspring of a female horse and a male donkey!"
"Look! Horses and donkeys are two completely different animals, yet they were able to give birth to a new animal! This is simply a blessing from heaven!"
"More importantly, whether it's a 'horse-donkey' or a 'donkey-horse', they both incorporate the advantages of both horses and donkeys. They're smaller than horses but larger than donkeys, possessing both the agility of horses and the hard work of donkeys. Unfortunately, this auspicious animal is not only rare, but also unable to breed on its own. Perhaps it's because it's the most auspicious of all auspicious things, so heaven won't allow it to reproduce in large numbers."
Li Si looked like he understood a lot. He raised his hand, twisted the gray beard on his chin, and said with emotion with a smile.
Qin Ying heard this and looked at Old Man Xu, who nodded repeatedly. The other officials were envious, and even his grandfather was full of admiration. Some of them were completely unable to hold back and could not help but point with their little hands at the "horse donkey" and "donkey horse" in the wooden shed who had finished drinking water and looked up at him, babbling:
"Ya ...
"Mule?"
The First Emperor, who was feeling extremely happy, could not help but blink his eyes and cried out when he heard the baby voice coming out of his grandson's mouth.
Upon hearing this, all the officials looked at the young emperor's grandson in surprise. They hadn't expected the little fellow to come up with new names for the animals, "Horse Donkey" and "Donkey Horse," on the spot. While these names sounded novel, they somehow gave off a sense of hardship, hardly befitting an auspicious animal.
Sima the historian waved his brush and quickly recorded the whole process of how the emperor's eldest grandson named the auspicious animal on the bamboo slips.
The First Emperor really couldn't imagine how this auspicious animal could help people with farm work. For a moment, he just felt that the white clouds in the sky fell into a puddle and were covered with yellow mud. In an instant, the auspiciousness became less so, and his mood suddenly became very strange.
Qin Ying shook her head repeatedly. She had never imagined that the poor working mule of later generations would become a lucky animal sought after by the nobility during the Qin Dynasty due to its rarity! It truly was "same mule, different fate"!
The little fellow "tsk tsk" in his heart and picked up the bottle in his arms and drank it "ton ton ton". At this moment, the mechanical electronic sound of the system suddenly rang in his mind:
[Warm reminder, there are still nineteen days until the host's temporary mission - "Fatherly Kindness and Filial Piety" ends. If the host cannot ease the relationship between your father Ying Fusu and the Yue family within the specified time, and have your grandfather intercede with your father, the First Emperor, to recall your father, who was exiled to guard the Great Wall, back to Xianyang, the temporary mission will fail, and the host will be deducted one hundred blind box lottery opportunities!]
When Ying·Little Fatty suddenly heard the annoying "punishment voice" of the Ba·Langtai system, his eyelids jumped and he stopped drinking water. He was so angry at Li Si's slowly increasing favorability that he locked the taskbar on his own initiative. He almost forgot about this temporary task because he couldn't see the taskbar during this period!
If he fails, his "one hundred blind box lottery chances" will be deducted, so he will have a "negative" number of lottery chances. How long will it take for him to win the big wheel again?!
This won’t do!
The anxious little fat boy was busy holding the handle of the bottle in his hand, looking for his grandfather among a group of bearded generals.
Wang Ben, who had been watching his grandson, noticed that the little guy suddenly looked at him anxiously for help. Although he didn't know what had happened, he hurriedly walked towards the emperor.
The First Emperor had just made up for the psychological gap of being downgraded from a "noble, rare, and auspicious animal" to a "hardworking, ordinary animal" when he saw his grandson in his arms suddenly wave his little hand with a smile at his relative Wang Ben who had walked to his side. Then, in full view of everyone, he pointed with his chubby little hand at the tall black horse next to the two mules in the wooden shed and shouted in a loud and childish voice:
"fu~"
“Huh~”
"father!"
From the ambiguous "fu" and "hu", it finally became the clear and articulated "fu"!
Under the watchful eyes of all the civil and military officials in the court, the emperor's eldest grandson, who was more than nine months old, finally uttered the first elegant sound in his life in the bustling zoo.
The good news is - His Royal Highness Changsun is finally able to speak!
The bad news is that His Royal Highness Chang Sun "pointed to Ma as his father" in public!
Suddenly, the wind stopped moving, the fish stopped swimming, and even the birds stopped chirping!
Sima, the historian who was in charge of recording the grand scene, was so shocked that he broke the brush he was writing with with a "bang".
The entire noisy zoo suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The big black horse standing under the wooden shed snorted in shock, took a big step back with its limbs flailing, and its whole face showed a terrified expression - "Little two-legged beast! Don't come over here!"
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