After returning from the county town, Jiang Shuyun began to study diligently, copying books carefully. In the process, he familiarized himself with the content of ancient imperial examinations. He had read the Four Books and Five Classics, but only casually, and he was most familiar with the Analects.
Over the past few days, through copying books, he retrieved the original owner's memories, integrated them, and made them his own.
While Jiang Shuyun was busy, Mu Yi'an wasn't idle either. She had spent a fortune on the books, and she needed to make good use of them. First, she read the "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces" to understand where she was, what the climate was like, and how far she was from the capital…
Through the book's descriptions, Mu Yi'an knew that her location was similar to Shandong in her own timeline, but from the original owner's memories, it was hotter and more heated. Their county had a dock connected to a canal, and further towards the prefectural city was the sea. Relatively speaking, the geographical conditions here were better, and life was relatively more affluent.
After skimming through the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces, Mu Yi'an felt a little more at ease; at least she wasn't completely clueless and unable to distinguish east from west. After reading the agricultural book, Mu Yi'an felt even more at ease.
The agricultural output of this dynasty was abundant, including corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cotton, rice, wheat, and many other varieties commonly found in later periods. However, the yields were relatively low. Simple intercropping, topping, and pinching techniques were lacking. Grafting of fruit trees was mentioned, but there were no successful examples.
Mu Yi'an felt that in the history of this timeline, there might have been one or more time-traveling predecessors, but there shouldn't have been any predecessors who were good at farming. Those in literature, history, and science were obviously good, such as the poems of literary masters, glassware, candles, soaps... But this is also good, after all, not all paths were blocked, and a window was left open. She still has a certain right to speak on agriculture.
Mu Yi'an stretched and put the book away. It was her turn to cook again tomorrow, so she planned to go out for a walk.
She already understood that the women of the Jiang family weren't confined to their homes; they could go to the town or the county seat, as long as they had a suitable reason.
Her first step was to familiarize herself with Jiangjia Village, to see the actual crops grown there, the irrigation conditions, and the vegetation distribution. She also needed to explore whether the hillside they had fallen from was a mountain or a forest, and what species inhabited it.
Mu Yi'an fed Chu Yue milk, changed her diaper, and carried her to Jiang's mother's room.
"Mother, I want to go out and see what wild vegetables and mushrooms are at the foot of the mountain. Chuyue, can you help me check? I just finished feeding her and changed her diaper."
"Okay, be careful. See what Shuyun is doing and have him go with you. You can't read all day long; take a break when you need to."
Jiang's mother felt that Shuyun had changed a little recently; at the very least, she was talking more often than before.
"I understand, Mother. I'll go to the study and see if my husband is free. If he's not busy, I'll have him come with me."
Mu Yi'an put the child down and prepared a change of clothes and a diaper.
"Mom, thank you for your hard work."
"Go quickly, I'll watch over the child."
Jiang's mother felt that her second daughter-in-law had changed a bit; she was talking more, which was a good thing.
"Jiang Shuyun, I want to go to the foot of the mountain. Do you have time to come with me? It's my first time going out, and I'm a little disoriented."
"Okay, wait a moment, I only have a few more words to say before I'm done."
Jiang Shuyun had been studying all morning and wanted to go out for a walk.
"Okay, I'll go change. No rush, take your time."
Mu Yi'an went back inside and changed into trousers, a mid-length cotton shirt with a slanted placket and sleeves that weren't as wide as modern sleeves, and her old shoes from when she went out.
"Yi'an, I'm all better now, let's go."
Jiang Shuyun dresses simply at home—pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and something suitable for working.
"Let's go, take the baskets and crates from the barn, and also get a sickle."
"I understand, is that all? Is there anything else you need?"
"No need, let's go."
The two carried baskets and went out on a long journey. Mu Yi'an looked back at the gate and realized that she had actually stayed inside for half a month. It was unbelievable.
"It should be almost October now, right?"
"Pretty much. The autumn examination is in August. When we arrived, it had just ended not long ago."
"That's perfect. The mountains and forests are rich in produce in autumn; it's a gift from nature."
Mu Yi'an came from a mountain village and has a love-hate relationship with the mountains.
They relied on the mountains for their livelihood; the mountains gave them so much, but they also blocked their way out. Those years, trekking over mountains to go to school was incredibly difficult!
"I'm responsible for accompanying them. To be honest, apart from traveling and hiking, my knowledge of mountains and forests is limited. I only know dandelions, and only flowering dandelions."
"I didn't expect you to be able to get through this. I feel so relaxed and refreshed. It feels so good!"
Mu Yi'an has never been used to relying on others. She didn't even rely on her parents much. She graduated by working part-time while studying and got a job. She has become used to relying on herself for everything.
Fortunately, they came out at the right time, when there were no idle people loitering in the village; otherwise, they would have had to greet them, which would have been troublesome.
We arrived at the foot of the mountain without any obstacles. It wasn't far, and it wasn't a deep, remote forest. The altitude wasn't very high, only a few hundred meters, but the area was quite large. It's said that if you go further in, you'll enter the real mountains.
"Mu Yi'an, this Jiangjia Village is quite nice. It's surrounded by mountains on one side and water on the other, a truly auspicious place."
"It's not bad. Along the way, the rice ears in the field are quite full, but the rice ears are a bit small and the plants are a bit weak."
"Aren't you studying agronomy? You could improve rice varieties!"
Jiang Shuyun had a strange trust in Mu Yi'an, thinking that she could do anything.
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