The men of the Jiang family were all good at farming, including Jiang Wenyuan. They rolled up their pants and went into the fields.
They plowed the fields, raked the soil, made ridges, applied fertilizer, and tidied up two acres of fields in just two days.
During this time, Qin Jue came with Jing Yan to visit Jiang Wenyuan once. When the uncle and nephew saw the newly minted top scholar, with his pants rolled up and his butt stuck out, swinging a hoe to dig the soil, their jaws nearly dropped.
Stuttering, they said, "Brother Yi, what are you doing?" (Brother Yi was Jiang Wenyuan's courtesy name. Qin Jue was one year younger than Jiang Wenyuan.)
Jiang Wenyuan put down his hoe and casually wiped the sweat from his sleeves. He said, "What brings you here? I'm turning the soil to plant some sweet potatoes."
"What are sweet potatoes? I've never heard of this crop. In his three years in Qingzhou, he had been to the fields countless times and was familiar with common crops.
Jiang Wenyuan said, "I happened to save an old Taoist priest, and he gave me these seeds. He said they were from Overseas Barbarian States and had very high yields.
I want to try planting them. If they grow, the commoners will have another staple crop.
The seedlings are in my backyard. Go directly to my backyard if you want to see them."
Qin Jue nodded. "I will definitely go take a look."
The two men returned home and finished their conversation. Jiang Wenyuan did take them to see the sweet potato vines in the backyard.
Seeing the lush green vines covering the ground, Qin Jue wondered, "They don't look very special. And I don't see any flowers or fruits on these vines. Could you have been tricked?"
Jiang Wenyuan shook his head and said solemnly, "That shouldn't be the case.
The old Taoist said the tubers grow underground and ripen around September or October each year.
Oh well, it doesn't hurt to try. If it doesn't work out, no big deal. At worst we can eat the leaves."
Since the farmer had said so, Qin Jue naturally didn't dwell on it.
Since the family had a little guest, and her older brothers were all away, Jiang Yuqing enthusiastically took it upon herself to entertain Jing Yan. She acted as a little tour guide.
First, she took him to the backyard to pick cucumbers. They each picked a large cucumber, took them inside to wash, then sat under the eaves nibbling on the cucumbers.
When they were halfway through, they suddenly heard the sound of cicadas coming from outside the yard.
Jiang Yuqing's ears perked up. She immediately abandoned her cucumber. She ran inside to ask her mother for a small shovel about the size of a palm and a jar, then led Jing Yan out to the big camphor tree in front of her house to dig for cicada nymphs.
In her previous life, Jiang Yuqing had dug up quite a few cicada nymphs and took them back to the orphanage to be fried in oil as a rare treat for the children.
She still remembered what to do. Soon she had dug up several nymphs.
A few boys walking by became curious seeing the two digging.
One chubby boy looked in her jar and grinned with his missing front teeth, "Hey fat girl, you got quite a lot there. Let's play together!"
Jiang Yuqing glared at him. "You, fat!" How dare he call her fat when he was clearly the rotund one. Besides, she just had baby fat! Baby fat, get it?
Humph!
The tubby boy didn't seem to understand her rejection. He gathered a group of boys under the big trees around Jiang Yuqing and started digging with sticks and twigs, dropping all the cicada nymphs they found into her jar.
Jiang Yuqing let them be. It was natural for children to want to play together.
But it wouldn't do to have them running wild outside every day. It would be great if the village had a school to pen these rambunctious children so the village could have some peace and quiet.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking. She was still too young.
After playing for a morning, the group of children had turned over every inch of soil under Jiang Yuqing's trees, filling half the jar with nymphs.
She figured this summer her ears would finally have some peace and quiet. At least the cicadas wouldn't disrupt her afternoon naps anymore.
Jiang Yuqing brought the children back home and had her mother wash the nymphs clean and fry them in oil.
Sprinkled with salt and chili powder, she kept some for herself and Jing Yan and divided up the rest for the children. They ate with relish, already planning their next nymph hunting trip that afternoon.
After lunch Jing Yan had to leave with his uncle. He seemed reluctant to part, frequently looking back until Jiang Yuqing was out of sight before closing the carriage curtain.
Because Qin Jue had praised the Jiang family dishes, Old Lady Hu was delighted.
She brought along several daughters-in-law to the backyard. Ignoring the cucumbers, peppers and eggplants, they filled two large baskets for him to take back. The city boy Qin Jue was quite shocked.
He thought to himself that the Jiang family matriarch was really too enthusiastic. With so much produce, they probably wouldn't need to buy any until it was time to set off for the capital.
With the fields tidied up, the Jiang women followed Jiang Yuqing's instructions, cutting the sweet potato vines and planting them as cuttings.
The weather was fortuitous, with a heavy rain right after planting so they didn't even need to water. They planted one and a half acres this way.
Jiang Yuqing was determined not to use the spiritual spring water on this plot of sweet potatoes. She had her reasons.
Her father would soon take office as the county magistrate. This harvest of sweet potatoes could fill up his governing track record. The crop was cheap, but with proper management could yield several thousand catties per acre.
As long as the emperor had some wit, sweet potatoes would surely be widely propagated. Then this one and a half acres could all be collected as the original seed stock.
If she used the spiritual spring water for irrigation, the yield would be at least ten thousand catties per acre.
