Chapter 192 [VIP]
Before Mr. Liang left, Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan went to him with the manuscript to discuss it.
Previously, Wang Ying had been hesitant to produce the manuscript for fear of causing trouble, but this time, not only did Elder Liang not stop her, he also helped her contact the Grand Minister of Agriculture, whom she knew well in the court.
After returning from the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Liang Boqing found Wang Ying and discussed the matter with him.
“I have shown your manuscript to the Grand Minister of Agriculture.”
Wang Ying asked nervously, "What did the Minister of Agriculture say?"
"Although I don't know where you learned this knowledge, the content of the book is indeed exquisite and he is full of admiration." As the highest official in charge of agriculture in the country, the Grand Minister of Agriculture had read thousands of books on agriculture, but this was the first time he had seen such content.
He was particularly surprised by the precise data in the book; anyone who didn't know better would think it was the conclusion reached by an old man who had been farming for decades and through repeated planting experiments.
Wang Ying's face lit up with joy. "Then can I take the contents of the book and print it out?"
Old Liang nodded, "That's fine, but to avoid trouble, it's best to use an alias."
"Alias?"
“For example, my full name is Liang Liufang, and my courtesy name is Boqing. You can also choose a courtesy name for me.”
"Your disciple is of limited talent and learning, please help me choose a character."
After a moment of contemplation, Liang Boqing said, “‘Jia’ refers to planting grains, and ‘Xuan’ means study, carriage, or demeanor. The combination of these two characters has both the reality of working in the fields and the style of a scholar. Let’s call him Jiaxuan Jushi.”
Looking at the two characters "Jiaxuan" on the paper, Wang Ying felt a warmth in her heart. She had finally left a trace in the long river of history, and she only hoped that her knowledge could benefit the people of the world.
Printing books is a troublesome task. Although movable type printing has been developed by now, Wang Ying's book has many illustrations that must be carved out by hand by master craftsmen. It is estimated that it will take three to five months to complete this edition of the book.
The good news is that they don't have to pay for the printing themselves; the Ministry of Agriculture pays for it and even sends people to oversee it. However, once the book is engraved and printed, the printing plates will remain with the Ministry of Agriculture, which is a form of monopoly over the book.
After resolving the book issue, Wang Ying took some time to visit the mountain she had rented. In early spring, many small grasses had already sprouted on the mountain. Before coming, Wang Ying thought it was just a small hillside, after all, it had only cost her fifty guan to rent it for ten years.
To my surprise, when I went there, I found that it was a continuous stretch of forest, at least a hundred acres of mountain land. Unfortunately, the mountains were full of large rocks and could not be cultivated.
The experimental field couldn't be placed too far out where it would be easily discovered, so Wang Ying trudged through the rocks, making her way into the mountains. Fortunately, there were no people or large wild animals in the desolate mountains, and she finally found a flat area to move the experimental field out.
The terrain was adjusted, and an artificial hot spring was dug out and flowed down the mountain. It looks the same as before, but in reality, the inside is completely different.
Wang Ying could still come into the experimental field that had been moved outside at any time, but transporting vegetables would be inconvenient. Wang Ying planned to buy a few servants from a brokerage firm, the kind who would sign a life-long contract. He didn't believe that outsiders could keep their mouths shut, and he would be in trouble if word got out.
On the way back, I'll fill up the ice storage room so that we can continue selling ice when the weather warms up.
Wang Ying planned to hand over business matters to Ma Zhandong. The young man had been trained enough and it was time to put him to use. As for herself, she would take advantage of her free time to finish the second agricultural book in one go, lest she become too lazy to write again after a while.
When Wang Ying returned home that evening, she instructed Ma Zhandong to go to the city to find out the price of ice and the various ice-selling merchants, and to inquire about any special considerations for selling ice in the city.
"Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely find out the truth for you!"
After everyone left, Chen Qingyan asked, "Are you planning to continue operating shops in Kyoto?"
"Let's take a look first. Shops are too expensive. If we can bypass the shop and contact customers directly, we can save a lot of money."
"That's true, but I'm worried that Xiao Ma might find out about the ice..."
Wang Ying chuckled, "Do you think he doesn't know? This kid is shrewd. He mentioned wanting to change his surname to Chen before even going to the capital." The reason for changing his surname was that in ancient times, people valued those of the same bloodline. If he changed his surname, he would become a member of the Chen family, just like Chen Ershun, sharing both prosperity and adversity.
Secondly, he knows so many of his employer's secrets, and if his employer decides to punish him one day, he might not survive.
Moreover, Ma Zhandong didn't have any relatives in his hometown. His parents died early, and he lived with his uncle. However, his uncle's family didn't treat him well, so he started scheming to earn money to support himself at a young age.
"Changing one's surname is a big deal. I told him to think it over before coming to me again, but he'll most likely still have to change it."
Chen Qingyan nodded after listening, "You can make the arrangements. However, it is indeed much more convenient to hand over the business to him. After all, the capital is not the same as Jizhou Prefecture. I am afraid that you will offend people outside."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. By the way, I went to Huai's house yesterday and talked to his wife for a bit."
Chen Qinghuai's wife is named Bai Yanqing. He had been too busy to spend time with her before, but now that he has some free time, Wang Ying plans to start building a relationship with her.
"How should I put it, my sister-in-law..."
"What's wrong?"
"To put it nicely, he's detached from worldly affairs, spending his days reading, writing, and painting, and doesn't care about anything else in the household, leaving it all to the servants to manage."
Chen Qingyan said, "She is the only daughter in her family and is probably spoiled. We shouldn't say too much about other people's family affairs. If you have time, go and teach her so that Brother Huai won't be in a difficult position."
"Okay, I understand."
The couple talked for a while and it got late. Chen Qingyan had to get up early for work the next day, so they turned off the lights and went to sleep.
*
On the other side, Lin Sui and her group received a letter from the border a few days after returning to Jizhou.
After waiting for so long, the letter finally arrived, and Lin Sui's hands trembled with excitement.
Opening the envelope and reading it word by word, Li Mu's handwriting was as rough as he was. Although he had studied at a private school in the Li family for a few years in his early years, Madam Li had deliberately spoiled him, so he hadn't learned much culture and his handwriting wasn't very good either.
The letter was only two thin pages long. The first page recounted the events that had occurred at the border during this period, almost entirely about his victories in leading troops. It was rather boastful, but unfortunately, Lin Sui didn't understand military operations and thought these were all common occurrences.
The following explanation explains why he hasn't been able to write back for so long: he was simply too busy and didn't have the time. Furthermore, during wartime, the commander-in-chief is not allowed to easily send messages to other places for fear of leaking military secrets, which is why he hasn't written back.
"Now that the border war has stabilized, I originally thought I would return to reunite with you as soon as possible. I never expected that I would receive the Emperor's grace and be sent to guard the border. I'm afraid I won't have the chance to go back."
Lin Sui's heart leaped into her throat upon seeing this sentence, fearing that the Marquis would break off the engagement with her.
He quickly turned to the next page of the letter, where the tone shifted. "So, I wanted to ask if you would be willing to bring Qing'er to the border to reunite with me? I know this request is presumptuous, since we haven't gotten married yet, but I really can't go back, so I can only hold a banquet for you here."
"If you don't want to come, that's fine too. After all, the border is harsh and cold, and you might not be able to get used to living here. We'll just break off the engagement and have nothing to do with each other from now on. You've worked hard taking care of Qing'er for me during this time. Keep the jade pendant I gave you before; the silver inside is my way of repaying you."
Lin Sui's eyes were already blurry after reading the letter. She bit her lip and said, "Who said I don't want to go? Just you wait!"
*
"Sui'er, are you really determined to go to the border?" Chen Rong and Li Shi looked at him with worried expressions.
Lin Sui nodded, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to take Qing'er to the border to find the Marquis."
Lin Qiu said angrily, "You're really crazy. How long have you known that Marquis Wuping? What if he treats you badly at the border? Then... then you won't even have anyone to back you up..." As she spoke, a tear fell.
Lin Sui choked up and said, "I know my elder brother is worried about me, but I want to try. No matter how the Marquis treats me, I will not regret it."
Chen Rong and Madam Li also shed tears, "Silly child, you've gone to such a far place, when will we have a chance to meet again..."
Lin Sui knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Your unfilial son is afraid that he will not be able to fulfill his filial duties to his mother and aunt in the future."
"Get up quickly." Chen Rong wiped away her tears and said, "You've always been stubborn since you were little. You may seem quiet, but you always have your own ideas. I know I can't persuade you, I just hope you've chosen the right person this time... so you won't suffer anymore..."
The mother and her children hugged each other and cried.
In early March, Lin Sui packed her things and, escorted by a group of soldiers, headed towards the border with Qing'er. Little did she know that this parting would last for ten years...
Marquis Wuping, who is thousands of miles away—no, we should now call him Marquis Zhenbian—has been waiting so long that the flowers are almost withered. These past few days, even this roughneck has started writing poems lamenting the passing of time.
However, his limited knowledge was not enough to write any good poems. After Lang Junshi read one, he ridiculed it for several days, which angered Li Mu so much that he punished him by making him lead troops on patrol.
Patrol it is. Anyway, Military Advisor Lang is not someone who doesn't know how to handle weapons. He has even personally fought the enemy before. When he comes back from patrol, he will still laugh at him.
"Longing for My Lover's Arrival" by Marquis Li Mu of Zhenbian: He tossed and turned through the night, the kang (heated brick bed) cold and damp. Yesterday, he sent a message by wild goose; this morning, he saw sparrows perched on the doorstep. Suddenly, he heard a yellow dog barking in the night; one of his shoes had slipped away!
"Alright, Lao Lang, I know you're talented. If you laugh at me again, I'll make sure you reveal your drunkenness."
"Oh, hahaha, I'll stop laughing now. But it's been two months since the letter was sent back. Judging by the days, the young master of the Lin family should be arriving soon."
Li Mu's brows furrowed again instantly. "I don't even know if he'll come. He has so many relatives in Jizhou Prefecture, I'm afraid he might not be willing to leave his family to come and find me."
"I think he should be able to come. He wouldn't be taking such good care of Qing'er if he wasn't interested in you."
The news that Qing'er had been kidnapped by the Li family had already been sent by Deadpool. Li Mu was very grateful to Lin Sui for treating his daughter so well, and of course he hoped that she could come over so that he could repay her in person.
After waiting for more than ten days, just when Li Mu thought the other party would not come, a subordinate suddenly reported, "General, a carriage from Jizhou has arrived at the pass, saying that your daughter and husband are on board!"
Li Muteng stood up, not bothering to speak, grabbed his riding whip and galloped out, shouting, "Commander Chen, quickly bring my horse over!"
Commander Chen was startled, thinking something terrible had happened outside the pass, and stumbled to the stable to bring over the Thunder Horse.
Li Mu mounted his horse and headed straight for the pass, leaving the soldiers behind him bewildered. "General, what are you doing here?"
Lang Qianping strolled out leisurely, fanning himself with a fan. "Tsk tsk tsk, one of my shoes really did run away."
A note from the author:
My next book, "Will I Be Your Wife?", will be available for pre-order in my column~
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