Ordinary people didn't have access to such miraculous water. If they couldn't achieve the same yields, they would accuse her father of exaggeration and fraud. Therefore it was better to save the spring water for home use.
The remaining sweet potato vines were washed clean by Old Lady Hu who stir-fried the tender leaves with minced garlic and dried chili peppers. The result was surprisingly crisp, tender and delicious.
On May 21st, under sunny skies without a hint of cloud, perfect weather for traveling, Qin Yu left with his nephew Jing Yan, escorted by a contingent of guards. Jiang Wenyuan brought his whole family in a carriage loaded with two huge baskets of local specialties to see them off.
Seeing the adults conversing, Jing Yan pulled Jiang Yuqing aside. She wasn't sure what the little gentleman intended, but she was quite fond of him nonetheless.
Jing Yan pursed his lips. "Can I call you Qingqing?"
"Okay, Guoguo!"
"I'm your brother, not Guoguo!"
"Guoguo!" Jiang Yuqing was a little embarrassed. She really couldn't be blamed for mispronouncing words at such a young age.
Jing Yan knew he couldn't make too many demands from such a young girl. He moved on to his main purpose today: "I'm leaving now. You have to take good care of yourself in the future. Don't let bad people kidnap you again."
"Mm-hmm." The little dumpling nodded to show she understood. "Guoguo, take care. Safe travels." Little brother should also look after himself and have a safe journey.
"Mm, I will. And..." Jing Yan's usual proper little face took on a reluctant look. "Even after I'm gone, don't forget me.
My name is Jing Yan, Jing as in scenery, Yan as in encompassing everything under heaven. You must remember." Of course he had no idea if the tiny dumpling could understand.
"Mm-hmm, remembered. Guoguo, Jing, Yan!" Hearing the little dumpling's awkward repetitions, it seemed she really had committed his name to memory. Jing Yan smiled satisfied. "I'll come visit you in the future. You can also come visit me in the capital!"
"Mm-hmm." The dumpling nodded. But she was skeptical inside. Let's not be so idealistic! Little brother, do you really think you'll remember a country bumpkin like me after you leave? And how could a pipsqueak like me possibly travel to the capital by myself?
Wake up!
Still, this little boy had treated her well. She had wanted to give him a parting gift too, but couldn't think of anything suitable no matter how she wracked her brains.
Later she thought of the lollipops at the corner store. Those should work... After all, no matter how mature he acted, he was still just a child.
There was a saying in her previous life: there's no child that can't be pacified with a lollipop. If one doesn't work, try two.
Making up her mind, she pretended to rummage in her little purse when she actually reached into her spiritual realm and pulled out a handful of Popsicle brand lollipops - about three, given her small hands.
She placed the three lollipops in Jing Yan's hand, smiling as she patted him. "Candy, sweet, for Guoguo."
Jing Yan looked at the strangely shaped candy in his hand, solemnly said thank you, and carefully put it in his arms.
See someone off for thousands of miles, eventually there is a farewell. Even if Jing Yan was still reluctant to part with his little sister, he obediently got on the carriage.
Before leaving, Jiang Wenyuan stuffed Qin Jue with a small package, saying it was for boiling water to drink, and instructed him to open it after getting on the carriage. Qin Jue's eyes flashed, took the package, nodded, and got on the carriage.
The convoy officially set off.
After traveling a distance, Qin Jue opened the package stuffed by Jiang Wenyuan and saw two large and small cloth bundles inside. After opening it, he was shocked.
The small cloth bundle contained a ginseng root as thick as a child's arm, with all whiskers and tails. As soon as he uncovered it, the pungent scent of ginseng permeated the entire carriage.
He was so scared that he immediately covered it, afraid that people outside would notice something wrong.
The large cloth bundle contained a five-leaf red lingzhi mushroom, bowl-sized, blood red all over. He shuddered again, hurriedly wrapped up the item, and put it back in the package.
After wiping the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, Qin Jue's mind was racing. This Jiang family, they really are...inscrutable!
To casually give away such heavenly treasures, packaged so casually, it was simply wasteful.
He looked around the carriage, opened the largest hidden compartment on one side of the carriage. Afraid it would be damaged by the bumps on the road, he added a sheepskin blanket inside for padding.
Determined, when he arrived in the city, he would definitely buy two of the best boxes, so as not to insult their value.
After hiding the items, he stretched out lazily and lay back on the soft quilt behind him. His gaze happened to meet his grinning nephew.
Qin Jue suddenly felt a little guilty. He quickly sat up and said, "Um, Yan'er, can we make a deal?"
"You mean not to tell His Majesty about these two treasures, right?" Jing Yan saw right through it. Qin Jue was embarrassed to be exposed.
But he was shameless, so he just said it out: "Your maternal grandfather and grandmother are getting old with poor health.
Especially your maternal grandfather, who was injured on the battlefield when he was young. Over the past few years, his health has been deteriorating year after year. Your uncle is afraid..."
Jing Yan looked at him with an expression that this person is hopeless. He patted him and said, "Don't worry, my father doesn't lack these little things. My maternal grandparents' health is more important!"
Qin Jue was overjoyed and rubbed his nephew's head: "Thank you, I knew you were a good one." Jing Yan coolly slapped his hand away: "I told you not to touch my head anymore..."
